First Strike - An Earth@War Novel

Charlie Flight

Omar System

June 8 2487, 0455 UT

Chris watched the battleship moving toward Charlie Flight and the assault crafts that they were escorting as they passed Omar VIII.

“C-Dog, you know that I hate to ask stupid question, but have you noticed that large Batronian ship moving to intercept us?” Don Franklin asked.

“Yeah, I see it Dreamer,” Chris said smiling as he thought of Don. Like Chris, Don would know that fighter spacecraft would be no match for the behemoth.

“Again, with the stupid questions, but umm…do we plan on doing anything about it?” Don asked.

Chris had to practically bite his cheek to keep him from laughing. “That’s an affirmative, Dreamer.”

Don looked at the battleship that was getting larger as it rapidly got closer. “Umm, may I ask when?” Don asked. Just as the question came out of his mouth, a bright flash appeared in space as a missile struck the battleship.

“I would say about now,” Chris said no longer able to contain his laughter.

ESS Armstrong (SS-16)

Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0455 UT

“Bring her about!” Commander Carl Adams ordered as he watched two of the four missiles he had fired hit the Batronian battleship. Armstrong was in stealth mode and had managed to close in on the enemy and fire without being detected.

“Left thrusters at full, coming about,” the helmsman replied as the stealth ship began to turn.

“Fire missiles five through eight,” ordered Commander Adams.

“Missiles five through eight away, sir,” the Weapons Officer replied as the 200-foot-long ship continued to turn.

“Reload all missile launchers! Thrusters down full!” the Captain ordered.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0456 UT

Yeoman First Class Andrew Wilson and Boatswains Mate Apprentice John Bennett were both asleep in the forward berthing on the fifth deck of the destroyer, located aft of the missile launchers and one deck above Repair Locker Two.

“Hostile spacecraft inbound! General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations! This is not a drill!” a voice shouted over the intercom followed by the clanging of the klaxon.

Andrew jumped up, adrenaline pumping, as he quickly pulled on his uniform. The berthing area grew loud as men and women opened and shut lockers, yelling and encouraging each other to hurry. Andrew pushed his way through other crewmembers as he hurried to get to his battle station. John Bennett noticed the black man who forced his way by him. Although, John did not know Andrew, he was aware that the First Class Yeoman was new and always seemed to be tense and didn’t interact with anyone else, but John figured that would be normal. Rumor had it that the Yeoman had been on Kylar II when it was attacked and no one could imagine what it was like on the ground during the attack.

John Bennett finished dressing and headed down to the sixth deck to Repair Two where he dressed in his pressure suit quickly as he tried to finish waking up.

Andrew reached Mount 54, powered up the gun, tested the controls and then pressed a button on the comm unit. “CIC, Mount 54, manned and ready,” he announced hoping that the Batronians would show up this time.

On the bridge, Al Singleton arrived at the sensor display. He looked over the data. “Captain, I have 76 Batronian craft inbound. ETA six minutes. Recommend course 141 by 306,” the Ensign calmly said.

ESS Armstrong (SS-16)

Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0456 UT

Carl Adams watched as three of the four aft missiles struck the battleship. The exhilaration quickly changed to concern as he watched the guns of the giant ship turn and fire 400-mm bolts toward his invisible ship. Fortunately, Armstrong was not where the Batronians had anticipated and the bolts passed aft and above the stealth ship. But still, Carl knew that it would only take one hit from a bolt of that size to destroy Armstrong.

“Sir, Glenn just scored two hits with their missiles,” a Sensor Technician reported. Carl loved working with Armstrong’s sister ship and was beginning to appreciate the advantages of stealth ships operating in pairs.

“Very well,” Carl said. As Captain, Carl generally allowed his officers to remain in charge during operations, but taking on a battleship was a tall order, one he intended to handle himself. The battleship had sustained seven missile hits and was heavily damaged. Exactly how badly was hard to tell.

“Missiles one through four are loaded and ready in all respects,” the Weapons Officer reported.

“Come to 217 by 296, thrusters ahead one-half,” Carl ordered the helm.

