Chapter 25

Battlefront (TY53-month 630)

We moved quickly, bringing the equipment and shuttles forward as we progressed. We bivouacked on the trail while a fresh team moved in to operate the machinery and take the point. In the morning, we leapfrogged to the front and rotated the night shift back for rest. We were executing the same strategy with the volunteers, moving quietly through the jungle with the Yolngu Tribe.

«What’s the status, Cricket?»

«Marines have launched multiple bombardments into the landing site. Some have gotten through the Sa’arm defenses. The Sa’arm have countered with their own bombardment and the two forces are moving toward each other. A secondary force is moving generally northeastward, slowly. Our observations indicate this is a food-gathering mission.»

«There’s no sign they are aware of us?»

«None. Based on known patterns, they are likely to ignore our progress until such time as we demonstrate we are a threat.»

«Estimated time for us to encounter?»

«Day after tomorrow at 0600. It seems the Marines are not making as fast progress toward the site, but they are being shot at.»

«I hope we can stay under the radar for a while. I’m worried about them digging in, though. And reproducing. We need to step up our speed.»

«Sections 3 and 4 are the farthest out because they have the longest way to cut in. I advise you to move Section 3 to support the efforts of sections on the other roads. Of course, Section 2 is closest, as you planned. In this way, we can get close by tomorrow night. Then just wait for the signal from the Yolngu.»

«Make it so. I will transport to the front line of Section 2 tomorrow afternoon.» Until that time, I continued to monitor the map and progress displayed by Teddy in the Citadel.

We started moving a little faster and I switched to three shifts instead of two. I needed everyone to have as much rest as possible when we started fighting.

We were within fifty kilometers of their perimeter by nightfall. Instead of moving in, we turned the equipment and started a firebreak parallel to the perimeter. As the firebreak was completed, volunteers and Militia fighters filled the break. At the front of the lines, our firefighters began lighting fires and sending them toward the Sa’arm. By midnight, nearly a thousand-kilometer front had been lit and contained from the rest of the jungle by the firebreaks. Before long, the Sa’arm would have no doubt that they had another front to fight on.

The area nearest the Sa’arm was primarily bamboo forest. There was a lot of bamboo scattered around the Eldorado continent, partly because it grows so fast. Even though most species will reach full growth in just sixty days, it can still live over a hundred years unless harvested. In the very early days of Tara, bamboo had been one of the major raw materials for food replicators, along with the planet’s native algae. Burning a portion of bamboo forest wouldn’t have as much impact on the ecology as if we had burned tracts of nut and fruit trees. It would begin growing back in the morning.

As I was watching the fire, I gradually became aware of a throbbing vibration in the air. It was so unexpected that it took me a minute to identify the bullroarers of the Yolngu. I quickly slipped my bullroarer out of my boot and answered the call, motioning those around me to silence. It was daring and clever. The Yolngu intended to treat the Sa’arm just as they did animals on a hunt. They would drive them toward us for the kill.

«Cricket, is there movement in the Sa’arm infestation?»

«Yes, Niall. Those within the landing site seem to be focusing in our direction. The fire is just beginning to break through at the edge nearest them.»

«Is there adequate fuel left near them to keep the fire burning?»

«The bamboo has continued resprouting near them overnight. They would typically harvest in the morning. The fire will continue toward them, but at a lesser intensity. A vanguard of Sa’arm units has approached toward the fire and is spraying it with what appears to be a fire suppressant chemical. Several hundred units are now moving into formation behind their firefighters.»

“Comrades and volunteers, fall back into the tree line. Prepare firefighting units at the head of each road. Hold fire until the tribe has emerged and opened a path into the killing zone.”

«Cricket, are there still live weapons on the crashed ship?»

«There are weapons, but it seems ammunition is diminishing. The frequency of shots fired toward the Marines has lessened. Marines have engaged the enemy directly about 120 kilometers southwest of the landing site, which may be why weapons fire has lessened. However, the Marines are continuing to launch missiles at the wreckage from the lake.»

«They’re not getting many hits.»

«The Sa’arm anti-missile lasers are surprisingly effective.»

«We’ll need to do something about that.»

“Here come the Yolngu!” I shouted through the headset. “Prepare for enemy fire.” As the tribe emerged from the burning bamboo, dressed in their firefighting skinsuits, they immediately broke into two groups running rapidly to our left and right. The sudden cessation of the bullroarers left our bodies vibrating. We waited in the silence. Soon, Sa’arm broke through the fire line, led by their own version of firefighters. “Hold until they have reached the firebreak.”

We all held our breath, wondering how accurate what we had been told about the Sa’arm was. Were they really deaf? Had they followed the path laid out for them by the Yolngu or were they focused on us behind the tree line? I heard the bullroarers start up again and could feel them coming from two distinct directions. Apparently, the Sa’arm felt it, too. They immediately split into two groups, following left and right toward the sound. This changed their formation from a single point headed toward the tree line to a long line stretched out before us. There were nearly 100,000 Militia and volunteers with weapons trained on them. As soon as they were clearly two groups, I gave the order to fire.

