Tears of Kerberos (2 page)

A gentle laughter ran about through the hall and Spartan finally started to relax. The Captain sat down but the second officer was still standing. Spartan couldn’t quite make him out but he wore the fatigues of one of the combat units.

“Are these the same creatures as the ones that broke out of the Bone Mill?” he asked.

“From what I have seen I can confirm that these are the same creatures that we saw on Prime.”

Spartan turned to the officers behind him and then stepped away from the microphone. The Lieutenant Colonel approached him and spoke quietly.

“Thank you, Private, you may return.” He then continued to speak from the podium. Spartan went back to his seat.

“As you can see, these troops are tougher than anything you have faced before. They are hard to kill and have the strength and ferocity to match. How they are controlled or where their loyalties lie is unknown to us, just as their origins are. What we do know is that while the uprising consists of just tens of thousands of people, the number of these new shock troopers is much more. The initial waves were more than twenty thousand and more still keep emerging from under the ground. What we can’t tell is whether they are modified human subjects or if they have been built from scratch. They are capable of using a variety of tools and weapons, including edged weapons and firearms. From the specimens brought back by our forces it seems these things may be human in some way and that they have been engineered to do a specific job. That job is war and they are damned, damned good at it!” he said loudly.

On the screen a profile of one of the creatures appeared, it showed the reinforced armour, tougher muscles and also several video sequences of them in close combat. They moved fast and were capable of biting or ripping people apart without the use of weapons. One image also showed a creature wearing armour and carrying a projectile weapon on its shoulder. Another showed a group of people, some of them wearing the robes of the Zealots but many more looked like civilians, though all were armed in some way.

“The combat situation is grave. Our forces in Avagana have been hit on multiple fronts and always from the underground facilities controlled by the Zealots. We are seeing a mixture of enemy units and not all the civilians appear to be Zealots. Whether this means their support base is spreading or that these are a less extreme version of the group we cannot tell. What we do know is that after the initial attack all military units have been forced on the defensive. Our forces have been trying to hold back the assaults to keep the towns and cities clear. I can tell you all that this operation to halt their advance has failed. The enemy continue to emerge from the Bone Mill and the many mines and tunnels that it is connected to over an area of three hundred square kilometres. We can only assume they have the ability to construct these soldiers at a fast rate. Alternatively, they may have been holding them in hiding all this time and are moving them through the many uncharted caves, tunnels and manmade shafts that exist down there.”

The image changed to show a much closer view of the planet.

“We have launched three raids into the underground sites to obtain intelligence. Every single one of these has failed and more of these creatures keep emerging. We have therefore been authorised to conduct a series of air strikes to neutralise the entire complex before their numbers become unmanageable. This however will only stop the reinforcements of the enemy, those in the field must still be dealt with,” he explained.

The display zoomed in to a snaking river along which straddled a massive city and port.

“This is New Carlos, capital of the colony and home to over thirty million people. It is one of the newest mega cities in the Confederacy and the largest city on Prime. The Governor is missing and presumed dead following a series of suicide bombings. We have already started to evacuate the smaller towns and mining outposts but we don’t have enough aircraft to complete the evacuation. The order has already been issued that all citizens should move to their nearest city. There are nine major cities in the colony and all have been hit to varying degrees.”

The map zoomed out and each city was highlighted in red to show the dispersal of the population. The continent was substantial, almost the size of North America on Earth. After pausing on the wider view for a few seconds, the map rolled out into a flat two-dimensional display showing the entire planet’s surface. Thick green lines split the planet up into the Seven Colonies of Prime.

“Our military garrisons in the colonies are already mobilising army units to help with the fighting but it will take hours, in some cases days, for them to reach Avagana. There is also the problem of escalation, if the troubles spread to the other colonies on Prime the military forces could be easily pinned down.” He moved the map to zoom in to the mega city.

“New Carlos cannot fall. Apart from the population of the colony at present in and around the city, it is also connected directly to the Carlos Spaceport. It is the largest transport hub in this part of the Avagana Colony and the most important one on the planet. There are road, rail and water links from this point that lead to the other colonies on Prime. It is one of the few sites that can handle the heavy transports and landers in the Fleet. If the enemy takes New Carlos they will control the pivotal section of the planet. Even of more concern, they will wipe out or assimilate every citizen in the area. In the last forty-eight hours Confed forces have been assisting the civilians in a general evacuation of the regions around the Bone Mill and the remote towns along the coast of Avagana. They are directing them to the cities. There is a problem though.”

The map zoomed to a section below the city showing icons where the various units were situated. A line of black ran in a broken line along with multiple red blocks moving towards the area.

“Three of the towns west of this point have been overrun and their citizens are running for New Carlos. Elements of the 7
^th
Marine Regiment are trying to hold back the enemy as the civilians fall back to the city. So far they are holding but our best estimates are that they will last for only two, maybe three hours. With that back door open the enemy will stream into the undefended sections of the city. I think you can image what happens from there,” he said solemnly.

The room was now completely silent as the marines started to understand he gravity of the situation. The creatures that had been unleashed on the population by the Zealots were smashing their way through the Confed cordons and heading for all the populated zones. It was all going far worse than any of them had expected. He continued.

