Peace World (19 page)

"You
can
go.  But not until I enter the ship.  Now come."

"Come on," Eli urged Jonah, before following after Treel.  "We'll be fine."

Jonah slapped his hands against his thighs, but tagged along reluctantly. 

Treel understood the young human's misgivings.  He was equally as anxious to be free of them and only needed the safety they provided for a few minutes longer.  Once he found his way into the ship, they could be on their way.

He reached the portal and tested the handle inset into the metal.  It was locked.  At least his people had learned enough caution when facing these humans to lock the entrances.  That was progress.  The Minith stepped to the right of the entrance and waved his palm across the sensor hidden there.  An immensely satisfying "click" greeted him.

Returning to the portal, he turned the inset handle and pulled.  His efforts were rewarded, and he stepped into the—

—butt of a Minith pulse weapon.

He had a moment to process the knowledge that he was falling before he hit the ground. 

CHAPTER 24

Mouse observed the vid screens in his command carrier as the ground battle unfolded.  The views provided by the cameras in the circling jets offered remarkable detail.

The alien fighters exited their transport vehicles three kilometers from their respective motherships.  That was the point where they encountered the initial remnants of human survivors.  When they hit the ground, they immediately engaged with the humans—most of whom were injured or still in shock from the unexpected landings.  The Minith quickly put down what limited resistance the humans offered and established dual lines of attack.  Within minutes, a kilometer-long line of aliens formed to the east of the prison and began advancing toward the south.  The long line of Minith that formed to the west of the prison advanced north.  

The damage and confusion caused by the mothership's landings took their toll on the surviving human forces.  The tanks, artillery and foot soldiers that remained battle-capable struggled to sort themselves out and establish defensive positions but, for the most part, were unable to defend against the ruthless onslaught of Minith attackers. 

As Mouse watched, the aliens worked their way through the humans with scythe-like efficiency.  The inexperienced human fighters—still relatively new to the concept of war—were no match for the highly trained and aggressive aliens who showed no sign of slowing their relentless march.  Their longer legs carried their blazing pulse weapons forward rapidly, preventing any humans left behind their lines from catching up and offering harassing fire.  Although the humans still outnumbered the aliens by more than four to-one, the numbers advantage was rapidly shrinking.  For every Minith soldier killed, twenty humans died. 

*     *     *

Soo watched his own video feed of the battle.  It was limited to what his ground forces could observe, but it was enough.  His warriors were working their way through the weak human defenses as they had been trained.  They remained in battle-line formation, concentrated their fire on those in front of them, and moved quickly and without pause.  They were a relentless wave of death and destruction that could not be stopped.

The humans were braver than he had given them credit for being.  Instead of dropping their weapons and running, as he had anticipated, they stood their ground and died trying to fight.  It was clear to the experienced general that the sheep were no match for his warriors, especially now that his fighters had succumbed to the bloodlust—the overpowering feeling of invincibility that overcame the Minith during battle.  The rage and hormones flooding their bodies and minds was a powerful thing to observe.  The only thing better than watching thousands of warriors in the throes of bloodlust was
being
one of the warriors.  Once a Minith fighter experienced that feeling, it was something to be craved over and over again.  It was the main reason Minith soldiers remained soldiers for life.

*     *     *

Within five minutes of the first carrier being deployed, Shan knew things on Earth had changed since his last visit.  Of the twenty carriers in the first wave, nearly a fourth had been blasted from the sky, despite the evasive tactics employed.  His memories of docile farmers and the jokes he told about two-legged sheep did not correlate to the vicious attacks his forces experienced as they sped across the cityscape toward the human leadership structure. 

These
humans were fighters.  Which meant he and his soldiers were in trouble.  It is one thing to throw several thousand trained fighters at a world ready to roll onto its back at the first hint of violence.  It is quite another to submit those thousands against an army of a world that held billions.  One scenario made for heroes and raucous jokes, the other for suicide and martyrs.  Shan was all in favor of heroism and living to tell his progeny about his exploits on distant worlds.  He had zero desire to become a statistic.

