Alpha strike, p.24
Alpha Strike, page 24
She refocused her attention on Connor. “I hear she used the drones as a distraction to keep one of the war machines off a foxhole with two wounded Marines. Drew it in a different direction, like a bird protecting its nest. She’s a brave woman but a little too reckless for my taste.”
“I think the professor will have his hands full with that one,” Connor said with a chuckle of his own. “She seems like an alpha type, and she’ll be driving everything that goes on in their relationship.”
He looked back at the volcano. “Why do you think they destroyed the volcano? They couldn’t have known what was underneath it. Was it simply because it was resisting them?”
“That’s as good an explanation as any, I suppose. Figuring out why aliens do anything is complicated. Who knows what’s going on in their heads? If we ever speak with the aliens we’ve captured, maybe we’ll be able to figure that out. It’s odd how nonconfrontational they appear, but they still created these rabidly aggressive machines.”
The two stood in silence, looking over the facility holding all the nuclear warheads they needed to fight this war. No matter what the Locusts had intended, they’d struck a shrewd blow, and this would be a game-changer in the worst way.
Even if they won the fight in orbit, it was an open question whether the facility below the volcano had collapsed or not. If it had, they might very well be doomed. If it hadn’t, recovering what they could would take time and manpower they didn’t have.
Everything rode on Jack winning the fight in orbit. If he could do that, they’d have a chance. If they lost up there, the cluster would fall. It was as plain as that.
Even if they won today, ultimate victory was still a nebulous goal because they didn’t have the forces to kick the Locusts out. Unlike the first invasion, they didn’t have twelve battleships filled with experienced personnel. They had one, and as eager as the people were, they weren’t veterans.
And the fact that the aliens may have come in more significant numbers this time would make the eventual win even more challenging. Whatever the case, the fight wouldn’t be quick because a single battleship couldn’t be everywhere at once. The bad things happening on this planet would be replicated on many others, and there was no way they could intervene on them all in time to do any good.
He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t hear Turner approaching until he spoke. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
Connor turned toward the grizzled officer, masking his startlement. “I can’t say that we were friends, only business associates. Still, I’ve dealt with him for almost two decades, and he was a good partner that always kept his end of the deal. I feel bad that he died getting this information to us, but a lot of people gave everything to fight the Locusts today. I’m very sorry for your losses, Colonel. That can’t be easy.”
Turner pursed his lips and nodded. “I haven’t processed it yet, and it will be hard. A lot of these young people just didn’t have the training and experience for something like this. Even for the ones that did, bad luck sometimes cancels all that out. Still, our losses were surprisingly light. They got all the pinnaces, so that means we no longer have several dozen Marine Academy veterans who could fire the weapons and the brave civilians willing to pilot for us. That’s going to suck because we can’t replace them. We have about a hundred killed in action on the ground, with three times that many seriously injured. Considering the kind of attack we were under, it’s a bloody miracle. Now we pick up the pieces and see what happens next.”
“Do you have any good news?” Connor asked.
“Some of the people from inside the facility managed to get back up to the surface. Among them was your hacker friend. That implies that at least some of the facility is still intact. It’ll be risky to send anyone down to check, but we have some combat reconnaissance drones—like Christine’s but more robust—that we can send to scout what we can.”
“That is good news. Did you hear that Christine was involved in the fighting?”
“I did. That was brave of her, and it won’t go unnoticed. She likely saved a couple of Marines with that distraction, so she’ll be getting an award of some kind, depending on what the commodore thinks best. I had doubts about this war correspondent business, but she’s proved me wrong. If we can take this planet back from the Locusts, I feel confident that documenting this battle will kick her career off in style.”
“What do we do next?” Connor asked. “I realize we need to guard this facility, but we’re in big trouble if we lose the fight in orbit. Hell, we’re in a lot of trouble if they send more aircraft to attack us. We’re really exposed out here.”
“I spoke with Captain Dufaux about getting reinforcements, and she feels confident the planetary defense forces will have people on their way here. Now that they have a reason to protect this facility with heavier weapons, they’ll do so. These nuclear weapons are what’s going to keep this planet safe once we liberate it. You can bet your ass they’ll guard this like the presidential palace. Well, better since the presidential palace is rubble at this point.”
“Do we have any idea what the civilian infrastructure is like?” Tina asked. “Is the leadership still alive?”
Turner shrugged. “Somebody is still giving orders, but they’re not revealing who’s in command or where they’re hiding. We’ll be speaking with whoever it is at some point, but for the moment, we’ll just have to be happy we’re getting backup.”
“More people are always good,” Tina agreed.
“From what Dufaux says, they’ve already got some units on the way,” he said. “They should arrive within the hour and set up weapons emplacements to replace the ones we’ve lost. It won’t be as good as what the volcano had, but hopefully we won’t have to deal with so many attackers at one time going forward.”
