Planet Genocide I (Galaxies Collide Book 3) (26 page)

South of Caen, the large Mercedes camper home accelerated southwards on the N158 motorway towards Falaise, the American male driver staring into the dawn light as the vehicle continued in a line of traffic. The town to the north had been heavily congested, cars and vans attempting to move away from the coast as gunfire was heard to the north. They had spent a day in the French town, desperately seeking information on the situation to the north without success, the distant gunfire becoming louder and spurring them to finally decide it was in their best interests to keep moving. Gradually, the large vehicle had crawled through the heavy traffic, French Police desperately attempting to clear some of the town streets as army units moved northwards.

The German and American occupants had stared out in bewilderment as French soldiers began to block some of the streets behind them, establishing military checkpoints as a siren wailed overhead. Most residents struggled to their vehicles, throwing a few selected belongings into their cars and joining the queues of traffic heading south. A small number of people continued as normal, resigned to the idea that ‘What would be, would be…’ Some opened bottles of wine, staring at the queues of vehicles as others of a similar mind-set lowered themselves next to them, choosing spots that looked upon the chaos. Several residents slowly walked up to the high and majestic Chateau de Caen, built in circa 1060 by William the Conqueror, music filtering from the adjoining abbeys as the local ministers held impromptu services, the candles flickering in the night air.

Mitch glanced round from the driver’s seat of the Mercedes, his tired eyes checking on the sleeping wives and children in the rear seats around the centre table. Kurt Hausser rubbed his eyes in the passenger seat, reaching for a thermos flask and unscrewing the cap, ‘Coffee? It’s a little stale, but will do until we can stop…’

Mitch nodded, stifling a yawn, his eyes fixing on the overtaking cars as they swept past, the sun rising in the distance, the sky glowing red. His hand rose, indicating through the windscreen, ‘Look…it seems the French are deploying more soldiers…’

Sixteen large helicopters swept over the horizon to the west, their cargo bays full of troops as army lorries and armoured cars drove past on the left, the grim expressions on the troopers’ faces expressing the uncertainty of the situation ahead.

Mitch looked into the side mirrors, his eyes narrowing as he glanced out, the indicator flashing as they large Mercedes pulled over to the side of the carriageway. Kurt looked uncertainly at him, his voice lowered with the sleeping passengers, ‘What are you doing? We need to keep moving…’

The American nodded to him, ‘You will want to see this…we can still get a historical look at what happened all those years ago…bring your camera!’

The side door of the mobile home swung open, the two men staring northwards in awe at the sights behind, dark smoke plumes slowly rising into the air on the horizon near the coast. High above Caen and the surrounding countryside, numerous large military transport aircraft were flying and circling, the dots of the planes seeming at very high altitude. Kurt gasped as he stared upwards, the spectacle of hundreds of white parachutes drifting downwards through the sky as French airborne forces were deployed. His breath held as he considered the sheer numbers of highly trained soldiers becoming involved in Normandy from all over the country and North Africa.

Mitch swallowed hard, cars slowly passing on the other side of the motorhome as they stared upwards, his throat dry, ‘You won’t see that every day…’ He indicated back into the Mercedes, ‘Shall we get going…the women are waking up and I want some coffee!’

The humans were packed heavily into the rear cargo compartments of the numerous Morgon craft, only able to stand or kneel in the confined space as the bodies shivered in fear, a low moaning of terror reverberating across the walls.

Narrow transparent slits ran along the side of the cabins, several frightened eyes staring out as the craft continued downwards beneath the waves, the darkness filling their vision as several people began to panic or breath uncontrollably. Several bodies simply shook as the humans cried or whimpered in shock, some from the bloody and brutal scenes they had witnessed, others for what could be to come as the craft continued to descend.

The hulls screeched as the water pressure became intense, many of the people shuffling to place their hands over their ears, their eyes clamped shut in horror. The craft descended further, a journey that seemed never ending as the angular vessels swept along, following their sensors towards a target location. Startled underwater life swam away in fear, unused to seeing anything at these extreme depths as the craft continued onwards, other angular vessels joining the route from other locations.

