The Raid on Southport

By Mike Adams

Politics and Operational Planning don’t mix well!

Naomi MacCaffrey and her ‘Hot Tub Brain Trust’ propose a new operation to strike at the aliens. Ammunition is low and there are still thousands of ugly giants ready to attack again. There is one container of ammo still sitting in a holding yard but it’s in alien-occupied Southport.

When politics overrides the best of plans bad things tend to happen. Feeling left out, the Russian commander of Echo Company, Captain Boris Akulov, lobbies for his government’s representative to persuade General Jamison to let his detachment of Russians lead the raid on Southport.

The plan calls for a covert entry, recovery and departure.

Jacks Company is still regrouping from their battle with the aliens when a broadcast from New Hope Town tells them about the battle for Winter Haven.

Questions have arisen about the aliens who attacked Castillo. It was evident that the alien force that attacked Castillo had come from a fight somewhere, but with whom?

If you liked the first books of the Fierce Girls At War series you will love The Raid on Southport, the 12th installment of the saga of the ‘fierce girls’ war against the aliens. Click the BUY NOW button at the top and continue your journey now.

“My Captain is pizzed ad me because I help plan op-ration, not him, an didn’t tell him, I was ordered not to, an didn’t tell him anyway. So, he gib me bick present, but I already haf one, iv you know whad I mean? I haf bad feel-ling ‘bout dis mission.”
-Lieutenant Olga Kasparova, platoon leader Russian detachment of Echo Company, Colonial Rangers, New Hope Colony, Russian Republic

“They want us to fly the Southport mission in bad weather but that means we’ll probably get tossed around like a fishing boat in a hurricane only a bit higher up. Those guys back there better have their airsick bags ready. The last think I need is a whole platoon of Rangers puking all over my aircraft!”
-Lieutenant Erin Quinn, recon shuttle pilot, mission lead pilot, Colonial Rangers, New Hope Colony, US

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Adams
• Release date: Apr 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463596227

Mike Adams

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten Island, NY. Mike has a BS in Business Admin from Wagner College and an MBA from SDSU. A retired US Navy Lieutenant Commander, Supply Corps (Logistics), a former small business owner, and part-time substitute teacher. he's visited 6 continents and 36 countries, speak Spanish, some German, a little Italian and a little less French. He currently lives in Chula Vista, CA with his wife Chris.

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Prologue

Oliveira’s Squad

November 25, 2126

Day 69 (evening)

Aboard the Athens enroute to New Hope Town

An exhausted and grieving Staff Sergeant Alicia Oliveira sat on the deck next to the crash couch in the cargo transport lander Athens’ main deck aft passenger cabin where Sergeant Ana Branco lay sedated, her head, face and neck heavily bandaged. Branco had been hit in the face by one of the Raagaas’ spiked iron balls. Luckily, she had her visor down or she would have died on the Eastern Hill. One spike had penetrated her jaw and broken several bones, smashed in the left side of her face, destroyed several teeth on the left side of her jaw. Another spike had ripped her face open from the left side of her mouth all the way to her left ear which was partially torn off. Without the visor the spikes would have entered her skull and killed her instantly.

Ana Branco had nearly bled to death but one of her squadmates Corporal Alberto Carrasco had acted immediately to staunch the bleeding. Moments later Carrasco was killed by a Jammie plasma bolt as he tried to drag the gravely injured Branco to cover. Seeing this happen, Corporal Mateus Bosque and Private First Class Gustavo Moreno had quickly carried Branco to the aid station on the back side of the hill where she was treated before a Ranger shuttle acting as an ambulance had taken her to the hospital in Winter Haven.

Leaving Branco at the aid station, the two Brazilian Rangers had returned to the bunker where Oliveira and Sergeant Daysi Fernandes and the rest of Dagger Company were firing at Raagaa warriors trying to come up the hill at them. Before he could take cover, Bosque had his knee shattered by a chunk of flying concrete, the result of plasma blasts that were turning the long concrete bunker that part of Dagger Company was hunkered down in into a pile of rubble. The order to evacuate was given moments later.

