Galactic Empire Wars 2: Emergence (31 page)

-

In the Control Center of the spaceport, four Kleese stared at their viewscreens in growing anger
and frustration. They'd not expected an attack this deep inside their territory,
though after the Humans had attacked the nonaligned worlds trading station they
shouldn't have been surprised.

“All of our
ships in orbit have been destroyed,” one of the Kleese reported in an ominous
voice, looking at a sensor screen, which was showing a myriad of debris and
gases in orbit. “Two or three of our assault ships may have escaped.”

“Humans!” spat
the Kleese commander, shaking his triangular head in anger. “How dare these
vermin attack us here!”

Another
viewscreen switched to a different view, showing Humans in battle suits
emerging from their drop ships and immediately moving on the spaceport.

“Our
conscripts are responding,” the third Kleese reported in a grim voice. “But
none of them have a Type Three battle suit; many only have the Type Ones. I
fear this will be a short battle with the Humans victorious.”

“Our assault
ships will return with a fleet,” the Kleese commander responded as he
calculated the time it would take the ships to report to the nearest Kleese
space station and return with a strong enough force to destroy the Humans or at
least drive them away.

He knew they
would never make it back in time. From the number of ships in orbit hanging
back, there was no doubt in the Kleese commander’s mind that the Humans had
come for the Kivean scientists. This would be a disaster, and one he and his
fellow Kleese could do nothing to prevent.

“Contact our
brethren in the city and instruct them to take cover in their bunker; we'll do
the same here. Our conscripts will do what they must to protect us.”

The others
nodded and worked quickly to pass on his orders before they all turned and
rushed to the underground bunker built in a hidden location deep beneath the
spaceport. No one other than the Kleese and the conscripts that had built the
bunkers knew they existed. The conscripts wouldn’t talk as they had been
eliminated as soon as the bunkers had been completed.

-

Wade ducked
behind a blastcrete wall as incoming RG fire struck the ground next to him. The
Kleese conscripts had formed a long skirmish line. They were hunkered down
behind vehicles and anything else they could use for cover and were firing on
the advancing marines.

“Watch it,
Major,” Lieutenant Stern cautioned as she fired two RG explosive rounds into
the door of the building from which the incoming fire was coming. The door
exploded outward and a Kleese armored conscript tumbled out to lie unmoving on
the ground.

Wade nodded
and used the advanced sensors in his HUD to check on the progress of the
battle. It seemed the Kleese conscripts had been fighting a delaying action
while they set up defensive positions nearer the center of the spaceport around
its Control Center and some of the larger hangers. Unfortunately, the Control Center and the buildings were constructed of blastcrete and nearly impervious to
the weapons that Wade’s marines had.

“They seem to
be holding off attacking for now,” Jamie commented as she peered around the
corner of the blastcrete wall and then looked back at Wade. “They’ve set up
several hard points to cover all the approaches. It’s going to be difficult to
pry them out of those positions.”

“That’s why we
have the new tanks,” Wade explained, glad that Marken and some Kivean
technicians along with a few Human military designers had built them. “They
pack the firepower for just this type of situation. The heavy railgun cannon on
the main turret should be able to take out those hard points. We have eight of
them currently awaiting my orders to advance.”

“I think it’s
time to give that order,” Jamie replied as she saw two of the green icons
representing her marines turn amber.

Wade was in
agreement as he put in the call to bring the tanks up. This would be something
that the opposing conscripts had never encountered and Wade hoped sufficient to
end this battle.

-

Beth threw
herself to the ground and rolled before coming back up on her knees firing at
the six conscripts that had appeared in front of her. One was in a Type Two
suit and the other five were in Type Ones. She fired a long burst and saw two
of her opponents go down, then felt a sudden sharp pain in her right arm
causing her to drop her RG rifle. She groaned loudly, grabbing her arm and fell
to the ground as several more rounds bounced off the chest of her Type Three
battle suit.

