The Battle of Titan

by Sudipto Majumdar

  Eight of them got gored on the pikes head on and were thrown back on the beauty of a pikes. Marvelous sticks I say. Work of art. Them boffins may not know much about fighting, but they sure can make them swords and pikes I say.

  Not calling them a coward though mind you, they got heart and courage to shed blood side by side with us. Just no good at fighting, got no skills at fighting poor buggers. Two of them just got themselves killed trying to be brave, not using their head. Out of the eight who got thrown back, seven flew beyond the first line, one fell in a trench in the first line, where we butchered him nicely though.”

  Notwithstanding his opinionated views, she marveled at this man’s photographic memory in the heat of the battle. He had kept an exact count and break-up while fighting a pitched battle. It just reminded her why he valued her NCOs.

  Roberts and McCoy had been with her since her taking over command over a year ago, and she had become so dependent on them that it was scary. Cho was a recent addition for this battle coming over from the Chinese contingent, but whatever little she had seen of him, he was every bit as capable.

  “Thanks Bruce. I don’t need to tell you, but you better inspect the pikes and trenches for damages while there is a lull. Get Angus and Cho to help you. We don’t know how long this quiet is going to last.” She dismissed McCoy. There was one more thing she needed to know before she spoke to Takamori.

  This she had to see for herself. She did not jump out casually this time to where she wanted to go. It could be treacherous out there and she needed to be circumspect. She walked to the third and last line trench and then behind through the escape trench.

  The escape trench slowly and gradually sloped down a little until it became a closed tunnel under the ice floor. The tunnel ceiling wasn’t very high, and large men like McCoy and Cho would have to walk bent. The tunnel wasn’t very long either, about 30 meters or so, and then it sloped up and became a trench again.

  The floor of the trench kept on sloping up, until it met up with the ground less than 30 meters short of what the marines had started calling Thermopylae. This is where the marines would make their stand. This is where they would live or die. Live or die, Alex was sure of one thing. This is where his marines would kill. He just hoped that he had the courage and strength like Leonidas to stand next to his men and fight till the end.

  As Leanna emerged from the trench, Alex was standing there in front of his men. He saw her suited figure and immediately knew it was her. There was something about the way a woman moves, that one could make out immediately who it was even if it was a soldier in a thick foam padded suit.

  He wanted to say so much to her… to be careful, to fall back at the first signs of trouble, not to take unnecessary risks, but he knew he wouldn’t say any of that. Not here. Not now. Instead he just waved his hands. She waved back, but she was in a hurry and quickly turned back towards the direction of the enemy.

  Alex sighed and thought Leanna perhaps doesn’t even give a second thought to him. Nothing more than a colleague he guessed. Alex quickly shook off those thoughts. He had work to do here. It was time to kill aliens, perhaps even time to die. He could not afford distractions right now, certainly not the hope of love and life. Right now he had to embrace death.

  Leanna was looking at the carnage in the Takamori’s ‘corridor of death’ as he called it. It was a passage wide enough for four humans to walk side by side, but barely enough for two larger type – B Shaitans to walk side by side.

  Since one side of the corridor was a wall of ice and the other was open and fell steeply into the river and sure death, one had to be careful. Two Shaitans running side by side dodging bullets ran the risk of the alien running on the open side falling into the river.

  The corridor had been a necessity turned into a deathtrap for the aliens. The humans needed a passage to get out of their camp, through which they could take out a snowmobile. The corridor was exactly the width to be able to navigate a snowmobile safely at a low speed. Leaving this much width free helped cover the rest of the pass much more densely with pikes and men to defend it.

  The open corridor was an open invitation to the aliens to try and run the gauntlet to charge at the waiting men at Thermopylae. The Chinese had difficulty in saying that name, and simply called it by its English translation – ‘Hot Gates’.

  The first line of defense of the open corridor was not the marines however. It was the machine gun salvaged from the Chinese shuttle with its precious heavy caliber bullets, whatever was left of them. 916 rounds to be exact when they started.

  The machine gun had given a good account of itself. The entire corridor was blocked with mounds of aliens piled up on top of each other as they tried to jump over their comrade’s bodies and cross the corridor.

  The few that managed to reach the marines in an injured state were cut down to pieces. Leanna didn’t know how many bullets were left or how long they would last, but it would not be enough. Very soon the marines would be on their own.

  She had seen enough. She switched her com into conference mode and got Takamori, who was the first in her HUD menu. This was the best adaptation they could get on this civilian equipment to emulate the military chain of command communication mode.

  “Leanna to Major Takamori.”

  “Takamori here, go for it Leanna.”

  “Situation report from Stirling Bridge, sir. We have successfully repelled two waves. There doesn’t seem to be any more coming at the moment. They seem to be waiting for something. I have a bad feeling about this sir.”

  “I do too Leanna, but hold a minute let me put Alex and Cheng in conference.” Takamori put Leanna on hold for a few seconds and then continued. “There seem to be more than what meets the eye going on here. You all have seen the massed horde waiting. They have stopped after two waves, during which they tested the fence in two different ways. Anyone care to take a guess?” Takamori asked.

