Final Conflict

by Raymond L. Weil

  Looking across the food court, Thomas was surprised to see Lieutenant Adams and Major Reed eating together. They seemed to be having a serious conversation about something. Occasionally he could see the lieutenant shake her head as if she was disagreeing with something the major said. He wondered what they were talking about.

  -

  “They’re not ready,” said Sue as she glanced down at her plate of pasta. “They will need at least six months of combat before they can be committed to such a mission.”

  “One month,” replied Major Reed as he bit into a buttered roll. “As soon as they’ve completed their training we’ll ship them out with Read Admiral Stinson’s fleet. We’ll pick out a couple of the more difficult worlds that need to be pacified.”

  Sue leaned back in her chair frowning. She had lost much of her appetite. “Taking Marines into a hive is suicide. They will be facing hundreds, perhaps thousands of Zaltule warriors as well as whatever interior defenses the hives have. Even if they can make it to the Queen’s chamber, it’s doubtful enough of them would be left to make it back to the surface.”

  “You don’t have to go with them,” replied Major Reed, putting his half-eaten roll back down. “This mission is voluntary due to its danger.”

  “Except for them,” replied Sue, feeling anger over what the major was suggesting.

  Major Reed let out a deep sigh. “We need Marines in Type Nine battlesuits if this is to succeed. They have the best chance of making it to the Queens’ chambers.”

  “We can’t just nuke them from orbit?”

  Major Reed shook his head. “It’s highly doubtful. After what the Kleese did to the rest of the Zaltule Queens the Zaltule have probably dug in deep on the planet, making it impossible to reach the nests with any type of weapon including antimatter. The nests will also be hardened against such an attack.”

  Sue took a small bite of her pasta. It didn’t taste nearly as good now as it had earlier. “How many Marines will be involved?”

  “Unknown,” replied Major Reed. “Commander Smith is currently heading toward the region of space where she first encountered the Zaltule. We’re hoping she can determine how much territory they control and what world or worlds they are based on. With a little luck we’ll know where their nests are and how many we’re looking at.”

  Looking across the food court, Sue noticed Sergeant Nelson as well as several other members of his platoon. She saw how that core group stayed together. If they went on this mission there was a chance none of them would survive.

  -

  In the Kleese Empire, Supreme Overlord Xatul stood in the Command Center of his updated battlecruiser, the Empire’s Dawn. They were in orbit of the planet Sherlund. It was the home to over ten billion Kleese and also contained the massive shipyard used to construct new trading stations as well as exploration ships. There were fourteen worlds in the system as well as numerous moons. In the distant past there had been several large asteroid fields but those had long since vanished as they were used as resources for massive Kleese construction projects.

  The planet Sherlund was the most heavily populated of the three worlds in the system, which had breathable atmospheres. Sherlund was the fourth planet from the K class star. The third and fifth planets had been terraformed to allow the Kleese to move about on the surface of the planets without the aid of breathing devices. All three worlds now held robust populations of Kleese, all dedicated to expanding the Empire and someday dominating the galaxy.

  “All goes as planned,” reported Overlord Syndat. “We are building a new trading station similar to the one the Zaltule took. It will be heavily armed and in many ways will be more like a battlestation. It will have construction facilities for both assault ships and battlecruisers.”

  This pleased Xatul. It was one thing he had learned from the Zaltule: you must always be prepared for battle. “As soon as it is completed have it moved to the home system. I want it in geostationary orbit above the capital.” This would protect the capital from a Zaltule attack as well as one by the Alliance.

  “How is the construction of the new battlecruisers coming?” The new battlecruisers were not quite as large as their Zaltule counterparts but they were still very powerful vessels.

  “We have repaired all the damage done to the shipyards as well as the other installations in the system from the original fighting. We currently have six thousand new battlecruisers completed and ready for combat. Their crews are a mixture of Kleese and highly trained conscripts. We also have twelve thousand assault ships ready as well.”

