Battle for the Earth (18 page)

Mark watched as the forty F-22-Raptors screamed into the airspace, rockets loosed and cannons blazing.

Technically the Raptors weren’t much of a match for the Annunaki assault vessels, but they were certainly taking their toll of the unsuspecting Annunaki pilots. Dog fights had broken out everywhere, and Mark saw this as a perfect chance to withdraw his troops back into the suburbs and then onto their temporary base. He gave the order and the resistance melted into suburbia.

The Raptors kept the Annunaki busy for just over an hour and, although all the aircraft were eventually lost, most of the pilots had bailed out safely and were heading back to the resistance headquarters with the knowledge that four fewer Annunaki assault ships were in the skies.

**

Back at resistance headquarters in Manassas, Mark was reviewing with his officers what had been achieved. They had certainly made the Annunaki sit up and take notice, then the sight of the Raptors had been a huge boost for morale. Granted that in reality they were now no more than a thorn in the Annunaki side, it still all counted in the fight for survival.

Mark couldn’t have been more wrong. He had just helped to save the lives of seven hundred and fifty thousand people.

**

The ESG forces had arrived at Reutov. There had only been light resistance from the Annunaki warriors who had been left to guard the base. Once they had been suppressed, the transports had landed and were now filling up quickly. Everyone was well aware that time was critical and the Annunaki cruisers would only be distracted for so long.

Lee found himself inside the Russian base and was amazed how much it looked like Earth Central. Fortunately with five huge turbo-lifts and several smaller lifts the evacuation of the base was going well.

As he walked around inside the base the damage that the Annunaki had caused was plain to see. Destruction was everywhere. Still, six hours ago he had never thought he would have been here and a rescue would be underway. He still had no idea why the Annunaki had all but abandoned the base, especially as it now didn’t appear to be a trap.

**

Jumouk was on board the
Iron Duke
glued to the proximity scanners. He was convinced the Annunaki would spring their trap at any time, but there was nothing. He had witnessed all the activity at Dulles but couldn’t make head or tail of it. They just seemed to be chasing each other around.

Of course the Raptors didn’t show on the proximity detectors as ESG. They didn’t have the technology fitted to them, hence the confusion on Jumouk’s part.

Jumouk was just now counting down every second until the transports were full. He had already made the decision to abandon Heathrow and pull most of the ESG resources up to Mars.

**

Tannacha seemed pleased with himself. The return to Dulles was a double-edged sword. He had just easily downed forty aircraft and quelled an attack at his Dulles base. He was also now waiting to see where the ESG would take the survivors from Reutov. This would be his next point of attack where he could smash the ESG and the humans once and for all.

**

Finally all the transports were full and the Russian base at Reutov was empty. Jumouk gave the order for the three transports and the battle cruiser
Victory
commanded by Lee to head to the Mars base. Meanwhile the TAG craft returned to Sub Sea One via differing circuitous routes to keep the location of the base secret.

Jumouk gathered all the ESG troopers. Androids and ESG assault craft and set off for Heathrow with the battle cruiser
Iron Duke.
He still didn’t know why Tannacha hadn’t attacked them at the Russian base, but nevertheless counted his blessings that the civilians had been rescued safely.

As the
Iron Duke
came to rest over Heathrow, Fiona and Finney were watching Jumouk’s shuttle landing. Both were keen to hear how Russia had gone. They still couldn’t believe there had been a stay of execution on the Russian base, leaving enough time to mount a rescue attempt.

Jumouk greeted them, and they retired to the small room that was being used as a land-based headquarters. If Jumouk had been pleased with the rescue he wasn’t showing it now. Jumouk brought Fiona and Finney up to speed with what had happened in Russia. Finney then asked the inevitable question.

‘Why didn’t the Annunaki attack you in Russia or at the very least have a go at us here at Heathrow?’

Jumouk just shook his head.

‘I don’t have an answer for you, Finney. I expected an attack but it never came. I can only assume the Annunaki supreme commander had his reasons, which unfortunately will probably, before long, become blatantly clear.’

Fiona chipped in.

‘At least we got everyone out safely. Where do we go from here?’

‘I’m glad you asked that, Fiona. In a word, Mars. We move everything apart from the undersea bases and consolidate at the base on Mars.’

Finney looked increasingly uncomfortable with this; he had never been in space before, let alone on a distant planet.

For her part, Fiona seemed delighted with the prospect of a space adventure and meeting up again with all the people she had known at Earth Central.

**

35

On board the
Victory,
Lee was watching Earth shrink into the vastness of space. He so enjoyed flying. It was one of the great perks of saving humanity, a task which he now considered his main purpose.

Grant had joined the
Victory
after the Russian operation. He was full of excited anticipation about arriving at the Mars base, since he had heard so much speculation about it. Looking out into vastness of space was mesmerising and electrifying at the same time. It was so quiet and Mars looked so far away.

Lee had left the rear observation window and joined Grant, interrupting his moment of quiet reflection, Lee apologised and asked Grant how he was enjoying the flight. The excitement of being on one of these huge battle cruisers never seemed to wear off. It was just awe-inspiring, and the only thing that seemed to spoil it was when you had to get down to the job in hand.

Grant smiled at Lee and said:

‘Brilliant! Thanks, Lee. Is there anything you need me to do just now?’

‘No thanks, Grant, You just enjoy the flight for the time being.’

Lee moved over to one of the proximity detectors.

‘I wonder what they’re up to.’

Grant joined him; there was very little movement on Earth especially at Dulles.

‘More to the point, Lee, what’s so important at Dulles? As any great commander will tell you, knowing what your enemy knows can win wars.’

