When I first wrote The Flames of Elysium, it was a short story that had been written for a fanfiction contest. Of course, I didn’t know about the contest until a few days before it would end and wrote the story in a day. It was my first real attempt at trying to write a story and I became frustrated with the 10,000 word limit. I had created an interesting background for the main character that I had wanted to go into with more depth.
But that did not happen.
Instead, I created a somewhat generic story of a small group of people trying to survive against overwhelming odds and nothing else. I couldn’t go into details about the main character’s background and couldn’t do any sort of justice for the romance between the MC and the love interest. Time passed and I would take time out of my routine to just think about the story and made the decision to try and turn it into a novel. Luckily, I had already been doing some worldbuilding, or universe-building, based on a set of books I plan to write and thought that The Flames of Elysium would be a good stand-alone book set in that universe.
I am currently working on The Flames of Elysium and expect to have finished the first draft of the book hopefully within the next 3-4 months. I do plan to share the prologue and the first two chapters so I can get some feedback on the setting, tone of the book, the voice, and whether or not it will grab the reader’s interest.
However, before I share the prologue. I thought it would be fun to share the original story. Re-reading it after all this time, I couldn’t help but wince at so many of the mistakes in it. For example, with one of the characters, I forgot to write the way they conversed with others towards the end of the story. Then the ending itself was rushed not to mention that the romance came out forced and rather weak: at least to me.
So here is the short story version of The Flames of Elysium (you can check out the prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 of the re-written story as well).
The Flames of Elysium (Short Story)
Prologue:
“OOHRAH!” shouted a mech-armored Marine as he fired his Raeburn automatic laser rifle into the oncoming Cren swarm; an insectoid race known for its highly destructive ways. Shrieks of rage and anger answered the barrage of laser fire as the marine attacked from behind the safety of a hastily constructed wall. He was one of two hundred other marines, along the northern perimeter, who took cover behind the four foot tall barrier: a barrier which had been built to encompass a small town that the 3rd Marine Battalion had fallen back to.
Earlier that day the Cren had been spotted approaching Corinth, a small planet on the outer rim of the Galactic Federation of United Planets. But even then it wasn’t enough time to give the populace a chance to prepare. Quickly the word had spread through communication channels that all military units were to fall back to the nearest towns and dig in. Military units, which were closest to the major cities, were immediately retrieved to help defend the heavy population centers, leaving the smaller towns on their own while stranding military units who were too far out to be retrieved.
So it was that the 3rd Marine Battalion happened to be one of the units left to fend for itself out in the Great Desert. The sun was just beginning to rise over the barren desert landscape when the message had been received over the comm. The orders were simple: fall back to the closest defensible position and dig in. Immediately, General Rook Jackson had ordered the entire battalion to head to the nearest town and erect a defense.
That town was Elysium. Population: 253.
Chapter 1
March 3, 2250
The sun was still rising as the battalion arrived at the outskirts of the town when a Cren force was spotted off in the distance heading towards them. Surveying the insectoid enemy through his binoculars, General Jackson said, “Colonel Bishop. How quickly do you estimate the enemy will make it to the town?”
“About an hour sir,” replied Bishop, who had been standing beside the General. “Not enough time to properly set up a defense at the town.”
“I’m aware of that Colonel,” Jackson replied tartly without looking at Bishop. “I’m going to take 400 hundred men and buy you enough time to set up a perimeter around the town. We will hold our position about half-a-click north where we saw a couple of homesteads.”
“Yes sir,” was Bishop’s reply. Yet as General Jackson removed his binoculars and started to move away Bishop added, “Forgive me General, but might I suggest that you stage your defense at that cluster of boulders we passed by about a kilometer out? They would provide better cover and make it easier to defend your position.”
General Jackson finally turned to look at Bishop with a cold stare. “If I wanted your advice I would have asked for it Colonel.” And with that the General walked off shouting orders and immediately 400 hundred men took off at a trot.
“I see he still hasn’t taken a liking to ya Colonel darling,” a mild voice said with a slight brogue.
Turning his gaze from the departing troops Bishop stared at Captain Macintyre who stood there grinning. “I guess not Mac,” Bishop replied in an exasperated voice.
“Does he still think that ya weren’t deserving of your rank,” Macintyre asked. “Just because ya saved that one General’s daughter, and he promoted ya as a reward, doesn’t mean ya aren’t deserving of it. Ya just got it a little sooner than normal.”
Bishop sighed as he replied, “What can I do? The man has made up his mind about me.” Suddenly he shouted, “Lieutenant Brand!”
Quickly a marine, wearing a blue armor suit like Bishop and Macintyre, ran up and saluted, “Yes sir!”
“Have two hundred of our men start building a four foot wall here on the northern side of town. A hundred men each for the eastern, western, and southern sides as well. The last hundred I want on the rooftops of the tallest buildings.” Bishop quickly looked back at the town where only a few buildings were three stories tall, making them the best places for the marines. “Their job will be to keep an eye out for any flyers and ground forces approaching the city.”
