First Strike - An Earth@War Novel
Chapter 9

ESS Mexico (D-866)

In Orbit, Omar IV

June 5, 2487, 1602

Captain James Allen was in his cabin when Yeoman Third Class Bruce Tivis buzzed him on his comm. “Yes, Tivis?”

“Sir, I just received flash traffic,” Bruce replied.

“Bring it in,” Captain Allen ordered. Mexico had been docked since it collided with a stealth ship on May 21st. The ship had sustained heavy damage to three decks of the starboard bow section, including the destruction of her forward missile launchers. Although repairs had been started, parts were needed that simply weren’t available on Omar IV. So, requisitions had been made for the parts to be shipped from Kylar II, but with the damage to the Naval Base Oscar, who knew if they even had the parts now and when they would arrive, especially with the war on.

The war. I should be out there with the others fighting, but I am stuck here, the Captain, a 26-year veteran, thought.

Bruce Tivis entered the room. Though Bruce was one of the shortest people on the ship at 5’4”, he was also one of the strongest. His weight of 165 was high for his height, but it was the pure muscle of a power lifter. The African-American had once had the goal of becoming a professional boxer, but fell in love with being in space and decided to make a career out of the Navy.

“Thank you, Tivis,” the Captain said. Although they were in different positions, the Captain and his Yeoman had one thing in common; they were both from Detroit. The Captain looked at the message.

050624871547U

From: Commander Fourth Fleet

To: All Fourth Fleet Commands

Subj: Attack Warning

1. On 6/5/2487, information from a reliable source indicates

a Batronian attack will occur within 24 hours. The target

of this attack is unknown.

2. All commands are to take whatever defensive options are

available to repel this attack.

The Captain read the message again, paused to think and then told Tivis, “Have all the Department Heads muster in the wardroom.”

“Aye, sir,” Bruce replied, leaving the cabin as the Captain reread the message for a third time. A half-hour later, the Captain entered the wardroom.

“Attention on deck!” Lieutenant Commander Rich Collier called out as the Captain entered.

“At ease,” the Captain said. He passed out copies of the message to the Departments Heads. “Alright, as you can see, there isn’t a lot of detail, but I don’t want to be docked if the attack comes here. So, we need to get underway. I know we are in no condition to fight, but I want the ability to get out of the system and give us some room to maneuver. We need to batten down the hatches, so to speak.

“Sir, with the damage we have to the ship, interstellar travel will have to be kept slow. Say 15 AMU or so, or the stress to the hull may be too much for the ship,” the Damage Control Assistant said.

“Understood,” Captain Allen replied.

“Sir, forward missiles are obviously unavailable, but due to damage, power is out to gun mounts 51 through 54 and turret 1,” the Weapons Officer said referring to four of the six 75-mm guns and the 125-mm main gun turret.

“I know, but we’re not going to go into battle. We are simply giving ourselves room to maneuver. Anything else?” the Captain asked waiting to make sure there was nothing. “Okay, let’s get the ship ready.”

At 0207, on June 6, 2487, ESS Mexico got underway exiting the system at 0308, just in time it turned out.

System Monitoring Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0620 Local, 0320 UT

The Second Class Sensor Technician was alert and saw them as soon as they entered the system, just twelve minutes after Mexico had cleared the Omar system. The Batronians entered the system from the opposite side of where Mexico had left. He pushed a button on the comm unit.

“Intel, System Monitoring. Thirty-one Batronian ships have entered the system,” the Sensor Tech report, calm despite the imminence of the attack.

“System Monitoring, this is Intel. What ship types?” a voice replied over the comm.

“Working on it,” the Technician said as he continued to work the controls of the sensor array. One minute later, he was able to provide the information. “Intel, System Monitoring. Ship breakdown as follows: Three carriers, four battleships, six cruisers, twelve destroyers and six assault ships.”

“Monitoring, Intel, copy all.”

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0622 Local, 0322 UT

Warning sirens began to wail on Naval Base Quebec, sending personnel quickly to their battle stations. The base had been on high alert since receiving the attack warning, so battle stations were quickly manned. Dave Roberts and Phil Moore were already on their station, manning their SL-21 missile launchers when the sirens sounded, having just taken the watch at 0600 locally. They scanned the skies, searching for Batronian spacecraft, but could see none.

