by Richard Sosa
A renewed volley of lasers hit the tanks and began to penetrate them. “They have modified their weapons to our defense,” Riard-wienj checked his range radar, “navigator, move us back –”
Lasers sweep over the tanks like a breeze and drilled into the shielding. Hot melted metal blew into the cabin while a laser splintered and ricocheted inside killing or wounding everyone. The tanks stopped and then some attempted to reverse but they died within moments scattered at different angles of direction like toys on the floor.
“Retreat, pull back,” Commander Riard-wienj ordered as lasers crashed through the turret again and base of the tank, the thickest part, killing his gunner and driver. He noticed his arm was a useless limb now burned and smoking. A large hole in his ribs was bleeding and the tank was beginning to spin on one working track. On COM he spoke surprised by his calm voice, “Command, we’re stopped in our tracks literally. I have all crews with heavy casualties, and we’ll initiate AF retreat Seven.”
He nodded disagreeing with his word and looked out his ports seeing droid machines running pass the tanks toward the marine line. More lasers hit the tank and tore through the hardened steel as if it were paper. Smoke filled the inside and he saw the two tanks flanking him, explode with their turrets tumbling into the air and toppling on the ground. The metal leviathans were decapitated. Commander Riard-wienj grabbed a round pushed it into the chamber then locked the gear and charged his weapon. His body was shaking from shock and blood loss. He sets his sights, aimed and fired directly at a Striker ship hitting it dead center. The ship spun around like a top but wasn’t harmed. After it stopped spinning around the ship continued its forward movement. The inside of the turret was filled with blinding white light and for an instant Commander Riard-wienj saw the outside as the metal around him was sheared away into blobs of liquid and then he evaporated.
From the ridge and the trenches, the soldiers saw the tanks explode one after another and while some continued to fight on, six were killed immediately and sat silently hiding the carnage inside and the rest were attempting to regroup. They were in a fight for their lives and it ended in minutes as smoke and fire billowed from all of them. They exploded in showers of metal and mutations. From the large Capital Ship, thousands of droid machines spilled out from its pores and spread out. The droid machines swarmed past the tanks with a single focus.
Flyers roared overhead in the direction of the invasion and fired lasers at the mother ship. Instantly the sky filled with lasers cutting in all directions. Transports banked and landed and then just as quickly lifted skyward for another load of marines. The troopers along the line closed their helmet full-face shields to activate its night vision. Troy Sector 89 Commander Dawg watched the alien landing on his telescopic binoculars and within seconds he saw them untangle and orientate toward the Aoife defenses. Thousands of droids raced toward all the defensive lines. “Engage. Fire at will,” CO Dawg shouted, and Aoife marines fired their modified pulse rifles into the advancing machines. The Spipeculas fell behind the machines or low to the ground able to lay almost flat and move forward rapidly as if walking on their fingers. Others retreated toward their ships amidst lasers ricocheting around them.
CO Dawg lifted his wrist unit close to his face. “Initiate Defense Line Sixty-one. Let’s see what these modified rockets can do.” Multiple cannons turned their sights to the Pills in the distance. The guided rockets fired from the cannons streaked across the battlefield and exploded around the Pills. The rockets making a direct hit made a ‘slapping’ sound as they penetrated the hard shell and exploded violently inside the ship. Large parts of the Pills flew into the air while others spun like tops while metal, sparks, and debris skidded around it on the ground. Pills directly targeted stopped moving or hovered above the ground until they began to expel black smoke.
The tripod droid machines instantly switched their attack to the cannon mounts and positions protecting them. They fired all their lasers at the cannons and thousands of machines raced in unison at these positions. The droids killed troops and forcing a panicked retreat while concentrating their firepower on the cannon mounts. Cannons exploded in a hail of sparks and burning metal as multiple lasers bombarded each cannon position. Cannon operators were killed instantly or leaped out of the control seat. Troops raced away as lasers hit the ground around them like rain. Marines defending the retreat fought for their lives when the machines leaped over the barriers and tumbled into the trenches.
