Die Glocke

by M C Drake

  The plasma round scrapped over the M60's turret, the Browning machine gun mounted there melted. The M60 fired again and this time the round penetrated the turret ring of the Tiger; it was finally out of action.

  A Phantom flying low overhead streaked in and dropped its bombs on the crippled Tiger; once the flames died down the Aryan tank did not move again.

  An explosion shook the sky over the heads of a small group of marines holding the dock. They looked up as debris started to fall and then an object loomed out of the dark sky. They realized what it was and instinctively tried to avoid the falling planes. An F4 Phantom and a Chinese Mig had collided mid-air and one of the wreckages smashed into the docks below; a few of the men were hit by shrapnel and fell to the floor.

  American forces were in an ever-tightening net and there was no safe place to shelter and care for the wounded. The men who could still hold a weapon were thrown back on to the front line while the others who could no longer fight were given a ticket out of this hell with a bullet to the head.

  As more and more Aryan troops advanced through the battle-scarred city they suddenly came under heavy fire. The remaining Phantoms and Migs had finally managed to get a little bit of coordination going and they flew in fast and low in waves.

  Cannons were blazing and they dropped their remaining bombs, they managed to take out a few tanks including one of the super heavy Maus; its turret burned vibrantly.

  The next wave of Phantoms streaked in at the very bottom of the cloud base but they came under heavy fire from the anti-aircraft cannons on the Maus. The plasma rained up into the sky and the squadron leaders Phantom was struck; the plane spired downwards and crashed into a group of armored troop carriers.

  The Aryan forces now pushed hard. A squadron of ME 262’s arrived and it did not take long for their superior targeting systems to lock on and take out any remaining allied air support. The allies just could not contend with the advanced weaponry and terrible weather conditions.

  The last of the Patton’s was destroyed ten minutes later after it came under a barrage of fire from advancing Tiger tanks. Now that the Americans were out of serious defensive options.

  A communication went out across the radios in Chinese and then fire was heard for a few seconds somewhere to the West and then nothing.

  The American’s radioed through one last message, “Pacific fleet is destroyed, San Francisco is lost. Massive Aryan force supported by artillery was too strong. Only a handful of troops remain. We will hold on until the last…”

  The message was cut off by a large explosion. Admiral Moorer bowed his head solemnly.

  The men in black’s voice emanated across the radio, “All commanders, you know what must be done. Throw everything you have into the battle.”

  The Atlantic Coast

  Dawn had just broken on the chilly morning horizon, Commander Speering and his tank crew could see the devastation for themselves. The carpet bombing had laid waste to the open field. Bomb craters littered the area where the Aryan tanks had been the day before.

  Smoldering wrecks dotted the area but one crater caught Speering's attention. A Maus had slid down into the crater and its massive gun was pointing to the floor. It looked to be in one piece but it was definitely immobilized.

  For a fleeting moment, Commander Speering thought about trying to secure the vehicle but the rapidly approaching sound of B52 engines snapped him out of that madness. Speering's troops were ordered to press home the attack on the weakened Aryan armor while the bombers took out positions at the rear.

  The Vickers main battle tanks roared to life and started to advance around the devastated field. The Type 63 light tanks again raced ahead to recon the area. As the tanks started to move out in a tight line, they came under fire from plasma machine guns.

  The bright purple rounds were flowing out from the disabled Maus tank. The crew had not abandoned their vehicle and was now trying to take out the British but the plasma rounds struggled to penetrate the tanks.

  The British tanks continued with their advance and ignored the Aryan tank crew who now came under fire by the trailing British infantry. A jeep mounted with an M2 Browning cut down the Aryan crew as they guarded their vehicle.

  The injured commander crawled back inside his tank to the jeers of the British soldiers. A small group of infantry crept up on the tank. They gingerly opened up the turret and fired on the commander.

  The bullets tore through his armor, he took off his helmet to clear the blood that he had just coughed up, he lifted his head at his attackers and smiled; blood dripped from his open mouth.

  “What are you smiling for?” The Sergeant said.

  His question was answered by a huge explosion as the Maus turned the immediate area into a massive inferno. The fire burnt a bright pink as the people involved were incinerated.

  The British tanks came under fire from the Aryan tanks across another three open fields, the plasma rounds homed in on their targets. Speering ordered his tanks to spread out and hold their positions. They returned fire as best as they could.

  The B52’s appeared overhead and the British cheered at them. The large bomber formation almost filled the sky as they closed in for another massive attack.

  This time though they were greeted by a gigantic thunderclap. The ground shook as another clap of thunder rang out straight after. The B52 pilots could see the sky was clear and knew it could only mean one thing.

  A bolt of lightning arced across the horizon and smashed straight through the formation of bombers; this time though they did not split ranks but stayed dead on course. Another three bolts of dazzling blue lightning bolts covered the sky. The spiny fingers of the bolts spread into the B52's.

  Pieces of the great bombers windshield started to crack, some imploded inwards showing the pilots with debris. Small parts of the fuselage began to break away and fall earthwards.

  “Do not break formation; we are carrying out this attack whatever the costs.” The squadron leader barked.