Less than a mile away, the 24 SA-18s and 48 SF-112s took off. Dave watched as they went into a steep climb, obviously heading into space to meet the enemy. The spacecraft exited Omar IV’s atmosphere and accelerated toward the Batronians, engaging them minutes later just inside of Omar VII. The SA-18s operated in pairs, primarily targeting the destroyers that surrounded the rest of the Batronian ships. The 24 attack spacecraft began firing their six-foot long M-4 missiles, dodging laser fire as they did.

While the attack craft were engaging the ships, the fighters engaged the Batronian fighters that came from the carriers to defend the ships. The SF-112s fired missiles and lasers in an attempt to keep the Batronian fighters away from the SA-18s as they attacked the Batronian ships. Two missiles from the SA-18s managed to hit one of the destroyers, both of them exploding at the keel and splitting the destroyer into two. Seeing the soundless explosions from the cockpit, the wingman of the pilot who scored the hits, released two more missiles striking each of the two pieces of the destroyer. The pieces began to breakup as the two pilots banked their spacecraft to the left and began looking for other targets.

The Thirteenth Fighter Wing was similarly having some success destroying six Batronian fighters at the cost of only two SF-112s. A SA-18 was also lost attacking the ships. Unfortunately, with three carriers, the Batronians well outnumbered all the spacecraft Earth had available at Omari IV and could afford the losses.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0628 Local, 0328 UT

Back at the Space Center, Dave and Phil heard a loud roar as the twenty M-4G ground-to-space missiles were fired. They watched them blast off and head toward space.

“You know, if they fired those missiles, Batron has ships in the system, not just spacecraft,” Phil told Dave.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dave said. How come I hadn’t thought of that, Dave asked himself, amazed at how quickly Phil realized that the missiles would only be used at ships, not spacecraft. Throughout bootcamp, Phil had consistently demonstrated his intelligence to Max and Dave, starting with the fact that he had looked up and memorized the training schedule and knew exactly what to expect next.

The twenty missiles headed toward the Batronian ships. As the missiles approached, Earth’s spacecraft broke off, clearing the way for the missiles. Three missiles hit a Batronian cruiser, which exploded in a tremendous fireball. One missile took out another destroyer. A carrier, a battleship and two other destroyers were also hit and damaged by the M-4Gs.

“Concentrate all remaining fire on the damaged battleship,” the Commander of one of the attack flights ordered. Seventeen missiles were fired at the huge Batronian ship, fourteen of them hitting the monster. Fires could soon be seen raging from inside the battleship. Power appeared to have failed and the anti-spacecraft guns fell silent. Minutes later, escape pods were launched from the ship which began to collapse in on itself. Low on weapons and having lost three more SA-18s and three more SF-112s, the spacecraft turned around and headed back to Omar IV to rearm and refuel.

Command Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0658 Local, 0358 UT

The Command Center at Naval Base Quebec had been established shortly after the war began to allow the four major elements of the Naval Base (Fifteenth Attack Wing, Thirteenth Fighter Wing, the Third Regiment of the Naval Assault Forces and the Naval Base itself) to coordinate efforts and establish a unified chain of command in the event of an attack on Omar IV. The Command Center was located in a bunker beneath the base’s headquarters. The bunker was dominated by a large rectangular table around which sat the major officers assigned to Naval Base Quebec. Along the sides of the room were various service members in communication with various elements around the base. In addition, each of the officers at the table were in direct communication with their command.

“Spacecraft have returned to rearm and refuel,” the Commander of the Fifteenth Attack Wing reported.

“I am having 24 fighters launched to provide air support over the base,” the Commander of the Thirteenth Fighter Wing announced.

“Very well,” Captain Amber Harrington acknowledged. The 42-year-old with bright red hair and piercing green eyes was the Commanding Officer of Naval Base Quebec and had overall command of the defense of Omar.

“Batronian ships are entering orbit,” a Senior Chief Sensor Technician reported from one of the sensor displays along the wall of the bunker.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0705 Local, 0405 UT

Dave and Phil watched the fighters circling overhead, a sure sign that the battle would soon be moving here. Both SL-21s were loaded with missiles, their safeties off and targeting computers turned on. Their L-29 assault rifles were beside them, their safeties also off and fresh charge packs loaded. Tension filled the air as the troopers waited. Suddenly, a laser bolt descended from the sky into the Space Center just 1000 yards from where Dave and Phil’s position, followed by a large explosion which caused the ground to shake and threw dirt and debris high into the air.