“Come to 216 by 296, ahead one-half, aye, sir,” the Second Class Quartermaster at the helm answered. His hand moved over the controls carrying out the orders. “Thrusters are ahead one-half. Steady course 217 by 296, sir,” he announced twenty seconds later.

“Target the battleship and fire missiles one through four,” Carl ordered.

“Aye, sir,” the Weapons Officer said. He gave the orders through the comm unit to the forward missile room. The missiles were pushed out of the ship by pressurized air. Once outside of the ship, the thrusters on the missile fired (the engines of the missile would be fired instead in interstellar space). The targeting computer then would guide the missile to its target.

“Reload forward missiles,” the Captain ordered as he watched the trails from the four missiles thrusters heading for the Batronian ship. The damage to the battleship seemed to be affecting its maneuverability. All four missiles struck the huge ship, bringing it to a halt. Carl observed the guns falling silent as he recommended a course change.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0502

Andrew Wilson’s heart was pumping hard as he closed his eyes, picturing Kaitlyn’s face. “Fire at will,” a voice ordered over the comm unit. Following the guidance of the targeting computer, Andrew swung the gun toward a Batronian spacecraft and fired. The bolts passed behind the spacecraft.

“Damn, they’re fast,” Andrew said out loud. He began firing again, but still didn’t lead enough. Fortunately, the 75-mm guns on a ship fired more rapidly than the land-based BA-75. While a good team could fire 45 round per minute on a BA-75, the ship based 75-mm guns could fire 65-70 round per minute.

Andrew selected another spacecraft and fired, holding the trigger and rotating the gun as he did. Bolts chased the Batronian spacecraft, but just as they were closing in on it, the spacecraft dove and spun, fooling Andrew. Damn it, Andrew thought. This is much harder than firing at targets in practice.

Charlie Flight

Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0504 UT

Chris and the rest of Charlie Flight escorted the three ACUs passed the disabled Batronian battleship. As they streaked by, Chris kept an eye on the drifting ship. Even though it was damaged and appeared to no longer be functioning, the sheer size of the ship and its massive guns was intimidating. Chris could see fires burning inside the ship and secondary explosions occurring. Escape pods began to appear around the ship. Ahead, Chris could see on his sensor display that other spacecraft from London were attacking the Batronians creating an opportunity for Charlie Flight to escort the ACUs down to the naval base.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0505 UT

“Don’t let them get near London,” Captain McCollum ordered the Officer of the Deck.

“Aye, sir,” the OOD replied

Argentina and the other three destroyers of Task Force One (France, Ukraine, and Norway) were working together to protect both London and the battleship Newton from enemy spacecraft. Although they were not hitting as many spacecraft as they should be, the laser fire was forcing the enemy to break off attacks or fire their missiles at the destroyers rather than the carrier or battleship. Two flights of SF-112s from London joined the fight, destroying several Batronians who had somehow avoided the destroyers.

“Missile inbound, port side,” Ensign Singleton said calmly from the sensor console. It was noted by Captain McCollum how far the young officer had come in such a short time.

“Decoys!” the Captain ordered. “Port thrusters to full!”

In Gun Mount 54, Andrew Wilson was becoming increasingly frustrated. The enemy spacecraft was fast and difficult to hit. Andrew had managed almost a perfect score against drones during training. The Batronian spacecraft seemed to easily dodge his bolts as if toying with him.

Trying a new tactic, Andrew intentionally led too far ahead of a Batronian attack craft. Holding the trigger, he fired a half a dozen bolts ahead of the Batronian allowing the Batronian to fly directly into his laser fire and watching it as it exploded in a brilliant flash. But, instead of feeling satisfaction at killing one of the beings responsible for Kaitlyn’s death, he remained frustrated by the training he and the others had received. Earth needed to get its act together or they were going to lose this war.

Andrew lined up a shot for another Batronian when the ship shook and power failed briefly as a missile struck Argentina.

“Sir, missile hit near Repair Two,” a Communications Technician reported to Captain McCollum on the bridge.

ESS Newton (B-39)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0506 UT

Newton, like all the ships in Task Force One, was at General Quarters. Unlike the destroyers, however, the massive battleship was not engaging the enemy. Battleships were designed to destroy other ships and to bombard planets with their 400-mm guns. Against spacecraft with missiles, they were vulnerable. Although Newton had sixteen 35-mm anti-spacecraft guns, those were used only if spacecraft penetrated the shielding destroyers and fighters as a last line of defense.

