Hey, this is Dave the Miracle Maker up here in the high desert of Southern California. It’s still hot up here and I am looking forward to the fall. I came across this video this week and I think it is something that everyone should check out. This young man Oliver Anthony pours out his soul in this song and it is a song that everyone who has ever worked a job trying to make ends meet from payday to payday can relate to. Oliver Anthony was an unknown artest until he uploaded this song and it went viral. It is now number one on Itunes with over nine million views. Give it a listen.

Now for your reading pleasure check out chapter twenty-two of the Battle for Europa. The Battle for Europa is book one of my science fiction series the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 22

Sergeant Erin Cassidy looked over at his gunner sitting next to him in a New Republic main battle tank. “What do you think, Rainford? Do you think the federal boys want to come out and play?” The smell of sweat filled the interior of the vehicle.

“They seem content to sit with their thumbs up their ass.”

Cassidy switched on the night vision scope mounted on the roof of the vehicle. The icy surface of Europa turned green. “I see a few tanks moving about inside the wire. Fire a couple of rounds.”

Rainford fired the main gun. The tank rocked backward. Artillery rounds exploded inside the federal compound. A plume of ice particles flew into space. Two more New Republic main battle tanks pulled up on the icy ridge flanking Sergeant Cassidy’s tank. Each tank fired off several rounds with its main guns. They opened up with their laser cannons lighting up the night with arcs of blue laser fire. After the federals took the Jupiter spacedock, they landed troops on Europa and established a base to the west of the mining colony. The New Republic tanks and snipers made the federal troops’ lives miserable. The federal troops built up their defensive perimeter and set up living modules. Snipers shot a few troops stringing wire and a few troops building gunrooms on the perimeter. Admiral Kesler’s fleet launched hit-and-run attacks on the federal fleet. On several occasions, they swept down over the moon, attacking the base. The federal troops seemed content to sit guarding the perimeter. All the while, the federal shuttles unloaded men and equipment.

“They’re coming through the wire,” Cassidy said and swung his tank around. Tiny pieces of ice flew up in the vehicle’s wake. Cassidy’s heart pounded inside his chest and he felt an adrenalin rush. The other New Republic tanks followed. Pretending to flee, they tried to lure the federal troops into an ambush. Five federal main battle tanks charged over the earthworks surrounding the base. They fired several rounds at the New Republic tanks, but soon gave up the chase and headed back to base. “God, what do we have to do to get these boys to come out and fight?” Cassidy asked, slamming his fist down on the vehicle’s steering wheel in frustration.

Corporal Rainford shrugged. “We need to hit them harder and more often. We need to interrupt their sleep patterns and get them pissed off.”

Cassidy nodded. “We need to do something. The present strategy isn’t working. We’d better ratchet it up a notch. I’ll bring it up at the morning briefing.” Cassidy headed back to the safety of Camp Bravo.

***

Shawn Gallagher sat in com center deep in the bowels of mining site A-. He looked over the top of the VID screen at his assembled cabinet members breathing in the smell of sweat. A cloud of tobacco smoke floated across the table. His HQ held none of the creature comforts of his office complex on the top floor of the mining complex. Shawn’s security personnel told him that it was a much safe location. Shawn gazed around the room taking in his cabinet members. Ludwig Von Wolf sat across from him. Shawn’s gaze stopped on Holliday. “Jerry, what’s taking them so long? Why haven’t the federals, attacked the colony? It’s been at least a month and a half since they established a base on Europa.”

Holliday shrugged, clinching a cigar between his teeth. “They’re waiting on approval from the Council of Economic Unions. But it all hinges on Cyrus Bonelli. If Cyrus tells them to move, they’ll move. In the meantime, they’re building their forces.”

Shawn sighed and took a drink of whisky from a glass tumbler. “What about our escape plan?”

Holliday laughed. “The awe-shit plan? It’s sitting on go.”

Shawn nodded. “And that other matter?”

Holliday blew tobacco smoke across the room. “He’s in space now. They should arrive in a month and a half. He took a laser bolt in the initial action, but he’s okay. Our people on Mars have an excellent medical staff.”

