Galactic Empire Wars: Rebellion (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 3) (22 page)

“Containment
breach,” screamed Ensign Wild as her damage control board lit up with red
lights. “Engineering is gone!”

Commander
Atkins looked around his Command Center. It was full of smoke and several
crewmembers were lying on the deck, either dead or unconscious. With a heavy
sigh, he knew the rest of them would shortly be joining them.

-

Aboard the
Warspite, Commander Bolton recoiled as the viewscreen showing the Sultan
suddenly filled with light, which was quickly reduced as the viewscreen
adjusted itself.

“Sultan is
down,” reported the ensign at the sensors.

“Fire
antimatter missiles at the Zaltule battlecruiser,” commanded Bolton, grimly.
“The least we can do for the Sultan is to finish off that Kleese ship.”

From the
Warspite, a spread of antimatter missiles flashed away to impact against the
battered hull of the Zaltule battlecruiser. Six brilliant explosions of
antimatter energy marked the end of the enemy ship.

“Kleese
battlecruiser is down,” the ensign at the sensor console confirmed.

“Find us
another target,” ordered Bolton. He knew they would mourn the fallen later.

-

“Kleese ships
are entering Fold Space,” reported Lieutenant Lash.

“All stragglers
have been eliminated,” added Commander Shepherd a minute later, as the last
damaged Zaltule battlecruiser was blown apart by a Lanolthian ship.

Admiral
Adamson let out a long and deep breath. He allowed himself to relax as he
studied the tactical screen. It had been a brief and bloody battle, with both
sides taking major losses. However, they had driven off the Kleese and at least
had a victory.

“How many of
them did we get?”

“We took out
two hundred and thirteen of their battlecruisers,” reported Sandra as she
studied information on a computer screen near her.

“Seventh Fleet
losses?”

“They were
heavy,” Sandra confirmed in a grim voice. “We lost one battlecruiser, six light
cruisers, and eighty-seven assault ships.”

“What about
our allies?”

“They lost ships
also,” Sandra replied as she looked up more information. “Fifty-two confirmed
losses, all battlecruisers.”

Adamson
winced, but considering the number of Kleese ships destroyed, it was to be
expected. “Contact Colonel Nelson and inform him to proceed to Ryerson and
begin troop landings. “I’m assigning the battlecruiser Firebolt to help provide
support if needed.” He knew the Defender had her own small escort fleet
consisting of four light cruisers and eight assault ships.

-

Delton Fleet
Commander Achlyn looked at the tactical screen in satisfaction. The Kleese
fleet had been driven off and the Humans were moving their troop assault ships
into position to finish off any Zaltule that remained on the surface of
Ryerson.

“The Humans
are indeed a threat to the Kleese,” spoke Second Commander Baylith. “They
handled themselves well in the battle.”

“How many
ships did we lose?” asked Achlyn, knowing every Delton ship lost was
irreplaceable.

“Twelve,”
reported Baylith in an even voice. “Another six require considerable repair
before they can enter Fold Space.”

“We have the
time,” replied Achlyn. “I believe this battle will show many nonaligned worlds
the importance of joining the Alliance the Humans are trying to form. We’ll do
everything in our power to help them and perhaps someday we can return to our
home world and drive off the Kleese. The Humans have given us hope.”

-

Aboard the
troop assault ship Defender, Colonel Nelson gazed at the main viewscreen as
they approached Ryerson. He knew down in the flight bay his brother was
preparing to enter a drop ship and go down to the planet to fight the Zaltule.
Wade wished he was going along to keep his brother safe, but Ryan had chosen
this life and Wade had to trust his brother to do his job.

It also
concerned him that Beth would be down on the surface also. The two people most
important to him were going to be in harm's way and all he could do was stand
in the Command Center of the Defender and watch. He just prayed nothing went
wrong.

