Askarjan, p.27
Askarjan, page 27
“The plane was beset by two major problems. Because of the weight of the armor it built up incredible inertia, making it sluggish and gaving it poor maneuverability. Second, it was slow. A typical jet fighter of the late nineteen forties or early nineteen fifties was faster. The American propeller driven flying tanks, slow as they are, are more efficient ground attack weapons. At least, they were up until a day or so ago.
“More recent work, combined with information given us by the Americans, the Germans, the Israelis, the Japanese, and the Chinese, have allowed us to solve those problems. We have used the armor the Americans told us about. It’s allowed us to reduce the mass of the jet by half, and the YAK is now highly maneuverable and better armored.
“The research of the countries I mentioned, several others, and our own, has allowed us to make our most modern MIGs the second fastest aircraft ever produced on earth. They are a little slower than the American F22s, and significantly slower than the enemy fighters, but should be almost equal to them in every other way.”
“Excellent. This knowledge has been shared with our allies, has it not?”
“All of it. I know the Americans are using some of it to further improve their modified combat aircraft. Other countries are doing the same.”
“Good. How many tanks and aircraft will we have ready in a week?”
“Slightly over four hundred main battle tanks, well over a hundred modified MIGs, and between fifty and one hundred of the new YAKs.”
“What about captured enemy weapons?”
“We have about a hundred. Some have been mounted on the MIGs and YAKs. The rest will be used by infantry in the most strategically important areas when we counterattack.”
“It isn’t much, is it? Do the best you can, gentlemen. Russia is as guilty of causing this war as any nation on the planet. It would have been better, and easier, to avoid it, but that option no longer exists. Caution your troops, however. The Grathorkians have behaved with honor. We must do the same. This war never should have happened, but it has. We no longer have any choice but to win it.”
***
Mary and Andrew sat in their living room with their closest friends. Each was wearing a sidearm, and each had a rifle or shotgun nearby. Winston was cradling his Barret fifty caliber precision rifle as if it was a child instead of a thirty-five pound piece of precision mechanics and optics.
Andrew nodded. “We’re agreed? We fight. We can’t go toe to toe with the Grathorkians, so we use guerilla tactics. Except for Winston’s fifty, we don’t have a weapon we’re likely to make a kill with, but full jacketed bullets into the joints of the armor will injure them.”
Val smiled. “Damn straight. I proved that twice with my two seventy.”
“Good. Head home. See who else you can get to help. The national governments have faded into the background. That means either they’re beaten, which some may be, or they’re preparing some kind of counter strike. If they try to hit back, they’ll need all the help they can get. This whole stupid war is the fault of fanatics and psychotics on earth, but we’re all stuck with it. We win or become Grathorkian property. I have nothing against the Grathorkians, but I don’t intend on seeing them become the rulers of this planet.”
***
Colonel Siskric looked at her team. “There are no surprises. The Grathorkians got here first. With just the assault craft, there’s no sense in us trying to engage them in space. We’ll go in under full stealth, land, and do what we can on the surface. If Ambassador Apiaphil gets his way, they’ll be a Council fleet here to help defend Earth as soon as it can be organized.
“That may not be soon enough for us to be alive when they get here, but at least we can help the Earth humans stall the Grathorkians long enough for most of the people on the planet to be alive and free by the time the fleet arrives.”
Sergeant Betern said, “If the fleet arrives.”
Siskric nodded. “We knew there wouldn’t be any guarantees. Did anyone here have a change of blood and not want to help the Earth humans?”
Betern’s scornful laugh was the only answer. As he laughed he was checking his sidearm. Siskric nodded again. “We go in. The question is where.”
Captain 9421A63MB’s voice came from nowhere and everywhere. “The only national capital we have been in is Washington. Logically we should land there or near the United Nations headquarters in New York. Assuming either of those places still exists.”
Private Novoskin said, “Logically, Captain 9421A63MB, I suspect you’re absolutely right.”
