Stars & Empire: 10 Galactic Tales

by Jay Allan

  “But we didn’t,” Marken snapped as he realized how close they had come to death. If the railgun round that had impacted the ship just below the Command Center had hit another ten meters higher, everyone in the Command Center would have died. “They possessed a weapon we were not aware of. I will certainly report this to the Kleese and demand an explanation!”

  “It’s war,” Captain Jenkins spoke, surprised at how frightened Marken had become. It was evident that very seldom did the Kiveans ever encounter an opponent who could strike successfully at one of their assault ships. “Losses are to be expected, even Kivean.” Jenkins looked at Marken pointedly, curious how the Kivean would respond.

  “You are right,” admitted Marken, calming down. “It just happens so seldom I was not prepared for it.”

  “Lieutenant Nelson and I will go get our marines ready,” Jenkins said as he gestured for the lieutenant to follow him.

  The Wren had managed to destroy eight assault ships; it made the captain wonder just what else might be in store for them down on the planet. This operation was not starting out well considering that they had already lost over six hundred soldiers and the ground battle hadn’t even started yet.

  Marken watched them go, realizing the Humans didn’t understand what was at stake. There were certain key Kiveans in the assault fleet that couldn’t be lost, not if their plan to escape from the Kleese was to be successful. This was also the first time in years that he had come so close to death. It made him wonder how the Humans did it, knowing that, in each ground campaign, they could die. It made him respect the Humans even more.

  -o0o-

  Reaching the main flight bay where the drop ships were waiting, Wade saw that Sergeant Stern already had everyone suited up in their Type Three battle suits. Each suit was plugged into a power unit, ensuring that when they departed the ship the suits would have a full charge. For the first time, all three units that normally trained in their dome would be going down. There were three assault ships that contained Captain Jenkins’s marines. Wade just hoped that the other two ships had survived the Wren’s attack. Lieutenant Williams and Jeffries were on those other ships. Several weeks back, Lieutenant Jeffries had been transferred to Captain Jenkin’s command.

  “What hit the ship?” Jamie asked over the com as Wade mounted the small platform and felt his suit close up around him. “We could feel it even down here.”

  “A damn railgun round,” replied Wade, shaking his head and looking over at Sergeant Stern. “Evidently these Kleese ships have a problem with certain primitive weapons. We lost eight assault ships and several others, including this one, were damaged.”

  “Prepare for drop,” Captain Jenkins voice came over the com.

  “Let’s mount up,” Wade ordered as he activated his suit and strode over toward one of the four drop ships in the bay.

  “We’re fighting bugs, Sir?” asked Private Dawson, sounding nervous.

  “They look like giant locusts,” replied Wade, calmly. “Just shoot them like you would anything else.”

  “I hate grasshoppers,” Dawson complained as he climbed into the drop ship. “I can’t believe we’re going to be fighting intelligent grasshoppers.”

  “They’re not grasshoppers,” Captain Jenkins’s voice came over the com. “They’re more similar to Cicadas, though most people call them locusts.”

  “I don’t like those either,” Dawson muttered as he tried to picture a giant Cicada in his mind. “They’re loud.”

  “Just remember their mandibles are strong enough to tear through metal,” Sergeant Stern reminded him. “Don’t go getting your head bitten off.”

  Dawson reached up and touched the armor around his suit’s neck. “If one gets near me, I’ll kill it!”

  Wade nodded as he listened and watched the last member of his team climb on board the drop ship. At least fighting an insect race would make the killing easier; it was the humanoid races that left everyone feeling guilty afterward.

  A moment later the hatch closed, and shortly afterward they were falling rapidly down toward their destination. The ride was rough as the drop ship was buffeted by the thickening atmosphere.

  “Our target is their main spaceport,” Captain Jenkins’s voice came over everyone’s com. “There will be our own three units as well as six others taking part in the attack. We can expect heavy resistance and massive suicide waves. The Wren warriors have no fear of death; they only live to serve the ruling cast and their queens.”

