Eastern Continent – Old United States

In a six month span, Imperiam outposts and forward A.O.s had been hit and raided in a random, yet semi-effective fashion. The most significant loss was from the chemical attack Major Polk conducted several weeks earlier. That delayed part of their initial invasion plans but it also accelerated other considered operations. With their areal prototype gone and the loss of a moderate number of personnel and equipment, they'd been forced into action. Now the hornets were stirred up and leaving the nest.

Once the nuclear missiles were lunched at the ODN, Emperor Marcus had ordered a full scale push. Several Tactical Divisions were moving to both the North and to the East. The initial deployment rolled out without a hitch. It's what the Imperiam did. The nation was brutal and constantly seeking war. After their unexpected arrival on this barren rock, it had been an internal civil conflict. Now it was external. The words to the song might be different, but the tune was still the same.

The full force of the Imperiam war machine traversed the barren continent in what seemed like the blink of an eye. They also demolished several of the old half-standing ancient cities in their path. Some were barren; others were housed with mutated anomalies. The Kingdom's only rule of engagement was just that; 'engage' and flatten. There was no Geneva Convention in this era and a strict protocol regarding formalized combat was all too clear. Any equipment, supplies, or soldiers who were captured were immediately absorbed into the Empire; Chattel to be used however they pleased.

Their armies stretched across the expanse like mechanized locust. They'd established a moderate supply route, but most of the logistics were moving forward, in support of the rapidly advancing front line units. Two Divisions totaling approximately forty five thousand soldiers were being held in reserve in the small chance that reinforcements were necessary.

Up to this point the Imperiam had lost less than two fifty to three hundred of their militia. Another one third, were wounded. Those who could fight were kept at the front. Those who were fatally wounded were treated, in order of importance and, only as time permitted. And those who weren't, but couldn't fight, were assigned support duties in the rear. However those statistics changed once the two capital cities in the area were attacked.

The majority of their Armor and Infantry hit Ceasera while a small contingent of mechanized units harassed DC. Washington was the real target but Ceasera needed to be dealt with first. General Tods had deployed just enough troops to keep the ancient human capital occupied while he crushed the apes in the southern kingdom. Without their factories they couldn't wage war and thus became no threat to the Empire.

The Ape Capital of Ceasera

The metropolis was larger than the commanding General realized and the majority of its automated industrial buildings sat deep within the city. Given their history, that made sense, but it also meant more of a direct confrontation. Some of the destruction had stalled the Imperiam advance as most of the ape capital was in utter ruin. Tods had hoped to take some of it in tact but the majority of the enemy units were in a tactical retreat and employing a scorched earth policy as they left. A moderate defensive line had formed in the cities last standing civilian district. Snipers were picking off Imperiam leadership in an attempt to slow the advance just enough so the main body could withdraw. Not only that, they'd sent up a series of booby-traps and obstacles. Thus Tods was left with only once course of action.

Imperiam rockets ripped through the sky and struck the tall stone building with a loud crash. Secondary explosions shattered the top three floors and gravity took care of the rest. Rubble and debris fell to the ground and buried the troops and equipment below, without prejudice. As if to add insult to injury another volley connected with several adjacent targets. Thick white clouds of smoke and large orange, blackish balls of fire rose higher into the mid afternoon sky. When it was over, only a handful of Alliance troops remained.

An ape soldier, Private Detres, stood in shock. He was covered from head to toe in a thick dust and looked like a pale gray ghost. His heart was pounding so rapidly he felt as if he was going to go into cardiac arrest. It was a miracle, he mumbled in disbelief. The ape was surrounded by total ruin and had escaped without, so much as, a scratch. Just to his left he saw the remains of an unfortunate soul who was half buried in stone. If he's been standing anywhere else he would have suffered the same fate.

Smack "I gave you an order, Private" The voice stated. The NCO's open paw connected with the back of Detres' protective head-gear. The young soldier was in so much distress he hardly noticed the stern blow. It did, however, pull the ape out of his half dazed stupor.

The chimp blinked and coughed out a monotone "Huh? What's that Sarge?"

"Blast it, Detres" the ape Sergeant replied. "Grab the radio pack and bring it to the human."

