RetreadsChapter 34
- 3 years ago
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The benefits from delegating the responsibilities of planning and co-ordination were immediate and many. Once it was understood that my presence in the meetings was simply that of an interested observer, the general staff came up with ideas that I hadn't even considered.
For starters, my concern for safety of the Borealan fleet was made significantly less pronounced. A new prototype design of hypermissle was to be deployed prior to the arrival of the Kraal fleet. This design was completely self-sufficient and automated. They were the size of a small fighter craft, and had cloaking capability. All Keeli had to do was plant them and trigger them from a distance.
They had other plans for the Borealan fleet. With any luck, the Kraal wouldn't even know they existed. Keeli was to send out a distress signal emulating a cargo ship in distress. The message would be broadcast in the clear. Two replies would be sent from other ships in her fleet. These would also be disguised as coming from cargo vessels. These would say that they were on their way to assist, along with a three ship escort. Three cargo vessels should be too much for the Kraal to resist. The escort was hoped to cause them to send the whole fleet. The Admiral felt that after our last encounter with them, they would send what they thought to be overwhelming force.
None of us were as comfortable with the plan to attack and occupy the Kraal home world. Very little was known about the defenses they had in place, the amount and disposition of enemy ground forces, or command and control placement. The little we did know was sent via the Gallian slaves. They were the only ones on the planet surface who could communicate with the outside.
The opinion of our sources was that the Kraal forces on the planet were mostly there to control the slaves. There were some military bases, but these were mostly for training and support. If there were any ground based defenses against invasion, the slaves were unaware of it.
With this small amount of intelligence, the plan had to remain flexible. After disposing of the space-based defense platforms, ground troops would be inserted at four locations. These would be the palace and the three known military bases. A large force would be held in reserve for possible deployment to any other places that appeared to need them. Fighters equipped for atmospheric action would act as both an escort and attack force to deal with any defense on the surface.
Phase one went fairly well. Not all of the Kraal ships were lured away, but what was left consisted of three destroyers and a cruiser. When they left, we remained cloaked until a tight-beam transmission was received from the Borealan fleet indicating that the Kraal forces had been engaged.
Immediately upon receipt of the information, half of our fleet dropped their cloaks and opened fire. The Kraal ships were targeted first, and were dust before having a chance to even register our sudden appearance.
The defense platforms proved to be a bit more problematical. While our fighting ships kept them occupied, the invasion force was slipped past without notice. Before all of the satellites were finally destroyed, we had troops on the ground. Two of our cruisers and one destroyer took damage, but reported they could still fight. Over their protests, they were sent home anyway. None of them were able to cloak, and this was necessary to the plan.
The more lightly armored Gallians had fared far worse than us. Two of their ships were destroyed and another three put out of action. The ones that were damaged, but still in one piece and able to travel, were also sent home.
The Kraal fleet wasn't long in returning. More than one transmission had been sent their way informing them of the attack on their planet. When they arrived, confusion reigned. We were nowhere to be seen, but their defense shield had been decimated. Their force had been reduced by over a third, too. The hypermissle drones had been a nasty surprise.
The Admiral didn't waste much time letting them figure things out. Less than thirty seconds after they arrived, the Kraal fleet was under attack. Facing far superior numbers must have been a new experience for them. They tried to run.
The Admiral was smiling as he transmitted "Execute Butt fuck!
The Borealan fleet had trailed the enemy all the way home, and were blocking the only exit from the trap. Two of the Kraal battleships actually collided when the new force materialized in front of them.
We offered to let them surrender, but that seemed to be a term reserved for races other than their own. With the numbers we had, it was a massacre.
The action had been going on for six hours at this point. I had tried to keep up with both the space and land battles, but it was impossible. I knew things were going pretty well on the ground, but the extent of the success astounded everyone in the command center.
The possibility of being invaded must have never entered the minds of the Kraal. Our forces were fighting what seemed to be little more than police and reserves. There had been a few anti-aircraft emplacements around the four landing zones, as well as two other areas that seemed to be manufacturing centers. These had been disposed of with the loss of two fighters. Both pilots had been recovered. They were bruised, but alive.
We did take some losses, but it was far better than we had feared. The Kraal must have been almost as worried about their own people as they were about the slaves. The general population had no weapons at all, and were not a threat. Those that tried to be, were swiftly dealt with. Most of the time, this was by a captive.