When Shawn heard of his brother’s injuries, his face turned grave, but he shook it off and turned to Ludwig. “Mr. Wolf you are here representing Admiral Kesler. What is the condition of the fleet?”

Ludwig looked up. “The fleet is good. We have repaired the broken vessels. Gustav is ready to assist when necessary.” Ludwig’s German accent became more pronounced when he was nervous. When he calmed down, his English was impeccable.

“And what about your secret weapon?” Shawn asked.

“The antimatter torpedoes? My scientist produced enough torpedoes to equip each ship with two torpedoes. Antimatter is a scarce commodity. We will launch a shuttle to deliver them to the fleet in the asteroid belt at twenty-three hundred hours.”

Shawn nodded and turned to Wilson. “John, what is this new strategy I’m hearing about?”

Wilson shifted his weight in his chair. “We’re assembling more tanks at Camp Bravo. Plus we’re bringing in some troop carriers and ground troops. We’re going to ratchet up the pressure on the federal base to see if we can get them to come out and fight. Once we lure them to the ambush sites, we can destroy them, but if they won’t come out and fight, we’re stuck. We’re thinking of a combined assault using main battle tanks and ground forces. The troops occupying the ground positions defending the colony are in place. There’s nothing for them to do but wait.”

Shawn nodded. “How long until you launch this attack?”

“We’ll start by increasing the harassment fire with tanks and snipers while we beef up our forces. It all depends on the federals. When they’re ready for a fight, we’ll give them one.”

After the Intelligence, briefing his cabinet members left his cramped little war room. Shawn took out a bottle of Scotch whiskey and poured himself another drink. He accessed the surface cameras monitoring the surface and zoomed in on the federal base.

***

Sergeant Erin Cassidy studied the federal compound looking down from the ridgeline overlooking the encampment. They had beefed up the pressure on the base for the last month and a half. Snipers took potshots at the federal positions round the clock. Main battle tanks lobbed artillery fire from the ridgeline to the west. The military colonel in charge of Camp Bravo used the time to build his forces. They spent the time training for the attack. Troop carriers unloaded two companies of troops to the north of the base. At the same time, a company of main battle tanks took up positions on the ridgeline to the west. Silence wafted across the surface. Cassidy looked at his wristwatch. The luminescent digital readout glowed bright green in the dark interior of the tank. A chill shot down his spine, so he turned up the interior heater.

“Well my brother,” Cassidy said to Rainford. “The time is twenty-three hundred hours. It’s time to lob some rockets up the federal’s anal orifice.”

“Roger that. Those boys are going to be sorry that they set foot on Europa.” He sighted in and fired the tank’s main gun. A few seconds later, up and down the line, New Republic’s main battle tanks opened up. Explosions erupted inside the base’s defensive perimeter, sending ice particles into space. Off to the northeast, tracer rounds arched into the compound. Cassidy put the shifter into a forward gear. They descended the icy slope heading closer to the federal perimeter. Tanks to his left and right moved in concert.

In space above Europa, several blips of light moved about. Green laser flashes lit up the night and a small space cruiser came in low and fast over the surface. Several larger vessels followed it in. After a bit, they pulled up in an abrupt turn and headed toward the asteroid belt.

“That light cruiser is coming in hot. It looks like one of ours,” Cassidy said.

Rainford looked at the tank’s computer screen. “I’ll bet that was some of Kesler’s boys running escort service from the asteroid belt.”

They stopped five hundred yards out from the federal base and fired another salvo. On the move again, Cassidy led the attack. One hundred yards out, he brought his tank to a screeching halt. The entire company fired one last salvo with their main guns.

“Break off! Break off! The chickens have left the roost!” Cassidy yelled into the vehicle’s com-unit. Main battle tanks and troop carriers flowed over the earthworks surrounding the base. Cassidy spun his tank around heading to the northwest. The other New Republic tanks followed. They formed up in columns of two with the federal forces in hot pursuit.

