The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (85 page)

The Ksand just nodded and disengaged the data chip. The hologram flickered and disappeared. He handed it to Rivers and looked at one of the guards. The guard walked to the humans and showed them to follow him.

Be fore they exited Khalas’Ar stopped them.

“Major would it be too much to ask if you can let us make a copy of your AI?”

Rivers just smiled.

“No sir not at all. But it will have to be her decision.”

The Ksand nodded.

Rivers and Anderson followed the guard outside. As they exited he could hear the Elders engaging in a discussion.

“What do you think do they stand any chance?”

Anderson looked around him.

“First let’s see what they have and then we’ll make a decision but I think we are too involved to stay away.”

Rivers looked at his friend and smiled.

“It will be hard but I think that we can do something remarkable here. We never hoped for anything like this when we started our mission. If we manage to help them our troops will have a far easier time to finish their mission.”

They both thought about their friends that must be traversing the void now. They knew that they were still several months away. But the thought of human soldiers landing on this world and the surprise the dacarians will get … it made them both smile. And if an organized rebellion greeted the human fleet it would be even better.

In front of them the Illian walked fast. He was a soldier all his life but for the first time in his life he felt a feeling he didn’t feel before.

He felt the feeling we all knew as hope.

Rivers was surprised by the tech base as they entered the battle room. He knew that it was a CIC of the fortress. The room was large and in a way it reminded him of the bridge of the Argus. There were many differences but it was the heart of the base, it was the place where all decisions were made.

The room had two floors. On the first floor he could see most of the operatives working on what he guessed were computers and watching and monitoring the screens that showed the city outside and the defensive lines. They also showed weapons displacement and shield power, as well as sensors.

On the second floor he noticed the two generals that were with them watching several screens that showed the continent and the bases and troops moving through the jungle.

They must have sensor grids spread across the jungle to show them the movement of the enemies. He noticed that besides the Illian and the other officer there was also a human and a Sicarian.

They were discussing something as he and Anderson started going up.

Egert was the first to see them. As he turned and stopped talking so did the other three generals.

Hanno watched them as they came to them. He had mixed feelings as he saw them. Part of him was happy and felt awe at seeing humans from his home world but he also hoped for more as he watched the weapons they carried. He knew from the discussion they had with Golak that humanity was still far behind technologically from the dacarians and even from the Lacarian Alliance. But yet they were still here. Even with those weapons they were fighting and they were not afraid. 

Both humans stopped as they came close.

Egert showed them to the table in the small office.

Each of them took a chair.

“These are my fellow generals Maukar, Golak and Hanno.” He pointed at each of the three.

“Major Rivers.”

“Lieutenant Anderson.”

The humans watched Hanno. And he did the same. The Illian was quiet for several seconds allowing everyone to gather their thoughts.

Then he turned to Rivers.

“As you must know major we are facing with a serious attack by the dacarian empire forces on this world, an attack that we can’t hold.”

“Yes. We are aware of it. Can you show us the disposition of your forces and the number of troops you have and armor and air units.”

The Illian watched the human with surprise. They were here just several days and they already knew a lot about his forces at least armor and air.

“We have four hundred and sixty armored vehicles as well three hundred walkers. We also have six hundred wraths those are our fighters but we can’t risk using them. Not before the end.”

He pressed a button and a screen lit up in the middle of the table.

“We have three defensive lines. You passed the first two. The first one will come in contact soon and I have no doubt that it will be overrun. We expect to stop them at the second and our most powerful line, the one where you were loaded in the armored vehicles. The last line of defense is the outside city and this fortress. We are well protected here both from orbital bombardment and from ground attack. The fortress is the place where if all fails we will make our final stand while we try to buy time for the refugees to escape in the inhospitable regions.”

Rivers looked at the disposition of the forces as the Illian spoke. It was a good solid plan but it was also a waste of good resources.

“Your plan is good but it will fail. You can’t stop them. And you can’t win.”

The Sicarian watched the human.

“We don’t expect to win major. We know that this is the end. But we will make sure that we bleed them.”

“I guess you know best how they fight on the ground, and how they fight in situations like these.”

“What are you trying to say major?”

Rivers looked at the map that showed the large dacarian formations coming in contact with the first line. He knew that that line will falter and that the second will follow soon after. He knew that thousands were dying right now. It was such a waste.

“How many troops do you have under your command? My guess is at least two hundred thousand maybe twice that number.”

The four generals exchanged looks. It was a pretty accurate guess.

