Condition Zero, page 8
part #6 of The Earth Saga Series
It took five minutes of almost complete silence for Admiral Rasanna to say something. “The Grand Marshall isn’t going to like any of this.” She looked around the room. “He’ll charge all of you with treason.”
“That may be so.” Royal Inspector Wey said. “But there are bigger forces at play here. If a peace treaty with the Coalition is signed with Terra on the wrong side of the lines, then those humans will suffer.”
“Not our problem.” Rasanna answered.
“Maybe Terra isn’t.” Responded Estiva Controller Roper Daz. “But the Terrans have discovered a conspiracy that is living and breathing within the Alliance, here in the Etelainen, that has deliberately kept the war going for all these years.”
That got Rasanna’s attention. “Is that what happened to Lex?”
“We think so.” Answered Rhea Stokes.
Rasanna looked at the female human, then back to Admiral Taark. “There is a peace conference planned for tomorrow on Asiatana.” She looked at the Royal Inspector. “If you’re going to do this, you need to pull it off before the peace conference starts, because once that gets moving, an operation like this could destabilise it all.”
Joe looked at Taark. “We’re two days out.”
“Can we push early?” Mike Tattersall asked.
Kol Fine rocked his head from side to side. “Jumping early is never ideal, but I don’t think an extra day of prep would make us that more ready.”
Joe looked over to Admiral Taark. “What about your ships? Would they be ready to go tomorrow?”
Taark looked at the ground, then looked at Ship Master Ranix. “Is the Epsilon ready for combat?”
Ranix nodded. “We are ready to deploy.”
Taark’s eyes moved to Commodore Smid. “We are ready to move.” The Commodore said.
Taark looked over to Rasanna. “When, exactly, is the peace conference starting?”
“About mid-day, Mechcharga time.” She replied.
“Alert Kansas.” Taark said. “Tell them to prep for the attack. Tell them to be ready to execute Operation Hans Gruber.”
29-Fort Riley
Doctor Keegan Beck was sitting on the edge of his chair at the end of a long table. He had just been left alone by Lak, the Alliance tech specialist, and Doctor Gaius Stephenson. The alien and human duo had been working on an interface system for the mind-grab device that they had used on Keegan’s wife in Saskatoon almost a month ago.
Keegan was a scientist and a realist. To him, his wife had died on a snow-covered airfield in the middle of Canada. He didn’t care what Lak or Star Guard Hulo had said about the mind-grab device and how it worked. He was sceptical about the entire sales pitch. Stephenson had convinced him that the device was real and that it worked, but Keegan still had his doubts.
When he had been brought into the room, he had braced himself for the reality that the device was a fraud, and that his wife was gone. He had a bottle of Wheat State Golden, locally brewed, with him when he walked into the room, already having consumed two in his quarters earlier in the day. He knew that in a few days, he would be involved in an effort to capture the barrier generator complex, and if Ryan really was alive, he needed to know before that happened.
“Just press here.” Stephenson had said before leaving the room.
The small mind grab device had been plugged into a rather basic looking laptop that had a microphone, and a speaker hooked up to it, along with a small Alliance device that was flashing green. The button he had been told to push was connected to the laptop and almost reminded him of the big red button in old Cold War movies, if he pushed it, he’d be nuking the Soviet Union. Now he looked at the button with the same level of trepidation and fear. What if it didn’t work?
He picked up the bottle of beer, took another sip, then hit the button.
“Keegan!”
The scream shocked the doctor, and the bottle of beer went flying out of his hands, his eyes wide with a sense of panic.
“Ryan?’
There was a pause.
“Keegan?”
“Can you hear me?” He asked gently, moving closer to the microphone.
“What’s going on?”
“Ryan, something happened to you.” Keegan took a sharp breath. “You were shot.”
“Is this a dream?” Her voice sounded scared.
“This is not a dream.” Keegan replied. Tears coming to his eyes.
“What is happening. I can’t see anything. Everything is dark.”