“Yes sir!” Lieutenant Brand replied and took off while shouting out the orders.
“Mac,” Bishop said as he turned his attention to the captain. “Head into town, find the mayor, and inform him that we are going to need everyone’s help in defending this place.”
“Right away,” Mac answered. Quickly he ran down one of the streets that led to the middle of the town.
Seeing Lieutenant Brand off a ways, handing out work assignments to the different units, Bishop turned on the communicator in his helmet. “Lieutenant Brand. I’m heading into the city to see what is there and coordinate things with the Mayor. Inform me when the General engages the Cren.”
“Aye sir,” was Brand’s immediate reply with a wave of his hand.
With things in hand Bishop slung his rifle over his right shoulder and headed down the same road that Mac had taken. Along the street were a variety of shops. In short order Bishop arrived at the middle of the town where most of the citizens were gathered.
The area was large and wide and, in one corner of the square, was the Administration Building where the Mayor’s Office would be. It had three levels and was the largest building in Elysium. Bishop noticed that some of his marines were already on the rooftop keeping an eye out for Cren flyers.
As he continued to assess the area he could see groups of people heading off in different directions, with great urgency, and a larger group heading north. Those that stayed in the Town Square were mostly women and children with a senior citizens scattered around. The children were crying and the mothers tried to calm them down while trying to hide their own fear.
Immediately Bishop spotted Mac, who stood out in his blue armor, and waved him over. It took Mac a few minutes to get through the crowd and once he got close Bishop stated, “Report.”
“Not good. Unfortunately the Mayor died a couple days ago,” replied Macintyre. “Luckily the Deputy Mayor is more than capable and has been organizing the town for the past couple of hours. Sam Stafford, the Deputy Mayor, made sure to have everyone fall back to the town once they heard of the Cren invasion.”
“That’s good to hear,” Bishop said as he breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that all the citizens were in town was good news and he could put them to work right away. “Take me to the Deputy Mayor Mac. Let’s get these citizens prepared and have them help out with the barricade.”
With a small smile Captain Macintyre answered, “Certainly sir.”
As Bishop and Mac made their way through the crowd of people started to move out of their path. Quickly Mac led Bishop to where two people were talking. One was a bald man, in his forties, who was talking to an attractive young woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
Making his way to them Bishop extended his hand to the older gentleman and introduced himself, “Good morning Deputy Mayor. I am Colonel Bishop. It is a pleasure to meet you and I was…” Suddenly Bishop stopped talking because the man he was addressing was staring at him with a strange expression. Looking off to the side he noticed that Mac was trying not to laugh.
Confused, Bishop said uncertainly, “Perhaps I’ve made a mistake?”
At this the young woman smiled and took Bishop’s hand, which had still been held out, in her own and said, “Pleasure to meet you Colonel. I’m Deputy Mayor Sam Stafford. Now the Mayor”
Bishop could feel his face getting a little warm as he replied, “I’m sorry about that Mayor Stafford. I didn’t expect you to be a woman. Not with the first name of Sam.”
Sweetly and condescendingly Sam replied, “Sam can be a girl’s name just as well as a boy’s.”
“That’s not what I meant…” Bishop stammered, embarrassed at his mistake.
“It’s quite alright Colonel,” Sam interrupted. “However we need to get down to business. Captain Macintyre has told me what you are doing and I’ve already sent many of our citizens to the outskirts of town to help your men build the barricade. We have the necessary materials for creating crude sandbags and there are coreblocks handy. They should make the construction go a lot smoother and faster.”
As Sam talked, Bishop was able to recover from his initial embarrassment, “Very good. I saw a gun shop as I was coming in and would like…”
“For all our citizens to arm themselves and help defend the town,” Sam said as she finished his sentence. “Trust me Colonel. We have heard stories of the Cren and are prepared to do everything we can to save our town and survive. Most of our citizens own weapons for protection against bandits so don’t worry about us.”
“Well you are certainly making things easier for us Mayor Stafford,” Bishop said as the crowd started to disperse and go about their assigned tasks. “Once that outer wall is up though I’ll need the citizens help in getting a few other things done.”
“Very well Colonel,” Sam said as she motioned to the older man to go on. “We’ll be sure to comply with all of your orders.”
Bishop looked around, noticing that there were still a fair number of civilians in the Town Square, and moved close to Sam and whispered, “If you have any metalworkers have them start stockpiling metal rods and sheets. Tell them to sharpen the sides, for the sheets, and put a point on the rods.”
Sam’s eyes widened as Bishop whispered in her ear. “Do you think it will get to that point?”
Pulling back Bishop said, “I hope not but I would rather be prepared should we find ourselves in such a situation.”
Suddenly Bishop’s earpiece crackled with static and he heard the voice of Lieutenant Brand, “Colonel. Lookouts report that the Cren have engaged General Jackson.”