***

Colonel Galloway, Commander of the New Republic Ground forces, sat on top of his half-track and studied the base to the south. He activated the night vision feature on his EVA suit and enhanced the zoom setting. The federal base zoomed in; he saw several bright flashes to the southwest and the red streak of rocket fire. Massive explosions erupted inside the wire. Bits and pieces of ice and other debris formed a cloud over the federal base.

“Let’s go! Move! Move! Move!” Galloway yelled into his com-link. The New Republic ground forces rose to their feet and charged forward. They opened up with their laser carbines and M-23 Blasters. Tracer fire lit up the night. The Federal Marines guarding the perimeter returned fire. A mortar team hiding behind the icy knoll opened up. They walked mortars into the federal positions. Colonel Galloway watched. He let the attack continue until his men had almost reached the outer perimeter. He spoke into his com-link.

“Break off! Break off! Make them come to us!” The New Republic ground forces performed an orderly retreat. They headed back to their staging area. Boarding troop carriers, they joined the New Republic tank column heading northwest. The federal forces followed.

Cassidy led the convoy into a series of narrow ravines to where the New Republic ground forces waited. They manned the fighting positions that were dug into both sides of the canyon’s walls near the rim. Cassidy increased his speed making sure that the entire convoy made it through the kill zone. He kept one eye on his radar screen showing the position of the federal forces. When the infantry vehicles cleared the kill zone, Cassidy switched on his com-unit. “Joy Rider to base. The fox is in the henhouse.”

The New Republic forces received the code phrase. A soldier flipped a toggle switch on a remote control detonator and a massive explosion lit up the night. The walls of the canyon in front of the federal forces collapsed. The explosion filled the canyon with large chunks of ice. A soldier on the south end of the kill zone flipped the toggle on his detonator. The explosion collapsed the canyon to the south. The New Republic ground forces rained down fiery death from above.

Rocket teams took out the federal main battle tanks first. Laser fire lit up the night and the federal troops fled their vehicles seeking cover in the canyon’s bottom. The New Republic forces racked the federal convoy with their M-23 blasters. Machine gunners opened up with fifty-caliber machine guns. The icy bottom of the canyon turned red with blood. When the gunfire tapered off, the federal convoy lay in a smoking ruin. Bodies littered the canyon floor.

Colonel Galloway sat in the command center at Camp Bravo. He watched the battle unfold on his computer screen and flipped on his com-unit. “Let’s go people! Mop it up! I don’t want one of those federal bastards left alive when we’re through! Kill them all! I want the federal brass to think twice before launching another attack!”

New Republic ground forces repelled down into the canyon. They dispatched the wounded federal troops where they lay and set charges on the burned-out vehicles. They finished their business and returned to base. The smoldering hulks that had once been main battle tanks littered the canyon floor. Silence wafted across the battlefield.

***

Shawn watched the battle unfold on his VID screen. He took in the destruction of the federal convoy in, real-time provided by the surface cameras and took in the view provided by the helmet cams mounted to the helmets of the New Republic soldiers. Shawn listened to the com-net and received field reports from Colonel Galloway. His com-unit beeped. He flipped the toggle. “Gallagher here.”

“Mr. President. I trust you saw that small cruiser coming in shortly after the engagement started?” Holliday asked.

“Yeah. I saw it. They came in low and quiet without saying anything over the com-net. Who were they?”

“That was our Special Forces team back from Mars. Your brother is with the detainees. We’ve set him up with his private quarters and he is under guard for now. His status might change after you have a chance to talk with him, but for now, I have my security people watching him.”

A big grin crossed Shawn’s face. “Good. I’m glad they arrived safely. I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to make it through the federal blockade.”

“Admiral Kesler sent a few ships out from the asteroid belt to give the federal boys other things to worry about.”

“Tell the admiral I said thanks for the help. Never mind, I’ll contact him myself after I’ve had a chance to speak with my brother. Thank you, Jerry. You don’t know how much this means to me.” Shawn ended the transmission, switched the channel on his com-unit, and contacted his personnel security detail.