“Baby.” Keegan’s eyes darted around the empty room. “You died.”
There was silence for a minute. “If I died, then what is this?”
“The Alliance guys were able to take your mind out of your body and put into this device.” Keegan replied.
“Okay.” Ryan suddenly sounded amazingly calm. “What happens now?”
Keegan took a deep breath. “Star Guard Hulo said that if we get your mind to an Alliance facility, they can get an artificial body for you.”
“A human body?”
Keegan shook his head. “No. There are laws in the Etelainen against synthetics that look like real people. It would have to be mechanical in nature.”
“A robot?”
“Yes. Your mind will be uploaded to a physical body, and after an acclimation period, you’ll be able to walk around, do everything you used to be able to do.”
“But in the body of a machine.” She didn’t sound happy at the prospect.
“Yes.” Keegan replied.
“I’m not sure.” Her voice, even though it was coming through speakers, suddenly shifted in tone. “Maybe you should have let me die.”
Keegan shook his head. “I can’t lose you. We have a family.”
“If I’m in some metal body, it won’t be me. How do we know that whatever they did to me worked? Maybe they only got part of my mind, part of my memories. I might not be the same person. Just because we can talk know doesn’t mean I’ll be the same Ryan in the future.”
Keegan sat back from the laptop. He looked down at the bottle of beer that was on the floor next to him, and the golden puddle of liquid that had spilt out of it. He knew that she had a point, but at the same time, it was evident that at least a little part of the woman he loved was still there.
“Ryan.”
He was immediately cut off as the doors of the room burst open, and in strode an army Colonel.
“Doctor Beck.” The colonel put his hands on his hips. “You’re needed right away in the CG’s office.”
“Tomorrow?” Keegan asked. He checked his watch. “The fourteenth?” He shook his head.
Star Guard Hulo nodded. “The attack is happening tomorrow.”
“Don’t you worry Doctor. First of the Fifth Field Artillery is ready to rumble.” The commanding general said with confidence. “Their Paladin’s are already in position to rain hellfire down on those bastards, and you’ll have Shawn here with you on the tank assault.”
Major General Wilkinson got up from his desk and walked over to the planning wall and pointed at Fort Riley. “The Barrier Generator is here.” He moved his finger. “In an empty field between Oak Hill and Longford. When we get the word, elements of 3-66 Armour are going to move along Rifle Range Road here, westbound. Once they hit 77, they’re going to take it south, when they hit 244, they’re going to hit the gas and shoot west.” He continued to move his finger along the map. “244 will turn into 2300 Avenue. This is a hard-packed track.” There was a smile on his face. “The dust will start to kick up here. You’ll be travelling close to fifty miles an hour for this twenty-three-mile journey.” He looked at Captain Williams. “I expect this distance to be covered in under thirty minutes.” He jerked his finger upwards along the map.
"Then you hit Country Road 827. This is paved. From there it’s about fifteen miles to Longford, where you’ll commence your attack. You’ll be six-thousand metres from the target, probably within their line of sight.” The general looked at Keegan, then Hulo, then Captain Shawn Williams. “This is where you’ll need to adopt the correct attack formation and press your attack to the enemy. You’ll have 1-5 giving you all the support you’ll need. Just get in close and smash those bastards.” He looked at Star Guard Hulo. “Final thoughts on the Barrier Generator shielding?”
“The shielding around the Barrier Generator is not perfect. It requires a massive energy source to power, and the more impacts it takes, the weaker it will become. If the fire from 1-5 can’t drop it, and the tanks main guns can’t drop it, we’ll have to get inside the shielding and engage the enemy at point blank range.”
“How far does the shielding extend from the first fighting positions?” The Division Sergeant Major asked.
“Reconnaissance puts them about one-hundred metres inside the shielding.”
“And our sabot rounds will be effective?” Williams asked.
“Everything heavier than your rifles should be effective against enemy infantry.” Hulo replied.
