Planet Genocide II: Galaxies Collide 5: Onslaught

by Andrew McGregor

  A few were not so concerned…stunned retreating and wounded soldiers, the demoralised fleeing civilians that had survived witnessing brutality beyond their wildest imaginations now considering that this was the inevitable final throw of the dice…that there was nothing left for the military to do.

  Either way, some believed the chances of survival were now diminishing by the hour…that a miserable and merciless end was now surely only a matter of time.

  Prime Minister’s bunker, Great Britain

  Sky Commander Petaski slumped onto a red easy sofa before a small coffee table in their designated room, a low wattage table lamp the only illumination in the ornate confined space, wooden panelling filling the lower walls, crème painted cracked plaster walls above. Glancing round, he sighed further, recalling the heated argument in the meeting room, covert reports from a special operations unit in the Ukraine indicating that numerous missiles had been launched across the horizon, the messages routed through several exchanges across western Europe before arriving in Britain.

  The fleet intelligence officer leant next to him to pour some tea as he whispered warily, ‘We need to get this new information to Admiral Karladen…and quickly.’ He slipped the fleet cap from his head and dropped it onto the table top, indicating to the one of two bunks where the covert communicator was concealed, ‘I will ask to be present on the forthcoming conference with the United States President...you speak to the ship and brief the admiral personally…the humans should not be allowed to suspect anything. We need the medical bay to start producing protective tablets and injections as soon as possible…they will not stop any physical damage, but could reduce the effects of radiation poisoning.’

  He wearily sank back further as the young female officer sighed, ‘The Morgons will target the most potent missiles inside the atmosphere…the rest will be allowed to detonate across their shields, they have done it before.’ She lowered tentatively onto the edge of the sofa next to him, their dark blue uniforms contracting against the deep crimson material behind, ‘They may target the remaining caches of missiles still on earth? The Americans and other countries have sufficient stocks to destroy the planet several times over…’

  Petaski shook his head, running a hand through his hair nervously, ‘Unlikely, but a possibility. We must hope the enemy will not want to endanger so many of their own troops…physically they are more resilient than us, able to adapt to extreme climates and pollution, but they must have a limit…and there are many of them here now. I believe their commanders will use the current opportunity presented to them to weaken the human defences further…’

  They glanced up startled as there was a brief knock at the door, a muffled voice coming from the corridor, ‘Sky Commander…the link is going live shorty, the Prime Minister has requested your presence.’

  Video Conferencing

  The Sky Commander lowered himself onto the chair next to the Prime Minister, straightening his navy uniform in readiness as the technician behind the side camera counted down with his fingers, the screens ahead flickering as images of the German, French and Italian leaders formed, the last but one screen flickering before the face of the US President became clear.

  There was a short pause as the microphones and speakers were checked, the Prime Minister turning his head slightly to whisper grimly, ‘It looks like we are entering the final stages of this war. The Russians and now invariably…as a result, the Chinese seem to have ceased communications, we are fragmenting rather than joining together to fight a common enemy…’

  The technician coughed, two immaculately suited MI5 agents now stood behind the camera as the US President forced a smile, nodding for the Prime Minister to continue. The British leader cleared his throat, shaking his head in frustration, ‘Mr President, as the European leaders are now aware, we believe Russia and possibly China have launched a tactical nuclear response against one of the high orbiting ships. Their communications are currently blocked to us and both nations may have resorted to working together rather than with us…’

  The President nodded grimly, glancing past the camera briefly as one of his agents held up a message. Looking back into the lens, he spoke softly, seeming distracted, ‘We will have to continue on alone then…’ The picture flickered once more, the man sighing, ‘What is the expected enemy response?’

  Sky Commander Petaski swallowed deeply, realising he was about to communicate directly with several of earth’s leaders, ‘I believe they will destroy several of the missiles in the high atmosphere and probably will have done so by now…the rest will be allowed to impact against their shields, or be destroyed in space…’ Petaski grimaced, his voice rising slightly, ‘It will be some time before the radiation reaches the lower levels, so we have time to prepare for casualties…it really depends on how many they destroy and of what strength they are.’

  The President leant forward with intrigue, ‘Is there any chance of success…I mean, should we launch too? Is there a possibility more missiles could destroy these ships?’

  The Sky Commander shook his head, straightening his uniform further as he realised the other leaders were watching him intently, ‘Very unlikely, there will be very little damage if any…these are far less effective weapons than the more advance explosives and technology we can deploy. Most of our technology can now prevent the use of such weapons or even…’ His voice tailed off, realising he had said too much.

  The US leader’s eyes widened as he glanced round, ‘Pease continue...or even what?’

  Petaski stared back into the lens, ‘The Morgons and we have the jamming and intercept ability to override your controls, to even use your own missiles against you.’ He spoke further, realising the leaders were staring nervously at his image, ‘I doubt the enemy will do this…they have more to gain by destroying these rockets.’

  The French President interjected, his accent strong, ‘What can we do against these enemy ships then? What course of action is open to us, if any?’