Lee mulled this over. Grant was right. It would have to be something extremely important for the Annunaki to have virtually abandoned the advantage they had at Reutov. Grant nearly hit the nail on the head, when half jokingly he quipped:

‘Maybe they just wanted to see what we’d do?’

Lee reflected on this. It wasn’t quite as funny as it seemed.

‘Of course! They wanted to see where we took the survivors! They knew we would take advantage and evacuate the base. They left us alone to see where we took the survivors. That would lead them to at least our next base’s location.’

‘Hadn’t we better warn Jumouk and Konoco?’

Lee thought about this.

‘No, the damage is done now, and besides I don’t think the Annunaki will react straightaway. When Jumouk gets to the Mars base we can discuss it then. There is a silver lining. With luck they will stop looking for any more bases on Earth. After all, they will know if they are going to take on our base on Mars they’re going to need all their resources for that.’

‘True, I suppose,’ said Grant. ‘They’ve only two battle cruisers left. That alone puts them in a difficult position.’

**

The front observation window was now filling up with the trade-mark red surface of Mars. The battle cruiser was perceptibly slowing down and positioning itself above the surface of the red planet.

Lee could see the transports start to position themselves, ready to land within the force field surrounding the entrance to the Mars base.

He was also keen to see the Mars base. It had seemed to have become a legend, overnight - some kind of mystical retreat from the oncoming Annunaki menace.

As Lee and Grant landed their shuttle next to the transports, Lee was visible at the controls, much to Grant’s disappointment.

The figure of Marie was seen approaching them. She would never have missed this opportunity to impress Lee, even though Konoco had offered to meet them himself. Marie had insisted that it would probably be better if she met them, leaving Konoco free to oversee the disembarking of the transports. After all, Konoco was fluent in Russian.

**

Lee hugged Marie and then introduced Grant. As the three of them made their way to the entrance of the Mars base, Grant couldn’t help but be impressed. The atmosphere was pleasant if perhaps slightly warm, but the air was fresh and clean. It was turning into everything he had been promised and they weren’t even inside yet.

The trip down in the turbo-lift was full of expectation for both Lee and Grant. As they emerged into the massive corridor system, it was clear to both of them this was a totally different experience from the bases on Earth. In fact, without wanting to criticise the Dropas in any way, the bases on Earth now seemed to them like cave dwellings by comparison.

Marie led them straight to the main control room. When they entered the massive room, the expression on Grant’s face said it all. There was activity everywhere, mainly involving the Mars Androids. It was like watching a well-choreographed ballet.

Marie suggested they retire to one of the annexes and get some refreshment.

**

Marie asked what they would like, and as it had been a long week with very little sleep, they both opted for coffee. Marie instructed the computer, and within a minute an Android appeared. Neither Lee nor Grant had had a proper look at an Android, they were so overwhelmed by the state-of-the art base. Now they could see for themselves how life-like the Androids were.

‘Wow!’ exclaimed Grant.

Lee looked slightly more thoughtful. He thought to himself: obviously not as well programmed as our Androids on Earth. It’s not even carrying a tray and certainly no coffee.

The Android stopped by the table and spoke.

‘Good afternoon, Miss Baker. My name is Alexa. The computer didn’t specify what type of coffee you required so I took it upon myself to ask personally.’

She began to run through a list of types and specialities of coffee, but Marie interrupted before she could finish.

‘Just three lattés please, Alexa.’

Marie looked across to Lee and Grant and they both nodded. Lee couldn’t believe what he was seeing. These can’t be Androids, can they, he thought? They must be sentient.

Grant looked at Marie and asked the question that was on Lee’s mind.

‘Are they for real?’

Marie struggled to reply.

‘Well ... I believe the Dropas have been studying them for around ten years, but they have only just recently started to behave like this. So at least till we know more about them, we have to treat them as sentient beings. Does that answer your question, Grant?’

‘Well, if that’s all you’ve got, I guess it’ll have to, for now anyway,’ Grant muttered.

‘Please bear in mind there is so much we don’t know about this whole base. More or less everything about it is fantastic, and it’s way above the Dropas level of technology.’

Again Grant came in with the obvious question.

‘Who built it, then?’

‘Hmm, we think it was the Androids. Wait a minute. Alexa ... that’s a female name. All the Androids seem to have Greek or ancient Greek names, but that’s the first time I’ve noticed a female name.’

Lee and Grant looked at each other. Female Androids or whatever? The thought crossed both their minds at the same time but both quickly dismissed it.

Marie looked out across the control room and saw Pausanias approaching them. This should be interesting, she thought to herself. She stood up and introduced Pausanias to Lee and Grant as politely as she could, then sat back down.

Pausanias pulled up a chair and sat down. Before Lee or Grant could say anything, Pausanias spoke.

‘Gentlemen, I know you must have a lot of questions for me, but you’ve had a hard time on Earth, and I would suggest I have one of my colleagues show you to your quarters so you can refresh yourselves and catch up on a bit of sleep. The base is quite safe and nobody will disturb you, then once you’ve had a good rest, and feel refreshed I promise to answer all your questions.’

Lee and Grant couldn’t help feeling they had just been dismissed by a superior, but they also knew what Pausanias had said made perfect sense. Out of nowhere a colleague of Pausanias appeared and ushered Lee and Grant to their quarters.

**

The quarters issued to them were by any standard luxurious, and compared to what they had been used to, palatial. After a shower to freshen up, and some fruit from a complimentary bowl, both weary men succumbed to slumber on the comfortable divans provided.