Revolution of the Gods: The Battle for Sol Book Two (10 page)

After Sepsu made a very brief opening remark explaining only the nature of her position as an Ansharian ‘peace’ delegate, the emperor’s address was broadcast.

Sitting with a view of Earth from the conference bay windows in the background, the emperor delivered a four minute ‘greeting’ from the Ansharian people. He did not introduce himself as the “emperor” but instead referred to himself simply as Suen-Nergal. He dubiously revealed to the remaining inhabitants of Earth that this was the Ansharian’s second visit to the planet and that his people were essentially the mentors of mankind – helping us progress toward the establishment of our first civilizations and then leaving the planet approximately 8,000 years ago.

The emperor explained that his people had returned to help ‘heal’ our planet from its recent cataclysms. He detailed that a new threat was now present and recast the efforts of General Bracken and the reconstituted US military as merely the effort of a group of dissenters that wanted to regain power for personal motives. At one point he referred to the group as thugs and terrorists. The Ansharian leader skillfully painted Bracken as the symbol of what had brought the world to its current state of despair and completely negated the general’s earlier uncontrolled broadcast. The address closed with Suen-Nergal vowing unlimited Ansharian assistance to their ‘little brothers’ in order to save the planet from the likes of the insurgents in the NAU.

After the recording ended, Sepsu reappeared and informed the viewers that the Ansharian leader would be attending the AWR Conference and a more detailed statement would be made at that time.

The Ansharian leader did exactly what Hauer said he would
Bracken thought when he reflected on the address.

As he stared at the blank desk viewer, it suddenly flashed an incoming message alert from General Straka.

“So we are the bad guys huh?”
Straka huffed with a slight chuckle.

“Like you said that will depend how the history ends up being written,” Bracken responded. “Only the outcome matters at this point. If we help the Torahnossians get their fleet here then that will go a long way in correcting the perception of true reality. In the meantime, we must prepare for potential attacks not only from the remaining C7 controlled facilities here in the NAU but also the other C7 regional commands around the globe,” the general predicted.

“Will the Griffin squads be ready in time?”
Straka inquired, referencing the fact that the Ansharians had arrived six hours early.

“I am going up to the hanger bays to address the pilots shortly and let them know we will launch early. What is the current status of Goliath’s tactical objectives in your sector?

“The Tehachapi facility was captured about two hours ago and presented relatively little resistance. Mt. Shasta was a different story. We suffered roughly a thirty percent attrition of forces that were deployed to capture that location but I received a report that it was captured only a few minutes ago. The offensive on Mt. Rainer is currently deadlocked. About half of our forces have been eliminated but all of their surface armaments are disabled. They predictably locked themselves underground but our breach equipment was damaged during the assault. Our field commander has initiated a temporary tactical retreat in order to regroup.”

“Go ahead and order the remaining forces back to Mt. Shasta to bolster its defense. In fact do the same with all of your forces that are currently engaged in assaults that do not have a high probability of mission success. Use those forces to reinforce the locations that you have managed to capture. I will be directing the other generals to do the same. We are on a different time line now and we should expect an Ansharian fleet over our heads at any time from this point forward.”

“How have things developed on your end?”

“Dulce is holding strong and we have suffered roughly a twenty percent attrition. Those forces will continue their assault in order for us to initiate the Griffin attack as designed. The one bit of good news is that we captured Groom Lake with minimal resistance. Some of the scientists there successfully disabled their defensive capabilities after Hauer established communication and swayed them to our cause.”

“That is good news,”
Straka concurred.
“What is the status of the Operation Trident?”

Operation Trident was one of the secondary phases of Operation Goliath which involved the coalescence of a significant mid-Atlantic naval fleet directed to block any C7 ships dispatched from the former European, Russian and Chinese navies. The EU, TSU and IAU primes early on had redistributed these navies in a ring around the EU, stretching from the English Channel down the coast to the Straits of Gibraltar and across the Mediterranean Sea. Operation Trident was the answer to the probable deployment of these C7 navies.

