Sound the Alarm

By Mike Adams

The aliens see an opportunity to take the Colonial Rangers by surprise damage and take inflict some damage without risking too much at once.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Adams
• Release date: Nov 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215666296

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

Captain Lizette Vidal

January 28, 2124

Samoëns, France

Samoëns is a popular ski resort in the French Alps 3 miles east of the Swiss border and just an hour from Geneva. Lieutenant Lizette Vidal, a graduate of the French Military Academy at Paris was taking a four-day holiday weekend with three friends from the base where she was currently assigned. For the first two days, the weather was perfect – cold but sunny, the snow-covered mountains looking like a photo from a travel advertisement. The weather had turned somewhat late in the afternoon of the second day however with heavy clouds moving in from the northeast and the wind had picked up some. The forecast for the next couple of days had changed since they’d left the base near the German border. A storm front that had been predicted to bypass the region south of Geneva had shifted further south and would hit the local area that night with some heavy snow falling before moving on in the morning.

After dinner at a small restaurant nearby, the four friends had returned to their hotel and found some seats in the large common room where many of the other 50 guests were congregating near the bar and the big fireplace. Lizette was sharing a room on the third floor with her friend Valerie Dupont, another lieutenant who had graduated in the same class at the Military Academy as Lizette. Her other friends, Lieutenant Marcel Petit and his girlfriend Lisa Marconi, shared a room on the second floor. Marcel and Lisa had both graduated from the Academy a year after Lizette. They’d hoped to go dancing at the small club down the street but by 7 PM heavy snow was falling and the wind had gone from blustery to rather intense.

The tall, attractive, brunette Vidal could have had her pick of the men staying at the hotel but she'd run into Major Isabelle Caval and her husband. While Valerie enjoyed the attention of several handsome young men, Lizette was thrilled to meet Caval who had been one of the first French officers sent to the New Hope Colony on Tau Ceti 4 back in 2117. Caval had commanded a detachment of French Rangers then had spent some time on the staff of First Battalion before returning to Earth with her detachment. Her husband had also been at the colony but as a civilian. He had been part of the New Hope Colony administration as the housing manager for New Hope Town, the colonial capital. He'd been responsible for getting habitations ready for the colonists arriving every few months on starships with up to 4000 people aboard. Providing housing for that many new people every few months was mitigated somewhat by the fact that for every three new arrivals as many as two would depart for Earth on the same starship.

Since the beginning of the colony in 2104, men had outnumbered females by a ratio of up to 5 to 1 and many of the civilian women there were married to others at the colony. By 2124 the ratio had gotten closer to 3 to 1 but this still left opportunities for a satisfactory social life a bit wanting and while spouses and other adult family could accompany the contract workers, many of the contract workers had families back on Earth they wished to get back to after the long separation. The excitement of living on another planet also tended to wear off after a year or two, and with little to do outside of work, not enough of the contract workers were willing to extend, much less stay permanently, despite the very high pay. Retention of the workforce had gotten somewhat better but even so the growth of the colony was still well behind schedule.

Things had improved over the last few years since older children were now allowed to go to the colony and attend the colony's only school, the New Hope Academy. That is, if they could pass the same rigorous screening process that all prospective adult colonists had to go through, and meet the school’s high academic standards for admission. To be accepted for the colony program all applicants had to successfully complete a screening process that included intelligence tests, physical exams, a tough medical and psychological screening, and pass a physical fitness test. The inherent dangers of traveling to and living on an alien planet left no room for people with any kind of mental or health problems, disabilities, or an inability to handle stress or follow directions without question in an emergency. Children below the age of 14 were not allowed to go to the colony at all; there was no educational or social system to handle them as yet, and the students at the New Hope Academy were all high achievers who lived on the campus in New Hope Town, often far from where their parents lived and worked.