“Yes something like that.”

“And most of them are placed on those lines especially the second one and are prone to orbital bombardment the moment they start inflicting serious enough damage.”

The Sicarian was the one to answer.

“They don’t use their legions like you think. They use rebellions like this to train their troops, to bloody them before going to war. That is why they leave us to fight and live.”

Rivers and Anderson exchanged glances.

That was something new and didn’t fit in what they saw in the troops they fought. They were seasoned troops.

“That might be the case but I don’t think that they will stop now. They are moving in to destroy you totally.”

“You’re right. They used kinetic strikes to destroy several forward bases.”

Rivers looked at the Illian.

“Do you have a number of the Dacarian troops and population on this world and of their defenses?”

“Not a completely accurate one considering that they use this world as a transit route to the front where they fight his people”- on this the Illian pointed to the Lacarian-“ but we think that there are five heavy armed legions placed on this world permanently and a sixth that came with the new governor.

There are also two legions that guard the slave camps and at lest two more legions that arrived the last few days. We believe they are the ones coming at us now.”

“That would mean that there about two hundred thousand legionaries here.”

“Yes the legions, and millions living in the cities and always between thirty and fifty ships in the system.”

“You said you would help us.”

Rivers looked at the Illian.

“Yes I did. But that will mean you will have to change your strategy.”

“Change how?”

Anderson looked at the map and thought about what the Illians said when they were coming here.

“General how long do you think you can hold out in this fortress and how many people can stay in it?”

The Illian looked at them.

“Ksamona is old, built before our time. The last fortress like it held out for two cycles before it fell. But it had fourteen divisions defending it. As for population I think we can gather between six hundred and a million people twice that if we use the caves.”

“And how long do you think you can hold out.”

Egert thought for a second. He always knew that Ksamona will be the last line of defense. And he knew that it could hold out for several months.

“Several months at most and it will be a death trap as well.”

Rivers looked at Anderson and calculated in his mind.

Then they both smiled.

“That is all we need, that and a lot of luck.”

Rivers looked at the screen.

Many will die but many will also live and with the fleet here…

“General I want you to prepare for a siege. Tell your troops to start a fighting retreat and those that cannot retreat to disperse and fight a guerilla war. I think you know this jungle well enough to do that.”

“What are you getting at?”

Rivers looked at Egert.

“From now on general you will be fighting for time. I want you to withdraw as much as you can from your troops and people in this city, and then I want you to stand still. Fight and survive. Give them hell.

We will try to do the same in the background and so will your troops that will survive outside. Just fight to survive general. Survive for the next few months.”

Egert watched the human as he rose.

“And then what?”

Rivers looked at the Sicarian.

“Then we kill them all, every last one of them.”

He looked at the calendar he carried in his pocket. It was August 7. The fleet was a month away from Earth. It will be here in five months. That was the last report from Excelsior. They were utilizing new advanced reactors and more warp points then the Excelsior. He just hoped that they would be here in time.

“Do you have a calendar?”

As they looked at him with surprise he showed them his.

Hanno smiled and pointed at something on the wall.

Rivers calculated in his mind marking the days and the hours here and then with his pen marked a day six months from now.

He turned to Egert.

“This is how long you have to hang on and survive. Just survive.”

                                             CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Arcadia

Anderson and Rivers looked at the other members of their team. Rivers knew that the decision was ultimately his but he knew how close these men were. They shared everything, consulted every move, every act. They were a family. So now he waited on their answer.

“Sir you know how deep breach of protocol that would be. Hell even us standing here is bad. Not that I’m complaining considering I was half way to Valhalla before they treated me. But helping them and organizing a resistance? We know what will happen to every one who knows about us here. Should we allow them to know? That will only make them another target once the fleet gets here.”

They all looked at Gordon. Doc and Jennings chuckled.

“Did you see any ladies on your trip Flash?”

“Ah Jen if wouldn’t you want to know. To bad they are all waiting for me.”

Gordon grinned at his friend as he finished.

The joke made them all relax.

“We all know that it is the right thing to do. But we have to ask ourselves what will it bring them? And will they survive that long? We all know what is coming at them.”

Rivers and Anderson looked at Doc. The sniper had one of the best minds he knew and he knew that he asked the right questions.

“Do they know about our mission and what the fleet will do when it comes here?”

The question came from Luis.

Rivers exhaled.

“Yes they know everything. They even know that we are not the creatures they think we are. We told them the truth.”

They all looked at each other.