  Xatul gazed at the main ship construction yard. It was gigantic, easily measuring over two hundred kilometers across. This was the yard, which built the trading stations for the Empire. Currently its massive construction bay was filled by a nearly completed station. Bright flashes of light indicated where battle armor was being put in place on its hull.

  “How much longer until the station is complete?” Xatul was considering making the new station his center of power. With its firepower, it would easily be able to hold a Zaltule warfleet at bay.

  Syndat turned his triangular shaped head toward Xatul. “Three more months and it will be finished. We’ll then remove it from the construction bay and move it to the home system.”

  “What about the orbital defenses in the system?” Sherlund was too important to allow its space infrastructure to be damaged or the surface of the three inhabited planets in the system to be bombed.

  “All in place,” replied Syndat. “We’ve made the system as secure as possible.”

  Xatul gazed at the huge shipyard. “As soon as the new station is done I want one of the older ones brought in and updated. I would like to see one of these newer type stations above each of our inhabited worlds.”

  Syndat was silent as he contemplated how long it would take to modify and update a trading station. “It will take two years for each station and that is if we work nonstop.”

  Xatul nodded. “See to it. We must ensure the heart of our Empire is secure from attack. When that is done then we may move against the Alliance and the Humans.”

  Syndat nodded. “Are you still going to seek a truce with the Alliance?”

  “I think we must,” replied Xatul. “The Zaltule are too big of a threat and the Alliance grows stronger every year. If we turn over the outer regions of our Empire to them it will stretch their resources, perhaps enough to substantially weaken them.”

  “A strategy, then,” replied Syndat approvingly.

  “Of course,” answered Xatul coldly. “All races in this galaxy should serve the Kleese. We are the most powerful and intelligent race. The truce with the Alliance will only last for a few years. It will allow us to consolidate our power and when the time is right we will strike all of the Alliance’s primary worlds simultaneously. In just a few days from the start of our attack the Alliance will be no more.”

  “And the Humans?”

  Xatul didn’t want it to show but he was greatly concerned about the Humans. They had developed some type of super weapon that had destroyed War Overlord Harmock’s fleet. Since the Humans only controlled one system perhaps it would be best to quarantine that system. “We will deal with them when the time comes. First we must deal with the Zaltule and once that has been accomplished we can finish off the Alliance.”

  Xatul spent a few more moments gazing at the new trading station. “I want to go on board the station and inspect it. I will be making a proposal to the Council of Overlords that we move to the station once it is in orbit of the homeworld. It will be much more secure than the city.”

  Xatul was deeply concerned about the Zaltule. There was no doubt they would mark all of the Kleese Overlords as primary targets when they returned.

  -

  On Centerpoint Thomas was busy directing his four squads as they went up Charring Mountain. Lieutenant Adams had informed them they would go up the mountain every other day until their training was completed. Reaching the pedestal on top of the summ
it and pressing a screen no longer meant that part of the training was over.

  “I can’t believe this,” complained Leah. “How many times am I going to get stunned?”

  “None if you’re careful,” replied Brian as he blew apart a pop-up, which had just appeared in front of him. Pop-ups were now hidden everywhere and it wasn’t uncommon for ten or fifteen of them to appear at once. They were also buried deeper so destroying them with explosives was much more difficult.

  Thomas had his four squads in a staggered formation of two lines with two squads in each line. The Marines were armed with energy rifles and assault rifles that fired explosive rounds. The Marines held their rifles in front of them, swinging them back and forth in a small arc ready to fire. Each Marine had an assigned area to watch and if a pop-up appeared it was their responsibility to destroy it.

  Periodically Thomas would call a halt and the two lines would switch places, giving each Marine equal time in the front line. The four corporals in the platoon were responsible for making sure every Marine was doing his or her job. Thomas was determined to get as many as possible to the top of the mountain.

