Mike's War: Sequel to Jesse's Starship (12 page)

Mike turned and looked at Derek and then turned around. “Every member of this platoon is being promoted to the rank of Colonel and will be sent out to a hundred of our forts to prepare a hundred regiments for combat. They will have sole discretion as to who will command their units and I’m sure it’s going to be based on the talent displayed by those under their commands. Those hundred regiments will initiate our efforts against the Gracken. They will be the first units to drop on the planets that have been invaded.”

This time there was no holding back the troops. They rushed forward and surround the members of Platoon 21 and carried them around the field. Derek didn’t like the idea of being separated from the ones he had become so close with but knew that was how the military operated. He saw Haley being carried away and knew he was going to miss her most. Mike finally managed to get the troops carrying Derek and ordered them to put him down. They lowered Derek and Mike said, “You are going to be the Commanding Officer of those regiments. I expect you to visit your officers and make sure they stay committed to the level of excellence they’re demonstrated here.”

Derek’s smile was huge and he saluted Mike. The troops snatched him off the ground and went running way yelling his name. Every member of the military began learning Daniel’s Dance the next day.

• • •

Hetzel looked at the other Assembly leaders, “Well, I guess we have our answer.”

The others nodded but the Cystan said, “This attack did not include the heavy weapons used by the Gracken.”

Hetzel smiled, “It also didn’t include the heavy weapons used by the humans. The main issue is being able to survive a full charge by Gracken Warriors. Even if they fail but manage to remove enough of the invaders in the effort, the war can eventually be won. At the very least it will reduce the suffering of our citizens.”

The Neman looked at Hetzel, “Either way, I haven’t seen anything else able to do anything against them. This is worth our continued support.” Hetzel nodded and for the first time since the Gracken invasion began he started to feel a glimmer of hope for the suffering planets enduring their occupations.

• • •

Halley looked at the company standing at attention in front of her and she saw they were anxious about being commanded by someone as young as her. They also wondered if she had the toughness required to lead them. Halley heard the Training Sergeant say, “All present and accounted for, Sir.”

Halley returned his salute and she smiled. “I’ve been sent here to teach you how to survive a Gracken charge. We’ll start that process momentarily but first I need to see if you’re in good enough shape to get the job done. You and I are going on a little run. If any of you are still running with me at the end, you will have gone a long way toward earning my respect. Right…face.” The platoon turned right and Halley yelled, “At double time…march!” Halley led them out on the track and began running. After fifteen miles, more than half the company had fallen to the side of the track. Halley continued to run and for a moment was thankful for the sadist Chetzen’ torture. At twenty miles only six were still running with her. At twenty four miles, only one still remained. Halley stopped and the trooper passed her. She smiled and yelled, “Company, fall in.”

The five platoons moved as quickly as possible and reformed their ranks. Halley said, “The warrior that was running with me at the end, come forward now!” A young man ran out of ranks and stood at attention in front of the company. “Soldier, what’s your name?”

“Rizzo, Sir but I’m a warrior, not a soldier.”

Halley smiled, “Do you know the difference?”

“Yes Sir, I do.”

“Mr. Rizzo, you are promoted to Captain and will assume command of this company. I expect you to submit the names of those who will lead it with you.” Halley looked at the Company, “Are you ready to learn how to kill Gracken?”

“YES SIR!!!”

“We’re going to start the process here in the open. Everyone activate your combat helmets and scroll to the alarm app.” Halley waited and after a moment said, “I want you to set the alarm for eight seconds. Once you have it set, drag it to the force field menu and drop it on the force field sensor.” Halley waited and after three minutes said, “Now, every time your force field is hit with a Gracken you’ll receive an alarm eight seconds later. If you are designated number one, you will ignore that alarm and wait for the next one. If you’re designated number two, you will step behind your designated partner and wait for your force field to achieve full charge. On the second alarm, you will step up next to your partner and go full auto. Once you’re covering your fire zone, which should be done in two seconds, your partner will step behind you and wait for their force field to completely recharge. Are there any questions?”