Ever since high school, Lizette had dreamed of going to the colony. When it was announced in 2116 that the Colonial Rangers were being formed and sponsoring countries such as France would be sending detachments of Rangers and other specialists from the country's military organizations there, Lizette had set her sights on applying for admission to the French Military Academy. A brilliant student and an accomplished athlete, Lizette had played soccer, studied martial arts and had learned to ski at age 10. She was accepted easily and after a short break upon completing high school she left her family in Toulon on France’s Mediterranean coast and began her first year at the Military Academy in September 2118 shortly before her 18th birthday.

Lizette had a thousand questions for Caval who had once spoken to her Academy class. The major was happy to answer all her questions as best she could and pointed out that life for the Rangers at the colony was much different than for most of the civilians. Detachments of field Rangers could expect to be frequently deployed to newly opened and unexplored areas of the Alpha continent, the largest of the three landmasses where all of the colony's activities were located. Rangers always accompanied the exploration and survey parties searching for valuable resources or surveying the sites of future settlements and the network of roads that would someday connect them. The Ranger detachments would be in the field for at least half of their time at the colony and things could get rather exciting at times. The mountains of Alpha were full of large, very dangerous predators, especially the demon wolves that roamed the higher elevations in packs of 30 or more of the 800-1200-pound adults that had razor-sharp claws and fangs and an armored hide that often just shrugged off the bullets fired at them by the Rangers. Unless they were hit in a few critical locations, the demon wolves could be virtually unstoppable. Ranger detachments practiced fighting demon wolves for months at the Ranger training facilities before leaving Earth and continued their training during the six-month voyage to the colony in the virtual reality trainers aboard the starships.

Most of the new settlements being developed were along the southern tier of the continent where the climate was more temperate. With the local year just half that of Earth, winters and summers were short, and the spring and fall transition seasons were even shorter. The colonial capital of New Hope Town was located on the southwest coast where the weather was generally good year-round. The main Ranger base was located on the west side of New Hope Town and a second Ranger base had been established on the southeast coast at the settlement known as New Cancun. Detachments were also posted at the smaller settlements in case of emergencies including incursions by the local wildlife.

Lizette had made her desire to go to the colony known several times during her time at the Academy and she had requested it as her first choice upon graduation even though she knew that she was required to have two years active service before she would be eligible to join the Rangers. The Ranger assignment was highly coveted and she was far from the only French officer who had requested that duty so there was no guarantee that she would get selected for duty at the colony. It had already been over two years since she'd been commissioned an officer. After going through Special Operations training, she'd been deployed for six months to Nigeria then after being back for nearly a year she would soon be leaving again for an operation in Chad in central Africa. She was on a waiting list to go to the colony for duty with the Rangers and she hoped the upcoming deployment would strengthen her chances of getting selected. The war-torn country offered both danger and opportunity. The next year would be the deciding factor she thought.

Caval listened to her story and answered her questions then said something totally unexpected, Well, Lizette, would you be ready to begin Ranger training in a few weeks?

What? Of course, I would! But how? Why? the surprised and rather confused Vidal asked.

You know the saying that timing is everything? Well, as it so happens, I am on the selection board for officers going to the colony for duty. A new detachment is entering training in three weeks but they are short a platoon leader and we need a female. The one previously chosen has withdrawn due to pregnancy. I recognized your name as soon as you told me. You are among the three officers being considered. Whoever is not chosen will be able to go with the next detachment in about eight months.

Lizette exclaimed eagerly, Mon Dieu! Oui! Oui! I want to go very much! I am ready!

That’s what I think as well, the smiling Caval said.

Lizette reminded her, My unit is supposed to go to Chad in March.

Caval chuckled, They would be going without you either way, well at least for most of it. The announcement is scheduled for a week from now.

May I ask who the other candidates are?

Lieutenants Michelle Dubay and Lis Fontaine. Do you know either of them?

Yes, I know them both. Michelle was a year behind my class at the Academy and Lis was in Nigeria the same time I was, in a different unit though. I met her a couple of times while we were there. I like them both

Good. Whichever one of you goes first will be able to help the others get acclimated. I think you will enjoy your time there.