  “Sounds like fun,” mumbled Private Russell over the com. “Any idea about how many we will be facing?”

  “Could be a few hundred to a few thousand,” replied Captain Jenkins, evenly. “Remember, our job is to destroy the spaceport as a demonstration of the power of the Kleese. They want the Wren to understand that we are not afraid to land on their planet and fight them on their home ground if necessary.”

  “That’s easy for the Kleese to say,” complained Private Dawson. “At least they’re safe in their big ship.”

  Jenkins didn’t reply as Dawson was speaking the truth. One of the big Kleese disk ships was currently sitting on the edge of the system, monitoring the attack.

  “Weapons check!” snapped Sergeant Stern, her voice sounding firm and confident over the coms. “RG rifles and energy beams at the ready. Hold off on explosive rounds until needed. Suit rounds are for the spaceport only, so don’t go lobbing them around without permission. We don’t want to blow anybody up by accident.”

  Another several minutes passed, then Wade felt the drop ship suddenly slow and level off. He could feel his weight increase as the drop ship’s inertial compensators struggled to maintain normal gravity. Then they were down and the hatch came slamming open.

  “Let’s go!” Wade yelled as he jumped up and moved quickly down the ramp, his RG rifle held at the ready.

  He paused at the sight in front of him. The area immediately around the drop ship was clear of Wren troops, but in the distance he could see hundreds, if not thousands heading toward them. The ground was relatively level with small rolling hills. Abut two to three kilometers away was the beginning of the spaceport. Even from here, Wade could see that it stretched on for kilometers.

  Looking to his side, he could see the other drop ships that were under Captain Jenkin’s command. Their marines were also pouring out and had paused at seeing all the Wren soldiers coming toward them. This was going to be a battle much more intense than any they had fought before. As soon as the marines were all unloaded, the ramps rose up and the hatches closed. Soon after, all twelve of the drop ships took off, heading back up toward the safety of space. Wade knew they were on their own, and the drop ships would not be returning until after the battle was over.

  “Form up in a staggered skirmish line!” Jenkin’s commanding voice came over the com as he took stock of the situation. “Use of RG explosives is permitted, let’s thin those insects out!”

  “Move it!” Wade yelled over his com, seeing that the Wren soldiers were moving extremely fast. It wouldn’t take them long to reach the skirmish line. “Sergeant Stern, lay down a suppression fire with RG explosive rounds, Sergeant Perry, I want to see energy weapons sweeping the front of those advancing enemy troops.”

  All eighty suits of battle armor in Lieutenant Nelson’s command instantly formed up in a staggered skirmish line and began firing. Eighty dark, nearly black, ten-foot tall battle suits were an imposing sight. They were quickly joined by the other units, and soon two hundred and forty marines were firing into the horde of advancing Wren. Explosive rounds began going off in the midst of the charging troops, killing dozens at a time. Blue energy beams flicked out cutting the Wren in two.

  From the Wren troops, weapons fire began to echo up and down their advancing line, and a few explosive rounds fell harmlessly amongst the marines. Even with the massive losses from the explosive rounds and the energy weapons, the Wren continued their charge.

  “Intensify your rate of fire!” ordered Captain Jenk
ins, seeing the enemy were coming closer and seemingly unaffected by their losses. It was as if for everyone they killed two more rose up to replace them. A solid black mass of charging Wren was bearing down on the armor-encased marines.

  Wade took careful aim with his RG rifle and began firing off regular rounds in a steady and controlled rate. He found quickly that it was taking more than one round to bring down a Wren soldier. He quickly switched to explosive rounds and began firing nonstop at the advancing enemy, knowing if that massive wave of bodies reached them there could be serious problems.

  “There’s too many of them!” Private Dawson exclaimed with worry in his voice. “I don’t think we’re going to get them before they reach us!”

  “Just watch your damn neck!” Private Russell replied as he fired an energy beam into two advancing Wren, cutting them down.