Commander Dawg jumped for cover as sparks flew everywhere and metal pinged with white-hot sand-like materials that burned his face. “What the hell are those things?” He spoke on his wrist COM, “Backing up to reinforced lines, now,” He jumped face-first to the bottom of the trench as the cannon mount above him exploded making him scream to keep his lungs from collapsing from the concussive force of the blast. A force pushed him down like a weight, dirt, shrapnel, and debris littered the ground around him while chirrs of metal ricocheted high into the air. The force almost knocked him out. He shook himself, his eyes couldn’t focus, ears rang, head pounded but he pushed himself to stand and then to run.
Troy sector 89 Captain, Altro-jec scanned his troop lines. They were shot up, soldiers bleeding, disorientated, and huddled in trenches. In the near distance, several Spipeculas leap over barriers and were met with rapid-fire from troops in the trenches. The aliens burst and splattered entrails before rolling and skidding on the ground shaking like jelly spiders. The tripod-machines rolled over the same barrier and faced laser fire from the defenders. Without the ability to keep a constant barrage of firepower on the droids, the marine’s weapons only dented and pinged off the machines with no damaging effect. The deadly turret on the machines spun around and lasers blanketed the inside of the trench. Other machines breached the next level of barriers. “Crap, we can’t hold them here. Retreat. Off your asses, back up out of here.” Altro-jec ordered as lasers hit the Captain like a jackhammer going through his back and flashes of light blew blood and tissue out his arm and neck. He crumpled forward, paralyzed, twitching, heart and nervous system shutting down with his eyes wide open. A terrified expression fixed on his dead face. The young troopers climbed out of the trenches in mass and raced toward Line Seven. Sector 89 first defense had fallen in minutes.
As nightfall approached on T-Sector 98, troopers had moved in to reinforce line Seven. They piled behind a new barrier and could see their fellow troopers racing to the cover of line Seven. Troop transports lifted off and flew toward the no-mans’ land in a rescue effort while their ships' guns were blazing at the droids in pursuit of the retreat. Cannons and pulse rifles added to the firepower across the field. Transport ships dipped close to the ground and loaded the troops aboard and headed back just skimming the surface while rocked by lasers hits. Lasers pinged and exploded on the transport ships and lasers penetrating the haul killing soldiers instantly. A troop transport heading toward the field climbed to clear trees and its engines took direct hits as they smoked and sparked, then exploded. The burning machine arced toward the ground, descended while soldiers jumped to safety as the ship crashed on the ground, tumbled and exploded. Another transport banked to the right, losing power in one engine and horizontal control, before tipping over into a hard drive to the ground exploding on impact.
From the Line Seven trench, marines witnessed the carnage in front of them play out as transports raced away overhead. They loaded their modified pulse rifles and began to shoot at the approaching machines. The pulse bursts were rapid with tracers tearing the machines apart. The lasers hit the machine bodies and a clinking and ricocheting metal sound indicated the shot had penetrated the unit, tumbling them to the ground. The sheer number of machines approaching stretched like a wave in front of the line. They stopped all at once as if re-calibrating and then returned fire at the reinforced line. They continued to push into Line Seven with the rapid-firing turrets they easily overtook the defense lines. In a few more minutes of fighting, thousands of troopers lay dead be
tween the landing and line 7.
“Line Seven is breaking, initiating evacuation DW Seven. We are backing up to the city park area,” Sergeant Dawg spoke on COM to Dask.
“Negative,” Dask shouted, “Hold them, do your jobs. That's all you had to do, hold them.”
Somewhere on Line Seven with the machines in front of them, the Striker Ships began to rise slowly off the ground. A trooper on COM reported to Dask and CO Dawg, “Sirs, I have visual confirmation the Strike ships are moving forward. We just felt a small concussive wave.”
“Damn it,” Dask frowned, he said on COM to all, “Do not breakdown to initiate a DW7 retreat, repeat do not initiate DW7. They are not moving to another location; they want to feed. If your teams are retreating, they will vaporize you before you can reestablish another defense line.”
“Repeat,” Dawg said, “repeat you want us on that line, against the wave weapon?”
Dask said on COM, “Yes, hold—” The shock wave from the single large Orb toppled
chairs and tables and Dask fell back to the ground with all the other soldiers on the base. He stood up, “hold them at that line, that’s an order.”