“Can I help you Mr. President?” the man standing guard at his door said when the com-unit on the lapel of his uniform beeped.

“My brother has arrived at Europa. They’re holding him with the detainees. Get the team together. I want to go see him.”

“We’ll be ready to roll in five minutes, Mr. President.”

“Good. I’ll meet you in the main corridor.” Shawn cut the transmission, stepped through a side door, entered his quarters, and changed clothes. A few minutes later he stepped out the door to meet his security detail. One of his bodyguards opened the back door of a small hovercraft. Shawn stepped into the back and two guards climbed in on each side of him. Another climbed in the front seat sitting next to the driver. The driver sped forward heading down the main corridor and pulled into a large turbo lift. The lift they used was, built to take larger vehicles from one level of the mining facility to another. They rode the lift up five levels, the doors opened; the driver exited the lift and turned left. They traveled for twenty minutes before reaching the stockade. Before their takeover, Consolidated Security used the stockade to house unruly miners. The driver pulled over next to the curb. The guard on Shawn’s right opened the door. and stepped out. After taking a quick look around, he held the door open. Shawn stepped out of the vehicle and Holliday stood in front of the stockade waiting.

“I wanted to prepare you, Mr. President, before you go in there and see your brother. He’s not being very cooperative. He’s only giving us his name, rank, and serial number. We have him in one of the living quarters near where we’re keeping the other detainees. For now, he’s under house arrest.”

Shawn nodded. “I was hoping that once he arrived, I’d be able to talk some sense into him. I hoped that he would join us. We could use him in our military.”

“Good luck with that, Mr. President.” Holliday led Shawn, flanked by his security detail, through the stockade to a room in the housing area.

Shawn looked at the head of his security detail. “I’d like to go in alone.”

A grave look crossed the face of the head of his security detail. “All right, Mr. President, but if you need us, tap the com-link on your lapel and we’ll be right there.”

“He’s not going to attack me. He’s my brother, not some psycho killer.”

His security chief shrugged. “He’s a Federal Marine.”

Shawn entered the room and saw David lying on a feather bed reading a magazine. With his back against the wall, he had his feet propped up on a small table that was set next to the bed. When he saw Shawn enter the room, a scowl crossed his face and he jumped to his feet. Ignoring the scowl, Shawn grinned. He crossed the room and threw his arms around his brother giving him a massive bear hug. David flinched and didn’t return the embrace so Shawn turned him loose and stepped back.

“David. I’m so glad to see you. You look great. We’ve got so much to catch up on.”

David’s scowl deepened. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I thought I could convince you to join us. We could use a good soldier.”

David shook his head and a disgusted look crossed his face. “What makes you think I would want to join a bunch of treasonous whiners and malcontents like you?”

Shawn sighed, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “I was hoping that you’d be able to see through the bull shit that the council spews. We’re not traitors. We’re tired of being slaves to the Council of Economic Unions. What we’ve formed here on Europa is a new country. A free country where every man has a say.”

David laughed. “You might as well save your breath. Do you know what kind of trouble you’ve caused me? Do you know what it’s like to be the famous traitor’s brother?”

“For that I’m sorry. But if you’ll look past the crap they taught you in school, you’ll see that the federal system is oppressive. I heard that you wanted to go to robotics school. What gives them the right to say you can’t because of your genetics? Do you remember the block captain who lived up the street from us? The one whose job it was to tattle on those who appeared to be subversive? Remember when they took away the Clark family that lived next door?” Shawn sat down on the bed across from David; David found a chair.

“I bet they were subversive. I know they were weird and believed in some hokey religion.”

“Here on Europa, we have the freedom to believe in whatever religion we want. Or we’re free not to believe.” Shawn raised his hand into the air so David could see the scar on his wrist. “And what about that biochip you have embedded in your wrist? What gives them the right to keep track of your every move? What gives them the right to tell you that you can’t have a bank account, hold down a job or do anything without their chip?”

David’s eyes widened. “There has to be some kind of rules.”