  Wade watched as blue energy beams swept the front of the Wren troops, cutting them in half. Even then, the body kept moving with the head and torso continuing to crawl toward the Human lines. It was a chilling sight. “Captain Jenkins, we need to use the suit explosives to help clear some of these Wren out or we’re going to be overrun!”

  “Agreed,” Jenkins replied quickly, he had already reached the same conclusion. “Every fourth marine step back and fire off two rounds from your suit tubes. Target is two hundred meters in front of us; I don’t think we want to fire any closer.”

  Wade felt the first concussion as one of the suit explosive rounds landed, blasting a huge crater in the ground. It was immediately followed by dozens of others as an entire area nearly two hundred meters wide and a kilometer in length was leveled. Wade knew that several thousand Wren troops had been obliterated, if not more, but the others were nearly upon them. For the first time, Wade got a close up view of a Wren. It stood nearly eight feet tall and had four arms standing on two legs. Large wings on their backs indicated they were capable of flight. In one of their arms, the Wren held some type of rifle and what looked like a large war axe in the other.

  “They’re going to get to us,” Lieutenant William’s voice came sharply over the com. “We’re not going to be able to stop them all!”

  Wade checked the HUD in his helmet. Only two suits showed amber from the Wren weapons fire, but he wasn’t sure how a suit would hold up if struck by one of the large battle axes the Wren were wielding. “Everyone, this is going to be hand-to-hand really quick. Use the Energy Lances!”

  Wade slung his rifle back over his suit and grasped the Energy Lance at his waist. As he pulled it from his scabbard it instantly lit, emitting a blue surging light and making a crackling noise. The first Wren soldier was almost upon him as he thrust the lance into the midsection of it, cutting easily through the body. Wrenching the lance free he made a swinging motion, cutting the insect completely in two. All around him he could hear the sizzling sound of Energy Lances cutting through flesh and the occasional scream of a marine as he went down under the weight of Wren troops.

  The fighting grew more intense, and Wade suddenly felt another battle suit bump into him. “We need to stay close together,” Sergeant Stern said as she lopped off a Wren’s head directly in front of Wade. “The Energy Lances work best if two marines work together. Stay away from those damn axes; I saw one of them cut right through a suit of armor.”

  “You heard the sergeant,” Wade yelled over his com. “Groups of two and cover each other.” Looking at his HUD Wade saw that eight icons were now amber and three were red. Marines were dying!

  For what seemed like hours, Wade swung his Energy Lance, killing Wren after Wren. But they still came on and soon Wade and Sergeant Stern were standing upon Wren bodies as they continued to pile up. Then he began to hear more explosive rounds going off and suddenly felt himself hurled upward and slammed into the ground. For a moment, Wade laid there stunned and couldn’t move. Opening his eyes, he realized a Wren was lying on top of him. Shoving the dead Wren to the side, he staggered to his feet. Next to him, Sergeant Stern was still on the ground, and he heard her roll over with a moan.

  “What the hell happened?”

  “Someone fired suit explosives almost directly on our position,” Wade answered as he saw the four smoking holes in the ground less than fifty meters from their current location.

  Looking around, all he could see were piles of Wren bodies all cut apart or blown to pieces. More marines in battle suits were standing back up. A few were now using their energy weapons or RGs to finish off the few surviving Wren in the immediate area or whose bodies were still moving.

  In the distance, he could hear the rumbling of more explosions. The far side of the spaceport was being attacked, and he could see several buildings on fire. The marines on that side of the spaceport had obviously reached their objective.

  “Lieutenant Nelson, we have a problem,” Lieutenant Williams said in a strained voice over the com system. She had been the one who had ordered the explosive rounds to be fired, realizing too many marines were being injured or killed. It had been a dangerous decision, but it had worked.

  “What is it, Lieutenant?” Wade asked as he sheathed his Energy Lance and looked toward the lieutenant’s position. She was about one hundred meters away from him.

  “It’s Captain Jenkins, he’s badly injured.”