“And if they have mech?” Williams asked.
“One-hundred and twenty-millimetre sabot round.” Hulo replied with a smile. “And hope that does the trick.”
General Wilkinson looked over at Doctor Beck. “Doc, you looked worried.”
Keegan shook his head. “Worried? Why would I be worried?” He put his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the device with his wife’s mind in it. He looked at the young tank commander. “I’m looking forward to it.”
30-Traxis
Dynamic Operation Master Grade Kol Fine was sitting across from Major Mike Tattersall. There was a lack of expression on his face. He was wearing a semi-tactical uniform that included the captured Coalition special forces top that he wore with aplomb. Mike was wearing a set of camouflage utilities and was looking at a series of data-pads in front of him.
“How do you feel?” Fine asked.
Mike nodded, then picked up his drink from the table and took a sip.
“Target One, Kansas.” He picked up a data-pad. “Reinforce the ground assault.” He smiled. “Blue Team headed by Master Sergeant Santini is handling this one.” Mike took another sip of his drink. “Santini has his team wired tight. They’re ready for this.” He rocked his head from side to side. “And while I realise that Kansas is the key to lowering the shielding around Earth, I suspect that he will arrive at the party after it’s already concluded.” He put down the data-pad and picked up the one next to it.
“Myanmar.” He tilted his head to the side. “The largest Coalition concentration of forces on the planet, and probably the trickiest obstacle on offer. From the imagery we’ve seen supplied by Colonel Hunt, there is a large ore processing station at this location, and it could involve brutal close quarters battle.” He paused for a moment. “I like Nikita Pullinski to run this op, he’s a hard man.”
“Next we’ve got Amsterdam Island. In the middle of no-where in the southern Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Australia. Gold Team has this task, which I’m hazarding to call an easier op than the previous two assignments. A single Nexus Drive for the shielding around the planet. Shouldn't be too hard for Senior Master Sergeant Jensen and his team to take out.”
“And finally, we have Alejandro Selkirk Island off the coast of Chile.” Mike paused. “Some challenging terrain on this sucker, but the Chinese team under Captain Lee are more than equal to the task.” He looked at the data-pad for the fourth target. “We’re not expecting much resistance at this location. Under sixty civilians on the island, and I would expect this target and Amsterdam to be taken quickly.”
Kol Fine nodded, then leaned towards the table. “And you?”
Mike picked up the final data-pad. “I, as planned, will be in orbit aboard the Seven with you and K7 in a reserve capacity.”
Fine exhaled. “Good.” He looked over to an enormous data-screen that was on a nearby wall. The assault on the Sol system was on a loop, showing the main components of the plan. Ships jump in, we get breaks in the Global Energy Field, the Terran Strike Group drops down to the planet’s surface. Alliance forces in the system destroy or scare off the Coalition presence. Then mop up the surface. Seemed simple enough.
“What’s that expression you like?” Fine asked.
“No plan survives first contact.” Mike replied.
“Very true.” Fine looked at his human counterpart. “Just keep that in mind, because with something like this.” He pointed at the big screen. “Something is going to go wrong.” He dropped his arm.
Mike nodded. “This is a big one.” He shook his head. “Lots of moving parts.”
“Exactly.” Fine agreed. “Your strike teams are going to be dropping down from four different ships. If one of those ships is destroyed or fails to make the jump, then you’ll have to respond swiftly. It is our job to neutralise the Coalition forces on the ground as quickly and cleanly as possible. Let the fleet guys worry about the opposing ships, once that shielding gives us the opening, your teams drop down and do their thing.” Fine looked back at the screen. “Let’s just hope that the ground forces are up to the task.”
“We just need one of those Nexus Drives down.” Mike said with confidence. “Twenty-five per cent is all we need to drop the shield.”
