Arneb --- Part III

continued from here. A thousand apologies for taking so many months to finish this.

Second Regiment was scattered across their staging room, cleaning their weapons and chatting about the upcoming mission. Rogue made a minute adjustment to the scope on his sniper rifle, inserted a sighting laser into the barrel and checked it through the scope. Satisfied, he removed the laser, took a rag out and began wiping the rifle down. To no one in particular he called out, “I’m telling you, it is going to get nasty.” The room instantly went silent. Redding, in the middle of breaking an assault rifle down, paused and looked around the room.

A soldier that Redding hadn’t met yet said, “Why do you say that sir?”

“Simple, Corporal, Intelligence has planned this mission. Intelligence—egghead, deskbound analysts, who hear a tidbit here, a scrap here and then claim to have a complete picture of what the Dominion is doing everywhere. Now I realize it’s all we’ve got, but, seriously people, has Intelligence ever been completely correct?” He went back to wiping down the rifle.

A grim silence hung over the room. Before anyone could say anything else, the intercom paged, “All regiment commanders report to the Briefing Room; all regiment commanders report to the Briefing Room.” Rogue frowned, handed the rifle over to Dara, then left the room.

Redding said, “Wonder what that’s about.”

Dara responded, “I’m sure we’ll be the last to know, Private. We always are.”


Rogue strolled through the corridors of the Liberty, nodding at passing crewers. When he arrived at the Briefing Room, he walked in and immediately noticed that Athos and the other division commanders were already present. As he sat down he saw two other individuals, Liberty’s master, Captain Lolz and Major Es’s’em, the Liberty’s shadowy Intelligence liaison, in deep discussion at the front of the room.

“Perfect,” Rogue snorted to himself, “Just perfect.”

The conversation broke up and Captain Lolz motioned for silence. Without preamble, he said, “While the offensive is still underway, the Arneb operation is postponed until further notice. The Liberty has been ordered to assault a Dominion planetary supply depot recently located by Intelligence. Major?” He deferred to Es’s’em.

“Thank you, Captain. This depot was discovered due to a recent communication intercept. With this new information, we reevaluated previous comms and verified the depot's location. We believe that it is responsible for around thirty percent of the Dominion’s forces in the surrounding sectors. Now while that may not seem like much, it may be enough to blunt the damage caused by our other operations in the upcoming offensive. Hence it has been deemed a high priority target. This facility appears to be of standard layout, but intercepts indicate that it is operating with a near skeleton crew. The defenses are therefore well within what our forces can handle. Captain.”

Lolz resumed the podium. “The Liberty has been ordered to engage immediately. We will be in orbit in two hours. Orbital and air support will smash any kind of orbital or air defense the depot has, landings will commence immediately after that. As soon as the facility is secured, freighters will jump in to remove any salvageable supplies while we provide escort. Once that is complete, we will raze the facility from orbit, denying it to the Dominion and all forces will withdraw to Coalition space. At that point, I believe we will once again begin preparations for the assault on Arneb.”

From beside Lolz, Es’s’em spoke up, “If the opportunity presents itself, your secondary objective will be to secure the facilities main operations center for Intelligence analysis. We expect no surprises for your troops.”

"Meaning that defenses will be two or three times what he tells us to expect," Rogue muttered sarcastically. The commander sitting next to him snorted.

"Is there a problem, Major Garcia?" Major Es's'em asked, looking directly at Rogue.

Rogue looked up, "No, sir. Simply wondering how you can be sure of that." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Athos give a subtle head shake.

Es’s’em’s eyes narrowed, “Our analysis is based of the best intelligence available Major. I personally reviewed this material.”

Rogue ignored Athos and met Es’s’em’s glare unflinchingly, “I realize that, Major, but you’ve been wrong before. In fact,” he paused, glancing around the room and noting that everyone was paying close attention to the exchange, “I can’t think of an operation where your vaunted Intelligence Analysis has been remotely correct. I don’t like the idea of putting either my men or myself into a situation where we’ve been told it’ll be easy and we run into a wall.” Around the room, several heads nodded in agreement. The tension between the two men became palpable.

Before the situation could escalate further, Captain Lolz interrupted, “We all wish we could have perfect intelligence, Major. But we have to operate with what we have; incorrect or incomplete as it maybe.”

Rogue sat back in his seat, “Yes sir.”

“If there are no further concerns,” Lolz looked around the room, “Dismissed!” He left the room. Rogue stood up and waited; it didn’t take long.

“That was dumb, Major.”

“Sorry, sir,” Rogue turned to face Athos. “It isn’t his skin on the line.”

“I realize you two have a history, Rogue, but you’re my Executive Officer. It’s unbecoming for you to get into a shouting match during a mission briefing. Keep in mind he’s only doing his job.”

