After about a year, the United Earth Coalition (UEC) finally crushed the Altair Prime Revolt, thanks to the efforts of the UEC 9th and 13th Independent Military Groups, known respectively as the Podolsky and Cisalpine Legions. Their commanders Colonel Scott Harrington and Commander Jack Green wanted nothing more than for the war-torn planet to recover. Alas, the peace that followed was more terrifying than the war itself.
Despite the best efforts of the two legionary commanders, Major General Tyrone Murray had evaded punishment for the war crimes committed during the counterinsurgency. To add insult to injury, the UEC High Command promoted Murray to the rank of General and appointed him to be the Governor General of the UEC Occupational Government in Altair Prime. Under Murray’s governance, the people of Altair Prime were deliberately starved to death as punishment for their rebellion against Earth’s rule.
In the months that followed, millions perished, mostly in the northern regions where the people had to endure the hunger winter.
To investigate the charges against General Murray, High Command sent the Cisalpine Legion to Altair Prime once more.
***
To their own surprise, it didn’t take long for Commander Green and the men of the 13th to rid Altair Prime of General Murray. The evidence was clear to see, from graves of infants to emaciated people on the streets begging for bread. Most damning of all, however, were the storehouses full of food, deliberately withheld from the people on the orders of the Governor General.
And thus, High Command recalled General Murray. He was to be court-martialed on Earth, at the UEC High Command headquarters in Meridian.
Sergeant Major Marco Icardi was the first soldier of the 13th to be informed by Commander Green of this good news. With his legionary commander all smiles, Icardi hated to be the party pooper, but the whole thing simply bothered him. And Marco was never one to leave any stone unturned.
“Don’t you find this weird, Commander?”
“What do you mean?” responded Jack.
“It’s just that, High Command had been overlooking everything Murray did, all his errors, all his war crimes. And now all of a sudden, they decided to court martial the guy? Now HighCom’s responsive?”
The Commander grimaced. “You really know how to bring the mood down, don’t you, Marco?”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Don’t be,” Jack said, his smile sad. “You’re absolutely right. The UEC’s definitely up to something, but I wonder what.”
“This might sound crazy, sir,” Icardi began, “but with General Murray leaving, the UEC Central Army will also leave the planet. This left only the Cisalpine Legion as its defenders. Well, us and the Altair Prime Defense Force. But we both know the APDF is worse than useless. This is the best time for anyone to invade this planet.”
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Jack’s eyes widened. “You’re right. And with General Murray’s reign of terror still fresh in people’s memory, everyone in Altair Prime’s still pissed off at the UEC. Any hostile invader will be welcomed by the populace, no question.”
***
Commander Green’s worst fears came into fruition just a few days after General Murray and the bulk of the UEC Army left Altair Prime. An unidentified spacecraft landed just outside the city of Arksburg, where the 13th had set up their base. Exiting the vessel was a man in a suit of battle armor that made him look like an oversized gorilla. He was also carrying a huge shield with him; one that was reminiscent of a medieval knight or an ancient legionary. As for his face, it was obscured by his helmet.
Cautiously, Jack decided to approach this stranger. He knew his military gear was easily dwarfed, but he needed to know more about this unknown factor. For his own safety, he brought with him Icardi and Special Agent Nikolai Petrovsky. The Commander never cared for the UEC’s psi-op program, but he might be needing Petrovsky’s powers.
“Welcome to Altair Prime,” Jack said to the stranger. “Who might you be?”
“Greetings, Earthborn,” the man responded; his voice was menacing thanks to his helmet. “My name is Alexios Spektre, Prince of Lakamodis and Commander of the Alliance Task Force to liberate Earth.”
Icardi looked on in disbelief. “Earthborn? Lakamodis? Alliance? Liberate Earth?”
“Indeed!” Alexios pointed to his shield; a golden lambda was emblazoned upon a scarlet background. “This shield shows my allegiance. And by your armor, I assume you are UEC?”
“We are,” said Green.
“Then I have but a message for you, Union scum,” Alexios said with venom in his voice. “Surrender or die! Our ships are right outside this planet.”
Jack’s first thought was one of suspicion, he wondered if this heavily armored stranger was lying. But Nikolai had been reading the Commander’s thoughts.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the psi-op agent said to Jack. “But this man is telling the truth. He has a fleet of ships in high orbit. And now you’re wondering how our sensors didn’t pick them up. The short answer? Cloaking technology.”
Alexios laughed. “A mind-reader, huh? So that story’s not a lie after all.” He turned to Jack. “I await your answer, Union commander.”
“The 13th does not surrender without a fight!” Green said indignantly. As he said this, he pointed to his legionary emblem on his sleeve: a boar in red and green.
I was hoping for you to say that,” responded Alexios. “Then we shall meet on the battlefield, Earthborn.”
***
The Cisalpine Legion never stood a chance of holding Altair Prime, that much was clear to Commander Green. And so, he ordered a general retreat from the planet. It was an orderly retreat, mostly helped by the fact that they didn’t even bother evacuating civilians. This was not callousness on the part of Commander Green. Quite the opposite; he knew they would have welcomed the Alliance with open arms.
The UEC was outclassed, to put it simply, even the skilled men of the 13th. The APDF, meanwhile, were cut down like butter sliced by hot knife.
Despite their small numbers, Alliance Hoplites were a nightmare to deal with. Thanks to their armor, they were individually powerful; a single hoplite is as good as ten UEC soldiers, to put it conservatively. And worse were the medics at the rear; armed with guns that heal rather than kill, they made the already sturdy hoplites almost invincible.
But almost was the key word, because it was indeed possible for the hoplites to be defeated. During the Cisalpine Legion’s retreat to Khankord, a small pocket of Alliance troops had advanced much further than the rest. Taking advantage of this error, Sergeant Major Icardi launched a counterattack, surrounding the Alliance soldiers with overwhelming numbers.
And the UEC soon picked up their first victory over the Alliance. A small victory, but with a big prize: a prisoner, the sole survivor of the isolated Alliance vanguard…
A medic named Arlena.