17 – Invasion !
(H5D-228 - Shanty Town City Hall - Year 3, Day 67, 1712)
The navy of the Hal’Iry was actually called the Space Fleet. And Xe-17-H had told them that 228 was in the area that was patrolled by the Eighth Fleet. Led by a Supreme Commander – the Hal’Iry counterpart of an Admiral – these consisted of scout ships, troop transports, freighters and warships. The ships that were approaching the planet were a troop transport and a freighter.
“They were probably trying to follow the pirates to their base,” T’Zalo said, getting him a look from Xe. “That’s what I’d do. Find the base and invade it. With the freighter to hold any captives and contraband.” He paused. “On the bright side, that means they probably don’t have the kind of weapons needed to bombard the planet from orbit. Since that was probably never part of the plan.”
“I see you’ve been paying attention during Major Cadman’s tactical lessons,” Vale said.
“Yes, sir.” T’Zalo said. “And based on their size, those two ships will not land in the garage. They’re too big. Even if they tried, the Frankenstein is still parked there. So they can’t.”
“How do you know about Frankenstein ?”
“Colonel Hailey brought a copy of the novel with her. I read it with a translator. Between digital and physical copies, we actually have a nice pile of Earth literature on Spera.” He looked at the screen. “So, what’s the plan, boss ?”
“We’ve got several minutes before those ships land. Time to get moving.”
Vale led the way out of the City Hall. They needed to set up as many nasty surprises as they could before the enemy rushed their position. Or this fight would be over very fast.
(Troop Transport 8/1 – Cockpit – Year 3, Day 67, 1720)
Supreme Commander La-27-A was behind the controls of Troop Transport 8/1. Unlike that lazy bag of fat, Ha-55-Z, he did not spend his time sitting in an office far from the front line. There was a loud thud as the craft landed in the quarry that had once been the heart of the Hal’Iry presence on this planet. Next to this ship, Freighter 8/4 landed. The troop transport had a hundred soldiers, with another twenty aboard the other ship. The crews of the two vessels would stay behind.
~Time to get work.~ La led the troops out of the craft. The quarry was silent, with a thin layer of water covered the bottom. ~Something is off.~ There were no signs of habitation, nor any visible defenses. Both of which were odd for what was supposed to be a busy pirate lair. He made his way to the nearest door and signaled to his soldiers. They opened it and rushed in to find….nothing.
“Let’s go,” La said.
They headed deeper into the facility.
(H5D-228 – Room - Year 3, Day 67, 1722)
Vale readied his weapon. He knew that they were greatly outnumbered, even with Xe’s defenders backing them up. They had taken off their spacesuits so that they could move faster. It was how they had been able to set up several lines of claymore mines. He and G’Yal were one side of the main tunnel, while Porter and T’Zalo were covering the other. There were also twelve Hal’Iry defenders, with six on each side. The soldiers kept going, until… ~Here we go.~ They triggered the claymores, taking out four ofthe invaders.
“Open fire !”
The team began firing short bursts, taking down more of the soldiers. At the same time, the defenders launched a wave of arrows. The soldiers returned fire with their energy weapons, which Vale had expected. He gave a hand signal and they slowly began retreating, while continuing to fire. But it was only a matter of time before the enemy pushed back.
(H5D-228 – Tunnel – Year 3, Day 67, 1724)
~These are not pirates.~ La thought as he ordered his troops to retreat. They had just lost more then fifteen soldiers to a surprise attack. ~A well-executed surprise attack.~ These people were professional soldiers. Also, they were armed with projectile weapons, not energy ones. And then he remembered a report that Supreme Commander Lazy Fat Sack had submitted. ~The aliens, they really are using the Alien Rings as a means of transportation.~
“But that report said nothing about them being in league with pirates,” La-27-A said. ~Not even Lazy Fat Sack would miss something that important.~ “No transmissions, no meetings, no evidence at all.”
And then it clicked in his head. The aliens had been here, exploring this planet. ~Which somehow got the attention of the pirates.~ They had dealt with the pirates. But before they could leave, La and his troops had arrived. None of which changed the fact that the Supreme Commander would have to deal with them now. He turned to his troops and began giving orders.
