by Jaime Mera
“Ma’am, I recommend we communicate with the Eternal Champions.” Chief Vasquez said as he walked up from behind her.
“If they’re going to SIA, then they probably already know.”
“No, Ma’am, We need everyone we can get to Australia with a preemptive strike. The legions will be busy with the rest of the world; and honestly, with Quatris and Hellfire MIA; two initial legions into Australia isn’t the greatest of odds.” Vasquez walked next to her with hands in his spacesuit pant pockets. His short black curly hair was down to his earlobe but only because it couldn’t be longer before they launched.
“So what do you suggest, we announce to the world that we need all superhumans against Australia to meet on the outskirts of Apex?” Adriana turned her head at him with a sarcastically sober stare.
Vasquez looked at her, then at the top view of SIA headquarters on the screen. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“You’re serious?” Her eyes squinted slightly.
“I’ve been talking to this Master guy, and I’m sure he’s the teenager that just went inside that building. He is our link to Creator and anyone else Erica can assemble. Starfire can help convince him. So we wait for the right moment.” He crossed his arms and put a hand up to his chin.
“And when is that?”
“After the launch, maybe?” Vasquez’s blank expression made more of an impact when his eyes looked down and he walked away.
Northeast mountain side, Bogota, Colombia
A day later, Eduardo walked into the mountain fortification, leaving Stargazer and his group by the level 5 south entrance. The escort of ten guards was extra precaution as the reports of a Tantalized android siding with the United States was real. He made it to the sublevel shuttle, an open top electrical bus on wheels, but kept seeing the interaction between his men and women with the superhumans. The telepath was mentally ease dropping on the group as they ate an average meal offered all people in that section of the neighborhood.
‘I like them.’ Estabon said as he also saw what Eduardo was seeing to include their memories.
‘You should talk to William before we lift off.’ Eduardo sat straight looking at the corridor open up to the port side of a Constitution class starship with four boosters attached to the hull.
‘What do you mean? Brenda went to Germany a year ago. He reports to Adriana now.’ Estabon couldn’t see why his brother suggested it.
‘We don’t know who will be standing when all this is over. You should say hi at the very least.’ Eduardo said, knowing there was no way Estabon could contact all the people he knew and loved in the twenty-five hours left until lift off.
‘Thank you. I’ll see what I can do.’
‘The 8th and 17th are in position in case things get out of hand.’ Eduardo said, referring to the Legions just off the deep water of the western coast of Australia. ‘If they’re successful, we can afford to lose the three months of prep. I’ll keep monitoring them; you take a break while you still can.’
‘Okay brother.’ Estabon replied, but kept his confusion hidden. He had many things to do, and even though he was leading two thousand Hawk fighters into North America, taking a break was probably what he needed, so he went to the VIP quarter. The square room occupied 380 square feet with a table, an elongated queen size bed, four seats and recliner all anchored to the floor, in front of a large screen. A small shower room was attached to it; being practical for a Councilmember or Captain of a spaceship.
He lay on the bed turning to the side wall, a two meter long flat board full of pocket size photos could barely hold them. Images of men, women and children brought him joy. Long gone and still living friends and family made him recollect wonderful moments in their lives. In the center were several photos of Brenda. Pictures were taken when they first met, and the most current on the board was her promotion to Colonel six years ago. He didn’t need the pictures to remember them, but it was more as a physical reminder instead of seeing everything in his mind.
He held Brenda’s photo in his hand. Brenda was in Dress Blues and seeming more beautiful than ever before. He thought about her only knowing she was well with a short six month old report. Their assets in Europe were busy preparing to act once the fleet got into the air, so he didn’t want them to go check on Brenda and waste their time. But he hadn't talked to William in two years. Maybe he would know something, and if not at least it would satisfy Eduardo’s suggestion.
He touched icons on his wristband. The screen on the far wall lit up with a display. He moved his finger tip on the small screen; also moving a cursor on the large screen. With a tap of a few tabs and commands, a message window opened, sending a connection signal to William’s location. Estabon spoke a security code and waited patiently, hoping William would be able to pickup and not be away from the comms system.
There was no return, so he let the connection idol. Ten minutes passed as Estabon recollected his time with Brenda. The fantastic memories only depressed him as he regretted bringing back the pain of their parting. A beep broke his melancholy as William came on the screen. “Estabon, it’s good to hear from you.”
Estabon sat up. “Same here Will… How’s Mary?”
“She’s anxious, as am I; but I’m not going to tell her.”
Estabon smiled. “She knows, they always know.”
“So, is that why you called, to say hello and give us a farewell just in case?” William got serious.
“I wanted you to know I appreciate everything you and Mary did for me.”
“Sir, we are always here for you. But Captain Soto didn’t send us on a fool’s errand; we expect to see you when we have our homecoming party.”
“There is one thing you might be able to do for me now. I know you haven’t had reason to keep a tab on Brenda, but what is the latest you have on her?” Estabon placed a foot on the floor.
“What’s the last thing you know?” William asked as Mary stepped next to him half way into view.
