Star Crusades Nexus: Book 05 - Prophecy of Fire (11 page)

A Brief History of the Zealots

Fort Macquarie was the primary base of operations for the Marine Corps and its auxiliary units supplied by the Alliance Navy. It had been constructed in less than a month and was now the logistics hub for operations carried out by the Helion security forces and their Alliance comrades. Self-replicating technology was one of the advances now being used by the Marine Corps to great effect. In the past, it might have taken years to create such a site, but a large force of drones and hundreds of supply crates had been installed within a week. Left to their own devices, the autonomous machines were able to assemble the buildings, towers, and bunkers on their own and at an exponential rate as they assembled more drones actually on location. The building materials were harvested directly from the ground itself by robotic mining and refining drones at the now shut down assembly plant in the corner of the site.

With over eight thousand personnel in total, it was the largest base outside of Alliance space. The entire 17
^th
and 8
^th
Marine Battalions were there in force, with an equal number of Helion troops being mentored by specialists from Terra Nova. Two landing strips had been marked out, as well as eighteen individual landing pads for vertical takeoff craft. The site included prefabricated barracks, a large field hospital, and a five-meter tall wall that ran in a giant square around the entire base.

“I hate this moon,” grumbled Colonel Gun.

Like all the marines on Eos, he had to wear his enclosed suit of armor to protect him from the lack of a breathable atmosphere and the changeable temperatures. The radiation from the primary star was also a big problem, but his armor was more than enough for modest exposure. In any case, Gun was starting to enjoy wearing his JAS armor, even when inside Alliance buildings. His was the close assault model and featured retractable serrated blades in the arms and a single shoulder-mounted weapon system. With the extra armor and weapons, it made him feel like a God, something he greatly appreciated. An alert sounded inside his helmet, and again he found it uncomfortable relying upon using his eyes to select the message.

What now?

It was a flash message of few words from the fleet. He looked up to the sky as if expecting to be able to see the formations of ships. Even if they were in orbit, they would be far too small to see. Even so, he couldn’t help himself. It was shorter than expected and from the communications officer of the flagship. All it said was that the fleet had engaged the Biomechs.

Lewis can make them suffer!

He marched past a sunken structure protected by two missile defense systems. It was in the center of the base, and to most people would have looked liked the command bunker or headquarters. Gun entered an adjacent, far less imposing structure built from six trailer sections fitted together. He was forced to stoop, as always, as he entered. Inside were three open plan rooms and a dozen guards spread out. In the center of the largest room were dozens of computer displays. The holographic tactical unit, a large table-type device showing a three-dimensional model of the surface of Eos, dwarfed them. As soon as the entry airlock sealed, he activated his visor, and the front of the helm opened up from both the top and bottom to reveal his large head.

“Ah…” he sighed, breathing in the air inside the structure.

Lieutenant Martinez approached him, stopped, and saluted. She was short for a marine and like a child next to the armored form of Gun. He looked at her inquisitively and tried to remember what her job was there.

“Colonel, the patrol under Lieutenant Elvidge is coming in within the hour. They have prisoners.”

Gun shook his head in annoyance at the marine.

“I know that. The news came in twenty minutes ago. Bring them here when they arrive.”

“As soon as they land, Sir?”

Gun looked at the tactical map, trying to hide his frustration. He always kept his orders short and simple, yet he was constantly being asked the most insignificant questions, and it was beginning to try his patience.

“Yes, of course now. We are at war on this world, and I need information fast. This is not the kind of war we trained for.”

A critical flash message alert sounded on the secpad fitted into his armor. He bent down before remembering the unit was connected to the computer-controlled visor in his armor.

Yeah, it’s all good, till it stops working.

It took a few seconds for him to find the correct way to answer it. It flashed once, and then an image of General Daniels appeared. The expression on the man’s face was stern and concerned, and surprisingly it sent a rush of excitement through Gun’s body.

“General?”

“Gun, we’ve got a situation here.”

Gun gave him a grin.

“Yeah, I know. I just received the flash message. Lewis has engaged them. I take it the battle goes well?”

The General ignored his question and continued speaking.

“Gun, I need you to look at this.”

The image shifted to show the same external feed the General and Admiral Lewis had been watching of the comet. Gun looked at it but could see nothing of note. It was the same orb of rock, water, and junk he’d seen on the newsfeeds.

“I don’t understand. The comet is like any other.”

General Daniels shook his head quickly.

“No, Gun, it isn’t. In the last few hours, sections have split off and changed course. Look at this.”

Now the image changed to that of the fleet of ships making its way from the comet. The imagery flickered continually, and the schematic layouts were rough due to the continuous jamming signals coming from the enemy ships. There were several different designs, but the largest looked very similar to a manta ray, the large cartilaginous fishes native to the oceans of Earth. They were short but with a wide wing shape. Additional surfaces ended from the tips, and it was followed by a short but heavily armored aft section.

“Those are heavy warships, and they are heading toward Eos. Admiral Lewis says they show substantial biosignatures. That means they are either filled with something, or the ship’s themselves are semi-biological.”

He moved a little closer to the camera.