Connor hoped that would be enough, but he was starting to have his doubts. He’d known the fighting would be vicious and the task they’d set themselves Herculean. That assessment had fallen short of reality.
Everything going forward rode on Jack Romanoff and his ship. Connor had known that would be the case, but he hadn’t felt it in his bones. Now he did. If they got out of here, whatever he needed to do at Port Royale to get more of those ships online, he’d do it. He’d ride roughshod over them if anyone gave him crap about it.
He’d become a convert in this war, and now he’d see this through. Whatever Jack needed, he’d find a way to help him get it. Now all they had to do was win this fight.
31
Alan hadn’t been certain he’d be able to break away from the assembly of the nuclear warheads, but the team doing the work had grasped the simple process, and the warheads were made so they couldn’t be put together incorrectly without significant effort or incompetence. They were doing everything right, which gave him time to check in on the new aliens.
He now stood in the observation room they’d set up to watch their prisoners. There was still no way to understand what they were saying or to communicate with them in a meaningful fashion, but the computers were making progress in monitoring everything they were saying. Even if the progress was minimal, it was progress.
The Marines they had on board, though few in number, were going to be present to make sure no violence occurred. Introductions would happen under controlled circumstances and with limited access.
They’d split a compartment next to the prison in half with a sturdy, clear divider to make that happen. A few of the prisoners throwing themselves against it wouldn’t cause it to collapse, but there were enough small holes drilled in it to allow for direct communication.
All of the action was covered by video and audio pickups. Whatever happened would be well documented, even if it went badly. Or maybe particularly if it went badly.
“I heard our programmer friend turned up down on the planet,” Kelly Danek said. “That’s good. She’s got spunk. I like her.”
“I do, too,” he admitted. “She puts on a very mercenary exterior—and to be fair, she is a mercenary—but she’s got an inquisitive mind that doesn’t want to let go of problems. That’s refreshing to see in a young person.”
He turned toward the chief engineer. “How goes the quest to get missile batteries online?”
“We’ve got more than enough to handle the available missiles. It looks like your people are making progress in putting the nuclear warheads together and installing them. Amanda said they’ll wrap up in the next fifteen minutes and have the last of the missiles loaded before the battle.”
He’d been gratified at how fast his makeshift team of nuclear engineers had grasped the basic techniques of assembling the warheads. They were simple affairs for such deadly weapons, and that might just save their lives.
The swarm of Locusts would arrive in just less than an hour. The enemy had sorted itself out, so the drones were followed by the motherships. He had no doubt some of the drones would incorporate that new sprint drive and get to Hunter sooner.
That meant there would be three definitive waves in the attack. First would be about a third of the drones, then the remaining drones, followed by every mothership. The drones were dangerous enough when they decided to ram, but he imagined the motherships would be worse. After all, they were bigger and had more substantial fusion plants.
He had no idea what the tactical officer’s defensive plan would be, but it would have to be good. This was the most significant threat the battleship had faced during the current invasion, and its already scarred surface would be battered even further.
Yet there was nothing Alan could do to help with that now. He’d done his part getting the nuclear weapons prepared. Everything else would be up to Jack and his people. He needed to focus on the task in front of him.
“Shouldn’t you be in engineering?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kelly shrugged. “I’ve got my new assistant chief engineer working on everything, and we’re ready to go. I wanted to make certain you were set up here and see how things started off myself. I’ll leave in about fifteen minutes unless there’s a fistfight. Then I might stay another five.”
He laughed. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re not going to have any fistfights. The partition you provided should be sturdy enough to keep the two sides apart.”
The Marine standing in the corner of the room received a call on her comm unit and answered. She spoke with the person on the other end before putting the unit back on her belt.
“The new prisoners are on their way. They’re under heavy guard and moving through cleared corridors. They should be here in a few minutes.”
Moving conscious aliens through the ship was new. They’d only had to deal with waking the ones in the pods the first time around. They’d already had them aboard the ship and safely locked away in a series of compartments they couldn’t escape from.
It was always possible some of the new prisoners would feel that they could escape given the opportunity. He hoped the large number of Marines and the restraints they’d worked up would be sufficient to keep them from violence.
He and Kelly waited, watching the wall monitors. When the Marines arrived in the new quarters, they removed the restraints from the prisoners and backed out. As soon as the hatch was secured, Alan ordered the Marine to open the hatch leading into the original prisoners’ quarters.
The original prisoners were more comfortable in their surroundings, and a few of them wandered into the new meeting room almost immediately. They ran their hands across the divider and spoke among themselves, no doubt wondering what this was all about.
Their attention was riveted on the other side when two of the new prisoners came through the hatch on their side and looked at them. The two groups eyed one another in a way that seemed wary but might have been anything. Tellingly, neither group spoke.
