Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge (6 page)

Arizona Space Ship in orbit around the moon

10 August 2128

Abdul was walking to the engineering section of the P135 captured from the Libra. The patrol ship never had a name, instead simply the designator P135. It had been damaged when it was tractoring in an Earth shuttle into its cargo bay when the humans detonated a matter anti matter bomb that destroyed a quarter of the patrol vessel. That ship was almost completely repaired and Abdul was surprised to find that even though the P135 was newer than the Grub, it was not nearly as advanced.

The Flem were the galaxy's source when it came to space ship engines and artificial intelligence nodes. They never allowed their most advanced AIs to be sold, instead the very best they allowed to be sold were half the capability of those they kept for themselves. Since their race had disappeared, no one had been able to come close to duplicating their technology. The Flem manufacturing technology disappeared with them also.

“Grub, now that the frame of the ship is repaired will it be totally space worthy?” Abdul asked as he looked into the engineering section seeing the droids busily making changes to the different interfaces.

“Yes Abby, the ship will be space worthy but we need to make modifications to make the ship more compatible for human use. The controls modified for less muscle needed and for only a single set of arms. Damage is still being found in some areas. Estimate repairs will be complete in a month,” Grub replied.

“What about the ships computer system and AI, will we have any trouble with loyalty from the AI?” Abdul asked.

“This simple version of an AI will control the ship and do as it is ordered it really has no higher functions and running of the ship is more labor intensive than the ships being built on Earth. The ship was built by the lowest bid and the reasoning was that the crew can take care of any problems. Since the AI was built by the Flem, I do have the ability to upgrade it if you wish. It will improve interaction with the crew as well as provide an avatar to represent the ship. Raw processing ability will be almost as good as mine. I would like to make a suggestion for the name of the ship.”

“What would you like the ship to be called, Grub?” Abby asked curiously.

“My first thought was, Ares, God of the Spartans, in keeping with the names of all the ships already named, Nike and Bia. But the more appropriate name would be “Phoenix” as it rose from the ashes.”

“I will mention that to Dan. I don’t want to think of what the avatar will look like though. How is the other Libra ship coming along?”

“The Libra Cargo ship received only minimum damage so we have only needed to modify the interfaces for human use the same way we are doing for the P135. Inside its docking bay there is a unique smaller transport. I think you may want to copy. It is a long range raider, it has the capability for long distance missions, and has ten of its own fighters. Those fighters are not as lethal as our shuttles, but we could install the shuttles onboard and use it for reconnaissance or raids.”

“Grub, you have come a long way from when we first met though haven’t you? From wanting nothing to do with weapons to now suggesting tactics and strategy, I’m proud of you and when I tell Dan I’m sure he will be also. You are a valuable member of this team.”

“I only wish to see all of this unpleasantness over so we can see how I can contribute to a peace time world. I look forward to helping improve the productivity of your farmers and helping eradicate hunger. In my hold are seeds for crops that humans can consume that would easily grow in any of Earth's deserts.”

“Grub if we get rid of hunger and famine, make disease merely a memory, and have cheap abundant energy what will happen to our world's population? Wouldn’t we find ourselves looking for planets to expand to, and possible war with neighbors in space?”

“When there is peace I know of at least one planet that is close by and compatible, it was considered for colonization but the Flem did not want to be close to Earth fearing you would eventually be a threat to them. They never told anyone else about the planet either, figuring they could sell the information if needed at a later date.

“Grub, where is the planet located? Is it really habitable for humans?”

“Yes Abdul, the planet is actually a moon slightly smaller than Earth that is in orbit around a gas giant. Its gravity is slightly less than Earth with an atmosphere similar also to Earth. There is abundant plant life with half the planet covered by water. There are also many lower animal life forms but no higher life forms. It is located in a minor solar system oriented around a red dwarf. Approximately Sixty light years away,” Grub replied

“Grub any more information like this we should know about?” Abdul asked.

“Not that I know of, Abdul.”