Moreno had helped Bosque to the tentative safety of the backside of the hill and into one of the trucks taking the Rangers down the winding road with Fernandes following behind. Alicia Oliveira was the senior surviving NCO at their end of the bunker when Lieutenant Carvalho had told her to get everyone out and she made sure that any Brazilians still alive were out of there before withdrawing herself. Moreno sat down on the transport’s deck next to her and said tiredly, I just found Lieutenant Carvalho, Sargento.

Alicia looked at him, He’s alive? Where is he?

Down below on the second deck near the sickbay. He should be in a med pod but there aren’t enough. He lost his right leg where that spear went through his thigh. He’s lucky somebody put a tourniquet on it in time then got him on a truck. He’s done even if he survives ‘til we get to New Hope Town.

Oliveira sighed, I’m glad he made it this far at least. There’s hardly any of us Brazilians left; a couple of dozen maybe out of over a hundred. Did you find Lieutenant Mendes? Sondra Mendes was the officer in charge of the vehicle platoon but had been fighting in the bunker with one of the two reduced Brazilian platoons after Lieutenant Henriques had been killed. Felix Carvalho had been leading the half of Dagger Company that included the Brazilians who had survived the Battle for Southport and the First Battle of Winter Haven plus two platoons of civilian volunteers. Gilberto Henriques had been killed almost as soon as the Jammies started concentrating their plasma bolts on Dagger’s bunker. Ten minutes later Mendes went down with a Raagaa spear in her shoulder.

She’s not onboard. I found Sergeant Machado though. She said that Mendes is in the hospital in Winter Haven. Silvia Machado was an NCO in charge of one of the Brazilian detachment’s three armored personnel carriers. All three APCs had made it off the hill but all three had lost at least one of their crewmembers. Each APC had four Rangers assigned to it, an NCO in charge, a driver, a comm tech or medic and a primary machine gunner. When the APCs were in their fighting pits at the top of the hill the medics were treating the wounded and others were on the firing line. Some of the APC gunners had been killed by plasma bolts and others had been killed fighting; some hadn’t made it to safety during the withdrawal and were killed by the aliens as they ran down the hill. Of the twelve Brazilian APC crewmen five had been killed and two wounded.

Bom. I’m glad she made it. How bad, did she say?

Moreno shrugged, She wasn’t sure. She was unconscious in a med pod but she still had all her arms and legs, so that’s something.

How’s Mateus?

Not talking. He took losing Daysi really hard; you know how close they were. Daysi Fernandes, Oliveira, Moreno and four other Brazilians had jumped off the truck they were in when they reached the rear defensive line set up by Lieutenant Colonel Stairs to help cover the withdrawal of the other Ranger companies. They were being chased down the hill and across the open countryside by the fast-running Raagaas who were sprinting faster than the vehicles could move as they bounced around on the rocky landscape. The last of the vehicles had just cleared the line when the leading group of Raagaas made it to the long, low hill they were on seconds before Mumbai’s main propulsion engines began bathing the alien horde in fire. Knowing what was about to happen, Stairs’ Rangers had retreated down the backside of the hill to take shelter and they had to deal at close quarters with several dozen Raagaas who had started down the hill before the wave of fire turned those following in their wake into melting candles.

Three of the Raagaas had charged directly at a group of a dozen or so Rangers including the seven Brazilians. The immensely strong, inhumanly fast, 7-foot tall, 400-pound aliens leapt at the Rangers who were firing up at them with their PR85s. Two of the Raagaas fell dead before they could throw their spears or iron-spiked balls but the third rammed his spear into Sergeant Fernandes’ chest as he fell dead at her feet. Daysi’s body was pinned to one of the big truck tires until Moreno and another Brazilian were able to pull it out while a tearful Alicia Oliveira supported her friend’s body and laid her gently on the ground. Of the six members of the Staff Sergeant’s squad two, Fernandes and Carrasco, were dead, and two, Branco and Bosque, were wounded with Branco still in dire condition.