“Rules yes. Oppression, no. It is the job of the people to make the rules to govern themselves. Not some fat cat sitting on the council who answers to no one.” Shawn stood up and set some papers on the table setting next to David’s bed. “When you get a chance, give these a read. This is the Declaration of Independence. This other document is the Constitution of the former United States of America. Also, there’s our own Constitution and declaration. Read these and we’ll talk again.” Shawn headed for the door but paused for a moment. “Is there anything I can get for you?”

David rose to his feet. “Yeah. You can do one thing for me. You can consider me a prisoner of war and move me in with the rest of your detainees. Beyond that leave me alone.”

A hurt look crossed Shawn’s face, but he covered it with a friendly smile. “All right. If that’s the way you want it, I’ll see to it that the guards move you into the detention center when I leave. Is there anything else?”

David paused for a moment. “I wouldn’t mind a chessboard. Maybe there’s somebody in the detention center that knows how to play.”

Shawn nodded. “I’ll see that you get one. The detainees already have several boards and hold tournaments. I’ll see that you get one of your own.” Shawn left the room and had Holliday see to it that the guards moved David in with the rest of the detainees. The next morning he came back with a chessboard and insisted that David join him for a game. Shawn expected the federals to launch a major attack. So far, it had yet to materialize.

***

One afternoon Holliday joined Shawn in his quarters for a drink. They sat in front of the viewscreen on his video net and watched the federal encampment through the surface cameras. “Why haven’t those federal bastards attacked us?” Shawn asked and downed a shot of whiskey. In a fit of rage, he threw the shot glass at the video screen shattering it into tiny pieces.

“My aren’t we in a mood?” Jerry laughed.

Shawn sighed and sat back down in his chair. “I’m tired of us sitting here on our asses waiting for the hammer to drop.”

Holliday shrugged, fired up a cigar and the smell of tobacco floated across the room. “They’re waiting for the bureaucrats serving on the Council of Economic Unions to give the okay.”

“Those SOBs can’t even fart unless they have a consensus.” Holliday laughed.

When Shawn showed up at the detention center with the chessboard, David acted surly and didn’t want to play. Eventually, he lightened up and they became reacquainted. A bond of friendship formed. They rarely disagreed unless the conversation drifted toward politics.

Two and a half months passed and still, the federals hadn’t launched an attack. They continued to beef up their forces, yet rarely ventured out of their base on Europa. Things seemed peaceful. Shawn figured that it was the calm before the storm and when the storm hit; it would hit like a category five hurricane.

***

Cyrus Bonelli stood in front of his video screen seething with anger. The image of Colonel Austen Barrow filled the screen. The man’s face looked haggard. Bonelli noticed the crow’s feet at the corner of the man’s tired gray eyes and his slumped shoulders.

“What I’d like to know is how you let a company of federal forces get lured into an ambush and destroyed!” Bonelli roared. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you court marshaled and shot?”

A muscle in the colonel’s face twitched. “Mr. President. They were constantly bombarding us with harassment fire. I had no idea that their defensive positions were so elaborate. All the approaches to the colony are either mined or booby-trapped. One of my officers became overzealous and let them lure him into a trap. It won’t happen again.”

“Colonel. I want you to attack! I want you to take the main colony and bring this thing to a conclusion!”

The colonel sighed in despair. “With all due respect, sir, you are under impeachment hearings. I’ll need the order verification code from the Council of Economic Unions first. At any rate, we need to beef up our forces and plan the attack.”

A sharp pain shot across Bonelli’s chest. “God damn the council! I am the president! You’ll move on, my orders! I’ll see that you get the men and equipment! Coordinate your attack with Admiral Delacroix!” Bonelli yelled and ended the transmission. He sent a video transmission to Admiral Delacroix marked urgent. The tired features of Admiral Delacroix filled the screen. “Admiral. I discussed this fiasco on Europa with Colonel Barrow. I ordered him to coordinate an assault on the main colony with you. I want this situation resolved.”

Delacroix paused. “Mr. President. No one wants this situation to be over more than I do. I can assure you that we will give Colonel Barrow all the help he needs. If you will send the mission verification codes, we’ll get it done.”