“What if our force field is not close to being drained?”

“You will still step back. This is a pattern that you will have to coordinate with your fellow warriors. Now activate the force field menu and pull up the sensor icon.”

Thirty minutes later, the warriors in A Company had their alarms and force fields set properly. Halley used Rizzo to demonstrate the pattern and then had them do it slowly for an hour. Then she speeded the process up.

At the end of the day, the company was doing a pretty good job of stepping up and back. On the third day, she had them go in the armory and practice against a Gracken charge. It was on the tenth day that they completed the program. Of the five hundred Warriors that started the training, twenty nine were washed out; they just couldn’t maintain the rhythm consistently. Halley drove the company hard and in three weeks they had perfected the Aman Square. At that point, Halley called the company together and had them stand at attention in front of the armory.

The fort’s senior Staff Sergeant stood beside her and she smiled. “As most of you know, I have been given a regiment to train to take on the Gracken. What all of you probably don’t know is that you were selected to be a part of this first company that completed initial training. You were selected based on your intelligence, leadership abilities as well as physical skills. Captain Rizzo is promoted to Major and will command the first Battalion in my Regiment.” Halley looked at the clip board Sgt. Allen was holding and said, “Lee Jennings, you are also promoted to Major and will command my Second Battalion.” Those standing around Lee began slapping him on the back. Halley saw the shock on the new Major’s face and smiled, “Don’t act surprised, Major. You’ve worked with many of your fellow warriors to improve their performance on your own time. You deserve this.”

Halley smiled, “Sgt. Allen will be announcing your new assignments. Ten of you are going to be blessed to be in the best regiment on the planet…mine…and you will be given a company to command. The rest of you are being sent to fifty regiments to take command of a company of ground troops. You will start getting your warriors ready to fight. You just completed training and while it’s fresh on your minds, you will begin getting your commands ready. Two companies have been trained simultaneously to get our commanders prepared. We have a thousand companies and now we have the company commanders needed to move us forward. I expect all of you to make me proud. Congratulations and don’t waste any time getting your units ready for combat.”

The men in A Company were stunned by the announcement and then they began celebrating as Sgt. Allen announced their regiments. Halley waited and once her ten captains were announced she called them together. She looked at Rizzo and Jennings and said, “The two of you decide which five will report to you. The transports will be arriving in three hours and your ten companies will be assigned to the barracks on this end of the fort. Rizzo, you have seniority on Jennings but I expect your two battalions to be evenly balanced in their leaders; you got that?”

Rizzo shouted, “Yes Sir.”

“Your companies have five platoons of a hundred men each. I expect you to select the absolute best candidates to promote to Lieutenant to command one of your platoons. Your company commanders will run your selections through your battalion commander before bringing them to me. Be prepared to defend your choices. I also expect the new lieutenants to select their squad leaders and follow the same process. You’re going to have to examine the videos of your units training and look for the ones the others are deferring to and attempting to imitate. Those will be the ones you’ll want to focus on. That is how you were chosen to be here. Understand that I will be keeping a close eye on all of you and if you don’t have what it takes, I will replace you.” The twelve new officers looked at Halley and their respect was quickly turning into admiration. Halley smiled, “Rizzo, you and Jennings are going to have to go to Colonel Bowen and learn how to coordinate the mobile arms that will be used with your battalions. You will learn how to use the artillery, blaster, tank, and air assets against a Gracken attack. I will also hold you accountable for getting your battalions trained properly.” Haley stared at her officers, “I got to keep the best in my unit. I know you can do this. Now get organized and come up with a plan on setting the correct climate for our new warriors.”

Rizzo shouted, “Attenshun!” The twelve went to attention and saluted Halley. She returned their salute and walked away.

