This Forsaken World Chapter 31
Captain Victor Grimm
As I finished surveying my troopers to make sure they were ready for battle a technical sergeant arrived to inform me the general was gathering all senior officers for a briefing. Turning to face Evan I nodded slowly.
"Guess it's time. Make sure the tanks and mech are ready would you?" My friend gave me a salute before jogging towards the motor pool.
Sighing, I followed the messenger towards the briefing location. It took a few minutes as we were forced to walk across the entire camp. The place was much larger than I had originally assumed and the sheer scale was hard to grasp. We had to have one hell of a radar screen to hide so many military assets from a technologically advanced race of beings.
The briefing was set up out in the open with a large peg board and at least two hundred seats spread out to give full view of the general as he stood in the very center. I was directed to a seat on the far right side barely in ear shot and tried to get comfortable.
Surrounding me were officers of every caliber and rank, the last remnants of the Alliance military ready to lead our troops to a final battle. This was an all or nothing gamble as we were attempting to bait the entirety of the enemy force out into the open.
General Porter waited patiently until everyone was seated before he clicked a remote, a large spotlight illuminating his position as well as the board behind him.
"Alright lets get to it. We've been sending ghost signals to the enemy for the past few hours to try and get them to take the bait. The idea is to make it seem like the last of the human race is trying to hold up in one location and we're hoping they send the majority of there ground forces to this position." The grizzled war veteran was indicating a location with a short metal rod.
The image showed a canyon with three entrances. The area was large enough for what I guessed had to be a hundred thousand human's as well as vehicles. The pathway's leading into the canyon were choke points that would be easy to defend and there was enough cover over the top to protect from air strikes. This would force the enemy to attack on foot, especially with anti-air defenses in place.
"We'll be moving our armored divisions into position within the canyon here." He again pointed out the indicated location.
"Infantry will be loaded into armored trucks, troop air transports and anything else that has wheels. Anti-air will be deployed atop the peaks to keep the enemy air power from attacking." General Porter pointed at a valley within a river bed at least five miles away. The location was again well defended with cover from above and the river itself led within a mile of the canyon.
"The infantry will be set up here for deployment once the enemy has committed itself to the fight. The armored units will try to draw the enemy into the bottle neck of the entrances and hold them until the infantry arrives. We will flank the enemy at any location they enter the canyon and hit them from two sides." The general cast a gaze across the entire Alliance leadership before him.
"The frigate will position directly above the battle site defended by our remaining fighters while the bombers strike at any targets out in the open. Troop transports, after deploying there payload of ground troops, will act as decoys for enemy fire while also collecting and repositioning any units needed." Porter set the rod down and turned around.
"This is an all or nothing...I'm not going to lie, if we lose this battle, we lose Earth. We can't do anything about there fleet but if we make enough trouble on the surface and rack up fatalities on there side, they might decide we're not worth it and move on." The general crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.
"Any questions?" At least five people raised there hands as I did the same. Pointing at the nearest officer, a colonel by the look of him, Porter nodded.
"Sir, what do we do if we lose? Is there a rally point?" The general sighed at this.
"No fall back. If we lose, I'd advise any survivors to scatter to the winds and try to make a go of it on your own. There will be no retreat...not if you want to win back Earth. I for one will fight until the end but I can't choose for you. You have to make up your own mind." With that said the war veteran pointed to the next hand.
"General what happens if the enemy fleet gets involved?" This came from one of the flight leaders, most likely the CO of the frigate.
"If that happens our fighters and bombers will divert to engage. Anti-air will provide support fire from the surface. The frigate will continue to attack ground targets and avoid capital ship engagement." The Captain seemed unhappy with this response but said nothing more.
I noted one of the arms had lowered, most likely his question already answered and that left myself and one other. The general pointed to the other upraised arm. This was a Brigadier General, the voice feminine and full of power and authority.
"Sir, what if the enemy doesn't take the bait?" I blinked as I hadn't even considered this.
"If that happens we withdraw all elements back to this base and try to figure something else out. Hopefully it won't come to that." Finally the General pointed to me and I breathed in deeply to build my courage.
"What happens if infected attack during the operation? There are millions of them on the planet, do we have contingencies or a way of monitoring there movements?" From the amount of heads that turned towards me I realized that almost no one had thought of this possibility.
"We've got surveillance in position to make sure nothing advances on us without our knowledge. If infected do get involved we'll handle them the same way we always do, with head shots. If they hinder the battle we'll adjust accordingly. Now if that's the last question you'll each be receiving your company or division orders and assignments. We move out in two hours, dismissed and god speed." Everyone seemed to stand up all at once and I followed suit.
