The Oppressed

by Matt Thomas

  “That’s a little bit more than a distraction.” Kendrick commented as he adjusted his position. “I thought they were supposed to harass the front gate.”

  “They were.” Bryan said, hunting with his binoculars for some indication about what was happening. “They’re way too close to the main buildings.” Jess needed to get next to the massive structures. She had to put the sensor on the exterior walls and hold it for nearly a minute while it did it’s scan. And she needed to do all of it while the Hetarek looked the other way, not at an assault within a hundred meters of her target.

  “I wonder where they got that much explosive?” Kendrick mused.

  Bryan ignored the question. They’d provided Lucas with some explosives, but not that much. Of course, all it took was a small amount and some ingenuity to make a blast that size. He had wanted Cho to take care of the mission, but they had been under such intense scrutiny he had to import a handful of fighters from the east.

  “More importantly, where did the Hetarek get that many fighters?” He asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Look at the northwest corner of the field. That’s not a normal garrison.” Nearly a hundred Hetarek started swarming the outside of one of the target structures, setting up defensive positions.

  “It looks like they’re actually trying to breach the perimeter.” Kendrick said from behind his rifle. “They didn’t just hit and fade, they hit and pushed. I got a couple of humans just inside that gate. They’re dead but they’re there.” He shifted position. “I also got Hetarek sweeping through the area not being shy about shooting humans. What do you want me to do?”

  Bryan found the spot Kendrick indicated. Two groups of Hetarek spread out from the target buildings shouting and shooting at the human workers in the area. An expanse of tarmac stood between Jess’s position and the indiscriminate killing, but no cover.

  “Jess, you’re not going to make it. They’ve circled the wagons pretty good and they got sweeper teams moving towards you. Break contact and get out.”

  He tried to find her again, and couldn’t.

  “Jess, you copy? If you can’t talk just click.”

  Her voice came through soft quiet, like she was muttering to herself. “We need to figure out what hornet’s nest they just kicked up.”

  “But we can’t. If you make it there, you won’t make it back. They hit too hard, too close to where you need to be. Don’t be stupid, find yourself the nearest exit point and get out.”

  Again, he heard silence.

  “We need...” She started.

  “Shut the fuck up and do what I tell you. We’ll deal with the other shit later.” He put enough bite in his tone that even Kendrick looked over at his officer in surprise.

  “Roger. I’m going to have to shoot my way out.”

  “Kendrick’s got your back.” He turned to the sniper. “Get her a hole. They shouldn’t trace it back to here in this mess.”

  “On it.” Bryan watched. He saw the figure on the airfield reach into a backpack and pull out her submachine gun. One of the Hetarek sweeper teams moved in on the pile of garbage she hid behind.

  “Sending.” Kendrick announced. His rifle bucked, the retort echoing in the small room. Seconds later, one of the Hetarek team lost his head in a pink cloud. The others turned to look, and Jess spun out from behind a corner and put several bursts in the others. Kendrick fired again, this time striking the remaining Hetarek that had leapt forward to follow her. That body skidded to a halt.

  Jess ran, her weapon still up but nearly useless as she charged headlong for the fence. A pair of Hetarek sentries turned and noticed her before falling in quick succession following Kendrick’s shots.

  The fence rose more than twelve feet. Through the binoculars, Bryan watched as Jess tossed something small towards the wall and stepped to the side. A puff of smoke rose from the ground, and then she disappeared.

  “I’m out. Heading to the river. I’ll go upstream as much as possible and link back up.”

  Bryan wished her good luck, fully aware of the intense irritation in her voice. He could deal with that later.

  “What about the guys attacking the gate? Want me to cover them?” Kendrick asked, eye still to his scope and finger still resting lightly on the trigger.

  Bryan thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Don’t risk it. They got themselves into this.”

  “Too easy.” Kendrick answered, finally sitting back from his rifle. “Man, I hope they’re this fucking aggressive in a couple of days.”