“Shit! That’s a 400-mm bolt from a battleship!” Phil shouted.

“Take cover!” a voice shouted behind them. Dave turned and saw Sergeant Pachenko diving behind the barricade protecting their position. Dave and Phil quickly ducked down with him in what was essentially a foxhole surrounded by a concrete barrier reinforced with sand bags. A rapid succession of 400-mm bolts came down on the center. Smoke filled the air as debris and spacecraft were tossed into the sky.

Command Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0706 Local, 0406 UT

“Battleships are bombarding the Space Center, Zelerod and an area southwest of Zelerod near the village of Lansing, a Sensor Technician reported. Zelerod was the capital of Omar IV and was located approximately 200 miles southwest of the Naval Base.

“Very well,” Captain Harrington replied. She hated to hear that the Batronians had targeted the Capital where civilians would be killed, but with the six assault ships that they had brought, it was obvious that they were planning a full-scale invasion. “Colonel Nelson, how big of a force are we looking at on those assault ships?”

Colonel Byron Nelson was Commander of the Third Regiment. The 6’2”, 210-pound Texan had been raised on a ranch and never lost his cowboy appearance. “Probably the equivalent of a division, around 2000 or so troops, plus armor. That’s about three times more than we have here.”

“We need to start thinking about where to position ourselves,” Amber said.

“Yes, ma’am. I reckon it depends on where they land,” the Texan replied.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0708 Local, 0408 UT

The bombardments stopped as suddenly as it began, after just a few minutes, shocking both Dave and Phil. But the sound of fast approaching spacecraft made clear what was happening and brought Dave and Phil to life. They grabbed both their SL-21s and their L-29s and headed out of the safety of their barricade, shouldering their SL-21s and scanning for Batronian spacecraft as they did. Phil locked on to one of the Batronian spacecraft first and as soon as he heard tone indicating that the missile was locked onto the spacecraft, fired his weapon releasing the missile. The missile raced toward the spacecraft. At the last instant, the spacecraft bank right in attempt to avoid it, but it was already too late. The missile slammed into the spacecraft and a fireball quickly engulfed it. Dave released a missile seconds later, bringing down another spacecraft, but not before the pilot released several bombs on a group of SA-18s that were being refueled. Several large explosions left only clouds of smoke and flames where the SA-18s had sat.

As Dave and Phil reloaded their launchers, they saw several SF-112s engaging the enemy. Missiles dropped from the SF-112s and headed toward the enemy spacecraft which were filling the air with decoys.

Dave and Phil fired their missiles again, Phil taking down another Batronian, while Dave’s missile was fooled by a decoy as Batronian fighters engaged with the spacecraft from the Thirteenth Fighter Wing. As the battle began, an SF-112 came crashing down less than 100 yards from Dave and Phil’s position. The impact created another huge explosion, knocking the troopers off of their feet and showering them with debris.

ESS London (SCV-7)

1450 AMU from Omar System

June 6, 2487, 0410 UT

Rear Admiral Kilgallon was sound asleep when a knock came at the door of his cabin. It took him a split second to realize what had awoken him. He sat up, stretched and put on his robe.

“Enter,” he ordered. A young Boatswain Mate Apprentice entered the cabin.

“Sir, the Captain is requesting your presence on the main bridge,” the Messenger of the Watch said as he saluted the Rear Admiral.

“Very well. Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Kilgallon responded. After the Messenger of the Watch left his cabin, Frank made his way to the head and splashed water on his face. He removed the robe and pulled on his khaki working uniform, then grabbed his cover and pulled it on. He exited his cabin, walked aft to a ladder, descended two decks before moving forward and arriving at the main bridge.

“Rear Admiral on the bridge!” the Boatswain Mate of the Watch announced as Kilgallon arrived. Crewmembers did not come to attention on the bridge to avoid interrupting their duties at a critical moment. Instead, senior officers were simply announced when they arrived or departed the bridge. Frank made his way to the Captain who was in his seat on the starboard side of the forward part of the bridge.

“Sir, we just received word that Omar IV is under attack by Batronian ships and spacecraft,” Captain Novac reported.