As I was about to head back to my company camp a Major General walked towards me and offered me a folder.
"Your orders, get your men ready." I saluted and the man returned the gesture before moving on to another company captain. Clutching the file I tried to steady my nerves and started towards the Panther Claw's.
Commander Devin Crowe
I'd called for all of the surviving fleet leaders to gather aboard the Eclipse since the briefing room was by far the largest than any other ship. It took about four hours to dock the capital ships for rearming and refueling, during which time we grabbed some food and a quick shower before meeting together.
The briefing room was different than the one aboard the Star since it was almost twice the size and instead of having a stand up podium there was a massive oval shaped table with at least fifty chairs. A number of additional couches lined the outer edges of the wall for subordinates and there was a holographic display in the middle of the table.
I was waiting impatiently for everyone to arrive, my desire to rescue Jewel evident with each passing moment, as I fidgeted uneasily. Sally took a seat to my right, Sledge to my left. The flight team resigned themselves to sitting on the benches behind us.
Finally the last of the officers arrived followed closely by the next in line to lead the fleet, Vice Admiral Evelyn Glass. The woman could be considered beautiful once where she was now groomed to be all business and military.
Standing around five eight, her brown hair was streaked with gray and her features were chiseled and gruff. Her uniform was spotless and I was surprised I'd heard very little of her let alone met her.
Evelyn Glass was the executive officer of the Eclipse and from what I'd been told she was always in the shadows, letting Admiral Burns run things and operating from out of sight. With the traitor out of the picture she was being forced to step forward to take her role as the Fleet Commander and I was curious to see if she was up to the task.
I nodded respectfully as Captain Sasha Conners entered the room and she did the same, taking a seat across from me. Finally the fleet leadership was seated together with any officer from Lieutenant or above in attendance.
I noted that a dozen S.C.A.R. Soldiers were standing watch at the entrance and each corner of the room. Since we'd had to fight a number of traitors in the Eclipse security team during our boarding they had been restrained in the brig. The situation was still unpredictable and dangerous as we had no idea who else was a supporter of the late Admiral.
The Vice Admiral slowly stood up and cleared her throat nervously.
"Commander Crowe...since you have called together this meeting I would like to turn the floor over to you as the leading officer of this briefing." Without another word the timid woman resumed her seat.
Sally pinched my arm softly in support and I smiled as I rose to my feet.
"Thank you Vice Admiral. As you all are aware Admiral Burns was executed for treason against the Alliance. He was the cause for the defeat and loss of life and equipment in the recent engagement. I have come to learn that most of our people are still alive, being held for enslavement and food. Also, our capital ships are still at the battle site, most likely abandoned." I tapped a button and the battle zone we'd fought at appeared.
"We have received a scan from a scout team to assess the situation. So far all our ships are indeed at the coordinates. It has been deemed three enemy frigates, two destroyers and a battle ship are still in position. From what we could gather there sending soldiers on board each ship and leaving in transports. I can only guess there hunting down survivors from the battle who are hiding aboard our ships." Tapping another button I brought up a separate section of space.
Set up on this new display were five battleships and the enemy dreadnought. A large group of enemy fighters were circling the perimeter in searching patterns, most likely on patrol for Alliance ships attempting to enter the zone.
"Whoever has been collected so far will be aboard the enemy flagship. As far as we know it's disabled so its not going anywhere for a while." Sighing I clicked to the previous image of the battleground.
"This briefing is to propose a mission. I will require approval of everyone in this room and final permission from the Vice Admiral. My idea is to take both carriers to the remnants of our fleet. We will destroy every Nocturnal ship except for the battle ship which we will then board and commandeer with the help of our allies from the Blood Fangs." I nodded to the female fighter pilots behind me.
"We will then do as much repairs as possible and as fast as possible to our disabled capital ships to prepare them for combat. Once they are ready, we will send the battle ship ahead to the dreadnoughts coordinates, trick the enemy into letting us get in close, we then board the flagship and free our people." A gasp of surprise echoed around the room and I smiled.
"After that, we bring our fleet in to provide cover as we withdraw. If our retreat is successful, we use the Nocturnal Battleship to ram the enemy dreadnought and detonate its reactor as well as planted explosives. Hopefully, this will destroy the flagship and stall the enemy advance. After that, we regroup here at the station, finish repairs and refuel, then we use the A.W.G. Drive to open a wormhole to a random destination." I turned to look at Captain Conners as she raised her hand.
"We could end up anywhere in the universe, what about Earth?" She asked.
