“All I did was everything it took.” I answered. Why don’t you give this to my men who didn’t return?”
“It wasn’t my decision to make. Don’t act so surprised. If you conduct yourself like you’ve been doing without thought to the consequences, you inspire those below you and earn the respect of those above.”
I shook my head in disgust. “So where do I go from here? I mean, this is all there is to it, right?”
“I wouldn’t think of it that way. Not many survive long enough to see something like that,” he tapped the citation with his fingers. “If you want something more than the honor of establishing mankind as the dominant species in the galaxy, think it over and let me know later.” He paused, waiting for me to protest again. “Now we’re done, I’ll see you downstairs.”
With that I left the admiral and his staff alone and made the trek back around the ship.
27
I spent the remainder of my free time reading up on the deep strike vessel, the DS-200 Hellfire. Even though it was larger than several city blocks, the DS-200 had one of the lowest radar signatures of any ship in the fleet including most of the fighters which were a fraction of the size. It bore many similarities to the 20th century’s stealth aircraft and approached the outline of a flying wing. Apparently the years of design evolution did little to change radar theory. The best shape was still an inverted diamond, with patches cut out here and there to create wings, stabilizers and vents. Of course it goes without saying the craft is still painted jet black.
The ship’s intercom announced that the commander had returned so I went back on down to the briefing room. Major Kim was already waiting when I arrived.
I saw him make a quick glance across my uniform to size me up and subconsciously I did the same.
“Are you Grant?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.” I replied softly. “You Kim?”
“Indeed,” he responded, introducing himself. “Rob Kim, Commander, First Deep Strike Wing,” he shook my hand. “I heard you’ll be the one to replace me.”
“That’s right,” he stayed silent for a moment. “Why are you leaving? Punching out?” I asked.
“No, no. Not at all.” Kim said, shaking his head. “Space Corps is constructing a 300-series Hellfire ship. After my experience using them in Sol Bravo, they’ve requested that I oversee the production.”
“Gotcha. They good ships?”
He smiled. “They’re the best. I’ve commanded others but the DS is by far the most effective ship I’ve seen and it just keeps getting better.”
“How is that?” I asked.
With a particular gleeful tone in his voice, he responded, “I can’t discuss it right now, but ask Commander Jones in the briefing; he’ll fill you in,” he winked. “We’re getting some upgrades to the weapons.”
“That’s good to know. So where’s Jones now? Shouldn’t he be with you?” I asked.
“Actually, no. He sent my flight back from the mission early but he shouldn’t be much longer.”
We made small talk for a few more minutes while waiting for the brass to return. I dodged most of Kim’s questions about my previous life and most of the details regarding my actions in the war. I heard the stomp of combat boots thirty seconds before I could see them. Heddings led the way with Jones beside him. Two guards followed along with the admiral’s exec.
Heddings greeted us first and opened the thick door before us. It resembled a bank vault but it moved silently with no resistance along the way. The room beyond was circular with screens plastered on every wall. The center was dominated by a massive round wooden table, in the top of which was inlaid sensors and controls. I took my place behind an empty seat and saw Heddings give Jones a nod as he closed the door.
Kim had just finished his tour as commander of the DSW and would now be returning to earth to oversee the construction of another generation of bombardment ships. We talked for a few moments about his current assignment, the types of missions he had performed, and his interpretation of their effectiveness. The admiral arrived with his staff and we took our places inside.
“Thank you admiral, for taking the time to join us.” Jones began. “As I’m sure you’re all aware of Captain Grant’s accolades, I find no need to repeat them. With his last formal position being the vice commander of a gunboat, I would like to announce his next assignment: Commander of the First Deep Strike Wing,” he looked over at me. “I do not believe this will be a tough switch for you.”
He paused and turned on the map of the system. “Your first mission will be glassing the five outermost planets of the system. Right up your alley, I imagine,” he caught me nodding ever so slightly and continued, “We finally have the resources in-system to be able to take the planets for good. Do this and we will be able to build our base up and drive towards the inner system.”
Heddings stood up after the commander finished his remarks. “Captain, I know I don’t need to remind you of the faith I put in your experience and your judgment. I know that you have been lost thus far in this war so I’d like to extend an extremely generous offer: Finish off this mission, I will give you full authority to choose your next assignment and conduct your actions as you see fit. Do you accept?”
His offer took me aback. I knew the implications of what he had said and I had never heard of something similar. “Yes sir, I do.” I answered.
“Good, I knew you’d see things my way.” The admiral turned back to the others. “Jones, Kim, would you please give the captain your updated report?”
“Thank you sir.” The commander stood and took the center stage. He gave a few background facts and figures about the bomber group for my benefit more than anyone else.