One pair of eyes continued to stare, the young woman shivering in the dropping temperature as she looked out from the crafts viewing slits. The dense water contorted the images as undercurrent swept through the depths, the teenager squinting as she took in the hulks of ships and large vessels on the sea bed, the transport craft slowing as it neared its destination. Lights flickered across the hulls of the submerged and lifeless craft, Morgon divers cutting through the steel protection to retrieve and utilise any metal or equipment that was required.

She stared out as the transport passed several darkened armoured figures, the intense lights from torches brandished towards the nearest vessel as they moved alongside a submarine, bubbles still rising upwards from the breached hull, the shapes of human bodies silhouetted inside the opening as glows burned brightly inside.

The transport engines whirred as the craft continued through the ships’ graveyard, lifeless bodies floating amongst the debris as blank eyes stared into darkness. Gradually the vessel turned, the young female’s eyes widening as she saw the bodies being dragged through the dense water by strange, seemingly small creatures, their small angular frames bracing against the current as long sharp tails swept around them, grasping the lifeless limbs of humans as they pulled them down into the darkness.

She strained her head, the murmurs behind becoming more frantic as the craft changed direction and slowed further. Small lights came into view as the craft manoeuvred, lining an enormous darkened hull stretching away into the depths, glows lining the under-section as several long doors began to rise, bubbles and air escaping upwards as the green haze spread outwards along the ocean floor.

Staring further, she saw the small dark tailed figures once more, thrusting their catches through smaller holes in the vast hull, the human bodies seem to hang before being sucked into the ship dramatically, some sort of haze or dust pouring from the openings after the corpses disappeared.

The transport craft dropped suddenly, screams filling the cargo space as the people shuddered against each other in fear, the vessel descending towards the green haze. Losing her footing, the young black haired female fought to get back up, staring through the shimmering colours and seeing other craft beyond, the lines of distorted dishevelled humans being marched in separate lines towards two open doorways.

She gasped, her hand rising to her lips as she realised the lines were different sexes, women and children in one and males in the other. Along the shimmering back wall, blood stained overalled figures were stacking bodies, the humans that had not survived the underwater trip being prepared for another even more sinister purpose.

The craft emerged through the protective shield, her pupils contracting as the green glow shone through the viewing slits, the occupants whimpering and struggling as the collective tenseness rose. Deep metal clanks sounded as the craft landed on the floor of the loading deck, the electrical whirring as the lower legs extended. Then the rear doors cracked, the whoosh of air as the water tight seal was breached, the doors rising as green light flooded into the cargo compartment, the whimpering becoming more intense and widespread as over one hundred pairs of eyes accustomed to the light.

Stood near the doorway, the silhouette of a large armoured figure stood defiantly at the entrance, a long sword extending from an armoured fist as the red eyes of the armoured helmet glowed.

In the Changbai mountains on the border of China and North Korea, Lieutenant Xing Cheung urged his men forward, their boots slipping on the wet moss and mud as they struggled up the steep slope. With their assault rifles slung across their chests, the thirty soldiers heaved themselves upwards, grasping trees, branches and bush roots for support, their bodies bent double against the steep incline.

The dew glistened off the branches and grass as some of the soldiers stretched their aching backs, the gasps of exhaled breath filling the trees as the troops advanced slowly. As the early morning light began to filter through the foliage above, Xing glanced back down the slope, hearing the lorry engines as more soldiers were unloaded next to their own transports. The army motorcycle rider that had intercepted their journey back to barracks from the border indicating towards him, for the newly arrived soldiers to follow his unit.

Shaking his head in contempt as he stared across at his sergeant and radio operator, he urged the men forward, their instructions to investigate a possible fire over the rise above. He knew from experience that their involvement and the possibility of a fire would mean the probability of military movement, perhaps a skirmish. Grasping his sub-machine gun, he waved his gloved hand determinedly, hissing across the group, ‘Keep moving…weapons at the ready, we don’t know what is ahead!’

The soldiers struggled on, their tension mounting as they approached the top of the rise above. Several jeeps skidded to a halt on the road below, a General jumping from one of the passenger seats and raising his binoculars to his eyes to study the upper slope. Startled birds rose into the air, his lips pursing in anticipation as he realised where the soldiers were, his head spinning round towards the trucks stopping behind, ‘Get more men up there…’

Reaching the summit, the Chinese soldiers dropped low, their assault rifles raised automatically as the aroma of acrid smoke swept into their nostrils. Lieutenant Xing Cheung dropped behind a tree trunk, his hands shaking as he raised his binoculars, moving his upper body from side to side in an attempt to see through the foliage and branches.

