Chapter 26

"General, soldiering has one great trap: to be a good solider you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love. We do not fear our own death you and I. But there comes a time...We are never quite prepared for so many to die. Oh, we do expect the occasional empty chair— a salute to fallen comrades— but this war goes on and on, and the men die, and the price gets ever higher. We are prepared to loose some of us, but we are never prepared to loose all of us. And there is the great trap General. When you attack, you must hold nothing back. You must commit yourself totally. We are adrift here in a sea of blood and I want it to end. I want this to be the final battle. " General Robert E. Lee

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton.

Endymion was looking at a hologram of the solar system as it stood at that second, and he began to try to get a feel for where the attack was going to occur. He had the help of the Moundians for ground troops, but it would do them no good if they did not know from where they would approach. The odds were that they enemy knew enough about where the nerve center of everything was, and that would be the logical choice for attack. However, would they be direct? Would they attack elsewhere and try to split the troops to weaken the defense? He would only have three flotillas back defending, but he would also have the aid of the Zoarians that would make up the gap. As he pondered this, Venus said, "Since I will be in the lead attack on the Gnarl at their home world, I have asked the Zoarian grand admiral to take command of the three flotillas as if they were his own."

Endymion looked at him and asked, "Do you know enough about our vessels to command them to be effective with your own?"

"The weapons you possess and how they are situated tell me all I need to know," he said, "It will be fine. Looking at your system, I would believe that the best way to do this would be to funnel them to a battlefield of your choosing."

"Can you force this?" queried Endymion.

"With a bit of a ruse on our part, that would be easy," he answered, "We just have to make them believe that some high ticket item lay in wait on that point, but under-guarded, and then lead them to it. However, what shall await them is their doom."

The Moundian general looked at the system, and he pointed to Earth's moon and said, "How good are your men in lower gravity environments?"

"They are trained for any kind of gravity," answered Endymion.

"My troops have ways of compensating for that as well," was the general's answer, and the then said, "Then, like all war, we have to make a gamble. If we can lead them there, we can hope that they have no ability to handle the lower gravity, and then take them out there. Even if not, we would still have the upper hand in that we have them on the ground of our choosing, and then can be ready for it."

"Then, let's set up the naval plan while you two prepare for the defense," said the Zoarian admiral, who then asked, "What would be the bait?"

Serenity chimed in and said, "Make them think that I am there. Yet, I will be far from here."

She seemed to have a look on her face of one lost in thought, and seriousness. At this point in her life, she was indeed more mature, but had old Usagi-like moments. Yet, she would not be queen if she were as she had been. It was at this moment that the Princess Serenity of the Old Moon Kingdom came forth and spoke. She continued, "I need to be at the big fight."

Endymion then looked at her oddly and asked, "Is that wise?"

Luna then said, "Actually, I see logic in her majesty's thinking. If you were both here, and things went bad, it would plunge the war into chaos. Even if we were to win there, we would have to come back and retake our homes with only the princess to lead, and I don't know if she could do it as of yet. She is mature, but having such great responsibility put on her so fast would be bad."

"She stands just as much of a risk there, if not worse," worried Endymion.

"If you feel you could protect her better here," said Luna, "It may be true to some extent, but if you were to fail, they could capture her and force us to surrender, and then all would be lost. This way, there is a much better chance that one crowned head can survive to carry on the fight."

"Then I shall go on the UES Luna," said Serenity, "Venus would be commander of the attack, and I leave it to my field commanders, but I would be able to add my advice if need be."

Venus looked at Serenity firmly and said, "Your Majesty…Usa-chan…your presence may make our ships over-cautious."

"I would think it would spur them on," interjected the Zoarian Admiral.

Serenity came up to Venus and said, "Mina-chan, it will be like the old days of the Sailor Scouts. We will be together, and together, we can do anything. If my daughter and husband are willing to take the risk, so am I. Truly, it frightens me just as much as it used to, and I would rather not fight if I can avoid it. You saw how much I wanted Usagi to come home. Yet, if she is willing to go into harm's way, I must be willing. Just be there for me, okay?"

