Invasion

by Donald Nicklas

  “Olivia, anything in the system?” Alaya asked her daughter.

  “No, captain. There is no telemetry from either ships or bases. The system scans as uninhabited.”

  “Blue, take us to the outbound slipstream for the Brandenburg system.”

  “Sss. Yes Captain. Transit time will be five human hours.”

  “All personnel will stay on station for the duration.”

  “Captain Neumann, what does the next system look like?”

  “It has a mining base and a supply station. There are usually ships present patrolling the area, since it is one jump from the home world. They will detect us when we cross the system.”

  “I think not, Captain. We are physically invisible with no emissions.”

  “I had no idea anyone had that ability.”

  The Mary Rose traversed the system and entered the slipstream. They deployed the slipstream sails and accelerated to faster than light speed. They all got some rest for the 12 hours of slipstream travel until they reached the next system. Nothing could be done to a ship while in the slipstreams due to the speeds involved. All remained on the bridge as they traversed the mining system and passed some picket destroyers. They also noted the presence of a Saltic escort ship. They had no idea why the Saltic would have stationed a ship in the system unless they were concerned about an incursion from another corporation. The Slones did not think that was likely, since, without wormhole drives, any fleet would have to travel over two weeks from any boarder to the Brandenburger home world and that gave plenty of time to detect them. The guests aboard the scout ship were surprised at how easily they were able to move past the picket ships without detection. Slone realized you can tell people till your blue in the face that your ship is invisible, but they don’t actually believe it until they have evidence of the fact. After a transit of 9 hours, they entered the slipstream to the home world. When they finally exited into the home system of the Brandenburger Corporation, they were not prepared for what they found.

  “Olivia, what are the sensors picking up?” Alaya asked her daughter.

  “There is telemetry from a large number of ships, but they are all Saltic. Mass readings suggest seven harvester ships and 28 escort ships.”

  “So then, seven full squadrons of Saltic ships. It would take a large fleet to defeat them. Any idea what they are doing?” Christopher Slone asked his daughter.

  “No Dad, sorry I mean Captain Slone.”

  Captain Morel now looked at Olivia, whom he had viewed as just a young member of the crew. She would have been too young to serve in any Brandenburger service. “Captain Slone, why did she call you ‘dad’?”

  Alaya Slone responded to the question, “Captain Christopher Morel, this is Olivia Slone, your half sister. Olivia, this is your half brother.”

  “From the previous Mrs. Slone. I remember you and dad talking about her and his son. What are the chances we would run into him out here?”

  “I had no idea you existed,” Captain Morel said to the sister he just met.

  “We will have to keep the reunion for later, we have to get close to the planet and see what is happening there,” Christopher Slone said.

  Further discussion of family connections was tabled till later as the Mary Rose moved closer to the Saltic ships. The transit to the planet took just over eleven hours and all stayed on the bridge for the entire time. When they finally arrived there, they could see constant movement of the smaller ships from orbit to the planet. Slone turned to Captain Neumann, “Captain Neumann, was there such a large Saltic presence on your home world when you left to retrieve the freighters?”

  “No, Captain Slone, there were only a few small ships. This is looking to me more like an invasion than an alliance.”

  “I agree. Tavia, move us into the atmosphere over the capital and let’s see what the Saltic are doing.”

  “Yes Captain.” Tavia entered the atmosphere, but this required some care.

  The Mary Rose was a corvette and able to land but it was also a large ship. The engine burns in the atmosphere would leave a trail as would the repulsors keeping the ship up. These were things that could be controlled by an expert pilot like Tavia. What could not be controlled was the weather. If there were heavy clouds that could not be avoided or rain, the ship could actually be outlined. It was invisible but it still had mass and shape and these could be seen if they were outlined by weather phenomena. It was decided the best course of action was to set the ship down outside the city in an open field near the edge of a forest. The Slones knew from previous dealings with the Saltic, that they were very delicate when it came to spending a lot of time in the elements and would not venture outside the city unprotected. If their intent was to harvest the human brains on the planet, then there was no reason for them to venture outside the cities. The Mary Rose landed and remained invisible as Olivia scanned out ever farther from the ship to see if anyone or anything was nearby. All of the scans were negative all the way out for ten kilometers.

