Con-Red: Recourse Read online

  That fact was also the Chief’s suspicion and something he wished to be completely wrong about. The flash of light had seemed to occur from the same coordinates as the NS Stanton Orbital Naval Station. Had he not witnessed or been part of deaths before Duntan might have reacted differently, but the murder of two thousand or more souls only solidified his resolve and affirmed to all that they were indeed at war. Internally he pledged to avenge every single one of those who had died in space at that instant.

  Duntan tightened one hand into a fist as he looked back down and over the soldiers under his command. He triggered a status ping from his suit and almost immediately a tight laser beam transmission shot out from a transmitter on his shoulder into the clouds to his west.

  “Echo, Avenger One. Onboard sensors confirm large detonation in mid orbit within the vicinity of NS Stanton.” There was a pause from the pilot as he collected himself. “No other activity noted at this time. I suggest you boys hurry up, though.”

  “Roger that Avenger One. Thank you for the update. Keep us posted.” Duntan replied as his mind took in the name of the Dragonfire flight above them and thought it most appropriate for how he was feeling at the moment.

  His people were already back to work, however, without any hesitation. Duntan had no doubts whatsoever about his unit, but the combat engineers he had never worked with and therefore could not have gauged their reaction when they had their lives on the line. Their professionalism, however, had been instilled into them from the moment they had entered boot camp. The soldiers had been trained that the mission came first and everything else second, but one never really knew how they would react under the threat of real combat and the stresses brought upon them from the knowledge that their lives could be ended at any moment. These army combat engineers seemed be holding up just fine, though, with the TLaR out of the container and two of them were carefully maneuvering it into its proper location.

  Having conducted this same procedure five times in a row, the engineers had gotten faster and faster at setting up the relay stations. This last one they managed to install in just over twenty minutes even in the harsh environment. The wind had picked up considerably since their arrival and even threatened to sweep some of the team members off the ridge and down the almost twenty kilometer tall mountain. Hazards were a way of life, however, for both the Marine Special Operations Unit as well as the Combat Engineers, and neither group was slowed or discouraged in their work. Too many people were counting on them to complete this mission and they would all be damned if they let any of them down.

  Just then one of the engineers turned towards the Colonel and held up thumbs up. “Almost online sir. We’re running through the last of the diagnostics and should start receiving the ACAV feed momentarily.”

  Colonel Slaige nodded slowly towards the soldier and folded his hands across his armored chest, resting them on top of the fully retracted rifle that hung there in its own compartment, which was actually more like an indentation inside the armor plate. As the wind picked up once more, Duntan was glad he was fully enclosed inside the confines of his combat armor. The armor, which was actually more like a uniform because of its custom tight fit, was impenetrable to all elements and featured an internal environmental control system. The wearer could set any temperature and humidity they wanted and the suit would keep it as such. The combat armor itself could even manufacture its own air and water as long as the proper molecules were present in the surrounding atmosphere.

  Not only was it immune to extreme environments, its nanofiber weave construction allowed it act as an exoskeleton for the wearer, enhancing all their physical attributes many times over. The previous generation armors of this class were rather bulky units and had certain movement restrictions, but these new units were made from an improved material that gave similar protection in a more comfortable package. Stag Combat Armor, or SCA, was in a class by itself and was currently only issued to special operations units, whose work required all the advantages they could get in order to survive and complete their missions.

  His moment of satisfaction passed as quickly as it began, however, when a voice resounded within his helmet. “Colonel Slaige, Avenger One. ADS just detected incoming bandits. ETA three minutes. We’ll try to buy you as much time as possible, but you better hurry.”

  The Atmospheric Disturbance Scanner was actually a much older technology that had been revived and updated in the past thirty years, when military spending had been immensely increased to deal with alien threats beyond the United Planets Federations borders. It was designed to detect any object or craft travelling through a planetary atmosphere solely on the principle that anything moving through a medium, such as air, would create certain turbulences in its wake. These turbulences could in turn be monitored and tracked, allowing the system to determine a very accurate location and flight path of the object. The ADS could therefore detect any object within the atmosphere, whether it be stealth or not, but said object had to be traveling at speed. A slow moving entity or one designed to specifically to slice through the atmosphere would not register because its wake would be minimal. For this reason, the system was a single part of a layered planetary sensor network in which feeds from different sensors could form a complete picture.

  An icon on the Colonel’s heads up display flashed quickly and drew his attention, notifying him that one of the ACAVs, autonomous combat air vehicles, had moved into a position to receive and transmit laser datalink signals from the area. He was sure that more were being converted and flown out as they became available, but for the moment, this was the only one around, a precious commodity that could not be squandered. Duntan decided he needed to get the most intel he possibly could while he still had access to it.

  One of the perks to being in any of the special operations branches was almost unlimited access to military networks. Special operations commanders could login to these networks personally and gather any information they needed. Usually these networks contained tremendous amounts of data, from military and civilian communications to the tracking of all craft in space and planetary atmosphere. This time, however, most of the sensor feeds were empty. Some were down and not communicating, while other simply saw no signs of enemy activity. There were still a few civilian ships flying around, most moving towards ports throughout the continent, as well as an increasing number of military craft taking up defensive positions. He saved all the data he felt relevant into the suit’s internal memory before finally calling up the sensor feed from the ADS.