Venus smiled and hugged her old friend, saying, "I will be there for you," and then she pointed at her belly and said, "And that one as well."

"Then, let's get to it," said Endymion, and the planning began.

All but three flotillas would be in the invasion, aided by the Moundian fleet. The Zoarian army would be aiding the invasion as well, and there would be a new addition ship-wise. The Saturn Flotilla would be there, but there would be a second battleship with them as well. It was commissioned to be built right after the Battle of Nekonia and was the fastest any battleship had been built, aptly named the UES Hotaru. They wanted it to be that she could be there for her revenge, even if only by spirit in the name of that ship. They would have to gain superiority of the orbit, and then begin the ground attack. The Sol system ships, being that they could go planetside, would carry the invasion force, and attack a point that would draw the foe out to open ground. The reason was that, if they went for Gnarl Central right away, the Gnarl would turtle up, and then it would be a room-to-room, house to house fight. It would not be an invasion as much as it would be a long, bloody siege, and those besieged would have the edge, and could win by attrition alone. However, all knew that this would happen to some extent, yet, the invasion would have to make them have some kind of response, and if they could lessen such a conflict, then so much the better. As the forces were boarding the ships, Serenity showed up in the Sailor Moon uniform that she gained when Tom first got involved a thousand years before. However, she suddenly said had this urge to not go to the Luna. It was as if she heard a voice say, "No, please go on board the Hotaru. It would be much better."

The voice sounded familiar, but Serenity could not peg the voice. Still, the urges were great, and she said to her adjutant, "I've changed my mind on the vessel…put me on board the Hotaru."

They all looked oddly at her, but they did as they were commanded. However, word soon came to Venus, and she came out to meet her, saying, "Your majesty, that ship will be in the thick of it! At least on the Luna you would not be in the thick of it so much, as the fighters would be out doing the work for you, and the need to protect the carrier would keep it out of the thick of the fight."

"Venus," she said, "I don't know why, but I just feel that I need to be on the Hotaru. It is as if a spirit is urging me. I feel drawn to it somehow."

Venus was confused at this, but she then said, "Then, do what you can to stay out of the main battle. Please, we love you dearly."

Then Venus teased and said, "Besides, it would be a great waste of all those centuries keeping you safe, when the scouts could have found so much more to be doing."

Serenity got a look of mock rage and amusement on her face as she said, "Ooh…I'm going to get you for that!"

Just as she was about to grab Venus for a bit of playful grappling, they both saw Mercury gearing up as well. "What are you doing?" asked Serenity.

"There are several reasons for me to be with you," said Mercury, "I have an obligation to the child you now carry. I have to coordinate the medical ships for the aftermath, and my Sea Bees will be down there, and I intend to lead them."

"Why would the Sea Bees need to be there?" asked Serenity, but Venus then said, "They have to be there to aid in the building of a port wherever we gain a beachhead. The Zoarian army will need this to follow behind and hold the gains of the Marines. Our army will follow this, and the Moundians as this is a joint effort. In order to do that, we have to start setting up the port right away, and that means as the Marines advance. Trust me: the Sea Bees are combat engineers, which mean they are prepared to do their jobs under fire."

"Wow, that means that all the scouts will be there in one way or another!" said Serenity, "Then, knowing my friends will be there will make me feel so much safer and stronger."

"Perhaps we can do some work together when we get there," stated Mercury, to which Venus answered, "Let's get the first part done before we get all gung-ho about it."

They nodded and got on their respective vessels.

The plan was to invade and hit the Gnarl fleet first, and to have the SEALs destroying on planet batteries that would foil planet entry, and then endanger the invading ground force. When Serenity got to the bridge, the captain immediately gave way, but Serenity said, "No, it is your chair."

"Your majesty," said the skipper, "regulations require I recognize your rank. Please, do sit."

When Serenity saw that it could cause a bit of strife, she took the seat, but then told her, "When it comes time for the fight, I expect you to do the commanding, however, if I want something to happen, can you say it to them in naval terms. I'm not quite up to speed on the latest jargon."

The skipper smiled brightly and she said, "With pleasure, your majesty!"

