Star Kitten

by Purple Hazel

  On New Australia, they knew pretty much how many were coming; and how soon the Earth fleet would be in the planet's orbit—just by watching the news on their merchant ships’ computers which could pick up the IPN broadcasts. Solomon put Kscheeech in charge of the Naustie merchant fleet; and just as everyone expected, he put Vlad the Impaler in charge of Naustie ground forces. First task was simple; and that was to set the fleet loose to hover 'round New Australia until the invaders were near enough to be detected as well as close enough to detect all of New Australia's craft. Then the merchant fleet were all to flee in every possible direction. Solomon's strategy was for the Earth invaders to actually SEE them all scatter and create the illusion that the former pirate base had now been abandoned by its own fleet.

  Next Solomon instructed Vlad to establish several ambushes for the enemy and cause as many casualties for the invaders as possible. "We will not win this upcoming war by defeating the invader in one or even several great battles. Our opponent is far too strong," he told Vlad. His idea was to actually engage the enemy repeatedly; throughout the planet, and slowly attrition their elite forces via a steady slow bleeding of the enemy until they were gradually exhausted and over-extended. As Solomon explained it, "Let them land, let them assault our surface facilities, and let them drive deep into our caverns and caves. Mount defenses where possible yes, but never linger long enough to risk annihilation if an engagement is hopeless. Retreat deeper into the planet. Make them struggle and suffer terribly for every territory they capture. Circle back and hit them again later. Attack their rear and isolate forward units. Casualties are not an issue. Arm everyone capable of wielding a weapon; and make the invader pay dearly for every mile they capture."

  Vlad got the message. And he met with nearly every chieftain in nearly every tribal territory personally to advise or encourage them in the devising of their defenses. Each Chieftain donated an allotment of troops to the New Australia Army; per the requirements handed down by Tribal Confederation; and these were based on tribal population as well as proximity to surface installations which were likely to suffer attacks early on. Otherwise, Vlad left it up to each chieftain to defend his own tribe's homeland with all his remaining warriors. "When the enemy comes, you must fight," he told them with fierce, cold, icy-blue eyes. "You must defend your homes. There can be no retreat. If you run away, your families will perish Comrades; and your homes will be destroyed. Our enemy is coming here to kill us. Surrender and you will all die."

  Vlad was absolutely right. As an outlaw planet, not legally recognized by the IPA, they had no real rights. They were like aboriginal natives on some 18th century Pacific island about to be colonized. IPA was going to stand aside and allow this too. This was obvious from what Naustie computers were picking up from IPN News Broadcasts. No ally existed and none would likely be forthcoming. The only real option was to fight to the death.

  To a man like Vlad, a war like this was a true opportunity for greatness. Defending a massive planet against an invader whom he could dodge and elude then pounce on whenever the enemy was vulnerable... that was perfect for Vlad. He was a shrewd general. Because he had numbers on his side, technology mattered little to him. In his mind, the darkness of the planet's mine shafts and tunnels was his true advantage. Eventually he'd be able to make a stand and stop them. That's what he believed.

  It wouldn’t take him long to find out if he was right, either. Earth forces did finally arrive in New Australia orbit right about the date they'd been projected by the Slarts to appear; and as the merchant fleet followed orders and scattered in all directions, Nausties on the surface braced themselves for the initial bombardment from enemy missiles….

  When it came it was terrible and devastating—lasting for days and days—as Earth torpedoes hit the planet and leveled all Naustie surface facilities. The solar domed farm went up in a fireball; as did the old main terminal. The surface hangar was blown sky high as well. Earth warship commanders just let them have it with all they had, destroying anything their sensors could detect on—and even below—the surface. They fired surface penetrating missiles into the loading bay too.

