The Icarian legacy: Brave Souls

by Kocho

  The second squadron was consisted of an Essex class, ten Los Angeles and ten corvettes and it was placed in the asteroid belt. It had the support of one thousand vipers that could be launched from the bases on the asteroids. Its job was to try to stop the alien fleet if the first plan at the warp point fails. For that eventuality the asteroid belt was extensively mined. It was a real dead trap.

  The third part and by far the largest part of the fleet consisting of all other ships were staying in the proximity of the warp point.

  Considering that the day of the attack was near the fleet was on constant alert.

  Back on Earth the military was conducting constant exercises as well. And the world was preparing. All traces of the Valhalla mission were deleted. Nothing was left to chance. Everyone who knew something about it had a suicide pill with him as a last resort. Even if this battle was lost humanity will survive somewhere else.

  The population was ready to disperse everywhere away from the towns when the enemy came to prevent massive casualties from bombardment.

  Rail gun batteries were placed all around the globe in protected bases in the mountains and in the cities and were ready to open fire on any ship that will pass through the fleet. It was hoped that they will never have to fire but that was a hope that they were not ready to risk.

  And as time passed humans everywhere were unusually calm. A sense of serenity settled. Everyone was doing their biding, their part in the war effort and at the same time doing the things that they always meant to do but never seemed to have the time. Old insults were forgotten and forgiven, families and friends were reuniting, love was being found… It seemed that as the danger was approaching, humans everywhere had already come to terms with the fact that they might die. For the first time sense the day man first stepped out of its caves it seemed that Earth had peace. Even the planetary issues were being solved. It seemed as if everyone wanted that if humans die at least everything else will survive. The world would continue living.

  Calmness was present everywhere but many knew that it was the peace, the calm before the storm.

  And the storm was near, so near that it could almost be seen.

  15 June 2019 13:27 hours

  Bitola Republic of Macedonia

  Fillip looked with a smile at the beautiful landscape that was stretching before his eyes. He inhaled and filed his lungs with fresh mountain air. He could hear the smile of his family in the background. It took an effort to convince and get a chopper to bring them here.

  He turned and saw his sister and his two cousins smiling and running. They were playing like they are kids. At the same time his parents and aunt and uncle were sitting and playing cards.

  The two oldest members of the family were talking and looking at the distance, his grandparent and the father of his uncle, two old, really old people.

  They both had extensive military carriers, carriers that started in the Second World War. His grandfather left the army in the middle of the fifties, while Vasko the father of his uncle stayed all his life. He reached the rank of general before retirement in old Yugoslavia. His father and uncle served as well, but they both left the army early and dedicated themselves to their families.

  So in way he continued the family tradition. It was good to have someone to talk to about the things he’d seen…and done. He wasn’t wearing his uniform today. It was his last day before reporting back to duty. It was good to be in civilian cloth. He still remembered what happened the last time he was on a mountain like this.

  It sent shivers through him. He received another medal about the actions he took that day, but he didn’t care. He raised his head at the sky.

  It was almost time…they will be here soon. He along with a squadron from the Macedonian Special Forces was part of the troops that were supposed to join the fleet. They were stationed on the Argus.

  A smile appeared on his face as he remembered Anaya. He had a lot of good chats with the AI of the battleship. He liked her just the same as the other marines and soldiers did.

  He was so entrenched in to his thoughts that he didn’t notice the old timers approaching him.

  “Penny for your thoughts son…”

  He turned his head and noticed them near him. His grandfather put his hand on his shoulder. He smiled and looked in to the grey eyes of the old man. He was ninety four years old and he still was moving like a young men. And those eyes burned with life inside. His hair was white, and he was bald on his forehead, but he still had life and energy in him.

  He remembered the hard days when his grandmother died. The old man was hit hard, and it took him a lot of effort to survive the first few months. But he recovered and carried on. Sometime later he told Fillip that he was the main reason he continued living. He was his favorite nephew, the one that was always there.

  “You know them grandpa. You both do.”

  His grandparents looked at him. He liked to call them both that and it seemed that neither of them had trouble with that.

  “It is near isn’t it?”

  “Yes grandpa. They will be here in the next couple of weeks.”

  “And you are afraid?”

  Fillip looked at Vasko, and then at his grandparent.

  “No grandpa Vasko…I’m not scared of them. I’ve seen them, fought them and killed them. I’m scared for what will happen if we fail, if the fleet fails. I and my men will be there in order to board them if we succeed or in a worst case scenario as a final attempt to stop them. But I feel useless up there.”

  “And you fear for the men you command. It is the burden of a commander son, and the burden of every solder.”

  Fillip looked at his family again. Both old men looked there too. They knew his thoughts and his real fears. They felt them too. They both wished they were younger and to be able to be beside him in the days that were waiting ahead. They knew the burden he was carrying, all old veterans did, especially the ones that still lived and had served in the World War.