In the increasing darkness, the flattened lasers came out in front of each Striker and they lined up to form a single large plow turning bright blue then white. The light from the laser wave cast shadows over the battlefield. A fire erupted under them and they advanced. The CS had its flat laser and began to move forward.
Dask bit his lip hard. “Destroy them now. No retreat. You have air support coming around. Get control of their advance if you want to save the rest of your ground forces.” Dask looked at his time unit and thought, air support now, he shouted to his team, “Where is my damn air support?”
Commander Reghal-teu of the Chariots on COM to all shouted. “Punch it up. We’re off our orbit and behind schedule. Reports have our tanks engaging and we have coordinates coming in for badly needed air support. Wing Commander Treh-onk, take your squadron and break south to see if you can shave some time off our ETA through the mountain pass”
“Roger that,” A squadron of Chariots broke off and dropped rapidly towards the tree line and sped up directly toward the mountain range. The support Chariots were flying at high speed and when the alien landing was determined, the arc of the Flyers adjusted, the ideal situation was for them to turn directly into their location, the less ideal situation was to be furthest from the landing in their flight arc. Commander Reghal-teu faced the less ideal situation. His Flyer bucked with each ramp-up of speed and the ground passed under him in a blur.
“Confirm your ready payload,” the Commander said on COM as he checked his location mapping, “Neutron bombs ready.” His screen populated with confirmations and one Flyer banked away with weapons technical issues. The CO also noticed support Flyers approaching. “Scythes coming up on the port side,” he watched his monitor recognize the added Flyers, “Commander Jurgun-tep, glad you could join us.”
The Scythes Commander replied. “We are forming behind your last wing, pattern 45 by 35 directly following your bombing run. Make damn sure if someone can’t release their payload on the marker, hold off, because we will be right under them.”
“Roger that.”
“Follow the designated plan,” Commander Reghal-teu tapped his monitor and alerted the chariots, “Scythes are right under us, no late releases, hold your late releases for a second run. Everyone, confirm your payload is ready, neutron bombs are set on prime G-65 for a maximum explosion, repeat G-65.”
Above T Sector 89, a thousand Charioteers flew in close formation spread out in ‘v’ pattern with coordinates for Sector 89. Commander Reghal-teu ordered, “Make the first pass as 498 by 75 right up the middle. Use the line beacons as guides,” he worked his controls and called to his co-pilot, “Speed up, speed up. Damn. Running out of time. Max throttle,” then on COM to all, “full neutron spread on my mark, three, then two, one. Bombs away.”
A massive rolling multiple layered explosion covered a wide area in front of Line Seven. The invasion fleet and machines on the ground were bathed in a fire as the Flyers roared overhead. The fire rolled over the ground, spreading out and curving upwards on its edges, lighting up the darkness. An instant of silhouettes, soldiers, droids and a thick black cloud, faded back into the darkness. On the Commander's open COM, he could hear screaming coming from the soldiers’ open COMs, too close to the drop as they burned to death in the trenches. The flattened blue grader-like laser on many of the invader’s ships blinked out.
“Seek cover,” Dawg, shouted on COM, “Cover your face shields, the second wave is closer, right on us.”
A wave of Chariots, carrying large tanks under their wings, thundered over Sector 89. Charioteer pilot Rand-tamjee guided his Flyers in a tight formation. “Let’s do this a little closer to the enemy and cut the margin better with our troops on the ground. Lay down the blackness on my mark.” The Chariots large engines blasted through the battlefield. Rand-tamjee’s Flyer dipped rapidly downward and he saw the ground, coming toward him, his guidance system began to ping, a close ground proximity warning alarm. Darkened images passed beneath him, fire, smoke, then lasers exchanging in all directions, a battle was waging, the planet’s defense was failing. The pilot focused on his calculations. “Flyers on my mark. Set. Steady, three, two, release.” The Flyers passed closer to the ground, whipping pathways of dust under them, appearing instantly through the smoke and fire of the first attack.