Some thousand or so Sa’arm units received the impact of 100,000 bursts from our pulse rifles. The rifles had come with all kinds of warnings as to where to hit the Sa’arm units for maximum damage and how many shots it was likely to take to kill each unit. We’d trained hard with them to master the techniques. The fusillade left all the Sa’arm down, though some were returning fire.

“Firemen to the front. Hose the Sa’arm with chemical pellets.” Our eight firetrucks rolled out of the eight roads into the firebreak and began putting up a wall of chemicals between the Sa’arm and the defenders. “Fireteams, make sure they are dead. Advance!” That was a trick Marcie and Crazy Edie had brought to us. A fire requires heat, oxygen, and fuel in order to burn. The suppressant chemicals denied two of those items, heat and oxygen. It left living Sa’arm nearly frozen and sluggish. Not one unit was passed without making sure it had received a fatal shot.

«Niall, another wave of Sa’arm units have emerged from the wreckage. They are moving rapidly in our direction, following the path of the destroyed units. Estimated time to target, seven minutes.»

“Clear casualties and retreat. Bring Section 3 in through the transporters and prepare for live fire!” The noise and disturbance of our shift change was covered by the Yolngu, who once again led the Sa’arm toward us and then split to follow the vibrations.

«Niall, another scouting unit to the northeast has encountered and engaged with the backup cadet squad. Fire is heavy.» No. No. Not the children.

«Send Section 4 to their relief as fast as possible!»

«Cadres are on the move.»

«Marines and sponsors have noted our success with fire and have begun setting fires from their positions, » Teddy broke in. «The fires, however, are burning both directions as they have no firebreaks. They have cut off their own escape routes.»

«Damn it! We have no firebreaks to contain it on that end. We don’t dare send the shuttles up unless we can get that ship completely neutralized.»

As the Sa’arm lengthened out into their front charging the Yolngu, our fire burst from the trees again. This time, they were better prepared and launched a devastating fusillade back at us. We dropped hundreds more, but there were still hundreds firing. Then I felt the vibrations of the bullroarers again. They were far distant. The Sa’arm showed some confusion as they were certain the weapons were ahead of them, but the threatening vibration they had felt now came from behind them. The moment’s confusion allowed us to launch a new attack that cut the invaders down. It was followed by the trucks spraying them again and a mop-up operation beginning.

«Are more reinforcements on the way?»

«There are a few units near the wreckage, but they seem disoriented. We may be down to the last few at the site. Units on the other front, however, are also beginning to fall back toward the wreckage. If they get up to their usual land speed, we’ll see them at the wreckage in an hour and a half.»

“All sections and volunteers, retreat and get the casualties back to base. Bring forward the third wave. Move through the burnout to the wreckage. We’re going in.”

A new wave of Militia and volunteers swept into the clearing and through the smoldering remains of the bamboo forest that surrounded the wreckage. As soon as we were in range, we began taking out the Sa’arm units. They swung toward us but were not coordinated enough to do much damage before we advanced.

“Fire crews. Start controlled fires on the southwest and head them toward the line of the Sa’arm. Bring up Section 8 to advance with the fire. Let’s pin them between the Militia and the Marines. Section 2, guerrilla cadres. You’re with me. Let’s find a way into this behemoth and neutralize it.”

My specially trained cadres were on my heels as we searched for the access to the ship. We finally set explosives and expanded a hole that had been blown while it was still in space. Anything that moved, we shot, including dangling wires and swinging debris. Cricket accessed all available data on the ship and directed me toward where the erratic firing of the missiles and laser interceptors was coming from. A single Sa’arm unit was sitting on the floor of the missile bay turning its head left and right. We didn’t bother to ask it to surrender. There were eight more missiles in the bay and we wired them all with explosives on timers. According to Cricket, the missile bay was directly below the laser defense. We set the timers and retreated back the way we came.

This time, we met resistance. Sa’arm units began coming up through holes in the floor. It was like playing gopher tag but these gophers shot back. What was worse, they knew the layout of the ship. We were quickly pinned in a passage and blocked from the hole we’d blown. One of my remaining cadres came at them from the rear and we were able to slip around them to get to the hole in the ship. We tumbled out, staying low as comrades poured shots into the hole at the emerging Sa’arm. Then the missiles blew.

Rear Lines (TY53-month 630)

I woke up alert and on my guard. There was danger. The Swarm had landed! When the med tube opened, I was momentarily disoriented. Had this all been an elaborate training scenario thought up by the Pussy Pirates? No. It had been far too real.

«Cricket, what’s the status, » I demanded immediately.

«There is no further enemy action at the crash site, Niall, » he said, confirming the reality of the situation. «You were concussed when the missile magazine blew up. As you and your comrades were dragged away from the wreckage, a deeper subterranean explosion was set off. It appeared that fuel and other materiel had been moved underground. Apparently, one of the missiles went through the fuel chambers.»

«What are our casualties?»

«Niall, at the moment we have lost 122,171 Militia and volunteers. Nearly ten thousand are still missing. I am sorry to say, 18,388 teen cadets have been lost in the action on the northeast front.»

«No, not the children, » I moaned. «We need to get relief out there and pull them in.»

«Section 7 responded in full force but by the time they arrived, the cadets had completely annihilated the enemy in that location. Section 7 is sweeping inward from there toward the landing site to be sure no units survive.»