Hitting a button Bishop responded, “Thank you Lieutenant, I’ll be there shortly.”
Returning his attention back to the Deputy Mayor he said, “You’ll have to forgive me, I need to return back to the northern perimeter. The Cren have attacked our forces about half a kilometer away from here.”
“That would be where the Martin and Sheffield homesteads are,” Sam stated. “Go on Colonel, I’ll make sure to talk to our metalworkers and keep the civilian populace organized.”
With a nod of his head Bishop turned around and headed back to the northern side of town with Captain Macintyre by his side. Looking over at Mac, who was still grinning, Bishop said, “You just can’t resist having fun huh? You couldn’t tell me before hand that the Deputy Mayor was a woman?”
Mac shrugged and replied, “What is the point of living life Colonel darling if ya cannot enjoy it? Now let me tell ya about the town.”
As they walked back to the outskirts of town Mac offered an assessment of the town to Bishop. The town had a simple layout. There were only four streets which went in each direction. The Administrative Building was the largest structure in town with the Town Square being the only open area in Elysium. An assortment of shops lined the streets such as the gun shop, tailor, bakeries, food stores, and various stores that sold different commodities. The type of stores a small town would have. Since everything was so close together the only way in and out of the town were through the streets and a few back alleys.
By the time Mac had finished reporting, they had reached the barricade which was being worked on. The civilians had brought in some heavy equipment and pushed back some dirt to make a crude four foot high wall while the marines started stacking the coreblocks and sandbags up alongside it.
They were making good progress with the wall half done but Bishop noticed that a small portion of the marines and most of the civilians had stopped working in order to try and see the fight that was going on further out. The sound of small artillery could be heard off in the distance.
“Get back to work,” Bishop shouted incredulously. “Those men and women are dying out there in order to buy us some time to build this wall! Yet you are letting their sacrifice go to waste! Do you want the Cren to catch us unprepared and let our comrades die for nothing!?”
“NO SIR!” was the combined shout of all the marines as they went back to their task with renewed vigor.
Shaking his head Bishop took out his binoculars to get a look at the fight while yelling, “Comm!”
Quickly a marine ran up to him with a large communications box attached to his back and saluted.
Without looking Bishop asked, “Any word from the General?”
“No sir.”
“Try and establish contact with them and let me know when you have the General.”
“Yes sir,” was the reply as the Comm Officer began to establish contact.
Through the binoculars Bishop could just make out the two homesteads in the distance with marines up on the roof and inside the houses. All around them were the Cren who were trying to overwhelm them.
Removing his binoculars he called over Lieutenant Brand and asked, “How soon will the entire wall be finished?”
Brand scratched his head as he took stock of their progress. “At the rate we are going the northern wall will be finished in twenty minutes. We already have a dirt wall running around the entire town thanks to the bulldozers the civvies had. But to reinforce them with the sandbags and cinderblocks will take a little time. If I can pull all the men from this wall to help with the others we can have everything finished in under two hours.”
“Very well,” Bishop replied. “Take all the men but fifty. We are going to need to keep some marines here in case a few of the Cren decide to ignore our men out there and come straight for the town.”
“Sir,” the Comm Officer said, “I have the General on the line.” He held out the communications device for Bishop to take.
Grabbing the phone Bishop dismissed Brand and inquired, “General, how are things going out there?” For a few seconds there was no answer and he wondered whether the General had heard him over the sounds of gunfire, screaming, and a cacophony of other sounds.
“We are holding them for now Colonel,” General Jackson finally said. “There appears to be about a thousand Cren but we’ve spotted another group heading towards us. How is the wall progressing?”
“The entire town will be encased in under two hours sir. I’ll let you know when it is done.”
“Better finish it faster than that Colonel,” Jackson admonished. “That secondary force will be hitting us in about an hour. General Jackson out!”
With a click the phone went silent and Bishop said over his helmet’s comm., “Lieutenant Brand, we are going to need to get this wall up faster. A second Cren force has been spotted. I want you to leave just ten men here and leave 25 men on the rooftops. Use everyone else for this task.”
“Yes sir!”
“Hopefully we won’t be attacked,” Bishop commented to Macintyre who had been standing beside him the entire time. “You’ll be staying here with me Mac and being my go-to guy if need be.”
“Ya just can’t live without me Colonel darling,” Macintyre stated with a grin.
Chapter
For the next hour nothing else was said as time slowly dragged on. The northern wall had been finished quickly and work on the other three sides were going at a rapid pace. But a dark mood hung over the marines for their comrades were buying the time they needed with their lives.
As the hour wound down Bishop had removed his armor, keeping the communicator, and was wearing just his grey combat fatigues. Looking back towards the town he saw the Mayor, Sam Stafford, approaching the wall and admired the way she held herself as she walked straight towards Mac and himself.
“She is quite a sight eh Colonel darling,” Macintyre said, who was also watching Sam approach them. The two soldiers couldn’t help but admire her petite yet curvaceous form as her long brunette hair was tossed about by the slight breeze.