  The Sky Commander nodded, eager to provide more detail, ‘The Morgon shields are extremely powerful and resilient, your missiles are designed to explode within your atmosphere…the ones that detonate in space will still create radiation, but spread in far less concentration than the ones that explode nearer to your planet’s surface.’ He nodded, ‘There will be a spectacular light display, but little other than that…what it will do is create widespread panic…initiate psychological warfare against your population. Once they see the dramatic explosions, they will presume the air is radiated…poisonous.’

  The Italian Prime Minister raised his arms in exasperation, ‘There is nothing but bad news! Half of Italy will not move from prayers…the Vatican has never seen so many people, the roads are all blocked with traffic. The other half of the population are partying like there is no tomorrow…all night and day.’ He shook his head in frustration, ‘We have seen no attacks yet, but many reports we have to respond to…what will happen if the enemy does land?’

  The German leader interrupted, ‘Let us be unified…I have just received news that our combined special forces have driven back the enemy in the Ukraine, protecting the road to Kiev and the south…we must be grateful for any tactical advantage whilst we consider a plan to stop and defeat this menace. Germany has bolstered defences along the Baltic coast and we have sent troops to support Poland and France…we must all do the same. Increase our security and assist our immediate neighbours…’ She continued, ‘Perhaps if we can slow this enemy as we have done in France…open a dialogue even?’

  The US President pinched the end of his nose, his patience thinning, ‘This is all well and good, but America has suffered enormous casualties…our western seaboard has virtually disappeared and I am receiving reports of the possible fall of New York and Miami…there is heavy fighting in Boston and we have no realistic picture from the west, other than that Las Vegas is being bombed. Contact has been lost with several of our other communication bunkers across the United States and we must presume t
hat these have fallen also. I therefore consider our options for dialogue are extremely limited if non-existent!’

  The leader stared directly into the camera, ‘I have to advise this facility will soon be under direct attack…enemy vessels are circling above and we have recently received news that fighting has erupted near one of the compound’s entrances, that they already have troops landed nearby.’ He straightened, jaw tensing, ‘We believe we can hold out for a number of days…prevent the enemy from initially entering if we close the facility down.’

  The image flickered once more, the President sighing deeply, ‘If there is a solution or even the chance of a stalemate…a temporary reprieve even, we will have to find it very soon…there seems to be little time left now.’

  Warning lights flashed across the dimly lit bridge on one of the Morgon Decimator Warship, shrieks of alarm coming from the grey helmeted controllers as the target of several hundred converging missiles below became evident to the extensive ship’s computers. The sparkling helmets turned to stare at their commander, the white armoured figure leaning forward slightly from a wide raised seat behind, red eyes gleaming from the eye sockets in relish.

  The figure gradually sat back, two grey armoured Morgons stood either side, their uniforms etched with yellow and red rank markings, the white helmeted commander nodding briefly before a low clicking and shriek was emitted, the two senior operators stepping forward in unison to raised consoles, their boots clumping on the steel deck. Armoured fingers swept across the two upright defensive screens, the commander indicating for his other operators to resume their duties as he reached onto the wide armrest, flicking several on the sensory buttons to generate a covert coded message to be shared with other commanders on the ground.

  The massive warship continued, lights glittering along the darkened black hull as seventy canisters jettisoned to either side, a burst of thrust from the small rear stabilising engines as they spiralled downwards as increasing velocity, beginning to glow from intense heat as they entered the planet’s atmospheric ring. Drifting further, the gravitational pull dragged the flaming canisters through into the lower atmosphere and towards the streaking rockets below, the metallic objects contracting briefly and then detonating, thousands of small energised droids bursting from the perforated hulls, the nano robots surging outwards across the upper sky to hunt down the rising missiles.

  The nano droids homed in on the numerous targets, clanking against the fast moving sleek hulls, several of the missiles immediately losing power, thrusts shuddering as highly magnetic charges surged and fused through interior circuits. Many of the missiles were rendered useless within seconds, the nano droids tearing through reinforced outer hulls to devastate the weapon interiors, the velocity carrying the disintegrating rockets into the heated upper atmospheric ring.

  High powered detonations swept across the upper atmosphere, flashes above the dark clouds visible from earth’s surface as radioactive surges burst across the heavens, asteroids and broken satellite debris vaporising in the intense heat that surged outwards, swirling flame and toxic particles reacting with the heat from the sun. Further large explosions occurred in lower space, the lack of atmosphere causing numerous colours to sweep outwards, reactive particles drawn downwards with energy voids as the intense lights flickered and grew, further pulsing canisters jettisoned from the orbiting warship above towards the kaleidoscope of burning and churning colour.

  Several whirling pools seemed to form in the extended mass of particles, voids created from the numerous detonations merging to perpetuate the intense energised motions, the swirling colours glimmering from the sun’s rays. The canisters swept downwards into the polluted space clouds, turning and spinning as their ends rotated automatically, drawing polluted particles into the inner holds full of nano droids, the robust high strength frames then closing before thrusters reengaged, the scorched cylindrical hulls spiralling away to enter the upper earth’s atmosphere, plummeting downwards through the drifting radiation clouds, the specialist operators in the warship above selecting individual targets below…on the earth’s surface.

  Chapter Twenty Six: Our Time is Now!