“I would prefer he do his job with the goal of keeping our people alive rather than the objective of his next promotion Colonel.”

Athos smiled, “As do I, Rogue, but, like the Captain said, we fight with what we have, not what we want.”

“If anything goes wrong, I’m nailing his hide to the bulkhead, sir.”

“Only if you beat me to him, Major. Come on; let’s go give the good news to the division.” Rogue nodded and the two left the room.


Two hours later, the Liberty jumped into the system. Inside the launch bay, troopers ran to their landing craft. Rogue stood at the base of the ramp, shouting orders at his men. As the last trooper boarded, Rogue keyed his helmet’s comlink. “2nd Regiment, all accounted for, sir, ready to launch.” He saw Athos, two transports over, look over at him and nod in acknowledgment. Rogue then boarded and raised the ramp. He addressed the troopers as they secured themselves for combat landing. “We are going in with the first wave. Expect heavier defenses than Intelligence calls for. I don’t want anyone under my command underestimating the Dominion. Remember your training, watch out for each other, and no stunts!” Dara smiled at him. Rogue smiled back before moving into his alcove nearest the ramp and securing himself.

Jay’em checked his restraints, then checked the trooper’s on either side of him, as they all did. Redding, on Jay’em’s left, was breathing deeply. “Relax, Junior, one way or the other, it’ll all be over soon.”

“That’s funny, Lieutenant.”

Jay’em chuckled, “I thought so.”

The voice of the pilot came over everyone’s comm, “Launch in one minute.” The troops silently waited until the deck lurched beneath them. The engines roared, and then they were in space. Silence, the roar of the engines was now a muted hum transmitted through the hull. After a few minutes, a slight hissing noise started, indicating that the ship was encountering atmosphere. Rogue called out, “When we hit ground, clear the ramp, find cover, and await orders.” A massive detonation came from outside the hull. Fear crept across a couple of faces as the turbulence buffeted the craft. Rogue continued unfazed, “Respond to any resistance with maximum force.”

Despite the dampening fields, the troops were still tossed against their restraints by the evasive course the pilot was taking. Several more explosions rocked the ship, but none as close as that first one had been. “Touchdown in thirty seconds, landing zone is hot.”

Redding began counting down in his head. At ten seconds, he saw Rogue move to the limits of his restraints and reach over to the ramp release. Then the pilot announced, “Touchdown…NOW!” The floor bounced under them, and Rogue keyed the ramp.

Everyone slapped their quick releases and ran for the door. “Go! Go! Go!” Rogue shouted. Redding ran toward the hatch, hesitated at the top of the ramp as he saw what lay before them. Ahead, he could see a cluster of large buildings, surrounded by open paved fields and even larger warehouses. Several Coalition drop ships had touched down closer to the facility and were disgorging men. Small figures could be seen running toward them, Dominion troopers, already firing on the attackers. Someone shoved him from behind, and he started running again. He focused on the back of the troopers ahead of him. His boots felt dirt beneath them and he saw a rocky outcropping to his left. Seeing others already diving to the ground, he dove toward it, scooting up with his back against it.

He watched as the last member of the regiment cleared the hatch, Rogue yelled something back into the ship before jumping down to the ground and seeking his own cover. The landing craft fired a burst from its jets, lifted off the ground, spun on its axis, and burned for altitude.

Redding took several deep breaths. Training for this was one thing; actual combat was a completely different animal. He looked over at Rogue, who was talking to Dara and the other squad leaders. He pointed in several different directions, received nods from each of them, then motioned for everyone to get on their feet. “Listen up! As long as the rest of the division has the defenders tied up, we’re going to secure the command center. Squad Leaders, move your men out.”

Acknowledgements were given, and 2nd Regiment moved out. Skirting the main battle by a healthy margin, they made it to the outer warehouses unopposed. Rogue motioned everyone down as he surveyed the area. “Dara, take Second squad over to the right of that warehouse,” he indicated a building ahead of them, one deeper into the facility. “I’ll take First to the left. Bahms, you and Fourth support Captain Mcejo; Faro, you and Third are with me.” Heads nodded. Dara, Jay’em, and the eighteen others of Second and Third squad split off. Rogue held everyone still until Dara and Bahms reached the other side of the building before motioning everyone forward. They moved closer to their target.

The soldier on point suddenly flattened himself against the wall. The rest followed suit. A platoon of Dominion troopers ran past the front of the warehouse, only a few hundred yards away from them. Rogue quietly unhooked a grenade from his harness. Fortunately, rushing to the aid of the initial defenders, none of the Dominion saw the enemy troopers in the shadows between buildings. Giving the Dominion forces another minute to be out of sight, Rogue returned the grenade to his harness and ordered everyone to advance. They finally reached the end of the warehouse area. He scanned the area, noted Dara’s team moving into position to his right a few warehouses over. Ahead of them lay a few smaller administrative buildings and the control center. From seemingly far away, the roar of battle continued. Rogue keyed his comlink, “I don’t like this, Captain.”

