They were headed north. Truk lived to the north. They were headed for the governor's location.
Now that would be interesting. For a moment, she wondered what, if anything, she should do with the knowledge. She weighed her options and finally contacted Ghin.
The aide sounded frazzled and tried to put her off, but when she informed him that the humans were visible from her office and appeared to be headed north—toward the governor's residence—his irritation turned to gratitude. After all, he was located at the residence.
Despite the glee she would have felt if the humans actually made it that far, contacting the governor's aide was an easy decision to make. Although no one in the military had yet recognized the humans' intentions, it was only a matter of time before their objective became obvious. It was better that she be credited with providing the information now, before anyone else had a chance.
Despite the fact that it wouldn't change the end result, she was such a loyal and obedient supporter of the governor. She owed him nothing less than her best efforts.
* * *
Two jets and their crew were gone. One accidently crashed into a densely packed formation of Minith carriers, taking out several of the enemy vehicles in the process. The other had been brought down by a grouping of the enemy when it flew too close to the ground.
The remaining fighters were out of missiles and running low on ammunition. Within minutes, they would be down to their pulse weapons, which would limit them to action against ground troops.
Grant's ground troops were pushing forward and making good speed. They had covered almost a third of the distance to the objective and were holding their own against the relatively minimal number of Minith ground troops they encountered. That would change shortly when the enemy began offloading more and more troops to join the fight.
For now, though, Grant felt things were going as well as they could. The enemy outside were focused on his air and ground troops. None of their efforts were focused on the mothership. He suspected they had no idea that four hundred infantry soldiers were loaded into twenty large carriers waiting to join the battle.
"General Justice, this is Tank Commander One, over."
"This is Justice, Tank Commander One."
"Sir, the enemy seems to be increasing their numbers significantly to the north. We're encountering serious resistance now. I'm not sure how long we can keep moving, especially once we hit the streets ahead."
Dammit .
The ease with which they had covered the first third of their journey was a gift, but he hoped it was one that would keep being given. They had covered the relatively open ground of the shipyard. Next, they would enter the streets of the city and begin the second leg of their journey.
"Understood, Tank Commander One." Grant stayed on the same channel and reached out to his lead artillery commander. So far, the need to use that capability had been non-existent. No longer.
"This is Artillery One, General."
"Hank, I need you to join the fight."
"It's about time, General. We've been dodging fire long enough. We'd like to give some back."
"That's what I like to hear. You probably just heard the transmission from Tank Commander One?"
"Yeah, I heard Chin complaining," the artillery leader joked. Grant always appreciated whenever men in the heat of battle could find time to laugh. It was a method some soldiers used to deal with their anxiety, but it was usually a healthy method. "What would you like us to do, General?"
"I want your teams to maintain a rolling target of fire to the north of the advance. Clear a path through the Minith streets so our tanks and infantry can pass."
"Clear a path. Got it, General. One path coming up."
"Did you copy that, Tank Commander One?"
"Yes sir. Hank and his artillery folks are finally going to get off their asses and do
Now that would be interesting. For a moment, she wondered what, if anything, she should do with the knowledge. She weighed her options and finally contacted Ghin.
The aide sounded frazzled and tried to put her off, but when she informed him that the humans were visible from her office and appeared to be headed north—toward the governor's residence—his irritation turned to gratitude. After all, he was located at the residence.
Despite the glee she would have felt if the humans actually made it that far, contacting the governor's aide was an easy decision to make. Although no one in the military had yet recognized the humans' intentions, it was only a matter of time before their objective became obvious. It was better that she be credited with providing the information now, before anyone else had a chance.
Despite the fact that it wouldn't change the end result, she was such a loyal and obedient supporter of the governor. She owed him nothing less than her best efforts.
* * *
Two jets and their crew were gone. One accidently crashed into a densely packed formation of Minith carriers, taking out several of the enemy vehicles in the process. The other had been brought down by a grouping of the enemy when it flew too close to the ground.
The remaining fighters were out of missiles and running low on ammunition. Within minutes, they would be down to their pulse weapons, which would limit them to action against ground troops.
Grant's ground troops were pushing forward and making good speed. They had covered almost a third of the distance to the objective and were holding their own against the relatively minimal number of Minith ground troops they encountered. That would change shortly when the enemy began offloading more and more troops to join the fight.
For now, though, Grant felt things were going as well as they could. The enemy outside were focused on his air and ground troops. None of their efforts were focused on the mothership. He suspected they had no idea that four hundred infantry soldiers were loaded into twenty large carriers waiting to join the battle.
"General Justice, this is Tank Commander One, over."
"This is Justice, Tank Commander One."
"Sir, the enemy seems to be increasing their numbers significantly to the north. We're encountering serious resistance now. I'm not sure how long we can keep moving, especially once we hit the streets ahead."
Dammit .
The ease with which they had covered the first third of their journey was a gift, but he hoped it was one that would keep being given. They had covered the relatively open ground of the shipyard. Next, they would enter the streets of the city and begin the second leg of their journey.
"Understood, Tank Commander One." Grant stayed on the same channel and reached out to his lead artillery commander. So far, the need to use that capability had been non-existent. No longer.
"This is Artillery One, General."
"Hank, I need you to join the fight."
"It's about time, General. We've been dodging fire long enough. We'd like to give some back."
"That's what I like to hear. You probably just heard the transmission from Tank Commander One?"
"Yeah, I heard Chin complaining," the artillery leader joked. Grant always appreciated whenever men in the heat of battle could find time to laugh. It was a method some soldiers used to deal with their anxiety, but it was usually a healthy method. "What would you like us to do, General?"
"I want your teams to maintain a rolling target of fire to the north of the advance. Clear a path through the Minith streets so our tanks and infantry can pass."
"Clear a path. Got it, General. One path coming up."
"Did you copy that, Tank Commander One?"
"Yes sir. Hank and his artillery folks are finally going to get off their asses and do
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