  Bryan stuck his binoculars back in his bag and prepared to head back out. “If they’re not so blinded by rage.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Xander stared at giant board, filled with annotations and notes about every operation they'd done and those they'd wanted to do. The board was nearly illegible as diagrams had been drawn over and handwritten notes circled or scratched through.

  "What are you up to?"

  Lieutenant Colonel Berne stood behind him, as always drinking coffee.

  "I'm trying not to think about all the things we didn't get to.” Xander answered honestly. “The Metic Ahai never full-on rebelled. We never got a full survey of the city. We never got a good sensor sweep of those buildings in the target area. There are at least three Tier One objectives we didn't kill, including Iago and MacBeth. I just feel like we've been there for nine months and don't know shit."

  "That's a distressing assessment from our intel officer right before launching probably the largest and most important military operation in human history." The Chief of Operations said deadpan, taking a long sip from his mug.

  "Thanks, sir." Xander said sarcastically. "That makes me feel better."

  "Just stick it in your after-action review for the next tine we have to liberate Earth."

  That at least got a chuckle. Xander turned around. The CHOPS was wearing hiking boots, hadn't shaved in a day, and had a non-regulation tee shirt on. "You might want to get dressed for the briefing. Sir."

  Berne shrugged. "Nah. I'll put a uniform top on. We'll be home or dead tomorrow. They won't care then." He grabbed his uniform blouse and tossed it on haphazardly. "Besides, I like to watch them get all bent out of shape. Who did they think is bringing them home, anyway?"

  Xander decided to leave it be. His uniform met the conventional standard. Mostly.

  He grabbed his own tablet and followed Berne through the winding corridors of the command ship, out of the restricted-access wing to the majority of the ship run by more conventional forces. Sure enough, passers-by gave Berne more than a few sideways looks until they saw the long tab and arrowhead on his shoulder.

  They entered the main briefing room, located just beneath the bridge. The pair found a spot on the dais along a wall near the podium, in full view of the stadium seating rising upwards. The audience was packed with seemingly anyone who could conjure up a need-to-know about the operation. Admiral Sykora entered and some yeoman called the room to attention. Xander and CHOPS stopped leaning against the wall momentarily until the admiral asked everyone to be seated.

  With a gesture, he instructed them to begin.

  Lieutenant Colonel Berne stepped forward to the podium, and the screen flicked to the first slide of a meticulously prepared presentation.

  "Sir, this is phase three of Operation Aeneas." Somehow, Berne slide effortlessly into a military tone Xander nearly didn't recognize. "The objective is to secure a foothold on Earth."

  Several people in the audience cheered or clapped.

  "Shut the fuck up." The admiral shouted. "You want entertainment, get the fuck out of my briefing room."

  Everyone became quiet, and he gestured for Berne to continue.

  "Friendly forces in the area are Beast Two-Two, a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha, approximately a hundred irregular human forces, and approximately thirty-six irregular Metic Ahai forces. For the purpose of this briefing, we are al
so going to refer to Loki, a surveillance asset, Thunder, a logistics asset, Anarchy Seven-Five, a Ranger unit to be dropped in shortly, and Beast One-Five, another ODA that has just landed to assist Two-Two."

  Xander cleared his throat as he approached the podium, switching to his portion of the presentation.

  "Good evening, sir. The enemy situation is as follows. This operation is within Hetarek territory. We assess between fifteen hundred and two thousand Hetarek in the immediate vicinity of the drop zone, primarily around Objective Alpha and Bravo, with another two to three thousand in close vicinity, primarily in the city and just east of the mountains. It is possible for the Hetarek to get reinforcements from elsewhere on the planet, but we assess it would take three hours for a significant force to appear from their location in Southern California once requested."

  Red dots suddenly appeared all over the map. "These markers reflect every enemy contact made within twenty miles of the objective. Most of these contacts have been self-initiated by Beast Two-Two as preparation of the environment for this operation.