  These “bunker buster” missiles blew through the terminal loading bay canopy and obliterated the massive elevator which lifted ships up to the surface for launching into outer space. The resulting explosions killed thousands of Naustie soldiers bracing themselves for the expected ground assault; and it was a real eye-opener for the surprised defenders. As a result of this disaster, Vlad then pulled his army out of the loading bay region of the planet and scattered them throughout the spider web-like service tunnel network hoping to draw Earth ground troops into battles there.

  However the landings just never seemed to come—not for a long, long time anyway. Earth space craft instead just circled the planet and used sensors to detect life forms below the surface. Their bunker buster missiles proved to be able to penetrate hundreds of feet below the surface before detonating; and each time one exploded, hundreds more Nausties would be vaporized. Eventually the surviving army and thousands of terrified refugees fled deeper and deeper below the planet surface.

  To the Earth invaders in orbit and especially those flying around the planet from a few thousand feet, it really appeared like nothing much could live on the planet after a week of this systematic bombarding and demolition. From the air, the planet was beginning to look much like the Earth’s moon—pockmarked with divots and craters occasionally the size of cities, at least in some places. It was an eradication of all life; and no targets were off limits. Frankly, if a life form could be detected anywhere near the surface; a salvo of missiles would get fired at them.

  Worse, the bombardment eventually destroyed and obliterated seven Naustie homelands which had located up near or within the Service Tunnel years before near the old prison food warehouse sites. Thousands died and there was nothing anyone could do about it but simply flee deeper below the planet surface… deeper within the planet core. Refugees flowed into the homelands of former rivals or regions of the planet most had never even seen before. But to their relief; their fellow Nausties were often more than happy to take them in and provide relief services. Morale was still very high, even after the devastating bombardment. If anything it just made Nausties more determined to face the eventual ground assault.

  Now long ago, Slartigifijian engineers devised remote independent electrical generators—powered by energy crystals—to light and provide power to tribal homelands in the event of any destruction or disruption of service from the main power plant on the surface. Naturally the New Australia power plant went up in the very first week of the bombardment. But these independent generators, distributed throughout the interior of the planet, could run for months with little or no servicing required. They were so deep below the surface of New Australia, fully half the planet’s original population was able to continue harvesting and living their lives relatively uninterrupted while above them it was carnage and devastation.

  But the consumption of time by the Earth fleet in bombarding the surface, did give Vlad and his war council an opportunity to plan and prepare. If the Earthers intended to eventually land and try to burrow through the core to hunt down its occupants then it was merely a matter of predicting their paths and direction. Set ambushes along the way. Draw them further and deeper into the core. Let them establish forward bases and dig in, then raid them incessantly. When the offensive resumed, Vlad’s army could fall back and repeat the process for as long as he had troops to muster. To that end, Vlad armed everyone he could. Females, miners, farmers, and even shit-haulers… all of them were given a weapon and all were shown how to fight.

  Stealth and surprise would be the key; but so would overwhelming numbers.

  “They will come eventually Comrades…” said Vlad to tribe after tribe. “And when they do, you must hide. You must conceal yourselves in the darkness. And you must then pounce on them like angry hornets. Kill them before they kill you. Show them no mercy. They will give you none,
I can assure you. We must fight for our own survival or… there will be nothing left of us when they’re done!”

  Then again, Vlad did still have forty thousand warriors under his direct command. He had Solomon, who had moved his command center deep underground in anticipation of the ground attack; and of course he had the remarkable Felina traveling almost incessantly throughout the planet rallying terrified Naustie villagers or securing new living facilities and food for the now growing number of refugees. Entire tribes had been obliterated no doubt, but Felina was unflappable in her commitment to their cause—urging both females and males capable of holding a weapon to join military units and fight the invader.

  Felina proved to be a very, very good public speaker and motivator. “The invaders are coming my friends," she'd warn them, "… and we shall fight them like wild animals until they’re all defeated. You see, only when we have won this war… only then will we have truly won our independence. Fight them anyway you can comrades, and never yield. They came a long way from Earth just to kill us. Let’s make them regret their arrogance!” That’s what she’d often cry out to throngs of terrified refugees, and thrust her paw into the air triumphantly. They loved her so much… many heeded the call to arms and just joined up with the army! And many others set to work supporting the Naustie war effort in other ways.