Gray Panther Space Academy, Arizona

10 August 2128

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen please forgive me, but I decided to sleep in this morning,” Instructor Diego said with an evil smile on his face. “We did not complete our field exercise yesterday so we will be going out there this evening to complete the task. We are also modifying our schedule so you will be able to watch the Arizona Space Ship Bia perform its first weapons demonstration as it cleans up some space junk. The demonstration will start in about an hour. I was thinking that would give us enough time for me to go through the GP manual and see what you have learned, however I have some things I need to get done in my office, so everyone open your GP manuals and be ready at any time for a personal quiz from me.”

The cadets gathered as soon as the office door closed expressing their amazement at the instructor returning to duty so soon and not even having a limp. “Cadet Hagen, in my office now!” Instructor Diego roared from behind the door. All the cadets turned to look at Suzy as she ran to the door and almost opened it when she saw the shocked look on the other cadets faces. Stopping she knocked once on the door. She heard the command to enter the office. Walking up to the instructor's desk, she stopped and assumed the position of attention then holding a salute exclaimed, “Sir, Cadet Hagen reports as ordered.” While looking three inches above the instructors head. Diego continued to shuffle papers on his desk another five minutes, then looked up, and returned the salute.

“Cadet Hagen, I gave serious thought to have you removed from this class for failing to obey the orders of your Instructor and for conduct dangerous to your health and safety. I understand your uniform was deemed unserviceable and a new one provided to you. I am told you have potential as a shuttle pilot and we will be desperately needing them soon so I will take no action at this time, but I will be watching you more closely from now on. I do not need a reply from you since the effective range of an excuse is zero. You are dismissed.” Instructor Diego stated in a low voice dripping with venom. In shock Cadet Hagens training kicked in as she saluted, performed her best parade ground about face, and managed to depart the office as Instructor Bailey arrived eyeing her.

Bailey closed the door behind him he looked towards his old friend, “Dago you look like shit, what do you want from me?”

“Thanks. I love you too, asshole. I wanted you to look over and endorse my recommendation for Cadets Hagen and Andrews for the Arizona Medal of Valor. Even though they are cadets, they qualify by the regulations for the awards. Hopefully we can fast track it so they can receive them either on their graduation or when they first get to their new units,” Diego replied back smiling.

“I totally agree with you. I saw that poor girl carrying your web gear covered in your blood as she followed you into the hospital. The medics told me she probably saved your life even with your nanites. She did an outstanding job performing first aid on you, medics said they could not have done it better. So what did you have her in here for?”

“I wanted to stop her from thinking she will get any special treatment that she should just carry on with her training. I did not mention any awards. I don't want her to get a big head or think that I owe her. I was just getting ready to call Andrews in, but now I don’t have time because the flights going to watch the Bia shoot up some space trash. Should be interesting, are you coming too?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. So how are you doing? I thought you’d take a recovery day.”

“Hell I’d go crazy if I spent any more time in the hospital. After Carlota died my career is my life, or at least the only thing giving it purpose." Carlos replied, seeming to deflate slightly with the admission.

Watching the Arizona Space Ship Bia firing on the space debris it was immediately apparent to Cadet Andrews that the ship was shooting at an angle he recognized would make sure any misses went off into space and not get caught by gravity and forced into their own orbit around earth. While fascinated with the firepower he absently took his student notebook and made random notes about using gravity to fire around a planet. He watched the damage done by the phalanx and imaged each round fired being directed to its target. The ship's beamers, he realized, were only being used to clean up the additional debris created when the targets did not get destroyed from the phalanx or rail-guns. For the first time he got a dry throat as he imagined having to attack such a target, or ordering others to do it. Bile started to rise in his throat as he headed for the water fountain to wash it back down. Returning to his spot on the floor, he looked over at his flight and wondered would he really have what it takes. He caught Instructor Diegos eyes for only a second, and the old instructor winked at him and almost smiled before the normal scowl that usually populated his face returned. That wink really scared the cadet as he tried to imagine what the instructor had planned for him, especially after Diego had chewed out Suzy for saving his life.

Diego quietly laughed to himself knowing from experience the fear the simple wink had caused Andrews. Life was good, and later he would get the flight back out in the hills to finish digging holes where they had left off when attacked.