“Mayor Stafford,” Bishop said in greeting.
As she got close to them Sam said, “Well Colonel, I must say that you look a lot smaller without that armor.”
Immediately Macintyre started to laugh, “That’s what all the women say!”
“Captain Macintyre,” Bishop shouted, “That is highly inappropriate!” He couldn’t believe that Mac was doing this to him.
Sam turned her attention to Mac and, with a smile, inquired, “And you would know this how?”
Without missing a beat Mac responded, “I would know this because I’ve known the Colonel since he was at the Academy.” In a more confidential tone adding, “We showered together.”
“Damn it Mac,” Bishop bellowed. “If you are going to embarrass me do it out of earshot so I don’t have to hear it!”
While he would have dearly loved to give the order to stop Mac from saying all this, he noticed the effect it was having on the ten men who had been left to protect the northern wall. They were smiling and their morale had improved at his expense. When the rest of the men returned these ten would relay everything that happened and hopefully everyone’s spirits would pick up.
It was a small price to pay but a highly embarrassing one.
“Whatever ya desire Colonel darling,” replied Mac.
The two of them moved ten feet away from Bishop. Though he was pretty sure Mac had done it on purpose so that Bishop would be able to hear everything that was said.
In a loud whisper Mac kept talking, “I first met the Colonel when he was a new recruit at the Academy. I was off to the side watching my new squad on their first day and standing at attention. After giving them a short speech, the Drill Sergeant said, “All right you morons. Fall out!” and like good little grunts they did what they were told. All of them, except for one man.”
Mac pointed at Bishop while the Colonel pretended not to notice by bringing his binoculars up and staring out across the desert. His tried to present a calm exterior, while his face was still slightly flushed, as Mac continued on with the story. “So the Drill Sergeant notices the one cadet still standing at attention and goes right over to him and screams “Well?” The Colonel just looks at him calmly and says “There sure were a lot of them huh sir?””
“Oh my god,” Sam exclaimed. “What did the drill Sergeant do?”
“I thought he was going to beat the ever living stuffing out of him,” Mac said as he laughed. “Instead the old Drill Sergeant just laughed, clapped him on the shoulder, and told him he was dismissed. However some of the boys didn’t like it and I knew right then and there that I would have to keep a close eye on him.”
“For a guy who looks so small, without his armor, he sure has some brass balls,” Sam remarked in a playful tone.
Bishop had finally recovered from the embarrassment, but as he was about to say something his earpiece turned on and Lieutenant Brand spoke, “Colonel! We’ve just about finished with the wall!”
“Great job Lieutenant,” Bishop answered. “Comm officer over here,” He shouted and spoke again to Brand while the Comm Officer ran over to him. “Have everyone report back to their positions. 200 hundred men on the north, with 100 each at the rest of the sides, and the remaining 100 on the rooftops.”
“Yes sir!”
Looking over at the Comm Officer Bishop asked, “Do you have the General?” the Comm Officer nodded and handed him the phone. “General. The wall is complete and we are ready to defend the town.” As Bishop waited for a reply he motioned that the Comm Officer give Sam a communicator.
Over the sounds of the gunfire and screams General Jackson replied, “You couldn’t have cut it any closer Colonel! That second wave of Crenlings are almost here. Now under no circumstances are you to leave the wall. No matter how this turns out you stay there and protect the town. We will begin, and maintain, an orderly retreat for as long as possible. Then it is every man for himself. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir,” Bishop answered and the phone went dead. Turning to look over at Macintyre and Mayor Stafford he said, “Get our boys ready when they get back here. The General is pulling back to the wall.”
“How close is that second Cren army,” Macintyre asked.
“Wait a minute,” Sam interjected. “There is a second army closing in? How large?”
“We don’t know,” Bishop said. “Mayor, I’m going to need your citizens to start building a second wall in the Town Square and connect it to the Administrative building. Make it so that the wall is twenty feet away from the buildings and street. That will be our killing ground.”
Sam’s eyes widened, “Are you saying you won’t be able to hold here?”
“We will be able to hold for a little while. But make no mistake. The Cren will send more reinforcements if we are successful wiping out this group. Right now the Cren are focusing on the large population centers and we are an afterthought.”
“Quite a lot of Cren to be sending to one little town isn’t it,” Macintyre asked.
“That first wave was the original force,” Colonel Bishop surmised. “They weren’t expecting such heavy resistance. When they encountered the General they probably called for reinforcements.” Looking out across the desert plain, to where the General would be coming from, he continued. “If we can wipe out this force we will buy ourselves a short respite.”
“Will reinforcements from the G.F.U.P come in time,” Sam asked with a worried expression on her face.
“Who knows,” Bishop answered honestly. “Communication with the fleet in this system was lost and has not been re-established. At least, that is what we were told when ordered to dig in somewhere. All we can do is hold out for as long as we can and hope the Galactic Fleet gets here in time.” Then completely changing the subject he asked Sam, “Is your town capable of carrying out Protocol 13?”
