The Ninth: Invasion

by Benjamin Schramm

  As the ground rapidly approached, he could start to make out details with the naked eye. A thin crescent was the mountain range that surrounded the city. Impossibly tiny boxes were the houses and offices of the civilian population. A warning tone sounded three times in his helmet. Brent quickly steadied his rifle and started calibrating the scope. He and the rest of the non-snipers were nearing weapons range. He could make out streets and some bridges as the warning tone sounded twice. Pointing his rifle toward the densest spot of resistance, he waited. As the warning tone sounded a final time, Brent opened fire.

  With the considerable distances involved, it took a while before the shots reached their mark. This meant hitting moving targets was nearly impossible, but the ITU gave him more than enough stationary targets. The troopers in the sky started exchanging fire with the defenders on the ground. Countless flashes of light ripped through the sky. One of the primary missile launchers was struck by a salvo from the Harbinger. With his current distance, Brent could see the shockwave ripple through the ground as windows shattered and ground defenders were knocked over.

  A huge plume of dust and smoke erupted from the remains of the weapons facility, covering the city like a blanket. Through the dark cover, firing accurately was impossible. Returning his rifle to its holster, Brent focused on avoiding the debris sent airborne from the explosion. As he penetrated the cloud, its blackish brown fog replaced the scenic vista of the world below. Without being able to see the ground, he had to rely on the readouts given to him by the suit. A series of dotted lines created a grid work on his helmet showing him where the ground should be and the descent path he needed to follow. Fortunately, the ground forces were just as blind as he was, so he could focus on landing without worry.

  With a sudden jerk and a loud roar, the suit started slowing its descent to safe speeds. With a sudden flash of light, Brent had penetrated the dust and smoke. The ground was right where it needed to be, and the grid work faded from his view. Brent prepared for the landing like he had learned in the 3Ps. Curling up into a ball, he let the suit absorb the brunt of the impact as he rolled along the ground. When most of the momentum had dissipated, he sprung out of the curled position and landed with his rifle out and ready for combat. After quickly scanning the area for hostile forces, he took cover and waited for the others to land.

  “What happened?” Harper’s voice shouted inside his helmet. “You are way off course. Don’t tell me you recruits blew it.”

  “The missile silo explosion blew us off course,” Tyra said through the communications link.

  “Likely story,” Harper seethed. “I knew you’d find some way to screw up. We’re facing heavy resistance, so we can’t come and bail your butts out. Stay put and try not to get into more trouble.”

  “Acknowledged.” Tyra’s voice betrayed her annoyance.

  A couple of her troopers landed in the same street Brent had. They quickly rushed over to him.

  “Loud mouth, isn’t he?” Kindra asked aloud.

  “Once we all get on the ground, I’ll set us up a local com channel,” Marie said with a smile.

  “You know how to do that?” Kindra asked.

  “Sure do.” She nodded with obvious pride.

  “That means we won’t have to listen to that man scream anymore,” Kindra said, patting Marie on the head. “I could just kiss you!”

  Before too long, the rest of the squad had landed and reassembled without incident. It only took Marie a minute or two to set up a link strong enough only for the squad to hear.

  “That should do it,” she said, pointing to her helmet. “We can talk to one another without anyone else hearing us.”

  “Or having to hear anyone else,” Ronald said as he switched off Harper’s feed. “From the noise they are making, I’m guessing Harper and his men are pinned down.”

  “That’s good news for us.” Cain started walking off. “With the ITU forces busy playing with Harper, we shouldn’t have much to worry about.”

  “You know where we’re headed?” Rhea asked.

  “Of course. But we should hurry. The Harbinger will be sending drop ships soon, and we need to be done before they get here.”

  “Why exactly couldn’t we have just gone down on one of those?” Owen asked. “Did we really need the high altitude drop?”

  “Of course we did,” Dante answered. “Drop ships are anything but maneuverable. Those missile batteries would have made short work of them. Someone had to come down first to knock them out.”