“Gun, it’s much worse than that. We counted thirty of these larger Bio ships, but there are over eighty smaller transports. Our scans show they are constructed for rapid atmospheric entry, and like the bigger ships, the readings are off the charts. These thing are big, Gun, really big.”

“Planetary entry?” asked Gun in surprise, “You mean they are heading for us?”

“It is likely. Get your marines ready and in shelter. The arrival trajectories are being sent to your command posts across Eos.”

Gun scratched at his head in confusion.

“I don’t understand. What about the fleet? Can’t you stop them?”

General Daniels tried his best to look confident, but he couldn’t hide the concern showing on his face.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Gun. Their fleet outnumbers us substantially, and these are not Helion or Khreenk ships. Look at the insignia on them.”

The image blurred and then focused on a single one of the manta ray style ship. It showed the metallic serpent shape emblazoned on its flank. Hundreds of tiny craft hung like clouds around the ships, providing a protective cordon against attack.

“The Biomechs, so they have returned with their…Biomanta ships!”

Unlike anybody else that had seen the images of the enemy, Gun’s expression was unique. Whereas General Daniels looked concerned and grave, Gun looked almost excited. If the General had seen Gun’s response to the news, it might have scared him. Even as they finished their short briefing, Gun could barely conceal his excitement.

* * *

Every single one of the senior officers aboard ANS Conqueror waited at their posts. Even so, the ship felt eerily quiet as the crew went about their business as if it were any other day. Marine guards stood as silent sentinel at key locations everywhere from the hangars and gun control rooms to the CIC and engine rooms. She was a ship prepared for battle, the same as the other twenty ships in the entire fleet.

“Tactical, any change?” asked Admiral Lewis.

Lieutenant Vitelli shook his head.

“No change, Admiral. They are still coming, and they are refusing our hails.”

Admiral Lewis was in a difficult, if not impossible situation. This was the first time an actual Biomech fleet had ever been seen before. This wasn’t a group of lackeys or even allies. These ships were actual warships, and every one of them had set a course for the Helion moon of Eos.

“Admiral, what if they don’t shoot?” asked Captain Marcus.

The Admiral moved his eyes to look at his XO.

“I know it’s a problem. If we fire first, we could trigger open war.”

Admiral Lewis shrugged at his XO’s last words, looking less concerned than might have been expected.

“Yes, very true, but if we let them through, they could bombard or even invade Eos without any contest by us.”

Admiral Lewis moved his attention to the main screen and then to the tactical board showing the position of every single ship and unit in the fleet. General Daniels was also there, along with Colonel Brünner and two of his Marine Corps officers.

“Admiral, I’ve been in touch with Colonel Gun and Koerner. Their forces have secured their military bases. They will be ready for whatever comes. They are awaiting further news from us.”

How can they prepare for what they don’t know?
he thought.

“Good work, General. Your people have done their job, but it is my intention to avoid a ground fight. Hell, they might not even want the planet. What if those craft are planning on bombarding the moon from orbit?”

He rubbed his chin and looked at the formation of ships on the display.

“Now it is time for us to do our job. If they get past us, your people on the ground will have one hell of a time. Either we stop them, or at the very least we will thin out their numbers.”

He beckoned for the tactical officer. As he waited for him to approach, he nodded to the General.

“I promise you, not one of those ships will get past us without one hell of a fight. We have good ships, crew, and weapons.”

“Admiral?”

“Are we in range yet?”

The man nodded.

“Affirmative, Admiral, the fleet awaits your orders.”

He looked to his XO and then to General Daniels, both appeared as concerned as him. The Biomechs were not just the Alliance’s enemy, they were perhaps the greatest enemy any living creature had ever known, and now they were heading for people he knew. Eos might be Helion territory, but they were now their allies, and thousands of Alliance marines and civilians were on that moon. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Finally, he nodded to his communications officer.

“Send out one final message. Tell them...they have thirty seconds to withdraw, or we will open fire. This is our sector, and we will defend it to the last ship and marine!”

He waited, the entire crew waited, and nothing happened. Five seconds ticked past, then ten. He looked at the large formation of Alliance ships and wondered what would happen if it came to battle. He had divided his force up into three divisions. The first was spread out over nearly a thousand kilometers and was made up of two Crusader class ships and half of the escort frigates under Commodore Hampel. Behind them were two more groups based around his Battlecruisers. ANS Royal Oak was protected by all the remaining escorts, while the other nine Crusader class heavy cruisers waited in a wide formation around his flagship, ANS Conqueror. Multiple fighter wings were spread out, half flying escort for the three divisions, and the remainder drawn up in five large assault wings to be used offensively in front of the fleet. He counted nearly ninety fighters in total, including Thunderbolts, Hammerheads, and even six Marine Corps Maulers that had been rushed out to provide additional fighter cover with their multiple point-defense turrets and large ordnance bays.

Admiral Lewis continued to countdown silently to himself. Twenty, twenty-five and then a crackled video feed appeared on the main screen. It showed a dull gray machine, flanked by two more that looked almost identical. It seemed motionless, and for a brief moment, the feed looked as though it had frozen. Then came the sound.