Armada: Book 4: Blood and Metal by Will Crudge

Author:Will Crudge [Crudge, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

Vice Admiral Esposo cringed when he saw the alien battle line of dreadnaughts sweep away the defending SNA ships and send them fleeing into FTL. As commander of the Reserve fleet, he had the only SNA fleet comprising metallic-built boats and, therefore, not a fleet of death traps. The active fleet was too busy trying to replace their nanolaminent garbage with ancient vessels in the boneyard at Refuge, so it fell to the reserves to hold back the alien hordes. The SNA fleet, known for its resilience and repairability, was crucial in this conflict, as it was the only force capable of withstanding the alien onslaught.

While the metal hulls of the human ships were susceptible to the energy and plasma weapons favored by the CHarteans, they possessed a resilience that the aliens underestimated. These hulls could be repaired, a crucial advantage in the face of the alien's anti-ship missiles. Vice Admiral Esposo, with his flotilla of ancient relics, knew that a counterattack was not only possible but necessary. The human ships, though dwarfed by the alien dreadnaughts, were more numerous, and the aliens found themselves outnumbered three to one.

The sight of the alien dreadnaughts forming a picket around the logistics base at the top of the planet’s space elevator was a sobering one. Alien troop transport ships were docked, unloading troops onto the station to be lowered to the ground below. This indicated that the aliens had likely secured a foothold at the facility at the base of the elevator, a development that Vice Admiral Esposo found deeply troubling. The situation was dire, and the battle for survival had truly begun.

The human soldiers and marines had no status on the surface, and Esposo feared the worst. The training center where they were stationed was thirty miles north of the base of the elevator and was heavily fortified. Comms jamming was flooding the atmosphere, and the invaders tried to sever any coordination between the humans on the ground and any assets in space. But Esposo wasn’t going to speculate. He’d summoned the marine and army generals within his flotilla and was keen to send ground troops to the surface. However, Esposo, despite his experience and rank, couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and uncertainty. He knew he was out of his element when it came to supporting a battle on the ground, and the potential loss of his troops weighed heavily on his mind.

Army Major General Hastings, commander of the Army’s 4th Expeditionary Division, and Marine Brigadier General Martinez, commander of the 3rd Light Armored Regiment, walked into the conference room. Vice Admiral Esposo turned to greet the men but ignored any small talk or pleasantries, as men and women were likely dying down on the planet. “Gentlemen, we need to act now,”

Both men nodded, but the army general spoke first. “Sir, I’ve got special ops troops primed and ready in their dropships. The imagery of the situation down below indicates the enemy forces may have taken the station.

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