  “We figure it will take another twenty minutes before the defense network is disabled sufficiently for drop ships to be used safely,” Cain said, looking up at the dissipating smoke cover. “We have little time and much to do.”

  The squad moved swiftly through the abandoned streets. Once in a while, Brent would spot a family peeking from the safety of their homes, but no one offered any resistance to the heavily armed troopers. They didn’t encounter a single armed defender on their way to the power generation facility. As they reached it, they found the main gate unguarded and open.

  “Angela, what do you sense?” Tyra asked.

  “Nothing, not a whisper. It’s like the place is deserted.”

  “Sanderson, Liz, Penny, do you see anything?”

  Using their sniper scopes, the three quickly surveyed the facility.

  “Not a thing,” Penny said. “The lights are on but no one is home.”

  Sanderson nodded in agreement. With a nod from Tyra, the squad moved into the facility. Just as Angela had said, the place was deserted. A few plates sat on one of the terminals with half eaten meals waiting on them. Dante felt one of the plates.

  “Still warm; they left not too long ago,” Dante said.

  “Probably ran when the invasion started,” Rhea said.

  “Let’s hope they didn’t do anything funny before they left.” Cain continued.

  As the rest followed after Cain, something caught Brent’s eye. On the edge of one of the terminals was a cigar. He found it strange that there wasn’t a single ashtray in the entire room for the discarded cigar. It seemed as out of place in the facility as their squad did. With a shrug he quickly ran to catch up to the others. As they penetrated further into the facility, Brent started to gain an appreciation of the size of it. It must have supplied the power for at least half of the southern continent.

  Without Cain’s guidance, it would have been impossible for the squad to avoid getting lost. Their progress was quick and unhindered. Every time they ran into a security checkpoint, they found it abandoned. The weapons stores were empty, but security access cards and half eaten meals were left behind. The local garrison must have called for anyone with even a hint of weapon’s training.

  “This should be it, the last security door,” Cain said, inserting the key card he had lifted from the last security checkpoint.

  The door opened slowly with a loud creaking sound. Before it had fully opened, the troopers filed into the room and secured it.

  “Clear,” Ronald shouted.

  “Well, that was anticlimactic,” Tyra said, entering after the all clear.

  “You wanted a shootout?” Hiroko asked.

  “I guess not, but this feels like stealing candy from a baby.”

  “Just remember that baby has a knife to the throat of the Commonwealth right now,” Cain said, pulling out a black cube from his storage pack.

  “What’s that?” Dante asked.

  “I’m smart but no hacker. It’s a data uplink. Once I attach this to the console over here, the CI fleet in orbit will have full access. After that, it’s only a matter of time before they gain complete control.”

  “So that’s it?” Angela asked. “Mission accomplished?

  “Basically,” Cain said with a grin. “All that’s left is for us to get out of here before we raise suspicion

  “I was hoping we’d see some action,” Doug said, pouting.

  “Next war, Dougie, next war.” Marie patted him on the head.
>
  The squad left quickly and snuck back into the city, heading toward Harper’s group. As they got closer to his coordinates, Brent noticed the sounds of combat were absent. There were no rifles firing or bombs exploding; everything was calm.

  “About time you all showed up!” Harper shouted. “You missed the whole thing.”

  “The operation was a complete success,” Chelsea said with a smile. “Orbital batteries have been captured or destroyed. Drop ships are inbound with reinforcements. As soon as they arrive, we’ll press on to the capital.”

  Overhead, dozens of drop ships were headed toward the surface. Landing in neat formation, the ships started emptying their troopers.

  “Commander Harper, are you there?” Shen’s voice came over the communications link.

  “Yes, Admiral, I hear you.”

  “We need you back on the ship ASAP. CI did manage to sabotage the navigation array, but that hasn’t stopped the ITU from sending ships. We’ve got a sizeable number of them bearing down on the planet. Without the navigation data, they had to jump in a far distance away, so we have the advantage, but ship-to-ship combat is a distinct possibility. I need you and as many troopers as you can spare back on the ship.”

