816 AS - War
'Did you hear the news? The NOMADS have attacked XII'
Everyone in the classroom was suddenly talking at the same time.
'QUITE!' Mr Davies tried in vain to restore order. 'Pack up all your books neatly and put then in your lockers. The school will be shut from this afternoon and instructions for re-opening will be posted on the town hall notice board'
Grabbing his rugsack, Richard stormed for the door and ran to his peddycycle. He saw Zaina as she exited her classroom and changed direction.
'Are you going straight home? I am going to the AA offices to see what they know about the Nomad attackes. Want to come along?'
'Hi. Sure, my mom's not at home and my dad is at the shipyard. He will only be home later tonight.'
The two collected their peddycycle and cycled down to the military base where the local Anti-Aircraft battery was located.
Being twelve years old, knowing the guards at the gate, and having a mother that worked in the Inventory Store, secured then a pass onto the military base.
'Make sure you get a pass while you are at the admin offices' the guard adviced them. 'We have orders to let no one inside. Never know if the person may be infected or not'.
'We will' promised Richard and Zaina togeter, dropped their peddycycles against the fence and walked over to the Inventory Depot.
'Let's go find out of anything else has come over the network about what is happening in Crossfire'
Entering the office where his mother worked, Richard ran around the desk and hugged her.
'Richard. Listen. Go home, and take Zaina with you. It's not save to be here now, you will get in the way and I don't want problems.'
'What is happening mom? Is there any news?'
'It seems that the Nomads have attacked XII and also destroyed most of the cargo vessles that was orbiting it. They are currently busy bombarding the towns from space. Admiral Crouse says we should be ok here as there is no reason to come after us. Nothing but primordial forests and he does not think timber features big in their list of resources.'
'But what about us? Don't the Nomads just kill all humans?' Zaina moved closer to the desk and glanced out the office window. 'My dad says they hate us and want to kill all of us'
At the open doorway stood a Major in the AA, dressed in battle gear.
'We are a small group here and even if they do come after us, it will be some time, as I think they are more interested in the bigger population centres' he said as he entered the office. 'To be on the safe side though, I think we should all make sure our survival packs are ready and be ready to leave for the caves at a moment's notice. I have already sent a few men along to open up the doors and let fresh air in. It seems we did not get rid of all the bats the last time and the place stinks.'
Richard pulled a face as he remebered the last time he was at the cave. It was supposed to be a place to hide if the Pirates attacked their village, but now it seems that it may be a place to hide from the Nomads as well, but the previous inhabitants was not so willing to give up their home.
Small leathery flying animals that everyone called 'bats' as they resembled animals named bats in some old vids. Their excement stunk. Wowo .. did it stink.. but it was good to mix with water and once the solids disolved, it made some of the plants grow very good.
'Major, do you think the new sub-orbital launchers will be enough to fight the nomads if they come here?'
Just a few months ago, Cryer and Rheinland military have concluded a deal that saw two small misslile platforms attached to the planetory dock ring to help protect traders and cargo ships during the few crucial second when they left the atmosphere and before their cruise engines could fire up. The pirates have learned to grapple and disable electronics during that time period, and have become quite a menace, so much so that all non-essential cargo flow like sweets and cold drinks were completely disrupted.
'Hey keep this quite, but the Outcasts have actually contacted us a few minutes ago and want's to discuss the Nomad situation. They should all be in jail, but I think they want us to form a defense network if those aliens ever show their faces here. Got to go meet them now. Go home and prepare yourself'