Jesse's Starship 3: Joshua's Walls

by Saxon Andrew

  Sergeant Dowd saw a massive cloud come rushing toward his carrier and he barely had time to activate the force field over the top of the carrier. The Weg crashed into the force field and flew off at an angle. He looked to the railing and he saw warriors firing at the bottom of his carrier. He checked the force field status and it was completely closed. He looked around and saw he had lost two thirds of his company in less than five minutes. He yelled, “Man the blasters and start firing.”

  The surviving warriors rushed to their rail mounted blasters and opened fire at the swirling cloud of Weg.

  • • •

  Cliff stood on his command carrier and saw the massive movement of soil rushing toward his carriers and he said, “Activate the spinners, now.”

  The Weg arrived and the circle of Weg leapt to the force field sunder cliff’s carriers and jammed their claws into them. The spinning force field immediately cut them off. Cliff looked to the north and raised the magnification of his helmet visor. He saw numerous carriers coming off the surface with Weg clinging to them.

  “Move your carriers to the north and start firing your sliver rifles at the Weg on their hulls. Go now!”

  The carriers rushed away from the massive mound of diggers and moved under the Gracken Carriers. They began firing at the Weg climbing the sides and barely managed to clear them off before the huge cloud of Flyers arrived. Cliff looked back toward his landing site and saw the ground going up as the Weg there began rushing toward his new location. He saw that the Weg on the ground were piling up on top of each other and leaping at the Carriers over them. “Move your carriers up another hundred feet and activate the overhead force field. Take out as many as you can!”

  • • •

  Alex watched the carriers as they landed and saw that General Santiago was right. The Weg were prepared for the carriers. He spun his dial and saw carriers being overrun at every landing site but those that had taken the portable force fields with them. He looked at Prissy, “How many have we lost?”

  “More than eight thousand, Sir.”

  Alex shook his head. “I should have listened to General Santiago.”

  Prissy shook her head, “Sir, there’s no way enough portable force fields could have been made in time for this drop. If you delayed any longer, we would have lost more ships to their missiles.”

  Alex stared at Prissy and then turned back to his monitor. Of the twenty five hundred carriers, eight hundred were down with all the warriors on board dead. He looked at Prissy, “Order the drop on the Queen.”

  Prissy picked up her communicator and said, “The drop has been approved. I repeat, the drop has been approved.”

  • • •

  The five giant transports flashed down to the surface and oriented the blasters on their hulls toward the center of their formation. The six mobile blasters locked on the surface and fired simultaneously, vaporizing a ten-foot diameter shaft deep into the ground. The transports moved over the shaft and the bottom swung open, releasing the Weg Engineers who immediately rushed into the shafts. The Special Forces Companies followed the Engineers and the rest of the Weg on the transport followed them. The entire operation was completed in less than five minutes and the transports fired their blasters into the ground surrounding the shafts preventing any of the surface defenders that were close by to move in to attack.

  • • •

  Jackie watched her carriers firing down into the mass of Weg Diggers building mounds under them. Suddenly, every Weg stopped moving for an instant and then they turned and ran away from the carriers at their highest speed. Jackie looked up and saw the dark cloud of Flying Weg move away. It appeared all the Weg had received some sort of communication and broke off their attack. Jackie contacted Cliff, “The Weg have broken off their attack.”

  “It has to mean the shafts have been cut above the Queen. They must be leaving to defend her.”

  “We’ve got to slow them down!”

  “Get ahead of them Jackie and force them to leave the surface.”

  Jackie activated her Division Frequency, “All pilots will chase the fleeing Weg and I want every blaster fired at them. Now move!”