As if his ears had popped from yawning at a high altitude, a rush of noise filled the ape's head; Mechanized vehicles, the screams all around, and the distant but not so distant irregular explosions. He took in more of the scene as the reality of the circumstances smacked him in a somewhat different, yet more effective, manner.

"Now Detres," the ape non-com yelled. This time he shoved the primate forward with his a stern thrust. "Those tracked relics will be on top of us any minute."

A human female, who was missing part of her right leg and bleeding from her side, was staring at him, waiting for him to act. An ape medic was doing his best to tend to the wounds but the area was ridden with grime and she'd lost a tremendous amount of blood. Detres touched the receiver on his chest and adjusted the small com pouch at his side. He glanced at the NCO who was still yelling and flapping around like wild animal.

"Ok …uh right…Here you go." he said handing the receiver to the female with a shaking paw.

She pulled the wireless device close to her mouth and coughed out "Delta Charlie, Delta Charlie, this is Whiskey one-one, Fire Mission. Tanks in the open, grid coordinates two three four eight … zero six four seven. Fire for effect. I saw again; fire for effect. I authenticate Golf India Romeo Seven. Whiskey one-one, out"

As if it had been scripted for a movie, the woman finished the sentence, passed out, and let the mic roll off her palm and onto the ground. Almost immediately the piece answered back with; "Whiskey one-one, this is Delta Charlie. Golf India Romeo Seven, acknowledged. Keep your heads down. Birds are away. Delta Charlie, out".

The small group of survivors began to pull back, but it was futile. The Imperiam armor units were already on top of their position and firing indiscriminately. A mound of stone several meters away erupted as the shell from the Imperiam vehicle connected with its base. The gorilla NCO emptied his rifle into several soldiers who sprang up suddenly. The infantry support elements were climbing the debris like cockroaches. Despite the Sergeant's efforts, he was finished off long before the drones from New Washington ever touched down. However, the advancing units didn't have time to celebrate their small victory, either. In a flash, the ancient American armaments vaporized several square meters of Ceasera leaving nothing but a smoldering crater.

New Washington

The area was blustering with activity. Refugees and the wounded were scattered everywhere. The dead were being stripped of equipment and tossed aside like yesterday's trash. Crews were on the roads preparing traps and defenses. The fires from Ceasera flickered off the clouds in colorful display of luminosity. Sporadic gun shots and the distant sounds of battle echoed throughout the cool afternoon air. Officers and NCOs were directing soldiers, traffic and equipment in every route possible. Buildings were being stripped of power cubes and anything else that could help energize the ancient relics. It was chaos, but a semi organized one.

Ceasera was all but finished. However New Washington was holding its own. Initially Colonel Childs, commanding the Human Coalition, moved south into the ape capital with whatever they could carry and brought several of the refurbished relics with him. They linked up with Colonel Eli, the commanding Territorial ape officer and dug in tight. When it was apparent the city was doomed, they'd tactically withdrawn to DC. Thanks to sound tactics, a majority of troops and equipment had survived the trip.

Colonel Eli didn't like tucking his tail between his legs and running but having that tail shot to bits was even less appealing. The enemy was attacking in mass with superior technology and in greater numbers. Ceasera was ill prepared but, for now the New Washington defenses, were standing firm. St James had spent the last year making the city a fortress. The old human capital was a treasure trove of ancient tech and the General had made darn sure all of it was exploited. They'd torn the city apart and refurbished, recycled, and rebuilt anything of military value.

The Imperiam intelligence reports on the ancient human capital had been grossly inaccurate. No surprise there. When Imperiam Intelligence provided information, it wasn't the wisest choice to question it. They could say just about anything and it was taken at face value. Most of them were in Cade's back pocket and the ape General always told his sovereign exactly what he wanted to hear.

