After a few moments Lieutenant Meyers turned toward the admiral with a look of frustration on her face. “They tell me he’s busy and to check back tomorrow. You will also need an appointment to see him.”
“Like hell if I’m going to make an appointment. Contact the Phoenix and tell Colonel Swift he’s to use his troops and take possession of all the mines and both habitat domes. I don’t want anyone injured if possible. However, the Marines do have permission to protect themselves if they come under fire.”
“You don’t think it might come to that?” asked Summers.
Nagumo looked at Summers and then replied. “I hope not. But Mayor Moss sounds pretty stubborn.”
-
Six assault shuttles dropped toward the surface of Juno. Each one held a full platoon of Marines in full combat armor. Colonel Swift was in the first shuttle. He had decided to come along to ensure nothing went wrong. These were Federation citizens and their lives shouldn’t be placed in danger because of a stubborn company manager who had been elected mayor.
“We’ll be setting down on the landing platforms just outside the dome,” reported the pilot. “All landing lights have been turned off and the automatic beacon isn’t functioning.”
Swift looked at the corporal piloting the assault shuttle. “Is that going to be a problem?”
The pilot grinned. “No, sir. These shuttles are designed to land without outside assistance. It will be a piece of cake.”
Swift stepped back inside the main compartment where Lieutenant Johnson was sitting. “Lieutenant, it appears the mayor is being uncooperative. We’re probably going to have trouble getting inside. Have a couple of your people bring a portable airlock. We may have to break into the dome.”
Lieutenant Johnson’s eyes widened. “How dangerous is this going to be? What if we’re fired upon?”
“We fire back but only at those firing at us. I don’t want any innocents killed.”
“I’ll make the arrangements.”
-
Inside the dome, Mayor Moss was meeting with his head of security. He didn’t trust Adams to do what was necessary. “Smitty, the Marines are getting ready to land. I don’t want them getting inside the dome.”
Smitty looked curiously at the mayor. “We’re talking about heavily armed Marines. My people won’t be able to stop them if they’re determined to get in.”
“They won’t shoot at civilians,” declared Moss. “Just prevent them from getting in. If it looks as if we’re going to resist they’ll pull back and leave us alone.”
“Maybe,” replied Smitty with a look of doubt on his face. “I’ll gather a team of my best people and see what we can do. But I should warn you, if those Marines want in badly enough they’ll get in no matter what we do.”
“They’ll back off,” replied Moss confidently. “Now go stop them, I’ve got a mining operation to run.”
-
Smitty left the mayor’s office and gathered up a dozen of his most trusted men. All were armed with shotguns and they quickly headed to the main airlock nearest to the colony’s small spaceport. He already knew that was where the Marines were landing.
It didn’t take them long to reach the airlock. In front of it was a huge stack of shipping crates and several vehicles. It would take the Marines some time to break through.
“Take cover. When the Marines break in fire your shotguns up into the air and not at the Marines.”
“Why not at the Marines?” asked Gondoza, who at times had difficulty following orders.
“If you fire on the Marines they’ll kill all of us. We’re just firing warning shots. I’m hoping that will be enough to force them to withdraw rather than risk getting involved in a firefight.”
“If you say so,” replied Gondoza.
A red light was flashing above the airlock indicating someone was trying to access it from the outside. The power to the airlock had been turned off so it was nonfunctional. “Take cover and do it now!” ordered Smitty as he moved over and took cover behind a parked truck.
-
“The power to the airlocks been cut,” reported Sergeant Rajas. “We’re going to have to cut our way in.”
Colonel Swift had expected this after hearing how uncooperative the mayor was. “Cut it open but set up the portable airlock. I don’t want to lose the air in the dome and kill the civilians inside.”
“We’ll take the necessary precautions,” promised Rajas. “I’ve done this type of work before.”
Colonel Swift watched as the large portable airlock was attached and the Marines began cutting into the main airlock. Behind Swift six platoons of Marines waited. “As soon as we’ve breached the dome take two platoons inside.”