  “Understood sir, right away.”

  Harper kicked the ground violently.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll save a few for when you get back,” Chelsea said soothingly.

  “You heard the admiral!” Harper shouted. “Everyone with mêlée training head to a drop ship; we’re going back. That includes you recruits! I’ve read over your personnel files, and some of you have promise. Cassandra, Hiroko, and Brent report to a drop ship.”

  “Wait a minute, you can’t break up my squad,” Tyra protested.

  “I can and did. Chelsea will be leading the ground forces while I’m gone. She’ll give you your orders from now on.”

  “I’m coming with,” Owen shouted.

  “I don’t know how you managed to beat me that night, but your personnel file is clear. You’re not cut out for close quarters combat.”

  “Even so, I’m a good medic. You’ll no doubt suffer losses. If I’m there maybe I can reduce that number.”

  “The ship has medics already. Your request is denied.”

  “It wasn’t a request,” Owen said flatly. “I am going with you.”

  Harper looked over Owen and burst into laughter.

  “Obviously your file is wrong. If you can stand up to me, you can stand up to the Union. Get to the drop ship. Everyone else, move out!”

  Before Tyra or the rest could protest further, the Harbingers started marching, carrying them along with them. Cain watched with a disconcerted look on his face as the drop ship carrying Brent and the rest lifted off.

  “You’re worried about something,” Angela whispered to Cain.

  “Of course I’m worried! They just took four of us away,” Cain whispered back.

  “It’s more than that. There’s something you’re not telling us.”

  The drop ship shimmied and shook as it escaped the atmosphere of Reloas. Although Brent barely noticed them, the crash landing during the exams would always be a threshold that towered over any minor vibration. He was surprised how familiar it felt inside the drop ship. With a wry smile, he imagined an instructor watching over them with total control over their actions. With a chuckle he realized he might not be all that far off, but instead of an instructor it would be Alden pulling the strings.

  “Why just us?” Cassandra asked, interrupting his idle thoughts.

  “What do you mean?” Hiroko shifted inside the harness.

  “Harper ordered just the three of us to come along. Why not Ronald or Dante or the others? Owen practically had to fight his way on.”

  “Most likely because he didn’t want any back talk,” Brent said with a sigh.

  “But they are the best in the squad. Each of them could probably take on an ITU boarding party single-handedly,” Cassandra said.

  “What exactly in our history with Harper would lead you to believe he thinks on that rational a level?” Owen grumbled. “Ronald is loyal to Tyra, and Dante made a pretty big stink about revenge. He’s probably rationalized an excuse for every person in our squad. Nothing but a fool if you ask me.”

  “Regretting coming along?” Hiroko asked with a smile.

  “Not at all. Someone’s got to keep you hotheads safe.”

  With a final, violent motion, the drop ship came to a stop. The hatch at the far end opened, releasing the bright white artificial light of the Harbinger. The troopers quickly released their restraints and marched out of the drop ship. They struggled to take off their bulky combat suits in a timely manner. Harper was already bellowing his orders, sending groups of troopers throughout the ship. He purposefully ignored Brent and the others until after he had given all of his troopers their orders. Finally, Harper finished with the rest and turned on Tyra’s troopers.

  “Listen up and listen good. I’m only going to say this once. Cassandra, you head to section one forty-three. That’s main engineering. If we are boarded, the heavy fighting will be there. Hiroko, you head to section eighty-nine. Arms storage, we’ve got to keep . . .”

  “Wait, you’re breaking us up?” Owen asked in concern.

  “That’s what I said. Pay attention and stop interrupting. You’ll head to section one thirteen. You’ll assist the other medics there. Try not to get in their way.”

  “What about me?” Brent asked, trying not to show his annoyance.

  “You’re with me. Admiral Shen wants us on the bridge. Asked for you personally.” Harper said the last part with total disdain.