“I take that to mean you disagree with me. And, please, I prefer to be addressed as Captain Adamson.”
“Very well, Captain Adamson, I disagree with you. I say we land in north western Pennsylvania.”
“Near your friend Winston’s house?”
“Yes. Near all our friend’s houses. You know the people I’m talking about. The ones willing to take us in and help us when both the Council of Planets and their own government were looking for us. The ones who went with us to the pickup site when we turned ourselves in to make sure it wasn’t an ambush. You remember them, don’t you?”
“While I understand your emotional reaction, it is not the most logical place for us to land and help in the defense of Earth.”
“So you disagree. You think we should land in or near Washington, D.C. or New York City.”
“I said those were the logical places to land. I did not say they were the places I wanted to land. I agree with you on your choice of landing sights. Those people are my friends as well as yours. Colonel, with your permission, I will set a course for north western Pennsylvania.”
Siskric grinned. “Just in case there are any questions about what any of you did, or why you did it in the future, and any of us are still around to answer them, I do not give my permission to set a course for Pennsylvania. Instead I am giving you a direct order to go there. This time I don’t want any of you to get in trouble because I didn’t phrase my commands clearly enough. You will set a course for northwest Pennsylvania. You will get us there under full stealth and as quickly as you can.”
CHAPTER 41
Trisha, twenty feet from Louise, watched the seven-man squad of Grathorkian infantry moving toward their house. Both Louise and she were well concealed, waiting until the enemy troops reached the right spot before they opened fire with their deer rifles. They knew Luke and Sally were waiting on the right flank, with Raul and Val on the left. Winston, with his big fifty caliber, was about forty yards behind them.
The two taking the biggest risk were Mary and Andrew, who were in covered foxholes thirty yards in front of them. When Winston touched off his first shot, they were going to come up within fifty feet of the aliens and throw Molotov cocktails at them. They knew normal Molotov’s wouldn’t work against Grathorkian body armor, but Andrew and Winston dug out an old anarchist’s handbook, a couple chemistry texts, and some other useful cookbooks to come up with the recipes for these cocktails. They thought there was a better than even chance they’d work, and better than even made for the best odds any earthling was going to get these days.
Another ten or twelve feet and it would happen. Trisha steadied her crosshairs on the hip joint in the armor of the Grathorkian just to the left of center. Each of them knew which one to target, so each Grathorkian should take one bullet. Closer. Just another couple steps. Ready.
Just as she started to take up the slack in her trigger, the head of the Grathorkian in the center flew from his body. Before his corpse started to fall, or the other Grathorkians could move, all of them were dead, decapitated or with large blades suddenly coming out of their chests. She didn’t understand. Someone just killed seven high quality infantrymen, but no one was there.
By the time the enemy troops hit the ground, someone was. A Rakorian in full armor stood behind each dead Grathorkian. One, the one who’d taken out Trisha’s target, took off her helmet. It was Colonel Siskric without her earth human disguise. The other six, now taking their helmets off, were the Janskari in her team, in their now permanent earth human forms. Lieutenant Colonel Miskaren and the other two unaltered Rakorians, like Siskric back in their normal forms, were about a hundred yards behind the others, covering the rest of their team with their tribarrels.
Siskric smiled. “Nice ambush. They hadn’t detected it, but we thought you could use some help. Andy, Mary, you can come out of those holes now.”
Andrew and Mary did. They and the others walked forward to greet their friends. Andrew said, “I know you must have used your stealth equipment to sneak up on these guys, but I thought they were pretty good, with a high level of technology. Why didn’t they suspect you were there?”
“Their technology seems to be about as good in ours in most ways, a little better in some, not quite as good in others. Cultures don’t progress at the same rate or in the same direction. They don’t seem to have anything along the lines of our stealth equipment, or any way to detect it. In fact, at least in that area, your society is more advanced than theirs.”
