HARM (2 page)

“
HARM X-14 is ready for operation
,
” the
AI
spoke out.

“Great.” Joshua spoke out.  “All weapons and systems check out.  X-14 is moving out.  Will head to Waypoint
Charlie to rendezvous with Bravo Company, 3
^rd
armoured battalion
.”    

“Open the bunker doors,” Janet directed. “Inform General Garcia that X-14 is on its way
to
join
the blocking force
.” 

The mecha walked forward up the ramp from the underground hanger to bunker exit.  At low speed the full of extent of its agility wasn’t evident at all.  It moved like a lumbering four story high giant, but without the sound of heavy whining of motors or hydraulic actuators. The synthetic muscles that powered the machine flexed and pulled it along with only a slight whirring sound that was drowned out by the thumping of its heavy footsteps.

“Good luck, Josh
ua
,” Janet spoke, even as the technical crews in the hanger all raised a cheer.  “Go kick some alien butt. It’s time for some payback.”

“I’ll be ready – X-14 and I – we’ll do the job.  We’ll stop them or buy you more time.”  Joshua pivoted the mecha around and gave a thumbs up with the mecha to his crew, raising more cheers.

When Joshua was clear of the bunker, the massive doors closed again and Janet spoke again off comm.  “Continue with the evacuation of all personnel to Site B.  This facility is shutting down as scheduled.”

****

Joshua followed his visual direction indicators
to
run X-14 towards Waypoint Charlie once he cleared of the bunker.  His main gun was cradled across the front in the travel position between both of his arms to reduce strain on the gun arm from the heavy mass of the tubular coil-gun.  The machine's synthetic muscles flexed to pushed it to maximum speed within seconds.  He dodged and leapt over abandoned vehicles, trees, fences, and drainage ditches with ease as he headed for the 8 km distant waypoint.

Sensors were set to maximum range and he did not pick up any enemy units on the tactical display.  A scattering of friendly units in blue that were shown around him.  Zooming out, using the Army tactical net data, he could see friendly units retreating from the south east at high speed towards the defensive position at Waypoint Charlie.  Behind them were a dozen red markers indicating the advancing spider-mechs of the Newts.  A long series of blue markers suddenly appeared on the southern edge of the display.  Identifying the new friendly units elicited a groan from Joshua.  It was a refugee convoy heading to Huntsville that had just entered the combat zone.  Even as he watched, two spider-mechs stopped then began moving south west to intercept.

The Blue Newts had brutally attacked the Earth ten months earlier.  There had been no communications, just a massive meteor bombardment from the asteroid belt.  Astronomers had spotted the incoming meteor swarm late and governments had to prepare for the worst with barely a month of warning.  Although these meteors were not global extinction causing events they were large enough and fast enough to obliterate cities on impact.  A single meteor strike would have been bad, but there were hundreds of them.  Several were much larger too, capable of causing sizable tsunamis in both the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans where they were projected to strike.

The space faring nations of the 21st century only had limited space-based weapons capability to target a just over a third of the swarm with nuclear weapons.  The largest rocks and the ones striking on home territory were given priority.  The United Nations was in an uproar over this self-serving behavior, but the nations with the means protected their own first.  Still, a few weapons were diverted from meteors that would strike in Siberia or North Dakota to save major cities like Karachi and Sydney.

The nets had been buzzing with conspiracy theories about the approaching meteor shower as no one could explain it.  Was is a mystery swarm from deep space?  A cometary impact in the asteroid belt?  No one knew the cause.  Everyone did agree it was unbelievable that over half would strike near or directly on large cities.  Still, no one really believed the alien attack theories it until it was too late.

The meteors would strike over a 12 hour period, impacting over most of the planet as it rotated.  Ninety percent of the intercepted rocks were destroyed, including the largest ones.  The world breathed a sign of relief that was cut off as the remaining meteors struck home.  The devastation had been intense around the globe with fires raging out of control everywhere.  Casualties were still in the millions despite the evacuations.  The Earth was covered in a thin smoky haze during the day and burned a fiery red at night.

Hundreds of cities spanning the globe had been destroyed or damaged.  In the United States, Grand Forks, Wichita and Knoxville had been hit, but an interception malfunction had allowed San Diego to be destroyed by a nearby impact. 
Tragically, Toronto in Canada, had also been devastated when another interception had only partially succeeded. 
In
Europe, Sheffield was a smoking crater along with Dusseldorf and Krakow.  Nairobi was gone and so was Hyderabad.  In Chin
a, the destruction of Shanghai had stunned the country
due to another failed interception. 

As disaster relief efforts ramped up the aliens revealed themselves.  Their invasion fleet unmasked and their fusion drive flares began appearing in space as they decelerated towards Earth.  Global hysteria peaked and mass panic ensued.  Rescue efforts broke down, but the pre-disaster mobilization of military forces allowed central authority in most nations to keep order.

The first six alien landers came down in the eastern United States near Richmond, Virginia.  They were met by F-24E interceptors of the First Fighter Wing out of Langley AFB.  The first battle between alien and human was very short.  The F-24Es gave a good showing and took down two landers, but took 70% losses in return.  Each group of landers were met by airpower and the outcomes were similar.  This type of encounter occurred repeated around the globe except in the third world where the local air forces were generally swept aside.  The
battlefield
skies were soon cleared of military aircraft for both sides as it was such a lethal environment to be in.  It was missile versus laser and neither side was well prepared for the other.