  Slone called the Optio Brave Claw to the bridge. Since the ship had now landed on the planet, the optio was in command of the expedition, with the crew in an advisory role. The optio was a serpent in command of a mixed serpent/human Special Forces unit assigned to the scout ship. They had seen action during the Sakkara mission and were well integrated with the crew of the Mary Rose. They discussed what could be achieved as far as reconnaissance was concerned. All agreed they had to find out what was happening in the city. Besides observation, they would attempt to capture a Saltic and question him. They knew the Saltic did not have the night vision the serpents had, so it was decided to go out at night and explore. There were still several hours of daylight, so everyone planned to rest up and prepare anything they might need to capture a Saltic. When the sun went down, a squad consisting of five serpents and five human legionaries, left along with the Slones, Tavia, Captains Neumann and Morel as well as Hatch, who turned the invisibility console over to one of the serpents remaining behind. The small force of 16, departed through the airlock on the bottom of the ship. A ladder came down and they all waited until the group was together before they retracted the ladder and closed the airlock to allow the ship to remain invisible. The reconnaissance force moved towards the city with extreme caution. Captain Neumann knew the capital well, since he often visited it. The humans used the night vision settings on their helmets as the serpents led the way. They moved further in towards the city when the serpents suddenly stopped. The Decanus in command of the squad was a serpent. She suddenly stopped and held up her arm to stop the force and signaled them to drop down. They crouched behind their shields as the Decanus came back to where Tavia was. Since the serpents recognized Tavia as the leader of their species in the past, they preferred to speak with her. It also helps that she was female, since the majority of the serpents were female and theirs in a matriarchal society.

  “Sss. Lady Tavia, there is a large group of humans between us and the city. They appear to be resting there. There are scents of tents and other camp items.”

  Alaya was there when the Decanus gave her report. She then turned to Captain Neumann, since he was the only native of this corporation. “Any idea what that may be about, Captain Neumann?”

  “I wish I did, but they must be my people. I would have to move closer. I have been away for well over a month on space duty.”

  “Decanus, could I ask you to take Captain Neumann to the human camp and discover what is going on. If we have to go around, it will be daylight before we reach the city,” Alaya requested, since the Decanus was in command.

  “Sss. Follow me Captain Neumann.”

  The Decanus and the Captain left the group, while the rest of the force formed a protective circle in the jungle clearing behind their shields. Thirty five minutes later, the Decanus and Captain Neumann returned, accompanied by three other humans, two women and a man. The man and one of the women were guards while the other woman was introduced as Sergeant Matilda Schmidt. When she entered
the clearing, she was surprised to see more serpents, but she did not overreact. Slone assumed that she was used to the existence of aliens since they had contact with the Saltic.

  “The human camp consists of the military, what is left of it and they are seeking a way to exact revenge against the Saltic,” Captain Neumann reported.

  “Sergeant Schmidt, we have fought the Saltic before and they are a tough enemy. Do you have any idea what is happening in your capital and what is the status of your CEO and other corporate officers?” Slone asked.

  “Captain Neumann says you are part of a force from the other side of human space and you have aliens fighting with you. I can see the aliens and they are frightening, but can they fight?”

  “That is correct, sergeant, however we are here only for reconnaissance. We are from the Matsua Rim of the galaxy and that is far from here and takes time to marshal troops. Trust me when I say we can all fight.” Slone made it clear they were not there to engage in a major battle; however, they did have a mandate to find out how far the Saltic wanted to carry this invasion. To that end, he continued, “We need to find out where they are holding your CEO and see if we can get him and as many corporate officers out as possible.”

  “I agree, but we have no idea where they are holding them.”

  “Are your troops safe where they are camped?”

  “Yes, for some reason the Saltic will not leave the city. Any idea why?”

  “They are afraid of what lies in wilderness and they are surprisingly delicate of constitution for such an advanced civilization,” Slone pointed out. “We need to capture one and question them.”