Previously, Kim had commanded the six ship wing in the obliteration of 3 planets in Sol Bravo. Each bomber was a veritable fortress. Their main armament was an advanced and extremely volatile anti-matter charge that detonated with energy more than an order of magnitude greater than a comparable nuclear charge. In early testing on isolated extra-solar planets, the warhead had been able to vaporize entire mountains and had shock waves that could be felt for a thousand kilometers in an earth-like atmosphere. He then mentioned the new weapons Kim had alluded to earlier.
If attacked directly, the bombers were far from being at a disadvantage. They carried only light weapons designed for shredding munitions, fighters and incoming landing craft but in addition, the fact that they were supported by thirty fighters each made them even more imposing.
The ships themselves were boxy, with the profile of an inverted diamond. Over a hundred years of development later and it still resembled the old 20th century stealth airframes. Apparently we still hadn’t changed the laws of radar theory.
“Commander.” I asked, “Do you carry any infantry units with you on board?”
“Of course. We have a garrison of eighty soldiers outfitted to combat enemies that try to land on us.”
“Do you have the equipment to fight outside the ship? Zero-g armor, maintenance suits, anything like that?”
“Not right now. We only have the heavy service suits to do repairs on the hull.”
I looked over at the admirals. “Give me ten sets of zero-g armor on each ship. I don’t expect to need it but I’d rather not be forced to fight outside in standard combat armor. I’m not losing another squadron to those bastards.” They nodded in concurrence and Heddings made a note on the tablet before him.
“Captain, do you have any ideas how they were able to locate you on your trip back to earth?” Heddings asked me.
The question caught me off guard. I hadn’t really thought through it on the technical side. “I don’t know sir. I’m not a physicist, engineer or military strategist. I assumed they were lurking between here and earth and got lucky.”
“I’d like to think that’s the case, but I’m not entirely certain of that.” Heddings replied. “We may need to take a step back and focus on a larger problem. If they have advanced enough technology they
may be able to influence our drives and pull us towards a less-than random jump point. At the quantum level I don’t know the possibility, but we can’t ignore it. We may need to face the fact that every time we make a jump we are putting ourselves in danger and walking into an ambush. I’d like to discuss this with our science team and brief the ship captains as required.”
The other flag officers nodded and concurred. Now that my brain was sufficiently overloaded they turned the floor over to me.
I detailed my proposed route through the system. If all went well, we would be able to strike all four planets in one shot, without reloading or retrieving updated commands from the fleet. I got nothing but positive responses and I soon found myself leaving the concluded briefing along with Heddings.
“Are you sure you’re up to this? Think you can pull it off?” He asked me.
I nodded to him as I walked, but still kept my eyes in front of me, glued to the floor. “Sir,” I asked, “one random question, where is the alien ship that I recovered during the last battle? There was obviously some useful equipment installed on it and I’d hope it gets used.”
“It already is.” Heddings answered. “It was packed up and sent back to earth within minutes of your arrival here. It should be arriving at our research unit within a day,” he could see the surprise in my eyes. “What, didn’t you think we could move something that fast?”
I shook my head. “No sir, I’m just kind of sad to see it go. It saved my life twice so far.”
The following day I supervised the loading of all the anti-matter charges along with the fighters, armor and other supplies. The six bombers were docked below a massive cargo ship which had just arrived from earth hours before. I took some time to trace the hallways around the ship just so I could get a better feel of its layout. It was easier than most of the others. The interior was comprised of several long corridors which branched off into storage facilities and landing bays in the wings. The defensive batteries were spread evenly over the surface, on either side of the bays and around the AM launchers.
I only briefly met with the other five ship commanders as we prepared for launch. I didn’t sense any problems with their attitudes so I didn’t try and dig any deeper. They knew my record and knew my expectations. That was enough for me.
Our strike would mark the first time the AM charges would be used in Sol Charlie. It was likely that the forces residing there had no idea of their power, since no one from Bravo had survived to inform them.
We stayed in radio silence in our approach to planet Anubis. Being so far from the star, the entire world was covered with ice and all of the settlements were either highly insulated or buried deep beneath the surface. ‘Were’ being the operative phrase. We came in and did a single equatorial pass, easily blowing holes in the ice a few klicks deep.
It was hard to say whether we hit every square inch, but from my vantage point in the ship every surface was consumed by the fiery onslaught.
Anubis had fallen. So had Shai and Geb. And we had only exhausted thirty percent of our munitions. We left Geb to its smoking ruin and traveled on to Ash, the last stop on our mission.
Our long approach took us nearly a quarter of the way across the system and I didn’t like being in the open for so long. “Put all combat units on full alert.” I ordered the other commanders. “I’m not about to lose another squadron to an ambush.” I practiced what I preached. I was already in light armor, with a straight shot to the nearest landing bay, where I had our Special Forces squad and the powered combat armor ready to don.
When the first alien ship flickered out of the darkness in front of us a few minutes later, I was far from surprised. “All batteries, open fire on that ship.” It hardly caught my crew off guard either, as they instantly responded to the assault. Through the screen in front of me I watched a thousand rounds streak out from my ship and light up the alien cruiser.