Bishop figured that, as the Deputy Mayor, Sam had been made aware of the Protocol, just as he had been told about it when he had become a Colonel. It was a highly classified protocol that had been created in case of another Cren invasion.
Quietly Sam replied, “It is.”
“Good,” Bishop said as he noticed marines returning to the wall and getting ready to repel the Cren. “I’m going to send a small demolitions team to rig all the buildings, on the outskirts of town, to blow up. It will help buy us some time should we need to retreat from the first wall.”
“But those buildings are my people’s livelihood,” Sam protested.
“Better to lose your possessions than to lose your lives,” Bishop countered. “Now please Sam,” Bishop pleaded using her first name by itself for the first time. “I need you to start constructing that wall, clear out that ammo store, and stockpile it in the Administration building.”
Nodding her head Sam started to take off down the road. But before she left she said to Macintyre, “He’s pretty cute when he blushes right captain?”
Macintyre replied, “That he is darling. And please, call me Mac.”
As Sam ran off to the middle of the town Bishop felt a slight flush at her comment, turned to Macintyre, and ordered, “Get a demolitions team together and rig those buildings.”
“Yes sir,” Mac replied with a grin. Before leaving, Mac added in a somber tone, “The General won’t like it that ya made plans without talking to him about it first.”
“He can demote me for all I care. Right now I’m thinking about how best to hold out for as long as we can.” Bishop stated.
Without another word Macintyre moved off to assemble a team to rig the outermost buildings.
Suddenly a Marine yelled out, “I see them!”
There was no need to ask who he had seen. Immediately all eyes turned northward where they saw the remnants of the 400 men moving towards them while trying to hold back the Cren forces. A huge cloud of dust was being kicked up by the large Cren force and the sounds of gunfire and screaming could be heard clearly now.
Looking through his binoculars the sight Bishop saw was not promising. There were less than two hundred marines trying to make it back to the town. The Cren reinforcements had caught up to them and were attempting to surround the survivors. , Cren flyers, were high in the air waving their tails at the marines, which released a deadly projectile, or dive bombing them in the hopes of spitting acid onto their unsuspecting victims.
While the marines continued to get closer Bishop spotted the General, in his black armor, in the midst of his men. He was shouting out orders while firing his rifle at the enemy. For now he was holding them together and they were keeping the Cren at bay. Then suddenly Bishop saw a large spiked object burst through the General’s chest and immediately the General dropped.
“Damn,” Bishop exclaimed. He watched as several marines grabbed the General. Once the General went down the ordered retreat turned into a full-fledged rout. Marines started running for the barrier. A small group, with the General’s body, continued to maintain order and keep the enemy at bay.
Yet a quarter of the marines had routed, weakening both flanks. The Cren started to pass the small group and come around to surround them. By complete luck the marines were close enough that Bishop and his men could offer supporting fire.
“Captain Macintyre,” Bishop shouted. “I want you to keep their flanks protected! Shoot any Cren that try to get around our boys out there!”
“Yes sir,” Macintyre shouted in reply. “Sections 1 and 3,” Mac, said referring to the men on the far left and right of the barricade, “commence firing!” Section 2,” this time talking to the men in the middle, “move back five feet from the wall. Our boys are going to be coming through there and I don’t want everyone to get tangled up!”
All along the wall the sound of machine gun fire added to the sporadic firing of their beleaguered comrades. With the flanks secure the small group continued to make their way to the way while those, who had routed, ran up and jumped over the wall.
Quickly making his way over to the routers, Bishop shouted, “Get back on your feet and up to the barricade. You ran out on your comrades and almost got them all killed! We are going to be hit by almost 3,000 Cren and I’m going to need every one of you to help!”
“Lieutenants Brand, Thompson, and Riley, “Bishop said over the communicator. The three Lieutenants were in charge of a different wall around the town. “Send me 25 men from each of your areas to help reinforce the northern wall. In about 5 minutes we are going to be hit hard by the full Cren force and will be hard-pressed to hold them back.” Bishop than addressed Lieutenant Wilson who was in command of the men on top of the roofs, “Have your men fire on their air units the second they are in range. Thankfully there are only about a 100 of them but they need to be taken out quickly.”
As everyone acknowledged his orders Bishop pulled out a large knife and attached it to the front of his rifle and shouted, “Everyone fix your knives!” The order was spread up and down the wall and marines quickly attached their knives to their rifles. If the Cren were to get to close than the marines would need every advantage they could get if they had to go hand-to-hand.
“Colonel,” Macintyre said as he rushed up. “Ya need to be putting your armor back on.”
Bishop looked over to where the cumbersome armor lay. “Forget it Mac. It slows me down and I’m going to be needing speed more than protection.”
“I’m not going anywhere until ya at least put on the chest piece first,” Macintyre stated. There was not a trace of mirth on his face as he waited for Bishop to put on the chest piece.
