Seeker of Moons (Cassidy's Command Book 1) Read online

  “From what we have seen and heard it looks like Kurko is withdrawing most of his men to protect his spaceport this would explain the lack of guards here and the absence of any enemy presence on our movements so far. The bad news is that Kurko seems to have some new allies, who are alien and could make life very difficult for us, they are large, well-armed and there are dozens of them.

  We have just enough plasma rifles for those with military training and as we make our way to the walls I want half of you up front with me and the other half with the prince, as for the rest of you keep together and anything you can find to use as a weapon as we go, then grab…,” before he could finish, another heavy plasma bolt ripped into the roof of the jail scattering debris, some hitting the gathered crowd.

  “It’s time to move out, first stop the citadel wall then we’ll look for the easiest path to our troops.”

  Kyle sent three of the armed men ahead to scout the route and the larger group of escapees fell in behind Kyle's advance party. The first obstacle was the containment fence with its protective force field but concentrated fire from the scout’s plasma rifles blew the barrier apart and the snake of former prisoners was on its way.

  Chapter 13

  Fight and Flight

  The newly allied United Worlds Expeditionary force and the Chamtofi government troops maintained a thin security perimeter around the city of Walendia and its spaceport, concentrating assault groups and artillery at the four compass points.

  Seeker of Moons had landed ready to open discussions with the government forces and to collect Kang’s group. The mandroids were on their way back from Chamtofi city, after a short fire fight with the pirates attacking force, who themselves were prematurely recalled by Kurko to defend his own city.

  Whilst on patrol, Buzz on Seeker of Moons had been busy using selective scanning and targeted messaging and had found that Boots, Trilby and the Lillindians from Edenfall were on route to join them in the Spotted Canary. The story of what had happened on Edenfall after ‘S.O.M’ had left was absolutely stunning and as far as Buzz understood it….

  Pastor Green and Apek the bonehead leader had met daily to talk about their lives, families and events, even though they did not become friends they very soon came to understand each other. Apek explained that his people populated a nearby system of seventy six planets and that they had developed a sophisticated peaceful civilisation over millennia. There were a high proportion of architects, writers, singers and poets in their society and they had a cumulative ownership of farmland, which they all took turns in maintaining. There was some scientific interest which had helped them develop space travel, energy weapons and rudimentary energy shield but they never expected to use them. That was until they were discovered by scouts of the Infinite Empire. This was followed up by a delegation from the Empire, who offered a stark choice. Either become subordinate to the Empire or face destruction.

  The boneheads had been at peace for so long they no idea what mass destruction was but that soon changed. A battle fleet from the Infinite Empire paid a visit to the bonehead’s capital planet and an army largely of Kyandian soldiers ravaged the major towns, killing millions and destroying much of the planets buildings and infrastructure. There was no standing army in the Minoxian worlds and the spacecraft were unarmed at that point, so it was a massacre. Then just to make sure that the Empire’s message was understood they dropped an anti-matter device on the tenth largest planet and there are now only 75 planets in the Minoxian planetary system. Once they had surrendered their government were executed to prevent future resistance and a puppet government was installed supported by occupying Kyandians forces. The boneheads were then integrated into the Infinite Empire and forced to contribute troops and ships to further the Empire ends. Intriguingly there are no images of the empire rulers and no bonehead has ever been to the empire’s own system.

  The boneheads captured on Edenfall were given greater freedom once their situation was understood, unlike the captured pirates who had made everyone’s life a misery. It was decided to relieve the pressure on the Lillindians by training some of the local men to guard the pirates but this backfired as the Edenfallers were so naive, they were tricked and the pirates broke free from their prison killing most of the Edenfall guards and taking their weapons. The news reached Pastor Green who then had a dilemma, the Lillindians were on exercise with Boots at the other end of the asteroid, there were a few from Jubilation who could fight but the Pastor feared the worse. Then something came to mind, the boneheads were military trained, if he could persuade Apek to help them perhaps there would be a way out.

  On the remaining flying discs Pastor Green raced to the boneheads compound, taking a few volunteers and as many weapons as he could get his hands on at short notice. Apek was initially stunned by the request and the faith the Edenfall people were now putting in him and his men, but he was determined to help if possible. There were arms for twenty boneheads though more would have helped if needed and they set off to confront the rampaging pirates. From the air it was all too easy to find their target, as the enemy were in the process of burning a homestead which they had just looted.

  In the fire fight that followed most of the pirates died but their leader Pinky and his last three gang members took refuge in the farmhouse and were holding the farmer’s wife and two children hostage. Before the pirates could issue their demands, Apek motioned to three of his men, who obeyed without question loping towards the building, the rest of the attackers fired into the air to confuse the besieged. The first bonehead kicked in the door but was gunned down by those inside, the second downed two of the pirates before being killed and the third shot Pinky straight between the eyes. There was only one pirate left and in a panic he jumped through an open window but met his death in a torrent of hot plasma that turned his body to steam.