The Gallian Queen had been a valuable asset. Evidently, the Kraal leader found it amusing to have a queen as a body slave. Kathy found them together, and he seemed much less amused, now. It seems that communication wasn't the only use for Gallian telepathy. The "Great Leader" was sitting in his command seat with drool dripping off of his chin and a glazed expression on his ugly mug. Several guards lay dead in the same room.
When Kathy asked whether he would recover, the queen replied "Not in this life. He is still able to breathe, and he is fully aware of his situation. This is the extent of his capabilities. I removed his motor functions. He is more like a plant than the animal he used to be. I consider this an improvement."
She had acted as soon as our attack began. It explained a lot about their seeming confusion and lack of direction during the fighting.
We found Kraal captives numbering in the tens of thousands. Some of them had been held for over fifty years. That was about the limit of a beings life expectancy, once captured by the Kraal. Most died long before then.
Calls went out to several races for transportation of their people. Many were met with surprise and disbelief, along with relief and excitement. A group of fifty was brought directly to me.
I had some 'surprise and disbelief' of my own! The group was from Earth, and had been seized from a group of Halim that had abducted them from various locations on earth. This had happened several years ago, and the refugees were dismayed to discover the present political climate on their home planet. The people who had ties on earth wanted to go home.
The number to be returned ended up being three. The relatives of the rest of them emigrated to either Vanir or Aesir. Strangely enough, a few of their family members were either in the fleet, or on the ground. Immediate steps were taken to re-unite the families.
The planet was scoured for any trace of additional captives, but there would be no 'occupation force' left behind. Every craft capable of traveling outside the atmosphere was destroyed, though. By the time any more could be built, we would have our own satellites in place. The Kraal world was placed under quarantine. Nothing would be allowed to enter or leave, without our permission.
There were many more benefits in destroying the Kraal offensive capability than peace of mind. The Eridani Alliance was now recognized by all of the known races as a force to be reckoned with. Almost all of these would be close allies.
There were very few who wouldn't be. The aforementioned Halim, were one. Two of their craft had been destroyed in the vicinity of Earth, already. No more had been seen since the warning to stay away was given, but we knew they would be a problem in the future. Not much of one, though. None of the other races liked them, either.
The Gallian queen was particularly grateful for our intervention. They were an old and respected race in the galaxy, and that went a long way all by itself. Being married to the Whelan leaders didn't hurt, either. Nobody wanted to argue with them!
We had been gone for three months. Upon our return, we found out that the situation on Earth had become even worse. The 'Fundamentalist Party' had won both the Presidency, and control of both houses of congress. There was talk of deporting all non-Christians from America, and ceasing all trade with countries that believed differently.
It was hard to believe that these fanatics had been able to take over the government. Even with the continued apathy of the American electorate, this had not been anticipated. It seemed that the revelation of their recent presidents religion, along with many in both houses of congress, had been enough to cause the polls to be overrun by people determined to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
No thought was given to the undeniable fact that both the country and the world was much better off because of what we had accomplished. Our people had spent enormous amounts of money to mitigate the damage, but to little effect.
The Islamic countries had little ability to retaliate to the measures that were threatened by the new government in the area of trade, but terrorist attacks increased dramatically. Many nations were caught in the middle. The attitudes on both sides of the conflict disgusted them. This resulted in a third antagonist, labeled 'The Moderates'.
The only step we took, was to make it clear that any attempt to develop or deploy nuclear or biological weapons by any side, would not be tolerated. It was obvious that we were eventually going to have to intervene, if earth was to be salvaged.
If we didn't, it would result in a long and bloody 'world war' that would make any previous conflict pale in comparison. I felt that it was not my place to decide which group to side with. We would have an open vote on the matter.
The voting was conducted by personal communicator, and tallied. No one was surprised when over ninety-nine percent of the population chose the moderates.
The way to proceed was left to the military staff, and I was pleasantly surprised with the plan. There would be no military forces involved, at least directly. With the moderate's help, We would isolate both sides. No trade would be allowed to occur with them, at all. Canada and Mexico were on the moderate side, and would seal their borders with the US. The same would happen to any country in the Islamic camp.
It might have hurt the Islamic fanatics more than America, if not for us. Fusion technology was still a closely held secret, as were several other innovations. All of the fusion plants could still be deactivated via satellite, too. The fact that almost all military hardware was fusion powered was a bonus.