With that, all ships communications linked up and Serenity said, "Venus, on your word."

"Aye, aye, your majesty," answered Venus, who then said, "One eighth impulse power and take us out to sea. Prepare for space launch!"

The ships all pulled out to fanfare as they headed out to sea, and prepared for the largest naval battle in history.

Word came to the SEALs and the resistance that the attack was coming. This was their cue to prepare for the attack. At once, the resistance, which had grown quickly by that point due to the efforts of the princess and the scouts, began wiring batteries and defense positions, with the SEALs taking more of the military and high-risk missions to themselves. They would be ready. In the meantime, they started to plan false information that the Sol system army was planning to put the bulk of the defenders on their home world, but that they had made the mistake of putting their queen on the moon of that planet. This meant that they needed to put a distracting attack to their home world, and a few other places and make them think the fight was there. They then needed to capture their queen, force them to surrender, and then, once under their control and once their military was dismantled, they were to then annihilate them as the queen commanded. They were not going to let on what the real intent was for obvious reasons. With that, the invasion fleet prepared to leave. However, as some of the ships were heading out, many of the ships heard the sound of something clamping onto their hulls if they happened to be standing near it. Tremendous explosions everywhere followed this, and about one quarter of the total vessels available were destroyed. Already, the Silver Millennium Kingdom had struck the first blow, not counting what had already been done. This seemed to be a bad omen to the military commanders of the Gnarl, but Squila pressed forward. Oddly enough, the route they would take would cause them to bypass the invading fleet, and that miscalculation would cost them some. As this happened, the Moundian fleet joined them from another direction, and the two coupled up and prepared to invade. When hailing frequencies were heard, Venus and Serenity were both pleased and surprised to see Queen on the screen. Queen then said, "Ah, it is refreshing to see that Serenity has not shirked her responsibility and has decided to lead the attack as I! Now, together, we shall crush the foe with a mighty hammer blow!"

The pair did not know how to respond, considering that, they were more anxious to keep Serenity out of harm's way rather than in the thick of the fight, but everyone else yelled "HOOYAH!" in response. They were ready for a fight, and it seemed that all Serenity being there was doing was boosting morale. Serenity then said, "Then, let us make it hard and fast so we can end this. No one wants a protracted war."

"No one seeks war at all," said Queen, "For if they do, they are fools. However, I share your sentiment, and itch for this fight!"

At this, the scouts were so glad that such a fearsome foe was on their side.

In the Sol system, the fleets were spread out, trying to anticipate their arrival. They had three dimensions to work with in space, and so it was hard to anticipate the approach. However, the attacking fleet was detected, and as it approached, a small section broke away and headed for Mars while the bulk seemed to be heading for Earth. The Zoarian admiral was not sure if that was a ruse, or a real threat, but he did not have much time to ponder. He then gave command for the three Earth flotillas to take that out, and for the rest to meet the bulk of the invading fleet. They were not sure if they would be able to stop the invasion, considering the goal of the attackers would be to get past and into a position to launch the ground shuttles. Considering that, he called back one carrier to prepare to contend with that, and the fighter escort for such craft. On Mars, the report came that the Planet Guard needed to be ready to repulse the attack, but the three flotillas were on the way. Once that happened, the battleship batteries opened up. They had range on the Gnarl, and they took advantage of this. At that, the Gnarl countered by launching fighters, and Sol responded in kind. In the mix, the CT cruisers slipped behind and started to open up on the rear. The invading ships then split to deal with the new attack. As that was happening, transports were beginning to be launched, and the fighters turned their attention to that. Of course, that drew some of the attacking fighters away to meet this threat, and this allowed some transports to go down. However, it was obvious that what they were sending would not be enough for a good attack. Worse, when the ground forces readied for the attack, the shuttles just sat there. Before long, a few platoons went out to see what was going on, and it was then they discovered that the shuttles were not even occupied, sent down by remote control. As they began to transmit this, the attacking ships suddenly sped away towards the main body of the attack. Now they were not sure if they had been fooled or not.