“Stay down,
Captain!” yelled Sergeant Russell as he ran forward with four other marines
laying down a heavy covering fire. One of the marines switched to RG explosive
rounds and began blasting away at the remaining conscripts seeking cover. None
of them made it.

Beth staggered
back to her feet and looked over her suit. Her HUD was indicating no major
damage or impairment to suit systems even though she had several good-sized
dents in her chest armor and another near her right shoulder. If she hadn’t
been wearing a command suit, the weapons fire would have killed her.

Sergeant
Russell came over, picked up her rifle, and handed it to her. “Are you okay,
Captain?” he asked with concern in his voice. It was his duty to watch after
the captain and while his attention had been focused elsewhere, she had nearly
gotten herself killed.

“I’m fine,
Sergeant,” replied Beth, taking a deep breath, knowing how close she had come
to buying the farm. She would be more careful from here on out.

“Major Nelson
is moving the tanks up,” Russell informed her. “We’re to hold our positions
until they arrive and can reduce those hard points the Kleese conscripts have
set up.”

Beth hadn’t
heard Wade send that order. She must have been too involved trying to stay
alive. “That’s good, Sergeant,” she responded, feeling the pain in her shoulder
subsiding. “Have everyone ready to advance as soon as the tank bombardment
begins.”

Russell nodded
and quickly began passing on the order. He was relieved the captain hadn’t been
hurt. If she had, there was no way he would’ve wanted to pass that news on to
the major.

-

Wade was
standing next to Lieutenant Stern as the new tanks opened up with the large
railguns with which they were equipped. The rounds were being fired at
hypersonic speeds and their impacts on the enemy’s positions were dramatic.
Entire walls were pulverized upon impact and reduced to dust and rubble. At the
same time, the tanks opened up with their energy gun turrets, sweeping them
across the enemy’s positions. To ensure the destruction of the hard points the
Kleese conscripts had set up, they also began firing explosive rounds from their
multiple launching tubes. The entire center of the spaceport complex became
covered in explosions and soon multiple fires and heavy black smoke were
visible.

“Enemy
conscripts are leaving the central area,” reported Sergeant Dawson from where
he was observing the attack. He was standing behind an over turned vehicle,
which gave him some protection from incoming fire. He was hunkered over in his
towering battle suit so as not to be a tempting target. “The heavy firing has
driven them out and a large group is headed toward us!”

“Let’s take
them out,” ordered Wade over the com system. “They’re disorganized and confused
from our attack. All platoons advance and engage!” This might be their
opportunity to end this quickly. The longer it continued, the more casualties
his marines would suffer.

Instantly,
nearly two hundred marines in Type Three and Two battle suits rose up from
cover and charged the enemy. RG fire grew intense as both sides began firing at
one another. Explosive rounds began decimating the enemy forces, but a few of
the enemy conscripts were also encased in Type Two suits and began firing their
own explosive rounds back at the marines.

Wade saw
several green icons in his HUD suddenly turn a deadly red while others became
amber as the fighting intensified. He was firing his own RG rifle in short
bursts at the approaching enemy.

“Keep up the
fire!” yelled Corporal Foster as she cut an enemy in two with her energy
weapon. She was firing nearly nonstop, switching rapidly from one target to the
next.

“Damn, there
are a lot of them!” screamed Private Juan Flores as he drew his Energy Lance
and lunged toward an armored conscript that had come too close.

“It’s going to
be hand-to-hand shortly,” Wade yelled over the com as he saw the remaining
enemy conscripts were nearly upon them. “Use your Energy Lances if needed.”
Wade quickly drew his and stood waiting as the enemy neared.

The remaining
enemy forces reached the marines, and the humming of Energy Lances became
prevalent as the marines wielded them like ancient Samurai, cutting wide swaths
into the enemy lines as they swung the fearsome weapons with a vengeance.
Dozens of armor-encased conscripts fell to the deadly weapons as the marines
met them head on, wanting to end this battle. The hand-to-hand fighting spread
to include nearly everyone and then it began to wane as the enemy was
annihilated. In just a few minutes, it was over with no one other than the
marines still standing.