In this reality, history had taken a different course. The Imperiam had ever formed. North America and most of Europe had survived the centuries of war and bloodshed. Thus, some of the DC tech rivaled that of the Empire. And the technology that didn't was still dangerous enough to be taken seriously. The Imperiam were learning that fact the hard way. Their frontal assault was initially, and surprisingly, stalled. In fact, the Alliance attempted to muster a counter-offensive of their own. But it was beginning to buckle. Tods was regrouping and had pivoted his remaining forces north. Caesarea could now be crushed with a skeleton force. Its major defenses …all of its defenses …were literally nonexistent. Washington was the real key. It was the last line of defense or hope the two southern nations possessed. Once it fell, the remaining settlements could be swept aside with ease. But getting it to fall wasn't an easy task.

The Imperiam had been hit with some very sophisticated ballistics, but the EH Cannons were beginning to take them down. They also stopped the few mechanized vehicles Child's had sent forward. And it was ultimately disrupting their communications. But that came with a cost too. This segregated human nation was resilient. They were all seasoned combatants and as long as they could fight on, they did. As a result, one of the cannons was nothing more than a heap of scrap; one destroyed relic among the many. A second was, still functional, but damaged nonetheless. It could fire, but the tracked vehicle pulling it was out of commission. Despite the setback, the new portable Cannons had made a real difference. Thank God Cade understood tactics, Tods surmised. Without the EH Guns, they would have surely lost ten times the amount of men and apes. But still, it hadn't been the cake-walk he'd expected. Causalities were mounting and he was already eighteen hours behind schedule.

** Imperiam Mobile Command

The Imperiam General gazed at the isometric holo-display. He felt slightly fatigued as he and his staff planned for yet another offensive operation, without a rest. The man hadn't slept in over seventy two hours and it didn't look like he'd be getting any rest in the immediate future either. The Empire possessed superior numbers and equipment but they were just as 'human' as the enemy. Their soldiers got hungry, tired, and burned-out, like anyone else. That was costly. Tired soldiers made mistakes. And when mistakes were made in combat, people died and battles were lost.

The good news was; morale was relatively high, despite the rise in causalities. They'd already started rotating things to fifty percent security. An alternating schedule, where half the soldiers rested, while the other half took up the slack. The Science Corps were administering 'MH Stims', short for; Medically Induced Hyper Stimulants.

Tods put the small pill under his tongue. It gave off a slight cooling tingle and he immediately felt a renewed vigor course through his body. He gathered his staff and spoke. "As of now, the Territorial ape cities of Devoir and Ceasera have been overrun. But we have a long way to go. The human nation we fight has machinery we must take seriously. The 56th can attest to that personally. Colonel Hune, redeploy the Cannon's one and four here" he added pointing at the 3D image. "If it isn't being done, get a maintenance detail on EH two. I want it back in the fight within the hour."

"They're working on it now, Sir. Estimates are at least three hours though. The density converters are down too. They took a hit in the last shelling. Until they're up we can't modify the EH Cannon's mass enough to risk movement." The officer replied.

"Ok" Tods stated hiding his irritation. "Tell Maintenance they have their three hours, but they'd better be ready after that or I'll personally shoot Major Chartist, myself." An idle threat, but it got the point across.

The man tapped his display and the image changed. "I've divided the terrain into three sectors. Artillery is probing their defenses now. At 0430 a tactical engineering unit, in enemy uniforms, entered the city here. Once I get word they've completed their mission, here's what I've planed. The 56th Armor BN will spearhead the push here; right at their center. Elements of the 181st and 23rd ID will support the assault. Intelligence reports that the ODN mainframe is house in this area here, about two Kilometers inland and its deep underground. If I'm right they'll pull the elements west here to re-support. They're protected to the east by the terrain but their opposite flank will be vulnerable. It would be too costly for us to hit from there now. But when they reinforce their front lines, the two divisions in reserve will pour in from the west and sweep eastward. By the time they realize and attempt to regroup we'll have them by their rear-ends"

The General briefed the remainder of his plan for the next several minutes. As he was about to conclude, the Command Channel V.V.L. flashed.

"Delta Two ... Delta Two" screeched across the voice link. A small 3-D image of a human male appeared.

"Go ahead; this is Delta- Two, report" Tods said looking at the image

"Delta Two, this is Black Eagle. Foundation laid." The holographic representation reported. "I say again; Foundation laid. Black Eagle, out"

With that, the image faded into colorful static.