Nevertheless, Kendra Allgood paced the silent bridge impatiently. She wanted to get into the action and felt that Rear Admiral Kilgallon was being foolish by not taking Task Force One into the Omar system and destroying the enemy. She had served patiently for a long time to get an opportunity to engage in combat, and now a weak leader was holding her back. Captain Allgood studied the sensor display. She saw a gap and, what she considered, an opportunity.

“Come right to 217,” she ordered. The Executive Officer looked up at her. He knew better than question her order, but wondered what she was doing. The course change would bring them between Ukraine and Argentina. The purpose of having the destroyers there was to protect Newton and London. Why would the Captain want to move outside of that protection? the XO wondered.

“Standby on the forward 35-mm guns,” Kendra ordered over the comm to the Combat Information Center (CIC).

“Mounts 31 through 38 are standing by, ma’am,” a voice replied.

Again, the XO wondered why. Few spacecraft were getting into the range of the battleship and those that did were being quickly destroyed or chased away by the fighters from London.

“Fire at will,” Kendra ordered. 35-mm laser fire flew outward from the battleship. Two SF‑112s from London banked hard to avoid the bolts fired from Newton, aimed at the very Batronian spacecraft that they were chasing, but almost hitting the SF-112s instead.

ESS London (SCV-7)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0506 UT

“What is she doing?” Rear Admiral Kilgallon asked aloud. He reached over and pressed a button on his comm unit connecting him with the communications shack. “Signal Newton to get back in position. And for God’s sake tell her to cease fire!”

Kilgallon had met Kendra Allgood about six years ago while serving as Captain of ESS France. She was serving as Executive Officer of ESS Einstein. He remembered her as a very ambitious officer. She had served as Commanding Officer of a destroyer before that and the job of an XO on the battleship was a step by her to take command of a battleship herself. He remembered her as a stern disciplinarian, pushing her crew. Maybe, she was thinking the war is another opportunity to advance her own career, Kilgallon though. If that was the case, Kilgallon knew that he would have to reel her in. The battleship ceased fire and turned heading back to her assigned position within the task force. At least she is obeying orders, the Rear Admiral thought.

Command Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0807 Local, 0507 UT

“Ma’am, the Batronians are a mile outside of the base. I’m moving the remaining troopers to the Space Station. The ACUs will be here in less than a half an hour. We can defend ourselves there,” Colonel Nelson, now back in the Command Center, said.

“Very well,” Captain Harrington replied. Like Colonel Nelson, she knew that they simply did not have the manpower to defend the entire base, so taking a section of the base, such as the Space Center, and defending themselves from there would be the best solution. Still, Captain Harrington hated giving up even an inch of the base to the Batronians.

“Ma’am, I would suggest we move there, too,” Nelson said. “It is easier if we have everyone in position”

Amber looked around the room. It truly was time to go, but it didn’t make it easier. Still, they had to protect each other and those ACUs. “Very well, Colonel,” Harrington said, rising from her chair. “Hand me an L-29.”

“You heard her,” Colonel Nelson said to a trooper standing at the entrance to the Command Center. The Private, shocked at the request by a senior officer, especially a Naval Officer, handed Amber his weapon. She loaded a charge pack and flipped off the safety.

“Let’s move out,” she ordered loading a charge pack and leading the way.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487,0511 UT

It was John Bennett’s turn as nozzleman on the number one fire team. He entered the dry goods storage area on the seventh deck and began sweeping back and forth beating down the flames. His pressure suit’s pressure remained steady so there was no hull breach in the compartment, just fire caused by the heat of the explosion of the missile that impacted two decks up. It was exhausting work, pulling the heavy hose through the narrow passageways and doors of the ship while trying to hold it steady as a stream of water at 250 PSI flowed from the nozzle.

The fire in the compartment was quickly extinguished. John turned to leave the room when he saw a cook, in his white uniform, laying on the deck.