Bonelli’s fists clenched at his sides. “I’ll get your God damned codes, but you take your orders from me! I’ll have both you and Colonel Bowers relieved of command! The nerve of those spineless bastards! They voted to bring me up on charges!”

“All the more reason to get the proper authorization. In the meantime, we’ll bolster our forces and plan the attack.”

“You do that! I’ll get your God damned authorization codes!”

***

When the attack came, it came from space. Several light frigates swept in low over the ground. They dropped bunker-busting bombs followed by napalm that incinerated the New Republic forces on the surface. The next wave dropped cluster bombs. While the frigates continued the bombardment, they also provided air cover for their ground troops. Shuttle after shuttle unloaded Fleet Marines inside the perimeter of the colony. The federal forces garrisoned at the base to the south of the colony stood in reserve.

The first to land formed a perimeter and provided cover for the shuttles ferrying marines to the battle. After the marines landed, the frigates launched laser-guided missiles on the defensive positions ringing mining site A. The New Republic forces guarding mining site A put up a hard fight but they couldn’t keep the federal forces at bay. A handful of survivors managed to flee into the mining facility.

President Gallagher sat at his desk in the command center discussing something over the VID-net with his vice president. The alert sounded and his com-unit beeped. “Gallagher here,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Mr. President. The federals have launched the attack. They’re using bunker busters and napalm. They are landing troops at our doorstep. We need to get you out of here,” Holliday said. “I’ve coordinated the evacuation with your security chief. My people on the surface tell me that the federals are about to breach the facility. We have little time.”

Shawn’s heart hammered inside his chest; his breathing accelerated. “Okay. We knew it would come to this. I guess it’s time to launch the awe-shit plan. I want the detainees moved first. I want my brother moved with the first group.”

“Roger that Mr. President. I’ll see you over at site D.”

Shawn’s com-unit beeped again. “Gallagher.”

“Mr. President we need to move,” Shawn’s head of security said.

“I’ll be right out.” Shawn flipped off the com-unit, grabbed his briefcase, and stepped out into the main corridor. His security team hustled him into his hovercar. They sped off heading to the nearest, turbo lift. The New Republic forces inside mining site A held a running gun battle with the Federal Marines. Their goal was to buy time for the rest of the force to evacuate. Laser fire lit up the corridors. The federal forces moved deeper into the mine trying to gain control of the facility.

Shawn rode the lift down into the core of Europa. His vice president and cabinet members rode with him. The descent took over a half-hour. The lift reached the bottom of the mine, the doors opened and they stepped out onto a metal platform. Artificial lighting lit up a vast underground cavern. Shawn stepped off the platform onto a dock and stared out at a vast ocean surrounding Europa’s molten core. Five large submersible vessels floated next to the dock and Holliday stood in front of one of the submarines.

Holliday took his arm. “This way Mr. President.”

Shawn balked. “What about the detainees? What about my brother?

“We’ve already moved them. We need to get you away from here now.”

Shawn climbed up the ladder and entered the submarine. His vice president and cabinet members followed. Holliday stayed on the dock supervising the evacuation. Men streamed out of the turbo lifts. Some were miners and others military personnel. They entered the submarines. The submarines submerged leaving the docks. Others returned to pick up more passengers. The Special Forces teams stormed out of the turbo lifts. The Federal Marines were hot on their tail. Holliday showed them to the last submarine. His foot was the last to step off the dock. He climbed the ladder to enter the last submarine. A squad of Federal Marines stormed out of the turbo lift firing at him with laser carbines. Holliday felt a laser bolt burn past his face when he ducked into the hatch. He sealed the hatch, took a remote control detonator from his pocket, and pressed a red button. The submarine submerged. A massive explosion erupted, setting off charges throughout the mining facility. It caused a chain reaction of explosions throughout the mine. Level by level, the charges went off. Mining site A collapsed and the surface buildings fell into the deluge. Its collapse sealed the federal invaders into an icy tomb.

***