Lieutenant Johnson nodded as he ordered two of the platoons forward as he took the lead.
As soon as Johnson and his Marines were in the dome, Colonel Swift would go in with the other four platoons. He wanted to get this done as quickly and safely as possible.
-
Smitty was getting nervous. At any moment he expected to see the Marines break into the dome. He had no sooner thought that when he saw the tall pile of crates begin to wobble and suddenly come crashing down. We shouldn’t have parked those vehicles so close to the airlock, he thought. Now we can’t see what the Marines are doing.
Suddenly several Marines appeared around the trucks, their assault rifles held at the ready. The Marines were completely encased in gray body armor including a helmet which protected them from the lack of atmosphere outside the dome. “Fire into the air!” Smitty ordered as he fired several warning shots upward. The dome was high enough there was no danger of the shotgun pellets penetrating it. Even if a few did, the self-sealing substance layered in the dome walls would quickly seal any small leaks.
Shotguns began firing and the Marines froze in place, looking frantically around to spot who was firing. All at once one of the Marines fell, the faceplate on his helmet shot away.
Smitty felt stunned as he saw Gondoza advancing on the Marines and firing shot after shot at them. Almost instantly the Marines sprang into action and began returning fire. Gondoza fell to the ground, pierced by over a dozen rounds. More of Smitty’s men began firing at the Marines and a full-scale fire fight broke out.
“Hold your fire!” screamed Smitty as several rounds struck near him. He quickly threw down his shotgun and raised his hands. His men, seeing him surrendering, stopped firing and did the same. However, before they did four of them had been killed. Smitty felt a cold chill run down his back. His men had killed a Marine and now some of them were dead. All because Gondoza couldn’t follow orders!
-
More Marines came pouring through the airlock and soon over one hundred of them were standing in the dome.
“What happened here?” demanded Colonel Swift, seeing the dead Marine and five dead civilians.
“They opened fire on us, killing Corporal Boyles,” reported Sergeant Rajas. “We had no choice but to return fire.”
“Who is in charge here?” demanded Colonel Swift as he went over to where the prisoners were being held.
One held up his hand. “I’m Smitty. These are my men. They were instructed to fire only warning shots. Gondoza disobeyed my orders and fired on your Marines. We didn’t intend to kill anyone.”
Colonel Swift didn’t reply for a minute and then spoke directly to Smitty. “Who ordered you to stop us from entering the dome? The entire Federation is under martial law and we have orders to evacuate the people here.”
“It was Mayor Moss,” Smitty replied nervously. “I was only following his orders.”
Colonel Swift turned toward Lieutenant Johnson. “Take two platoons and arrest Mayor Moss. We’ll charge him with insurrection in a time of martial law. I want him shackled and taken up to the Phoenix. Once he’s up there put him in the brig.”
“What about these other men?” asked Lieutenant Johnson.
“Put them in the brig as well. We’ll evaluate their situation on
a case-by-case basis as soon as we get this mess sorted out. Also, assign some Marines to get this airlock functional. We’re going to need it to evacuate these people.”
-
On board the Luna, Fleet Admiral Nagumo listened as Colonel Swift made his report. Nagumo wasn’t pleased with five civilians being killed, however the civilians had fired first, killing a Marine.
“Have the Originator transport ship begin sending down shuttles. I want those domes and the mines evacuated within the next twenty-four hours.”
“Then what?” asked Commander Summers.
Nagumo grinned. “We’re going to Jupiter. I want to speak to a certain manager of the Selvin Corporation. He’s about to learn what it means when he’s told to evacuate.”
Summers nodded. He had heard about Rear Admiral Massie Tolsen’s visit to Ganymede.
“We’re going to spend the next few days evacuating all the outer colonies and outposts in the Solar System.”