Their shields lit up and absorbed the initial shots. When the rest of my squadron joined in, the greenish shimmer around the vessel began to dim and quickly failed altogether. The shots impacted the bare hull with showers of sparks and fire. They weren’t going to catch me off guard this time.
“Sensor sweep over the entire thing. Tell me when they lose pressure and when the life goes out.”
“Sir,” the tech responded, “It is already dead. There’s nothing alive on board!”
“What!?” I ran over and looked over his shoulder at the screen. It was as he said.
I did not have time for another order. I looked out and from behind the wreckage of the first alien ship appeared another that was more than triple its size. The defensive guns all opened fire on the new ship. The rounds were easily deflected by its heavy energy shields and had no effect. “Hold fire, hold fire,” I ordered. “Watch for incoming shots, scramble all fighters, don’t let them land on us!”
Smaller ships poured out of the gigantic carrier and proceeded to engage our fighters. Larger landing crafts followed and made their best efforts to get inside our defensive range. One by one we took them out, but we never saw the one that made it through.
Out of nowhere, one flew right in front of the bridge, colliding with the doors of the nearest landing bay. The entire ship shuddered as the smaller ship collided and crashed through. I pointed to the pilot. “Keep us alive, I’ll be back!”
The Special Forces soldiers were already waiting for me outside. They followed me to our stash of powered armor. Some were still in shock at my sudden appearance, but they donned the armor along with me. It took only a second to step into the feet than the rest formed up around me. The HUD came alive, showed the vitals of the rest of the squad. I picked up two fully loaded battle rifles from the rack behind us and the others did the same. “Let’s get them off our ship. Teach them a lesson for taking on humanity.”
They needed no more encouragement. The aliens didn’t even have a chance to set a foothold in the first bay before we barged in and pushed them back to their bruised and broken landing ship. Our weapons were far more powerful than they had expected to encounter, as most shots went clear through their lightweight armor.
We were still cleaning up the last few remaining soldiers when my comm. lit up one more time. I could make out the voice of my ship’s vice commander on the other end. “Captain Grant, Captain Grant!” I heard him shouting through.
“What is it?” I radioed back as my squad took up a position in the center of the now cleared hangar. “We just got our landing bay back. What else is wrong?”
“Sir, Bomber Three is under attack. They were boarded by at least double the number that landed here!”
“Oh no.” I mumbled and ran over to the crashed enemy ship, half wedged into the bay doors. I could see Bomber Three in the distance, with several distinctive perturbations on the surface where the alien ships had landed. I motioned for the rest of my soldiers to join me. “Gentlemen, Three needs our help.” I stated. “Does anyone want to let them down?”
Each one of them stood a bit taller and I could see they were ready to finish this. “Alright.” I called back my vice. “Tell them we’re on our way. Seal us in the hangar.” He complied and I saw the heavy doors close along the far wall, sealing us off from the rest of the ship.
I loaded up a single high-explosive grenade in my rifle and pointed it straight at the weakened section of the wall. I glanced back at my squad. “Follow me.” The charge ripped a good sized hole in the wall which buckled as the pressure inside changed. Every one of us was instantly sucked out into space with the gust of air.
Our armored suits, while being exceptional for terrestrial combat, even excelled in weightless environments like we found ourselves now. Small thrusters, located around the suit’s waist, allowed the user some maneuverability and allowed a soldier in combat to retain his bearings. I took a chance to look behind me. All of the soldiers had taken positions in my wake as Three continued to grow in the distance.
I could now clearly see four impacts where the para
sitic landing crafts had attached themselves. “Squad, form up into four fire teams. We are each taking an airlock by an alien ship. Once we land, we’ve got to keep moving. Don’t stop for anything. Kill every last one of them. Don’t give them the chance to build a defense.”
We were now in three man fire teams and had each broken off towards our respective destinations. The ship seemed to approach much more rapidly now and I twisted about so I was falling feet first at the ship. I held my rifle up in my right hand, with the other on the shoulder of the other soldier, who did the same.
In a split second we had fallen against the airlock door, cycled through to the interior and regained our gravity. The inner door opened and we found ourselves in the middle of a warzone. Bodies, alien and human alike were strewn across the floor along with explosive burns, spent ammunition and destroyed equipment. It was not a total loss since we were right behind the alien’s main battle line.
While they pushed forward to through the far doors which led to the interior of the ship, we charged out into the clearing and opened fire on the entire company. Most of them were caught unaware and had taken before they could even turn around in defense. The surviving aliens could see they were between a rock and a hard place and made a ditch effort to push into the hallway beyond. My rifle ran dry and I took a knee, switching to grenades while reloading another magazine of standard cartridges. “Move in.” I ordered as I chambered the first round and rushed forward.
MissionSRX: Confessions of the First War Page 21