  Not one of the bombers broke from the bombing run.

  The Kugelblitz were a mile from the front, the mobile anti-aircraft vehicles had their weapons pointing into the sky. A huge electrical field spread from each vehicle as its two massive barrels discharged more and more electricity.

  The Two barrels of the weapon met at the bottom to make a giant U shaped bowl; the plasma orbs were created in this bowl and then were guided towards their targets by the huge lightning bolts.

  The Kugelblitz fired and the resulting thunderclap caused a massive shockwave that washed over the surrounding area; a barn that was only three-hundred feet away completely disintegrated.

  The incoming B52 bombers were under an increasing amount of fire now. The lead bombers were struck by a mile long lightning bolt that tore through the aircraft. The first plane had the tip of the left wing completely fall away; the plane could still fly but only just.

  The bombers were now over their targets; they opened the giant bomb bay doors and released their payloads. The bombs tumbled in the air as they fell onto the tanks below; explosions rocked the area.

  The first orbs of white light raced into the battle, and arced their way towards their targets and impacted into the bellies of five B52’s, the bombers disappeared in the devastating explosions.

  “Command come in, this is Captain Marks of the 101st bomber division.”

  “Go ahead Marks.”

  "We can confirm ball lightning; repeat we have confirmation of ball lightning."

  There was a pause.

  “Roger that Marks, thank you! Out.”

  Mark's plane was hit by the superheated lightning which tore through the left-hand side of his plane. The bomber rocked under the strain but it kept flying.

  The next bolt sliced clean through the fuselage though, the cockpit was separated from the rest of the plane and the pieces tumbled to the earth and exploded on impact.

  More and more orbs were hitting their targets; B52’s were either comp
letely destroyed or just fell from the sky. Many units below were destroyed in the resulting impact.

  ‘They are taking a hell of a pounding up there.’ Speering thought to himself as his tank crews kept up their own attack.

  Anti-tank guns had been taken out in the first stages of the bombing runs along with a few tanks but now the bombers were struggling to get through.

  Admiral Moorer had heard enough from the battle report; he turned to his radio man.

  “It is time, send the green light WC114.”

  The radioman swallowed, “Yes, Sir.”

  “WC114 this is high command. WC114 this is high command. Do you read me?”

  The radio clicked three times in quick succession and then there was a pause before it clicked another three times.

  “Time for the inoculation WC114. Repeat time for the inoculation.”

  There was no response and then suddenly the radio clicked three times again and then there was nothing but static.

  Admiral Moorer smiled.

  The small dust strewn airfield was a hive of activity, Brooklyn Jnr taxied into position and pushed the F4 on full throttle. The powerful engines roared to life as the large fighter gracefully took to the skies.

  Four Phantoms followed suit and then they turned southwards and opened the throttles. Two Phantoms were positioned a thousand feet above the other two at about ten thousand feet. Brooklyn’s Phantom raced across the countryside just a few hundred feet above the ground.

  Countdown to victory

  The news of the Pacific fleet's destruction brought a smirk to Atlantis; he stroked his mustache gently as he considered his next move.

  “Status update on the resource transfer?” His powerful voice boomed.

  "Eighty-five percent complete Commander."

  “Excellent, how long until completion?”

  "Projections estimate no longer than four hours, the transfer should be complete by 12.00 hours."

  Atlantis nodded as he thought to himself, ‘They will never breakthrough in that time, our victory is almost secured.’

  “I want a unit to go back and start the preparations at the cloning facility; I also want half of the technicians and medical staff to accompany them.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Half of the technicians made their way out of the control tower and headed towards Die Glocke.

  “Sir what about the remaining slaves?”

  Atlantis clenched his fist. “Execute them.”

  The Aryan Commander studied the great battle chart in front of him, the real-time information showed a cluster of British, American and Chinese divisions fighting hard around Baltimore.

  He could see a mass of ships at the mouth of the Potomac River. ‘That must be the Atlantic fleet.’

  “Send the 10th, 11 and 13th fighter division to take out the Atlantic fleet. I want all available units to crush the vermin camped near Baltimore. It is time to finish this war once and for all.”

  “Yes Commander Atlantis.” The remaining technicians relayed the orders.

  Preparations in Wright Patterson intensified as horde after horde of skinny; unkempt slaves were marched out into the bare concrete and unceremoniously shot. Men, woman or child nobody was spared.

  The previous bodies had always been cremated to keep the base clean from diseases but now there was little need and the fresh corpses were just pushed to a corner of the base by a JCB and left there in a horrific pile of burnt, twisted flesh.

  All for the front

  The distinct sound of thunder rattled away in the distance, the brilliant blue lightning bolts spread out through the formation of B52 bombers. The deadly orbs of plasma followed and another five bombers were completely blown from the sky.

  The B52’s were receiving horrific losses but they continued to bomb the Aryan positions and inflicted heavy casualties. This allowed Commander Speering and his armor to flank round to the North.

  The air temperature had risen considerably since the Kugelblitz barrage had started, the sky crackled under the strain and any clouds that had been forming on the horizon evaporated instantly.

