Star People

Chapter 41

Operation Fortitude

1307 hours, Zedan Capital…

“How long will it take to evacuate all Allied forces from the continent?” Mark asked after the demise of Emperor Zendara and the activation of the Ender Network.

“It would take far too long, Captain.” Reelan replied. “The Free Land ships can move away to a safe distance within 3 minutes, but that would mean abandoning the Battle-Mech groups and ground forces. Not to mention that a large number of Atlans and Naran forces will take even longer to begin evacuation procedures.”

“Abandoning our allies, Battle-Mechs and ground troops is out of the question!”

“Of course, Captain. Not to mention that abandoning the Zedan civilians is also out of the question.”

“Damn that Zendara! I need some options here!”

“Captain, the Council of Prime Directors and the governments of both Atlans and Naran have been made aware of the current situation.” Harken announced. “Also, one of the Battle-Mech squads was directly above one of the Endo Micro-Bombs and did a scan on the device. Each bomb seems to be around 10 km deep. They’ve transmitted the schematics.”

“On screen.”

The holo-viewer displayed an image of a boxlike device with several wires and archaic devices attached to it and the tectonic plate. Mark frowned as he looked over the schematics.

“Hmmm, I can see a mechanical timer and vacuum tubes. I can also see what looks to be a receiver line. I don’t think these things came with a failsafe either.”

“That means we can’t disable these bombs with EMP bursts.” The Catian third-in-command noted. “Not to mention that such a tactic might just set off the bombs prematurely.”

“We know the location of each bomb due to tracking the signals they received. However, digging them out manually and disposing them would take too long and using tractor beams would cause too much collateral damage and endanger innocents. We’d also run the risk of setting off those bombs as well.” The Kyteeri second-in-command added.

“So there’s no possible way to keep those bombs from detonating. It looks like each bomb has the same explosive yield as 5 kilotons. One is enough to destroy a small city or large town. How many bombs are we talking about?” Mark asked.

“Well over nine thousand.”Harken responded. “If they all reach zero and go off simultaneously, the results will be catastrophic. The entire continent will break apart and the radiation levels will be so high, that the atomic bombings of World War Two will look like firecrackers in comparison.”

“So… if we can’t stop the network from detonating… then the best option would be… to keep the continent from breaking apart.” Mark said the last part while snapping his fingers.

“What are you saying, Captain?” The First Officer asked.

“Operation Fortitude.”

As soon as he said those words, both the First and Second Officers understood immediately.

Operation Fortitude was a defensive battle tactic that was used against the Cryterians, in which a fleet of Star Alliance vessels interlocked their defense barriers and formed one massive shield, which was strong enough to hold an asteroid together against the explosive force of a small nova. It would be close, but if all the available destroyers, cruisers and battleships could get into position, their combined barriers should be able to deflect the Ender Network’s power and radiation away from the upper half of the continent.

“Relay the orders to all Free Land vessels and ground bases that have barrier capabilities! They are to initiate Operation Fortitude immediately! All Starfighter and Battle-Mechs are to return to their bases or land in stable areas! The same thing goes for all ground forces and allied forces! We have less than 7 minutes, people!”

“The Council has been informed and they have approved the plan to use Operation Fortitude.” Lieutenant Visera announced.

At that point, Captain Retora came on screen.

“Captain Delan, may I ask what is going on? What was that explosion and what are the ‘Ender Network?’ and Operation Fortitude?”

Mark took a deep breath and replied in an irritated tone. “In short order, the Zedan Emperor is dead, a doomsday weapon has been activated, and we have just over six minutes to prevent a continent from self-destructing and taking everyone with it! And no, we neither need nor want any assistance from Naran! Please evacuate the Deriaton One from the immediate area immediately!”

“W-What?! Evacuate?! What are you saying?!”

“There is no time to explain! Stay or go, it doesn’t matter at this point!” Mark then had communications cut off from Deriaton One, leaving its captain even more confused.

After firing the Mana Over-Wave Cannon, the Deriaton One’s psion-reserves were depleted and it could only feebly use its maneuvering thrusters to move at a snail’s pace. It would take more than half an hour to bring its psion levels back up to minimal standards. At this point, the greatest weapon of the Kingdom of Naran was basically ‘dead in the water’ and useless.