The Gnarl was convinced that they had pulled a coup, thinking that they had split the enemy forces and weakened them. The more transports they were able to land on their target with less interference, the better off they would be. However, they were not as fooled as they may have thought. The same move was happening towards earth, and the Zoarian admiral was ready to give command to attack, but Endymion transmitted to ignore it. After a bit of protest, Endymion explained that the Gnarl played right into their hands. They bought the bait that the queen was on the moon, and that they were now going for everything. When the transports landed on Earth, nothing happened. They, like the others, were empty. As the real invasion was heading for its target, the allies descended upon it. However, because of the massive naval battle going on in orbit, enough slipped through to insure that the ground fight was not going to be resolved quickly. Yet, instead of the Queen, they were going to run smack into the entire Millennium regulars, reserves, all the planetary guards, and a corps of Moundians just itching for a fight. As that was going to take place, the Navy now turned its efforts to insuring that, even if they won on the moon, there would be nothing for them to which to return. If the defenders failed, they would not have enough to occupy if the counter invasion succeeded. They could come back and finish the job. With that, the defending craft spread out into a new battle attack, very much resembling a flock of attacking birds, swooping and clawing at their prey that now seemed helpless to stop the attack. The Gnarl tried to counter, but before they knew it, they were surrounded with nowhere to run. However, despite the fact that they were now outnumbered and outgunned, they were not about to surrender, even though terms were offered. Once refused, the Gnarl admiral said, "We would prefer death before dishonor!"

This was answered by the Zoarian admiral with a sinister look in his eye as he said, "To avenge our people, we shall now gladly oblige you! ATTACK…NO MERCY!"

With that, the skies above the moon looked like a fireworks display as the moon defenders looked up to see the fight while waiting for the attackers. The carnage was horrible, and they were glad that they were not up there to see more than the pyrotechnics display that they were now seeing. The flashes went from horizon to horizon, and before long, debris was hitting the atmosphere and burning up, adding to the display. One man mentioned, "If it was not what it was, it would almost be beautiful."

The invading army began to approach, but the defenders moved in to meet them. Yet, as they did, Endymion sent a message to the general, saying, "Surrender all your forces: you are trapped here as your ships are no more. Do not share their fate. Be sensible!"

The response was clear: "We shall vanquish you! Once we have your queen, you shall surrender, regardless of what happens above!"

At that, enemy artillery started to fire. However, the first volleys were way beyond their target as the batteries began to try to get a feel for the gravity and compensate. That was the defender's cue. They charged forward on all fronts: mountain, plains, and coastlines. Since they had no ships that could go to the surface, the Millennium ships came in to add to the defense. Yet, despite not being used to the gravity, they began to adapt quickly, and the defenders sunk into their defenses tight. Because, If they wanted to make this siege warfare, then so be it. The Gnarl would thus beat their heads in trying to dig out the defenders as they were being hit by the off shore batteries of the Millennium ships. Still, they plodded forward, and it was sad to see that this was not going to be resolved in one day. The one thing Endymion did do was to draw the fight away from the cities and to bring it to the open country. They had to; otherwise, all they would eventually be defending was piles of rubble. The Moon had not seen action like this since Queen Beryl's War.

The Gnarl artillery was relentless, pounding position after position, but gaining no edge. The defending artillery, however, having elevation in many cases, was wreaking havoc on the defenses, and the Gnarl blasters were not proving as much of a match to the AK-01 rifles that the defenders were using; caseless ammunition propelled by electromagnetic pulse. Often, the round would go through two or three attackers, but this did not stop the attempts to advance. The Moundian disruptors, however, were harsh, as they, if they did not kill their target, then they left massive wounds that would have no remedy in some cases. At first, the defenders, following normal odds of defenders, were making the Gnarl suffer ten losses to every one the defenders were receiving. Once this was seen, the Gnarl pulled back some, and began to turtle up themselves, attempting a style of trench warfare, hoping to outlast the defenders. They would go underground, as their species of creature were always great at tunneling. The hope was to live off the land and starve out the defenders. Indeed, for four days, things seemed to be at a stalemate, and the Gnarl were attempting to tunnel under the defensive lines into the city where they suspected the queen to be. On the surface, armored vehicles and tanks were battling it out in a loud cacophony of battle, hoping to press things that way, and at the same time, keep their attention away from the business underground. However, they would soon be the one surprised.

