No Mercy (Blood War Book 4) Page 20

  “I’ve scrambled all my fighters and the fleet is at general quarters.”

  “Now we wait.”

  “Afraid so, Admiral. Unless there is something you want me to do?”

  “No, you’ve done everything that I would want done. Keep me informed.”

  Ririsa hated waiting for the enemy to make its move. It always gave them the initiative. Unless she was very careful, smart, and lucky it would be hard to regain it, given they knew what they were doing and why.

  “Admiral,” the battle captain said. “According to the sensors we have a change in the dark matter on both the night and daylight sides of Earth.”

  “Put the reading up.”

  Sure enough, the readings were the same on both sides of the Earth.

  “Petrussen,” Ririsa snapped.

  Before Petrussen answered, he put up the readings from Rift, and they matched exactly.

  “They’re opening two, Admiral,” Petrussen said.

  The CIC was silent. This was one scenario that none of the AI or her own simulation runs had predicted. Two wormholes probably meant two fleets. One to keep her busy while the one on the daylight side began the invasion.

  “Vector all fighters to the wormholes. Send the coordinates to the Moon fortifications and Earth weapons systems. Tell them to fire when they have solutions.”

  “Get me Commander Temesgen.”

  “Aye, ma’am.”

  She was going to need that battleship task force. It was her ace in the hole. The question was, which wormhole? She glanced at the tactical display and saw that the battleship Leonis was above and behind the wormhole on the daylight side. Maybe, just maybe, he could ambush them as they emerged from the wormhole.

  “I have Commander Temesgen on for you.”

  “Very well.”

  Temesgen’s image appeared on her 3-D holo in front of her chair.

  “Ma’am.”

  “They are opening up wormholes on both sides of the Earth, one on the nightside and one on the daylight side. You are to engage the Xotoli vessels as they emerge from the wormholes and destroy them before they are able to begin the invasion. Clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I am to destroy the Xotoli fleet as they emerge from the wormhole.”

  “Grogen out.”

  The holo snapped off and Ririsa sat watching as the wormhole took shape. It would not be long now. She had just given Temesgen an order that she hoped worked, because she had nothing else.

  Chapter 32

  BB 12 Leonis

  Combat Information Center

  Task Force 54

  High Earth Orbit

  Commander Temesgen watched as the sensors drew a visual of the wormhole as it opened. He had his battleship at general quarters and all his weapons systems targeting the entrance of the wormhole. He expected escort vessels first, then one of the huge cubes the Xotoli used for their landing forces. So it took him by complete surprise when the Cube emerged first, accompanied by swarms of fighters.

  The Cube was already combined. It had merged over Rift, but here it emerged from the wormhole whole and ready for a fight. It also looked very different than the Cube they had used on Rift. He had studied every visual and sensor reading on the Cube for more hours than he could count, and now he was fighting something very different.

  It was still a cablelike vessel, but it bristled with more weapons than the one at Rift, and literally hundreds of fighters swarmed around it. The fighters, as they emerged, turned and immediately began to attack Temesgen’s task force. The destroyer screen was under tremendous pressure even before the Cube had completely emerged from the wormhole.

  “Fire as your systems give you solutions,” Temesgen ordered.

  The battleship actually rocked slightly as all of its sixteen-inch rails fired at the giant cube in a huge broadside. In addition, every other weapons system began firing at the swarming fighters. Every one of the sixteen-inch rails struck the Cube, blowing spirals out of the structure. But the Cube absorbed the damage and continued on its course without any discernible effect. Missiles from Earth’s defense systems arced upward through the atmosphere and were quickly destroyed by beams or anti-missile missiles. The space around the Cube was filled with debris and explosions as ship after ship attacked the huge Xotoli monstrosity. The fighters raced toward Temesgen’s task force, blowing through the destroyer screen, and headed for the cruisers and battleships. Temesgen saw the Castor disappear when it was rammed by one of the fighters. They seemed completely unconcerned with the barrage of weapons fired at them from the destroyers and cruisers. They continued their flights into the deadly accurate anti-fighter fire. One after another were destroyed, yet they continued to push forward, until one then another targeted the Leonis.

