The Legend of Earth

Chapter 18



Shortly after Jonnif’s fleet had headed into the Volousian Discourse – the circuitous route near the galactic core – four large troop carriers had been dispatched from Eilsion, following the fleet. They had just now arrived on station, three in orbit around Juir, and the fourth above Bal and the energy module plants which covered much of the planet’s surface.

The forty thousand Kracori ground forces these transports carried would be the cleanup crews for the two conquered worlds. They would form into hundreds of killing squads and scour the surface for survivors.

Their task was made easier on Juir by the centralized planning that had taken place on the planet over the centuries. There were now only seventeen-hundred mass cities dotting the entire planet, with kilometers upon kilometers of vast open spaces between them. Except for maintenance stations and energy sites, no private settlements were allowed in these open areas. All the invaders had to do was strike at the cities, and then clean up the aftermath by strafing the long lines of refugees fleeing their burning cities.

By the time the ground troops had arrived, some huge tent-cities had been set up outside a few of the settlements far removed from Juir City. But these, too, would be easy targets for the cleanup crews.

After suffering through incredibly cramped conditions for the past two months, the Kracori were ready to strike down upon the surface and eat anything they came across – and it had already circulated throughout the troops just how delectable was Juirean flesh. To calm the growing tensions within the ships during the trip, Kracori commanders promised all their warriors as much of the tasty flesh as they could consume, most of which would be just lying on the ground cooked and waiting to be eaten. This pacified the Kracori warriors, at least for a while. Now their stomachs growled for the real thing.

Jonnif stood on a leading edge of the cliff overlooking the smoking remains of Juir City as the first of the shuttles streamed down from the sky. They came on gravity drive, ripping up the surface in great clouds of black, ash-infused dust. Soon ten thousand Kracori would be fanning out across the area, just as twenty thousand more would cover other parts of the planet. Jonnif had no false illusions. Even after the massive bombings had killed over half the population of Juir, it would still be many long months before the last Juirean would be extinguished from just this one planet alone. But if the attack on Earth proceeded according to plan, the Kracori would have all the time they required.

Mininof approached him with a datapad and a scowl. “What’s wrong?” Jonnif asked.

“There has been seismic activity detected within the mountain.”

“This mountain?”

“Yes … and it’s moving.”

“I do not understand.”

“Monitors are picking up something moving through the rock. It’s small, barely noticeable, but it could be an excavator of some kind.”

“Hydon – he is trying to escape!”

“My thoughts as well; by All-Ludif, he will not succeed.”

“Where is this excavator headed?” Jonnif had already turned away from the cliff and was headed back to the camp, a grouping of a dozen large tents that had been set up around his spacecraft and served as the headquarters for his command.

“It is cutting a path toward the base of the mountain, on the city side.”

“Send a transport and a contingent of warriors. How long until they reach the edge of the mountain?”

“Only minutes, Jonnif.”

“Send any ground forces we may already have in the area. He may be traveling with a small group and they could be hard to locate in all the confusion around the city. I do not want to lose him.”