31-Earth Orbit
“Varus, I don’t give a damn that Imperator Casix hasn’t been replaced!” Base Commander Sajoba was pacing up and down the bridge of the Lone Hunter, hands clasped behind his back. “I found this planet! My station detected the Alliance transmission, I sent the Rancorian Raider here.” He pointed at the blue planet that was in the middle of the bridge’s view-screen. “I sent the Insertion Team. They discovered the mineral that is supposed to win us the war!”
Sector Commander Varus shook his head. “The war is going to end.” He leaned against the nearest control panel, arms crossed. “Nothing to do now but wait and see what happens with the peace talks.” He was sick of having to explain the facts of life to his former subordinate who had only been promoted above him because of his deceased boss.
“It will take ages for any peace treaty to pass through all the necessary levels of bureaucracy to get ratified.” Sajoba continued to strut back and forth. “If the commanders back on Qera don't use the prize I discovered on this pathetic planet to win the war, then I will seek glory for myself.”
“Excuse me?” Varus asked, almost shaking his head in disbelief.
“I have ships at my command, we could leave the system. Go beyond the Reach. Find new worlds to conquer.” Sajoba barked back.
Varus shook his head. The man was losing the plot. “You’ve got what?” It took Varus a minute to remember what the current assets in the system were. “Fifteen ships, five of them capital ships? Not a very impressive fleet.”
“No matter.” Sajoba brushed aside his critique. “I could go back into the Core and take one of the systems there for my own.”
“And your crew would follow you? The crew of all fifteen ships would follow you?” Varus shook his head. “Even if you convinced the ships under your command to follow you, there is no way that fleet would let you get away.”
“Then I’d just take the Lone Hunter.” He brought his arms up. “This battlecruiser is almost fully automated.” A massive smile crept onto his face. “Yes. Yes. If Fleet doesn't give me the glory I require, I’ll go make it for myself. Past the Reach, in unknown space.” He looked back at the planet that was floating in the view screen. “First, I’ll destroy every major city on that backwards planet, then I’ll jump out of the system!” He turned to look at Varus, but he was gone.
“Fucking mad.” Varus said to himself under his breath. “He’s gone fucking mad.”
He reached his quarters quickly, entered, and locked the door behind him. Walking over to the package that he had received from Flo, he opened it and powered on the robotic Black Team droids. Not waiting for the units to come online, he returned to the room’s desk and activated his data-pad. Moving quickly, he used an encryption algorithm to access the Lone Hunter’s database and downloaded all files that had been stored since Sajoba had taken command. He needed to know everything because when the dust had settled, he’d still need to explain his course of action to fleet headquarters on Qera.
32-Jupiter
The massive station was always bathed in an alkaline drizzle, something that was ever present within the water clouds of the gas giant. At five bars pressure, the temperature was a steady zero Celsius, providing a natural coolant for the enormous station that was hovering in the atmosphere.
The station was huge, over two-hundred levels covering thousands of square kilometres of space, and ancient, centuries old. Built by a set of scientists who suspected that the transition from organic form to a purely digital one was a mistake after the species had started to occupy Dyson spheres concluding their exploration of the galaxy. The station was the Zarosian’s fail-safe in the event they needed to transition back to mortal beings.
Now was that time. A hyperspace transmission had been sent from fifty-thousand light years away bringing the stations systems from a stasis mode to a prep mode. The station would need time before it was fully operational and ready to accept its visitors.
The first systems to be checked were those maintaining the stations' position in the planet’s atmosphere, which was always running. After that, life-support was tested, and only once it was confirmed to be working, was the rest of the station's systems brought online. Many non-critical systems didn’t work. Centuries of inactivity had rendered them inert forever.
Droids had to be brought online to make repairs, but many of these weren’t working either. Production of service droids was required to repair the more sophisticated machines that maintained the facility. Even a technologically advanced installation like the station was subject to rot after so many years of neglect. Centuries took their toll on everything.
The one section of the facility that had always been on standby was the organic material incubators that grew full sized Zarosian’s for the time when they would return and require bodies. This process was exact and tedious, requiring almost one year before the availability of fresh hosts to occupy.