Although many regions were hit hard by the pandemic, China was affected the worse. All of the former navies of the world were reduced in size as a result of not having the necessary numbers of trained soldiers but China’s fleet was hit the hardest. It was a mere shadow of its former size. Nevertheless, the combined vessel strength of the C7 navies still numbered over 5000 and presented a sizable threat to the East Coast.

“The fleet sailed at 1:30 MST and will be reaching the divergence point shortly. Admiral Cabral reported an armada of twenty six carriers, fifty-nine cruisers,sixty-seven destroyers, seventy-nine littorals, one hundred twenty-two frigates, and fifty-one subs with several hundred support vessels. Hopefully that will be enough for the operation.”

“Impressive,”
Straka commented.

“That remains to be seen. I need to get up to the hangers,” Bracken said after observing the time at the bottom of the viewer.

“I will proceed with the directives to reinforce our bases and prepare for an Ansharian counteroffensive. I will report in after the AWR address. Straka out.”

G
eneral Bracken arrived on the hanger level. The area where Taon had escaped was already cleaned up. Bracken walked past the covered escape hatch that the GEO had ejected from not even twenty-four hours earlier. The entire level was brightly lit and buzzing with activity surrounding each of the Griffins. Hundreds of personnel were prepping the ships and making final inspections. The hanger was over 3000 feet long and 1800 feet wide, holding six Helios Attack Cruisers and forty-eight Griffins.

The general walked toward the middle of the gigantic bay inspecting the preparations first hand. He eventually made his way under the cantilever bridge of the 200 foot gantry crane in the center. The hanger was never designed for public addresses so the general employed a makeshift solution. The crane lowered a flat piece of metal to the hanger floor. The general stepped on the plate with the crane raising it about three stories in the air; high enough for all the personnel and pilots to view their commander.

Switching on the small microphone attached to his lapel, Bracken’s voice came across the intercom in the hanger:

“Gentlemen, our schedule has moved up. The Ansharian fleet has arrived six hours ahead of schedule and we must be ready to launch within one hour. The importance of your mission and consequently your worth to our cause cannot be overstated. Without your success, our effort to take our nation and planet back will be greatly diminished.

“I am sure most of you, especially our pilots, are aware of the statistical probability of returning alive. But we must remain focused. And remember this; if your life is going to be threatened regardless, then at least be thankful for the ability to fight back. There will be many of our fellow humans that will not have that ability in the coming hours and days.

“In addition to conventional C7 aircraft and defenses, we have been informed that the minimum compliment of Ansharian interceptors expected to engage ranges from 120 to 150. That is the capacity of Ansharian destroyers; one of which is currently in route to our location.

“Gentlemen I am aware that the numbers don’t look pretty. But do not underestimate your Griffins. They are extremely powerful ships that were designed specifically for this type of confrontation. More importantly do not underestimate your own abilities - you are the most skilled pilots ever to be trained in our history and we can prevail no matter our sacrifice,” the general avowed to the faithful soldiers. “Good luck and God’s speed gentlemen,” he concluded, nodding for the plate to be lowered.

I
t had been almost two hours since the Ansharian initial address. Akilan, Cadan and a team of eighteen Torahnossian scientists had been running all sorts of analyses on what happened at the wormhole. The data stream they received from one of the Torahnossian fighters along with their own observations allowed Akilan and Cadan to gain a clear understanding of the event.

The communications delay that remained between them and their fleet had prevented the crew from receiving a most vital piece of intelligence. The latest information that Akilan had previously received was about the imminent assault on the Ansharian base located at the other end of the wormhole. It was not until that engagement commenced that the Torahnossian forces gained partial access to the Ansharian data banks and learned that they possessed a dark matter device designed to control the opening and closing of the wormhole. Without that knowledge the entire Torahnossian force may have very well followed the Ansharians into the wormhole.