  A formation of five Phantoms came in fast and low over the burning fields just south of the Aryan heavy armor, they ignored the targets in front of them. The powerful engines bellowed as the flight leader gave his machine all it had got.

  The Phantoms were fitted out for a ground assault and were carrying heavy bombs; they zoomed passed an abandoned farm just to left and then sharply banked to come around on target.

  They raised the nose of their fighters quickly to gain altitude and banked once more, they were in position to begin their bombing run. They sped in and when directly above their targets they dropped the heavy ordinance.

  Explosions rocked the air and sent mud flying in all directions, the flames from the bombs licked at the hulls of the antiaircraft weapons. The next few bombs dropped and scored a direct hit on the Kugelblitz; it went up in a ball of thick black smoke.

  The third Phantom scored two direct hits causing massive damage as the Kugelblitz must have been struck in its reactor; it exploded violently sending a huge wave of purple plasma across its nearby allies.

  The Aryan anti-aircraft vehicles started to split from their positions; some ran for cover while others turned their weapons on their assailants.

  Moments after the Phantoms finished their attack a squadron of Mig 17's appeared and strafed the Kugelblitz. Powerful cannon rounds tore through the relatively weak armor and another five machines were destroyed.

  The pressure was relieved on the B52 bombers, if only slightly. The balls of superheated light changed direction and raced towards the attacking Mig 17’s.

  The Soviet pilots continued to attack as they dodged plasma fire from the ground. One Mig got too close and was struck by a bolt of lightning head on. The front of the plane caught fire and it tumbled to the ground.

  As the massive balls of plasma tracked their targets the Mig’s had to use all their turning advantage to keep out of harm’s way. A junior wingman was not quite skilled enough and was struck through the center of the fuselage; the whole fighter disappeared in a blinding flash.

  The B52's now had the chance they were waiting for; they banked left and started a bombing run on the Kugelblitz. Many of the lead planes were instantly destroyed but the bombers continued to attack.

  They dropped their huge pay lows and the ground shook from the impact. A whole division of Kugelblitz was destroyed in the onslaught.

  Retribution was immediate and relentless; out of nowhere a swarm of ME 262's entered the battle. The agile fighters swiftly maneuvered themselves onto the tail of the Mig's who turned desperately trying to shake off their attackers.

  The Mig’s did not have the engine power to pull away from the 262’s who locked on and fired. The plasma rounds tracked their prey and the Mig’s were dispatched easily.

  Cannon fire reached out towards the ME 262s as the Phantoms had rejoined the fight but none of the American pilots had actually encountered a 262 before and had underestimated their capabilities.

  The Flight leader had missile lock and he squeezed the trigger, the aim 9 sidewinder cork screwed forward and streaked towards the 262. To the disbelief of the American’s the Aryan fighter rolled hard right at the last minute and the sidewinder missed.

  The Phantom pilot did not have long to dwell on it though as he was struck by a plasma missile from the rear, the superheated orb washed over the top of the cockpit; killing pilot and radar operator instantly.

  The air battle raging overhead seemed to act as the catalyst for the Aryan forces to begin their all-out assault. Armor broke out in all directions and fired on the British forces commanded by Speering.

  Speering ordered his men to spread out further and take a defensive position on the highway.

  "We have to hold them here until we can get support." He shouted, struggling to be heard over the sound of the main battle tanks 105mm cannon.

  Plasma fire rained in from the hilly area to
the North, the round splashed over the area, knocking out a Chinese Type 62 light tank. Speering realized to his horror that they themselves had been flanked.

  Commander Speering was about to order his heavy tanks to attack when a cry came over the battlenet radio.

  "Yeah." The shout went and from the rear of the 4th Army, out of nowhere a formation of M48 Pattons, Sherman's and a few Chieftains advanced across the field towards the base of the hills.

  The tanks fired as they went, Speering caught movement in the distance and realized that Huey transport helicopters were approaching the hills as well. ‘Were they going to drop troops off behind the enemy?’ He thought.

  The question was soon answered as the Huey's dipped low into the hills and under heavy fire they dropped off a mixture of Russian and British infantry.

  An explosion detonated a few feet from Speering’s position and snapped him out of his thoughts. The Vickers tank next to his had suffered a direct hit from an antitank gun and had gone up in flames; the heat forced the commander to close the cupola on his turret and shelter inside.

  Things were going even worse for the 5th Army who had been forced back deep into Baltimore after the British infantry holding the flank had been overrun and destroyed half an hour earlier; the tanks that were supporting them had also been taken out.

  Commander Paul and his men were now engaged in ferocious street to street fighting. Many of the individual houses became fortresses and often one house was occupied by the allies while the neighboring ones were held by the Aryan forces.

  Brutal house to house combat inflicted heavy losses on both sides but gradually the Aryans were whittling down the allied forces.

  Commander Paul's tanks were clustered in pairs, holding key strategic streets while anti-tank guns were hastily brought forward to provide them with much-needed support.

  “Command, this is Commander Paul of the 5th Armor, we are suffering heavy losses, been pushed back deep into Baltimore itself. Need air support otherwise I can’t guarantee how long we can hold this position.”