  The image instantly zoomed towards his location and the sky surrounding them. It quickly located the two Dragonfires from Avenger flight and through their IFF readings designated them green friendly units. After a moment the image moved away and focused on a yellow pulsing circle around an empty hole in the sky, however, from this emptiness waves of turbulence were projected in all directions behind it. The turbulence also told Duntan much about the craft coming towards it, most importantly that it was large, gunship sized at least, moving at very high speed, and was poorly designed for atmospheric flight. This later assumption came from the amount and type of turbulence coming off the craft as it moved through the atmosphere.

  A tremendous boom range out from the sky and caused Colonel Slaige to glance up as the ground beneath him shook slightly. He didn’t even have to check the ADS to know that both of the Dragonfire fighters had accelerated past the speed of sound in order to intercept the enemy as far away from the ground team as possible. Duntan wished them as much luck as he could while at the same time noting the stealth nature of the large ship coming towards them. If not for the ADS, they would never have detected it until it was already too late. Dragonfire’s also had nothing like the ADS onboard and so they would have to rely on the relay feed to guide them towards their target. Without long range sensors to help detect the enemy, the Army Air and Space Command pilots would have to get within visual range in order to launch their weapons. His role as a commander made him wish for more knowle
dge about the enemy’s capabilities, but that couldn’t really be helped at the moment.

  Duntan looked back down over his troops and saw the combat engineers getting up to start packing up some of their loose gear quickly. The relay was just about ready and they all needed to hurry before the hostiles showed up. With a minute left and nothing else to do Duntan changed the frequency filter on his laser receiver in order to get communications signals, both military and civilian. He needed more information on what was going on in the large residential zones, most notable Destona.

  The answers to his request overwhelmed his helmet speakers like water flowing from a destroyed dam.

  “Darling, I’m not sure if you get this message. I have tried to contact you earlier, but it seems like all communications are down. Probably another military exercise. Anyways, I just thought you would enjoy this video of your son taking his first steps. I do hope it reaches you and that you come home soon, we all miss and love you.”

  “Lani, please contact us soon and let us know what is going on. Your mother and I are starting to worry. First the communications get turned off and now the local authorities are telling us to stay indoors until told otherwise. I sure hope this is another drill. Please call…hold on, something is happening outside…”

  “…something came out of the sky just past midnight. Reports suggest multiple impacts in and around the Mironia Spaceport as well as the UPF Balaravi Military Base. We must restate that as of this moment these are unsubstantiated claims. FNN has been unable to contact any military representatives for comments of these reports or to discover the origin of communications network failure.”

  “This is the freighter Bright Star on approach to SP Mironia! Mironia control please respond! I have multiple onboard system failures and request immediate assistance!...Come on damn you! Hold together just a little longer!”

  “Colonel Goh to HQ, counterattack against SP Mironia ineffective. Second battalion sustained heavy casualties and was ordered to conduct a withdrawal. Major Levnova reports most casualties resulted from intense radiation…”

  “This is Captain Rasik requesting immediate evac. Hostile forces have gained control of Mironia and surrounding areas. They are heavily fortified and using unknown weapons. Estimate enemy strength to be company sized and expanding. We have observed multiple unknown ships landing within the SP’s perimeter as well as directed fire support from possible fighter or bomber contacts. Enemy soldiers seem nearly immune to BR-112 fire as you can see from engagement video….There have also been unconfirmed reports of soldiers committing intentional friendly fire.”

  “Sarge…Sarge what are you doing?! Enemy is downrange…Oh hell! Celia! Medic! Medic! Celia is down! Sarge put it down or I’ll drop you! What hell got into ….”

  With that Duntan cut off his speaker. There were way too many transmissions to get through. It seemed like the military or civil engineers were routing all normal network traffic through the laser relays and flooding them with signals. All of them seemed to be the same in terms of confusion as to what was happening. Some indicated witnessed accounts, while other contradicted those same accounts with other interpretations.

  The last transmissions, however, sent shivers down his spine and confused his mind as to what was really happening down there on the ground. There was fighting happening within a densely populated area and that did not bode well for anyone. And what was happening with the friendly fire? It was confusing, but he did not have the time to go over it all at the moment. The Colonel instructed his suit to download the video of the engagement mentioned by the Captain in the hopes of going over it whenever they had a spare moment.

  In the meantime he had a job to complete and they were running out of time. The chrono floating on his HUD blinked a little faster now and progressed into a yellow hue as it counted down the remaining seconds before the enemy craft was finally in proximity to them. Beside the countdown timer another icon appeared and started to pulse faster and faster. Duntan looked east and saw the shimmering outline of their transport closing towards them just as the bright sun peeked over the horizon and sent its rays towards them. His visor dimmed instantly to preserve his vision and dissipate any glare coming from the surrounding snow that might have affected him.