Wade turned
off his Energy Lance and returned it to his waist. Around him lay three Kleese
conscripts with their heads lopped off. Taking a deep breath, Wade looked
around and saw that the fighting in his area was over. There were dead bodies
everywhere, including a few of his marines. Listening over his com, he knew
that the fighting in other areas of the spaceport was nearly done.

“I want the
spaceport searched to ensure we got them all,” ordered Wade, drawing in a sharp
breath as he looked at all the carnage that surrounded him. “Once we have the
spaceport secured, we’ll move into the city and secure the university and the
area around it.”

-

Beth was
nearly breathless from the combat in her area. Just as in Wade’s sector, the
fighting had become hand-to-hand and she had lost several marines. She looked
down at her armor, noticing the splattering of red blood it was covered in. The
conscripts they'd been fighting were of course humanoid, which the Kleese
seemed to prefer. Killing aliens that were insects or a cold-blooded species
would have been easier and less haunting.

“Area’s
secure,” reported Sergeant Russell. “We’re beginning to check out the remaining
buildings for any survivors. We’re also finding a lot of dead Kiveans. They
were caught in the crossfire and never stood a chance.”

Beth closed
her eyes, wishing the Kiveans had survived. She hated the thought that
innocents had died. “Very well,” she replied, nodding her head. “Major Nelson
wants the entire spaceport secured before we advance on the city.”

Beth watched
as her marines began spreading out and advancing across her section of the
spaceport. On her HUD, she was showing six red icons and nearly twenty more
that were amber. At least for now, the fighting was over.

-

Colonel
Adamson listened attentively to the reports they were receiving from the
ground. The spaceport was secure and Major Nelson was beginning to send marines
into the city. So far, resistance in the city had been minimal since most of
the Kleese conscripts had been garrisoned at the spaceport. He was also sad to
hear that a large number of Kiveans had died in the attack.

“The Kivean
space station is secure,” Major Kelly reported as he turned to look at the
colonel. “Our marines met only minor resistance and had no problem securing the
station. We’re sending the Kiveans over now to evaluate the spacecraft that are
docked and in close orbit.”

“Let’s make it
quick,” ordered Colonel Adamson as he looked across the Command Center. “We don’t know when the Kleese will return with a strong force. We need to be ready to
leave at a moment’s notice.”

“Yes, Sir,”
Major Kelly responded. “We should have several days before they can get to the
nearest station and return.”

Adamson leaned
back in his command chair. The first parts of the mission were over. The
spaceport and the space station were secure and Major Nelson’s forces were
moving rapidly through the city. In another few hours, they could begin sending
shuttles down to start the evacuation. Adamson just hoped they had time to get
it done before the Kleese showed back up.

-

Marken was
meeting with the Kivean leaders of the city of Micene. He had explained to them
the events leading up to his staging a revolt against the Kleese, freeing the
Humans, and finally taking the large Kleese space station. When he was
finished, he was met by silence as the city leaders weighed what he had just
told them. The news had been a shock to them as the Kleese had never offered an
explanation as to why they'd attacked Kivea.

“We suspected
something involving our people had occurred somewhere out in space,” Carlton, the acting governor of the city and surrounding area said with a deep sigh. “The
Kleese told us nothing; they just began bombarding our planet with antimatter
missiles. We have slightly less than three million survivors in Micene and the
surrounding countryside.”

“There are twenty-two
passenger ships and twenty-eight cargo ships docked to the space station or in
orbit next to it,” Marken said, trying to stay calm knowing he was dooming most
of his people to death. “With the ships we brought with us we can evacuate a
little over seventy thousand people.”

“Seventy
thousand out of three million,” spoke one of the other Kiveans in the room, his
eyes growing wide knowing what it would mean for those left behind. “When the
Kleese return, they will undoubtedly strike Micene with an antimatter missile
to ensure there are no additional rescues in the future. They will wipe out the
rest of our people. That is the way of the Kleese.”