Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) (10 page)

The assault
ship seemed to shudder violently and then all of its power faded. Inside,
lights went out and the emergency lights came on. Moments later, twin particle
beams from the battlecruiser
Cygnus
struck and blasted deep glowing
rents into the hull, tearing open more compartments and sending additional Nabians
to their deaths. With a final shudder the vessel blew apart, sending fiery
debris in all directions.

-

“All four
Kleese assault ships have been eliminated,” Commander Shepherd reported,
turning her head toward the admiral. “All ships report no damage.”

Admiral
Adamson looked at the tactical screen, which no longer showed any red threat
icons. “Take us into orbit and have the assault cruisers and their escorts move
in. They have the go to initiate their attack. The fleet will stay at Condition
One until further notice.”

“Message
sent,” reported Lieutenant Emma Travers from Communications.

-

Ryan felt the
drop ship suddenly accelerate as it left the flight bay of the
Deliverance
.
The ship banked sharply and darted down toward the surface of the planet. Drop
ships were designed for rapid passage through a planet’s atmosphere to give
defenders a minimal amount of targeting time. The drop ship also had a weak
defensive shield that could take one or two weapon strikes before it risked
failing.

“Eight minutes
to target,” a voice came over the comm system.

“Standby to
disembark,” said Sergeant Aryan Reinhart. He was a career minded Marine and had
seen considerable action outside of the Solar System.

Ryan remained silent
as he wanted the sergeants of the five platoons to be looked to for orders
during battle. His own orders would be sent via his command suit to Lieutenant
Guthrie and through her the five sergeants unless they were in the thick of
battle. The shuttle began to vibrate and Ryan could hear the atmosphere
starting to buffet the drop ship. The vibrations steadily grew stronger and the
sound of their passage through the planet’s atmosphere reached a crescendo
before it finally began to fade.

“Three minutes
to target.”

“When we land
and the hatch opens, I want this drop ship empty in twenty seconds,” barked
Sergeant Reinhardt. “Form a defensive perimeter around the ship until we’ve
assessed the situation. Once we’ve determined the potential threats, we’ll move
out.”

Ryan nodded
his approval. The sergeant seemed to be on top of things. The drop ship’s flight
seemed to have steadied, as most of the vibration was gone. Ryan unbuckled his
safety harness and stood up, grasping a support handhold on the hull. With the
power of his Type Four battlesuit, he wasn’t worried about being thrown around
the compartment. Ryan quickly checked his RG rifle and then his hand slipped to
his Energy Lance. The Energy Lance was fastened to his waist and operated off
the suit’s batteries. It emitted a blade of energy a meter long that was
capable of cutting through almost any material with relative ease. For close in
combat against the Kleese, this was Ryan’s favorite weapon.

“Saddle up!”
ordered Sergeant Reinhardt as he unbuckled his own safety harness and stood up.
“I want a quick weapons check and make sure you keep one hand on the handholds
on the hull. I don’t want anyone falling or stumbling when we land.”

Ryan caught
his breath as the ship suddenly seemed to drop straight down and then he felt a
slight jar indicating the ship had landed. Glancing toward the hatch, he saw it
slide open and the landing ramp extend.

“Everyone out!”
barked Sergeant Reinhardt. The sergeant quickly headed to the hatch and started
down the ramp, his RG rifle held at the ready.

Ryan waited
until the last Marine had reached the hatch before he followed. Over his
command channel, he knew the other three drop ships were also setting down as
well as the larger cargo drop ship that held the hover tanks.

Exiting the
hatch, Ryan quickly jogged down the ramp and came to a stop. They were at the
extreme western edge of the spaceport on what appeared to be some type of
parking lot for civilian vehicles. The parking lot was nearly empty, containing
only several large trucks, which obviously were used to carry fuel. Every
spaceport he had ever been on was similar.

“Immediate
area is secure,” reported Sergeant Reinhardt.

Looking over
toward the cargo drop ship, Ryan saw the two hover tanks emerge and move out
away from the ship with their powerful energy cannons aimed toward the heart of
the spaceport. The tanks also had two secondary railgun cannons as well as dual
explosive shell launchers.

“Sergeant
McElroy,” Lieutenant Guthrie’s voice came over the command channel. “Move your
tanks another hundred meters away and then stop. Spread your platoon out in a
skirmish line and wait for further orders.”