Grudgingly Bishop complied with Mac’s request and asked, “Satisfied?”
“No,” Macintyre replied. “But it will have to do.” And suddenly Mac grinned, “Just don’t come crying to me when a random projectile nails ya in those “brass balls” of yours.”
Rolling his eyes Bishop looked again and saw that both the surviving marines and Cren forces were about to hit the wall. Motioning to Mac they ran up to the middle section of the wall and prepared to open fire once the survivors had made it.
While the sound of gunfire was rampant along the first and third sections it was deadly silent in the second. The tension was thick as the marines there knew they were going to be hit the hardest in the initial attack.
Seconds seemed like an eternity as the survivors made their way to the middle section of the wall. Then it finally happened. The marines were at the wall and jumping over it to escape the Cren which had been nipping at their heels. As the last of the survivors cleared the fence, the General’s body carried with them, Bishop, Mac, and his men stepped back up to the wall and opened fire.
The battle for Elysium had begun in earnest.
Immediately a hail of bullets greeted the Cren army and shredded their chitinous exoskeletons. For a few seconds it looked as if the Cren would be held back until a large wave pushed forward and was getting closer to the wall. Every now and then one of the airborne Mutilisks would fall out from the sky while the ground forces were dying by the dozens. But against 3,000 Cren, the mere 300 hundred or so marines would not be able to hold them back.
At least not without reinforcements.
Suddenly an old-style Winchester rifle appeared on Bishop’s right and opened fired on the Cren forces. All along the wall additional weapons sprouted up, which were not military issue, but proved just as deadly to the oncoming Cren.
Under this additional barrage the Cren forces slowed down and Bishop shouted, “Grenades!” As the order was repeated each marine threw one of their two grenades into the swarm and suddenly the sound of gunfire was drowned out by the deafening explosion of the impacted grenades.
The detonation of a couple hundred grenades was enough to scatter and disorient the swarm while inflicting heavy damage because they had been bunched up.
Looking over to his right Bishop saw that it was Sam wielding the rifle in a proficient manner. But instead of being relieved by the timely help he was a little angry as he said, “You are supposed to be building that second wall!”
“I heard your orders for reinforcements over that comm unit you gave me, “Sam replied nonchalantly as she fed bullets into the rifle’s loading port. “So a “thank you” would be nice since we just helped you out.” With that said she pulled back the cocking lever, which loaded a bullet into the chamber, and aimed her rifle at the Cren which had fallen back.
Bishop, while impressed by her skills, was still irritated, “Thank you for your help. But I need that barrier up. The reinforcements should be here any minute.” Just as he finished talking the reinforcements finally arrived and took up position along the wall.
“Quit worrying about the barrier,” Sam replied. “It is already done.”
“How did you get it up so fast?” Bishop demanded.
“You make it so easy,” Sam said as she grinned. Off to Bishop’s left Mac barked out a short laugh. “But I’m not going to tell you. You’ll find out how we did should you have to fall back to it.”
“Speaking of falling back,” Bishop added. “That’s what you and your people need to do. And that’s an order!”
“Don’t order me around Colonel,” Sam fired back. “I’m not one of your soldiers. I’m going to stay and help defend this wall along with my people.”
“No you won’t! I need you at the second barrier. If we have to fall back then we are going to need people there to hold the Cren back while we rest up and get situated.”
“Fine then how about I…”
“I hate to be interrupting this lover’s quarrel,” Macintyre interjected. “But the Cren are splitting up and preparing to attack. So end this now ya two lovebirds.”
Speechless Bishop and Sam looked at each other and then at Mac who pretended to ignore them while grinning.
In a softer tone Bishop said, “Sam, you need to trust me on this. I need you and your people back at the second barricade.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Please.”
Giving him a long look Sam shouted out to her people and they all headed back into the middle of town.
Quickly Bishop asked for reports from all sectors. Along the three other walls smaller Cren forces had gathered while the bulk stayed on the northern side. Even though the other three walls were down to 75 men each the Lieutenants told Bishop that they could hold. On the roof they reported taking down three dozen flyers while losing five men while at the northern perimeter Bishop had lost 20 men and 15 were wounded. Of the 400 men who had gone out with the General. Only 103 remained. The rest dead, including the General.
Taking advantage of this lull Bishop ordered the 103 survivors to stand down and rest. Then he addressed the troops over the Comm channel, “Men, as you all know our General, Rook Jackson, died while buying us time to prepare the defense of this town. But because of our situation I will be brief. General Jackson was a good man and a great General. His leadership will be missed.”
Immediately Macintyre’s voice came over the comm., “Attention!” And everywhere in town the soldiers immediately stood straight up. “Salute!” For thirty seconds the soldiers’ held that pose to honor their fallen leader.
“As you were,” Bishop finally said as he checked the position of the sun. It was partially past its apex. Yet it felt as if days had passed.
