Exodus: Machine War 1 Supernova. (12 page)

The town first
flashed with heat that set everything flammable aflame, then blew out the
flames as it leveled every building in sight.  Any survivors of the blast and
heat waves would have died quickly from the overdose of rads.  But there was no
one left to die from radiation sickness.  The death toll was total.

*     *      *

“Under cover,”
was the command shouted over the com circuit as the flash of the detonation
flared across faceplates throughout the excavation site.

Lt. Helen
Moyahan looked up in time to see the wave of dirt and dust rolling toward her,
as her suit registered the first of the heat and radiation.  She looked for
cover, someplace she could fly her suit in a moment, and saw no place close
enough.  Her suit was tough, like all medium battle armor, but only possessed a
quarter of the heat and radiation protection of one of the heavy suits.  She
might survive a blast less than two kilometers away, but the odds were not
good.

Even as these
thoughts flashed through her brain faster than she could be aware of them, the
huge structure to her forward left began to glow.  First red, then white, while
the heat and radiation, even a good bit of the blast effect, was absorbed by
the structure.

What the
hell?
thought the Lt as she stared at the ancient structure, then looked at
her HUD as it displayed the sensor take of her suit. 
That’s impossible.
 
The heat and radiation that should have been washing over the area was only a
fiftieth of what it should be.  Even the blast effect was reduced to a stiff
breeze that did little more than raise some dust from the ground.

The mushroom
cloud rose into the sky, while the blast wave continued to move out, except for
the area of the ancient artifact and a couple of hundred meters to each side,
like a big chunk bitten out of the disaster.

*    *     *

“We’re picking
up a small energy surge from artifact Alpha-four,” said Lt. Commander Christi
M’tumbo, the sensor officer of the
Lewis
, looking back at Captain
Walther Huang.

Lewis
had
been given the duty again to watch the blue star.  It wasn’t a duty he wanted, but
the Admiral hadn’t asked his opinion, and here they were again.

“Any idea where
it’s coming from?” asked the Captain, looking at the blinking icon of the
artifact on the tactical display.

“Not a clue,
sir.  And none of the other artifacts are exhibiting any change.”

“Strange,” said
the Captain, his eyes narrowing. 
And we aren’t expecting a courier here for
another week, and no other way to get the news to the Admiral without leaving
our post.

“Keep a close
watch on it, Christi.  As soon as there are any more changes, let me know.”

Five minutes
later the Sensor Officer looked back at Huang again.  “Energy readings have
dropped back to normal background for the star.”

Enough energy
to incinerate a human in an instant
, thought the Captain, looking at the graph
that showed the minor blip of whatever had been radiated from the object. 
So
the other energy had to come from somewhere, but where?  And why only that one
object, at this time?

*     *     *

Rear Admiral
Nguyen van Hung watched the holo of the mushroom cloud that rose into the upper
atmosphere of the planet. 
Twenty megatons
, he thought, shaking his
head.  Every one of the offensive missiles in his flagship’s magazines had
warheads at least fifty times more powerful.  But this one was detonated on the
surface of a planet, within less than two kilometers of a number of his
people. 
And if not for that effect from that artifact, it would have been
much worse.

Still, he had
lost four Marines permanently dead, unrecoverable by the medical science of the
Empire.  Eleven other personnel had been rendered temporarily dead, and would
be resurrected and returned to duty with time.  And there were over a score who
were injured to varying degrees.  Out of over a hundred people who had been
within the serious damage range of the blast.

“The first of
the rescue shuttles has arrived at the site, sir,” came the call over the com.

Nguyen opened
another holo with a thought through his implant, watching the scene as
personnel started from two grounded shuttles to fan out across the site, while
another started to settle toward the ground, and yet one more was on final
approach.

“I want every
one of those people brought up to this ship,” ordered the Imperial commander of
the system.  “What about the nearby native habitations?”

“The town
nearest to the blast was totally destroyed,” said Captain Susan Lee, Nguyen’s
Chief of Staff, breaking in on the conversation.  “We don’t expect any
survivors there.  Every town and village for fifty kilometers was damaged to
varying degrees.”

“And the state
of the local response?”

“They're
starting to move.  Aerial vehicles are on the way, and while they can deliver
medical and rescue personnel, they only have limited utility as lifting
bodies.”

“Meaning they
have to bring in heavy ground equipment to lift and dig,” said Nguyen, nodding
his head.  “I want every heavy lifting body we have down there aiding in the
rescue.  I don’t care how much effort it takes search and rescue, we will get
the job done.”

