“I also had to learn skills for any future positions.”
Josh kissed her tenderly, “We make a pretty good team. I’ll contact the Gracken and see when their next drop is taking place. Cliff may not get as much leave time as he’d like.”
Prissy nodded, “Some things just can’t wait.”
• • •
Josh sat at his desk and looked at the two Earth Majors sitting in front of his desk. A large Chinese man sat behind Josh against the wall watching what was going on. He had no idea why he was called to this meeting. Josh looked up from his computer terminal and smiled, “I’m sure the two of you are wondering why I called you here.”
Major Yokawo looked at Cliff and shrugged, “We discussed it on the way here and we’re of the opinion that you want to use us to do something here on Sparta.”
Josh smiled, “You’re right. I’m signing papers that grant you Spartan Citizenship and promote the two of you to Colonel commanding a brigade of Spartan Drop Warriors.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed and she glanced at Cliff, who had leaned back in his chair with a frown as she said, “Sir, are there not any officers on Sparta that could do what you’re asking?”
“There are many officers that could do an adequate job. However, it would take a long time to teach them how I do business. The two of you have already been broken in and know what I look for in planning my missions.”
Cliff shook his head, “We’ve been told that Sparta’s Military puts anyone on Earth to shame.”
Josh nodded, “That reputation has been earned during the fight with the Gracken. However, Sparta has not fought another battle since that war ended five years ago. You have fought some missions that I really thought were impossible and you pulled them off. You measure up to Spartan standards and I like the way the two of you work together. You received Spartan Training when I accepted you into my unit on Earth.”
“Sir, I believe we might face resentment from other officers on Sparta if we’re offered these positions ahead of them.”
Josh waved a hand, “Not really. Most of our forces haven’t been formally organized into a fighting force yet. They were scattered on Earth defending Alliance Technology and maintaining order. I doubt you’ll even be noticed during the reorganization of our armies. My Division is a new unit and I’ll be personally selecting the Spartan Warriors that will make up your brigades. The training the two of you went through on Earth was developed on Sparta and you are on an equal footing with Sparta’s Military.”
Jackie looked at Cliff and shrugged. He smiled, “You know we’d miss it.”
“I guess.” Jackie looked at Josh, “What do you want us to do first?”
Josh smiled and passed several documents in front of them, “I want you to sign these forms giving you full Spartan Citizenship and promoting you to the ranks of Colonel. You will have dual citizenship; you won’t lose your Earth Citizenship. Earth’s President has already approved them.” They looked at the document on top of the stack and saw Jesse’s signature on it. “Commandant Dunlov has also signed them and you’ll leave this room on active duty.” Josh looked at Cliff, “I have a mission for you to handle tomorrow.”
“What is that, Sir?”
“You’re going to be dropping on a Weg infested planet with a Gracken Division.”
“I’M WHAT!?!”
Josh held out a computer chip to Cliff, “We need to see directly how effective the new Alliance Weapons are working against the Weg. You are the best person I know at using weapons in combat. I’ve downloaded all the current weapons the Gracken are using against the Weg on this chip and you should go over it before you arrive. My father’s Q ship will be taking you out to the Gracken Commander in the morning. Make good use of your time.”
Cliff sighed, “Well, I should be accustomed to things moving fast around you.” He took the chip and began signing the forms.
• • •
The two newly promoted Colonels left Josh’s office and the young Chinese said, “Why am I here?”
Josh turned his chair around and said, “Why did Shen choose you to work directly with him?”
“I don’t know; why don’t you ask him?”
“I did.”
The young man was startled by Josh’s response, “And?”
“He says that you are pure of heart. You cannot be bought by any amount and would never betray your leader.” The young warrior stared and Josh and after a moment nodded. “Have you viewed the recordings of the battles the Gracken have fought against the Weg?”
“I have.”
“What do you think?”
“It reminds me of a science fiction movie called Starship Troopers.”
Josh smiled, “The Weg are not bugs. They are warm blooded creatures with a leather hide.”
“They appear to reproduce like insects.”
“The Weg put insect reproduction to shame. However, do you see the danger they represent to us?”