Colonel Nelson
was sitting in one of the twin command chairs in the Command Center of the Troop Assault Ship Defender. Next to him was Commander Greer, who was busy
directing the coming troop deployment. Looking around the busy Command Center, Wade noted that it was very similar to a regular battlecruiser except
Communications and Tactical both had extra people. There were four people in
front of Communications and two extra at Tactical. He knew this was to better
coordinate fire missions with the ground as well as to stay in communication
with various marine units.

“Five minutes
until drop,” announced Captain Alicia Damon, the executive officer, from where
she was standing next to the large sensor console.

“What’s the
latest estimate of Kleese warriors still on the surface?” asked Wade as he
looked at one of the viewscreens focused on the blue-green planet below.

“Unknown,”
answered Commander Greer, glancing over at Wade. “We know they hold the
planet’s main spaceport as well as part of the capital city, but estimates of
actual numbers are sketchy.”

“We have
contact with some of their government officials,” added Captain Damon, looking
over toward Communications. “But they haven’t been able to tell us much.”

Wade nodded.
He knew from initial reports on the ground, the capital city was in the process
of being hastily evacuated. It wasn’t an orderly evacuation as the populace was
fleeing into the countryside to escape the Kleese as well as the fighting that
was soon to commence. Several assault ships had been sent down for flyovers of
the two soon to be contested areas. Energy weapons fire and several missiles
had met them, forcing the two disk ships to retreat.

“The Fire Fox
will be dropping the same time as us,” added Commander Greer. On one of the
viewscreens, the Fire Fox floated in space waiting to begin the operation.

“I intend to
use the Defender’s railgun batteries to clear out any heavy Kleese troop
concentrations,” Wade informed the commander. “We do want to hold damage to the
spaceport and city to a minimum if at all possible.”

He had
discussed this with Beth and Major Stevens. As soon as both were down on the
surface, they would send scouts ahead to search for key defensive positions for
the Defender to take out. These were Zaltule warriors they were going up against
and Wade had no doubt they would be extremely dangerous. This would be the
first time Humans had gone up against a well trained Kleese ground force.

“Our railgun
batteries are on standby,” replied Greer. He knew the ship’s railguns could
take out nearly any planetary target. The ship’s sixteen railgun batteries had
been designed specifically for assaulting a planet.

“Three minutes
until drop,” spoke Captain Damon, tonelessly.

She was busily
speaking to the ship’s flight bay operations center to ensure the drop went
smoothly. They would be sending down ten regular drop ships and two of the
larger cargo drop ships. The cargo drop ships would each hold a full platoon as
well as two of the Defender’s eight hover tanks. Subsequent drops would deliver
the remaining four tanks.

-

Ryan’s platoon
was in one of the cargo drop ships waiting patiently for the operation to
begin. Each marine was encased in a Type Four battlesuit and sitting along the
two walls, waiting expectantly for the drop. This would be the first time any
of them had gone down in a drop ship.

“Damn, this is
nerve wracking,” moaned Private Parker as he shifted slightly in his seat.”

“Look at it
this way,” commented Private Adams. “You’re finally going to get a chance to
kill some Kleese.”

“We’re supposed
to capture one,” complained Alexander, gazing down at the large stun rifle he
was carrying. He wished he were carrying an RG rifle or even an energy cannon.
At least he had his Energy Lance fastened to his waist. “How am I going to kill
one with this?”

“Stun one and
then stomp on its head with your big feet,” spoke Private Rios with his slight
Mexican accent. “That should work.”

“One minute
until drop,” spoke Sergeant Olivia Morris.

Olivia looked
around the group of marines knowing that none, other than her, had seen actual
combat. That was one of the reasons Major Stevens had assigned her to First
Platoon. As a member of Major Winfrey’s British Special Forces group, she'd
seen a lot of combat, both on Earth as well as in space.

“I’m scared,”
Casey said in a low voice from where she was sitting next to Ryan. She looked
over at her friend and confident, but his face was hidden by his helmet. No
part of a marine’s body was left uncovered by the Type Four suits. “What if I
screw up?”