“Hey! We have a cook in here! Send the stretcher bearers and the corpsman,” John said using the speaker in his suit to communicate with the team leader. John made his way over to the man. He was unconscious with no obvious burns or injuries. “I think he was overcome by smoke,” John said through the speaker.

On the bridge, Ensign Singleton watched the ongoing battle on the sensor display. Thanks to the coordinated effort of the four destroyers, the enemy had only scored a few hits on the destroyers and none on the carrier or battleship. But, then a bright flash filled the bridge windows and pieces of metal struck Argentina’s hull.

“What was that?” Captain McCollum asked.

“Sir, several missiles hit Ukraine. Apparently, she exploded,” Al reported.

“Shit,” Command Pete Williams said.

The bright flash had briefly messed with Andrew’s vision and for several seconds he was forced to stop firing as he blinked his eyes to clear them.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0825 Local, 0525 UT

Tents had been set up for the wounded around the Space Center and Karen helped transport the wounded, including Dave, from the hospital to the temporary shelters. After the wounded were in the tents, the remaining troopers from the Third Regiment gathered near the center of the Space Station. Only 61 of the 78 remaining troopers were able to fight.

Naval Personnel had also gathered at the Space Center, assembled by their units. Everyone was armed, some with L-29s, some with SL-21s and a few with handguns. Three BA-75s were still operational and being manned. Only 220 people remained from the Naval Base that had been home to over 2000.

Captain Harrington looked around at what she had left. The base was very heavily damaged, although the Space Center was in relatively good shape. Why? Amber asked herself. The only answer that made sense was obvious. She went and found Colonel Nelson.

“Colonel, we need to get charges ready to blow up the Space Center,” Amber said.

“Already done, ma’am,” Byron said. He had reached the same conclusion as Amber. And if it was the Batronian’s goal to use the Space Center, then they were in for a surprise.

“Very well, Colonel,” Amber said. She moved to a position where she could monitor the main gate to the base. Attack craft from London were attacking enemy positions just outside of the base. As she watched, a human craft got shot down by a Batronian Fighter, the crash sending a ball of fire into the sky.

“I need a bull horn,” Amber said. One of the officers handed her one. “Listen up. The Batronian troops are just outside of the gate. I know it’s been a long few days. We’re tired and hurting. We don’t have to hold out long. Just long enough for the ACUs to get here. Task Force One is doing their part, now we need to do our part.”

Batronian Attack Spacecraft 1842

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0526 UT

The Batronian knew they would have to break off the attack soon. The attack was not going well and the spacecraft would have to rearm and refuel soon. The pilot broke left and right dodging fire from the human’s destroyers. He broke right heading directly for one, arming one of his missiles.

A bolt clipped his right wing causing the craft to yaw. He pushed his control stick to the left to compensate and try to recover as a second bolt, which he never saw, struck the craft. The 75-mm bolt passed straight through the cockpit, through the pilot’s chest and into the engines in the rear of the craft, causing the craft to explode.

Unbeknownst to Andrew Wilson, he had just got his revenge against the Batronian who had killed Kaitlyn.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

Near Omar System

June 8, 2487, 0727 UT

Andrew watched the spacecraft explode having no clue who the pilot had been and having none of the joy he expected to have as he killed his second Batronian. Instead, his mind was on protecting the ship. He knew that they had taken a hit and was trying to keep the Batronians from scoring anymore hits. But, he also realized just how bad the training that he had received had been. Real pilots flew faster and more aggressively than the drones he had been trained with.

Since arriving on Argentina, Andrew realized, he had been totally focused on himself and his revenge. He had not gotten to know his shipmates, even the ones he supervised. All he had care about was killing the enemy. That had to change. Admiral Morris had been right. Killing Batronians to avenge Kaitlyn’s death was not the answer and Kaitlyn would not have wanted this need for revenge to consume him.

Fewer spacecraft were approaching now. The Batronians were obviously done here. The order to cease fire came a minute later. Andrew took a deep breath and wiped a tear from his eye.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0831 Local, 0531 UT

Captain Amber Harrington saw the tall thin form of a Batronian breach the main gate of Naval Base Oscar. She raised the L-29 and fired a three-round burst, killing the first soldier through. Barriers had been placed surrounding the Space Center both to slow the Batronian advance and to provide cover for the humans. As more Batronians entered the main gate, laser fire chewed them down. The fire came from different directions preventing the Batronians from being able to concentrate their fire on one target and cover their soldiers as they entered the base.