  There were several ways they could help.

  First off was the increased production of breather units which included a small air tube connected to a mouth piece. The other end connected to a device which converted water to oxygen by separating hydrogen from the water and left breathable air for the soldier to inhale, keeping him alert. Electrical current merely passed through a small tank of water strapped to the back of the warrior. It was a crude system but it was light, it worked, and it was very easy to mass-produce. It was certainly durable enough for miners to use during an average work shift—so it could handle most of the rigors of combat short of maybe its battery taking a bullet. A factory was set up for creating hundreds of these a day—way down deep inside the planet—and it soon employed over a thousand new workers from among the refugees.

  Next was the production of weapons; and many of these were quite diabolical. Nausties knew that airmobile infantry from Earth would be armed with Electrical Impulse Cannons that could spray .30 caliber projectiles in quick bursts. They had enough rounds in their cartridges for an extended firefight; so the best solution was to hit their flanks with incendiary acid bombs or perhaps draw them into tunnels and detonate explosives to cause cave-ins to bury them alive. Nausties certainly had plenty of explosives since they were operating mines all over the planet.

  Clay pots about the size of a 12 ounce can were sufficient for this , in burning enemies’ faces or hands but also in disrupting their breathing systems which kept the enemy cooled and alert with fresh oxygen. Enemy airmobile troops carried oxygen tanks on their backs too; and these could be ruptured causing great mayhem in packs of attacking soldiers. Darts, make of pig iron, could be fired at the enemy by using a crossbow mechanism created originally by successful tribes back during the Naustie Civil War years before. Slart engineers merely standardized this concept and developed factories deep inside the caverns below to mass produce them. These were excellent for ambush attacks and practically anyone could operate them for at least one salvo before fleeing the skirmish battle and running to safety deep inside the intricate mine network.

  However… Earth troops had absolutely no intention of facing roaming bands of fierce warriors with nothing but lightly armed infantry….

  Finally it came time for the ground attack, and the sky suddenly filled with large space craft penetrating the atmosphere. But as troop landing craft finally set down upon the New Australia planet surface, some even larger box-shaped craft planted down several hundred yards away from the smoldering terminal dome. These ships were three times the size of troop transports; and when their ionic wind thrusters began making contact with the deserter surface from one hundred feet in the air; they stirred up a cloud of dust the size of a football stadium. Once landed and the dust began to settle, their enormous cargo bays opened and from inside rolled out monstrous tunneling machines that had been donated by mining companies (and altered for combat application).

  The gigantic machines had a massive drill bit mounted on them that protruded twenty feet out from the front of the vehicle. The entire metal behemoth was mounted onto a chassis with enormous tracks to move it about instead of wheels; so it was capable of burrowing through tunnels, cave-ins, or even creating new tunnels to try and encircle a well-entrenched defender. What’s more, each of these fifty steel monsters had been altered to include a troop carrier on top which contained units of twenty to thirty-five soldiers, protected inside a climate-controlled 50’ long reinforced steel cabin.

  These “tunnel tanks” had been developed just for this mission and stood about thirty feet high at their tallest point. Attacking the front was impossible. All the Nausties would see coming at them was a gleaming metal drill spinning rapidly. Attacking the sides was suicidal too as the crew of fifteen to twenty crewmen inside operated massive guns which could spray projectiles in several directions. The rear… was nothing but a wall of thick steel which could be opened to create a massive ramp for troops to spill out and perform mop-operations. What’s more, the top or roof of the craft was impregnable thick steel and the engines were safely located underneath, just inside the reinforced belly of the monstrous craft. No defenses could stand up to them, and no amount of bravery could endure a fire- fight with one. From the moment they faced one of these steel giants in combat; Nausties would clearly be outmatched.