“You’re looking marvelous Mary.” Estabon waited for her to accept the complement. “…Okay, last thing I have is, she’s stationed in Germany with 3rd SF Group, and is working with German special terrorist detachments.”
William and Mary stared at Estabon and then at each other in thought. “She made one star five months ago and the group has been operating in the Middle East and North Africa.” Mary said, her long black hair was the trend in Colombia, which she enjoyed showing off to William while at home.
“So she’s in command of the group?” Estabon’s blood pumped with pride as he smiled.
“I thought Eduardo would have told you. The 6th is going to be moving into the area.” William said, knowing a lot more than most spies should.
“Yes, well we haven’t been talking as much as we should.”
“Sorry to hear that.” William softly replied.
“Thank you for the update. See both of you on the other side.”
“Sir. Everything will work out.” William encouragingly said, but Estabon knew there was something he was holding back.
It was something that William probably promised not to reveal and in good faith. Eduardo probably knew, but Estabon wasn’t going to force him to spill information that could do someone else harm. “Thank you, and take care.” Estabon signed off.
He laid back down and rested for hours before waking up to an enthusiastic crew. Two legions were posed in defense, but everyone else was committed and there was no turning back. The use of the electron particle beam weapons from the satellite gun platforms on the Australian android facility was the point of no return. The Five Ghosts were the spearhead of the attack, but now they were the ones that needed to see the war to its final conclusion.
Hours later, Estabon watched his bridge crew prepare, everyone designated to sit last, ran around making sure there were no loose objects left out. The countdown began at fifteen minutes. The particle accelerator platforms in orbit started their bombardment of nuclear missile sites, submarines in the open
and communication systems on the ground. The ground based particle accelerators across South America shot foreign military satellites out of orbit. Everyone near the starships knew the fortification launch doors would open up like a flower, but each launcher was unique, being built to accommodate the mountain terrain. The amount of power it took to erect the doors and place the ships close to a 90 degree angle was an engineering marvel in itself. And also a sight, witnesses would never forget. Estabon gave commands as the helmsman took control of the boosters and main engines launching the triangular shaped flagship into the atmosphere.
Estabon and the world listened to his brother officially declare war on the world.
Eduardo had pre-recordings of his declaration of war in over 400 languages which he personally spoke, transmitted in all frequencies, and channeled through communications satellites. The declaration in English however, was live as the UFS Tarsus passed one hundred miles altitude.
Naval landings commenced at the start of the bombardment, overrunning coastal military installations throughout five continents. Fifty particle beam accelerator platforms in orbit were shooting a beam every few seconds hitting priority targets. But once the starships entered their thousand to two thousand mile orbits, they took over targeting and eliminating nuclear and chemical delivery systems. Eighteen million Soldiers stepped on solid ground all with primary and secondary objectives; all expertly trained and equipped.
Estabon raced down to his fighter, as soon as the UFS Andromeda came online with the other starships on the global defensive network. A countdown was ringing as Estabon rushed into his orbital Hawk fighter. The fighter was one of several variations he personally programmed; being able to override the safeties in the computer systems. This gave him the ability to perform actions in the craft which almost all pilots would not survive from. The fighter was slightly longer than the ground fighters with much further range, but had less ammunition or types of munitions.
He quickly and easily got comfortable in his seat at three quarters Earth’s gravity inside the starship flight bays. The canopy closed down on him, as the cockpit came alive with lights and readouts. The internal atmosphere control indicated green as the craft was sealed. The fighter’s wings were fully swept inward as a magnetic rail system underneath the plane moved it out of its storage cubical. It rapidly traveled along a conveyor into a prelaunch chamber. The atmosphere was removed and the fighter left the chamber into a launch pad. The pad was nothing but a two hundred foot long corridor with an exterior shutter door at the end. The doors slid open, revealing the Earth’s surface below. The terrain was moving quickly as the Andromeda was rotating to position the fighters in the best arching trajectory towards their objectives. Traffic control gave Estabon the all clear as he readied himself to take full control of the fighter once it cleared the flagship. The magnetic rail system on the pad was slightly different than the ones inside the storage area, as it was thicker and extended four feet past the opened doors. With a swipe of his left hand controller, the Hawk fighter bolted out into space towards northern Texas.
The initial two-G force effect of being sling shot out of the starship quickly disappeared in zero gravity. “Hawk 1 away.” Was reported on the bridge as Alejandro Javier, Captain of the Andromeda, breathed in relief for at least this portion of the operation.
“Charles, you guys have him?” He looked at the team leader in charge of tracking fighter support to the space delivered fighters in their sector of the planet.
“Aye aye Captain, we’re tracking everyone perfectly. We also have an additional destroyer to support him.” Charles replied; one of Estabon and Eduardo’s Vietnam War buddies.
“The destroyers have been firing a lot. I don’t expect them to be able to keep it up without any breakdowns, so let’s make sure we have the best visibility on the targets. Let the pilots decide what should be fired at before they engage.” Javier said knowing Charles would tell Estabon’s pilots they had the ability to designate which targets would be fired on by the particle beams weapons supporting them.