  “How exactly are we supposed to find these sections?” Hiroko asked. “Brent’s always been the one to show us around.”

  “Check your pads. I took the liberty of making some maps for you babies. Try not to get lost.”

  With a final sneer, Harper headed toward a doorway.

  “Good luck, everyone.” Owen’s voice was full of sorrow. “Stay safe. I’ll keep a look out for . . .”

  “Today recruits!” Harper shouted angrily, interrupting their farewells. “Today!”

  The troopers nodded to one another and headed to their assigned sections. Hiroko gave Owen a quick kiss on the cheek before running off, following her pad’s map. Brent grabbed Cassandra by the shoulder before she got far.

  “You’d better hurry before he starts screaming some more,” Cassandra said with a forced smile.

  “Don’t worry.”

  Brent took her hand and reached into his pocket. As she looked at him in confusion, he removed his pocket watch and placed it in her hand.

  “What’s this for?” she asked, staring at the silver disk.

  “I’ll want that back,” Brent said with a smile. “You’d better take care of it, and yourself.”

  Cassandra nodded with a tear in her eye as she embraced the small watch. Harper cleared his throat loudly. She smiled genuinely before she headed off down the corridors. Brent leisurely joined Harper. Harper grumbled but didn’t say anything as they headed toward the bridge. As the two headed down the corridors, Brent could spot men in the white uniform of the Navy ducking out of the way of their approach. Harper was no doubt as popular with the crewmembers as he was with Tyra’s squad.

  While the Harbinger looked like a huge ship from the outside, navigating it on the inside made it seem at least twice as vast. While Harper navigated from apparent memorization, Brent kept a mental note of their location as he checked the doorways they passed. Technically speaking, the ship could be controlled from any point, but for some reason bridges seemed to always be in the front.

  Maybe it was a holdover from the past. A time when captains wanted to see where they were headed with their own eyes. Or perhaps those in command merely wanted to pass through the Wall as quickly as possible. In any case, it made the trip a long one as they passed through section after section. Just as Brent’s legs were starting to grow sore, they reached the bridge
. He recognized the admiral’s voice along with the dozen or so others who ran the entire monolith of a ship.

  “. . . and fleet status?” Shen asked.

  “The Prudence has suffered some damage, but nothing critical,” a thin man said in a high-pitched voice.

  “The Prudence . . . isn’t that Rufas’ ship?”

  “Yes, Admiral. However, Mr. Linwood and the rest of the Commonwealth staff elected to stay behind. The ship is currently running under a skeleton crew.”

  “With us about to enter combat with the ITU?” Shen shook his head in dismay. “Patch me in to her captain.”

  “I’ll have it up in a moment, sir.” A woman at a communications terminal started tapping away at her readouts. “Link established. The Prudence is reading us loud and clear.”

  “Captain, this is Admiral Shen. How are things on your end?”

  “Just peachy. This rust bucket is barely holding together. I’ve got my men working as best they can to keep her running, but it’s tough,” the captain grumbled sourly.

  “Exactly how many men is that?”

  “I should have a crew of eighty-seven. Including myself, I’ve got thirty-two. We’re stretched to the limit.”

  “Your work so far has been commendable. We are about to engage the ITU in combat. Boarding parties are a distinct possibility. If you could . . .”

  “Forget it, we can’t keep this ship in one piece and fight off the Union.”

  “I wasn’t going to suggest anything of the sort Captain. Move your ship to the rear of the formation. You’ll be providing ranged support for this engagement.”

  “About time I got some good news.” The captain grunted a bit as he broke communications.

  “Charming fellow,” the communications officer said with a smirk.

  “He’ll do his job, but don’t expect anything more.” The thin man shook his head disapprovingly.

  “What is the status of the ITU fleet?” Shen asked, ignoring their comments.

  “They are attempting to jam our scans, but I estimate a full forty ships, probably more,” a woman said with a sigh as she double-checked her readings.