###

The Colonial Rangers were not a military force designed to fight wars; they were designed to protect exploration parties, surveyors and facilities against the planet’s native predators. The types of arms they carried were strictly limited - no grenades, artillery, mortars, no advanced military rifles or long-range sniper rifles, and their air support was limited – personnel/cargo shuttles flown by Ranger pilots. All of the Ranger detachments consisted of volunteers, many of whom had combat experience, often as part of peacekeeping forces or special ops teams in unstable parts of the world. Some units were very well trained before entering Ranger training, but others were less proficient. Senior officers from some countries were often political choices rather than experienced soldiers but all were adventure seekers.

Before leaving Earth, all Ranger companies went through specialized training that emphasized mountaineering, wilderness survival, and learning everything they could about the dangers of Tau Ceti 4. Virtual Reality training programs had been developed to help train them in how to fight off the planet’s dangerous predators, such as the demon wolves and the snow panthers that roamed the mountains using the standard Ranger-issue weapons which were less powerful than the standard military grade rifles they were used to.

That was a result of a political compromise among the sponsoring countries, many of whom did not want military grade weapons at the colony for any reason. The standard Ranger weapons were the PR-85 automatic rifle and the longer ranged Berkeley 400 sniper rifle, both of which were commonly used by police forces and had a shorter range and a less powerful punch than military grade weapons had. The only truly powerful military grade weapons allowed were the machine guns mounted on the three small armored personnel carriers attached to each detachment. In addition to the uniformity of weapons issued to all Ranger companies, all officers and senior NCOs were required to speak English, the agreed upon common language for all colony personnel. All other Ranger personnel were required to study English on the voyage from Earth.

Lieutenant Lizette Vidal was chosen to join the Ranger detachment led by Captain Pierre Monserat as one of its four platoon leaders and entered the three months of Colonial Ranger training on the 18th of February 2124. Lizette’s detachment boarded the colony transport ship (CTS) Amundsen in June of 2124 and they arrived at the New Hope Colony in early January 2125.

For the first six months Lizette’s detachment was assigned to Delta Company and matched up with a detachment of Spanish Rangers that would return to Earth in December of that year, then they were joined by a new detachment of American Rangers commanded by Captain Zoey Bryant who had remained at the colony when her original detachment had finished its tour of duty. Bryant had been on First Battalion’s staff in charge of orientation for newly arriving detachments until being tabbed to take over the American detachment when its original commander, Captain Robert Alvarez had suffered a broken leg during operations out in the field four months after their arrival at the colony. After he recovered from that injury Bryant remained in command of Delta Company because Captain Alvarez had been chosen by the Regiment’s Chief of Staff Colonel Tanya Kunetsova to join the staff of the regiment’s Operations Officer Colonel Raj Gupta who had been tasked with organizing a new battalion in New Cancun. It was Zoey Bryant who introduced Lizette Vidal to Lieutenant Commander Rick Cassidy and Gunnery Sergeant Molly Pickford who would both become close friends. Rick Cassidy was the Director of Logistics for the Ranger Regiment and Molly Pickford was his deputy. Those two had arrived at the colony as a team under somewhat mysterious circumstances two years earlier.

By September of 2126, when the invasion by the aliens began, there were three Ranger battalions with nineteen full Ranger companies at the colony, each with two national detachments assigned to it, totaling about 4000 field Rangers plus more than 400 support personnel of all kinds. The support personnel label included a broad swath of the overall Ranger organization. Among this group were the flight crews and the cargo crews of the cargo transport landers and the shuttles, the communications and maintenance specialists, the various medical and administrative personnel, and the Colonial Security officers who were the safety and law enforcement arm of Ranger Command. There was also a small detachment of logistics specialists assigned to every settlement’s terminal operations group who worked for Cassidy and Pickford.