  “Crap,” responded Wade, feeling as if he had been punched in the gut. “I’m on my way. Sergeant Stern get our people organized and back into a skirmish line. We need to begin advancing before the Wren can hit us again.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Jamie replied as she turned and moved off to carry out his orders.

  Wade hurried over to Beth’s position to find her leaning over a prone battle suit with several other marines standing vigilantly by with their RG rifles at the ready. It took Wade only a moment to recognize what was wrong. One of the Wren had made it to Captain Jenkins and managed to tear or bite the complete right arm of his combat suit in two. There was blood everywhere, and the captain wasn’t moving.

  “What happened?”

  “It was the Wren,” sobbed Beth, knowing the captain was near death.

  She had already checked his vitals, but even with the suit he had lost too much blood. She wondered if the Wren had injected some type of poison into his system when it had bitten him. The captain’s arm had been torn or bitten off at the shoulder, and there was also a ragged hole in the side of his suit where one of the Wren battle axes had struck. “They overran us and the captain got cut off. Before we could get to him it was too late!”

  Wade bent over and tried to speak to the captain. “Captain Jenkins, can you hear me?”

  “I’m done for,” Jenkins replied in a weak voice. “My suit’s too damaged. You have to take charge, Wade. Tell General Mitchell that’s what I want.” Captain Jenkins’ left arm raised up to grasp Wade’s shoulder. “Wade, get our people back to Earth someday.”

  “I will, Sir,” Wade promised as the captain’s grasp relaxed and his arm slid back down. On his HUD, one of the amber icons turned red.

  Letting out a deep breath, Wade stood back up and gazed around. A number of marines were standing close by in their battle suits, watching. Others had taken up their positions in the skirmish line. “Captain Jenkins is dead,” Wade announced over his suit’s com. “Let’s move out and finish this job; we can mourn the dead when the fighting is over.”

  Wade turned to leave when he felt a hand on his right arm. He saw that Lieutenant William’s battle suit was still next to him.

  “Wade, did you really mean that about going home?”

  “Yes,” Wade replied with conviction in his voice. “I promised the captain, and I keep my promises.”

  Williams nodded and releasing the arm of Wade’s suit, turned and strode over to her marines. “Get in the skirmish line! What are you waiting for? We have a battle to finish!”

  For the next hour, the marines slowly moved forward, encountering occasional resistance from Wren forces. Most of the resistance was light, and it quickly became evident tha
t they had used most of the troops available to them in the initial charge. Only Wade and a few others fully understood how close the Wren had come to winning that battle. One of the things that confused Wade was why the Wren hadn’t attacked them from the air. If they were capable of flight, it only seemed to reason they would have attempted to do so. But not once so far in the battle had he saw a Wren take to the air.

  They finally reached the edge of the spaceport and began lobbing their suit explosive shells from the two tubes on the back of their suits at their designated targets. A few worker Wren were spotted, but they were deemed not to be dangerous as they seemed to be wandering around without direction. Buildings, gantries, assembly structures, command and control centers were targeted and were soon piles of burning rubble. Smoke filled the air and the marines in the battle suits stood impassively as they leveled everything within range.

  “All targets destroyed,” Lieutenant Jeffries and Williams reported when the last suit explosive round had been expended.

  Wade checked the HUD one more time as he used the sensors in his suit to scan for active power sources. There was nothing. The spaceport was destroyed, and nothing remained that could ever be used to construct or launch a spaceship. This same procedure was being used all across the planet by other marines that had been dropped on the surface.

  “I wonder how the others did?” Sergeant Stern asked as she walked over to stand close to Wade with her energy weapon cradled in her arms.

  “Our units are the only ones with the Type Three suits,” Wade responded. Adjusting the optics in his suit, he could see other battle suits on the far side of the space complex. Even from here, he could see they were wearing the Type Two suits. He suspected their casualties might have been higher.

  A noise distracted him and looking up, saw the drop ships were returning. It was time to return to the assault ship and administer to their wounded.