A protracted ground war ensued as the aliens had landed all over the countryside.  Alien concentrations were particularly heavy in the south eastern United States where they seemed to want to consolidate their position.  Fighting was heavy, and millions of civilians perished as they couldn’t escape the aliens fast enough.  More cities burned and highways were clogged with refugees.  The fighting had been going on for almost seven months now.

The battle for Atlanta had started two months ago and the city had burned again after the defenders had put up a protracted fight around it and in it.  Atlanta had ultimately fallen and refugees streamed west and south.  General
Jose
Garcia had used brilliant strategy and tactics in its defense, but the cost of resistance had been high.  After the fall of Atlanta, the aliens began moving towards the north west to cut America in half.  As the aliens expanded their territory they killed everyone and reduced cities to ruins in a scorched earth policy.  There was not mercy offered, in fact, there was no communication at all.

***

A bing sound alerted Joshua to an incoming visual communication.  An image of General Garcia popped up in a window.  “X-14, come in,” spoke the General in a gravelly voice. 

“General, Sir,” Joshua replied. 

“At ease, Lieutenant. I have a situation here.”  Garcia looked very tired.  He paused and rubbed one hand over his head, ruffling his field cap.  He then fixed his gaze on Joshua.

“Can your fancy machine really do what Dr. Chan says it can do?”

“That and some more, Sir.” Joshua confidently confirmed. “Best way is to show you.”

“We both know I have orders to protect the research lab, but you might have noticed that a large refugee convoy is out in the open to the south of your position.  There’s over a
thousand
civilians in that convoy.  They only have a light escort with them so they’re sitting ducks for the spiders going against them.  I'm stretched thin right now and you are the only unit close enough to get them through.  I’m ordering you to take out those spiders and rejoin the blocking force ASAP.”

“I have the convoy marked,” Joshua confirmed, “I’m on my way.”

“You stop those spiders, son.  Save those refugees and give me some good news.  Stay alive, I don’t need any more dead heroes.”  The general then paused.  “Good hunting.”

“Yes, Sir.  Over and out.”

A moment later, a private channel from Dr. Chan pinged him.  He immediately responded.  “Yes,
D
octor?”

“We overheard that transmission from the general,” Dr. Chan spoke, also fixing her gaze on him.  “Our work here is critical for the war effort.  We are evacuating, but we will need time. 
Bravo Company
will buy us most of that time, but they are outmatched.  I’m sure they will need your help.  I want you to save that convoy, but remember we are depending on you too.”
Her voice then went
cold
.
“Do what needs to be done…
  We will see you at the rendezvous later.
”

“I got the message,” Joshua dourly replied.  They did call her the  Dragon Lady after all.  “Let me take care of things.   Over and out.”

Joshua then turned his HARM south east, continuing his run to cut off the rapidly advancing spider-mechs.  Three kilometers ahead there was an old abandoned factory.  The steel and concrete structures would make for good cover.  He would be in position first for an ambush.

His mecha crouched behind the weathered and rust streaked wall of a raw materials silo.  From his concealed location, he launched a small drone or RPV to hover within a grove of trees in the area to monitor the approach of the of the two spider-mechs.  The spider machines were huge with flattened and segmented bodies that were twelve metres long.  They stood nine metres high on six legs, three per side, a few short for an arachnid, but the name had stuck anyhow.  They scuttled up to 70 kph, and could jump over low obstacles.  They were almost black in color with dots of red light covering their armoured shells.  A vertically elongated, weapons blister on their back contained their primary beam weapon.  This particular spider type had been code-named Black Widow as they were a very lethal, heavy combat mech.

This was the second time Joshua had seen one up close, even if it was through his RPV's sensors.  The first time had been as a close air support pilot who had run out of missiles.  He had pulled a crazy
,
aerial maneuver
to
close in and
kill an alien mech with a long, sustained burst of tank-killing cannon rounds, but
had been shot
down in the process.  While recovering in the hospital, Dr. Chan had dragooned him into the HARM program as extra medical tests indicated he had a high synchronization rate with the experimental mental cybernetics she was developing.  He had resisted at first, as he was a pilot, not some robot jockey, but potential of the HARM series mechas grew on him over time.

"
Drone has been detected, beginning evasive
manoeuvres
.
"  After issuing the notice, the HARM's AI immediately began retreating and jinking the RPV.  Laser flashes from the spider-mech's secondary lasers indicated multiple shots against the RPV.  Several seconds later, the feed from the drone went dead. 
"
Drone destroyed
,
" reported the AI.

That blew it.  The Newts knew someone was around and he was blind now.  He extended a tiny camera on his
mecha’s
head above the silo to see again.  He could see the spider-mechs were advancing more slowly and had their primary guns pointed in the direction of the factory, but the wrong part of the factory.  Readying his coil-gun he aimed past the silo to where the first spider-mech would appear.  Safety off.  Coil-gun in single mode, he thought. 
“
Safety off. Single mode, acknowledged
,
” replied the AI.  Single shot mode was the most powerful mode for the gun, but it would take 10 seconds before the capacitors would recharge for the next shot.