Her knees drawn up to her chest, Alicia had her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees thinking sadly that her squad was lucky to have made it this far. The six had been aboard the shuttle flown by Lieutenant Daniel Beaufort and his flight engineer Master Sergeant Mindy Taylor when they were shot down by the aliens near the islands 300 miles south of Southport where the aliens were preparing to launch their invasion two days later. They’d all survived the crash but had spent the next twelve days lost at sea in the downed shuttle as it floated eastward. They’d made it ashore on the southern tip of the Clinton Peninsula about 350 miles from New Cancun then walked overland to the alien-controlled settlement before they learned that the area was no longer safe. Holed up in the main harvester station between the Big and Little Citrus Rivers that had been the scene of the Battle of the Bridges before the fall of New Cancun they’d seen a huge dark shape passing overhead at night that they realized was one of their transports.

The next night they saw the transport again, flying east this time, and the eight Rangers took a chance and made their way as fast as they could in the darkness the twenty miles north to the outskirts of New Cancun. They’d almost missed having their flare seen by some troopers aboard the last shuttle taking the raiding party led by Captain Zoey Bryant back to the waiting London. The raiders had spent two nights taking as much material as they could from the Ranger Base, a warehouse complex and the settlement’s main hospital where they had to withdraw under fire from the aliens. Fortunately, their flare was seen and a shuttle returned to pick them up and they flew back to New Cancun on the London with the raiding party.

Their joy at being rescued was short-lived however. The Brazilians were called up to see the mission commander Colonel Farah Halim and Lieutenant Giuliana Barbieri, the Administrative officer for the Italian detachment who had boarded London in Winter Haven. The two officer had to give them the terrible news that their detachment had suffered many casualties, half the detachment killed or wounded, during the Battle for Southport on the very first day of the invasion. The Italian detachment had also fought and likewise suffered greatly that day. Most of the survivors of both detachments were in Winter Haven. Weeks later most of those wounded in the earlier battles were on their way back to Earth on Asia and Oliveira and her squad had rejoined the remaining Brazilians at the northern settlement.

You’re in charge now, Sargento, Moreno said quietly.

What do you mean I’m in charge?

You’re the senior NCO of the detachment still standing, he replied.

What? What about Silva or Antunes? They’re both senior to me.

Staff Sergeant Antunes is dead; he died in the hospital in Winter Haven. Staff Sergeant Silva’s dead too. When her gunner Corporal Rodrigues was wounded, she took over and was killed by a plasma bolt. That’s what Machado said. Staff Sergeant Adali Silva was another close friend of Alicia Oliveira.

Merda! Merda! Merda! Alicia cursed softly as new tears ran down her face. What about Lieutenant Kazumi? Vida Kazumi was the Brazilian detachment’s Admin officer.

She’s still in Winter Haven.

You saw her there?

Moreno sighed and nodded, Sim. When you went to check on Ana, I saw her. She was helping with the wounded still coming in. I didn’t talk to her but I saw her. I wanted to talk to her but she was busy, covered with blood too. There were wounded Rangers everywhere. And bodies…

Yeah, okay, so she knows how bad it was then, Oliveira sighed heavily wiping her tears with her bloodstained sleeve.

Do you think they’ll send her back to New Hope Town soon? Moreno asked.

Probably. Maybe not until they send back the rest of our people. I think there’s still seven or eight of us there with the vehicles. We don’t need them all anymore though; maybe they’ll let us keep some of the trucks.

Machado said our APCs are in the cargo bay. Nobody said not to take them so she told the guys to drive them aboard.

Bom.