Word had come back that the Gnarl was trying to tunnel, and the Moundians loved what they heard. The Moundian general then said to Endymion, "They may be good at that, but WE wrote the book on this kind of warfare! Let us handle it."

"I will lend you some Sea Bees," said Endymion, "They can give you the supplies you need, and show you the best places to tunnel as well as fight alongside you."

The Moundian general then nodded and went to it.

After taking some soundings and looking at the logical places to go, the Moundians began their approach. Indeed, the Gnarl was good, but the Moundians were swift and many in their work. The entire corps was on it, and with the aid of the Sea Bees, and their incredible strength, they could out work 15 Gnarl per Moundian. By day six, the Gnarl was looking for their biggest advance, and then they began to hear the sounds of tools and rapid work on the other side of the rock wall. They froze in fear, now scared of what this meant. Could their foe have been counterattacking unbeknownst to them? They could not believe it, because they had been at it for that long, and there was no way they could have achieved such gains. However, a group of the Gnarl near that point was vaporized as a bright beam blasted its way through and took them out. The Moundians were now quickly widening the hole and coming through. The Gnarl was unprepared for such an attack, as they figured that the defenders could not have worked as quickly as they had, not realizing the prowess of the Moundians in the attack. Within minutes, defending troops were pouring in like Niagara Falls, making short work of the Gnarl engineers. Soon, the digging was subdued, and Endymion then said to the Moundian general, "How quickly could you convert the tunnels to allow for armored transport?"

"We were one step ahead of you, your majesty," he responded, "We did this going in, and now we shall quickly widen the tunnels for that purpose."

"Excellent!" shouted Endymion, "Now begins the counterattack! All units, attack!"

The Gnarl were beginning to wonder how the progress of their engineers was going, wondering if they could commence. There was only so much longer they could sustain the surface fight. They would soon receive a harsh answer. At all points where the tunneling began, defending units began to pour in like an army of fire ants. Considering the alliance, this might have well been what was attacking! The Gnarl was suddenly in disarray. They had been beaten at their own game! A panic ensued within the Gnarl commanders, and a recall of all attacking units was made. This, however, was a mistake, as the troops on the surface took advantage of their retreat and poured out of their defenses as if they were a river of lava. The Gnarl was hit from both sides, and when the dust settled, there was a call for surrender of the Gnarl, and reluctantly, the few survivors dropped their arms.

As they assessed the casualties, the defenders had light losses comparably speaking. The Moon cities were left intact, yet much of the countryside was torn up. They hoped that they could get the foresters out there before long to undo the damage done. In space, however, things were not as good, as the defending ships and fighters lost about a third of their compliments, yet, the attackers were those that took the greatest losses. None of the Gnarl ships survived the fight, and of the estimated number of attackers, over 2 million in all, (but they really could not be sure,) only 500 or so surrendered, not wanting to be the fools that their comrades had been. Still, the fight had given them the idea of how strong their fighters were. The defenders well more than outnumbered their attackers, yet, despite that, they were giving the defenders all they could do to stop the onslaught. The Gnarl indeed stood as vicious fighters, and they could indeed adapt quickly, and equal the number of defenders by that ferocity. Yet, the numbers told the tale, and the carnage of the foe was great. Endymion then began to ponder just how much they had underestimated the willingness of the alliance to fight. The Gnarl must have thought that the defenders would cave into their bullying tactics and saber rattling. They never figured that there would be someone, one day, to stand up to them and let them know that, as long as there was someone in the galaxy that would not stand for tyranny, they would never be able to conquer and kill at their leisure. Still, the fight also told them that the attack on the Gnarl that had to be taking place at that moment would not be easy. The bulk of their forces had to have been back in their home system, and as hard as they fought, he could not think that the Marines and the Zoarian army would get off as light as they had. They had won in the Sol system, but until Endymion received word of victory on the other end of things, he could feel no peace about anything. All he could do was shudder at the thought of what the invading force was about to face.

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