by Isaac Hooke
Not included in those numbers were the countless orbital defense platforms directly above the planet, nor any of the land-to-space weapons.
“We expect to conquer a homeworld with fifty ships?” Fret said when Rade revealed the odds. “Someone could have told us this was a suicide mission.”
“You always said you wanted to die in battle...” Manic told him.
“Not like this,” Fret said. “Cooped up in a starship, having no say whatsoever in my fate. There are far better ways to go.”
“Sure you have a say,” Rade told him. “There’s an evac station down the passageway. You’re welcome to walk over there and hop into a lifepod at any time.”
Fret smiled sardonically. “After you, boss.”
“I don’t think so.”
When the space battle above the homeworld began, all of the platoon members keenly felt the sheer impotency that Fret had hinted at. There was literally nothing to do but sit and wait, hoping that their ship would survive long enough for them to begin the mission.
It took four days, but somehow the UC managed to break through the defenses and scatter the enemy. There was something to be said for the strategists and tacticians who worked in the UC Navy—they were second to none. The advanced AIs had helped, too, no doubt.
Another day was spent dealing with the orbital defense platforms, and the land-to-space lasers. By that point, only fifteen UC ships remained out of the original battle unit, with another ten orbiting the distant Slipstream. It was more than enough.
The fleet dropped its nukes.
Two days later, the planet proved unrecognizable. The atmosphere was filled with radioactive dust kicked up by the explosions, the entire surface clouded over. The planet was cold to begin with, and that nuclear winter would only worsen it.
And so it was into those conditions that the platoon found themselves descending through the irradiated atmosphere in a mech delivery vehicle. They were cocooned into the cockpits of the Titan model of mechs, war machines about a meter taller than the Zeus units, with the weight to match. Because of the extra radiation armor, the Titans didn’t have room for heat shields of any kind, hence the special delivery vehicle necessary to deploy them.
Rade glanced up and down the ranks. At those cold, faceless units clamped into their alcoves. That extermination team of mechs.
Is this really what we’ve become?
He glanced at the tactical display fed to him by the delivery vehicle. Blue dots represented similar vehicles around the craft, spaced roughly three kilometers apart. Some would contain radiation-shielded infantry units, others combat robots, and still others, mechs.
He accessed the external video feed to watch the descent. After the flames of atmospheric entry, the craft penetrated the cloud cover only to find itself in the heart of a blizzard of some kind. Whiteout conditions completely veiled the land below. The delivery vehicle jerked to and fro as powerful gusts of wind assailed it.
Since there was nothing to see out there, he switched back to his local video feed.
“Can the AI steer in this?” Grappler asked.
“They should have given us a human pilot, damn it,” Bomb said.
“An AI is more than adequate,” Harlequin said. “And in fact, in such situations, preferable. A human pilot would rely on autopilot in such a situation anyway, and—”
“Shut up, bitch!” Bomb said.
Rade felt the craft shake worse than it had yet. Then it rolled hard to the left. Then right again. There were no inertial compensators on a drop vehicle of that class, so he felt the full Gs as his Titan was pulled against the metal restraining clamps.
He glanced at the tactical display. Red dots were streaking past on all sides.
They were being attacked.
“So much for the nukes taking our their defenses!” Fret said.
“Resilient sons of bitches,” Bomb said.
Bright white light unexpectedly consumed Rade’s vision. The Gs became so intense he felt like he was going to black out. He closed his eyes, fighting it.
An alarm sounded.
He opened his eyes. The white was still there. It was the blizzard, he realized. The bulkhead in front of him was completely gone.
Yet he was still clamped in. As were other brothers in their Titans beside him.
Staring into the open space in front of him, he realized the craft had been torn in half right down the middle, and the piece his mech clung to was spiraling out of control toward the unseen surface far below.
To Be Continued...
I don’t like leaving readers hanging, which is why I’ve decided to publish all three full length novels in the trilogy at the same time. That’s right, book three is available now (or will be shortly). Find out what happens to Rade and his platoon without having to wait.