Chapter 1

Lieutenant Olga Kasparova

November 26, 2126

Day 70

New Hope Town

Olga Kasparova was both appalled and relieved when the casualty lists from the Second Battle of Winter Haven and the attack on McKinley Pass came in. She was very grateful that Major Naomi MacCaffrey had been kind enough to pull her aside and let her know that Lieutenant Heidi Kurtz, Olga’s closest friend, had made it through the battle for the Pass without being wounded. Heidi’s commander Captain Diana Marek, another friend of Olga’s, had been killed in action leaving Heidi in command of what was left of her detachment. Altogether, there were more than eight hundred dead, over seven hundred more were wounded and not all of them would survive their wounds. Like virtually all of the female officers in New Hope Town, Olga was living in the greatly expanded residence that had once been Commander Rick Cassidy’s private home. Now Olga and many of the others waited for word that the first transport carrying casualties from Winter Haven and McKinley Pass was on final approach to New Hope Main Terminal.

Born in Yekaterinburg, Russia in March 2198 Olga Kasparova graduated from Moscow State University in 2121. Wanting some adventure in her life, the athletic and very intelligent Kasparova joined the Russian Armed Forces in 2122 and attended an Officer Commissioning program before being assigned to the Transportation Corps. She would soon be sent to her first posting in southern Russian near the border with Kazakhstan. Hit hard by the viral pandemic of 2103, Kazakhstan had deteriorated into a heavily armed warlord state with some factions attacking across the Russian border intent on expanding their territory and creating mayhem among the hated Russians who they blamed, with some justification, for being slow to provide the vaccines needed to stave off the worst of the epidemic that had killed so many.

Raiders coming over the border from Kazakhstan had been moving deeper into Russian territory when Lieutenant Kasparova arrived at the support base designated ‘Chariot’ on an armored antigravity transport shuttle in February 2123. Task group Vlad, a mixed armored ground and air task force was stationed at ‘Chariot’. Fresh from her Officers Commissioning program then Officers Infantry school followed by a Transportation Officers course, the tall, attractive, 24-year-old blonde was both a bit anxious and very excited to reach her first real assignment.

This was a combat assignment and she hoped to move over to Army Intelligence after a year. She had the test scores but needed to get a year of field experience first. The Transportation Corps was a good place to start. The Transportation Corps was a misleading title although it did include movements of all personnel and equipment by ground, air, or water. It meant that she was required to have a subspecialty; in her case, armored personnel carrier operations and escort duty. There had been frequent attacks on supply aircraft and ground convoys and she had been told to expect to see action before long. Advances in anti-gravity air transport technology had been nearly matched by weaponry designed to blow them out of the air and ground transport still carried the bulk of material throughout the country.

Olga reported to the Chief Transportation officer Major Stepanychev who greeted her warmly, Lieutenant Kasparova, I’m glad to see you made it in one piece. He shook her hand, Take a seat.

Spacebo, Major. I’m looking forward to working for you, sir, she told her new superior.

He nodded in satisfaction, That’s good. You’ll be busy. You’ll be taking over a platoon of APCs tomorrow.

She was surprised, Sir? Already?

The major lost his smile, Lieutenant Fedkin was killed in action two days ago. Sniper. One of our armored shuttles was damaged by a SAM and had to land. Fedkin went out with six APCs and sixty troopers under Captain Alenin to provide security while a second aircraft flew in the repair parts and techs to fix the bird. He left his vehicle to take a piss. Forgive the pun but he exposed himself to a sniper hidden in the hills nearby. One-shot and it was over for him. Very unfortunate, he was a good man and a good officer. Remember that, Lieutenant Kasparova. It just takes one careless mistake to lose it all.

And the sniper? she asked

They got him.

Well, that’s one less who can shoot at me then, Olga told him.

The major grinned, I like your attitude. Well then, Sergeant Vasnetsova will take you over to the officers’ barracks, there’s a separate section for the females. The sergeant will show you around the base and introduce you to some key people. You’ll meet most of your platoon tomorrow when they get back from patrol.

For the next three weeks Kasparova was able to settle into her new responsibilities and get to know her people – she had forty-two in her platoon including the crews of the six APCs, eight other vehicle drivers and some maintenance techs. Patrols went out daily with the three APC platoons assigned to Task Force Vlad with each assigned to a 20-mile section of the border to patrol. Kasparova’s patrols were uneventful until her seventh patrol when a shoulder fired missile destroyed a tree next to one of her APCs. The source of the missile was quickly spotted and destroyed. After that things were quiet again for two more weeks.