Five minutes of Batronian troops trying to enter the base resulted in five minutes of failure. So, the Batronians changed tactics. Artillery fire rained down on the humans forcing them to take cover. Amber flipped her L-29 to auto and fired a sustained burst at a group of Batronians heading roughly in her direction. Dozens of the aliens made it through the gate of the base. Most of the Batronians avoided the space center, choosing instead to secure the remainder of the base and occupying the major buildings.

As the mortar fire slackened, the humans tried to prevent more enemy soldiers from entering the base by concentrating their fire on the main gate.

At 0849, several SF-112s swooped down from the skies above the base.

Charlie Flight

In Air Above Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0849 Local, 0549 UT

Chris Davenport led Charlie Flight into a dive after passing over Naval Base Quebec. Several hundred Batronian soldiers were along the road leading to the Naval Base. He could see some had entered. He couldn’t do anything about them, but he could do something about the hundreds waiting.

“Charlie Flight, this is Charlie Leader. On me,” Chris ordered. He passed low over the enemy firing 35-mm bolts into the enemy lines.

“Yeah!” Don Franklin shouted over the comm as the rest of Charlie Flight followed Chris, firing their guns as they did. The strafing fire scattered the enemy, throwing them into chaos as they looked for a way to protect themselves. Chris looked down, pleased with the results as he swung around to make another pass.

Assault Craft Unit 17

Over Naval Space Center, Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0851 Local, 0551 UT

Max Finley waited nervously for the ACU to touch down. The ACU had no windows, therefore, the troopers had no way of knowing where they were or what was going on outside of the craft.

“Prepare to move out,” a Sergeant ordered. Max tightened his grip on his L-29, flipping the safety off as he did. The ACU touched down and the back door opened, a ramp deploying as it did. The eight troopers on the ACU moved out, L-29s at the ready. As they exited, naval personnel began loading stretchers and assisting the walking wounded onto the ACU.

Captain Harrington glanced back over her shoulder while continuing to fire as more Batronians attempted to enter the base. “Pass the word down the lines. Pull back and load up into the ACUs.”

Bolts started coming down from a building to Max’s right. Max aimed his L-29 and saw several Batronians firing down on the ACUs from a third-floor window. The small arms fire could not penetrate the armor of the ACUs, but it was a danger to the people trying to get into them. Max and the rest of his squad made quick work of it, either killing the Batronians or at least forcing them back into the building.

As the survivors from Omar IV were being loaded, Max scanned people’s faces searching for Dave and Phil. He had no way of knowing that Phil was dead and the Dave was critically wounded and had already been loaded onto ACU-14. Nor did he realize that a female trooper who passed him could have told him Dave’s whereabouts. He had never even met Karen Baker.

The ACUs were loaded just seven minutes after they touched down. They lifted off with Charlie Flight forming up to escort them back to Iwo Jima. Seconds after lifting off, a series of explosions at the Space Center destroyed much of the tarmac and many key buildings.

Main Gate

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 8, 2487, 0902 Local, 0602 UT

The Batronians watched the ACUs lift off and the series of explosions at the Space Center. Troops began to move through the gates and into Naval Base Quebec. It took almost 45 minutes for them to complete a search and secure the base. Once they knew the base was secure, the celebration began as the Batronians met in large groups and celebrated.

Omar IV was now in Batronian hands.

Charlie Flight

Omar System

June 8, 2487, 635 UT

The outbound flight was uneventful. Attack spacecraft from London kept the Batronian ships busy allowing Charlie Flight to escort the ACUs past the Batronian ships orbiting Omar IV. Chris Davenport took the time to contemplate what happened. The Batronians had won another battle. Earth had to find a way to start winning and soon.

At the same time, Chris realized, this time the humans had done some real damage. They had destroyed or severely damaged ten Batronian ships as well as an unknown number of spacecraft and of Batronian soldiers killed on the planet. It wasn’t a victory, but it wasn’t Kylar II neither.