  Instead of firing their weapons, they simply crashed into the Leonis, both trying for the bridge but being hit sooner and tumbling into the ship. Alarms went off as the damage-control systems tried to repair the damage, but more were getting through the screening fire. They all targeted the battleships, the Leonis as well as the Canis and Puppis. Both were struck by not one but several fighters.

  Temesgen glanced at his damage-control display. There were numerous hull breaches as well as fires deep in the ship caused by the penetration of the fighters.

  “Sir, they are already launching their troops,” the battle captain said.

  Temesgen changed his display and saw the Cube was firing the spikes they had seen on Rift. Not a few, but hundreds, each one carrying five hybrids. Earth’s defenses were targeting them now instead of the Cube and were having some success. One after another disappeared in an orange or red blossom, but most were getting through. The invasion had started, and they were on their heels in the fight for the space above Earth.

  “Sir, we’ve got cruisers and destroyers now exiting the wormhole.”

  Temesgen again changed his tactical display, and sure enough, close to a dozen destroyers and cruisers were emerging from the wormhole. He was being outnumbered before he had a chance to coordinate an attack. If he retreated, they would only follow and destroy him from the rear. It looked like they were about to refight the Rift battle, only on a larger scale.

  “All ships, ahead flank. Battle Captain, use the nukes now. We can’t wait. Guns, focus on the destroyers and cruisers.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Temesgen knew the nukes would have to weave their way through a melee of fighters, destroyers, and cruisers to find the Cube, but he could not wait any longer for a clear shot. Nukes in space were only good if you got a direct hit. There was no shock wave or thermal wave. That was why they were not normally carried. They were not nearly as effective as a number of other weapons systems.

  The nukes left their tubes and raced for the Cube. They were the largest and most sophisticated Long Lance torpedoes ever constructed. They had been designed especially to destroy the Cube. They had just received them from naval headquarters days before and had loaded them in the Leonis’s tubes. The crew was still learning their intricacies, and now they had to fire them in battle before being able to spend much time in the simulators their subtleties. They were much faster than normal torpedoes, and their electronic-countermeasure programs rivaled destroyers’.

  This should do the trick, Temesgen, thought to himself. If they take out the Cube this early then the rest of the ships existed to protect the Cube. This invasion might just be stopped in the next seconds.

  The torpedoes arced toward the Cube. Then, through all of the weapons systems, ships, and debris, four molten orange beams flashed from the Cube and destroyed the nukes, and only the nukes. Temesgen had never seen a weapon of that color before. They had clearly been designed for one thing: to destroy nuclear weapons.

  “Battle Captain, any answers?”

  “Sir, it looks like they can detect the radiation signature of the nuclear torpedoes and single them out through all of the electronic and battle noise.”

  “Fuck.”

  Temesgen watched
as the same molten orange flashes and detonated the nuclear missiles from Earth’s defense long before they reached the Cube. The ace in the hole was gone.

  Chapter 32

  City-State of New York

  John F. Kennedy Airport

  1st Raider Battalion

  Alpha Company

  First Platoon

  The Mike boat banked as Lee made his final approach to JFK.

  “Thirty seconds, Lieutenant.”

  “Roger that,” Nani said.

  “By the way, I just wanted to thank you for asking for my flight especially for this little get-together. It’s always nice to have our asses hung out this far with you guys,” Chief Lee said over the intercom.

  “Well, since we had so much fun on Chika, I didn’t think you would want to miss this little show.”

  The Mike boat gently bumped down on the huge landing strip. Nani and the rest of the platoon ran off the back ramp and spread out, forming a rough perimeter. The Mike boat rose and hovered above them before leaving.

  “Lieutenant, Mike 2536 is just landing at LaGuardia. They will drop off the engineers and orbit until they’ve finished, then bring them back here.”

  “Roger, Mike 2525.”

  “Call if you need anything,” Odaka Lee said.