Dara responded, “I agree, sir, far too easy. This area should be crawling with troopers.”

“Yep, or it could be worse.”

“Worse?”

“Yes, Captain, worse.” His glanced at Redding with a sardonic grin, “Intelligence could be right. Ok, our objective is to secure that building, move in.” He raised his rifle; sprinted forward. He made it to the next building, dropped to one knee and scanned the area with his rifle. Seeing nothing, he waved the rest of the team forward. To their right, Dara’s group was doing the same thing. He glanced over First squad; pointed, “Redding, take point.”

Redding nodded, sprinted forward. Stopping every so often, he checked for Dominion as he’d been taught. Behind him, he could hear the rest of the group following him. Minutes later, all of 2nd Regiment was pressed against the outside wall of the control center on either side of an access door. Rogue waved Jay’em to his side, “What’s beyond that door, Lieutenant?”

Jay’em glanced at it, then at either side of the building to get his bearings. “Security foyer, sir, standard complement is between three and five guards, beyond that, corridors and storage rooms. Another security foyer, more guards, and then the control room itself. Unless it’s completely unguarded or we take every single guard instantly, they’re gonna have some kind of warning.”

“Right, blow the door on my mark. Point men, soon as that door’s gone, toss grenades and go in shooting. We’ll sort it out later.” Acknowledgements came and Jay’em moved to the door, inspected it for a second before reaching back and selecting some charges from his pack. After placing the charges around the edges of the door, Jay’em moved to the side and gestured everyone back several steps.

Rogue signaled Redding and the other point man. Both nodded, unhooked grenades and raised their rifles. After they were ready, he tapped Jay’em’s helmet. Jay’em raised three fingers, began counting down. The charges exploded inward, hurling the door inside. Redding tossed his grenade, heard the explosion from it and stepped into the doorway firing his rifle. Advancing further, he saw a Dominion trooper who had been thrown against a console by the blast reach for his sidearm. His training took over and Redding shot him. Fire erupted in front of him from a trooper he couldn’t see. He hit the deck while returning fire. Behind him, he heard the other soldier grunt as he too dove to the deck and the sound of his rifle joined Redding’s.

A grenade thrown from behind them arced over their heads, landing near the spot where the Dominion soldier was hiding. Both men ducked their heads as it exploded. The enemy fire ceased. Cautiously, Redding rose to his knees, then to his feet. He moved deeper into the foyer, noting the corpses of two other guards, killed during the initial assault. Kicking aside the mangled door from where it had landed, he saw the body of the defender who’d been firing at him. “Major, I’ve got four dead bad guys. Area is secure.”

“Acknowledged, everyone move in.”

The rest of 2nd Regiment entered the room and began to spread out throughout the room. Rogue tapped two troopers on the shoulder and pointed at the door to the corridor. They nodded, ran to the door, opened it, and began to advance.

Redding held his position. A hand landed on his right shoulder. Redding’s head snapped toward it. What he could see of Dara’s face was lit up by her grin, “Well done, Private. Keep it up.” He smiled back. She squeezed his shoulder again before walking off.

Jay’em had been standing behind Dara, heard the exchange, and snorted, “Don’t expect a medal for managing not to get yourself killed, Junior.”

Rogue had reached the corridor. “Third and Fourth Squads, secure anything off this corridor, First and Second, our objective is the final security foyer before the control center. We cannot get tied down in that foyer. Hit it fast and move on. No grenades and watch your fire from here on out. Anyone tossing a boomer in the control room will answer to me.”

At a run, Rogue led the group to the final door. He and Dara lined up along the walls, Jay’em and one other kneeled in the middle of the corridor with their rifles in firing position. Rogue met Dara’s eyes, nodded, and hit the door release. The hatch slid open, and the four saturated the room. After sustaining fire for only a couple of seconds, they ran in.

Two guards who had been kneeling behind the hatch lay dead on the floor; another lay bleeding from multiple wounds. Rogue aimed his rifle but held his fire. The trooper struggled to raise his weapon then went limp, dead.

“Secure. Forward!” As a group, they ran to the hatch and opened it. “Nobody move!” he shouted. The technicians scrambling around the room completely ignored him. One dove for his sidearm. “Take ‘em out!” he yelled to his men.

Gunfire again sounded. When all the techs were down, Rogue detailed his men to various defensive positions around the room. “Dara, contact Command and advise them we have secured primary objective. Redding, get over here and start hacking. Let’s see if there’s anything here to make this little jaunt worth our time.”