As it were, they sent only eight fighters with the singular mission of destroying the probe. The Zealieon crew witnessed the rest of the event first hand when the surviving two fighters exited on this side. Control of the wormhole had allowed nearly the entire Ansharian fleet to escape from the Torahnossian assault. But the loss of half their fleet as a result of the probe destruction had severely blunted their strategic victory. Even so, the Ansharians had successfully reached the Sol system with a formidable force.

Akilan was back on the bridge in the captain’s old ready room establishing a secure channel for an incoming transmission directly from Gideon.

“I have received your report concerning the wormhole battle. I welcomed the news of the significant Ansharian fleet destruction. As you know, half of their remaining fleet has repositioned in orbit above Dulce as predicted and Bracken’s Griffin fleet is readying for launch. In my assessment, Suen-Nergal will likely restrain any counter offensive until after the AWR meeting. Thus far, they are following a very old pattern,”
the doctor updated, sitting back in his personal quarters on Level 176.

“I also wanted to inform you that we may have another problem. When I analyzed the remains of the S1, I discovered that he had successfully isolated the authentic GEO files relating to Taon’s true maturation processes and prepared it for an upload to the C7 computers at Dulce. It will only be a matter of time before they break the file codes and gain access. We cannot let them make use of that information,”
Gideon warned.

“Although the Ansharians were dealt a significant blow with the wormhole collapse, their forces are still dominant despite Bracken’s numbers added to the equation. Their early arrival has moved up our evacuation schedule here and we know that the Dugway facility will be at the top of their list to recapture. I believe it is time for to you get back to the Zealieon my old friend.

“Rax has informed me that the Old Peaks Base is prepared for our arrival. I advise that you prepare to leave Dugway as soon as possible. We are going to need you with us just in case our first contingency fails,” Akilan recommended, alluding to a backup plan that him and Gideon had formulated in the event Taon could not enable their fleet’s arrival.

“I agree. But for now we are going to have to wait for their next move. Indications are that the Dulce base will be used for their main landing base and I have calibrated a specific attack protocol based on that assessment. If Bracken’s Griffin squads can carry out their mission, we have an opportunity to disable their primary ships in this region. Once we have more clearly determined the variables involved in the coming confrontation, I will plan to travel to Peru,”
the doctor paused, allowing a small smile to form and then continued,
“Hmm…it’s been a very long time since we were at the Old Peaks,”
Gideon remarked, thinking about their last visit to Peru.

“It certainly has my old friend. It’s hard to believe they still do not know about it after all of this time,” Akilan chuckled.

“Dr. Leroux's presence at the Old Peaks is also required.”

“Absolutely. Contact me when you are prepared to leave Dugway. I will send a Valkyrie to fly escort just in case. I need to sign off for now– the ARW meeting is coming up.”

T
he warming glow from the crepuscular rays sprayed down on Saint Peter's baldachin. The large sculpted bronze canopy located at the center of the nave crossings and directly under the basilica’s dome rose over 450 feet into the air. The space surrounding the baldachin was filled with hundreds of scholars and religious leaders from around the world, seated tightly together facing a raised platform with six ornate chairs and a transparent acrylic podium.

Suen-Nergal made a grand entrance. The emperor’s impressive shuttle landed in the highly secured and cordoned off square outside with a Gigim Xul squad hovering in a holding pattern over the entire Vatican. He emerged from the ship wearing his red and black traditional Ansharian royal attire, including the adornment of the crown of Anshar. The visiting extraterrestrial leader was accompanied by twenty of his elite guard that were dressed down for the occasion, wearing suits similar to ones worn on Earth.

The emperor entered through the narthex and paraded down the towering barrel vaulted nave toward to the central dome. Although the nave was also cordoned off, an increasing number of Vatican “officials” fell into his entourage. The lavishly decorated marbled and gilded interior coordinated well with the emperor’s pomp. After what was no less than a royal procession to the center of the dome, Suen-Nergal took his seat among the five AWR Governors and then
Darisam approached the podium.