The invasion was a shock to everyone and the weapons used by the aliens were more than a little surprising. There were two kinds of aliens. The majority were 7-foot-tall, 450-pound reddish-brown skinned aliens who were immensely strong with tree trunks for arms and legs, each ending in large five-digit hands and feet. They had long, rope-like black hair that was bound and braided behind them and hanging halfway down their backs. They had two large dark eyes, two large ears, a wide flat nose and a wide, dangerous looking mouth with sharp rows of teeth like a shark. The mercenary warriors wore sandal-like footwear, hide skirts down to just above the knee and what looked like a leather sleeveless pullover vest with multiple pockets and hooks for hanging weapons and other gear. They carried long, heavy spears, curved scimitar-like blades similar to short swords and spiked iron balls hung from the leather-like belts around their waists. Some also carried heavy war hammers. The Rangers nicknamed them ‘Raagaas’ after their war cry. They were enormously strong and could hit moving targets while on the run from up to two hundred yards away with deadly accuracy. Nearly a year after the invasion began the Rangers learned that these were a species called the Andoval.

The other aliens were both much fewer in number and much smaller. They were bipeds with yellowish-green skin and disproportionately large, bald heads. Two eyes, ears that were barely more than ear-holes, a small nose and a small, narrow mouth. These aliens, dubbed Jammies by the Rangers because of the pajama-like one-piece footed, coverall-like garments they wore, were much more technologically advanced and they commanded the giants. These aliens were the Rift. They carried smaller versions of the plasma cannon mounted on their seagoing ships and rode on huge ugly beasts that looked like a combination crocodile and rhinoceros, dubbed rhino-crocs by the Rangers. The weapons of the Rangers had come as a surprise to the Rift, an economically driven but relatively peaceful race that had come to remove the ‘invaders’, the humans, from the planet they’d claimed long before but had never bothered to develop. They’d never invented projectile weapons and hadn’t recognized them as weapons at first until the first battle with the Rangers.

Delta Company had been part of the first training cadre for the many civilians who had volunteered to fight the aliens then had taken part in the first and second raids on New Cancun before Lizette was asked to take command of a platoon then soon after a full detachment of 100 civilian volunteers. She was promoted to captain at that time. Many of the civilians at the colony had prior military service which simplified things tremendously and many had died defending the human colonists alongside the Rangers. Her volunteer detachment had fought its first battle at the Second Battle of Winter Haven. Then as part of Delta Company, Lizette’s detachment of volunteers had taken part in the Battle of the Promenade in New Hope Town, repulsing a fleet of alien vessels carrying thousands of Andoval. Her detachment had suffered nearly fifty percent casualties and Lizette had come close to being killed herself but she’d survived more or less intact. Along with the other First Battalion companies, Delta had been shifted to the Gamma I bastion on the Gamma continent 1200 miles south of the Alpha continent when New Hope Town was evacuated days later.

Soon after New Cancun was retaken, Captain Vidal and her detachment were sent to New St Louis. Many of the civilian volunteers had skills needed to get the recovered settlements up and running and they were transferred to Commander Rick Cassidy’s Sixth Battalion for reassignment. Lizette was happy to be reunited with her friends Cassidy and Pickford. A few days later she was reassigned to Major Melissa Rossi’s Falcon Company and since Captain Monserat had been killed some months earlier, Lizette was chosen to command half of the French Rangers in the company. The French had started out as three separate detachments but heavy casualties had cut the total number of able-bodied troopers in half and the survivors had been combined into two understrength detachments of about 75 each. Captain Benjamin Dalan, one of Rossi’s former platoon leaders, had taken over for Captain Martin Moreau who was now Rossi’s executive officer.

Chapter 1

The First of Many

July 30, 2127

Day 296

Aboard the CTS Vitus Bering in orbit above the New Hope Colony

Two weeks earlier, the first interviews with some of the girls of Jacks Company had been done by an Austrian documentary filmmaker by the name of Lisa Lange. She and her crew had boarded the Vitus Bering for the trip to the New Hope Colony six months earlier intending to stay for about six months while they filmed everything they saw and everyone they could get to talk to them. Also coming in on the Bering was an American journalist named Gretchen Weaver who was given permission to interview Rick Cassidy and Molly Pickford after spending some time in New Cancun and Rocky Point talking to the Rangers and to some of the civilians who’d been able to return to their former living quarters after the settlements had been taken back from the aliens.