  They were rare now more than seventy years later but some like both men here still lived and remembered.

  And as they looked at him, they looked at his eyes. He was young twenty nine years old but he had experience and had seen his fair share of bloodshed and death. They both knew of his medals, and the reason they were awarded. He had the eyes of experience and the cold bloodiness of a real soldier when it was needed. As Vasko looked at him he already knew that if he stayed alive and in the army one day he would command. He had everything that was needed. And his younger colleagues that he talked too agreed. But at the same time the old man wondered if he really wanted the young man before him to stay in the army, the federation army now.

  It was hard life and a life that wanted, requested a lot of sacrifice. This young man wasn’t his nephew but he loved him just the same.

  As he looked at him he noticed the tears that flowed on his cheeks. The boy wiped them out and turned to the distance.

  “Everything will be ok. Just have faith.”

  Both old people hugged him. As they did his parents looked at him as well. They didn’t say anything but he knew what they wanted to tell him.

  “Fillip, come here and I want you to see something. Leave those old timers to tell their stories.”

  He smiled as he heard the voice of his sister. Ana was four years younger. She smiled as she looked at her brother. She feared for him but she felt deep inside that he will come back. He always did.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

  He left the two old guys and they watched him go. They both feared for him but also had faith. He was one of those few…the ones that always gave their all, their best and always somehow managed to stay alive and come on top. They looked at the strange medallion he wore around his neck. It was the memory he carried from the day the aliens came a gift from an enemy that died by his hands. They both knew of the last words that the alien said to him, about the strange request. They hoped that he won’t have to make it come true.

  The day pa
ssed quickly. Their ride came before the sunset. At home they all sat and chatted to pass the time. Fillip was supposed to leave late in the evening, and everyone wanted to be there to send him off. The girls didn’t make it. Several hours later he was all alone.

  He was calm. He looked at the clock. It was 03.00 in the morning. He picked up his gear and slowly descended the stairs. As he exited the house he noticed his father standing outside waiting for him.

  The middle aged former colonel in the Yugoslavian army watched his son in his military uniform. He looked splendid even under the moon light.

  He loved his son but they were never really close. When the boy was younger they argued often, and one of the reasons was his decision to join the army. He did it in secret at the end leaving him no choice in the matter. He was against that decision considering how smart his son was. He was one of the smartest people he knew and he believed that he should choose a different life than the one in the military. But in the end he had to back out. His son made his decision and he accepted it.

  “Father…”

  “Fillip…”

  “I thought you would be sleeping.”

  The older man looked away.

  “Always trying to hide what you know, don’t you?”

  Fillip looked at the same place as his father. He knew that he never slept when he went away. But he never mentioned it. It was something they never spoke about.

  “You know that I never sleep in days like these.”

  Fillip inhaled.

  “Yes father. I do. But you never get up to. I know you watch me go. I know you say your goodbye and your prayer by the window.”

  “Yes…son.”

  “Why not today?”

  His father turned. He noticed tears in his eyes. He didn’t try to clear his eyes. But when he spoke his voice was calm.

  “The day you were born Fillip was the proudest day of my life. So was the day your sister came to this world. It was good to watch you grow, to see you becoming the man you are today. But i never wanted this for you, the life of a soldier the pain i see every time i look in to your eyes. The same pain i saw in the eyes of your grandfather. I never came out before because I always trusted you.”

  Fillip looked at his father. He approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. His father didn’t turn away and just looked at him. He noticed the pride in his eyes, a pride he never saw before. He felt tears in his eyes too.

  “I never came out before, but it was never like this Fillip. Never like this.”

  “Don’t worry father.”

  His father exhaled.

  “I always worry Fillip. It is my job to worry.”

  Fillip smiled and hugged his father.

  “Thanks dad. I love you.”

  The old men hugged him harder.

  Before he let go he heard a whisper.

  “I’m proud of you son. I was always proud. Always…”

  He let him go and looked at his eyes.

  “Always son, since the day you were born.”

  Fillip smiled and nodded. His father let him go and he went out of the yard and started heading down the street. He noticed the car that was coming after him coming towards him. He stopped before it reached him.

  A soldier came out of it as the car stopped and saluted.

  “Sir...”

  “At ease private.”

  The soldier relaxed and nodded. He was young barely out of his twenties.

  Fillip turned and looked at his house. He noticed his father looking at him from the yard. He smiled. He always knew what his father felt but it was good to hear it. Good to hear it.

  He raised his hand and his father raised his. Then he turned and entered the car. As the vehicle started moving away the middle aged man came out in the street and kept looking at it. He always worried but for the first time in his life he felt fear. A fear of what his son will see in the days ahead. He stayed there for a long time after the car went away looking in to the distance. The few neighbors that saw him looked away. They knew what was happening. After a while the man turned and went home.

  The day came slowly. Everywhere in the world the soldiers that were assigned to the ships said goodbye to their loved ones, wrote letters to the people they couldn’t see, and then went away. The site on that dark street in the small town in the Balkan country was repeated in a thousand places all over the world.