  The two hundred carriers rose to two hundred feet and flew over the fleeing Weg. The blasters opened fire on the huge mass and Weg started dying. The carriers moved in front the streaming mass and all opened fire simultaneously. The Weg continued to rush into the massive firestorm but then they began disappearing into the ground. Jackie screamed, “Fire into the ground where you see it moving. Force them to dig deeper.” Jackie saw the wave of moving soil diminish and then disappear. The shafts were more than twenty miles away. They should not arrive in time to make a difference. Jackie looked out toward the horizon and saw a massive wall of running Weg approaching from the East. “Get in front of them and open fire.”

  She hit her communicator, “Cliff, I need support to hold them back.”

  “Get in line. Every Weg on the planet is rushing toward the Queen’s Chamber. All of us are doing what we can but it’s like bailing water out of the ocean. There’s just too much of it.”

  Jackie watched as the Weg would run up to her carriers, go underground, and emerge once they were past. She blew out a quick breath and yelled over the screaming Weg, “Stay ahead of the leaders!” The carriers fired their blasters and Weg were dying by the thousands. But millions were rushing toward the five shafts. She shook her head and hoped General Adams survived the assault.

  • • •

  Josh ran with the Weg Engineers down the steep incline and was surprised at the power of his new armor. He easily kept up with them and wasn’t winded by the run. They arrived at the end of the shaft and the Engineers dove into the wall and began cutting their way through the rock. He looked back up the long shaft behind him and knew trouble was coming. He looked at one of the engineers, “How long?”

  “Fifteen minutes.”

  Josh nodded and walked back up the steep incline. He waited with his search beams activated looking for anything moving his way. He could feel a vibration in the floor and knew that his defenders were being attacked. He went back to the Engineers and was amazed at the progress they had made. He moved forward with them and looked at his chronometer. Twelve more minutes. Time seemed to drag so slowly.

  • • •

  Bart ran with his twenty-five SF Warriors down the shaft and watched where the stone started. He moved a hundred more yards and raised his arms, “Set up here!” The Warriors pulled the tripods off their legs and lifted their giant weapons off their backs and shoulders. Bart moved out in front of them and saw a Weg come rushing down the shaft toward him. He activated the telepathy helmet he was wearing and said, “We will start our defense here.”

  “You need to move further down the shaft.”

  “Why?”

  “All of us will not fit in the shaft if you set up here.”

  Bart stared at the Weg and said over his helmet radio, “Pick ’em up!” Bart turned back to the Weg, “Take us where we need to set up.”

  The Weg rushed by Bart and he picked up his heavy cannon and heard the servos in his armor whine. He began walking behind the Weg until he saw it waiting in the center of the shaft. Bart said, “Alright, here is where we make our stand.” He looked at the Weg, “How are you going to handle your end of this?”

  “We will be entering the walls above the rock layer and meeting any defenders coming through the soil. The rest of us will be in the shaft firing the weapons given to us by our leader at those charging down the shaft. We’ll continue to fire until none of us are left.”

  Bart stared at the Weg and said, “Some of you can come by us here when it becomes hopeless.”

  The Weg stared at Bart for a moment and thought, “We came here to die. It’s better to die here than to live in the drudgery of one day after another. This is what we’re made to do. We’ll do the best we can to hold them off as long as possible.”

  Bart nodded and said, “I admire your bravery.” />
  “Bravery had nothing to do with it. This is like taking a breath. It’s a natural process with us.”

  Bart nodded as the Weg turned and sprinted up the incline. Captain Anderson locked the huge barreled weapon into its tripod and pressed the diagnostic button. He looked at Bart, “How do you want to do this?”

  “You and twelve warriors will set up here and when the Weg surface defenders break through, you’ll start firing up the shaft.” Bart walked forward a hundred yards and slammed the jagged blade of a seismic sensor into each wall. He walked back and handed the bag to Corporal Mosul, “Take these and jam them into the wall every hundred yards.” Mosul jogged away and Bart turned to Anderson, “If we’re successful in holding them here, I’m reasonably certain they will attempt to dig their way around us. If I detect seismic activity in the walls, I’ll call for you to pick up and run past us. My team will continue to move until the seismic activity stops. We’ll set up a hundred yards from that spot and take them on. You’ll monitor the sensors and if you detect them digging again, call us back and we’ll run past your position. You’ll have to fire over our heads as we pick up so the ones in the shaft don’t make progress.”