“How can I not?”
“I’m asking you to help me fight them. Will you join me in this fight?”
“Exactly what would I be doing?”
“You will be promoted to Colonel and assume the role of my Executive Officer. I will use you to make things happen.”
The warrior’s eyes narrowed, “I was leading forces that were killing your warriors on Earth. Why would you want me?”
“Because you genuinely believed your cause was just and it was your efforts that made it so hard to defeat them. I can use you and I know, if you accept, I won’t have to worry about trusting you to do the right thing.”
The warrior chuckled, “Do you always get your way, General?”
Josh smiled, “You haven’t met my wife, Cheng.”
Cheng laughed, “I was wondering while I was watching those recordings if I might get to take a shot at those creatures. I will join you, General.”
“Good, it’ll be good to have someone with better hand-to-hand combat skills working with me.”
Cheng’s head went back, “How do you know about my training?”
“Shen told me. I hope you’ll work with me to improve my skills.”
Cheng nodded slowly, “I look forward to it.”
Josh laughed, “I imagine you do.”
Cheng tilted his head, “Finding good competition is difficult.”
Josh nodded, “Indeed it is.”
• • •
Cliff looked up at the huge Gracken standing next to him on the barren plain. The small valley they were standing in was nestled in the middle of a mountain chain that split and ran on three sides of the valley; they were just as barren and devoid of life as the valley floor. Their peaks were high overhead and above the cloud layer. Cliff shook his head and looked at Rumel, “Is this entire planet devoid of life?”
“This continent is.”
“Is this the Weg’s doing?”
Rumel nodded, “This was once a highly populated planet with an advanced civilization. It was lush, green, and supported a vast ecosystem. We moved most of the population to another world after the Weg Queen landed. We’ll be moving the final city later on today.”
“I didn’t see any structures on the surface from orbit.”
“You must have come directly in above the Northwestern Continent. The Southern Continent hasn’t been affected, yet, and everything appears to be somewhat normal. You can’t see it from the ships in orbit due to them being so low to the planet. The Weg have torn down every structure here and took them underground to build other items.”
“Such as?”
“Starships.”
“If the Weg are contained on this continent, why did you evacuate the planet?”
Rumel shrugged, “It’s only a matter of time until they dig their way to it under the ocean. If we wait until they arrive, millions could die.” Rumel looked at Cliff, “Let me make some things clear so you won’t get yourself killed on your first visit to a Weg invaded planet.”
“What is that?”
“When I tell you to jump, hit your jump boots and do not hesitate. Go ahead and activate the boots now and be ready to hit the jump button.”
“Are you telling me they’ll overrun our lines that fast?”
“No, I’m telling you that they will take the ground out from under you faster than you can imagine. If you feel yourself starting to drop, hit the jump button and start firing your slivers under you at full auto. Don’t use the spotting laser, just start shooting and hope you are fast enough.”
Clifford stared at Rumel shaking his head, “You’re serious?”
“Gracken don’t joke when they’re at work.”
Clifford looked at the line of ten thousand Gracken Warriors spread out across the narrow valley and shook his head. They carried heavy lasers and huge sliver rifles developed by the best scientists in the Alliance. He blew out a breath knowing the guns carried by the Gracken were too heavy for human warriors to handle. The slivers fired by the huge rifles were preprogrammed to go after Weg and he knew how powerful the weapons were. There was no possible way an advancing force could get close to them without being blown away. He looked around at the mountains surrounding the valley and said, “We’re sorta trapped here, aren’t we?”
Rumel shook his head, “Not really, the Weg can only come at us from one direction.” He pointed at the opening of the valley directly ahead of them and said, “It would take too long for them to dig through the rocks. They’ll be coming from the valley’s entrance.”
“Are you sure they’re coming?”
Rumel chuckled, “We’re here on the ground aren’t we?”