As the second wave of carriers departed the two ships under his command, he reached out to General Soo.

"What is it, Shan?"

"General, we are facing heavier resistance than expected.  The human aircraft are shooting my warriors from the sky."

"And?"

Shan was taken aback.  The problem was obvious—they were outnumbered and faced superior technology.  He was suddenly torn between backing down from his superior and continuing to express his reservations.  Before he could decide, General Soo's voice cut through the command center again.

"When your forces land, the human fighters will cease their attacks.  We experienced the same here.  In the sky, the human craft are superior, but on the ground, the humans are no match for our trained warriors.  Tell your soldier at the console to accept an incoming video channel."

Shan nodded at the male seated at the controls, and half of the video wall lit up with a scene from the other side of the planet.  Shan immediately recognized the panorama that filled the view.  Minith warriors were aligned in a classic battle line.  The formation of soldiers fought their way easily through the timid human defenses.  The defenders rarely had a chance to fire their strange projectile weapons before being cut down by the relentless assault of the advancing line.  It was no contest.

As he watched, half a dozen carriers landed to the right of the battle line.  Scores of additional warriors exited the vehicles quickly and joined in the slaughter of the humans.

"Questions, Shan?"   

 "No, General," he responded abruptly.

"Good.  Now get your forces into that building and capture the human leadership."

"Yes, sir," he said, but the communication path between the ships had already been cut by Soo.   Shan felt like a scolded child and began pacing. 

The third wave of carriers departed his ship.  

Shan appreciated the scene he had just witnessed.  He hoped Soo was correct in his assessment of the situation.  If the human fighters continued to attack them after they landed, they had little hope of success. 

The wall of screens showed two carriers from the third wave explode less than a hundred meters from the ship.  The sight only served to heighten his concern, but all he could do was push on with the orders he had been given.

*     *     *

The alien vehicles approached the center of the city and dispersed to the buildings surrounding the park.  As Randalyn watched through the third-floor window, the Minith carriers landed on top of the buildings and began rapidly unloading soldiers.  The move was a surprise.  She—and probably everyone else—had expected them to land on the ground and fight their way to the Leadership building.

It was a problem she had discussed with Grant before.  The strategy of battle was not something that could be learned easily.  He told her it was his major concern, should Earth be attacked.  Specifically, their forces would be at a disadvantage against trained, experienced commanders.  The ability to anticipate what your opponent will do, and establish proactive countermeasures before they do it, was a key component to success.  Without experience or training, commanders are often at the mercy of their instincts—which usually means reacting to the enemy's actions instead of planning their own.  She now understood what the ancient warrior meant.  The commanders in the park across the street were probably wondering how to respond to the Minith's unexpected move.  The battle had not yet begun, and they were already in reactionary mode.

"They are also going to land on our roof," Primo Esteval announced calmly.  Randalyn glanced in his direction and recognized the truth in his statement.  She mentally kicked herself for not considering the same thing.  If anything, the Minith would concentrate as many of their forces as possible on this building. 

"What?" Quasan stopped pacing.  The frightened look on his face was mirrored in several of the other Culture Leaders.  Sabatina quietly picked up her weapon from where it rested. 

"The Minith are landing on the rooftops," Suyung repeated.  "I have been on this roof.  There is room for two or three carriers to land.  No more."

"We have soldiers on the roof.  They will protect us." 

"I am not sure if we can rely on that as a certainty, Quasan," Esteval responded.  The sounds of weapons being fired suddenly entered the room from above and through the windows.  The battle had begun.  The Leader Elect hefted his rifle and thumbed the safety button, sending them a clear message.  They needed to be ready, just in case. 

Quasan countered by restarting his pacing and muttering a Peace mantra. 