  But that wasn’t all, it turned out. Earth generals entered the war with quite an amount of intelligence about New Australia’s interior. After all, the entire mine network; at its height of development, was designed and built by Earth mining engineers years ago. Frankly they knew the entire original layout of the planet’s core and underground system of tunnels, elevator shafts, and caverns. They’d built it; and knew basically where to go find the Nausties down there. These plans were all shown to Earth generals; and most operators of the Tunnel Tanks had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the mine network. Well, at least they carried a mine network map inside their tank's command bridge if they ever needed it.

  Earth generals believed their forces could operate below the surface for months if need be and in the view of most all at Fleet Command, it was only a matter of time before they’d achieve absolute victory. Forward units were instructed to eliminate all resistance and then to exterminate all living creatures they could find. No one was to be spared. If it breathed, soldiers were to kill it. Those were their orders. Meanwhile, supply channels were established to keep those forward units well-supplied and constantly moving. The onslaught needed to be just as constant as it was brutal.

  In the first week of the ground campaign Earth troops moved virtually unopposed through a hellish subterranean wasteland in the areas near the Service Tunnel. Dead bodies were everywhere. Naustie army units simply had no solution for the tunnel tanks and wherever Earth tanks moved the Naustie army fled, telling every Naustie villager in their path to just flee to unoccupied territory. The previous strategy of forcing the enemy to capture tribal homeland after tribal homeland in exhaustive engagements was clearly no longer feasible. Airmobile troops simply spilled out the back of these metal beasts and rampaged through village after village destroying caves and homes with explosives or riddling them with bullets. Naustie civilians caught within these areas were eliminated on site; and hiding out inside burrows or dugouts did them no good either. Earth troops with infrared sensors could detect body heat and “see” life forms hiding behind rock formations. Tunnel tanks would just drive right through whatever they were hiding behind, and mercilessly roll right over them.

  Casualties in most engagements for Earth forces were rather light; and by the end of the first week it seemed everything was going Earth’s way. Setting a
mbushes rarely worked, except to kill four or five Earthers at the cost of twenty or even a hundred Nausties in the process. Vlad and his army could only retreat further below and try to survive another day. What’s more; the fifty Earth tunnel tanks were able to fan out and spread destruction in multiple directions, leaving Vlad at a loss as to exactly WHERE to even counterattack them next.

  They needed a better plan and fast … or things were going to get desperate.

  So far, the reality to Naustie strategy was basically this: As long as Vlad was able to harass and then flee the Earth invaders, it was giving central command and Solomon’s team of Slart Planners precious time to chart their movements and predict the directions and locations of their next attacks. Ever so patiently and meticulously, the Slarts were studying their opponent and learning their patterns of attack and mop-up procedures. Clearly the Earthmen knew all about the layout of the New Australia Planetary Prison and its mining network; and clearly the tunnel tanks were moving in patterns that indicated they were trying to also DRIVE the Naustie Army deeper and deeper to a point within the core of the planet where all the tank columns could converge for one last battle and annihilate them. “The patterns of their movement,” the Slarts told Solomon, “are forming a sort of spiral that looks much like a marble rolling around the inside of a funnel.” What it looked like to Solomon was that the Earthmen were actually hunting the Naustie Army now; to try and finally trap and destroy it….

  But reports came back one day about an enemy tunnel tank which by accident penetrated a volcanic vent shaft which basically ran from the molten iron core of the planet up to the surface to some long dormant volcano. This natural anomaly within the planet’s interior had been “discovered” by miners only within the past few years; so Earth mining engineers from years before could never have mapped it. Naturally, the release of noxious gas from the vent quickly cleared out the cavern of Earth troops who feared a volcanic eruption! But what intrigued Solomon and his staff; was just HOW did the Earth men not notice the increase in heat as they drove closer to this vent shaft?