  -

  “Interesting tactic,” commented Lieutenant Adams. She was in the Control Center with Major Reed watching the platoon attempt their ascent. “By limiting each Marine’s area of responsibility he prevents more than one Marine firing on the same pop-up and does a better job keeping the area in front of them covered.”

  “But he’s leaving his two wings open,” pointed out Major Reed.

  “Not really,” answered Sue. “See how the two Marines on each of his wings are swinging their weapons in a wider arc covering the area out to about 45 degrees?”

  Reed watched and then nodded. “I hadn’t noticed that. We’ll see how that works shortly. I’m getting ready to hit them with twenty pop-ups from three sides. This time there will stunners and explosive rounds as well as smoke rounds. We’ll see how they handle that.”

  -

  Brian was walking up the slope behind Leah and thinking even in a battlesuit she looked good. He was about to make a comment when something landed nearly at his feet. Looking down he recognized a pop-up smoke canister, which instantly began emitting thick streams of blue smoke. Without hesitation he reached down and picked it up. Turning, he tossed it down the slope.

  “Pop-ups!” yelled Thomas over the platoon comm. “Take them out as we’ve practiced.”

  There were several explosions throwing up rock and debris, which rained down on the platoon. The buzzing noise of stunners could be heard and the occasional scream of pain. Swearing wasn’t too uncommon as a stunner struck a Marine. The leading members of the platoon were now firing at the pop-ups in their zones of control. Explosive rounds and energy beams were rapidly taking them out. Whenever a stunner knocked one of the Marines down a Marine from the second row stepped forward to take their place. The attack didn’t last long as the pop-ups were rapidly eliminated.

  -

  Thomas took a deep breath as he checked the platoon icons on his HUD. Two were red indicating the Marines were unconscious from multiple stunner hits. Four more were blinking amber showing they had been hit but were still combat capable. “We’ll stay here for a few minutes until everyone has recovered,” said Thomas. He wanted everyone at 100 percent before they continued moving up the slope. He also needed to adjust his lines to take the two unconscious Marines into account.

  -

  Brian looked over at Kinsley who was rubbing her shoulder with her armor-encased hand. He knew it wouldn’t do any good but it was an automatic gesture. “Did you get hit?” he asked, stepping over next to her.

  “Yeah,” replied Kinsley. “Just once. It still stings like hell.”

  Looking around Brian saw others who had obviously been hit. One or two stunner strikes were normally not enough to immobilize a Marine. However once it reached three or more the nervous system tended to shut down to protect the Marine from the pain. Two battlesuits were lying on the ground unmoving, one from Corporal Coyle’s squad and another from Corporal Anderson’s. For the unconscious Marines the suits were set to keep them that way until a command code was sent allowing the suits to administer stimulants to bring the Marines back to consciousness. In some cases for a Marine who had been hit repeatedly, other Marines in battlesuits would ascend the mountain and carry them back down to be treated by medical specialists.

  Several minutes passed and Brian heard Thomas’s voice over the platoon comm. “Okay everyone, we’ve waited long enough. Get back in our scrimmage formation and we’ll head for the tree line.”

  The squads started moving forward again, keeping their eyes on the ground in front of them.

  -

  “We’ll that was interesting,” said Major Reed. “At least I took out two of his Marines.”

  Lieutenant Adams was watching the numerous viewscreens showing different scenes from Charring Mountain. “I suppose the tree line is full of pop-ups?” This was pretty standard for Charring Mountain.

  Reed shook his head. “No. Since you demonstrated how to wreck the forward section of the tree line I pulled them back. I have pop-ups scattered throughout the trees all the way up to the boulder field. I should be able to take out at least half of Sergeant Nelson’s Marines before they reach the boulders.”

  “I’m not so certain,” replied Lieutenant Adams. Sergeant Nelson had demonstrated to her he was a born leader as well as being very innovative. “Let’s keep watching.” Sue leaned back trying to get comfortable. It would probably be several hours yet before this scenario was over.