“Makes sense. Now, how did you know where we were? Mary and I in particular. We thought we were well concealed, and it didn’t look as if the Grathorkians knew we were waiting for them.”
“You were well concealed. I doubt the Grathorkians suspected they were walking into an ambush. As far as we were concerned, you were easy to spot. After all, if a culture is going to develop stealth equipment, the same culture is almost sure to develop ways to see through it. With some of the sensors built into our helmets we could see you through three feet of concrete. A little dirt or a few bushes aren’t going to help you hide if one of us is looking for you.”
“I’m glad we’re fighting the Grathorkians and not you. They’re bad enough. I don’t want to think about what a few of your people could do to us.”
Trisha said, “Forget that for the moment. Why are you here? I mean, we’re grateful, but are you on the run from the Council again?”
“No.”
“If you aren’t, what about your Non Interference Laws? Aren’t you breaking them by being here?”
“Probably. Even if we are, we aren’t going to get in trouble for it. Ambassador Apiaphil gave us a direct order to come back and help you defend your planet. He and Doctor Celthorion are going to try to get the Council to wave the laws again. The rest of the flotilla is waiting for one of our fleets to reach them. At the very least we’re going to deny the Grathorkians entrance into Council of Planets space. Stopping them will probably lead to war, and it looks like your planet has ended up on the front lines. We’re here to help you hold it until our fleet arrives.”
Luke said, “Look, I know you’re good, but can eleven of you beat off a fleet of a thousand ships and tens or hundreds of thousands of combat troops?”
Siskric laughed. “Not a chance. What we can do is help you hold the Grathorkians off for a few days longer than you could have otherwise. We think it will be long enough to give our fleet time to arrive.”
“Do you seriously mean you can help us last for as much as days longer than we could have otherwise? I know your team is good, but are you that good?”
Siskric’s feral grin left no doubt she meant what she said. “Absolutely.”
Mary said, “What if your fleet doesn’t come? What if the Council refuses to send it?”
“If I remember correctly, the expression you sometimes use for that type of eventuality is something like, ‘we’ll be toast’. However, we think the Council will send the fleet. After all, it isn’t like your species doesn’t know aliens exist. The culture shock is already in place, so our returning shouldn’t make it much worse.
“Besides, from the start the Council’s whole idea was to protect your species. I think stopping the Grathorkians from conquering your planet fits into that category.”
She looked at the Grathorkians on the ground. “First we have to get rid of these bodies. If they’re found here, or anywhere near here, the Grathorkians might retaliate against the Earth humans in this area. Besides, the weapons we used are something you couldn’t produce at this point in your technological development. I don’t think it would be a good idea to let the enemy know you have help from out of town. Not yet.
“Once we’ve taken care of the bodies, gather up what you need for a trip to your national capital. Captain Adamson is waiting for us. By the way, he prefers the name you gave him, Captain John Adamson, to Captain 9421A63MB, so you don’t have to be concerned about remembering his original designation.”
Trisha had been concentrating on the speakers, but now glanced around her. The entire group of humans and Rakorians were close together, but Winston and Private Novoskin were well beyond mere hellos, handshakes, and friendly hugs. As fierce as their clinch was, she was surprised that they were able to keep their footing, and suspected they might not want to. She laughed as Luke said, “Break it up, you two. There’ll be time for that later. Right now we’ve got a war to win.”
CHAPTER 42
Private First Class Hakins, USMC, was monitoring the massively armored doors opening to the main entrance of the nonexistent base in West Virginia. His monitors should show anything and everything within twelve hundred meters of the doors. The job was boring. Sometimes important things were. Hakins was alert. He was paying attention, but wasn’t sure how to convince the Sergeant of the Guard he was. Convincing Sargeant Baldrige was a problem for the future. As the thick, well-concealed doors to the base slid open he hit the alarm button, grabbed his M16, and left his seat at the observation station to be ready for whoever or whatever came through the door. His Commander In Chief, as well as the top military brass, were in the complex. No one was going to get at them without going through him.