Colonel Petrusheva, the base commander, called her officers together for a briefing and pointed to the large 3-D holographic map display, A large force of raiders was spotted early this morning by one of our forward lookout posts crossing the border and headed north 30 miles southeast of here. Recon aircraft are searching for them now. As soon as they are located, we will go after them and eliminate them. They have some heavy vehicles with them including some APCs and at least several missile tanks. We think they are heading for this town here, Timoyevsk. If they get there, they will likely destroy much of the town and everyone they can find although taking hostages are also a possibility. There they can cut the highway at the bridge over this river.

Major Stepanychev asked, Are more assets coming in to assist us?

Petrusheva replied, Maybe later. This is not the only group that was spotted within the last twenty-four hours. Four more heavily armed groups were spotted further the east and thirty miles west of here. They were also on the move north and are being searched for. This is a major development. They have gotten very good at evading our satellites and this is the first time they’ve tried to send such a large force across the border in almost a year. It has been suggested that some or all of these groups may be diversions meant to draw our forces away while their main attack takes place somewhere else. That’s just speculation now; they’ve done similar things before although on a smaller scale.

Lieutenant Kasparova was sent out with her platoon of six APCs carrying about 130 soldiers from Captain Ivashin’s company. Ivashin had three platoons under Lieutenants Semenova, Mishurin and Egorov. They were to set up a blocking position in a pass through a range of hills the raiders were headed for. The Kazakhs had been spotted by a recon drone about 15 miles south of the pass and Petrusheva had her two armored forces moving out within minutes. While Ivashin and the APCs would block them from going through the pass to the open country beyond the second, larger force would swing around behind the raiders and hit them from behind. Anti-grav assault shuttles would then bring in Major Orlov’s two infantry companies to cut the raiders off if they tried to flee east or west then the aircraft would keep watch from above and provide air support where needed.

It took thirty minutes for the fast-moving APCs to reach the pass and based on the latest intel from the recon drone it would be another 10 to 15 minutes before the raiders could get there. Colonel Petrushka and the pursuit force would be no more than ten minutes behind the raiders so they would need to delay them for at least that long. The pass was little more than a fairly straight narrow corridor about 100 yards wide and 300 yards long between two hills. While they had some time to get organized Captain Ivashin ordered the six armored combat vehicles, which could each carry about twenty-five fully equipped soldiers, to pull over on the east side of the canyon so his troops could dismount and deploy. He called his three lieutenants and Kasparova over and told them where he wanted the troops to take up defensive positions. Olga was to take four of her APCs across the canyon and move them into a shadowed area where they would be out of sight of the approaching raiders. Intent on catching them by surprise Captain Ivashin didn’t want his force to be seen until the raiders were almost inside the pass and unable to maneuver.

The steep sandstone cliffs on either side of the canyon were over 100 feet high and Olga looked up and scanned the western clifftops as she moved her vehicles and thirty troopers under Yulia Semenova to their defensive positions. Semenova was even greener than Kasparova having just arrived two weeks before and coming straight from the Infantry Officers course.

Olga was standing up in the lead APC’s forward top hatch scanning the flat desert-like countryside to the south when she saw the approaching raiders in the distance through her field glasses. I can see them, Captain, she reported to Ivashin. About two miles due south.

Very good, Lieutenant Kasparova. Stay out of sight and hold fire until I give the order.

Da, Captain.

She looked across the canyon and saw Ivashin with Mishurin and Egorov along with their platoon sergeants. They were out of sight of the raiders behind a huge sand-stone boulder. She was checking the positions of the two APCs with Ivashin when six missiles flew across the gap between the two Russian elements from the clifftop above her. Two impacted APC number 5 and sent Sergeant Mikulin who was atop the vehicle flying through the air, his body on fire. The third missile landed right in the middle of the group of officers and senior NCOs killing them all instantly. The other three hit the clusters of soldiers with no protection from that side.