There was still a lot of the old fossil fuel technology around, but the infrastructure for drilling and refining was in a shambles. Very little gasoline or diesel was used, so industry had adapted. Factories ground to a halt, transportation stopped in its tracks, and agriculture took a giant step backwards. The only fusion powered devices left operating were in food delivery trucks, and hospitals.
Matthias Sussmann: Chosen by the Gods to lead mission to prevent Ragnorok William Sussmann: Father of Matt Suzanne Sussmann: Mother of Matt Al Sussmann: Brother of Matt Beth Sussmann: First adopted sister of Matt and future mate. Computer design and CEO Tina Finch(Sussmann): Second adopted sister of Matt and future mate. Inventor. Head of independent lab Perfects Hydrogen power, alternate fuel, and Cold Fusion Paula O'Shea: - Oncologist - Mate of Bryan Sharon Granger(Sussmann:...
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I don't know why I did it but in retrospect, I'm definitely glad I did. I was driving down one of those uncountable mountain roads. You probably know the kind, not a straight section over fifty feet long and a sheer drop to the treetops hundreds of feet below with only a thin guard rail (if that) between you and eternity. Most of the traffic is from coal or log trucks, each weighing sixty thousand pounds and every one a menace. I was daydreaming as usual while reflecting on my wasted life...
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We were discussing the ramifications of this when Tina remembered the news and I rewound the tape. I was impressed with the interview. Not about me, but the way it was put together. They showed it exactly as it had occurred with no fancy editing. I was happier with the parts I wasn't in. Jeff was interviewed briefly because he was my catcher and went a little overboard about how many different pitches I could throw and how I had taught the others to throw some of them. One thing I hadn't...
Friday came. It was J-Day. I had been anticipating this with both eagerness and nervousness. We were left alone from Friday after our four o'clock workout until Sunday at ten P.M. for our first "mission". As soon as we were alone I could tell Jane was as nervous and excited as I was. I asked why and she admitted that she felt like a pedophile even though she knew the truth about me. We talked for almost an hour before she relaxed enough to begin. I had "reactivated the plumbing" before...
"That can't be it. The damn thing wouldn't work!" You don't say that to two fellow geeks without them wanting the details. "I was into tinkering with laser and was working on a liquid bromide version. I don't see how it fits in though. I could only get enough output for one shot. I was working on a revolving input source something like an old Gatling gun but it was only in the design stage. I didn't have the resources to model it." Tina smiled and said "bingo!" Adam added "I...
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I let Bryan in and he stopped in his tracks before blurting "damn Matt! How in the heck did you manage to lure so many beautiful women in here?" The girls laughed and Paula said "you're right, we like him already!" Evidently Paula and Becky sure did because they claimed him and placed Bryan between them on the love seat. It was cramped but they seemed to prefer it that way. If there had been another love seat my companions and I would have been just as happy. Kathy was on one side and...
I awakened to a wonderful sensation in my groin area. When I opened my eyes there was a delicious red bush hovering over my lips. I sighed "ahhh, breakfast!" and proceeded to get my fill. I stayed hard after dishing up some "cream of Matt". Beth just licked her lips, shook her head, and mounted me with "never look gift cocks in the mouth!" We decided not to get dressed for breakfast and found a surprise when we walked out of the bedroom. George had evidently clued Gail in on our...
Connie looked forlorn while Tina and Rhonda were just as eager to become mothers. Mom brought them back to reality with "both of you aren't even fifteen, at least physically. Next year is soon enough and besides this way we'll have young ones around even longer. You all might want to consider keeping your maiden names, too. If Matt does manage to get elected it might be hard to confirm a cabinet full of women with the same last name as his." I told her if they weren't confirmed I'd...
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I didn't sleep that night but I did rest peacefully ensconced in the center of a meadow of delicious females. I spent the time thinking and planning. When The ladies finally stirred and we showered together before emerging from the bedroom to discover we had company. Gail and Angie had breakfast ready for us. We were greeted with a hug and a kiss before we thanked them and sat down to eat. After the assurances that I was fine, I got around to asking about any homework I had missed. I was...