“Reports from the overrun town of Carnaz indicate that the Zealots are not wiping out population centres. When the shock troops took the town they killed anyone who opposed them but left the civilian population. Their new shock troops have been in the field now for four days and show no signs of stopping. When the troops moved on they left the area for the Zealots to secure. Once they arrived they started to sort through those that were left. Troublemakers are being sent to camps for whatever nefarious plans they might have, the rest are staying in their homes. This is consistent with our understanding of their plans. It would appear they wish to replace the leadership of Prime, not the population. This leads our intelligence units to conclude that there may be a more significant threat than just the Zealots behind the attacks. It appears there is a large political element behind the uprising.”

On the screen the display shifted to show multiple military units and their commanders’ profiles. One man stood out amongst them all, a sixty-four year old army general.

“General Shears, Commander of all planetary forces on Prime has taken command of New Carlos and is mustering a mixed force of army, marines and city militia to help defend the city. He has already mobilised over twelve thousand fighters but he needs more time. They have only been able to fortify twenty percent of the perimeter and the enemy has now reached the outskirts of the city. We have conducted air operations against them but they are too close for us to risk bombardments that near to civilians. They are moving fast on the defences but not fast enough to do the job, that is where you come in!”

“The Santa Cruz and our commandos are to spearhead a dangerous operation to blunt the enemy assault to give General Shears enough time to finish the basic defences for the city. At the same time three army transports have just arrived from Alpha Centauri. They will follow us in and provide reinforcements for General Shears in the upcoming siege. This will be a hit and run operation, we do not have the numbers to hold them indefinitely. Just get in there fast, cause as much mess as you can and then get out. I have a list of missions for you all to carry out but for now this is the priority. Briefings have been sent to your computer units. Have your squads ready for drops in sixty minutes!”

As he walked off Spartan looked around the room, noting the number of marines running in different directions. Since his transfer to the ship he hadn’t actually taken part in a combat mission. He moved from his chair and headed for the door before being cut off by the approaching officers. One of them, a tall man with a rough face and a smile stopped in front of him.

“Sergeant Spartan,” said Captain Mathews. He looked at the marine noticing his rank was back to private.

“Sir,” said Spartan as he saluted.

The Captain was in charge of Alpha Company and they had met during the action to retake the Naval Station. He had been instrumental in getting Spartan promoted to start with.

“I see your rank didn’t stick. Well, don’t worry about it, there’s plenty of work to do and work in the Marine Corps usually means quick promotion. That was a damned good job back on Kronus. As you might expect though, it’s not going to get any easier.”

“Understood, Sir.”

“How is Teresa? Her injuries?” He looked genuinely concerned.

“She’s doing well, the doctors say she will be fit for duty in a four to five days.”

“Fast, very fast. I’m impressed, she’ll be an asset to the unit.”

“Yeah,” said Spartan as he thought about his closest friend in the Fleet.

They were close, very close but the constant training and action over the last days had made it difficult to spend any real time together. He hoped a lull in the fighting would give them a chance to take some leave, but when that might happen he had no idea. They started to make slow progress towards the door before the Captain stopped.

“How is the new unit going? I know you’ve been thrown in the deep end but we need the quickest and strongest for the commandos. We have a habit of getting through people pretty fast!” he laughed.

“They’re not the easiest people to get on with, Sir. I’m not complaining, it’s just the way it us with a new unit. A combat operation will clear things up I’m sure,” he answered wryly.

“Indeed. Now, I understand you’ve already worked with Lieutenant Daniels?”

Spartan inhaled, his facial expressions did him a disservice as he tried to look as impassive as he could. The officer certainly wasn’t the worst Spartan had met, but he lacked experience and at their last encounter he had felt a certain amount of rivalry that shouldn’t exist between a ranker like him and an officer.

“Yes, Sir, he led one of the units in the final assault on the Naval Station.”

“I know he’s a little green but his training and combat record is exemplary. He has been assigned temporary command of one of the engineering platoons. Based upon your experience with the armour, and with him, I would like you to take a position in his platoon as second sergeant. The rest of your squad has been assigned to him and is already going over the briefing.”

“I assumed my promotion was just a temporary rank, Sir? I’ve only just finished basic training and I thought the move to the Cruz was to be part of my training as a commando. I was told when I arrived on the ship I was to be returned to private in my new unit.”

“You’ve already completed most of the commando training and your combat experience and the operations over the next weeks will either make or break you as a commando,” he said.

Spartan’s current status was confused as he had only just been promoted. The battle to take the Station had been Spartan’s first military operation, and though it lasted just hours he had probably been involved in more action than most marines would face in an entire career. Even so, when he had landed he was no more than a private. Due to the heavy losses in the assault he had been given a battlefield promotion to sergeant. He had acquitted himself well enough for an immediate transfer to the commando unit aboard the Marine Transport ship CCS Santa Cruz. Captain Mathews continued.

“Daniels’ unit is the newest one here. Most of the NCOs are either on the way here or were injured in the fighting on Kronus. There is nobody else with the kind of experience the unit needs. You have the position for now if you want it.”

“For now?” asked Spartan.