  “If I were the alien commander, I would be waiting for some pre-arranged distraction before continuing on the next wave of assault. Usually a human commander would arrange a distraction in the form of an explosion or a flanking attack.” Alex aired his suspicion.

  “I agree with the Captains analysis Major.” Cheng added. “While bombs cannot be ruled out, I feel if they had one, they would have used it before or during their opening wave of attack to soften us. A flanking attack is much more likely. The narrow pass has no flank, which leaves only one more possibility.”

  “Yes I agree Major. It would be a disaster if even a few of them managed to sneak behind our backs. They would be able to slaughter us from both sides. But none of the lookouts have raised the alarm. They may be civilians, but I don’t doubt their eyes.” Takamori said.

  “I don’t doubt their eyes either Major, but there are only 6 of them covering such a large area. We have placed them where we think it is possible or likely to breach the caldera walls. What if they are trying to get in from where we thought it was not possible to get in?

  We may be thinking of some places as impossible for humans to climb, but these are aliens with a different anatomy and climbing capabilities. May be they are climbing from a place we don’t have a lookout.” Cheng wondered.

  “I am afraid what you say is a distinct possibility Major. I suggest you investigate the matter. We have this front under control for the moment.” Takamori told Cheng.

  “Agreed and on my way. Cheng out.” Cheng said, as he switched channel and started instructing his ‘mountain squad’ of 8 soldiers with specific instructions. The mountain squad had been made out of the contingent of PLA who had extensive experience in the Himalayas and had done stints in Tibet, where they stood face to face with Indian soldiers on the other side.

  The Himalayas and Tibet were the highest battlefield on earth where the Indian and the Chinese engaged in low intensity conflict on and off, since having fought a bitter war nearly a hundred years ago. As a result these two armies had some of the most experienced high altitude comba
t warriors in the world.

  The squad was led by Sgt. Lao who assigned each of them one of the eight specific places Cheng had asked them to reach. Cheng followed three of them in one direction, while he asked Lt. Ma to supervise the other five.

  The low gravity of Titan is a climber’s dream. It can also be their worst nightmare. It is not so hard or tiring to climb up steep slopes, but finding a sure footing is equally difficult. It is fairly easy to miscalculate the amount of traction you have on the soles of your feet due to the lower gravity. Slipping and falling into a 100 meter ravine would still kill you, even in the gravity of Titan. The experienced climbers took their time while still trying to hurry up.

  It was almost 15 minutes after they had started climbing and some of the climbers had reported in the negative, when Sgt. Lao shouted out. “Lao to Major Cheng. Enemy sighted in the Devil’s Chasm sir. They are walking across a sheer vertical face of the wall! It is impossible for us to do that, but somehow they are doing it.

  They have dug some kind of pitons on the sheer face of the cliff and are somehow walking over them in a single file. They are using their sharp claws to additionally anchor themselves on the ice. They have no safety harness at all sir. I can right now see seven of them walking in a line, but there must be more behind and in front of them that I cannot see. I am getting into position. Lao out.”

  Cheng immediately gave instructions to all the other mountain squad team who had reported negative on their own watch to rush to support Sgt. Lao and instructed others to do the same if their lookout turned negative on intruder alarm. Then he started towards the Lao’s position himself. On his way he informed Takamori that their hunch had been right and that the enemy has been found and engaged trying to sneak up.

  Chapter 29

  Battle of Thermopylae

  Alex had climbed up to a small nook on the otherwise sheer wall of the pass, about 10 meters above the floor of the pass. Climbing up to it was a bit tricky, but getting down was simple. You just jumped down.

  It was like jumping less than a man’s height on earth. It was still a bit unnerving jump. Your eyes and your instinct kept telling you that it is too high to jump, but your brain knew that it wasn’t. Alex made the jump right now. He had seen what he wanted to see. It was show time now.

  Cheng had reported sighting the enemy on the Devil’s Chasm, and within a few seconds of the report of first gunfire there, the waiting enemy at the gates had started charging. It was proved beyond doubt that the enemy were not mindless beasts.

  It may have only looked so in the first two waves. They were simply testing the fences. The enemy generals used their own kind as cannon fodder for its own tactical or strategic goals. Alien ethics probably allowed for it. The enemy could certainly afford to lose a few soldiers, they had plenty.

  It was obvious that this was a coordinated attack now. The sneak attack attempt from the mountains was designed to be coordinated with the frontal assault on the gates. The moment the sneak attack was discovered, the alien commander of the sneak attack must have radioed the alien general, who ordered the frontal charge. And what a charge it was.

  There was no holding back the waves now. They were coming in waves after waves in an absolutely perfect formation, sixteen in each wave. The waves stretched back as far as the eye could see. As Alex was slowly falling to the ground, his eyes went to Leanna’s position ahead of him. He couldn’t help feel worried for her. Hope she pulled back in time. Her position was going to be overwhelmed very soon.

  He mentally kicked himself. She was a professional and an officer. She knew her job as well as he did. It was high time he worried about his own coming battle and the people under his command. While still in the air, he gave a quick glance at his formation.