  Sergeant Schmidt looked intently at Slone, “Are you able to communicate with them?”

  “We have a captured translation device from the one who was aboard Captain Neumann’s ship,” Slone now turned to the Decanus, “Decanus, would it be possible to send in one of your serpents to capture a Saltic and bring them here?”

  “Sss. Yes Captain Slone,” The Decanus ordered one of the serpent Special Forces troopers to enter the city and bring back a live Saltic. As soon as the orders were given, the serpent bolted into the surrounding forest and vanished. The reconnaissance force joined the camp of Brandenburger soldiers as they awaited the return of the serpent. Slone and his group mingled with the nearest forces. They found out that the military had just under fifteen thousand troops camped here and the Saltic thought they were here to assist them. Once again, the Saltic underestimated the humans and thought they were so impressed with the worm-like aliens, that they would not deceive them. It was obvious to the Slones that the Saltic made no effort to understand the sentient species whose brains they were stealing. They maintained contact with the ship which was monitoring activity in the area and reported no movement in or out of the city.

  It only took the serpent three and a half hours to find a Saltic, grab him and bring him back to the reconnaissance force. The Brandenburger forces were impressed and eager to discover what they could. During the down time, Slone learned that there were no more officers on the planet and the sergeant he met earlier was the actual leader of what was starting to look more like a resistance movement than an organized military. Discipline was lax and it didn’t take the Romani long to realize that these troops were not going to rescue their corporation. They needed leadership. If the Romani were going to help them, they would have to rescue the CEO and any leadership still alive. To accomplish that, they needed to know where they were. Slone went over to where his troops were holding the Saltic, who was quiet as long as the guns were pointed at him. Slone walked over and the squad snapped to attention. This marked Slone as a leader in the eyes of the Saltic. Slone had the translator on a chain hanging from his neck like a necklace. When Slone spoke in human standard, the device translated it into the language of the Saltic. When the Saltic spoke, the reverse happened. Slone began to question the prisoner.

  “What is the purpose of the Saltic here?”

  As the translator took the human speech and converted it into the odd, squeaking noises of the Saltic language, the prisoner concentrated on Slone. After the translation was finished, the Saltic began to speak by rubbing his mouth parts together to generate the squeaks that made up their language.

  “We are here to harvest the human brains we need.”

  Slone continued, “Where are the leaders of the corporation you are invading?”

  “They are our prisoners in their main structure.”

  “How many brains do you need to harvest?”

  “Millions.”

  Slone was shocked at the response. He shut off the translator and hoped the Saltic could not understand human language without it. He then turned to the group watching the interrogation. “I assume he means that the CEO and corporate officers are being held in the corporate headquarters. I figured as much, knowing how the Saltic work. They will eventually take their brains as well, but not until they have used them as much as necessary. I am much more concerned that they need millions of human brains. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Saltic, they come to us from the Andromeda galaxy and have intergalactic drives that allow them to travel between the two galaxies. My people have fought them before and have questioned captives enough to know that we are just usable creatures to them. They have no empathy for us and they will not grant us any quarter. Before you attack them you should know that each of the seven large ships they have in orbit above your planet hold 8,500 troops, 3,500 front line and 5000 secondary forces. That translates into 59,500 troops they can field against you.”

  Slone let this sobering thought sink in, since it was obvious if the present military camp was all that remained of the Brandenburger military, they could at best field 15,000 troops. This was the typical size of a corporate army and too little to deal with an alien invasion. The corporations rarely waged full scale war and when they did, they all wanted to keep costs at a minimum and fielded uniform numbers of forces. This worked only as long as they all kept to this plan. Now they were dealing with an enemy who was well beyond their capabilities. Thus far the only forces that had met the enemy and defeated them were the Romani. And to say it was anything but a close call would be a lie. Slone mentally wrote off the Brandenburger Corporation, since it appeared they were going about this as if it were a corporate war, and not a war of annihilation. The Romani could offer help, but they could not cause reality to sink into the human race, and reality was something they were not yet accepting.

  Sergeant Schmidt now spoke up, “We don’t have enough troops in our military to deal with that many. We can pull marines from any dreadnoughts that are still functioning, but I have also heard that there are more of these Saltic fleets in other areas of Brandenburger space.”