  David Bland grimaced as the hold fell into darkness, the dull clunks outside causing him to wince as the uncomfortable shuffling around him commenced, a flight officer to his right coughing to gain attention amongst the thirty startled occupants then exclaiming, ‘Lower visors…make ready and fasten your belts, this will be a rough journey.’ The Trevakian rose, holding the overhead racks on either side as he stepped between the boots below, reaching out to tap the visor buttons of the soldiers, his determined voice ringing out across the small enclosed space, ‘We will descend rapidly…’ The grim officer hesitated as the clanking outside continued, ‘Once the dropships have left, the main ships will commence their assault run…Fahimian and our fighters are preparing to depart from other vessels…once they are away as our protective shield, we will be following…’

  The officer reached David, glancing down as Jozefina attempted to adjust her eye shield next to the airport manager, the officer’s lips pursing as he reached forward, ‘Allow the visor to adjust to the light properly…move your eyes from side to side so it can synchronise with your senses.’ The officer grinned as both visors slipped downwards, seeing the two managers blink several times as the lights flashed and roamed across their vision, hydraulics whirring outside and beneath as the pilot checked his controls.

  Stepping further, the Trevakian neared the doors to the cockpit, his tone still instructive, ‘I will advise you when to arm your weapons…this will be just before we land in case we are hit…we don’t want any accidents on board.’ He drew a sharp breath, ‘Oxygen will be recirculated through the cabin due to emergency protocol five…the drop ship will not be drawing in air from inside the atmosphere, it may be too toxic.’ Jozefina and David looked up in alarm as the officer’s helmet shook in annoyance, ‘The humans have apparently launched nuclear missiles and we are monitoring the pollution levels…they may have been destroyed in the upper atmosphere and this air will therefore be heavily polluted.’

  Jozefina gasped as the suddenly visor became clear, her arm rising as the officer turned, her head shaking in shock, ‘Nuclear missiles? Toxic air? What the hell has happened on earth?’ Her head dropped back onto the seat rest as David Bland gripped her arm reassuringly, his own expression grim and tensed.

  The flight officer swallowed, clearly irritated by the interruption, ‘I have little detail, but we know the fighting is bitter and in several locations…there will be a full briefing once we land.’ He glanced round as the outer noises continued, ‘The engineers are sealing air ducts and adding additional filters…if any of the pollution gets into an enclosed space like this, we will receive extensive exposure before landing…additional emergency oxygen canisters have been added to our supply, but as a precaution you should all regulate your breathing and remain calm. Are there any further questions?’

  On the bridge of Galactic Freedom, the admiral was staring at the screen before him intently, low lights pulsing as the ship gathered speed, adrenalin beginning to sweep through the commander’s frame as he rose from his seat, his head turning slowly I relish for the fight ahead, ‘Has the second warship moved out of range?’

  A lead ensign nearby glanced upwards excitedly, ‘Yes admiral…all our ships are now in formation, proceeding on pulse power and preparing to cloak further. Dropships will disembark from the rear ships as we approach earth’s orbit, then they will join the assault!’

  The commander nodded, a faint smile crossing his lips, ‘Good…let me speak to vice admiral Herk on the Cruiser Pirrigan…show on screen please…’

  The ensign nodded, static flickering across the image ahead before it cleared, the subordinate officer turning to face his communications device and nodding, ‘Yes admiral…Pirrigan is ready.’

  The commander smiled, staring at the dark haired female subordinate officer, the woman with startling green eyes,
her curvaceous frame appealing to him as she forced a smile, his words resounding across the bridge of the battle cruiser, ‘We have come a long way together…fought many Morgon adversaries and safeguarded our marines.’ The ensigns stiffened, staring up at their fleet commander in his command chair, the image on full screen as he continued, ‘This day you face your hardest challenge and the Trevakian Empire and I are highly honoured to have accepted your volunteer requests.’ His eyes seemed to moisten as he swallowed with emotion, ‘You are all very brave and an example to all…’ He leant forward, staring into the screen fondly as he respectfully viewed the seven ensigns behind their vice admiral, ‘Your orders are to maximise your speed at all times, to sustain your advanced weaponry on the target warship, but to adopt evasive action at every opportunity. You must distract the enemy for as long as possible.’

  The admiral sighed apprehensively, then smiled, ‘As you know, the Pirrigan now has additional armaments and enhanced shields…all unnecessary equipment and stores have been removed to enhance speed with the exception of your cloaking ability. I expect you to withdraw or even abandon ship should you sustain extensive damage…I have no wish to lose any fleet personnel.’

  Vice admiral Herk stiffened, nodding and saluting, ‘Yes admiral…we understand. I have briefed the ensigns and we have no other personnel on board. The nearest escape pods are active and have their own power sources should we become disabled…’ She stifled a mischievous grin, ‘We will just have to get to them…’

  The admiral smiled back, nodding as he rose from his seat, stiffening to attention and slamming his right fist to his chest, ‘You are an example to us all…I wish you every success and will be awaiting your return.’ His head lowered slowly, a wry grin forming across his lips, ‘I have arranged a dinner for you all upon your success…in the upper conference quarters.’