Rizzo watched her go and looked at the others, “Alright, I want you to line up in the order of your overall effective score during combat simulations.” Jennings watched the ten new company commanders line up with the best score first followed by the others in descending order. Rizzo looked at Jennings, “How do you want to do this?”

“Their scores are not that far apart. We’ll flip a coin; heads you get odd; tails you get even.”

One of the Captains said, “Sir, why don’t you allow us to decide?”

Rizzo and Jennings looked at the speaker and Rizzo said, “What’s your name?”

“Bates, Sir.”

“Do you think you could do a better job?”

“Sir, the two of you probably don’t know that we all trained together in second platoon. Our platoon’s score was the best of the five. Five of us worked together most of the time during training. I suspect we’d be better off to stay together, Sir.”

Rizzo smiled, “Lee, I think he makes a good point.”

“I agree.”

Rizzo looked at Bates, “Alright, get it done now. We have work to do.”

• • •

Halley watched the officers on the display in her carrier and smiled. They did what was right and weren’t trying to impress each other with their new ranks. This was a good initial step forward. Now keep them focused and moving in the right direction.

• • •

General Armstrong looked at Mike and shook his head, “There has to be a better vehicle to attack these creatures from the air.”

Mike looked at the former Air Force Chief of Staff and shook his head, “Unfortunately, that is going to require extensive development and construction of manufacturing facilities to bring a new aircraft into existence. The time required to do that is far too long for practical purposes. We’re modifying the aircraft we have and will have to make do with them during the early stages of this war.”

Armstrong looked down and slowly shook his head, “What will a Warthog be able to do against a technologically advanced enemy?”

Mike lifted his left shoulder and said, “More than you think. The enemy’s blasters will not damage the structure of the A-10. We only have to put a force field around the pilot’s canopy.”

“But their heavy blasters blow through the smaller force fields. The pilot will be disintegrated as soon as a heavy blaster platform hits his plane.”

“No, not instantly; the plane is lighter than it was before and is much more maneuverable. It won’t be easily hit.”

Armstrong stared at Mike, “Are we talking about the same aircraft? The A-10s aren’t dirt slow but close to it.”

“They’ve had their jets changed to modern Assembly Thrusters. They also have mini-thrusters on the wings and fuselage. They are incredibly nimble. As a matter of fact, the old A-10 pilots aren’t able to fly the modified Warthogs.”

“Then who is flying them?”

“The best pilots are the young men who have been raised on video games. They appear to be able to use the atmosphere in conjunction with the thrusters to really make the A-10 incredibly nimble.” Mike paused and smiled, “And since the canopy is the only place that needs to be protected, we’ve been able to put a full power force field in the plane.”

“How long can it withstand a Heavy Blaster Platform?”

“About thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds!?! They’ll be shot out of the sky before they can do any damage.”

Mike shook his head, “General, the A-10s can come in and deliver ten thousand heavy rounds in less than twenty seconds. In another ten seconds it can be two miles away and outside the range of the Gracken heavy blasters. It will recharge its force field in ten seconds and get back into the fight.”

“Mike, I know you’re one of the most knowledgeable about combat aircraft but do you honestly think this plane will survive in this new type of battlefield?”

“It really doesn’t matter what I think, General. They’re all we have and they’re going to have to protect our ground forces from the Gracken heavy blasters.”

“Where did you find the pilots?” Mike looked uncomfortable and Armstrong’s eyebrows came together. “What are you not telling me?”

Mike blew out a breath and said, “Most of them are between fifteen and seventeen years old.”

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??”

“They are the only ones with the reflexes to get the most out of the Hogs. The kids have flown circles around the old timers in all the training exercises.”

“Old timers?”

“Older than twenty.”

“What parent in their right mind is going to allow their children to go into combat?”

Mike sighed “My grandson is one of them, General.” Armstrong just stared at Mike. “Adams’ son is also in the wing.”

Armstrong slowly shook his head, “May God have mercy on them.”

Mike nodded. Some of the choices being made were almost too much to bear.