The Great Betrayal (19 page)

This is going well, perhaps too well.

In the past, they might have been on the surface, but this was a new way of commanding the battle. They could do all of their work from this one place, deep inside the heavily armored hull of the Alliance’s flagship. General Daniels had seen his fair share of action, and he had absolute confidence in the officers on the ground. He’d been a young marine officer once, and he’d sparred and then fought alongside Spartan in the Uprising. He now commanded three battalions of marines in the first major land operation on alien soil in history. Its significance for now was lost on all of them as they had the lives of marines to look after, and none of them took this lightly. Not least the lives of the civilians they had promised to protect.

“They are bringing in unexpected numbers of reinforcements. Intel screwed up big-time on this. My recon units have intercepted groups moving underground,” said Lieutenant Colonel Koerner.

The others looked at the points he’d marked on the map.

“Praetor Grani was the head of the Animosh in the central districts. The Zathee say he and his commanders are now in charge. They’ve taken control of the capital buildings, including the council, and all of note in the hundred kilometer-wide sector.”

He then planted his finger a third the way from the right of Praetor Grani’s territory.

“This is the Animosh precinct and the attached transport hub. As of right now, they still control it. We believe it is how they are moving large numbers of supporters from the rebel districts. If we aren’t quick, they’ll have thousands more in position.”

General Daniels wiped his brow but managed to stay calm and collected.

“Understood. So we have the precinct, and we know the Animosh have it boxed in securely on three fronts. How about the eastern approach?”

Lieutenant Colonel Koerner shook his head.

“They had already cut off the eastern route with scouts when we arrived. Since then, they’ve brought in over a thousand more plus combat drones.”

“It’s worse than that,” said Colonel Horst Brünner, commander of the 4
^th
Battalion. His slightly chubby face betrayed a mixture of boredom and irritation at what was happening in the battle.

“By landing here,” he pointed at the precinct, “you have left a salient that we will have to respond to. I can guarantee that Praetor Grani will be mounting every anti-air weapon he can find to stop us.”

“Good!” growled Gun in reply.

Daniels could see the anger between Brünner and Gun, but he had neither the time nor the inclination to get involved just yet. Instead, he pointed at the precinct.

“This is my plan...and I choose to leave the recon units exposed in this place for a very good reason.”

The officers were now silent, but Daniels could see Gun was smiling.

Why is it that of all the officers I have, the violent brute is the one that understands?

He waited but no one had anything to say. It was odd, as the plan was a textbook operation, one that he was sure almost any Alliance officer would attempt to pull off. Finally, Gun pointed at the frontline his own forces had established along the eastern approach to the capital buildings. It was a broad front; far more than just the marines would be able to control.

“My forces have linked up with rebel troops and are building up numbers here, here, and here.”

He pointed to three key areas that were equally spaced apart, with only one on the same path as the precinct, yet it was more than twenty kilometres away from it.

“My marines have provided limited tactical support. So far, the Animosh have seen only a small portion of our forces.”

Daniels could see that Gun understood. He watched and left Gun to continue explaining.

“By controlling this one strongpoint in the center of the enemy, you are drawing their forces from the fighting with the rebels. If they want to capture it, they will need their best forces away from the front.”

“Exactly,” said General Daniels. “As soon as the relief mission begins, I will give the signal to our agents on the surface. The Zathee have been deliberately withdrawing to build up numbers for the final push.”

Again, the other two commanders looked surprised at this news.

“A ruse?” asked Lieutenant Colonel Koerner. “You are happy for the rebels to give up so much ground, and so quickly?”

Daniels looked out at the naval officers in the adjoining CIC before looking back at the tactical map. It was all in real-time and offered a degree of control he doubted any general had ever had in the past. It was almost like playing some kind of abstract video game.

Except in this game, I can get people killed, a lot of people.

“The ground is irrelevant to us and to the Zathee rebels. All that matters is who is controlling this city and planet within the month. If I have to lose ten square kilometres, well, fine. I need them weakened and concentrated in a place where our own forces can do their work.”

Now Lieutenant Colonel Koerner seemed to grasp it.

“So, we send in armor to the precinct and then engage their best forces right in the heart of their home ground?”

Daniels nodded.

“Exactly. The rebels will stand no chance against the Animosh, and they will fare even worse against their machines. No, this means the rebels can strike hard, knowing that we will take care of the hard core of their forces.”

“What about the rumors of mercenaries?” asked Colonel Brünner.

General Daniels noticed how the man kept this kind of information until it was of benefit. He wondered what else the man might be keeping to himself during this operation.

This man is a heartless, selfish bastard. I’ll have to deal with him when this is over.

“I’ve heard nothing other than the suggestion by intelligence that our escorts have intercepted two small ships on the way back from the Khreenk Federation. They have been turned back.”

Colonel Brünner pointed to the CIC of the ship.

“So there is a chance there could be more of them as we speak, trying to run our blockade of the planet?”

This man is starting to bore me.

“None of this is relevant right now.”

He returned to the map and pointed to Gun.