  Thirty people in the front line mostly marines with a few civilians like Sasha. Behind the first line was the second line of another thirty people. The second line was a mix of a few marines, some from Leanna’s Scottish brigade and some of the PLA. They were supplemented by a few civilians as well.

  They had tried to spread the civilians widely amongst the professional soldiers who could support them both physically as well as morally. It was not an easy sight for even a professional soldier to face what was coming towards them. He could only imagine what must be going through the civilians’ mind. Yes they needed moral support all right.

  The line formation was simple and conventional, but what the soldiers were holding was anything but. It was as bizarre a sight as Alex could ever have imagined. He would not have believed this till a few days ago, if anyone had described the scene to him. Yet here he was leading this group of warriors himself.

  His front line was armed with swords and shields! It was hard to imagine the scene in the 21st century where humans were standing on an icy moon of Saturn and fighting aliens with swords and shields. The shields were designed specifically for this battle and the aliens in mind. It was not a flat piece of metal as one would expect.

  It was a wire mesh. It had thick wires made out of Titanium salvaged from the frame of the downed shuttle. The wires crisscrossed to form square patterns with enough spacing to snag the metal claws of the alien temporarily, but not big enough to let the claws through.

  The tactics they had practiced was simple enough. There was no way to safely reach for the body of the Shaitan with a sword without running the risk of being stabbed by the outstretched limbs. So as the Shaitans charged in, you blocked the stabbing limb with the shield. Let the claws get inside the wire mesh.

  Then you turn the shield slightly to snag the claw properly and slash the outstretched limbs with the sword in your other hand. The severed limb brought by Takamori had metal claws attached to its suit, which had helped them design their shields. The shields had the added advantage of not blocking the visibility of the bearer.

  The second line was also armed with swords, but instead of shields they carried a long spear in their other hand. Supporting these two lines and perched on three niches at about a height of 10 meters, were 6 people, three of them soldiers, with what was hoped would be special surprise for the aliens.

  That accounted for all of the humans except a few civilians behind the gates running continuously between the base about half a Km inside in the middle of the caldera and the gates, carrying supplies and taking away the injured.

  As Alex’s feet touched the ground, he could feel the slight rumble in the ground. It was amazing that even in this low gravity, there were so many aliens charging towards them, that he could feel the rumble in the ground. Very soon he could hear the sound of the charging feet as well.

  When the alien charge finally hit the pikes on the frontline, it was like a hurricane hitting a tin wall. There was complete chaos in the trenches. Aliens were hitting the pikes and dying, but many more were getting through without damage, as dying aliens formed a shield for the waves behind them. There were more aliens over the trenches than humans, and it was now every man to himself.

  The corridor of death was similarly crowded with crush of alien bodies, some slipping and falling into the river to their death. That didn’t slow down the ones behind them. They just kept coming mindlessly. The machine gun protecting the corridor, which was operating in single fire mode to conserve bullets, still sounded like it was firing continuously.

  Leanna was finding it difficult to move through the trenches now. The trenches were choked with the massive bodies of fallen Shaitans. She had already ordered the first line abandoned and ordered all the civilians in the first line to retreat. The soldiers she had sent back to the second line to shore up the defenses there.

  She took a last look at the first line as she also made her escape. Every trench in the first line was now filled with bodies of the Shaitans to such an extent that the incoming waves of Shaitans could simply walk over them without the risk of falling into any trench. The pikes had done their job. They had gored the Shaitans and ripped their suits.

  It was amazing that there were still two pik
es standing, continuing its grim task. They had taken one more serious injury on the first line, but they would have killed or disabled close to hundred on this line. Not a bad exchange ratio by any standards.

  As Leanna entered the second line, she realized that it was a matter of minutes before this line would also get overwhelmed. He could see Mark and Roberts hacking away furiously, but they were in danger of getting isolated and cut off from the escape trench. She shouted out to them to start inching towards her side.

  Most of the pikes in the second line were still standing, and there were aliens still getting their suits ripped on them, but increasingly there were fewer soldiers manning the trenches here as they go overwhelmed and soldiers started inching towards the escape trenches. Leanna added her sword to that of the other as they helped their comrades reach the escape trench.

  More and more aliens were now being able to cross the three lines of pikes, to reach the position of the marines in front of the gates. Alex knew that Leanna’s position was being overrun. If she didn’t get out now, she wouldn’t have the chance again. He couldn’t help himself, and he shouted on the open channel. “Lt. McGraw, your position is being overrun. You need to get your men out right now.” Not hearing her reply, he feared the worst and shouted out. “Leanna! Get the hell out of there now!”

  He could now see people exiting from the sloped trench, running towards the gate along with the charging aliens. They literally had to fight the enemy besides them, as they ran towards Alex’s position. The aliens were dexterous enough to be able to raise one of their limbs to the sides, even as they were running on the other five limbs, to try and stab the fleeing humans. Alex ordered his lines to advance a few meters to try and meet up with the fleeing humans, and help them escape.

  It was a complete melee now and Alex just hoped that Leanna had gotten out, he could not make out individual shapes any longer. It was all a blur of human and alien bodies, claws and swords.