  When the rescuers reached the farmhouse they found that the two children were each holding the surviving bonehead’s long slender arms whilst the farmer’s wife was wrapping wet towels around plasma burns on the boneheads’ leg.

  Pastor Green had made the right decision and from that day on the boneheads were treated as honoured guests and had the freedom of Edenfall.

  As the Spotted Canary was being readied to leave, Apek was using salvaged communications equipment from the wreck of his own ship and some lent by the Pastor to try and make contact with the resistance movement on one of their planets. If he could make safe contact he would try and arrange a pick up for him and his men. However, there was one last gift from Apek, the space-time sequence shifter, which had been recovered from his ship and repaired. This was the secret of how the alien ships appeared from ‘nowhere’ and disappeared just as quickly. This gizmo linked to a navigational computer and power plant could make a spacecraft jump like a hover fly from one point to a pre-programmed point in the blinking of an eye. It was a by-product from the Minoxians failed attempts at time travel and the distance of the jump was restricted by the aliens’ technical limits but it enabled instant travel to a distance beyond normal scanning range. This was now fitted to the Canary and it was hoped that it would be of use if they ran into trouble and needed a quick escape.

  Once Buzz mastered his scanning tools, he was able to detect a radio message from the Comms Officer of the Pretender, he rationalised that the aliens who had destroyed the rest of the flotilla were likely to have either never used radio communications, or had stopped using it when newer methods had made it obsolete. Buzz confirmed that the sector as far as he could tell was still free from other alien ships and there was currently a joint action with the Chamtofi government forces laying siege to the city of Walendia.

  In return the CO explained that the Pretender was the only craft to survive from the relief flotilla. He also gave the skipper’s name as none other than Lieutenant Freeman, ex of the Seven Moons.

  Buzz asked if the Pretender could offer any resources and was heartened by the news of the fifty or so marines on board. The CO also explained
that they had picked up eighty escape pods containing survivors of the massacre and fifty of these people had formed themselves into an infantry unit under Lieutenant Fuentes, whose own ship had been destroyed.

  Buzz gave a situation report from the Chamtofi region, though at the time he didn’t know that Prince Morgan and the male crew captives were in the process of escaping.

  Therefore it was down to him, that the Spotted Canary and Pretender joined Seeker of Moons on the plains of Walendia. Buzz the biggest joker in the Seekers crew had changed over the last few months, they all had.

  The United Worlds forces deployed next to a Government mobile infantry unit lead by Lieutenant Goudrie and held a position south of the city and were expecting the call to advance at any time.

  *********************************

  The escape group moved in procession out of the citadel and through the ruined streets of the city, on two occasions the advance guard came in contact with Kurko’s men retreating from the walls and these groups were swiftly dealt with, the discarded weapons being left for the main body of Kyle’s force to pick up. There were little signs of a civilian population and if any were still alive they would probably be in their cellars sheltering from the bombardment.

  Kyle led the advance to the city wall, taking care not to alert those defenders still manning the ramparts. They selected an area with relatively few WLA troops and cleared out the occupants by knife or small arms. When Kyle was certain it was safe he brought forward the rest of the group to the base of the wall. It was now necessary to contact his team on Seeker of Moons and this time it was Kang who answered Kyle’s throat communicator.

  “Is that you Kang? It’s great to speak again.”

  “Yes it is me, I am glad you are still in the land of the living Getaway, what’s your plan?”

  “The plan is to break through the wall and head across to you guys as a group. You need to relocate three degrees south to shorten the distance, we will be out in the open, so just be ready to provide us with as much covering fire as you are able and any other help you can come up with. Have you any reports of the alien hostiles yet?”

  “No we have not seen or heard anything and at the moment the Chamtofi Government Command do not want to attack the city until they know what they are up against. Let’s hope we get you out before the party really starts. It will take us about twenty minutes to be in position to welcome you but then we’ll be ready.”

  “Good man Kang.”

  “I’d say better than a man,” Kang laughed.

  Kyle posted look outs, spread the captured weapons throughout the group and searched for a suitable place to break down the wall. He took the plasma reservoir from a broken rifle and made a hole in the wall with his knife, just large enough for the reservoir container to fit. When he judged it was time to move he ordered everyone to stand well back and fired a burst of ionised plasma into the embedded plasma chamber. The wall glowed yellow before bulging and with tremendous force the bricks in the section flew in all directions, leaving a massive rubble strewn gap.

  In the context of the general bombardment this went largely unnoticed but it was the opportunity they needed, Kyle urged his spearhead group out through the hole and pointed out their destination two miles away across the sandy plain. Out they went closely followed by the main group, which included the wounded and less able. Kyle was particularly looking for his uncle Chico, who was still in a bad way requiring both his helpers to propel him forward but when he saw Kyle he had the energy to smile and whispered hoarsely, “You’re doing alright kid.”

  “See you on the other side ‘Unc’ and if your two escorts don’t look after you shoot them.” He stuck the pistol from his own belt into his uncles and with a glower at Breda and Harib said to them, “If you get my uncle to the ships your reward will be to get off this planet but if you fail you will be staying!”