Cliff shook his head. He had been sent by Commandant Dunlov to watch a battle between the Gracken and Weg in order to bring back intelligence on what human warriors would need to know to fight against them. After years of delay, Earth was finally under control and the Alliance had begun arming their former enemies with their most advanced weapons. Sparta was now ready to join the Gracken in their fight against the Weg but needed firsthand information on what to expect before starting to train its armies. The Gracken provided recordings of earlier fights but Commandant Dunlov needed to see how the new Alliance weapons were performing in close combat. Clifford was there to find out.
Cliff knew the Weg would be coming in large numbers…but…he used his amplified helmet scanner and didn’t see anything for miles around the valley. He looked up at the sky and saw hundreds of military transports that had dropped the Gracken Division in the valley. They were hovering a thousand feet above in the event the Gracken warriors had to jump to escape. He turned to Rumel, “Are you sure they’re coming?” Rumel raised his shoulder launcher and started firing. Cliff turned and in the moment he looked away from the valley’s entrance to ask the question, it was now choked with an onrushing wave of green and orange colored creatures charging forward at an incredible speed. Cliff’s mouth fell open and after a moment he raised his sliver rifle and began firing it at full auto.
All ten thousand of the Gracken were firing on full auto and a continuous rain of empty sliver clips shot out of the rifle’s auto feeder and flew back over their heads. The oncoming wave was being blasted across the entire width of the valley and the carnage being done to the charging Weg was incredible. Cliff activated his visor scanner and saw the wave of charging Weg warriors extended several miles beyond the entrance to the valley. The land outside the valley was dark with their numbers and more and more were rushing into the valley. Where had they come from so fast?
The typical Weg Warrior was five feet tall with four powerful-clawed legs under a cylinder shaped body. The torso that was in the center of the cylinder rose about two feet above the body and sprouted two powerful appendages that had what looked like a huge pincers on one and ten brightly glowing flexible claws on the other. The head was located between the arms and shoulders, was triangular in shape, with a mouth full of sharp teeth. The torso could be pulled inside the cylindrical body as the Warrior used its four legs to dig underground. The four legs were heavily muscular and their running speed shocked Cliff.
He watched the wave moving toward them and was stunned by how many were being killed by the Gracken barrage. The Weg’s rate of advance into that horrific fire was unbelievable and they were quickly closing in on the Gracken’s ranks, but then, on command, the ten thousand Gracken lowered their huge sliver rifles and fired their heavy blasters into the oncoming wave; the Weg’s entire front was blasted back five hundred yards as thousands of Weg were burned out of existence. But still they continued rushing into the valley. The Gracken raised their sliver rifles again and the process repeated itself.
Cliff looked at his orbital view on one of his visor’s side screens and saw the Weg completely covered more than ten square miles around the valley and were bunching up at the entrance. He forced himself to focus on the fight and heard Rumel say as he continued to fire his huge sliver gun, “You should be aware that they’re coming at us underground nearly as fast as they are above! Be ready to jump…it won’t be much longer.”
Cliff’s eyes widened as he continued to fire at the oncoming wave before suddenly feeling the ground under him move slightly. He hit his jump button a moment after Rumel and his boot rockets shot him into the air. He aimed his sliver rifle under him and froze. The entire area where the Gracken had been standing a moment earlier had caved in and he looked down into the mouth of hell. Millions of Weg were squirming and jumping into the air trying to grab the escaping Gracken warriors. One Weg Warrior was coming at him but Rumel shot it in the head as it moved close to Cliff and it fell back from the impact. Rumel grabbed Cliff by the arm and dragged him over to one of the hovering transports as the ships from orbit opened fire on the giant mass of Weg on the ground with their heavy blasters. The beams incinerated millions of them but Cliff saw millions more disappearing into the soil. One moment the ground was covered with millions of running Weg and the next moment they disappeared. Rumel stood beside him staring down at the carnage and in less than ten seconds, the only thing remaining on the surface was a giant mass of burning Weg carcasses.
Cliff looked at Rumel and was shocked speechless. Rumel looked at him and shrugged, “We have to drop to the surface in order to draw them up to attack. We do this in an effort to reduce their numbers.” Rumel looked back down at the smoking valley below, “We only killed half of those that attacked us. Half of them made it back into the dirt.”