Nagumo had decided it was time to flex the muscles of the military. These corporations needed to learn who was in charge and it wasn’t them. He also wanted to reduce the number of targets the Eternals might attempt to take out. However, the visit to the Selvin Corporation on Ganymede was one he was going to enjoy. There was a good chance by the time the Phoenix got back to Earth, its brig would be full of corporate people.
Chapter Twenty
Admiral Qurant patiently listened to the reports from the commanders of the stealth battlecruisers who had been reconnoitering Human and Alton space. He was surprised at the number of worlds the two species seemed to inhabit and control. Qurant had been assigned overall command since he had considerable experience in battling the Humans.
“It seems both the Humans and the Altons are expecting us to attack,” said Qurant as he studied the data. “They have amassed their fleets around their primary worlds and increased the orbital defenses. We were not expecting that.”
“What should we do?” asked Second Commander Anston. “We have forty-one thousand battlecruisers. Surely the Humans and the Altons cannot resist such a force.”
Admiral Qurant was using his nanites to help clarify his thinking. “I don’t believe there is any star system other than a Shrieel which can withstand the attack of forty-one thousand of our warships. Our orders are to destroy the Human and Alton worlds and that is exactly what we will do.”
“We will send thirteen thousand battlecruisers to destroy the Alton worlds. Our scans of their systems indicate they are not as militaristic as the Humans. We will divide our remaining ships into two fleets of fourteen thousand each and attack the Human worlds. We will start with the smaller systems first so we can test their defenses. They are also the most lightly defended.”
“A wise decision,” replied Anston. “It is best we know more about the Humans of this galaxy before we attack their primary systems.”
“It will take Admiral Larvol three days to reach Alton space. We will time our attacks so we begin our assaults on the Human and Alton worlds at the same time. We are the Eternals and we will be victorious.”
-
Rear Admiral Karl Quinton was in command of the strikecruiser Valiant. He had sixty light cruisers in his fleet formation. He was in the Epsilon Eridani System where the two inhabited worlds of Serenity and Bliss were located. So far his deployment had been uneventful as the main attack by the Eternals was expected to be against New Tellus and the Solar System.
“I would feel better if Serenity or Bliss would turn their fleets over to us,” commented Commander Anne Gilbert. “It would give us considerably more firepower if the Eternals were to show up.”
Quinton nodded. He had spoken to the commanders of the two small defensive fleets and both had refused. He was told they had strict orders to stay in orbit around the planets. Quinton was certain those orders had come from Senators Adams and Hanford. Almost daily the two senators contacted him demanding to know when more ships would show up.
“We’re picking up an inbound hyperspace track,” reported the sensor officer.
Quinton was confused. There were no ships scheduled to arrive today. There was a small convoy under military escort due tomorrow. He wondered if they could be early.
Quinton turned toward Communications. “Contact the ships and see who they are.” They were close enough that hyperspace communications should be almost instantaneous.
The command crew waited patiently to see who the fleet belonged to. There was always a chance Fleet Admiral Nagumo had sent more ships as Senators Adams and Hanford had been demanding.
“No response, sir,” reported the communications officer.
A cold chill went down Rear Admiral Quinton’s back. This wasn’t good; something was wrong. “Take us to Condition Two and prepare to enter hyperspace. We’ll jump to the location where that fleet emerges.”
“What if they’re Eternals?” asked Commander Gilbert, her face turning pale.
Quinton was silent for several moments and then replied. “Let’s hope they’re not. “Lieutenant Trent, send messages to both the fleets around Serenity and Bliss and recommend they go to Condition Two. Inform them we are tracking an unidentified fleet inbound toward the system.”
A minute passed and then Lieutenant Trent turned toward the admiral. “Messages sent. They report they’re also tracking the inbound fleet. They’re putting the defensive grids around both planets on full alert and have ordered all shipping to jump to New Tellus.”
Commander Gilbert was standing behind the sensor console studying the data coming in. With a shudder, she looked toward Rear Admiral Quinton. “We’re detecting what looks like thousands of inbound ships. Tentative identification indicates they’re Eternal battlecruisers. Cargo and passenger ships are exiting the system.”