“We’re all
feeling nervous,” Ryan responded. He could feel butterflies in his own stomach.
There was a lot riding on this mission and he didn’t want to let Beth or his
brother down. “We’ve had the training; all we have to do is follow what we’ve
been taught.” He tried to sound more reassuring than he felt.

Casey nodded
and tried to calm her breathing. She could feel her heart beating rapidly and
she was sweating even though the suit was trying to keep her cool. The air
temperature inside the suit was a comfortable 72 degrees. Glancing around, she
wondered how many of the others felt as she did.

“Drop!” called
out Sergeant Morris as the drop ship suddenly began to move. “This'll be a
little bit rough.”

Casey felt
suddenly queasy as the ship dropped straight down toward the planet’s surface.
She could hear the air buffeting the hull as the small ship entered the
planet’s atmosphere making a whistling noise.

“They’re not
going to be shooting at us as we go down, are they?” asked Alexander, sounding
suddenly worried. He knew the drop ships and cargo drop ships were too small to
have protective energy screens, though they did have a thick covering of battle
armor.

“If they do,
you’ll never know it,” Lauren replied between clenched lips as the small drop
ship rocked violently as it plummeted through the upper levels of the planet’s
atmosphere. “There will just be a bright light and that will be it.”

“Crap,” moaned
Alexander as he gripped his stun rifle tighter.

“Vaya con
Dios,” spoke Private Rios as he made a crossing motion with his left hand. His
right hand held his rifle.

“Well, I’m not
ready to go, yet,” responded Private Swen as the drop ship continued to shake.
“I met this cute redhead on our last leave and I plan on seeing her again.”

“I’m sure
she’s waiting on you,” responded Private Hatterson, shaking her head. She
couldn’t believe Swen could be thinking about women in this situation. It just
showed there was so much more she needed to learn about Humans.

“When we
deploy, set up a defensive perimeter around the drop ship,” Sergeant Morris
ordered. “Once the hover tanks have been unloaded we can move out toward our
objective.”

“The cargo
drop ship will be returning to the Defender,” Ryan added. “Sergeant Morris has
been through this type of operation before, so listen to her!”

The vibrating
seemed to lesson as the drop ship leveled out in the lower atmosphere. The
small airfoils on the ship helped to stabilize their flight and soon the heavy
buffeting of the planet’s atmosphere seemed to go away.

“Standby for
insertion!” called out Sergeant Morris as she felt the ship suddenly drop
straight down.

The ship came
to a jarring halt and the rear hatch slid open as a metal ramp extended out to
touch the ground.

“Move out!”
ordered Ryan as he stood and made for the open hatch gripping his RG rifle.

The platoon
hurriedly descended the ramp and took up a defensive stance around the grounded
cargo drop ship. After a couple of minutes, the two hover tanks came floating
down the ramp and moved out a hundred meters away from the ship.

“Form up in a
staggered line on either side of the tanks,” ordered Corporal Hunter. Casey
quickly made her way to the tanks, taking up a position on the right side of
the two. “No sign of hostile contact.”

Checking her
HUD, she could see twenty-one glowing green icons. With a thought to her neural
implant, she activated the suit’s enhanced vision optics. In moments, she was
studying the terrain up ahead in close detail. A few buildings and a wide paved
road were all that she could see. The road led directly to the spaceport, which
was their objective. She knew that on their flanks more drop ships were coming
down, delivering the other three platoons with Type Four suits.

Ryan was
standing behind the two tanks talking with Sergeant Morris. A noise behind him
drew his attention and turning, he watched as the cargo drop ship took off and
accelerated rapidly up into the air.

“Ride’s gone,”
muttered Private Parker as he watched the small ship rapidly disappear.

“It’ll be
back,” answered Lauren pensively as she took stock of their surroundings. At
the moment, there didn’t seem to be anything threatening.

“Scouts
ahead,” ordered Ryan, taking a deep breath. It was time to get this operation
started. “We’ll advance in a staggered line with the two tanks in the center.”
Ryan knew that the tanks had extremely sensitive targeting sensors, which would
be continuously searching out threats. The small tanks held a three-person
crew.