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T-minus 5 minutes and 49 seconds to detonation…

There was a flurry of activity at the beachheads of Omaha, Sword and Juno as every destroyer, cruiser, battleship and carrier lifted off and began moving toward their designated positions. Once they reached their coordinates, each ship was to activate its defense barrier and extend it to its maximum radius and strength. They needed to send the deflector energy as far down into the ground as possible. Before long, a gigantic energy bubble started to form around each mass of ships. As they grew in size, they started to merge with other masses of ships and their deflector barriers. Soon, larger energy bubbles started to form as the Free Land forces raced against time to prevent the entire continent of Zedan from destroying itself.

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T-minus 5 minutes and 10 seconds…

“Hawk Prime to all Hawk Wings! If you cannot make it back to your bases in the next two minutes, then land your starfighters and assume protective standby positions!”

“Byatta Prime to all Byatta Wings! Return to base or land and assume protective standby positions!”

After giving their orders, James and his wife Miriyo landed their fighters at a clearing near the one of Zedan’s major cities. The Star Hawk and Byatta fighters put up protective radiation shields as both pilots waited for the Ender Network to detonate.

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T-minus 4 minutes and 55 seconds…

“All right, get those tanks and vehicles into the protected area! All Battle-Mechs are to assume defensive positions! Move, move, move!”

Jerry Vandelin continued to bark orders from his Star Gladiator as his squad worked with other Battle-Mech groups to set up protected sectors for the ground troops. They would also provide extra protection using their radiation shielding equipment. Hopefully, they would not need the gear if Operation Fortitude worked.

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T-minus 4 minutes and 20 seconds…

In every city and town, the citizens of Zedan were both in awe and fear as they saw the skies filled with alien warships. At first, they had thought that their continent had been completely conquered, (though technically it was with the Emperor dead). They had braced themselves for the brutality of occupying enemy forces that was sure to come.

However, the enemy did nothing more but advised all civilians to stay inside their homes. The people became even more confused when the skies began to glitter with some kind of translucent energy and the ground itself seemed even more solid than usual. Just what was Free Land trying to do their homeland?

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T-minus 3 minutes and 45 seconds…

The Council of Prime Directors…

“Barrier encirclement of the Zedan continent is 65% complete.” Nerto announced as he read the report on his console.

“All Allied Forces that were not on the continent or near its coastline waters are still in the middle of evacuating to a safe distance.” Anida stated. “It’ll be close, but they should be far enough away before the network detonates.”

“Have all Free Land vessels not involved in Operation Fortitude to use their barriers to protect those Allied forces.” Nasaak ordered. “Have them assume full radiological preparation and countermeasures!”

“Captain Delan of the Missouri reports that the combined barrier energy is now approaching a depth of 9 km! They’re almost at the same depth as the Ender Network!” Viska commented.

“How much time do we have left?” Benjamin asked.

“Just a little over three minutes...” Anida replied.

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T-minus 2 minutes and 15 seconds…

The Missouri’s bridge…

“Barrier encirclement of the Zedan continent is at 70% completion.” Lieutenant Visera announced. “All destroyers and light cruisers are reporting to be at maximum barrier output. All heavy cruisers, pocket battleships and carriers report to be at 80% output.”

“And the Missouri?” Delan asked.

“Chief Engineer Shepherd states that he will able to coax an additional 10% of barrier output within 30 seconds.” Reelan responded.

“All radiological crews and countermeasures are on standby.” Harken stated.

Mark nodded as he looked down at the chrono-gauge on his command chair as the countdown reached the two-minute warning.

One hundred and twenty seconds to go…

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T-minus 1 minute and 45 seconds…

In a hidden chamber, General Himro, Major Vero and the other conspirators could only wait in silence. They had been listening in on the communications between Captain Delan and the now-deceased Emperor Zendara. They were still in a state of shock that Zendara had this doomsday weapon to render the entire continent a destroyed and irradiated wasteland.

Once they heard about the pulse monitor that would immediately transmit the activation frequency, should the emperor’s heart beat stop, they had realized that the bomb they had planted would spell the end of the Empire. Their hearts sank when they heard the explosion and the declaration that the signal had been sent.

There had been a few who wanted to evacuate, but in the end, that would have been a pointless endeavor. Where could they run to? They only had less than ten minutes. Even by the fastest plane, they would not be able to get far enough away. And if by some miracle they managed to escape the continent, then where could they go to? Furthermore, many of the officers had families and were unwilling to abandon them, just to save themselves. It was eventually decided by all, to place their trust in Free Land’s Operation Fortitude. Should it fail, at the very least, they would all perish together with their families.