  “Roger that.”

  Mike Boat 2525 banked and headed off to their predetermined perch on a private landing pad on the nearest Mega. They would land and wait until they were needed less than thirty seconds away. Major Regen and Captain Yu were pulling every trick in their book out to prepare an unmanned defense for LaGuardia.

  Nani knew Regen could not hope to defend all four airports on Long Island, so he had chosen to make the company’s stand at JFK and then fill LaGuardia with autonomous killing robots, mines, networked explosives, and anything else the engineers could think of.

  JFK and LaGuardia were the only two airports that had been modernized over the centuries enough to sustain the amount of supplies and traffic the Xotoli needed to support an invasioin. If Sand was right, and he usually was, the Xotoli would focus their efforts on the airports so they could bring in their heavy armored troops and expand their beachhead. That made the west end of the island a prime objective for the Xotoli and the perfect ground on which to fight and hold before retreating west toward the city. Sand had set up three different phase lines for their retreat. Each one had supply and ammunition caches for sustained operations.

  Nani stood and looked around. To say JFK was huge would be an understatement. It occupied ground that was too valuable to increase its footprint, so the Sols had simply added story after story on top of the original airport until it was over fifty stories high, with the landing strips on top. Facing east, to her right was a body of water called Jamaica Bay. If she walked to the south she could reach the edge of the runway and jump into the water, it was so close. To her left was a complex of buildings and transportation roadways that supported the airport. In the stories below them there was a complex of repair shops and hangars for the space planes of private citizens and corporations. JFK had been turned into a private airport for the citizens of New York who needed to be close to their planes for trips around Earth and up to various orbital facilities. She did not plan on fighting for all of it, but if she chose her sites well, she could make the Xotoli spend a lot of time and effort to clear this complex without putting her troops in a bad position.

  As she stood in the middle of the main runway, it stretched close to a mile both to her right and left. In front of her were the main terminal and flight control. Behind her were dozens of cargo buildings that formed something of a rough crescent facing the terminals. To her right the main terminal complex was in the center of the runways and connected to the city by all manner of cargo-hauling maglev unmanned vehicles. There were personal airplanes parked everywhere. She had heard of them, but never seen a ship designed just for flights in an atmosphere.

  It was almost too much to take in at once. She was glad she and General Sand had come up with the positions and basic defensive plan for JFK prior to her landing in the middle of this huge complex; it would have been difficult to come up with a good defense from the ground.

  “Okay, you know the drill. The main line of defense will be in the cargo buildings. I want the heavy minis at the corners of the buildings so they can cover all sides of the terminal complex and runways. The rest of you know your jobs. Each squad find your position and get there. Make sure your scoot routes are clear and as you saw them in the briefings. I don’t want you getting caught out there. As you move don’t forget to sow a nice minefield on the way to your positions. And please don’t forget to activate them. That means you, Keegan.”

  “Lieutenant, it was only once in training.”

  “Move! I want you in place and tied in with the other two platoons yesterday.”

  “Incoming,” someone announced.

  Nani turned and saw four Mike boats inbound. She was not supposed to get any more troops. Sand had acted like she was stealing a child when she asked for a squad of engineers. Only one Mike boat landed, while the others orbited above them. General Sand and his command group came down the ramp. Nani smiled to herself. Sand was not going to miss anything on this one.

  As he walked up, Nani saw he was wearing the armor he had worn on Rift. It had been updated, but it was the same battle-scarred armor she remembered. He was doing it for a reason—he was showing the troops that he was not going to fight this from the CIC like he had on Chika. He was with them. This little visit was more than just for show. It was to let the troops know where his head was.

  “Lieutenant, how are you coming along?”

  “Sir, we just landed, but as you can see the squads are headed for the defensive positions and sowing a few surprises for our alien friends. The captain is in the building. Should I let him know you're here?”

  “No, but let me see your dispositions.”

  Nani touched her chest, and her tactical controller dropped down. She pressed the 3-D holo selection. The cargo buildings and the main terminal showed up with her placement of her squads, minis, and their secondary scoot positions. Sand stared at them and made a couple of suggestions that made the interlocking fire tighter.