After all,
even if it was some alien fanatics who set off the bomb, they wouldn’t have
bothered if we weren’t there.

Every Imperial
ship, from frigates on up, Fleet and Command, had personnel trained in search
and rescue.  In everything from rescuing the crews from wrecked ships on the
verge of exploding, to planet side disaster relief.

“We’ll get them
organized, sir,” said Lee, dropping off the com.  She was back on in a moment.

“I’ve just
gotten word from
Clark
that Captain Albright was on a shuttle heading to
the site when the bomb went off.  She dropped off the grid just before the
detonation, in the high mountains overlooking desert.  And sir, Ensign Nguyen
Dat was with her.”

“Crap,”
exclaimed the Admiral, staring at the holo that now switched views to the
mountains, and a high pass that led between two really massive peaks.  Dat was
a very distant relative, which meant that in his family he was still family,
and still to be protected.  “Start a search of the area with sting ships,” he
finally said, looking over the list of small craft dispositions and seeing that
the cupboard was just about bare.  “When we have some atmospheric troop
carriers available, and a location for her shuttle, start a ground search of
that area.  Get with Colonel Isaiah and have her detail a platoon.”

“I have to warn
you, sir,” said Lee.  “There was no way that blast could have brought them
down.  Not at that range.  And I doubt they just crashed.”

“So, what are
you saying, Captain?”

“The aliens
still have some of the weapons they captured from Albright’s assault shuttle. 
Including antiair missiles.  Anything we send down there could become a target
as well.”

“So you think we
should not send down a search and rescue party?” he asked with a raised
eyebrow.

“No, sir.  Just
warning you.  And I would advise that one of our ships keep a close watch on
that area, and be prepared to provide covering fire if needed.”

“Give the orders
to Captain Jackson,” said Nguyen.  “I want
Boudeuse
to keep a close
watch over the Marines, and provide any fire support they need.”

And what the
hell do they expect to accomplish with this madness?
he thought, switching
back to the view of the mushroom cloud.

Chapter Ten

Technology gives many advantages.
But without sufficient training, technology is a false crutch.  A well trained
soldier with minimal tech is the match for any rabble carrying more advanced
equipment.

Imperial Army Infantry Training
Manual.

“How are you
feeling, Ensign?” asked Albright as she pulled Nguyen along.  The young officer
had regained consciousness moments before, the nanites in his system repairing
the damage of his concussion.  He was still a little groggy, but that would
pass.

“Where are we?”
asked the Ensign, looking around him.

“We came down on
the mountains, son,” said Albright, releasing her grip on the Ensign’s suit and
keeping one hand on him to steady him on the path she wanted him to take.  “We
took out the people who shot us down, but I think there are more out there,
waiting to get shots at whomever is sent to look for us.”

Albright looked
back at the Marine who was watching the rear.  “Any sight of them, Private?”

“No, ma’am,”
said the Marine, his helmeted head turning as he covered the area to the rear. 
His heavy suit was not only stronger and carried much stronger armor, but his
sensor suite was also an order of magnitude more sensitive.  Their medium
battle suits were made to interface with ship and small craft systems, while
the Marine armor was designed to search the natural environment for threats. 
“I’m still picking up the jamming though.  And it doesn’t appear to be moving.”

“Can you get a
fix on it?” asked Albright, looking back at the Private.

“I’m close,”
said the Marine. “While we’ve been moving, my suit has been working on the
triangulation.  Fortunately, these guys don’t seem to know about moving the
source.”

Albright
nodded.  Under normal circumstances, it would take two or more suits in
different locations to triangulate a target, as targets tended to move to keep
from being located.  If it sat in place for too long, even a single suit moving
along a path could triangulate. 
And the manual on the launcher’s
capabilities wouldn’t have given them much in the way of information about our
suits and their capabilities.

“That way,” said
the Marines, pointing across at the slope of another mountain.

The directional
indicator of the Captain’s HUD blinked into life at the same moment, giving her
an accurate pointer to the launcher. 
If they knew what they were doing,
they would leave the damned thing off until they were ready to engage.  But if
they left the jammer off, we would be talking to our own side about now.

“I think we can
get a good line of sight on them over there,” said the Marines, and another
blinking cursor appeared on her HUD.  She turned in the direction of the arrow,
moving her viewpoint down, until a small hollow on the side of the mountain
they were on lit up with the same color as the cursor.

“Let’s go,”
ordered Albright, then turning to her Ensign.  “Can you make it, Nguyen?”

“I think so,
ma’am,” said the young man, lifting his suit a couple of centimeters off the
surface.