Good news indeed. 'Foundation Laid' was the code phrase meaning that the dampening fields were in place. Tods had no way of knowing if Cade had successfully taken out the orbital missile platform; although it hadn't been used yet. Still, he couldn't chance it.

For the past few days New Eden V.V.L had been nothing but stagnated static. As an extra precaution a small squad of tactical engineers was dispatched. Dampening equipment had established an invisible blanket over all of New Washington. Any and all wireless signals were now being scattered. The result; their mainframe was locked out of communications with the ODN. Tods could now move forward at any time in relative freedom. He still had the conventional arms to contend with but at least the threat from above was now neutralized.

"Gentlemen" The General shouted "V.V.L. the local commanders. Operation Rip Tide is a go"

** Human Coalition - Tactical Communications Control Center

In an underground complex, the lights flickered and all workstation interfaces suddenly froze. A human male slammed his fist so hard into the Holo Equipment he thought he'd broken it. That resulted in a few colorful metaphors that were bellowed throughout the room. He abruptly stopped as his frustrations caused him to take pause and notice that everyone was now staring straight at him.

"We're down, Karen. I just lost the target lock" the officer articulated in aggravation towards Captain White. "I've lost all imaging and my interfaces are frozen. We need to tell Command that ODN targeting is compromised"

"I'm locked out too, Sir" one of the operators stated. "All signals are bouncing back. It's bad enough we lost a Network Satellite a few days ago, but now we've as blind as a bat."

"What about you Karen?' The man asked the female office. Of course he knew the answer already but asked the question anyway.

Captain White tapped away at some of the interfaces. It was a futile effort but seemed like the thing to do in a situation like this. Next she attempted to use the vocal input. Before she finished, her irritated partner, who'd finally gained a bit of self-control, exercised his personal initiative.

"Sanchez" he ordered sharply. "It looks like we're going to do this the old fashion way. Run your butt up to command and let them know what's going on. It's imperative they're informed immediately and my guess is that whoever's out there is going to make a move sooner than later."

The man acknowledged the order and left the room in a hurry.

The officer in command looked at the few men and women, in the compound, and gave one final order. "Looks like some of the internal communication and local terminals are still responding. Lock us down as soon as Sanchez is out. If they get into New Washington, they'll be coming for us next."

As Corporal Sanchez reached the command post he realized that his leadership had come to the same conclusions. The ape commander was conversing with Colonel Childs over their current dilemma. For a split second Sanchez felt the urge to raise his rifle and take the beast down. He still had vivid memories of the raids on his settlement that these animals conducted countless times. But he quickly brushed that thought aside as his attention got caught in the discussion at hand.

"…We have to get spotters out there now?" Eli demanded. "This interference doesn't seem to be affecting your smaller and more ancient communication artifacts. An uninterrupted line of contact has to be established or we'll lose all command and control just like we did in Ceasera. We need to concentrate on that wireless EMP artillery guns they have. Whatever those are they're the key. We won't last five minutes with those things disrupting the relics"

Childs didn't care to be taking orders from an ape. The simian Colonel had yet to warm up to the help he'd offered. But on the other hand he'd witnessed his capital fall for the second time in less than twelve months and that had to be degrading. And they both knew that if something drastic didn't happen New Washington was next. Just before communications had dropped off, he'd already been informed that the forward DC elements had hit a stalemate.

Childs put his simian prejudice aside for the moment. The tactic Eli just suggested was sound. They needed eyes on the ground and a way to take out the enemy's main strategic advantage, and they needed it ASAP.

"You're right, Colonel, I agree …Major…" Childs said turning to one of the officers "Have the 142nd muster. Get spotters out there and bring our standard guns online. They're old and worn but they can still deliver a world of hurt. Have Strickland ready the remaining drones and see if any of the short range ballistics are ready. They're self guided with refractive shielding so maybe they'll function regardless. We haven't had a chance to test them but this is as good a time as any."

