The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (30 page)

“What do you suggest, My Lord,” Relion asked.

“First of all, we must make a stand in Sectors 17, 16 and 15 with what forces we can muster. We must attempt to inflict as many casualties on the Humans as possible, while the bulk of our new fleet is in preparation. Then we must pull back. If the Humans can be drawn further into Expansion territory, they will find it more and more difficult to supply their forces and to bring up reinforcements. We engage only when necessary. The war may be longer, but we will preserve the goodwill of our Members by sparing as many of their recruits as possible.”

Then Hydon paused, and looked out the window at the greens fields stretching out below the Kacoran Plain and all the way to the Southern Ocean beyond. “These Humans cannot seriously believe they have a legitimate chance of defeating The Expansion? Our numbers are just too large to be overcome. We will prevail. They
must
know this.”

“Then why are they embarking down this path?” Juls asked.

“That, Lord Juls, I do not know.”

Chapter Forty-Two

The Juirean battlecruiser actually had some pretty impressive astronomical facilities aboard, and soon the two giddy scientists were able to isolate six systems that seemed to fit the requirements for the location of the star system containing the planet Calamore. The journey to the region would take approximately three months, during which time Tobias and Chief Rutledge had the SEALs training the non-converts on weapons and tactics in the ship’s main landing bay.

The landing bay was perfect for the training. It had been originally designed to carry up to 20 landing craft, along with six inter-ship transport pods. The six pods were still in the bay, but the only landing craft remaining was the one Adam had taken from Zylim-4. So for several weeks, the cavernous chamber echoed with the muffled sounds of barrel-suppressed gunfire, along with the often bombastic voices of Tobias and Rutledge, as they sought to mold the non-coverts into some sort of cohesive fighting unit.

Many of the non-converts had prior military training, but none had experienced the level of preparedness that went into a SEAL unit. So after just a few days of training, it had become obvious that two short months would not be enough time to bring them up to speed. So instead, it was decided that the non-converts would be trained as support personnel, to be used in equipment maintenance, intelligence gathering and as reserve forces should the need arise.

Adam, Rutledge and Tobias had decided to only superficially plan on an integration of the other non-converts on Calamore into their forces. After all, they weren’t even certain any of them were still alive. The Chief was also quick to point out that even with a thousand additional bodies, these people may actually hinder their operations rather than help. SEALs normally operated in small, tight units, with their team skills honed to a very fine edge. Trying to integrate non-SEALs into actual combat operations could prove problematic.

Even so, a thousand-plus additional Humans couldn’t hurt, Adam reasoned, not in the environment he and Riyad described to the still skeptical SEALs. A thousand extra ‘supermen’ certainly was an intimidating thought. How exactly they would be utilized was more a mental exercise at this time rather than any real operational planning on their part.

Adam spent much of his time in the landing bay, working out with the other SEALs and firing real Human weapons, something he hadn’t done in quite awhile. He enjoyed the solid feel of the M4A1 in his hands, and reveled at the sure sound of the rounds being expelled, as well as the scent of gunpowder in the air. Tobias and his men had brought around a hundred-thousand rounds of ammunition with them in the two supply trucks, and even then, they had to be frugal in their use of training rounds.

Tobias had explained that Captain Allen would be developing a clandestine unit that would attempt to communicate with him and his group, as well as provide needed supplies as the war progressed. To further this goal, Adam had checked with Kaylor and found that the Juirean battleship carried in her an ample supply of encodable communication buoys. Almost immediately upon leaving the Earth, they had begun to drop these buoys at designated intervals along their path. If anything, Adam’s advance force would be able to communicate with Allen back on Earth. How the Captain would resupply them was anyone’s guess.

None of SEALs aboard had any idea how Captain Allen would create his undercover unit, right under the watchful eye of the Klin and the 2G’s, but if anyone could, it would be Nate Allen. It had also been agreed that the Klin would not be too supportive of a rear-action unit operating outside their control in Juirean territory. So besides attempting to soften up the Juirean lines for the Human forces, Adam’s unit would have to be ever-watchful for the Klin and their 2G surrogates. They were as much the enemy as the Juireans.

Chapter Forty-Three

The planet Earth was in shambles, yet with the help of the Human ‘Recruits,’ it was managing to recover quickly.