  “If your information is correct, then your corporation may already be lost. You will have to evacuate as many people as you can before the Saltic get to them. But they may get all the brains they need from your home world,” Slone now had a thought. “They are after more than the brains here. If they could get all of the brains they need from your corporation, then why attack the Highline home world to test their defenses? I think they plan to conquer human space to maintain a supply of brains for the future.”

  This time Captain Neumann responded, “Then all corporations are in danger and they must work together to survive.”

  “That’s what the Romani are hoping, but how do we get them to agree, when they have hated each other for a millennium?” Slone said. “We will have to leave it to the CEOs to figure out cooperation, all we can do for now is rescue your CEO so you have a leader. I have always felt the Brandenburger CEO had a bit more courage than the rest of them. Perhaps he can inspire you.”

  “How do you propose we get in there and rescue him?”

  “I have enough Special Forces with me to do that, but I will need to know exactly where he is and if we can contact him?” Slone pointed out.

  Sergeant Schmidt pulled out a tablet and brought up a map of the city.
She showed the Romani where they were camped and where the corporate headquarters were located. Slone knew that he and his Special Forces could get there and rescue the CEO, but he would need the full complement of Special Forces on the Mary Rose. He requested the decanus to contact the optio and have all remaining Special Forces come to the camp. A half hour after the call was placed, the remaining 15 troops arrived. The optio now had 15 serpent legionaries and 10 human legionaries under her command. Slone went over the problem with the optio who then made some suggestions as to how this could be accomplished. She requested the sergeant to pull up a map of what was under the city and found there was a maglev tunnel that had a station in the administrative portion of the city. If they entered the maglev at a station away from the city, they could follow the tunnel to their destination. The maglev system was still working, so they would have to see if they could actually commandeer a train. The Romani unit moved out with the Slones, Captain Morel and Captain Neumann joining the party. The rest of the Mary Rose bridge crew stayed aboard the ship in case a fast exit was needed.

  The Romani quickly covered the few kilometers to the maglev station, which was in a small, nearby village. As they approached the village, they could see that it was deserted, but had no idea where the people might be. They carefully moved over to the stairway leading down to the maglev station. The optio sent down a serpent to check out the condition of the platform. She returned to report it contained several humans held under guard by three Saltic soldiers. This explained why the village was empty; the Saltic must be moving everyone living outside the city into the capital. The optio ordered some of the legionaries to move down the stairs and wait until the train arrived and they put the humans aboard. Then they would attack and kill any Saltic they found either on the platform or the train. They were hoping that the maglev trains were still driven by humans. About five minutes before the train arrived, the rear guard, stationed in buildings at the edges of the village reported more humans arriving under guard by the Saltic. Alaya and Optio Brave Claw went to the roof of a nearby building and Alaya pulled out her field glasses. The serpent did not need glasses since serpent vision was much more acute than human vision. Alaya could see the Saltic herding along a line of humans walking three abreast. To keep the humans moving they were using the Saltic equivalent of cattle prods. In total, there were about a dozen Saltic, half using the prods and half armed with weapons. From previous combat with the Saltic, Alaya assumed the ones with the cattle prods were Saltic harvester technicians. The guards looked to be armed similar to the second string troops the Slones had fought near the Heimat system. Alaya discussed what to do with Optio Brave Claw and it was decided to send the serpents in to take out the Saltic. Ten of the serpents were sent to blend into the walls of the buildings along the street leading to the maglev station. As the group of fifty or so humans was marched through the street, neither they nor their guards saw the serpents as they blended into the background like chameleons. When the Saltic were even with where the serpents were hiding, the Optio Brave Claw gave an order into the communicator and the ten serpents raced out from where they were hiding and fell upon the guards first and then the Saltic with the cattle prods. The Saltic were defenseless against the speed, strength and claws of the serpents. In less than a minute, all of the Saltic were dead and the humans were huddled together in fear as they looked at the claws and teeth of the serpents. Alaya went down to where the humans were standing and quickly spoke to them.