“What’s the status of the landing grounds, are they ready yet?” he asked.

Gun nodded quickly.

“Yes, my marines have taken all but one of the objectives. Fighter cover kept their interceptors of the Maulers, and every one of them landed without casualties. The last is a fortified strong point. It has been surrounded while we secure the three landing grounds. They are in our hands, and the local Zathee are expanding them for us for larger transports.”

Daniels seemed pleased at this news, but once more Colonel Brünner interrupted.

“So you left an enemy bastion in the middle of your line?”

“Colonel, enough!” snapped General Daniels, his patience now exhausted.

“The priority is to secure a frontline to pin the remaining security forces into battle with the rebels. This bastion as you call it is a distraction, nothing more. Colonel Gun is correct in his assessment. The landing zones are the priority. Until we bring in the armor, we will be stuck with over two thousand marines with no heavy equipment, transport, or protection.”

Colonel Brünner winced at this retort. It was clear he wasn’t used to being spoken to in this way, and Daniels knew full well this man and his political connections would make his life difficult after this operation.

Ah, well, now I know how Spartan felt.

He took a long, exasperated breath before returning to the map.

“Now, let’s get our armor on that planet. It’s time the Animosh were introduced to our Bulldogs. I suspect they will not want to play.”

Gun and Colonel Koerner both grinned at this, but Colonel Brünner was evidently furious at being spoken down to. Daniels spotted his face and shook his head in irritation.

“Let’s hit them, and hit them hard!”

The Bulldog was one of several urgent purchases for the Alliance Marine Corps in the interwar years. With the Confederate Army disbanded, it would come down to just one service to ready for all eventualities. Lack of ground-based mobility was a big issue in the Uprising and resulted in the Corps fighting too many static battles where they should have been able to redeploy in a matter of hours. These new vehicles were modular and adaptable to a variety of situations. The eight-wheeled Bulldog was equally at home as a troop transport or a light support vehicle when equipped with turrets and additional weaponry.

Equipment of the Alliance Marine Corps

The sheer quantity of orbital traffic around Helios was a sight to behold. There were the hundreds of transports and passenger liners, and tens of thousands of even smaller vessels that were used to move between the orbital stations or the planet’s many moons. Warships of the Narau Navy moved in small groups as they checked potential gunrunners to Helios, but there was little chance they would be able to identify such a vessel in time to intercept it. One group of ships stood out more than any other as it circled in high orbit. It was the 4
^th
Heavy Strike Group; the most advanced task force of Alliance ships ever assembled. This powerful formation included eleven Crusader class universal warships, such as the now famous ANS Crusader, ANS Victory and ANS Serenity, as well as the vaunted Conqueror class Battlecruiser, ANS Conqueror. These were not the only Alliance ships in Helios space, but they were the only capital ships this close to the Helion homeworld.

Rear Admiral Lewis watched the planet from his seat in the CIC during a rare moment of calm. All around him buzzed activity from the Navy crewmen, but for now they had their own tasks to take care of, and none of these particular duties required direct intervention by Admiral Lewis. The crew’s diverse tasks included managing the ships, coordinating the fleet’s fighter cover while also assisting General Daniels with the ongoing operation on the ground. He leaned back slightly and breathed slowly, enjoying the moment of respite.

“Admiral!” cried out Lieutenant Rola Ryante, the ship’s tactical officer. She was in her early thirties, tall, and rather manly in appearance.

“What is?” he replied in an almost bored tone. There was little excitement to break the monotony of running a blockade, and the most exciting thing to have happened so far was watching the many Hammerheads, Lightnings, and Maulers as they dropped down to the surface.

“We have incoming ships from the ninth moon. They have only just activated their engines. It is a stealth course, and they are making for an orbital course with Helios. The Narau ships are too far away to intercept.”

“Stealth course, why?”

“They aren’t civilian ships, Admiral. I’m detecting unusual weapon configurations.”

Lieutenant Ryante almost seemed confused as she examined the details coming in from each of the ships. A stealth course was simply that the ships were operating on limited power and coasting, rather than using their engines. It wasn’t easy detecting such traffic unless you knew exactly where and when to look. Luckily for these ships, there were many pieces of debris, dormant stations, and thousands of vessels, tugs, and cargo modules to hide them from active scanners.

“Put them on the main screen, Lieutenant.”

The image from one of the long-range optical mounts showed a force of at least twenty vessels of various configurations. They were spread out over a modest area of space and moving fast. Several were quite clearly bulk cargo ships, but they were all fitted and equipped for combat. Some carried layered armor but all seemed modified for war in one fashion or another. What really stuck out the most was the ship in the middle of the formation.

“That’s a Khreenk warship,” said Lieutenant Ryante.

The vessel’s size was difficult to gauge in space, but the ship’s computers had already performed a number of calculations, and it was clear the ship was closer in size to Conqueror Alliance ships than anything else. Admiral Lewis shook his head angrily before pointing to his communications officer.

“Get me Admiral Lanthua of the Narau fleet, now!”

He paused and then added, “Hail that ship as well. I need to speak with her captain.”