The Marine led
the way, rifle ready, dropping down the side of the mountain, his suit’s
stealth field blending him in with the rock and ice.  Nguyen followed, while
the Captain took up the rear, keeping an eye on the young pilot.  When she set
down gently on the rock Nguyen was already lowering himself into the
depression, while the Marine was lying prone, his scoped particle beam pointed
toward the target.

Albright again
extended her own scope and stock as she settled into a firing position that
would give her the best cover and concealment.  She slaved the scope to her HUD
and saw what looked like over forty of the aliens.  With them were two
launchers and at least three particle beams.  Enough to down a couple of sting
ships and damage a troop carrier or two before the Imperials even knew what was
happening.

And we’re not
going to let that happen
, thought the Captain, waiting for the Marine to
open fire to start the ball rolling.

*     *     *

Warrant Officer
Melissa Sung kept a close watch on her sensors as her sting ship flew over the
valley.  It was fantastic scenery, and she found herself sorry that all of this
was doomed.  When the radiation wave struck, there wouldn’t even be a microbe
left on the surface of this world.

Snap out of
it, Lissa
, she told herself, concentrating on her instruments again,
looking for the tiniest inconsistency that might point out her target.

“Anything,
Sung?” asked Lt. Commander Karl Heinzmann, the leader of the squadron.

“Just that damned
jamming,” she replied, looking at the wave pattern on her holographic
oscilloscope.  “I wonder what they’re trying to accomplish.”

The powerful
laser transmitters on the sting ships had no problem reaching one of the ships
above, which relayed it to the next one.  It didn’t do much to their sensor
suite either, though it was hard to localize the source. 
And it means they
have some of our tech down there, whoever they are.  Most probably one or more
of those launchers they stole from us.

She couldn’t think
of any reason why their own people would try to jam a search and rescue
effort.  They would be doing everything they could to attract the aircraft to
their location, so that left the aliens.  And if one of those missiles could
knock down an assault shuttle, they could blow a sting ship completely to
hell. 
So what are they waiting for?  To get as many of us into their basket
as possible?

So Melissa
continued on her search, cringing a bit inside at the thought that she might
get a fraction of a second warning before a hypervelocity missile took her
craft out, and her with it.  All of her systems were armed, her AI set for
auto-targeting, ready to light up anything that appeared that looked like a
threat to her ship, while at the same time aware that the last thing she needed
to do was to kill the people she was trying to rescue.

She twisted her
head around, and the ship followed her motion, as her sensors picked up a flash
of light off her port stern.

*     *     *

The Marine fired
as one of the aliens holding a launcher put it to his shoulder and aimed. 
Albright gave him the go ahead, not sure if they were getting ready to fire on
the single sting ship hovering above the peak to the east, and not willing to
take the chance.  The particle beam, fired by a trained Marine in combat armor,
was of course perfectly on target, almost obliterating the alien while slicing
through and destroying the launcher.

Albright fired
her own weapon, aiming for one of the aliens with a particle beam and hitting
the male who stood up in front of him at the last moment.  The particle beam
gunner threw himself to the ground and swung his weapon around, using the
pointing line of the Marine’s heavy rifle, as it destroyed the second launcher
and operator, to fire back at their position.  The beam splashed from the heavy
armor, doing superficial damage, but forcing the Marine to duck down before it
caused more serious problems.

Albright ducked
down as well, pulling a still confused Ensign Nguyen down with her.  Particle
beams continued to strike the rocks in an explosion of fragments, while
automatic weapons fire spattered the mountainside around them.

*     *     *

“Gotcha,” cried
Sung as the nose of her ship swung around and the targeting carrels sprung into
being on her HUD.  Her finger stroked the trigger, and every weapon aboard the
small craft fired in an instant.

The lasers from
the nose ring struck first, sending megajoules of power into the mass of aliens
who were trying to kill a ground target.  Twin particle beams hit a nanosecond
later, pumping high energy protons into the enemy and the rocks around them. 
The grenade launcher in the nose popped off a trio of forty millimeters that
packed a heavier punch than any comparably sized weapons the Klassekians
possessed.  And the heavier punch of a pair of rockets sped from their rails at
thousands of gravities, the ton equivalent antimatter warheads blasting bodies
and boulders into the air to rain on the valley below.

Two seconds. 
That was all it took to kill every one of the aliens.  It might not have even
needed that much time, but that’s how long her weapons systems engaged in a
severe case of overkill.