Continue the adventures in Titan (Alien War Trilogy Book 3)
postscript
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about the author
USA Today bestselling author Isaac Hooke holds a degree in engineering physics, though his more unusual inventions remain fictive at this time. He is an avid hiker, cyclist, and photographer who sometimes resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
acknowledgments
THANK YOU to my knowledgeable beta readers and advanced reviewers who helped smooth out the rough edges of the prerelease manuscript: Nicole P., Jeremy G., Doug B., Jenny O., Amy B., Bryan O., Lezza, Noel, Anton, Spencer, Norman, Trudi, Corey, Erol, Terje, David, Charles, Walter, Lisa, Ramon, Chris, Scott, Michael, Chris, Bob, Jim, Maureen, Zane, Chuck, Shayne, Anna, Dave, Roger, Nick, Gerry, Charles, Annie, Patrick, Mike, Jeff, Lisa, Jason, Bryant, Janna, Tom, Jerry, Chris, Jim, Brandon, Kathy, Norm, Jonathan, Derek, Shawn, Judi, Eric, Rick, Bryan, Barry, Sherman, Jim, Bob, Ralph, Darren, Michael, Chris, Michael, Julie, Glenn, Rickie, Rhonda, Neil, Claude, Ski, Joe, Paul, Larry, John, Norma, Jeff, David, Brennan, Phyllis, Robert, Darren, Daniel, Montzalee, Robert, Dave, Diane, Peter, Skip, Louise, Dave, Brent, Erin, Paul, Jeremy, Dan, Garland, Sharon, Dave, Pat, Nathan, Max, Martin, Greg, David, Myles, Nancy, Ed, David, Karen, Becky, Jacob, Ben, Don, Carl, Gene, Bob, Luke, Teri, Robine, Gerald, Lee, Rich, Ken, Daniel, Chris, Al, Andy, Tim, Robert, Fred, David, Mitch, Don, Tony, Dian, Tony, John, Sandy, James, David, Pat, Gary, Jean, Bryan, William, Roy, Dave, Vincent, Tim, Richard, Kevin, George, Andrew, John, Richard, Robin, Sue, Mark, Jerry, Rodger, Rob, Byron, Ty, Mike, Gerry, Steve, Benjamin, Anna, Keith, Jeff, Josh, Herb, Bev, Simon, John, David, Greg, Larry, Timothy, Tony, Ian, Niraj, Maureen, Jim, Len, Bryan, Todd, Maria, Angela, Gerhard, Renee, Pete, Hemantkumar, Tim, Joseph, Will, David, Suzanne, Steve, Derek, Valerie, Laurence, James, Andy, Mark, Tarzy, Christina, Rick, Mike, Paula, Tim, Jim, Gal, Anthony, Ron, Dietrich, Mindy, Ben, Steve, Allen, Paddy & Penny, Troy, Marti, Herb, Jim, David, Alan, Leslie, Chuck, Dan, Perry, Chris, Rich, Rod, Trevor, Rick, Michael, Tim, Mark, Alex, John, William, Doug, Tony, David, Sam, Derek, John, Jay, Tom, Bryant, Larry, Anjanette, Gary, Travis, Jennifer, Henry, Drew, Michelle, Bob, Gregg, Billy, Jack, Lance, Sandra, Libby, Jonathan, Karl, Bruce, Clay, Gary, Sarge, Andrew, Deborah, Steve, and Curtis.
Without you all, this novel would have typos, continuity errors, and excessive lapses in realism. Thank you for helping me make Zeus the best military science fiction novel it could possibly be, and thank you for leaving the early reviews tha
t help new readers find my books.
And of course I’d be remiss if I didn't thank my mother, father, and brothers, whose untiring wisdom and thought-provoking insights have always guided me through the untamed warrens of life.
— Isaac Hooke
Continue the adventures in Titan (Alien War Trilogy Book 3)