One of the aliens in the original group returned to their quarters and summoned the rest. As that side filled up, more of the new prisoners came in to look at them. The original group spread out so that they were all up against the partition where the new group seemed to draw together.
Alan was no expert on human body language—much less alien versions of the same—but it looked as if the old group wasn’t feeling friendly and that the new group felt a little threatened.
Finally, one of the aliens in the original group said something loud enough to be heard on the other side. When there was no response, she repeated it. One of the new prisoners took a couple of steps forward and stopped well short of the divider before responding. His tone seemed lower and his response more hesitant.
Whatever he said, the original group didn’t care for it. Several of them pushed up hard against the divider and struck it with fists as they began shouting.
Even if he’d understood the language, with everyone speaking at once, Alan wouldn’t have been able to understand a single word they said. Again, it was dangerous to attribute human emotions to an alien being, but they looked angry. In fact, they looked as if they wanted to harm the other group.
“Well, this is far more entertaining than I’d imagined,” Kelly said in a low tone. “It’s a good thing we made that divider as strong as we did because our original guests want to have a stern discussion with the newcomers.”
“They do seem angry. You’ll note how the new group is hesitant. I don’t want to put emotions into their actions, but they seem cowed. Either they’re afraid of the original group, or there’s something similar going on.”
He looked over at the Marine. “We’re going to have to see about getting the aliens out of there. I don’t want to have them attack our people, so you’ll have to find a way to get them to back off. One group or the other, I don’t care which.”
The Marine nodded and stepped out of the room. Four heavily armored Marines entered the compartment from a side hatch a minute later. They came in on the side of the older group. They were carrying truncheons that Alan hoped they didn’t have to use.
The original group seemingly understood what this meant because one of the aliens began pointing back toward the quarters and pushing his compatriots in that direction. Many of them didn’t seem to want to go, but they did.
When the aliens in that group had stepped through the hatch into the quarters, the one who remained looked at the other group and said something in a very firm tone. Then he looked at one of the cameras and pointed toward the other group, clearly enunciating a concise phrase. “Bad people.” His pronunciation was good, though there was an almost sibilant hiss to the tone.
Alan was shocked. So shocked that he could only watch as the alien walked back into the other compartment before the Marines shut the hatch behind him.
“Well, that was succinct but on point,” Kelly said. “I don’t know how your alien figured out how to say that, but if it’s accurate, it looks like they’ll be better at communicating with us than the other way around. I’ve got to go, Professor. See you once this is all done.”
Alan watched her leave and returned his attention to the monitors as the Marines cleared the other side of the meeting room. Some of the aliens had been using programs designed to teach human children. Even though their mouth structures were radically different from a human’s, it seemed they could pronounce simple words well enough.
The alien had used a short phrase, but it had a precise meaning. Those two words indicated the alien recognized what the word people meant, as in a grouping of others, and that there was something wrong about them. Whether bad meant they were evil or he simply disagreed with their goals, Alan had no way of knowing, but the intent was clear and seemingly correct.
The aliens had been working on learning to speak and read for less than a week. Pulling such a short and on-point phrase out of the air at a moment’s notice after such a short time meant the alien had a better grasp of their language than he’d have expected.
That boded well for their ability to communicate more effectively in the near future, but it wasn’t a situation he was ready to deal with today. There was a fight coming up, and he needed to make sure that both of these groups of aliens were safely in their own quarters when that started.
Each of these prison suites was as well protected as possible. Being in the central portion of the ship, it was unlikely they would take damage. Even if they did, life support here was isolated from the rest of the ship. The alien prisoners would have a chance if things went badly wrong.
He needed to go back to the weapon assembly area and make certain that the last bit of work was done as expeditiously as possible. They might also have a few warheads that showed problems that he could potentially help with.
There was every indication they’d expend every missile in this fight. The lack of one warhead might spell the difference between life and death for someone. He wasn’t going to leave something like that to chance.
Once that was done, he’d head to operations and join David Chen. He wanted to see this battle play out but not be underfoot. Operations would be the best place to do that.
With that decided, he strode out of the compartment as well as he could with his cane. The final conflict was almost upon them, and he still had work to do.
32
It took longer than Mac liked to get the condition of his people. The fighting had been intense, and Marines had moved from position to position as needed. So getting a final headcount had been an error-prone process, and everything had had to be gone over meticulously.
They had hundreds of injured Marines ranging from scratches and burns all the way up to critical gunshots. Many of them would make it, but some would not. He’d already lost more than a hundred people, not counting those in the pinnaces. That was the price they’d paid to defend the island, and he hoped it was worth it in the end.
He stood next to Captain Dufaux and stared at the ruined volcano. Now, instead of looking like some evil villain’s lair, it seemed almost active again, with all the smoke rising from the collapsed cone. Thankfully, the rock provided a decent shield against any radiation if there was a breach.