Arizona Space Ship Bia High Earth Orbit

10 August 2128

Portside weapons officer LT JG Askis was getting frustrated, Starboard weapons was clearly beating his team and he was getting tired of the damn computer cancelling his firing solutions. Using the computer override switch he started to get more hits and his weapons crew began to cheer as their score increased.

The ships avatar appeared before him grasping her bow with an arrow notched held in her left hand her wings were spread to their full width taking up the space in the compartment. The snarl on her face was one of a warrior as she pointed at Askis, “You fool! One hundred of your many misses are now in orbit and will soon complete their orbit and hit us!”

At that same time a copy of the avatar Bia had materialized on the flight deck and was recommending immediate course correction to avoid their own fire, calmly explaining that the port side had disabled her control of their weapons. Captain Erickson’s face was fully red as the veins in his neck were racing with those in his temple to be the first to burst as he received the course correction and allowed Bia to make them. He could not ever remember being this furious as he wanted to give the order to vent portside weapons control. Calmly, he ordered the master-at-arms to take a detail of Gray Panther Marines and slap the errant lieutenant in irons then take him to the brig. Red then ordered Bia to lock out the portside weapons control and to resume the fire mission with her giving the orders to the section.

When the master-at-arms entered the portside weapons control, he found the young lieutenant cowering in the corner as Bia watched over him, her face a mask of fury that immediately intimidated the master-at-arms. Bia moved to the side so his detail could perform their task as the lieutenant was more than happy to leave with the detail. As Red cooled he thought to himself he should have had an officer to head the detail to relieve the lieutenant, but this was not the US Navy, this was the Gray Panthers and procedures had not been setup yet for such a situation.

Gray Panthers Lunar Prisoner of War Stockade

10 August 2128

General Black got off the shuttle and was amazed that there was no loss of gravity as he anticipated, forgetting that the Gray Panther engineers had installed grav plates. This was his first trip off the planet and as he looked down the tunnels from the docking station, he felt like he was still on Earth. Major Patricia Paulsen greeted him as he passed through the airlock. The tunnels ahead were twenty feet wide and ten feet high. The walls, floors, and ceiling appeared to be made of gray steel. Light was provided through recessed lighting in the ceiling. The tunnel was empty and their steps echoed like distant thunder.

“Welcome to the moon, General. Do you have any questions for me before I take you to the holding area?” Paulsen asked.

“Maj. Paulsen, I’d like any impressions the prisoners have made with you and anything you think that is relevant. We want to learn how these aliens fight so we can prepare strategies and tactics to combat them. We have not discovered any weapons other than those they carry, no supporting arms or air cover. Their ground transports we found in the bay are not even armored or armed. We need to know their order of battle,” Gen. Black stated.

“Sir, the prisoners are actually friendly and do not mind answering any questions, now that they know they are not going to be slaves or executed outright. The main thing we have gathered is that the Jacka mercenaries from the planet Glory have cornered the market for intergalactic mercenaries, and will even fight their fellow clans, but only for an exorbitant price that few can afford. The majority of governments that have militaries ironically are pacifists and refuse to participate in any wars off their own planets, but will only fight to defend their own planets. There has been plenty of saber rattling and most planets have beefed up their militaries. The systems had a type of federation of planets called “The League of Planets” that worked like our UN. Regulating trade and keeping the peace. The Libras decided to test the veracity of the League of Planets and when nothing of significance happened they started knocking off as many of their neighbors as possible.

The Libra Race, believe it is their destiny to oversee the universe, to ensure all are equals, without fear, the only problem is that they are in fact set to rule the universe for the sake of power itself. Those opposed to them believe their motto should be "Obey, Comply, or Die."

Their citizens also refuse to fight off world so the entire venture is done by mercenaries and a professional fleet that will fight from space but not willing to get in close on the ground. That is a major reason they are coming for us, they plan to use humans as their cannon fodder on the cheap against those planets that have Jacka mercenaries.

"The only thing the Libras fear is the Republic. A coalition of planets that are aligned with one another, the Republic has mutual self-defense treaties and restricts almost all technology trading to members only. They have superior armaments and ships compared to anything the members of the old League of Planets can come up with. They only sell obsolete technology or weapons to the old League of Planet members. The only reason they will not accept the old members of the League of Planets into the Republic is their aversion to fight off world. All members of the Republic know if they are attacked their fellow members will come to their defense," the Major reported.