All of the
guerillas had siblings who were not there, from one to eight, who were
connected to them through their quantum entangled nerve tissue.  The guerrillas
who had been killed did not suffer much.  They barely had time to realize that
they were dead.  Their litter mates, on the other hand, felt the echoes of
their deaths for days afterwards, and would try to sleep with memories of
sudden death for the rest of their lives.

*     *     *

“We’ve found
Captain Albright and your cousin, sir.”  Captain Susan Lee looked out of the
holo with a smile on her face.  “Both are well, though I can’t say the same for
the people who shot them down.”

“Did we get all
of the guerillas?”

“As far as we
can tell.  And the sting ship, as well as Captain Albright, accounted for at
least two of the missing launchers, and a half dozen particle beam rifles.”

“That is good
news,” agreed the Admiral, looking over at another holo that showed one of his
shuttles hovering in the air over some rubble, lifting a vehicle above the
house it had been flung into by the blast.  Battle armored figures moved
through the remains of that house, pulling out bodies, including some very
small ones, a young litter of children.

“I want us to
find out who was responsible for this,” he growled, looking back at the holo
with his Chief of Staff centered in it.  “I want these bastards.”

“Shouldn’t we
give any information we have to the local authorities?” asked Lee.

“The hell with
the local authorities.  When we find out who they are, we will go after them
and end them ourselves.  Once we get all the information we can out of them. 
Understood?”

“Yes, sir.  I’ll
get our intelligence people working on it right away.”

“Tell them I
want to know who’s at the top.  It’s one thing to strike at combatants, but
what these people have done is a crime against sentient life.  And they will
pay.”

He killed the
com link and sat back down, his eyes glued to the holos that were following the
rescue efforts. 
Over sixty thousand dead.  More injured.  And it would have
been much worse if it had been in a much more densely populated region.  I know
most of these people don’t have much more than a year remaining, but that’s
sixty thousand years of sentience wiped away.  I will see these bastards
killed.  I will take from them what they took from these others.

*     *     *

Revador was the
capital city of Honish, the dwelling place of over fifteen million people.
Despite the number, it did not have the vitality of Tsranar, the capital city
of Tsarzor.  It lacked the industry, and there were fewer vehicles on the
streets.  The only vitality in the city revolved around the numerous temples
that seemed to take up all prime locations that weren’t occupied by government
buildings.

There were some
humans in the city, those belonging to the diplomatic missions that the
Imperials had insisted on.  Mostly they stayed to their compound, when not
engaged on business with one of the Honish government agencies.  When moving
through the city they rode in armored vehicles, or walked in groups, all in
their battle armor and accompanied by Marines.

But today some
other humans moved through the city, also in battle armor.  Very specialized
battle armor, made for a very specific purpose.  Recon suits, maximized for
both stealth and sensor capabilities.  Worn by naval officers and ratings who
had primary or secondary specialties in intelligence.

Chief Petty
Officer Travis Martin was one of the score of people who were floating through
the air over the city, his stealth field bending the light waves around him, so
that anyone looking in his direction would see an image of what was behind
him.  The field was not perfect.  There were some minor flaws, some wavering of
the image, but only in small places along the entire field.  Only someone who
was looking for a stealth field would have a chance of spotting it on visual. 
It did give off quite a bit heat, but reflectors controlled by the suit’s
on-board computer sent most of that infrared off on angles that were less
likely to have sensors ready to pick it up.  Radar and lidar was absorbed. 
Rain and snow could be a problem, but not on this day.

Martin dropped
his suit down toward one of the government buildings, angling toward an open
window the occupant of the office was using to enjoy the weather.  Stopping
right outside the window, he snaked a thin nozzle through the opening and
started spraying a light mist into the office.

His HUD showed
him the take of that mist, which was not made up of any liquid, but instead was
comprised of hundreds of millions of nanoscale machines.  As soon as they
entered the office they floated throughout the room, attaching to any surface
and crawling about.  It would be some minutes before a number of them were
outside the room and into the hall, starting on their way to other rooms.  In
an hour or two they would have infiltrated the entire floor, in a day the
entire building, and Intelligence would start to monitor the take all day,
every day, looking for keywords that might alert them to conversations of
interest.

“Ministry of the
Army is good to go,” the Chief transmitted to the ship.

“Acknowledged,
Chief,” returned Commander Bergland, the intelligence officer in charge of the
operation.

  After rising
toward the roof, the Chief pulled a small unit from his suit’s belt and pushed
it onto the stonework of the building, where other nanites attached to the
contact surface bonded with the structure.  The unit would control the nanites
in the building and organize their data, which would consist of sound and vid
bites, then transmit it up to one of the battle cruisers, whose massive
computers would crunch the data.