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T-minus 45 seconds…

The Missouri’s bridge…

“Captain, Lieutenant Commander Shepherd is reporting that the Missouri is now at full barrier output.” Reelan stated. “This is all that he can do.”

“Very good, Commander. And what about the overall encirclement around the Zedan continent?” The Missouri’s captain asked.

“Barrier encirclement and strengthening has reached 90%...” Harken stated as he read the display on his console. “Now it’s reading at 92%... 95%... 99%... Captain, I am pleased to announce that we have achieved 100% encirclement of the Zedan continent. The combined barrier has reached a depth of 9.5 km and we are at full barrier strength.”

“All that’s left to do now… is wait.” Mark stated as he looked down at his chrono-guage.

“Detonation will occur in T-minus 20 seconds and counting…” Visera announced. The entire bridge became silent, save for her voice as she counted down. “T-minus 15 seconds… 14… 13… 12… “

This is it. The moment of truth!

“Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… ZERO!”

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Deep below the surface, the timers on the Ender Network all reached zero, causing their payloads of Zedenium to reach critical mass and detonate. The tectonic plates beneath the continent began to shift as the combined explosive force of the Ender Micro-Bombs pushed upwards. However, the destructive force then slammed into something more solid than the tectonic plates. The combined barrier of Operation Fortitude.

The entire Zedan continent shook as if it had been hit by a massive earthquake. With over 9,000 Ender Micro-Bombs going off at the same time, each with a 5-kiloton yield, it was the equivalent of a 45 megaton warhead. That was almost the same as the Tsar Bomb, a whopping 50 megatons. Placed near the focal points where the continent’s tectonic plates joined, it would have caused the entire landmass to break apart, virtually killing the entire populace and leave the remains of the landscape irradiated for centuries.

However, Operation Fortitude deflected the explosive force of the network away from the upper half of the continent, causing all that kinetic energy to radiate downwards and outwards. As a result, the waters of the oceans around the Zedan continent began to heat up and boil in some areas. The fishkill count was enormous and radiation levels began to spike. Shockwaves bounced off the barrier, making it shimmer in some areas. Despite the cataclysmic amount of destruction, the combined barrier of Operation Fortitude held.

Thirty seconds after the detonation, the tremors began to subside. There were some minor aftershocks, but they were of no concern to the continent-sized barrier. Finally, after another minute of silence and calm, it seemed that the worst was over and the calamity had been averted.

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The Missouri’s bridge, 1320 hours…

“Status report.” Mark ordered.

“Barrier is operating at 100% and has not been compromised.” Reelan announced. “All ships in Operation Fortitude are present and accounted for. A few have suffered minor damage but all have sustained zero casualties.”

“I’m getting reports from the ground crews and starfighter squadrons that were on the continent during Operation Fortitude.” Harken commented. “We have zero fatalities and a few instances of bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.”

“What about our allies and the civilians?” Mark asked.

“All ships from Atlans and Naran were able to make it to a safe distance and report no injuries or casualties.” Lieutenant Visera announced. “As as for those within the combined barrier, there were no instances of fatalities and just a few minor injuries overall. That includes the Zedan population.”

“Damage report and radiation levels outside the barrier?”

“We’ve managed to deflect the majority of the Ender Network’s force away from the upper half of the continent, but an estimated twenty to thirty percent of the lower half has broken off and fell into the ocean.” The Catian third-in-command replied. “Radiation levels are quite high in the ocean below and the surrounding waters a few kilometers from the coastlines. It will take some time for us to reduce them down to harmless levels.”

“That is not the biggest issue at this moment.” Reelan pointed out.

“And what is the biggest issue?” Her husband asked though he had a feeling that he already knew.

“Even though we’ve managed to save most of the continent of Zedan, the damage it had sustained rendered the landmass as geologically unstable. Fissures and large ruptures along the major fault lines will cause the continent to catastrophically break apart. The only reason why it hasn’t done so already is because the geological integrity is being sustained by the combined barrier.”

“In other words, we’re the glue that’s holding the whole continent together.” Reelan’s lifemate surmised.

“That is a simple but very accurate analogy, Captain.” The Catian lieutenant commander remarked. “We cannot maintain the combined barrier indefinitely. The big question is what do we do now?”

To be continued…