T Sector 89 Commander shouted on his COM. “Down. Get to cover.” The Flyers screamed into sight and instantly, an explosive wave crushed the soldier’s lungs, collapsed the trenches and covered them in a black sticky substance that was carried by a shock wave over the battlefield. A second shock wave moved over the surface toward EppDaRaa in the distance. A wave of hundreds of Scythes Flyers, small fast conventional machines came in behind the bombers with a high-pitched scream. They sprayed pathways of rapid-fire pulse lasers striking the droids at almost point-blank range. Debris, shrapnel, and lasers ricochet in all directions, into the air and over the troops in the trenches. The Scythes pulse engines whined as they climbed higher into the sky, Dawg struggled to remove his gloves, then peered over the cover of the trench through his night field scopes. He watched the Scythes disappear into the horizon and then turned his sights to surveys the result. He spoke into his wrist COM unit, “Dask, defense Silo 74 Line Seven held but there are many breaches. Machines covered in a black tar substance are being taken down by the modified pulse rifles,” Dawg squints his eyes at the horizon. More droids appeared over the rise moving in uneven gapped lines. He shouted at his teams, “Troopers we have droids north-west. Marines rushed the barriers and lined up for another battle. This time they were in front of the pulse cannons because most of them were shot up and inoperable. Dawg heard Dask respond as he ran to the barrier, ‘Good work Dawg, Good damn job.’ This thing isn’t over yet, Dawg thought.
Chapter Forty-six
Iris grabbed her pulse rifle and ran into the trench to join the line. She braced her rifle on the top of the barrier, bent into the sights to see retreating troopers running and hobbling toward their position with the machines behind them advancing, those marines are not going to make it, she thought. Lasers were pounding the ground around them and flying overhead. Many soldiers were falling dead. “Engage them at my mark, hold your fire until ordered. Hold, steady,” Silo 74 CO ordered while holding up his arm, the droids populated the ridge in droves and rapidly crossed the space, unable to locate the barriers, “fire.”
A renewed burst of lasers covered the droids. The ground around them exploded as defense lasers struck everywhere. The droids returned fire and orientated toward the new defense lines. Tracers filled the air, lasers zipped by Iris’ face and remaining operating cannons received a punishing barrage of return fire. The new line began to thin with wounded and dying soldiers collapsing to the ground. Brain parts and blood stained the trench walls. The droids still advanced. Iris aime
d and felt the rapid pounding recoil from her rifle mixed with a cacophonous popping of all the rifles on the line.
“They're coming in too fast. Let’s get out of here,” a trooper screamed as he started to move.
Iris shouted at her team. “Hold them. We stand here. Hold fast, that's an order.” Lasers hit the ground around her and flew overhead. A distant rumble got louder as Chariots descended from the night sky. She had a second to react. She screamed as loud as possible, “Down. Everybody down.” She dove to the bottom of the trench. Heat rolled over her back and curled the ends of her hair and a shock wave rumbled the ground. Dirt and smoke spilled over the barrier.
Iris stood up and shouted. “Get up. Back in the fight. Return fire.” The light from the neutron bombs outlined for a fading gaml second, the smoke rising above the battlefield and scattered droid machines still advancing. Iris raised her weapon and began shooting. Two droids leaped into the trench. She targeted them with her weapon, “Bugger off,” she shot at them while stepping toward them and her rapid unrelenting firing made the metal parts of the machines fly in the air while she ignored their returning fire. “You god damn metal pricks. Come on, kill me.” A smoking pile of twisted metal remained a few feet from her. She looked behind her to see troopers stunned and staring at her, Iris pointed her rifle at them, “Do your jobs or you're next.” The troopers lined the barrier and engaged droids.
In the moment of distraction, lasers hit the ground and bounced around her. Metal ricocheted off a damaged cannon turret and the hot projectile bounced back to hit Iris in the arm. She was violently twisted backward and fell to the floor of the trench. Her rifle slid away from her. “Damn it. Damn, that hurt,” She held her arm which was blooming with blood. A droid breached the barrier and moved into the trench and started shooting the troops around her. She kicked the ground scrambling away on her back toward her weapon. The droid quickly covered the distance and stepped over her before sensing and spinning its barrel toward her. The blast from her pulse rifle tore it into two parts. “Eat that you piece of shit,” she screamed.