He paused and turned to Eli. "We need to send a runner with com equipment as far north as he can go. Maybe he can get outside this blanket of interference that's effecting the equipment long enough to get a message to the northern Apes. …One of them was able to hack into the ODN from that island. At the time I wanted to choke the man, but he's our only choice now. We let them advance as we pull back and bring down the house on them"

Eli looked at the man and paused. "This city and all its relics would be destroyed. Are you prepared to obliterate it?"

It was bold move given the fact that Childs had spared Ceasera from a similar fate. The ODN could have been used on the ape capital but it would have killed everyone on both sides. Now that looked like a great plan, but at the time it seemed foolish. He hoped he wasn't making the same mistake.

"Washington is very big. Hopefully it won't come to that. If we can get them centralized, the ODN will do the rest" Childs stated firmly.

The discussion fell short as distant explosions shook the ground. The handheld com device at Childs' side suddenly went live.

"Command, this is OP-Three. Incoming aerial rocket attacks and a massive armored force is approaching, they're almost on top of us. The automated air defense systems are off-line. We're …" – The line went silent except for the hum of static.

But that wasn't the only problem they had. Corporal Sanchez flinched as the bullet wisped past his ear. The soldier instinctively went prone and it saved his life as several other slugs made there way though the space he was just occupying. A few poor souls on the inside took the rounds meant for him.

Sanchez rolled on his back and fired blindly. He mentally noted that he'd hit someone. More were coming so he kept firing. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat… click, click, click … He was out.

The man felt a tug and was jolted backwards. He turned to see the Ape, he thought of shooting earlier, pulling him to safety.

"My life can finally end" he stated. "A Monkey saving my life... I've just seen it all"

Childs ignored the joke. Instead he shoved a small radio in his chest and babbled something about getting out of the city and to the high ground in the north. "… The frequency is set, code name 'red wolf'. Tell them what's going on and give the authority to fire the ODN, again the authorization code name is, 'red wolf'. Now go"

The Human Colonel shoved the Corporal out the other end of the CP as bodies spilled in, from the front. Each one was donned in a Coalition uniform. The tactical unit Tods deployed was reeking havoc and they'd just reached their secondary target; The Human Coalition TOC. Gun fire from both sides erupted.

Without hesitating, Sanchez bolted off and didn't wait around to see who won. A blast shook the ground slightly but the human Corporal kept moving, climbing and crawling. He had one thought in his head. And that was to get to a point where he could contact the Northern Ape tribe. He kept mumbling the word 'red wolf' over and over.

The Forest Region, the day before – North of the Argos Net

"That buys us some time, at least" the human Master Sergeant stated. He stooped over and coughed as the smoldering white blur from the flames drifted in his direction. His eyes watered from the annoyance caused by the thickening smoke. He ignored the irritation and ripped off a small piece of his uniform. He had a more pressing issue to address; the small wound on his forearm. The bullet barely hit but did enough damage to cause some minor grief.

"I've never seen that much vegetation in my life." He added. "I hated to do it, but if we hadn't set it on fire, we'd all be dead."

"We're as good as dead in spite of it" One of the young foot-apes stated in pessimism. "It's a good two days ride from here to Kawaka and with all this smoke I can't even tell where 'here' is. Besides, I've never seen anything like that in my life. It's like witnessing sorcery."

Sigma twelve and every other outpost was hit in mass. No one survived except a few ragged apes and some very tired men. A full force concentration of tanks, ground troops, and artillery, struck with overwhelming might. It was very similar to what the Germans had done in WWII. The Imperiam used speed and surprise as it punched into the Argos Net, in classic blitzkrieg fashion. Once they'd broken through they maneuvered from flank to flank, keeping the enemy off-balance. St James and the accompanying apes were in utter confusion. No defensive line was able to form. The ranks broke and chaos ensued. It was a massacre. The superior might and machinery of the Empire crushed any resistance as easily as one would step on an ant.

A ragtag bunch of Human Coalition soldiers along with a few of Sullen's foot soldiers managed to commandeer a vehicle and head north. Once they hit the massive forest between the Argo's Net and the Settled Territories to the north, they'd started a fire. It was enough to halt the Imperiam advance but even a fire couldn't stop a bullet. The unlucky human NCO had learned that lesson the hard way. The projectile only grazed him but it put the fear God in his soul.