Tina informed me we were having Russian for dinner but wouldn't elaborate further no matter how much I tried. She would only say that she thought I might like a little variety tonight. I began to see what she meant when we arrived home. I noticed the aroma first. It was delicious, but couldn't hope to compete with the presentation. Four lovely women were bustling in our kitchen. Anya and Tanya appeared to be the main chefs but their two petite helpers were just as attractive. I hadn't...
I knew something was up as soon as we got home Monday and was afraid it was bad. Mom, Jane and Gail met us in the driveway and grabbed my hand along with Tina, Angie, and Kathy. We asked what was wrong and felt relieved when They laughed. Jane said "words can't describe it. This is something you just have to see for yourselves." When we got there I had to admit they were right. The children were all over the living room table. They were talking and drawing on large sheets of paper. This...
She didn't say a word until after downing her first double shot of Turkey and then it was just "hit me" as she handed me her glass for a refill. She was on her third before she said any more. Finally she sighed "I think I can talk about it now." She still had tears escaping as she went on. "That poor little boy, I am so glad that I didn't try anything until I was leaving. There was a big tumor in his chest and I thought I could make it at least start to go away but every time I made...
It turned out to be the following week before we could corner Debbie. Sharon invited her to spend the weekend. We weren't playing around this time and when Sharon brought her over we were all there waiting for her. I flat out told her "look Debbie, we know the story because we're all living it. Let's cut to the chase and have you tell us how you died and what talents you have." I guess it wasn't a smart thing to do because she fainted at the moment I quit talking. George caught her...
Now that all of our manpower was freed up on the reservations, we could almost keep up. Construction had been a bitch. Even with all the people called back home who had construction or technical expertise, it had been a close thing to get the first plants up and running in a year. The people who had been in the auto industry were a huge help. As it was, much of the assembly was still done manually. It would be six months before the last of the automation was fully operational. We should have...
My fears were realized as we exited our wedding lodge afterward. There was quite a crowd waiting with many cheers, catcalls, whinnys, and neighs. Thus my name among the people became "Stallion who rides through the night". The short version was just "Stallion". My family got a kick out of that and the reservation wasn't the only place I would hear it, I was sure. My parents were even calling me "Hoss". There was talk of changing Angeni's name to "Bowlegged spirit" or "Spirit who...
1986 There was another disaster to prevent, this one was just as important as the others, at least to us. The problem was that we simply did not know how to stop it. Unless we could make someone at NASA listen, we would have to watch the Challenger explode all over again on January 28th. We tried contacting Thiokol, our Congressman, and finally, NASA before playing dirty. I still had a phone number in my wallet but first I needed backup. There was someone whose honest and frustrated...
As we disembarked upon our arrival home we all had the same reaction. It was Jane who voiced it, commenting "gods, I never realized how putrid it smells here!" We also found that their van was missing so we dropped them at Cambridge and waited out of sight until the taxi showed up. We figured his van had been stolen while we were away. That was proven wrong as we watched the news after getting back to Hazard. The lead story was the "mysterious reappearance of Stephen Hawking and his...
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September, 2001 I had planned this mission from day one in the White House. The Secret Service was very good, but it wasn't totally impossible to leave the grounds undetected. Entering would have been much more of a problem. The worst part of this job to me was the makeup. Without it we all still looked like we were 24 years old. One advantage though, was the fact that Connie and I had become very good at applying it. Every morning we did each other up. We did a bit of creative work while...
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Besides the Sussmann, which was more or less a light cruiser, our fleet consisted of the only battleship we had (Berserker), along with three cruisers (Wildcat, Tiger, and Lion), five destroyers (Griffin, Dragon, Wyvern, Basilisk, and Chimera) and two carriers (Avenger, and Dauntless). There was also a transport filled with enough personnel to pilot the Borealan fleet back to Vanir. We would escort the transport. if the Kraal weren't encountered, we would have accomplished something...
Report to the King of Sparta. B.C 481 "We must conclude that there was more then one Persian ship in our waters. When one met with disaster in the storm, the other picked up survivors and as much wreckage as it could. The shield is the only piece of wreckage that signifies Persian identity. There can be no doubt that it was a spying mission or an attempt to land agents of Persia on our soil or the soil of a neighbouring state. We cannot ignore the possibility that a neighbour may actually...