Smoke was rising into the air in the distance, the land dropping onto a tree filled plateau as he squinted through the glasses, eventually lowering them in frustration as he glanced round, ‘Move forward…stay together and cover the flanks!’

The soldiers glanced at him pensively, their camouflage uniformed bodies rising and lunging forward as they approached the downward slope. Digging the heels of their boots into the wet earth, they advanced cautiously downwards, weapons jerking from side to side as small animals fled from the area, the smoke beginning to drift through the trees.

Gradually the land began to level out, the troops moving more cautiously through the trees and undergrowth. The smoke was becoming thicker, some flames flickering in the ground and trees ahead as they advanced, fragments of bent and shattered metal lying across the forest floor.

Several trees were broken or crushed as they moved further, the soldiers emerging suddenly into a rough clearing, the ground torn and heavily scorched. Deep grooves lined the earth, shattered and broken tree trunks and branches crackling as the soldiers stepped forward. Xing indicated to his sergeant, the soldier approaching sheepishly, ‘Take ten men and secure the other side of the clearing…move up with me!’

The soldier nodded obediently, pointing at the squad to the right and then across the smouldering expanse. Xing waved his arm, the other soldiers moving in around him as they began to creep forward, the intense aroma and smoke catching in their throats.

Stumbling across the torn terrain, he took in the broken and twisted metal fragments, the burnt alloy dull in the morning light. As they advanced, more and more metal lay scattered across the broken earth, Xing indicating silently for soldiers to move to the flanks and to spread out, his breath coming in short rasps as the soldiers lowered themselves.

The fires were becoming more numerous, the smoke now thick and swirling around them, disorientating the men and they stepped gingerly forward. Then a loud crack to the right, the soldiers dropping down and raising their rifles into the mirk, Xing on bended knee as he strained his teared eyes into the smoke.

The sergeant emerged slightly before them, his body at a crouch as he glanced round, running towards his commander breathlessly, ‘Sir, you need to see this!’ Xing nodded, indicating for his men to continue onwards.

The two commanders ran low across the scorched and burning terrain, their breathing laboured in the smoke as they approached the trees, two soldiers beckoning them forward. Straightening as they slipped between the trees, Xing stared at the sight before him, his head shaking in disbelief as the sergeant indicated forward.

They stood side by side, looking down at the large object before them, the trees to the right torn and ripped from their roots. The soldiers in the rough clearing moved slowly forward, their eyes strained into the smoke and assault rifles raised.

Lieutenant Xing Cheung spun round, the voice behind startling them as he raised his hand in salute, the nonchalant tone of the captain before him almost chilling as the man lit a cigarette, ‘This never happened…your men will remain silent as to what they have seen, Lieutenant Cheung, or your military future will become very uncertain.’

Xing tensed, seeing the red political piping on the captain’s epaulettes and collar, his body stiffening to attention with his sergeant, ‘Yes Sir! I fully understand…not a word of this will get out!’

The captain smiled, blowing smoke upwards as he stepped forward, striding past the two soldiers and inspecting the object, then turning, ‘The earlier incident at the border will be overlooked…you will return to barracks and brief your men once our specialists arrive, understand?’

Xing turned on his heels, nodding obediently, ‘Yes Sir…understood!’ His eyes drifted past the captain’s figure as the man smiled, staring at the scorched wide object on the ground, the large metal piece still recognisable.

The captain drew on his cigarette once more, ‘In the mess that is occurring, no one will notice this…’

Lieutenant Xing Cheung nodded vaguely, his eyes still trained on the large tailfin, the American flag emblazoned across the metal of a downed jumbo Jet tail fin.

The cigarette smoke spiralled upwards, the captain slapping the lieutenant’s shoulder in encouragement, ‘Good…no one will ever know we shot it down!’ He shrugged, ‘I think our new American allies call it
friendly fire
or what is it?’ He thought for a second, ‘Yes, that’s it…
collateral damage
…we had no idea it was a passenger plane!’