Master Sergeant Brent Hulling looked around at the others he'd just escaped with; two other men and two stinking monkeys. He laughed to himself as he gazed at the cockamamie burlap and leather costumes they called uniforms.

One of the apes was pulling leaves off a bush and eating them as if he's been handed a tenderloin steak. It reminded the man that he was hungry. He wasn't a vegetarian and even if he had been, leaves still would not have been on the menu. Furthermore it reinforced his feelings of hopelessness. The animal was right; there was no hiding from the magic he'd just witnessed. All he did was postpone the inevitable. Still, he tried to remain positive.

"Two days, huh?" He asked looking at the humongous beast. "Well we're not riding, as you put it. At least not on horseback anyway; we're getting in that vehicle and heading north"

"…And were going to do it as quickly we can." He added as the drops of rain began to fall.

** On the other side of the blaze

"We're stuck, Tim" the man said to his commanding officer. "No one is getting through that." He paused and handed the ape the binoculars.

The orangutan, Colonel Timorus, had come to the same conclusion long before his executive officer ever spoke. He'd tried artillery, dozing equipment and even a few direct runs. The blaze was too high, too vast and just too hot. But fate was smiling. It had just begun to rain and it looked like it was going to pick up. Still it would be some time before they would be moving forward.

"Pass the word down the chain of command." The ape ordered. "I want security setup and any field maintenance we can perform done while we wait. They can rest, but I want everyone to be able to move at a moment's notice. We might as well take advantage of this. I'm going to try and reach New Eden again"

"Understood, Sir." The OX replied. "I've also got a Company sized clean up element dispatched. They're shooting the enemy survivors and gathering any assets we can use. But we won't find much."

"What about those rifles their leadership had?" Timorus asked. "They're equipped with smart rounds. We lost three squads from just one of those things."

"R and D has them. They're not unlike our XC-600s I'm told. We'll know soon enough, Sir" the man replied.

Changing the subject, the OX pointed and added "There's a CP setup with V.V.L in the 98th ID camp. If you need to reach New Eden, they'll have the equipment already in place. But get some rest, Tim. I'll handle things out here"

"Thank you my friend," The colonel answered with paw on the shoulder. "But as the saying goes; an ape's work is never done"

He signaled for his driver and then headed off to the 98th CP. Colonel Timorusstill had moderate contact with Tods and the other lateral Commanders who were spear-heading towards the other nations. But communications with New Eden had been abruptly cut. Even the attempts to contact Ithaca proved fruitless. Ithaca was the Empire's secondary command POC. It was the alternate location if New Eden became compromised. It seemed unlikely, but he assumed the enemy was somehow dampening their VID-signals. But it just didn't make sense. These apes had no such technology, as far as he knew. How do you block signals with sticks and stones? And even if they were, why could he still make contact with the other elements? For now, that question would have to go unanswered.

** Later

It took another fifteen hours before the weather affected things enough for the dozing equipment to rip a path through the smoldering forest. The rain had resolved one problem but caused another issue simultaneously. A thick mud had formed. That had tacked on another several hours of delay but they'd finally reached their objective.

The small reconnaissance element took an ISO-VID of the target ahead. It was being relayed back in real-time as the main element devised their attack strategy. The city looked normal. There were obstacles, trenches and other defensive objects in place. It was active but noting out of the ordinary.

"Command, this is O-six. I think we can get in closer. Please advise, over" the human officer stated.

The reply was stern but flexible. "Simians only. I say again, no human is to move forward."

The man acknowledged the order and sent two soldiers ahead. The apes slithered away like snakes and disappeared from sight. The man who was commanding the expedition, cozied up against the large tree closed his eyes, figuring he could catch a good sixty minutes of sleep. Just as he was about to drift off he felt a slight nudge. A skinny nineteen year old Private was waiving an e-pad in his face.

The man blinked and then his eyes locked in on the urgent issue at hand. The bios on the two soldiers were no longer green. According to the biological relay chips they were dead. Two small red dots were blinking on the display.