Le vol dura des heures, et pourtant Maxime n'en pouvait plus d'excitation. Une heure environ avant d'arriver, il se rendit aux toilettes, et se changea pour prendre sa tenue habituelle - jean, baskets blanches, queue de cheval -. Il se sentait ? l'aise ainsi. C'?tait ainsi qu'il comptait vivre aux USA. Galvin lui avait dit que tout ?tait pr?t pour lui, et qu'il n'avait plus qu'? arriver. Son logement, son contrat de travail. Un v?hicule l'attendait ? l'a?roport et devait le conduire ? l'embarcad?re puis jusq...
It was a time of horrible raids by terrible marrauding hordes, which caused untold misery, fear and poverty in all of Pelopones. It was a time when Xena and Gabrielle were needed by all the towns, before it is too late, but she was nowhere to be found. The century before had been a good time for all, under the Cooperation Accord of Olympia, there was piece between all the polises, and Xena could concentrate on petty crime and feuding Gods. But now Xena had been on a mission in Asia for years,...
Cousins - Une Histoire de Famille - partie 3 Par Loulou Note: cette histoire est pure fiction et aucun des personnages n'existe vraiment ? l'ext?rieur de ces lignes. Ne m'en veuillez pas de prendre quelques libert?s avec la r?alit?. Chapitre 12 - Rentr?e des Classes pour Chris Pour des raisons diff?rentes, les deux cousins ?taient tout aussi inquiets. Chris faisait sa rentr?e dans la l'?cole de beaut? et Sam avait mis ses nouveaux v?tements et esp?rait plaire ? Jessica. M?me s'il avait dit le contraire ? son cou...
Ce jour-l?, Maxime Lamothe eu 17 ans pour la premi?re fois de sa vie. Bien s?r, il avait eu 16 ans, aussi, et 15 ans avant ?a. Mais ces ann?es-l? ?taient encore porteuses d'espoir. Il avait attendu, attendu, mais il s'?tait jur? que si ??a? ne changeait pas, il irait voir quelqu'un. Au cas o?. C'?tait maintenant. - Ecoutez, jeune homme...je ne vois rien d'anormal. Votre taille ne devrait...plus tellement changer. Vos parents ?taient d?j? petits eux aussi, apr?s tout. Mais c'est vrai, g?n?ralement...enfin....-...
Maxime resta tr?s longtemps dans un demi-coma. Ou, tout du moins, il le pensait. Des images allaient et venaient. Des personnages apparaissaient devant lui. Il ne pouvait pas voir leur visage, mais il les entendait parler. Parfois en fran?ais, parfois en anglais. Il se sentit avoir froid. Puis chaud. Puis froid ? nouveau. Et faim. Et chaud. Plusieurs fois il voulut ouvrir ses yeux, mais il n'y parvenait pas. Lorsqu'il ouvrit enfin ses yeux, il ?tait dans une chambre d'h?pital. Toute blanche, toute...
In this part Theron trys to drug Queen to make her his lifetime slave. And he started to sceduce her hard. [email protected]
FantasyNote from the author: The story is in Italian as I realized it is too hard for me to keep writing in English, but I will probably translate it later on. ---------------------------- Capitolo 3: Rachel Matt sedeva al tavolo della cucina di Steve. Una massa indistinta di capelli viola le ondeggiava davanti al viso ogni volta che si muoveva. Indossava ancora il pigiama prestatole da Chelsea. "Non riesco proprio a credere di aver avuto bisogno di un...
Cousins - Une Histoire de Famille - partie 5 Par Loulou Note : cette histoire est pure fiction et aucun des personnages n'existe vraiment ? l'ext?rieur de ces lignes. Ne m'en veuillez pas de prendre quelques libert?s avec la r?alit?. Chapitre 21 - Une jolie secr?taire Sam se r?veilla en pensant que jamais il n'avait si bien dormi. Comme Chris dormait encore, il prit son petit d?jeuner en silence. Quand il entendit Chris arriver derri?re lui, Sam leva la t?te pour recevoir un baiser. "Sammy, tu as l'air...
Introduction: Ron Popeil offers a new invention called The Spartan Spitter. Introducing the Spartan Spitter Story: #25 Copyright 2005 Written: February 06 2005 A story By: KaosAngel Proofed by: Piasa_Troll Please send any comments about this story to ([email protected]) ********************************************************************** Imagine yourself sitting in your favorite easy chair, nagging wife finally went to bed, or those unruly daughters disregarded your rules and ran out again,...