“It sounds like we have the option of hiring mercenaries to protect us or try to join the Republic. That’s some good information on the politics of the situation. What do we know about their tactics and strategies or order of battle?” Black asked again.

“Sir, they are good at talking and saying nothing when that subject comes up. The entire group of them from the lowest up to their Colonel is tight on their OPSEC when it comes to the order of battle. The only thing I can think of that might work is if you were to have a chat with the Colonel about possibly hiring his clan, and then explain about our conduct or war in regard to not harming civilians and seeing where that goes as far as seeing how their tactics affect civilians. My opinion, they want minimal damage to their targets so they can just take over once they win,” the Major added.

The pair stopped as they came to a secured hatch stenciled Hatch 1a Stockade Entrance with a large window that allowed them to see through to another identical hatch thirty feet further down the tunnel that was stenciled Hatch 1b stockade entrance.

“Open Hatch 1b,” Paulsen commed as the hatch opened with a soft hiss of air escaping. After walking through the hatchway she gave the order to close and for the next to be opened. “When we pass though here we will be in the stockade itself. The prisoners know if they get past the first hatch, the other hatch will stop them and if they are trapped between the two closed hatches the atmosphere will be vented. No one has tried to test us yet.” Passing through the hatchway she again gave the order for the hatch to be secured. Both were immediately assaulted by the stench of ammonium.

“God damn, it smells like my spinster aunt’s house used to, with her dozen cats,” Black barked out in surprise as he tried to cover his nose and mouth.

“Sorry about that sir, we take it for granted by now,” Paulsen explained.

“Why the hell hasn’t anyone change the kitty litter here?” Black asked as the tears started to leak out.

“Sir, this is the way they prefer things. They actually mark their territory; especially those with family,” the Major continued.

“How did we end up with their families here?" Black queried.

“Well sir it appears about a quarter of the residents we have here are camp followers, some wives and family, servants, independent sales people that sold to the mercenaries, and…”

“Prostitutes,” Black finished for her. Looking out into the huge bay it had been setup so all the occupants would have a small space to themselves. Instead, things were moved into clusters, dividers had been made from blankets and any material they could find.

“Have there been any problems with discipline or the care and feeding of our guests Major?” Black asked as the alien Colonel and his aide approached.

“None yet, sir,” the Major replied and then turned to the Colonel and saluted him. “Col. Blade, this is General Black, the leader of the Gray Panthers.”

Saluting the General, the alien said, “General it is a pleasure to meet you. I would have preferred to meet in other circumstances.”

“Perhaps like on the battle field?” the General replied with a slight smile, since he had been warned a full smile was seen as a challenge among the Jacka.

The Colonel replied with a loud laugh that was accompanied with a purring sound. “General, perhaps it is true that warriors are a species of their own regardless of the body their spirits are trapped in.”

“Perhaps Colonel, is there a place we can sit and talk without being disturbed?” While waiting for a reply Black used the moment to size up the Colonel. The Colonel was dressed in a full uniform of a Union Infantry officer missing only his side arm. The affect was slightly lost though as the sandy haired alien had a huge mane of hair protruding from the neckline of the uniform and a second set or arms below the top pair. Both sets of arms were highly muscled, but the end of the arms had paws with a huge thumb contrasting the other three fingers on each hand, surprisingly there were no claws. Each leg was huge and the black boots were slightly splayed out for a wide foot. Looking back at the Colonels face it was as wide as it was huge. Where he expected to see ears there was just a small black hole on both sides of his head. His eyes were like a pair of fiery orange orbs with a slight pinprick of black in their center separated by the bony nose ending in fat black nostrils. The hair under his mouth was shaped into a gray goatee. Surprisingly the only thing missing was the whiskers sticking out from around his nose. The Colonel let out a slight yawn that showed an intimidating set of teeth complete with fangs at least seven inches in length. Along the gum line the fangs were yellowed and the gums turning black.

“Is there anything else you would like to see, General?” the Colonel asked after noticing he was being studied.

“My apologies, Colonel. You are the first of your species I have met, the resemblances to our lions are amazing, but I’m sure you’ve heard that already.”