“Aye aye, Major.” Redding slid his rifle and pack to the ground beside him and sat down at the main terminal. He cracked his knuckles and examined the screens in front of him. Seemingly satisfied, he reached into his pack, retrieved some equipment and started plugging them into the terminal. “Someone please keep an eye out for me?”

“I got your back, Private,” Dara said as she quickly reloaded her rifle and assumed a guard stance over him.

“Thanks, Captain.”

Rogue’s commline beeped, “Garcia here.”

“Bahms here, Major. Corridor secure. We’re heading for your position.”

“Negative on that, Captain, enlarge your perimeter. We need this entire facility secure. I’m sending Lieutenant Noe and First Squad to assist you.” He motioned to Jay’em, who nodded and headed for the door, First squad right behind him.

“Copy that, Major. Bahms out.”

“How’s it going, Private?”

“Trying not to trigger any auto-wipes, sir,” Redding responded without looking up from the terminal.

“How much longer do you need?

Redding paused and met Rogue’s gaze, “How much data do you want saved?”

Rogue blinked, Dara snickered. Redding took a deep breath, “Sir, with all due respect, this can’t be rushed. If you want a quick and dirty hack, you risk losing stuff but I can be in within five minutes. If you don’t want to risk that data, it’ll take time. I don’t know how much.”

Rogue’s eyes narrowed and he glared at Redding. “Understood, Private. Do what you have to do, but be ready to grab what you can at a moment’s notice.”

“Aye, sir.” Redding went back to his work. Rogue met Dara’s eyes; saw them twinkling and the smirk just barely hidden from her face. With a glance at Redding to making sure that he wasn’t looking, Rogue gave her a rueful grin and walked out the door of the control room.



Jay’em glanced around the corner and immediately pulled his head back as a blaster bolt slammed into the wall right next to it. The trooper beside him glanced around Jay’em toward the corner, then up at him. Jay’em shrugged and said, “Touchy.”

“Grenades?”

“Yeah, explosions are good. Let’s try a flash bang with a frag chaser.”

“Yes, sir.” He yanked a grenade off his harness, waited until Jay’em had a flash grenade in his hand. Jay’em silently counted down with his hands, tossed his grenade around the corner. Both men braced for the blast, which came mere moments later. Before the Dominion could even begin to recover, the trooper tossed his grenade. Rather than ducking, both readied their rifles and raced around the corner firing moments after the explosion. The little return fire they faced was sporadic at best, and they reached cover further along the corridor with no further trouble. Corridor by corridor, room by room, 2nd Regiment secured the entire facility. By the time they learned that the rest of the Liberty’s forces had crushed the defenders, they had the few remaining Dominion forces inside the command center cornered.

Once again, Jay’em found himself pinned down by Dominion fire. “Why am I always the one who’s getting his head shot at?” he complained to another trooper.

“I’m here too, Lieutenant.”

Jay’em chuckled. “You’re line slime, Corporal.”

“How about, ‘We signed up for this,’ sir?”

“Don’t remind me.” He put his hand up to his helmet as a voice came over his comm.

“Lieutenant Noe, this is Rogue. I’m coming up on your position with Second squad. Captain Bahms and his people are approaching from the far side. We’ve got all entrances to this facility secured. Looks like we’ve got the Dominion cornered.”

“Yes sir,” he signed off. He smiled at the corporal, “Help’s on the way.” He glanced around the corner then opened fire again toward the Dominion positions.


Later that afternoon Rogue, with Dara and Redding at his side, walked up the ramp of the landing craft. “I hate to say it, Captain, but Intelligence was right on the money with this one.”

“Yes sir,” she said grimly.

“More right than you know, sir,” Redding said. “From the stuff I saw during the data dump, the Dominion is operating this entire sector with barely skeleton defenses. That includes the Arneb system, sir.”

“I still don’t like this,” Rogue replied.

“Where’s Lieutenant Noe?” Redding asked.

Dara snickered, “On his way to the Liberty’s infirmary. Dominion trooper winged him.” Rogue shook his head with a rueful smile on his face.

“I told him to hold back until we could get him some more cover fire, but he ran right on in. He’s lucky the trooper was too stunned by Jay’em charging him to shoot straight.”

“I’ll be sure to remind him of that, sir,” Dara said with a twinkle in her eye.

“I know you will, Captain.” He turned to face Redding, “Private, your performance today was outstanding. I’m going to be recommending a commendation for you to Colonel Athos. Keep it up, Private, and we won’t try and boot you out of the regiment.”

Redding saluted, “Yes, sir.”

Dara motioned him inside the craft. As the two moved off toward their seats, Rogue turned and scanned the horizon. Transports were loading the Dominion’s supplies for the fleet’s use. The ship’s hatch closed and they lifted off toward their rendezvous with the Liberty. Next target, the Arneb system.