“Here they come again,” a marine shouted and, sure enough, the Cren forces were heading straight for them. All too soon the fight was back at the wall with the sound of gunfire being answered by the thwipping of spiked projectiles being fired by the Cren.
Men screamed and died. Cren shrieked with pain and rage. And yet both sides continued to deal death. For every marine lost three Cren would fall but it wouldn’t be enough Bishop realized. They were outnumbered at least 8-to-one now despite inflicting heavy casualties on their enemy.
Suddenly, amidst the enemy, Bishop saw a creature that was 3 meters long, had four legs, and a large yellow sack on its back that contained an acid which could eat through anything..
“Mac,” Bishop shouted. “We got Banelings incoming! Have one in three marines focus on those little suckers!”
As Mac repeated the orders, Banelings started to explode within the Cren swarm as those assigned to take them out complied. The results were that the Banelings exploded and covered their fellow Cren in acid, which caused great harm and death. For a little while the Banelings helped defend the town easier.
But then one Baneling got too close before it was finally killed. It exploded and acid rained down on a section of the wall and its defenders. Amid screams of horrific pain 5 meters of the wall was eaten away. All at once the Cren charged the breach.
Quickly Bishop ordered men into the hole to hold off the Cren. For another twenty minutes the fight continued until the enemy finally pulled back. Yet the cost had been heavy. 100 men were dead with an addition 72 wounded. Almost half his forces, on the northern wall, were now dead or incapacitated.
With reports coming in he had lost another 100 marines from the other walls and roof combined. The western wall had been overrun and had to be reinforced by men from the roof.
It was time to consider falling back to the second barricade.
As orders were issued to move all the supplies and wounded to the second barricade the Comms Ofiicer rushed up to Bishop. “Sir! A strange message is being broadcasted over the emergency channel!”
“What is it,” Bishop asked immediately.
“It is just four words that keep repeating. Protocol 13 in effect.”
Bishops heart skipped a beat, “When did this start up?”
“About a minute ago sir.”
Immediately Bishop started to scan the horizon for evidence and heard a marine shout, “Look over there!”
Everyone turned to see a mushroom cloud off in the distance where Typhon city, one of the largest on the planet, was located.
All at once marines started to ask questions until Macintyre yelled, “Attention! You have your orders to work out. Get those wounded and supplies back to the second barricade while the rest of you stand at your post and keep silent!”
While telling the Comms Officer to keep quiet about what he heard Bishop motioned for Mac to join him. When Mac got close Bishop whispered, “Mac, I need you to run down to the second barricade and ask Sam to show you Protocol 13.”
Looking back at the mushroom cloud Macintyre replied, “If you say so Colonel.” He took off at a run.
Over the comm channel Bishop said, “Sam. I’m sending Mac to you. Please do as he asks.”
Sams frantic voice answered back, “Is that what I think it is over in the direction of Typhon city?”
“Yes.”
“Oh god.”
“Don’t give up hope,” Bishop replied in a determined voice. “We are going to last long enough for the Dominion to rescue us.”
“I hope so,” Sam replied.
“We are going to be falling back shortly Sam,” Bishop added. “So tell your people to be ready. And have the women and children sent down into the lowest level of the building. Have Mac assign four marines to protect them.”
“I will.”
Everything was crashing together as Colonel Bishop started to lay out the plan of retreat to all the positions. Those on the roof would immediately pull back to the Administration building. The men at the walls would be divided into two groups. The first would hold their position and fight the Cren. The second group would fall back ten feet and hold position until the first group was past them. Once the first group had gone ten feet they would stop and hold position. The plan was to have the two groups leapfrog over each other while holding the Cren back so that the other group could retreat in safety.
Once they were twenty feet away from the outer buildings the demo team would detonate the buildings which would buy the marines some time to cover more ground quickly.
As the last of the wounded and supplies were being carried away the Cren attacked.
Bishop couldn’t begin the retreat until the wounded had made it to the second barrier. For 15 minutes, all along the entire perimeter, the marines slugged it out just barely holding on. But as they fought the marines couldn’t help but notice more mushroom clouds appearing on the horizon. In every direction a new mushroom cloud would show up and Bishop’s morale would continue to sink lower.
Finally he received word that all the wounded and supplies had made it to the second barrier and he issued the retreat. Immediately the second group retreated ten feet and waited. Bishop had decided to stay with the first group and, when the second was in position, ordered them to pull back.
But not before he looked out past the Cren army into the distance. What he saw made his blood go cold. Despite there not being a cloud in the sky off in the distance there appeared to be a dark cloud. Underneath that dark cloud was a huge cloud of dust which could mean only one thing. That black cloud was a swarm of Cren flyers while that cloud of dust was being created by a large ground force.
And it was heading straight to Elysium.
Once the wall had been abandoned the Cren started to swarm over it and come straight at the marines. It took three rounds of leapfrogging before the marines were in the streets and past the outer buildings.