  The soldiers were going away. They were going to war.

  27 June 2019 04.15 hours

  Proxima Centaury System

  The blackness of space was surprisingly torn as hundreds of vortexes across several hundred thousand square miles suddenly opened. The stars in the distance disappeared for a second and were replaced by blue shimmering light of hyper space. Hundreds of large ships came out of it spread out across the vastness of empty space. Immediately after coming out sensors started scanning the star system they were in for the objects present. They inputted the systems planet and the three planets in the habitable zone. The life signs on the second planet lit up as a beacon on the ships systems. The warp point, their destination did the same. After almost four cycles or years as the humans called them their journey was coming to an end. Their destination was just a moment away through the warp point ahead of them, and their goal the final conquering of their ancient enemies.

  And as the ships started forming up a small sensor probe placed in the system so long ago by a race now long extinct scanned and sent a report to the others four light years away. And a drone transitioned just moments after the anomalies were detected though the warp point.

  Admiral Vokar du Mas watched from his flagship, the dreadnought named Ahairna after one of the ancient gods of his people as the fleet regrouped. The sensors showed that all six hundred and eighteen ships were present. The forty largest ships, the fleet’s troop transports were in the middle of the formation together with the ten fuel, and four factory ships.

  Each ship was almost sixteen miles long and ranging from half a mile at one end to four miles at the other in width. And each was heavily armed almost as the dreadnought class, with massive amounts of armor and strong shields. It was needed considering that each carried one and a half million legionnaires and their gear and equipment.

  The other ships were fifty four dreadnoughts, ten heavy, and twenty light carriers, sixty battleships, fifty heavy and seventy light battle cruisers, eighty destroyers, and one hundred frigates and hundred and twenty corvettes.

  The scans showed no signs of the scout ships but he didn’t expect them. They were supposed to join with the fleet at the edge of the other system, their final destination. He had confidence in Mran the commander of the scout force, but even more in the young Ristarion, the son of the lord of one of the clans that contributed to this fleet. The al Mach clan was one of the oldest clans in the empire. They were far from the power they once held but they were well respected and always produced good legionaries and commanders. And the reports about the humans, the name that the descendants of the Alterans used now, gathered in the past indicated that they were far behind in their development. The estimates were that they were at a tier 3 a civilization that barely made it in to space. A smile that showed his sharp white teeth appeared. That was low considering that the Alterans were at tier 8. Although some later researches said that they were lower considering that the Icarians and the Farsians were considered between tiers nine and ten.

  He picked up and put his helmet on his head just as the door opened.

  None of the officers manning the consoles on the bridge turned. They all paid attention on their jobs as they should have.

  The officer that entered was his second in command. He was far younger than Vocar and he was a member of the same clan.

  “What do you have to report Sokar?”

  The officer saluted and handed a data pad to his superior.

  “We have the full report of the fleet. All ships report ready. There are some minor damages but they will be fixed by the time we rea
ch the warp point.”

  “What about the troops. What are the reports about the cryo-pods?”

  “We suffered one percent casualties. The long time they spent in them is the main reason.”

  “And the old design of these ships.”

  “Yes admiral. The legionaries are almost finished exiting the pods. They will be ready by the time we reach the warp point. The fleet personal is all well prepared. We lost 0.3 percent from them too.”

  “I hope that none is on the most important list. No admiral, most are part of small crews in the maintenance that can be easily replaced.”

  The admiral turned and looked at the screen that was showing the darkness outside.

  “Good Sokar. I want you to schedule a meeting in two persks.”

  “Yes Admiral.”

  The aid saluted and left the bridge. Voran looked at screen and pressed a button that showed him a representation of the system.

  He focused on the second planet, the one that had an indigenous species on it. It showed the map of the planet made by the scout teams that mapped it eighty cycles ago, the days when the Alteran home world was discovered again. He smiled at that thought.

  The empire searched for that planet for so long, always knowing that a part of the Alterans fled. It eluded them for eons. Finally eight thousand cycles ago the Zerg contacted and offered human slaves to the empire. The offer was the slaves in exchange for being left alone. They made a deal with one of the clans and the deal lasted for a long time but several hundred cycles ago the empire and the Zerg Commonwealth finally had a common border and the empire invaded. The reason for the invasion was the discovery of the plans of the clan that made the initial deal for making a strike for gaining the throne. The Zerg supported the clan’s plans knowing that it will cause a civil war that might weaken the powerful enemy. In the end that proved to be their downfall. The battle was hard and long as the Zerg proved a relentless enemy that was well prepared for the war. But in the end they lost. The race was but a whisper now from the former glory the survivors serving as slaves in the asteroid mines in countless systems slowly being worked to death. The estimates were that they will be extinct in the next hundred cycles. It was their punishment for the hiding of the world that lay in the next star system.