  It took a few minutes to get the main party through followed by the Prince with the rear guard, “Your Highness are you ready?”

  “I’m ready Lieutenant and I have no illusions this could end up a turkey shoot, with us as the turkeys but at least I have a gun in my hand and if I die it will be in a manner deemed worthy by my father the King. Oh and will you also let my father know that I was leading the rear guard …………please.”

  “Prince we have a good chance, that is to say we may not take many casualties, but if you wanted to leave the rear guard then I would understand.”

  “There is no place I would rather be.”

  Kyle saluted the Prince who ignored it and instead shook his hand warmly as a friend. The rear guard moved out, plasma rifles at the ready and each member furtively checking behind them as they went. Kyle was the last escapee out of the city and as he looked back over a bleak scene of crumpled buildings and smoke trails drifting lazily to the skies. Now the city was eerily silent as if waiting for something to happen.

  He jogged from the rear guard to catch the main group, to encourage, motivate, cajole and bully, in fact anything that would get the group to move faster.

  It was only a short time after leaving the shelter of the walls before the snake of escapees were noticed, drawing volleys of shots from those still manning the city walls. As the flaming balls of plasma sought out their targets, the group dived for cover into the yielding sand. A number of those fleeing were unlucky and their escape finished in sheets of flame but the vast majority pressed on towards their goal.

  As the city gunners took time to adjust their aim, they themselves suddenly became targets as Kang’s troops zeroed in their fire to suppress the enemy. The return fire was welcomed by Kyle as it proved that help was close at hand and just perhaps, they could pull this off.

  A loud klaxon sounded from the direction of Walendia Spaceport and the guns of the city fell silent as the gunners obeyed the recall signal.

  This was also the signal for the Kyandians to attack and with a long growling roar the aliens who had hidden by the southerly city exit raced out of the opened gate. The speed of their attack was deceptively fast, each warrior taking long strides as they pressed forward initially in two’s, then spreading out into a single line.

  In the aliens path was a government mobile infantry unit under lieutenant Goudrie’s command, they had little time to focus on what was coming their way but he ordered rapid firing from his dug in troops. A number of the aliens went down but only after multiple hits had fractured their armour. They were so quick and getting closer and closer the aliens started to fire back with their own energy weapons ripping holes in the government lines. The lieutenant ran to his communications truck and in a garbled frantic message pleadeded for help from all units.

  As he closed his communicator he must have known that he and his unit were doomed. The first alien had already reached their position and was only brought down by several of the government troopers firing at him simultaneously. The Kyandians were not to be stopped and sprang through the gaps that had been created in the government ranks stepping over the fallen smoking human bodies. Fighting was now at close quarters and there could only be one outcome as the aliens hacked and chopped the infantry with their handless axes. A number of the government troops could not face the onslaught and broke from their positions running for their lives but these were overhauled by the alien’s giant strides and were cut down nonetheless. Others begged the aliens for mercy but it did no good, as the warlike aliens did not understand them or the concept of surrender.

  Goudrie’s formation was reduced to a small semi-circle pushed back to their personnel carriers. One still had a medium gauge plasma cannon firing and the gun aimer heroically stuck to his task until he too was hauled to the ground and slit shoulder to thigh with a diagonal slash from an alien’s knife.

  Although Goudrie and around half a dozen of his troops were then surrounded by the aliens they kept up their fire, which was causing casualties in the alien press to the extent that the Kyandian leader took a metallic disc the size of a saucer from his be
lt bag, pressed a coloured panel, causing the disc to glow purple then threw it discus style at the remaining huddle. Goudrie saw the disc coming about two feet above the ground, but it went straight past the group only to hit the truck behind them. The contact with the carrier caused a huge explosion, a small purple mushroom cloud rose over the remains of the vehicle and the fragmented soldiers alongside it.

  The aliens were still around fifty in number and turning to look for their next prey, they saw a string of humans spread out across the desert striving to reach safety. A raised blade from their leader brought the aliens together and they set off at a gallop to catch their quarry.

  It was not Kurko’s plan to win a decisive battle but merely to create a diversion long enough to get his escape fleet into the skies. His plan worked perfectly as forces were pulled from their positions and sent to meet the alien threat.

  The government forces commander also took the decision to send in his last three fighter planes to try and stop the alien attack and as these new deployments took place Kurko launched his fleet.

  ***********************************

  Kang heard the roar first as one then another spacecraft blasted out from the Walendia spaceport, Bambi looked at him to seek guidance and whilst recognising this, the mandroid leader said, “They will have to wait, our mission is to rescue the prince along with the captured crews and unless we aid them quickly we will fail. Perhaps the orbiting government picket ships will slow Kurko down long enough for us to join in but for now we need to aid Getaway.”

  The aliens were in the open when the government planes attacked with plasma cannon, being still in a bunch many casualties were sustained by the Kyandians but most kept going even if they were wounded. Such was the speed of their advance they closed with Kyle’s column quickly and the planes had to pull away to avoid hitting their new allies.