He was standing in front of the open doors, rifle pointing outside, when Sergeant Baldrige arrived with eight more marines. “Hakins, what’s the matter with you? Why did you open the door?”
“I didn’t, Sarge. It opened on its own. I couldn’t override it to make it stay closed. Someone must have located us and found a way to open the door, but I haven’t seen anyone.”
“Squad, deploy. Anything coming through the door is considered an enemy. No one and nothing gets through while you’re alive to stop it.” Stepping to the wall as he spoke Sergeant Baldrige slapped a call button.
“Officer of the Watch. We have a security breach at the primary entrance. The door is open, repeat, open, and the marine on duty has not been able to close it. Shut everything behind us and prepare for an attack.”
The voice coming over the intercom was calm. “Grathorkians?”
“No idea, Sir. We have no visible targets, but have to assume the door was opened by unfriendlies.”
“Agreed, Sergeant. A platoon is on its way to reinforce your detachment. I’m shutting the secondary doors behind you and bringing the base to full alert.”
There was a soft chuckle next to Baldrige’s ear. “Very efficient, Sergeant. So was the man you had at the door. However, if we intended an attack, we would have been long past your inner doors by now. You and the men with you would be dead.”
Guns started to swing in the direction of the voice. Baldrige controlled the urge to bring his M16 on line and fire at the sound, but knew the target was close enough to stop him if he tried. “Even numbered squad members, eyes front. Watch the door. Odd numbered, watch their backs.”
“Good thinking, but too late. I’m going to let you see me now, but please tell your men not to try harming me. We might have to injure any who do. If it makes you more comfortable, we are not Grathorkians. We are your allies.”
The alien was suddenly visible, standing thirty inches from him. A quick glance around the room revealed nine other aliens who were also visible. One stood by each of his men. “Steady. No one move unless I tell you to or one of them attacks.”
“We have no intention of attacking you, Sergeant. We’re here to help. Please tell your Officer of the Watch Colonel Siskric of the Council of Planets is here with her Askarjan team, and have him pass the message on to President Chui.
“Also, please make sure the platoon coming to reinforce you knows not to attack us. We would prefer not to harm our allies.”
***
President Chui smiled and stepped forward with his hand out. “Colonel Siskric, I’m extraordinarily glad to see you. I don’t think I’ve ever been more glad to see anyone before in my life.”
Siskric shook the extended hand. “I’m glad to see you as well, but I’m sorry for the circumstances. I hope our previous visit didn’t have anything to do with the invasion of your planet.”
“I don’t see how it could have.” Chui smiled. “Before we go on, you know General Strongbow and Secretary of State Aharlton. Let me introduce you to the others.”
Introductions were made. Chui frowned. “Why isn’t the Captain of your ship here? I hope nothing happened to him.”
“Captain Adamson is fine. He is on the assault craft with the humans who befriended us when we first landed. He was the best one to guarantee their safety while we made contact with you.”
“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me for coming straight to the point, does your being here mean the Council of Planets is going to help us? We could use any help we can get.”
“To the extent that my unit is here, yes. I can’t promise anything else. Ambassador Apiaphil ordered us to return and do what we could to aid you in the defense of your planet. He and Doctor Celthorion have returned to the Council to ask them to wave the Non Interference Laws and send a fleet to defend you. General Barathoris and Commodore Eglacrane are bringing the flotilla they sent to capture us back to your system, but will not attack the Grathorkians unless the fleet arrives to support them or they are specifically ordered to engage the enemy fleet. If Ambassador Apiaphil and Doctor Celthorion are able to convince the Council to send one or more of our fleets, Barathoris and Eglacrane will be ready to spearhead the attack. There is no better space commander in the council than Eglacrane, and Barathoris is the best ground general we have.