"Sir, it doesn't make sense." The Private whispered. He looked at the confused expression on the officer's face and then handed the man the binoculars. "Here, look about three hundred meters that way. Towards that large wooden building on the edge of the settlement"

The Lieutenant gazed through the object and found the spot the Private was referring to. There on the ground were the two dead soldiers. They were well shy of the town. What could have killed them, the man wondered. No shots were fired and there no signs they'd ambushed with knives or arrows either.

The LT lowered the eyepiece and scratched at the side of his neck. He thought for a second and then he signaled for the last remaining simian in the recon element to come forward.

"Corporal, get out there and retrieve those bodies. Put on a chemical mask. There may be toxins in the area. Stay alert. I don't think we're compromised, but there's no telling." The man stated.

Moments later, the ape took to the tree line, shielding himself, as he zigzagged his way forward. When he reached the open grassy area he began to bound forward, crouching low. As he reached the spot where the other two simians sat, he began to convulse and finally fell prone. On the e-pad, the LT watched a third red dot appear.

"Did you get that on ISO-VID, Private?" the officer asked.

The young enlisted soldier nodded and spoke at the same time. "Yes Sir, but it doesn't make sense. He was wearing protective gear. I mean …"

"Just V.V.L. it back to command. Let Timorus deal with it." The man interrupted bluntly. "Our mission is done. We're pulling out, right now."

** Back at the temporary CP thirty minutes later

"How is that possible?" Timorus asked the R and D specialist attached to his staff. "These simpletons don't even have plumbing. Their weapon of choice is a musket, for crying out loud. They're still using powder and they haven't even developed a smokeless powder, at that. How do they suddenly know how to disrupt our bio-chips?"

"I don't have that answer, Colonel" the orangutan scientist responded. "But that's exactly what they're doing. I was able to examine one of the soldiers we retrieved. His brain is hemorrhaged from a neural overload. The nanites were reprogrammed via a distinct wireless virus. And it's highly sophisticated and Imperiam too, which makes sense given their level of development. They're obviously getting help"

The ape commander paused. With a brisk exhale he accepted the situation for what it was. He had three dead soldiers as evidence. The ape set down the data-pad with the scientific information. It made little sense to him anyway. He looked at the simian and asked; "Ok, so they can access the chips. Give me some good news…some answers. Any idea what's causing it?"

The scientist picked up the e-pad, spoke a few commands and a small schematic of the landscape appeared. "Look at the red overlay. Given the ISO-VID data and a scan I took a few minutes ago, this is the kill-zone. The yellow ring on the outside is safe, but considered danger-close. However, if you look here you'll see that …"

Timorus was no scientist and had already tuned out what the ape's babblings. He understood tactics though. He summarized the situation before the ape ever began the explanation. "We're stuck. Whoever set this up, did it right. We can't even by-pass this place. There's no way we could get our troops and equipment through that terrain. It's too vegetated and too hilly. Doctor, can we use the two EH Cannons; possibly punch a hole in their net?"

"Possibly. It depends on the refractive dampening, but I think the EH Cannons can be refined to overwhelm the pulse." the ape stated.

"Well, I'm not playing around with these back-woods savages. You work on that, Doctor. I have an idea of my own."

The ape left the science vehicle and walked into his Command Post. "Any world from New Eden?" he asked.

The man on the V.V.L panel just nodded with a casual 'no'.

"What in hell is going on back home that they're sticking to VID silence?"

New Eden – Several days earlier

General Cade had brought more personnel and equipment than he'd wanted to. Moving quickly was of the essence and this was an all or nothing effort. He'd barley had enough time to gather the resources or key people he required but he'd finally managed to pull it off.

Almost, that is. He still needed to get out another seventy Kilometers or so to safely avoid the blast. They were cutting it close but the ape was trying. Their four vehicle convoy was forced to slow down a bit so as to not critically injure the recovering captured ape Major. Once they reached their final destination he'd be useful as either an ally or a bargaining chip. It didn't matter to Cade.

He swallowed a big gulp of whiskey and patted his ego on the back for cheating death once again. The horizon was dusty but at least he had a future. Things might be a little rough, at first, but he'd find a way to manage.