“We’re on the
move,” responded McElroy as he passed on to his platoon what they were supposed
to do.

“Captain
Nelson, this is Captain Morris. We’ve landed just outside the spaceport on the
north side. Hover tanks are deployed and we’re beginning to advance. No
resistance encountered so far.” Captain Morris was in charge of the four drop
ships and the cargo drop ship that had dropped from the other assault cruiser.

Ryan acknowledged
the message and then addressed his sergeants. “Sergeant Hunter, your platoon
will take point, Sergeants Lewis and Dewey, I want your platoons on Sergeant
Hunter’s flanks. Sergeant Reinhardt, your platoon will be directly behind
Sergeant Hunter’s and will serve as a reserve. Sergeant McElroy, your platoon
and the hover tanks will remain here until I call for you. Let’s go people; we
have a battle to fight and Kleese to kill!”

-

Moments later,
the Marines began moving up. Eighty Type Four battlesuits began to advance
toward the spaceport. The Type Four battlesuits were smaller and more form
fitting then the Type Three or Type Twos. The suits were black and gray with
small red battle damage lights at the joints and other areas. It was nimble and
quick. The Type Four battlesuit was eight feet tall and made out of a composite
material, which was stronger and lighter than that of the Type Threes. It
allowed for greater flexibility in movement that at times made the wearer
almost forget that he or she was incased inside one.

In addition,
the Type Four suit was capable of operating in full combat conditions for
nearly twenty hours before needing to be recharged. In non-combat situations,
the suit could keep its wearer alive for well over a week. The antigravity
plates in the boots were capable of generating a repelling force, which allowed
the Type Four battlesuits a limited flying ability. This ability was seldom
used as it made the Marine more visible and an easier target for incoming
weapons fire.

-

Ryan was in
between Sergeant Hunter’s platoon and Sergeant Reinhardt’s keeping a careful
eye on the advance of his Marines. A sudden shout over the general comm drew
his attention to the right flank where Sergeant Dewey’s platoon was.

“Popups!”
screamed a voice over the comm as several explosions shook the ground around
the Marine platoon.

“Take cover!”
ordered Lieutenant Guthrie, who was thirty meters to the right of Captain
Nelson. “Sergeant Hunter, see if you can spot those popups and take them out.”

“We have movement!”
called out Sergeant Lewis, who was on the left flank. “There are incoming conscripts
in Type Two suits; a lot of them.”

Ryan paused as
he used the sensors in his command suit to scan the immediate area in front of
them and to his left. All of his Marines showed up as small bright green icons
on his HUD. His suit contained a neural link, which was connected directly to
Ryan’s cortex. With just a thought he could control all the different systems
of the suit, including the sensors. Switching to a different screen, he saw
numerous red threat icons appear. From the looks of things, there were well over
one hundred conscripts in Type Two battlesuits rapidly approaching. He then
switched the screen back to show his Marines.

“We’ve got
popups as well!” reported Casey. “Both explosive rounds and energy beams.”

On Ryan’s HUD,
he saw several green icons suddenly turn amber and one a heart-wrenching red.
Red meant the Marine had been killed! “Sergeant McElroy, I need the two hover
tanks! Bring them up on the right flank and prepare to fire a salvo of
explosive rounds.” The explosive rounds contained in the hover tanks’ launching
tubes were ten times more powerful than the ones contained in the tubes on the
back of the Type Four suits. They could be devastating to an advancing enemy
and were quite capable of taking out the popup weapons.

“Sergeant
Reinhardt, I want each of your Marines to fire ten explosive rounds two hundred
meters in front of Sergeant Hunter and Sergeant Dewey’s positions,” ordered
Lieutenant Guthrie. “That seems to be where the majority of the popups are.”

Ryan suddenly
felt himself flying through the air as a popup explosive round landed nearly at
his feet. He landed hard and rolled, getting the breath knocked out of him.

“Captain!” a
frantic Lieutenant Guthrie called out, seeing Ryan go flying through the air.