"Earth is done, we were planning on leaving anyways and with the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet destroyed there's no point staying. Anywhere is better than here and it will take the Nocturnal fleet some time to follow us, assuming they even can." The captain nodded, lowering her hand.
"So, what do you guys think?" I looked around the room at the gathered officers.
Vice Admiral Glass rose to her feet and crossed her hands behind her back.
"I like it. With everyone's approval I say we go forward with the plan. I would request you command the Eclipse into battle, Commander Crowe. After the initial engagement, you will take over as commanding officer of the Nocturnal battle ship and lead the assault and boarding from there with the Blood Fangs." I was surprised by this and it must have shown on my face.
"You've done things nobody thought possible since the battle for Earth, more than anyone else in the entire fleet. Also you've boarded that Dreadnought twice now so your more qualified to complete this mission." I nodded and saluted the woman.
"As you wish, I am at your disposal, ma'am." The Vice Admiral gave me an appreciative smile and leaned forward on the briefing table.
"Anyone else have anything to say before we do this?" She asked, looking around the room. "Very well, dismissed. Get our ships ready for a fight, you've got five hours. Good luck." Everyone broke off and headed towards there ship's, fighters, bombers or transports.
Turning to face Sally I smiled as she stepped into my embrace and pressed her head against my chest, breathing in deeply and closing her eyes.
"You can do this, I'll be by your side every step of the way." She said, looking up at me with a soft playful grin. Feeling her so close to me my body stirred in response and she seemed to sense it, her eyes twinkling with a suggestive grin tugging at the corner of her sensuous lips.
"How long will it take to get this ship battle ready?" She asked. I glanced around for a moment, noting the Blood Fang's were the last to leave, and blushed.
"Around two hours, give or take. Why?" I breathed in deeply with desire as she rose to her tip toes and gently nipped at my ear with her fangs.
"Lock the door..." She whispered, her hot breath tickling my skin and causing me to shiver and breath in raggedly.
Moving to follow her directions I waited for the last vampire to leave, the woman glancing over her shoulder and winking, blowing me a kiss, before I hit the lock and turned around to face my lover.
The white haired vixen jumped across the room to wrap her arms and legs around me, her lips against mine as I gripped her waist to support her so she didn't fall, a futile gesture as she was holding onto me so tightly I felt like she was going to break something. Moving towards the briefing table with her in my arms I sat her down and smiled as I pulled away.
"I didn't quite expect to do something like this when I joined the military." I held my arms up as Sally undid my uniform and slid my shirt over my head, throwing it across the room and kissing me passionately once more.
"Well, we could die at any time, might as well enjoy ourselves every chance we get." She traced her long fingernails lightly across my chest causing me bite my lower lip. With a primal growl of hunger I battled to get her flight suit unzipped, sliding the offensive fabric off her slender shoulders and cupping a breast, my lips tracing her collar bone.
Sally let out a gasp from the sensation, her hands fighting to undo the rest of my uniform, sliding the last of the garment off so I was standing naked before her, my body obviously aroused and ready.
Our passion was evident as we filled the room with erotic sounds, the movement of fabric, the kissing of lips and the soft moans and gasps of pleasure. Finally, I freed her body of the flight suit and tank top, positioning myself between her thighs and sliding into her with a growl of pleasure.
Fingernails on my back caused me to shiver, her lips on my neck, kissing and tasting. I slowly ran my hands across the soft sensuous skin of her back, shoulders and hips, pulling her close as I thrust into her.
My lover matched my motions, moaning with the pleasure of each movement within her. Breathing raggedly against my ear I felt a soft pain as she buried her fangs into my jugular. Almost immediately the pain turned to pleasure and my movements sped up, my desire building with each touch of her flesh against mine.
As she finished feeding from me, she licked the fang marks, causing the skin to heal and another wave of pleasure to ripple through my body. Looking deeply into Sally's eyes she smiled at me, her feelings and desires evident as our lips locked in a passionate kiss, our arms wrapping around each other to pull us closer as with a shuddering gasp we reached our climax together.
Still cradling each other in a tight embrace we rode the waves of pleasure for a few long moments before finally moving apart. Sally smiled as she ran a finger along my jaw and kissed me softly.
"Best briefing ever..." I whispered. Sally giggled as I pulled away and she jumped down, my eyes roaming over her perfect body...how did I get so lucky?
No matter what was coming, with her by my side I felt like I could defeat the entire Nocturnal fleet. My heart hammering in my chest with mixed emotions I began to get dressed.
A soft smile played across her lips as she looked at me, sliding her well shaped legs into her flight suit, and it filled with me...what I could only describe as...love...