  Anderson nodded and set up his tripod without anchoring it in the rock. He looked at his platoon and said, “Make sure your cannons are hot and keep your hands off the triggers.”

  The twelve warriors ran another diagnostic check and stood beside their tripods. They waited and kept their search beams trained up the shaft. “Major?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are they coming?”

  “I think they’re having trouble making their way through the dead bodies of our Weg. I do believe they planned it to happen this way.”

  “Yes Sir.” Anderson watched his seismic panel and didn’t see anything close to the first two that Bart slammed in the wall. Ten minutes had passed and no sign of the Weg defenders…yet.

  • • •

  Josh watched the Engineers cut into the rock wall ahead of them and was amazed at how they took the rubble and pushed it into the surrounding walls. It should have caused the walls to collapse but they somehow kept their integrity. He looked at his tactical display and saw the SF Company had not been attacked. He hoped they could hold out long enough for the Engineers to break through the bedrock and go after the Queen. He looked at his timer, twelve minutes passed and then he saw the SF weapons were being fired on his tactical. Would time never pass?

  • • •

  The Surface Defenders arrived at the five shafts and poured into them. Millions began digging into the rock but quickly discovered that was going to take far too long for them to make a difference. They moved to the surface and joined the millions forcing their way into the shaft.

  The Defenders came rushing down the shaft and were met by a solid wall of slivers fired by the foreign Weg that exploded the front ranks into pieces. The shaft began filling up with dead Weg and many of the defenders were forced to grab the dead bodies and pass them back up the shaft. Their progress was incredibly slow and the passage was quickly choked by the mass of dead Weg carcasses. The new diggers rushed forward and used their two powerful glowing arms to vaporize the wall of dead in front of them. Whenever they broke through the dead, they were met with another volley of slivers and the process was repeated. It was slow going but it was faster than trying to dig through the walls. Many of them decided that the only way to get at the foreign Weg was to dig through the rock. Passages were started and moved ahead but they did not keep up with those being killed in the passage. The numbers dying were incredible and still the killing continued.

  The last of the Weg defending the passage began firing their slivers continuously. The Weg charging down the corridor were stopped and were making no progress. However, the Weg cutting through the rock managed to pass the rear of the defenders and burst into the corridor behind them. Half of the foreign defenders turned and began firing their slivers behind them as the others fired up the passage. Four tunnels cut through the rock burst into the passage and the killing took on a frenzy. The Weg that managed to get behind the defenders didn’t consider rushing down the passage. Their rage at the presence of foreign Weg took them and they rushed at the defenders. Soon, the entire passage was choked closed by dead Weg. The ones still in the rock were unable to make it into the corridor and they were forced to continue digging through the walls.

  At the twelve-minute mark, the last of the defenders died. The Weg in the passage fought their way through the dead bodies and rushed down the shaft. The ones in the wall sensed the break through and broke through the walls to join the rush.

  Bart heard them coming and he moved behind his cannon. The seismic probes revealed they were four hundred yards up the shaft and coming fast. Bart smiled and said, “Fire!” The twelve cannons belched out a three-yard flame as eight barrels launched a sliver barrage followed by a white cloud of small particles. “Cease fire!”

  Bart watched the sensors and saw the rush was stopped. The noise from the corridor could be heard through their helmets. Bart counted to six and said, “Fire!” Another huge volley shot up the passage and once again Bart called a cease fire.