  "Orbital surveillance has been in constant observation of the target area for the last ninety-six hours. While we have seen movement in the area, that is not inconsistent with the general increase in activity over the last six weeks."

  "Why has there been an increase in activity?" The admiral asked.

  "Several weeks ago the resistance set fire to most of the schleckt fields in the area. The Hetarek have responded by increasing patrols and force size. Also the weather has been clearing up, so they're more mobile."

  Xander changed the image again, this time showing hypothetical responses. "The most likely enemy course of action is that they focus on their orbital defenses, but don't concentrate forces on the ground. This is based on their response during the liberations of other planets. The most dangerous course of action is that they split us once we've landed to eliminate our top cover, and mass reinforcements on our landing position while they are cut off. However, doing so would take several hours."

  "How good is your intel?" Admiral Sykora interrupted.

  Xander minced no words. "It could be better, sir. The Metic Ahai sources have not been as forthcoming as expected and we are down one surveillance asset."

  "I appreciate your candor." The admiral said.

  Berne leaned back towards the podium.

  "Sir, our scheme of maneuver is as follows. Beast Two-Two will establish a position on the hill between Drop Zones Alpha and Bravo. They will set up a tracking beacon and provide over-watch for both locations. Beast One-Five was inserted three hours ago, and will link up with irregular local forces, call-signs Chaos One and Two. Beast One-Five and Chaos will establish blocking positions north of Alpha and east of Bravo. Anarchy Seven-Five is also pre-staged in system. Once the fleet arrives, Anarchy will head for the surface ahead of the other drop ships, slipping in behind the Hetarek fighter screen. They are going to insert by jump harness, and cordon off drop zone Charlie. Once the first drop ship lands in DZ Alpha or Bravo, Task Force will yield operational control and Operation Aeneas will end on the ground, and Operation Yorktown will begin under control of conventional forces. Pending your questions, sir."

  The admiral had none. Berne stepped back and allowed a representative of the traditional infantry to begin his own brief.

  Xander stopped listening. He was sure that some historian some day would be interested in every detail, but he was maxed out. He understood enough. Land a ton of forces on Alpha and Bravo. Land a ton of immediate support at Charlie. Clear a few dozen square miles extending south and west to the sound. Hold position and keep pushing until the continent was clear of Hetarek. Then repeat throughout the rest of the world. Within a few hours, if the admiral approved the mission, which he certainly would, everything he had worked for would be over.

  The brief concluded with an image of projected Free Human occupation of the planet within a year. Xander nearly rolled his eyes, but caught himself.

  Admiral Sykora remained silent for a few heartbeats. “I’m not going to go around the room, because I don’t need everyone’s opinion. If you have something meaningful to say, now’s the time.”

  People shifted in their seats. “If everyone’s afraid to ask the hard question, I will.” Sykora prompted. “What’s the contingency plan?”

  Lieutenant Colonel Colin Berne actually chuckled. “Admiral, there’s no contingency plan. We’re taking the planet today. There’s not going to be anything left but wrecks and shell casings if we don’t.”

  Sykora nodded. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Approved.”

  *****

  Everyone suspected something was about to happen. There has been drills and simulations at a slightly increased tempo, which was a clue. Commanders had disappeared into mission planning sessions without notice after dinner the night before. A message went out to clear the main hanger decks on the capital ships for "maintenance."

  But at 0600 hours fleet time, notices appeared for briefings to be conducted at the battalion and squadron level immediately following breakfast. That clinched it. An energy spread throughout the ships. Crew at all levels became jittery, excitedly speculating over breakfast as they awaited their instructions.

  Cobra flight had to forgo breakfast entirely to make the flight to Columbia. At least the crew got to eat.

  When they arrived on command ship’s flight deck, they knew for certain. Rows of drop ships lined one side. Along the other, space-to-ground munitions.

  They were returning.

  The pilots made their way to an auxiliary ready room, with the main two already in use by other squadrons. Adder and Viper provided the bulk of the fleet protection and fleet-on-fleet engagements, so they got the special treatment. The Baseball pilots probably got their instructions emailed to them.