  -

  Thomas was surprised as they reached the tree line without encountering any more pop-ups. He signaled the squads to come to a halt as he thought about their next move.

  “No pop-ups,” said Brian suspiciously. “I wonder what’s going on?”

  They had fired a few explosive rounds into the trees trying to elicit a response from any hidden weapons but nothing happened.

  “We’ll pull our squads in and continue to advance. I want three marines in the front with energy rifles. The rest will form two columns behind the outer two Marines. The forward three will keep their eyes and sensors peeled for any movement in front of us. Everyone else be aware of movement to the sides of our columns. We’ll advance slowly but we must be prepared for pop-ups at all times. There are bound to be some scattered throughout the forest.”

  Thomas wanted to advance on a smaller front. With the thickness of the trees this would put his Marines out of sight of some of the pop-ups, limiting the number that could fire upon the advancing columns. Thomas waited as everyone adjusted to the new formation. “Move forward!” Thomas was directly behind the front three Marines. He was searching everywhere for any signs of pop-ups. He suspected Major Reed still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

  -

  Major Reed leaned forward, frowning. “I wasn’t expecting that. Over half of the pop-ups I have waiting aren’t going to be able to hit those Marines.”

  Lieutenant Adams laughed. “I suspected he would do something different.”

  “Well, he may get most of his Marines through the forest but the boulder area is full of pop-ups.”

  “He’ll just blow them apart,” said Lieutenant Adams. He has hardly used any of the explosive rounds in his Marines’ back launchers.”

  “Damn!” said Major Reed, realizing Lieutenant Adams was right. “It’s possible he’s going to make it to the top with most of his Marines. That’s never been done before this early in training.”

  Sue did not reply. The way Sergeant Nelson was outperforming previous training groups only made it more likely his platoon and the others would be going on the raid into Zaltule space. She wished things could be different but war was a harsh reality.

  -

  Kinsley was now in the front three Marines. As a matter of fact she was in the center and responsible for sweeping the area directly ahead of her. She suddenly sensed movement and a pop-up appeared. It fired
instantly and she felt an explosive round detonate against the chest plate of her battlesuit. The round staggered her, nearly causing her to fall. Behind her she heard Thomas’s energy rifle fire and looking back up saw the twisted remains of the pop-up.

  “Kinsley, are you okay?” Thomas asked as his armored encased hand reached forward to steady her.”

  “I will be. My entire chest hurts like hell.”

  “Private Graham, move forward and take Private Mays’ position in the formation.”

  Graham moved quickly and then everyone waited while Kinsley recovered. For nearly five minutes the four squads waited.

  “I’m okay,” breathed out Kinsley. She suspected she was going to have a large bruise in the morning. The suit had injected her with some painkillers and she was feeling much better.

  “Move forward,” ordered Thomas.

  -

  The four squads continued through the trees, occasionally stopping to take out more pop-ups. Four more Marines were hit with three knocked unconscious but they finally reached the boulder-strewn slope which stretched to the summit of Charring Mountain. Thomas then used the explosive rounds from the suits’ explosive launchers to clear the boulder area and the top of the summit of pop-ups. When the explosions stopped and they stepped up onto the boulder strewn slope not a single pop-up responded.

  -

  “Well that tears it,” said Major Reed, shaking his head. “I can’t stop them now. They have enough firepower left to take everything out on top of the mountain.”

  Sue smiled to herself as she continued to watch. She saw the remaining Marines stop right before the summit and then use their unexpended explosive rounds to devastate the area around the pedestal. She then watched as they formed two parallel lines and began advancing toward the pedestal, firing at the ground between them and their destination. A few surviving pop-ups rose up but were eliminated before they could fire. In the end she saw Sergeant Nelson gesture toward Private Leah Adams who stepped up on the pedestal and placed her armor-encased hand against one of the screens.

  “Over three of his squads made it,” said Major Reed impressed. “I don’t see the point of having them go up Charring anymore.”