Estabon watched his battle screen as his wings of fighters descended back into the lower atmosphere. Two smooth edged rectangular prism shaped pods underneath the fighters emitted exhaust slowing down the descent making it easier for the fighters to deal with the heat and stress of reentry. The majority of the fighter could easily withstand the friction and extreme temperatures to include the pilot inside the cockpit, but there were intentional precautions not to test the limits of munitions and dedicate electronic systems. At eighty thousand feet, the pods were ejected and allowed to drop with an auto thruster firing prior to hitting a solid or liquid surface, preventing them from fatally falling on a person.
USAF inceptors were scrambling to organize an effective counterattack. Estabon saw nine-hundred miles radius of airspace. Tiny colored dots on the screen indicated many types of aircraft, but Estabon was most concerned with the F15 Eagles and F16 Falcons being relocated to positions in northern Texas still under friendly control. Even though the F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightnings were more formidable, the majority of them were destroyed or damaged on the ground by the initial surprise attack. Aircraft carriers were easy prey to the particle beam platforms. Denver was pushing a lot of aircraft out to the west, but commands were being changed as US radar systems detected the unexpected appearance of a thousand Hawk fighters over Central America in less than thirty minutes. Estabon felt uneasy as he commanded his pilots to engage US aviators representing the people he once fought to protect and fight with in Nam.
Eduardo saw and also felt the turmoil, but it was unfortunate since they knew the people of the world would put up a fight, even if it meant they were fighting to save a government and ideologies with many flaws. However, his attention was drawn away from the battle over North America, and diverted to his sector of concern over Europe. Many countries and military forces were consolidated in a very small area of land, when compared to other continents. Eight legions were invading Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa, but Russia was being left alone. The Russian states were preparing for a ground attack which unknown to them was not going to occur if all went well.
The friendly unit reports filtered through a group of starships, and important activity not on track was sent to the UFS Tarsus’ bridge. The 6th Infantry legion was already receiving loses and intel between the Soldiers and the starships was being interfered with. Tanks and Soldiers were being killed or captured, and a heavy Air Defense umbrella was preventing air superiority in favor of the legion. Direct ground reports being relayed to the beachheads and naval vessels indicated the enemy coalition was able to neutralize the laser communications network and envelope units with success. The terrain however, didn’t allow for the legion to be completely surrounded and isolated. Beachheads in Cairo and west of it, allowed the legion to land successfully. However; the beach landing east of Cairo proved unsuccessful and had to be diverted into Alexandria. Congestion management and logistics was modified to receive the units, but whatever the Egyptians were doing on the east; it was enough to make the legion have to fight for Cairo and the Suez Canal.
“What’s the 6th fighting down there?” Eduardo asked, wanting to know specifics on the enemy; as he scrolled through maps and live feeds of the battle.
“Sir, it's a conglomeration of Israeli, US, and Egyptian corps and divisions.” One of the special operations analysts said; putting up an order of battle breakdown of each nation on three out of the six main screens.
The Israeli order of battle was familiar and expected to show up in full strength, but the US structure on the ground showed a full division of six combat brigades plus 3rd SF Group. “Why didn’t we have this information earlier?”
“We received a different OB from our assets in Israel and Egypt; but the targeting computer is accurately identifying those units.” The Master Sergeant replied.
“They fed false information to the spies.” Eduardo, half smirked with surprise and admiration for their cleve
rness.
‘I’m almost done here. I’ll return on the way there, get me a ship to refuel at.’ Estabon said, his fighters having downed a hundred jets and convinced the remaining eighty to ground their planes.
‘And what are you going to do?’ Eduardo asked having a good idea.
‘Our two legions in Australia are making ground, so it’s not the tech. I need to find out how they’re defeating us, I trained the 10th and you know she’s down there.’ Estabon received the coordinates and computations for his orbital reserves to get him back into space.
Eduardo inhaled deeply but said nothing to Estabon. He touched his chair console bringing up a direct link to the 6th legion commander. “General Castiel, I want your legion to pull back and defend the beachheads. Reinforcements are on their way.”
Chapter 15
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Keep the Faith
US Coalition 3rd SF Group, Command Center, Sderot, Israel
Unmanned aerial vehicles flew tracks but kept their distance making sure not to enter within 200 miles of Cairo. It was three hours since the declaration of war and the coalition had already repelled an amphibious landing and stopped the advance of ten South American divisions into Israel. The South American divisions were not without influence being able to shoot down any aircraft over occupied territory. The provisional SOF Tactical Operation Center was coordinating directly with Israeli defense command and Lieutenant General Baxter, division commander of the US coalition. The remains of Egyptian military forces dwindled down to two divisions who escaped half way to the Israeli border.
Brenda slept on her cot in a back room of the TOC. Small tell tale signs of months in the occupied structure didn’t show around her cot as she slept ready to spring into action. All her uniforms and non−essentials packed away should the TOC need to move. The war was in full swing, but her sleep was more of a fifteen minute break at three in the morning. The enemy had retreated back into Cairo, and she knew people would want her to turn the tide once again.