  It was strange to see the whole squadron together at once, or, at least, what was left of it. The twelve fighters typically stayed evenly distributed across three escort ships. The call signs around him he knew from radio traffic only. The new squadron commander, though, everyone knew even though she rarely left her desk on the Columbia.

  She didn't keep them waiting long. As soon as all surviving flight crews found seats, she interrupted the various conversations of pilots catching up with squadron mates they rarely saw, certainly after she had been left without a fighter of her own.

  She cleared her throat and banged her coffee mug on a table to get their attention. "We don't have a lot of time on this one, so I hate to cut the reunion short but I have to. You're going to have to brief your own flight crews, but, as you may have noticed when you landed, we can fix your load-out before you depart."

  Through the metal walls, a muffled cheer resonated from one of the other briefing rooms.

  "I guess they're ahead of us." The commander said. "This is Operation Aeneas. Your target for today is Earth."

  Then the cheering began in their own room. Even Sasha and Jean shouted, relieved that months of long, lonely reconnaissance missions had culminated in something viable. Knowing it was coming was different than knowing it was time.

  The commander waited a moment before telling them to calm down. The screen projected an image of the solar system, clearly developed from the sensor readings they had gathered. "Recon shows that there are four stations in orbit around the planet, two defensive and two logistical hubs. After twenty-plus years, the Hetarek have adopted a sustainment stance. Their main defenses are these stations, four battleships, and a dozen cruisers."

  Someone tapped on Jean’s shoulder. It was one of the new guys brought on board to fill the gaps attrition had left in recent months.

  "That's what you guys were doing, isn't it?" Jean just shrugged coyly.

  The commander continued. "Still we expect the fiercest resistance to be in space, so our goal is to get boots on the ground, establish a foothold on the surface, and we'll provide as much top cover as we can. The Hetarek command ship, Nkel’s Pride, r
emains in orbit with her EMP weapon. Adder and Viper squadrons are going to isolate her up front, and then the rest of the fleet will keep her occupied.”

  The map zoomed in on the planet. "We already have some special operations boots on the ground. They are prepping the drop zone and have been recruiting local humans into a resistance that's going to help now and in the first few days after we get our foothold. Our squadron is tasked with providing close air support to those elements.

  "Our execution time is fifteen hundred, fleet’s time. At that point you will form up ahead of Columbia. The Ahai jump ship Vagabond is going to open a wormhole large enough for the fleet to get through. You are second in the marching order behind Viper. Viper will punch the first hole in the Hetarek defenses to get to their flagship. You're going to get through that hole fast and head down to the surface. The drop ships will be right behind you. The drop zone is in the Pacific Northwest, just outside of Seattle, for those of you who remember it."

  The screen slowly zoomed in towards the drop zone and began highlighting land marks. "This is timed so we'll be hitting it right before dawn, and it should be right in front of us as we come out if the wormhole. Look for the terminus and find the Puget Sound, you'll start to see the mountain peaks that you can follow in if there's no beacon. Hood, St. Helens, Baker, and Ranier. Find the city and primary our DZs are all south of it. They're old airfields in the area. The primary DZ, Alpha and Bravo are airfields by the aircraft factories. Charlie is the international airport. Our secondary DZs are further out. Delta covers the military base south of Tacoma, and Echo is the aircraft manufacturing facility north of Seattle."

  The screen shifted to a list of callsigns and radio frequencies. "When we get there, they're will be two teams on the ground already. Flight One will provide CAS for Beast Two-Two. They are the main special operations effort prepping the primary DZs. They also will have several groups of locally recruited fighters clearing and marking Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Flight Two will support Beast One-Five north of DZ Alpha, but prepping the DZ is a secondary mission for them. They'll give you guidance once you have a good handshake with them. Flight Three is to escort Anarchy Seven-Five, the Rangers who are going to secure the whole area around Charlie. They are going to punch through with you as soon as we exit the wormhole."