Quinton felt his breath catch in his throat. He was relieved the civilian ships were leaving. “Do we know for sure how many we’re facing?”
Gilbert shook her head. “No, sir. The ships are so close together we can’t get an accurate count.”’
Quinton made a quick decision. “Take us into hyperspace and put us into orbit twenty thousand kilometers above Bliss.” Bliss had the largest population in the system at nearly 720 million. “Communications, send an emergency signal to Fleet Admiral Nagumo and New Tellus Station informing them we have a confirmed contact with an Eternal fleet. We expect to be engaged in a battle situation within the next several hours.”
“Do you think they can get reinforcements to us in time?” asked Gilbert, her eyes showing deep concern.
Quinton slowly shook his head. “By the time they do this will be over.”
“What will happen to us?”
“We’re Federation military. Our job is to defend this system.” Quinton didn’t bother to state the obvious.
The Valiant made the jump into hyperspace along with its escorting light cruisers. The trip to Bliss didn’t take long and soon the strikecruiser was orbiting in space above the planet. On the main viewscreen, the planet Bliss appeared. Only about 60 percent of the landmass on Bliss was habitable. The planet consisted of about 18 percent water and the climate was arid in many locations. Only along the equator where there was more water was the climate more temperate. It was here much of the population lived.
“I have Commander Everest on the comm,” reported Lieutenant Trent. “He’s requesting to turn over command of his fleet to you as well as the orbital defenses.”
“I accept,” replied Rear Admiral Quinton. “Have him move his ships into our formation. We’ll form a battle wedge facing the enemy and then wait and see what happens.”
On the main tactical display, the eighty ships around Bliss began to move. There were twelve strikecruisers and the rest were light cruisers.
“That gives us one hundred and forty ships,” reported Commander Gilbert.
“That would be a good size fleet in normal times,” replied Quinton. “But we’re about to go up against battlecruisers four kilometers in length. Just one of thos
e ships has more mass than all of our light cruisers combined.”
“Eternal fleet has entered the system,” reported the sensor officer. “I have a better estimate on the size of the fleet. Sensors are indicating at least ten thousand Eternal battlecruisers probably more.”
“Ten thousand,” said Gilbert barely able to speak. “We can’t take on a force like that.”
“What are you suggesting? That we abandon Bliss and let the Eternals destroy it without putting up a fight?”
Commander Gilbert took a deep breath. “No, sir. Our duty is to defend the civilians of the Federation or die trying.”
Quinton nodded. “We shall do our duty. Take us to Condition One.”
Instantly alarms began sounding and red lights started flashing. Over the comm a message was sent to all ships of the fleet. “Condition One has now been set. Prepare for immediate combat. The use of nuclear and antimatter weapons has been authorized.”
“Has there been a reply from Admiral Nagumo or from New Tellus?”
Lieutenant Trent shook his head. “No, not yet.”
Rear Admiral Quinton stared at the tactical display as the fleet from Bliss formed up with his own. The fleet was in a wedge formation with the strikecruisers in the center and only they were armed with one hundred-megaton antimatter missiles. The light cruisers were armed with twenty-megaton fusion warheads. Quinton wished he had a few battleships or even some Originator battlecruisers. As it was, this was probably going to be a short battle and the Human fleet was going to be on the losing end.
“All ships are at Condition One,” reported Commander Gilbert. “Wedge formation has been achieved and all ships report ready for combat.”
On the main viewscreen, Quinton could see Bliss. The planet had a defensive grid of four hundred defensive satellites armed with particle beams. There were also two Indomitable Class Battlestations in orbit as well as six Class Two Battlestations. Only the Indomitable Battlestations were armed with antimatter missiles.
“We’re being scanned,” reported the sensor officer. “The Eternal fleet is reentering hyperspace. Trajectory indicates their target is Serenity,”
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 28