(H5D-228 – Tunnel – Year 3, Day 67, 1726)
The counter attack was a coordinated hard push. First, the enemy had thrown several grenades down the tunnel. And then they had put down a carpet of heavy fire, while slowly moving forward. NR-1 and the defenders had barely been able to find themselves some cover. ~And that cover will soon be vaporized, literally.~ So Vale needed to do some quick thinking.
Fortunately, he had spotted several vents near the floor. One of the problems with mining, was that you occasionally hit a pocket of gas. And that the process itself often created gas as well. Gas that tended to be toxic. So the designers had added vents to suck out anything that was unbreathable. Another part of the system was a series of emergency doors that were meant to keep the gas out. And NR-1 and their allies were on the right side of the first door in that system.
The reason their side was the right side, was because the door only had controls on one side. ~Ours.~ While the others provide cover fire, Vale bolted to the controls and slapped a big red button. The door came down with a thud. But Vale knew that it was only a matter of time before they blasted through. Underneath the big red button was a keyhole. And Xe had provided them with the key. So Vale put the key in and turned it. A panel slid aside, revealing another button. ~This is not going to be pretty.~ Vale pushed the new button.
(H5D-228 – Tunnel – Year 3, Day 67, 1730)
La-27-A was surprised to see the security door come down. But he didn’t have time to think about it, because if they knew about the doors… ~Then they probably know about the level two defenses.~ So he yelled for his troops to put on their gas masks. But it was already too late. While La managed to put on his mask in time, a large chunk of his troopers were not so lucky. By the time the tunnel finished filling up with poison gas, they were down to sixty-seven troops and one Supreme Commander.
He gave his troops hand signals and soon they finished blasting through the security door. They – carefully – made their way through. There was no sign of the enemy. But they had, however, set up several crude explosives. These were connected by a thin – and nearly invisible – wire. ~Primitive, but effective.~ And designed to be directional, from the looks of it. One of the troopers carefully stepped over the wire, right onto a pressure plate…
(H5D-228 – Tunnel – Year 3, Day 67, 1731)
The explosion took out seven Hal’Iry troopers. They had stepped over the wire connecting the two claymores. Which was exactly what Vale had expected them to do. While the troopers were disoriented, the defenders fired. Porter was position to lower the second door, which was what she did as soon as the attackers opened fire. As the door made its way down, several grenades were tossed down the corridor by the defenders. As for the level two defenses, they had used all the gas. But that was not the only surprise that the designers had included. Porter used the key to unlock the next feature. There was a fizzle as the circuit connected to the door got to work.
The troopers attempted to blast through the door, but it did not end well for them. Their blasts were reflected back to them, taking out several of the troopers. But then things went really downhill for them. Because while most of grenades had detonated close to the door, one had kept going. It reached the first section, where it ignited the poison gas. As a precaution against people using their weapons to stop the gas, they gas had been made flammable. Porter heard the blast and was glad she couldn’t see what was happening on the other side of the door.
(H5D-228 – Tunnel – Year 3, Day 67, 1734)
La-27-A signaled retreat to his troopers. The gas explosion had been horrible, killing troopers and setting them on fire. While he could technically press the attack, to do so would condemn the wounded. So he was ordering them out of here. ~This is not over.~ They would return with larger numbers and heavier weapons. He had no idea who the enemy commander was, but he had clearly underestimated this person. It was a mistake which he would not make again. He gave the door one last look, then picked up one of the wounded and left.
So he did not hear the fizzle as the force field protecting the door disengaged. Then the door opened and the defenders stepped into the section of corridor. As he saw the aftermath, Vale scratched his face. ~This is not good. Not good at all.~ Of course, the locals were good in the short term, but…
“We just got very, very lucky,” He said. “And these guys are not going to underestimate us again. Not to mention the fact that they are going to attack this place again.”
“Yes, the secret is out,” Porter said. “We’re going to have to relocate the children.”
Which was going to be easier done then said. But if they left Xe and her charges here, it was only a matter of time before the Fleet send another force. They would either be overwhelmed and massacred. Or they would all be arrested and become wards of the state. And neither was an acceptable option. So they had work to do.
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