  “Alright people, time to get out of here!” Colonel Slaige commanded with a slight hint of satisfaction at the completion of their assigned mission. The relay stations were up and running and ready to contribute the continued war effort of the UPF military forces.

  “Chief, one-six-six high,” came a short burst from Gage, his heavy weapons expert stationed close to the edge of the outcropping.

  Duntan turned quickly and glanced up where indicated. At first there was nothing to seen, but when he zoomed in closer a fireball could be seen streaking across the sky towards the ground. To be sure he checked his bearings and confirmed his suspicion.

  “Avenger One, sitrep,” the request went out only a second before the streaking object impacted the ground below and disappeared within a cloud of dirt and debris. “Avenger flight come in. What’s happening up there?”

  A static filled reply came a few seconds later from a pilot that seemed to be struggling with something and breathing hard, “sir, Avenger Two here…barely. One bought it on the first pass. Interdiction mission failed, repeat, target still on approach to your location. I have sustained multisystem failure and had to break off for AREP. Sorry Echo, you’re on your own. Suggest evac out at the soonest.”

  “Copy that Avenger Two, thanks for the try. We are on our way out,” Duntan replied with his well wishes and hoped the Dragonfire’s automatic repair systems allowed the fighter to return to base, just as the CT-76 transport flew over them and settled into a hover.

  The rear of the transport was already opened wide like the warm inviting embrace of a loved one waiting to take them to freedom and safety. Unlike before, though, the ramp actually touched down against the snow covered ground to make the boarding easier as the pilots continued to fight the heavy winds in an effort to keep the Buzzard as stable as possible for all of the soldiers.

  “Move out! Now now now!” Duntan yelled out as he raced towards the ramp and stopped short against the side of the transport.

  He looked back and watched the rest of his team running up the ramp in their combat suits as the snow swirled around them and the wind howled while coming down the mountainside. The timer in his helmet had turned to red a few seconds before and the Colonel knew they were cutting it very close. Finally, with the last of his people running up the ramp, he took one last look back before jumping into the transport. As he landed on the reinforced deck Duntan saw the ramp smoothly rising and felt the transport vibrate as it accelerated into the air quickly.

  Something in the sky caught his eyes as the craft turned away from the outcropping they had all just evacuated. The colonel reached up and gripped the overhead support rails as he leaned towards the narrowing slit created by the closing rear doors. As he watched, the rolling patch of cloud above them disintegrated when multiple large projectiles punched through it. His eyes grew wide at the realization of what was happening and he only had time to brace himself and send out a mental warning to everyone before the shockwave slammed into the CT-76, tossing the large transport through the air as if it were a small bird.

  Between the blaring alarms and the tumbling of the transport Duntan was able to catch a glimpse of what remained of the ridge they had all been working on seconds before. In his mind he knew that the fireball and rising debris could be seen for kilometers, but what really caught his mind was further away. As the transport’s automated systems started to regain control of the unyielding craft the side viewports pointed into the direction of the planetary Headquarters where General Stelle was coordinating the Frontiera military forces. The helmet over his head covered the expression of horror and shock on Duntan’s face as the entire perimeter surrounding the complex exploded in a brilliant flash of high explosive light.

 
At the same instance the transport shuddered again and everything went dark for Colonel Slaige. He’s body seemed weightless for a moment just before his back slammed into the ceiling of the transport. Duntan thought he heard someone screaming in the background, but it could have just been his imagination as the world disappeared around him.

  Frontiera Command Center

  Kalka Mountain Complex

  The ground shook underneath them more intensely this time, causing General Stelle to reach out and grab the edge of the Combat Coordination Table to steady himself. This second barrage had landed right on top of them, targeting the mountain they were under directly. As flakes of dust fell on the holographic table before him, Brinek wondered whether the enemy knew they were hitting the main Command and Control Center for the entire military contingent on the planet. Judging by how much they were throwing at the base, the answer was somewhat obvious, but brought with it many more questions.

  Brinek looked up from the display and up to the ceiling, from which the layer of dust had fallen. The shockwaves passing through the mountain from the detonations had been strong enough to crack the reinforced shell covering the Command Room. Even as his eyes focused on the dark ceiling, however, the cracks had almost completely disappeared, having been self-repaired by the syncrete. He could see some of the larger cracks filling up with a foam-like material released from the structure itself and instantly harden to its original strength. The entire base had been constructed from the material and could heal itself, within reason, should the need arise. Satisfied that the shell would not collapse on top of them, General Stelle looked down to study his CCT once more.

  The holographic display showed a complete rendering of the surrounding area, including the mountain side housing the base itself as well as the surrounding area into which his ground forces had deployed to reinforce the perimeter. Brinek had two entire combat divisions, over twelve thousand men and women, assigned to the Command Headquarters and a majority of those troops had already been deployed. There were other company and battalion sized units strewn around the countryside, which had been on training maneuvers when the hostilities had begun. These units had been recalled as soon as the laser data network had come online. They would join their comrades in defense of the base if the need called for.