Ryan looked
down at his metal encased hands. It was strange to be able to feel the wind
blowing against his arms and the sun shining down on his armor. The neural
implant sent messages directly into the areas of his brain that controlled the
senses. The suit felt alive and as he walked, he could feel and sense
everything as if he wasn’t even wearing a battlesuit.

Flexing his
right hand Ryan made it into a fist, feeling the metal fingers digging into his
palm. Even after all of this time, the suit was amazing. Turning up his
hearing, he could hear the footsteps of his marines and the distant sound of
other drop ships taking off. By now, the first set of drops should all be down.
Lieutenant Felton’s platoon was on their right flank and Lieutenant Guthrie’s
was to their left. Major Stevens was behind them with the fourth platoon, which
would be serving in a reinforcing role if needed.

“Everyone stay
sharp,” called out Sergeant Morris.

Privates
Parker and Adams were now one hundred meters ahead of the rest of the platoon
and moving cautiously forward. They'd landed on the outskirts of the spaceport
where a few trees and several small buildings afforded them some semblance of
cover. They made it a point to stay off the road as it made them easy targets.

“Where are
they?” uttered Alexander as he peered around a large tree trunk, looking for
any sign of a Zaltule warrior. He shuddered slightly, thinking about the giant
spiders that were waiting for him.

“I don’t
know,” responded Lauren, uneasily. It just seemed too quiet.

She paused and
used her enhanced optics to scan the beginning of the spaceport just ahead of
them. She could see a large area covered in blastcrete with numerous buildings.
There were several cargo ships and perhaps even a passenger ship parked on the
pads. However, everywhere she looked there was no movement.

“Corporal, I
don’t like this,” Lauren reported over her com. “I don’t see anything that
could be a threat and there’s no movement anywhere on the spaceport that I can
see.”

“Be careful,”
Casey cautioned as she moved up to just behind the two scouts and gestured for
the rest of the platoon to come to a halt.

“We’ll hold
here for a few minutes until the other platoons are in position,” ordered Ryan,
feeling tense. Something just didn’t seem right. Why were the Zaltule allowing
them to advance without any resistance? There had been no weapons fire from
anywhere. He couldn’t hear any birds; the wind was light, and even the insects
seemed strangely quiet.

“Maybe they’ve
left,” suggested Alexander, hopefully.

“They’re
here,” Sergeant Morris stated in an even voice. “I can feel it in my bones.
They may be trying to draw us in closer before attacking. Remember, these are
Zaltule warriors and they are trained for fighting. They won’t rush us like
regular conscripts do.” Morris well recalled how the Kleese sent their
conscripts out in literal suicide waves to crush opposition. Conscript
casualties were inconsequential to the Kleese.

Ryan contacted
the two hover tanks over his com. “Launch two drones and let’s see what they
can detect.”

Both hover
tanks had four small drones they could launch which could scan an enemy’s
position and relay the information back to the tank it was launched from. Ryan
stepped over to one of the tanks and set his neural implant to receive data
from the two drones.

From each tank
a small drone, about twenty inches in diameter, exited a small hatch and darted
silently up into the clear blue sky. After reaching one hundred meters in
height, they flew swiftly toward the nearby spaceport and were soon circling
above its buildings and the few ships on the pads.

Ryan was
getting a bird’s eye view from the drones, but nowhere was there any evidence
of any Kleese. There were no fortifications, no military vehicles, and no
movement. The no movement part worried Ryan as there should have at least been
some indication of movement from the Kleese. Shaking his head, Ryan ordered the
tank crews to keep the drones circling and to notify him of any developments.

-

Beth let out a
deep breath as her two companies of Space Marines took up attack positions just
on the outskirts of the spaceport. Captain Stern and her company were to her
right and Captain Foster’s company was directly in front of her and to the
left.

“I don’t like
this, Major,” Captain Stern commented as she gazed ahead at the quiet
spaceport. “Where are the Zaltule?”