Randalyn tuned out the sound of the battle beginning outside and forced herself to ignore the others and consider the problem rationally. 
What would Grant do?
   That was her primary thought, and she gave herself over to the problem.

The Leadership Building had been specifically designed as a simple building.  Forgoing the opulence and glamour of the past, their predecessors went for minimalism.  They correctly understood that leaders of a Peaceful society did not require pomp or circumstance.  Like many of the buildings in this part of the city, it was relatively small and squat at five stories tall.  That meant the roof—and the aliens landing there—were only two floors above them.  It was unlikely that the aliens would attempt to use the elevator, so the stairway at the center of the building was the most likely avenue by which they would come.

Randalyn raced around the table to the chamber door.  Ignoring the confused looks from her fellow Culture Leaders, she opened the door and confronted the trio of guards posted there.  Across the large outer office that separated their chamber from the hallway beyond, another trio of soldiers waited.  All turned to face her.

"The Minith have landed on the roof," she told the six as she squeezed by the first set of armed men.  She rushed for the far door that led to the hallway beyond.  "They will be coming down the stairway just down the hall.  Let's go."

"Randalyn, is this wise?"  Primo Esteval was right behind.  His question had merit.

"I don't see any other choice. Do you?"  She pushed through the guards outside and made for the stairs thirty meters away.

The soldiers looked at each other, confused by the sudden change in their orders.  But they were trained by a lifetime of civility and tradition to obey anything a Culture Leader said.  They quickly followed, as did Esteval.

When they reached the stairway, Randalyn turned to one of the soldiers.

"Go downstairs.  Send up reinforcements.  We have to keep the Minith from getting inside."

"Yes, Culture Leader." He nodded and rushed down the stairs.

"Everyone else, we are going up," she informed the five remaining soldiers.  Before setting off, she turned to Esteval.  "You should wait here with the others."

In response, the Leader Elect slipped past her and headed upwards, quickly followed by the five soldiers.

"You are not leaving us behind," Suyung Trey announced as she and Diekela Mamun reached the stairway.  Randalyn looked beyond them.  Sabatina and Quasan were nowhere in sight, which was probably best.  She offered a curt nod and headed up, racing to catch the group
above them
. 

The sound of rifle fire increased as they ascended the wide marble staircase, a testament that a battle raged up top.  Similar battles were no doubt taking place on most of the buildings surrounding this one.  Randalyn did not know how many alien carriers were involved, or how many troops each could carry, but that did not matter now.  As Grant was fond of saying, it is what it is.

*     *     *

Shan observed the battles that were beginning on the rooftops of the target and surrounding buildings.  As Soo had suggested, the human aircraft had ceased firing upon their carriers once they landed among the human forces.  Apparently, the humans were concerned with killing their own forces.  It made no sense to the commander.  Why not continue to pour fire upon their attackers?  Sacrificing a few of your own troops for ultimate victory was the correct strategy.  Withdrawing their aircraft from the battle was a poor tactic and an obvious weakness.  It was a weakness that gave him an advantage, though, so he reveled in it.  Perhaps the humans had not changed as much as he had feared.

The waves of fighters being delivered to the enemy had taken a serious pounding while en route.  Hundreds of his warriors had died without ever firing a shot.  Now that they were engaging in direct soldier-to-soldier contact, the advantage had passed to his forces.  The masses of human soldiers assembled in the open areas and streets below the buildings were effectively out of the fight, which evened up the numbers substantially.  The scenes unfolding on the rooftops proved that the human soldiers were no match for his fighters. 

The tide of the battle rapidly turned in favor of his forces.  On several buildings, the human defenders had already been eliminated.  In those cases, his forces protected their rear from attack while also firing on the humans below.  The defense was heaviest on the building which housed the human's Leadership Council.  That was no surprise.  He expected that they would defend it more heavily than the others.  But even there, his troops were systematically eradicating the much larger human force.