Quickly Bishop got confirmation, from the other groups that they were past the designated buildings, and said to the demo team, “Light them up!” Instantly the outer buildings, all over town, exploded and were engulfed in flames. The Cren, unlucky enough to be near them, were instantly incinerated while those that had gone past the building were cut off and alone.
In a matter of seconds Bishop and his marines had quickly finished off the survivors and continued to fall back. They fell into a rhythm of going ten feet and stopping. But all too quickly the Cren were past the burning buildings and heading straight for the marines. Finally they Bishop and his marines had reached the Town Square. But the Cren were hot on their heels.
Just before they stepped into the large area Bishop had everyone throw their grenades which would be effective in the narrow streets and buy them enough time to run the twenty feet to the barricade.
As the grenades exploded behind him Bishop noticed that the barricade had been created by using the cars and trucks of the civilian population. He couldn’t help but admire Sam’s solution for erecting a barricade so quickly.
Within seconds Bishop, along with the surviving marines, had hopped over the cars and taken up position behind the barricade. But the news was not good. Aside from his men only a few from the Eastern and Southern walls had made it to the second barricade.
“Mac,” Bishop shouted. Instantly Mac was at his side along with Sam. “Mac, I need you to implement Protocol 13 on my order. So head down there and stand ready.”
“Colonel,” Mac protested.
Bishop quickly cut him off. “I don’t have time for arguing Mac. Just do it.”
With a sour smile Macintyre said, “Yes Colonel darling,” and ran off into the building.
As Bishop looked around to see how everyone was situated he felt a soft hand gently hold his. He looked over at Sam and they gazed at each other for a minute. With a gentle squeeze he let go and, with her following him, took up position with the other defenders and opened fire.
For a full hour they were able to hold back the Cren swarm and the sun was starting to touch the western horizon. Yet Elysium was ungulfed in flames. The outer buildings had ignited the other buildings in close proximity so that a chain reaction occurred.
But suddenly the sky became dark and the flapping of wings became deafening over the roar of the fire. The large army, that Bishop had spotted earlier, had arrived.
In unison the Mutilisks swung their tails forward and let loose a volley of spiked projectiles as the Cren ground forces started to fill up the Town Square. Without hesitation Bishop grabbed Sam, threw her to the ground, and covered her with his body. All around him dozens of marines and civilians were impaled by the Mutalisks’ spikes.
Bishop saw Lieutenant Brand fall with a spike in his heart while his Comm Officer was beheaded by the scythe-like arms of a Hydralisk.
Quickly he got up, pulling Sam with him, and started to run towards the building while shouting, “Retreat!”
It was chaos as everyone tried to make it to the building only to be but down by a Hydralisk, hit in the back with a projectile, or covered in acid by a Baneling. By the time Bishop and Sam had made it inside the building there were only two dozen people left.
They barred the door, which was reinforced with titanium, and stood in a large hall.
Bishop had his arm around Sam who had tears running down her face. In a despondent voice he said, “Head down to the lower level with the women and children. It is the safest place now.”
As the survivors made their way down to the third level, Bishop and Sam made their way to Mac who was on the second level.
“I can’t believe it has come to this,” Sam whispered. “I never thought we would have to use Protocol 13.”
“Better to die then become infected by the Cren Sam,”Bishop answered. “It was why Protocol 13 was created. Out here on the border worlds it was assumed that we would be the first hit. So better to eradicate everything, including the Cren.”
“It just isn’t fair.”
“I know.”
When they reached a large metal door Bishop turned on the comm unit, “Mac, open the door.”
The door opened and revealed a chamber with a nuclear reactor in it. Mac was sitting at a console ready to hit a red button that was already lit up. He turned around and faced them.
Clearing his throat Bishop said, “Not much longer now.”
“Well then off ya two go,” Mac replied. “Be alone for what little time we have left.”
As Sam hugged Mac Bishop shook Mac’s hand and said, “Wait for my order.”
With a grin Mac answered, “always Colonel darling.”
There was nothing left to say so Bishop and Sam left the room and headed down the hallway to an empty office. They closed the heavy metal door and stood facing each other.
“I’m glad that I got to meet you Sam Stafford,” Bishop said tenderly.
“Samantha,” Sam divulged. “You can call me Samantha Bishop.”
“My name is Darren.”
With more tears running down her face Samantha repeated, “Darren.”
“I wish we had met long before all of this…” Bishop said but stopped when Samantha placed her finger on his lips.
She shook her head and said, “Let’s be glad that we got to meet at all.”
Clicking on his comm unit one last time Bishop said, “Mac. Start her up.”
“It was a pleasure serving with you Colonel darling,” Mac stated.
“Likewise Mac,” Bishop answered.
Then he looked at Samantha and gently took her into his arms and they kissed. They kissed deeply and passionately trying to wring every last moment out of it. They were so caught up that they didn’t hear the hiss of the metal door as it melted. Nor felt the pain as a Hydralisk’s scythe impaled them both.
Neither did they see the flash of light as the bomb went off.