“Where are we?” Frank asked, heading over to the Navigation Station. Barney Novac got up and joined the Admiral.

“Sir, the ship is currently 1440 AMU from Omar,” the Quartermaster of the Watch reported.

“What’s our speed?” the Frank asked the Captain.

“28 AMU, sir,” the Captain replied.

“What’s the best speed the task force can make?”

“Iwo Jima is the slowest. Top speed for her is 30 AMU,” Captain Novac said.

“Signal the task force to increase speed to 30. Tell Iwo Jima to give us everything she’s got. She’ll set the pace,” Frank said.

“Aye, sir,” the Captain said. Barney turned to the Officer of the Deck and nodded, silently giving the order.

“Next, signal Armstrong and Glenn and tell them to head for Omar at best speed,” Kilgallon ordered.

“Aye, sir,” the Captain replied once again nodding to the Officer of the Deck.

“When will we be in range to launch spacecraft?” Frank asked the Quartermaster of the Watch. The Second Class Quartermaster did some quick calculations.

“Sometime very late on the seventh, say around 2300 or so. That will be early morning on Omar IV,” the Quartermaster said.

“Let’s hope they can hold out until then,” Frank said as he studied the navigation display.

Home of the Secretary General

New York, Earth

June 6, 2487, 0414 UT

Secretary General Colón’s comm unit buzzed waking him from his sleep. When he noticed the time, he had no doubt that Batron had attacked again.

“Yes?” he asked into the com.

“Sir, Batronian forces are attacking Omar,” Alex Weber reported.

“How bad?”

“It’s early and it isn’t a surprise attack like Kylar was, so it’s hard to tell. Unlike Kylar, this appears to be a large-scale invasion and we don’t have a lot out there, but we will at least make them work for it. Rear Admiral Kilgallon reports that Task Force One is heading to Omar at best speed, but they are still almost two days away,” Alex said.

“I’ll head to the office. Keep me informed,” Vincente said.

“I will, Mr. Secretary General,” Alex replied.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0714 Local, 0414 UT

It took several minutes for Dave and Phil to reposition themselves away from the heavy smoke from the crashed fighter. They found themselves near a BA-75 that was firing at Batronian spacecraft under the direction of Sergeant Pavlo Pachenko.

“Bring your launchers and set them up here,” ordered Pachenko. Dave and Phil moved into position and reloaded their launchers. They fired their missiles simultaneously. The missiles streaked outward, but the Batronians were responding faster now and quickly released decoys that fooled both of their missiles. Model Four Batronian fighters swooped down on their position.

“Get down!” Sergeant Pachenko shouted. Dave, Phil and the two men on the BA-75 hit the dirty as the fighters strafed them with 35-mm fire. Dave heard a cry of pain and looked over to where he saw the BA-75 gunner had taken a hit to the leg.

“Medic!” the loader yelled.

Home of Jack Mitchell

Village of Lansing, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0716 Local, 0416 UT

The Village of Lansing was located southwest of Zelerod. Unlike the large capital, Lansing was primarily a farming community with a small retail store, a feed store and a few other small businesses located on the single road leading through the heart of the village. It was a quiet, safe place to live, where everyone knew their neighbor and there was literally no crime. The village council consisted of three members who had held office for over a dozen years adding to the stability of the small village.

Jack Michell lived by himself on a small farm at the edge of the village since his wife’s death just over a year ago. The 56-year-old had served 32 years in the navy, retiring three years ago as a Master Chief Engineman. After he retired, Jack and his wife, Julia, returned to the Village of Lansing on Omar IV where they were originally from. Retired life was quiet and peaceful. Jack and Julia had saved as much as they could while Jack was in the service to ensure that. But on the morning of June 6th, all of that changed.

As was his habit, Jack had been up since 0530. Early to rise was an aspect of military life that Jack felt he would always keep. He had been enjoying his morning coffee on the porch (he had long ago given up on smoking), when he saw flashes in the sky followed by a rumble east of the village. Because of his service during the War at Masic Point, he knew he was hearing gun fire from a ship and a large one at that. He ran into the house and grabbed his binoculars. Now, just ten minutes or so after the bombardment began, he watched through his binoculars as assault craft began landing in a field just a couple of miles from the village. After getting a good estimate of the number of troops landing, he went to the comm unit in his house.