“I have not General, what is a lion?”

The General pressed his comm badge and requested a full size avatar of a lion be projected next to him. The reaction from the aliens was immediate as they charged at the avatar and continued to go through the projection until they stopped, puzzlement showing on their faces before they realized it was only a projection.

“My apologies General, the lion you are projecting there is part of our ancient history when our species battled for domination of our planet. The lion was our mortal enemy that we wiped out ten thousand years ago. They are still part of our religion, like your devil.”

“Remove avatar please,” Black ordered. “I am sorry General, no offense was meant. Moving on, I want to improve the quality of housing we have given you. We will separate families so they can be together. Officers and senior NCOs will also have improved privacy. I will also house civilian professionals separately so they may perform their jobs out of the public eye if you wish.” Black offered.

“That courtesy would be much appreciated,” the Colonel replied as he emitted a very soft purring noise.

“Colonel, if I were to hire you to attack an enemy of mine what would be the procedure?”

“That would depend on the duration of the operation, number of troops needed, and the difficulty involved.”

“OK, the scenario is a backward planet with no space assets, where we want to capture the planet with the infrastructure intact and minimal loss of native life. The population is thirty billion,” the General replied.

“Sounds like a very similar operation I was on recently,” the Colonel said with a straight face. “If the local population surrenders easily that would be the best case scenario. If there is an active resistance movement then it can get quite expensive.”

“Colonel, after inspecting both of your ships, I can’t understand how you expected to do much with your limited number of troops and no heavy equipment or supporting arms,” the General admitted. “If your troops had landed our air forces would have destroyed anything on the ground before our troops even had a chance at them. Even if they had established a major foot hold we would have just nuked them, can you explain how you planned to perform your mission?”

“You would use nuclear weapons on your own planet?” The Colonel asked in shock.

“Colonel in our last world war, two cities were destroyed by nukes, not too long ago our own capitol was destroyed by nukes and we retaliated with nukes. We are a blood thirsty people when attacked and will do anything to protect our people,” General Black stated.

“That changes many perceptions we had about our mission. We expected there to be only a minimal space program at best and much less advanced technology on your planet. We were going to get an initial foot hold on the Island Nation Australia, then get everything we could grab from the planet before the main force arrived and completed the job. Would the other governments of your world actually have come to Australia’s aide?”

“Colonel, if the Aussies did not kick your ass on their own, which I believe is totally possible since their military, simply put, is “Bad Ass”, and would have done a respectable job of representing the world’s ability to defend itself, we would have come to their aid with almost every country on the planet joining in. We would have also nuked you if we were not able to win through conventional warfare. Two things humans are not good at, losing and submission,” General Black stated softly smiling at the shocked look on the Colonel's face.

“It would appear our initial plan would not have worked then. I will admit that now that I have seen your technology and the determination to use it. Our plan was very simple, have our ship drop a few rocks from orbit, then land right behind them. Then advance from there, if we met any strong resistance we would just with drawl then drop rocks again on the enemy accumulation then proceed on and repeat until our objectives have been met. It is very simple and that way I do not lose many of my troops. The worst case was to use special weapons in your atmosphere to neutralize your technology, but it is obvious your space force would not allow that to be an option. I am assuming your question of hiring mercenaries was strictly hypothetical.”

“Yes it was, Colonel. I think we can do the job with our own resources. To show you my appreciation for your honesty I will have building materials brought to you so your group can modify the living areas within reason, and on two conditions. The first condition is that you give me your word that the materials will not be used to try to escape or be used against your guards. The second condition is that the highest condition of cleanliness be observed including the restriction on “marking” territory,” Black offered magnanimously as he turned to leave.

“Thank you, General Black, I can accept those conditions.” Standing ramrod straight he towered over the General as he saluted. Black returned the salute as he continued to the hatch, the Major already gave the order to open and he proceeded through then stopped to catch his breath after the hatch closed. “I don’t care if you need to get every air scrubber, or whatever the hell they are called, in the inventory in there before I ever go through that stench again, understood Major?” The Major's reply was ignored as Black was already deep in thought as he headed for the docking bay trying to figure out how to use the information he had just learned.