As promised, all the millions of fires raging across the planet had been extinguished in a matter of days after the attack. The largest of these fires had been snuffed out within two days, and over the preceding three weeks, power had been restored to the world, ample food was available, and shelters had gone up virtually overnight.

The surviving and traumatized inhabitants of the planet cried with thanks to their
Saviors
– as the recruits were now called, thanks mainly to the word ‘Savior’ emblazoned across the breast pocket of their light blue tunics. And then the survivors began the difficult task of burying their dead. The finally tally would never be one-hundred percent accurate, but the number was somewhere just over one billion souls. It was a number so large that no one could truly comprehend its reality. One-seventh of the entire population of the planet was dead, having been wiped out in a span of only four short hours.

Washington, D.C. had suffered catastrophic destruction, along with all the other major population centers around the world. However, the Juireans did not know the significance of the American capital. Fourteen bolts had landed within the city limits, but remarkably, the White House and the Pentagon had been spared any major damage. A bolt
had
struck on the east side of the Capitol, and that building now sat as a burned out hulk.

Not surprisingly, cities like New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro were the most heavily hit. Chicago and London had also suffered their fair share damage, while Los Angeles was spared almost completely, thanks to the fact that it was spread out over such a large area and that the bolts that struck there did not have specific targets to strike.

Almost immediately after the destruction of the Juirean fleet, the surviving leaders of the planet began to communicate – thanks to the Klin technology. A meeting was convened in D.C., at the Pentagon, within 18 days of the attack, with the Klin ambassador in attendance.

President Danny Ryan slammed the blue and white presidential coffee cup down upon the polished wood surface of the conference table, sending a deafening
clap
throughout the room. If it had not been for the fact that the cup was of a quality and thickness befitting the President, the cup would have surely shattered in his hand.

“I can’t believe this!” the President yelled. “After having been so savagely attacked by a force from off the planet, we are still squabbling over things like nationalities.”

Henri Balladur, the President of the French Republic, met Ryan’s steely stare with one of his own. “The Americans have dominated the world’s military command for long enough. Now that your country is as ineffectual as the rest of us, I see no reason for this practice to continue.”

“This has nothing to do with nationality, Henri, and everything to do with experience.”

“None of our military leaders have experience with fighting an alien foe,” the Frenchman countered.

“But it does have to with the planning and execution of
military
operations. Whether they’re against other Humans, or against aliens, the process is still the same. And how much experience does General Troyat have compared to Admiral Keller?”

“I just want to go on the record that I am against the appointment of another American to the position of Supreme Military Commander for the Earth’s forces. General Troyat would make a fine commander.”

“And in our defense, Admiral Keller has been involved in the planning and execution of over 200 major military operations in the past 10 years. None of the candidates placed for consideration have nearly that many. And he has access to the planet’s most advanced military technology—”

“Not anymore,” said the Russian Premier, Vladimir Gorin.

Exasperated, Ryan sat back in his chair and looked at the faces around the table. Even in light of such an incredible threat from outside, these politicians still couldn’t put aside their differences for the good of the Human race.

“I, for one, believe that this Supreme Commander should come from a country that suffered the most during the attack.” The Brazilian ambassador looked around the table to see if he could read any agreement on the faces of the others seated there. Not seeing many nods, he continued, “Brazil suffered the most loss as a percentage of its population as any country on Earth.”

“That was because most of your population was crowded into your coastal cities of Rio and Sao Paulo,” said the British Prime Minister, Bernard Conrad. “I believe we should follow President Ryan’s lead, and go with the most-experienced.”

“What do you think, Mr. Ambassador?” the French President asked, as all attention shifted to Senior Fellow Lumonsee, seated in his wheelchair at the head of the table.

The Klin was silent for a long moment as he contemplated their situation. “I can see the logic in most of your comments. However, this is a
Human
decision that must be made. Just rest assured that whomever you choose will have all the assistance the senior Recruits can provide him. I do believe it is very important to turn over the figurehead authority for the war against the Juireans to a non-Recruit Human, and that it must be done soon. The fleet should be departing for Juirean territory within three months, if you are to gain any advantage against them.”

“I say we just vote and get this over with,” said an impatient Konrad Kruger, the German Chancellor. “After all, this is more of a symbolic position than that of a real tactical commander. Like Henri said, none of us have any experience fighting a war against aliens. It will be the Klin and the Recruits who make all the real decisions.”