Command Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0718 Local, 0418 UT

“Ma’am, we have a man on the comm stating that Batronian troops are landing near the Village of Lansing,” a Communications Technician reported.

“Patch him into my comm,” Captain Harrington ordered. She looked around at the others who huddled around the comm unit in front of her. She toggled the com to broadcast over the speaker instead of her earpiece. “This is Captain Harrington. Are you there, sir?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jack said

“Who am I speaking to?” Amber asked.

“Jack Mitchell. I’m a retired Master Chief,” he replied. Everyone around the table was taking notes as he spoke.

“Very well. And what did you see?” she asked.

“Earlier, I observed a bombardment from a large laser from a ship. Probably a 400-mm gun. This was a couple of miles east of here. After several minutes of intense fire, assault craft landed dumping troops and equipment. These are definitely Batronians,” Jack said.

“How many?” Colonel Byron Nelson asked.

“Sir it appeared to be an entire division,” Jack answered. Byron looked at Amber and nodded indicating that was what he had expected.

“Okay, Master Chief. As long as it is safe for you to do so, I want you to report back if the Batronians move. I need to know what direction they head out for,” Captain Harrington said.

“Aye, ma’am,” Jack replied.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0718 Local, 0418 UT

A second Batronian fighter descended on Dave’s position as a medic began working on the wounded man. Again, the troopers were strafed by 35-mm fire as they flattened themselves on their bellies.

“You two! Man that gun!” Sergeant Pachenko ordered Dave and Phil after the spacecraft passed.

“I’ll load!” Phil yelled. “You’re a better shot.”

Dave and Phil moved to the BA-75 and Dave jumped into the gunner’s seat and rotated the gun as Phil slammed a power pack into it. Dave aimed at another descending fighter that was lining up for another run on their position. Dave took careful aim and began firing, Phil reloading the gun faster than he ever had in boot camp. The third bolt ripped through the right wing of the fighter and the two men watched as it spun to the ground. Then, Dave began scanning the air for another target.

Home of Jack Mitchell

Village of Lansing, Omar IV

June 6, 2487 0735 Local, 0435 UT

The invading Batronians appeared to have it all: artillery units, ground transports and plenty of troops. They were highly organized and operated with the clocklike precision of combat veterans, Jack observed. Obviously, the war with Antron, which had been going on for two years, had given the Batronians plenty of combat experience. Jack had retrieved his JV-9 handgun. It fired a 9-mm bolt, but had a very limited range. Still, it was better than nothing.

As he looked through his binoculars, he could see them as they started toward the village. He moved to the comm unit and was connected to Captain Harrington.

“Yes, Master Chief?” she asked.

“Ma’am, they are moving toward the village. I’m moving out,” Jack told her.

Command Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0735 Local, 0435 UT

“Acknowledged. Be careful Master Chief,” Captain Harrington said.

“I will, ma’am,” Jack said. Amber heard the comm unit disconnect.

“I want to move the entire Third Regiment here,” Colonel Byron Nelson said, indicating a position five miles west of the capital of Zelerod. “We’ll have Naval personnel take over defensive positions on the base.”

“Okay,” Captain Harrington said.

“And I want to lead them, ma’am,” the Colonel said.

“I understand,” she replied as she watched the Colonel get up and leave.

Naval Space Center

Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV

June 6, 2487, 0740 Local, 0440 UT

“Cease fire!” a voice bellowed.

Dave, surprised at the order, turned and saw Sergeant Pachenko. Behind the Sergeant, sever ground transports were arriving. Two men from the regular Navy were approaching the gun apparently to relieve Phil and himself.

“Let’s go. Grab your L-29s and get on the last transport,” Sergeant Pachenko ordered. Dave and Phil grabbed their rifles as the two men from the Navy took over the BA-75. They headed for the transports, unsure of what was going on. Less than five minutes later, the transports raced off the Naval Base. Dave and Phil looked around noticing that there were only first platoon troopers onboard, but only 21 troopers. That meant three troopers were gone.

“Okay, listen up,” the platoon’s Lieutenant said. “Batronian troops are on the ground. We are setting up a defensive position here,” he said pointing to a position near Zelerod. “We are going to be on the southern end of the line. We need to hold it. Be ready.”

The troopers were handed energy bars which were quickly eaten and water drank as they headed for the line, most of them nervous as they prepared for their first ground combat operations.