  • • •

  The Weg charging down the passage were met with a solid wall of slivers that blasted the front ranks back fifty yards. The survivors began pulling the dead bodies out of their path when a white cloud blew into them. The tiny particles in the cloud hit the Weg and they immediately began burning into ashes. The cloud moved through another hundred yards of Weg disintegrating every Weg is touched. Some of the Weg tried to pat out the fire on those burning around them and also caught fire. The last Weg burning finally fell into ashes on the corridor’s floor and the Weg rushed forward again only to be met by another barrage of slivers and the white mist. They had lost more than three hundred yards of the progress they had made and millions of them dug into the walls and began cutting their way toward the source of the weapons killing them.

  “Major, I have three corridors being dug toward your location. They’ll arrive at your position in three minutes.”

  Bart said calmly, “Fire!” The platoon fired another volley and Bart said, “Pick up and get out of here.”

  The thirteen SF Warriors lifted their cannons and ran down the passage. They passed Captain Anderson’s platoon and Bart heard him say, “Fire!” A volley shot up the passage and arrived just as the diggers broke through into the shaft. The slivers caught most of those in the middle of the shaft and blew them away. The white mist flowed into the passages cut through the rock and choked them with burning Weg.

  • • •

  Josh looked at his tactical and saw the Weg were moving quickly down the shaft and shook his head. He looked at the Engineers and suddenly, the rock in front of them disappeared. They shot forward at a speed that was shocking. Josh followed them down into the bowels of the planet as the passage they were cutting picked up incredible speed. Josh looked at the Weg Engineer, “Are they moving the Mother?”

  “No. It appears she doesn’t recognize the danger she’s in. They might start digging her a way out as we move closer.”

  “What do you think she’ll do?”

  “She’ll send her personal defenders toward us to stop our progress.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “They’ll have to dig a passageway to us. If we can beat them back, we’ll have a direct route to her chamber.”

  Josh clicked a frequency, “Major, I need your weapons with us now.”

  Bart received the message and shook his head. The Weg were back digging in the walls and Captain Anderson’s platoon was close to the end of the bedrock. He looked at his platoon and said, “First Squad, move down the passage to General Adams. Second Squad, join Captain Anderson’s platoon and try to keep the Weg in the rock layer. If they break through, pick up your weapons and run to join us.” Bart said, “Captain, I’m depending on you to hold out as long as possible.”

  “Yes Sir.” Bart turned and
sprinted down the steep shaft after the six warriors in the First Squad. He was amazed at how far the Weg had dug and it took him four minutes at his top speed to arrive at the end of the shaft.

  Anderson looked at the seismic sensors and saw the Weg were coming at a steady clip down the shaft. He also saw that the ones digging through the rock paralleling the passage were going to break through the rock into dirt at the same moment the Weg charging down the shaft arrived. He had to decide if he would continue to fight to hold them in the rock layer. He looked at the seismic sensors again and saw there was no possible way to stop those digging around the shaft from breaking out.

  “Alright, Bart’s Second Squad, go and set up a hundred yards down the corridor. My first Squad will set up a hundred yards beyond you. Once the diggers in the wall break through the rock, my Second Squad and I will run past your two positions and set up a hundred yards beyond the Major’s Squad. We will continue to leap frog each other as long as possible. I want the Corporals in each squad placing seismic probes in the walls as you move deeper. If I see the diggers are going to pass one of your locations, I’ll call for you to run past our last position. Any Questions?” No one said anything, “The Major’s First Squad and my First squad, get moving. Anderson turned to his squad, “Alright, launch slivers until the diggers come around the shaft arrive. Fire a cloud of Burners on my command and then run as if Satan is on your back.” Anderson watched his tactical and saw it wasn’t going to be much longer.

  • • •

  Josh watched as the Engineers continued digging through the ground at an incredible speed. He looked at the Leader and thought, “Any movement?”

  “She has decided to fight it out in her chamber. She has sent all of her personal defenses toward the shafts being dug toward her.”

  Josh stared at the Engineer, “How long before her defenders arrive here?”

  “They’ll be breaking into our passage in five minutes.”