  “Nice job. Where are the Mike boats?”

  Nani pointed out the perches she and Captain Yu had worked out with Lee. Sand seemed pleased.

  “Mind if I hang out for a while, Lieutenant? The CIC back on Manhattan is filled with people asking me when the Xotoli are coming and what we are going to do about them.”

  “What do you tell them, sir?”

  Nani heard his chuckle over their intercom when he said, “I told them we were going to kill them all.”

  “Sounds like a fucking plan to me.”

  They laughed together. Then Nani said, “Sir, do I have permission to speak about a personal matter?”

  “Of course. Let’s hinge. It might be the last time we get a chance to breathe some fresh air for a long time.”

  They both hinged their helmets back and stepped a few feet away from the others.

  “Sir, it’s not my place, but I met someone when I was scouting for the Alamo. Kat Von Fleet.”

  There was a long pause before Sand spoke. Nani watched his face closely. It revealed nothing.

  “Uh...how was she?”

  “She seemed fine, sir. She was in a shelter for officials near the Alamo site. Apparently she works directly for the secretary general.”

  “Sounds like Kat. Only she could end up working for the secretary general after what happened with Von Fleet.”

  “Sir, it’s none of my business, but I thought you would want to know.”

  “Thank you. I’ve been too busy to find out what happened to her after...” Sand did not continue and frowned.

  “Sir, you know the way I feel about the Von Fleets, and I’m not saying I liked her, but she made two kids feel safe in the middle of a group of miserable fucking Sols. I just wanted to say that I wouldn�
�t want to go up against her on her ground.”

  Sand didn’t say anything for a moment, then said, “I think Kat would take that as a huge compliment, coming from you. Now I need to set up shop and look around and see if I can come up with some more ways to kill those kaks.”

  They lowered their helmets and strode off together toward the terminal. It was some time before Sand said anything. Nani hoped she had not crossed some line, but she had meant what she said and thought the general would want to hear it.

  They had just reached the terminal when the counterelectronics officer sounded a warning. “Incoming! We have insertion spikes incoming! I repeat, incoming insertion spikes.”

  “All personnel report to your posts,” Nani snapped over the platoon net.

  Sand turned and bounded toward his command group. “Goddamnit, I expected to get a warning from the navy,” Sand said. “Nani, get to your position. Don’t worry about us.”

  “Roger. Where will you be?”

  “Looks like I’m stuck here for the time being. I’ll set up in the cargo area with you.”

  Sand turned and headed off toward the cargo area as Nani began bounding toward her command post. It was early. How had the Xotoli gotten past the navy without a warning? This was not good.

  Chapter 33

  City-State of New York

  Central Park

  1st Conscript Battalion

  Alpha Company

  First Platoon

  The Mike boat banked, then flared as it gently touched down. As the ramp began to lower, the pilot said, “Here is your new home, Lieutenant.”

  “Thanks for the ride,” Striker said.

  “Call if you need us.”

  “Sergeant, get your people off the boat and organized. I’ll check with Battalion for updates and a face-to-face,” Lieutenant Striker said.

  Staff Sergeant Dieter Fenes stood and said, “All right, you know the drill! Get off this boat.”

  Fenes led the others down the ramp and was almost stopped in his tracks by the reality outside the boat. In the brief they had been told they were assigned to a park, but Fenes could hardly believe his eyes. It was some of the most beautiful landscape he had ever seen. They had landed next to something called the Pond on the tactical map; it was on the south side of the park. An ancient stone bridge crossed it, surrounded by perfectly groomed bushes and trees. The backdrop for the scene was the largest buildings Fenes had ever seen. They reached to impossible heights. Some disappeared into the clouds. Every floor seemed to be a wall of glass that overlooked the park. The closest to the park were arranged into six or seven different stacks of floors with varying heights. Mike boats and what appeared to be civilian ships crisscrossed between the impossibly high buildings.