The interview took place aboard the colony transport ship the day after 15 of the girls from Jacks Company had graduated from the New Hope Academy along with more than 80 other students who’d finished their final year at the colony’s only school. Everyone from Jacks Company along with their parents and siblings had been present for the ceremony in the ship’s theater. Most of the Jackies had already returned to New St Louis and their quarters in the barracks at the New St Louis Ranger Base but Cassidy and Pickford had remained aboard for the evening and their morning interview before returning to the surface.

Weaver had Rick and Molly sitting next to each other in two comfortable chairs while she sat facing them in the VIP cabin just aft of the starship’s commanding officer, Captain Eliza Drake. Her camera operator had one vidcam focused on Weaver and the other on Cassidy and Pickford.

She looked into the vidcam to address the audience who would eventually get to see this interview and the ones that would follow, "Hello, I'm Gretchen Weaver, and I'm here aboard the starship Vitus Bering in orbit above the New Hope Colony on Tau Ceti 4 with two people that almost everyone on Earth believed had been killed by assassins over 5 years ago. I have the pleasure of introducing you all to Lieutenant Paul O'Brien and Staff Sergeant Susan Bennett who now go by the names Commander Rick Cassidy and Gunnery Sergeant Molly Pickford.

She turned to the two Americans, "Commander, Gunnery Sergeant, it wasn’t until after we arrived here on the Vitus Bering that we learned that the two of you were alive and well. It was almost as great a shock learning that the two of you were alive here at the colony all along as was the news of the invasion itself. I remember quite vividly when the news of your assassinations by the agents of the Gul brothers was announced."

Molly chuckled, That seems to be a common reaction.

Weaver nodded, "I’m sure. In preparation for this meeting, I was allowed to view a video message that the two of you and your daughter Ciara Cassidy sent back on the North America. I image that it will be shone to the public soon and it’s bound to raise a lot of questions."

We figured that much, Rick said with a wry smile. Not sure if they’ll show all of it. We thought that speaking directly to the public might help answer some of the questions the newsies and the public might have that the folks at Earth Command might have trouble answering since they weren’t there back then.

Weaver grinned wryly in return, I can see that, but you know it’s also bound to raise other questions that will have a lot of people wanting to know the answers to.

Yeah, we figured that too, Molly added with a grin.

Weaver laughed, I’ll bet. So, let’s get to it, shall we? I’d like to address some of the things in that video for the benefit of our audience.

Fire away, Molly told her.

Okay, I remember seeing the videos recorded of the moment that you were, supposedly, killed. I was also at the Heroes funeral they held for you. I must say that your family had everyone fooled. Can you tell us about how that all came about and how they were able to keep the truth hidden for so long?

Rick grinned then replied, Well, for the last part of that, you should talk to my mom, Major Kelly Cassidy, or my sisters Bridget, Nicole and Chloe. Bridget and Nicole are both lieutenants in the Colonial Rangers and Chloe is here to manage Stellar Enterprises’ operations at the colony. They're all here at the colony now.

Yes, I've heard that they were all here now as well. That in itself is an interesting story, but one that we’ll have to explore at a later date.

Molly chuckled, As for fooling everyone at the funeral, that was easy. Except for Ciara, they all thought we’d really been killed.

Weaver turned to Rick, Your daughter Ciara was just 10 at the time and she'd been with you when the assassins struck, isn't that right?

She was with me all three times. At our house in Virginia Beach, in Montana, and then again during the last time in Kentucky. That doesn't count the times they tried to get Molly before she joined us in Montana. So, she was in on it from the beginning. It was her idea to pretend that we were dead and go to the colony.

Weaver was thankful that she’d heard that comment in the recording she’d viewed the night before and asked, It was her idea?

Molly smiled, "That’s right. Even before his ship came back from Africa, the Marines flew me home, and not long after I was ordered to report to the base commander of the