Ebat’ kopat’! Shit! She saw the flash of missiles coming at her from the eastern clifftop and dived down into her APC pulling the hatch cover down with her but not quite in time. A missile hit the APC’s armored side directly below the forward hatch and the force of the blast blew the hatch cover down on top of her, breaking her arm and dropping her to the floor momentarily stunned. The tough young officer had grown up playing ice hockey and snowboarding and she’d had taken a few rough blows before although none quite so life-threatening. Her combat helmet had protected her head and with adrenaline flowing through her veins she recovered quickly and ordered over the comm, All APCs, target the clifftops! Lieutenant Semenova, get your people inside now!

More missiles and machine gun fire hammered at the APCs as Semenova’s platoon hurried back into the armored vehicles. Lieutenant Kasparova, they took out both of our power cells! We can’t move! said Sergeant Petrov through the comm net from APC number 4. The armored vehicles ran on two very powerful power cells that could keep the vehicles moving for up to three months without recharging; as long as the dynamic power coupling remained intact that is.

Can you use your weapons?

Da!

Then cover us while we cross the canyon! We have to pick up those soldiers before they’re all slaughtered.

Da, Lieutenant.

Olga’s broken left arm, damaged ribs and dislocated shoulder were sending waves of pain through her body as she took the hand of Corporal Pavlychev who pulled her to her feet. Spacebo. She ordered the driver Corporal Nikulin, Let’s move! Now! The APC started moving, picking up speed as they led the two other mobile armored vehicles to the other side of the canyon. The Russian troopers there were desperately trying to make themselves the smallest targets they possibly could as more missiles and machine gun fire came at them from the opposite side of the pass. APC number 6 had smoke coming out of both top hatches and its open rear access door; it was clearly out of the fight. The troops were taking shelter behind the two armored vehicles as APC number 5 fired at the western clifftop. There were too many soldiers to fit into number 5 so the lone APC had to stay and provide what protection they could as grenades began to rain down on them from above.

It took less than a half a minute for the three APCs to reach the desperate soldiers. Olga had been informed that Lieutenant Semenova was in APC number 3 but wounded and Ivashin and the other officers and their platoon sergeants had been killed by the first missile leaving her the only officer still in the fight. Olga knew that her priority had to be to save as many of the infantry troopers as possible so she ordered the three vehicles to present their sides to the enemy which made them bigger targets but offered more protection as the soldiers hurriedly climbed aboard bringing their wounded with them.

She heard from Sergeant Petrov in APC number 4, Lieutenant, we have more company coming. From the north this time and they’re not ours! I can see at least eight APCs with some missile trucks, at least a dozen of them!

Okay Petrov, we’re coming for you. Fire everything you have; continuous fire at the clifftop. Activate your auto fire control!

Da, Lieutenant!

Where’s our air support!? she asked her comm tech Private Fedunova, who had called in the ambush immediately after it began.

She replied, Ten minutes out! They were still loading Major Orlov’s people!

We’ve got to get out of here! cried the gunner Pavlychev.

Olga activated her comm again, All APCs, follow me! We’re going to pick up number 4’s crew then we’re leaving! Acknowledgments came in from the other APC commanders. Everyone was aboard now and the four APCs moved out to pick up number 4’s crew.

The driver Nikulin asked urgently, Which Way, Lieutenant!? The ones to the south are almost here and the ones to the north will rip us apart faster than you can blink and we can’t avoid them!

They’ve got us boxed in, Colonel, she told Petrusheva over the comm. We can’t stay here!

Can you hold out until air support arrives, Lieutenant?

Nyet, Colonel. We’ll try to break out to the south, there’s no other option!

Good luck then, Kasparova. Help is coming as fast as they can.

Understood, Colonel. Kasparova out. They could try to go southwest or southeast but either way they would be broadside to every one