“I’m fine,”
grated out Ryan as he fought to catch his breath. Switching his HUD to give a
diagnostic of his suit, he saw the battlesuit hadn’t been compromised though it
was dented in a few areas. Stretching out his right arm, he picked up his RG
rifle from where it had been knocked out of his hands. Looking down he flexed
his left hand into a metal fist satisfied that the suit was still functioning
properly.

Standing back
up Ryan saw a series of explosions suddenly began hammering the blastcrete of
the spaceport as explosive rounds from Reinhardt’s Marines landed. Each round
was fired from one of two small tubes on the back of the Type Four battlesuit.

“We’re in
position,” reported Sergeant McElroy. “Hover tanks are firing.”

A series of
larger explosions suddenly began rolling across the blastcrete, blasting meter
deep holes in the strong material and throwing debris up into the air. Black
smoke began rising up blotting out the sunlight.

“Taking
incoming fire from the conscripts,” reported Sergeant Lewis sounding worried.

Ryan drew in a
sharp breath. This battle was rapidly becoming more intense.

-

Casey was
behind a small wall where she was pinned down by the energy beam fire from
several popup weapons. The weapons had been embedded in the blastcrete and risen
up when the Marines came into close proximity. “Private Rios, I’m pinned down.
Can you spot the popups firing on my location?”

“Got em,” Raul
responded. He was twenty meters to Casey’s left behind some type of vehicle.
Raul was carrying an energy cannon instead of an RG rifle and stepping out into
plain sight, he fired two quick bursts at the two popups. Both exploded, throwing
pieces in every direction for ten meters. Raul nodded in satisfaction at the
two smoking holes in the ground. Raul suddenly yelled in pain as several RG
rounds struck his suit. He darted back behind the vehicle.

Looking at her
HUD, Casey was relieved to see that Raul’s icon was still green. “Are you
okay?”

“Yeah, but
I’ve got a couple of pretty good dents in my chest armor.”

Poking her
head up above the wall, Casey saw a number of the popups blocking their advance
being blown apart from the explosive rounds being fired by the two hover tanks.
It shouldn’t take long to clear them out and then they could continue their
advance across the spaceport.

“Sergeant
Hunter, I’ve got a problem,” Sergeant Lewis’s strained voice came over the
comm. “The conscripts are coming fast and I’m afraid they’re going to overrun
my position.”

Casey used her
sensors and saw that Lewis was right, the conscripts were moving quickly and in
only a matter of a few moments would reach Lewis’s Marines. “Corporal Parker,
Corporal Adams; get your squads over to support Sergeant Lewis.”

Ryan’s voice
came over the command channel. “Sergeant Reinhardt, move your platoon over to
the left flank to support Sergeant Lewis. Sergeant McElroy, bring up the two
hover tanks to just behind Sergeant Hunter. Your Marines will have to support
her advance. I want to get to those two buildings as soon as possible.”

“Sergeant
Lewis, you’re about to be involved in hand-to-hand combat,” warned Lieutenant
Guthrie as she hurried over to where the sergeant’s platoon was. “Use your Energy
Lances; the conscripts won’t have any as they’re not part of a Type Two suit’s
weapons.”

-

Alexander and
his squad had just reached Sergeant Lewis’s Marines when the first conscripts appeared.
Lewis’s Marines were laying down a heavy fire of RG rounds, explosive rounds,
and even some energy beam fire. The enemy were going down by the dozens, but
there were over a hundred of them. Alexander quickly drew his Energy Lance and
charged toward the nearest conscript. He swung the lance, piercing the conscript’s
suit and nearly cutting it in half. Around him, Alexander could hear screams
and Marines yelling as the fighting switched almost solely to hand-to-hand.

“Watch it, Corporal,”
yelled Private Richards as he lunged forward, chopping the head off a conscript
about to fire his RG rifle from point blank range into the corporal’s back.

“Thanks,”
Alexander said, shaking his head. Of all the people to have to step in and save
his life, it would be Private Richards. “Let’s finish this battle; we have some
Kleese waiting for us up ahead.”

The fighting
grew very intense as the conscripts in the towering Type Two battlesuits
struggled to subdue and kill the Humans in the more nimble Type Fours. The
difference in the battle were the Energy Lances. The lances could slice right
through the armor the conscripts were wearing, and their bodies began to litter
the landscape, many cut completely in two. Occasionally a Marine would fall,
the victim of RG rounds from close range.