"What in the world are you doing, Chapman?" The General asked the man. "Why do you keep looking at that chrono-log? This is fifth time you've pulled up the time display. Do you have somewhere to be?"

"Sixty seconds, General Cade?" the scientist replied.

"Huh? Sixty seconds until … no… but you said." Cade shot back in a panic.

"I lied, you pompous, arrogant oversized rug." The man said bluntly. It felt good to finally stand up to the tyrant. "The modification we made from that downed craft included using their fuel mixture in the warheads. That alone will magnify the yield by several hundred kilometers. This will be no normal blast. And there are three missiles so none of us will escape it."

Cade never replied, nor was he able to react. The wave of intense heat and radiation swept though the area and vaporized everything and everyone instantly. All seven of the existing Imperiam cities, as well as, their military outposts were destroyed in one moment. The once great kingdom took its place in time and like a mist evaporated away into nothingness of history.

Arum City

The Third Imperiam Division crossed the border of what was once the US State of Minnesota and right into the heart of the Northern Ape territories. Up to this point all of the reported Imperiam activity had been near Argos, in the south. This attack had come in total surprise.

The farming outposts and small villages were poorly armed. The garrisons were at about twenty-five percent strength. A few had been upgraded with repeating rifles, but that made little difference against reinforced, mechanized, tri-tanium vehicles.

Some apes fought bravely, some fled; others fell without even knowing what hit them. But the end result was the same; annihilation. The Empire had been somewhat careful not to totally decimate the region as it was rich in vegetation and water. Clearing out the ape infestation was their primary goal.

First Arum and the surrounding settlements would fall and then they'd move on to Kawaka and link up with Timorous. Once that was accomplished there'd be nothing left except to occupy and annex the entire region. Those who were fortunate enough to survive could become part of the Empire. As long as they cooperated and contributed, that was. The Kingdom could always use more peasant labor. And apes were ideal candidates for such tasks.

The illumination drones were high in the air over the city. The spotters were calling in missile strikes as the mechanized units flattened everything in their path. The majority of Arum troops had been pulled to Argos and the city was almost derelict. After ninety minutes of shelling and devastation the Provincial Governor, who lived in Arum, formally surrendered the city.

The Island

The news had been limited to a select few. The reports were beyond devastating; astonishing information was coming in from every OP they'd established. He was surrounded by more humans than apes but he honestly didn't care at this point. He thought his world had turned upside-down when the two humans first arrived, but what was happening now made that look like a picnic. The worse part was the complete feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed his spirit.

Thirty minutes earlier, he'd gathered Grazot, Hayes, March and several others as they looked at the options available. Every precaution they'd put in place had failed. There was no word from St James or Colonel Plateaus. In fact, there's nothing at all coming from Argos. The Sigma outposts last reported sighting a massive Contingent and now … silence. Further, he'd just got a report that Kawaka had fallen. General Mikos had been hung and a majority of the populace was dead from some sort of areal poisoning. Brewster had put the bio-disruptors in place but it had only slowed the inevitable. All looked hopeless; In fact, the human's had already sent the code phrase; 'red wolf', asking for ODN rockets to bury their capital. …Suicide and yet what was the alternative?

The Imperiam was coming in two directions; from the northwest and up through the southeast. Brewster had already gotten the Holo imaging up. They had images of Washington and some of the other cities. Their forces were concentrated in several settlements. The time to act was now.

Sullen mumbled to himself as he headed towards the old radar-array. He'd thought hard but he saw no alternative. "We may be isolated but we're not blind and we're not helpless. If I stop them here, I stop them for good."

The orangutan paused as he reached his destination. His mind took in everything at once. "If I let the Doctor unleash those old human rockets on every city we have, I'd be signing the death certificates of every ape and human animal out there. There's no turning back from that. But if I don't act, there won't be anyone left to save."

"Ah, Prefect" Brewster stated as he saw Sullen entered the area. "I have some good news. Holo imaging is fully up and I was able to interface with the orbital platform, as my cousin's to the south have requested. As you know, one of their missiles got through but several of the others escaped damage. Now I've targeted some of …"

"Just do it Doctor." Sullen stated plainly "This madness has gone on for far too long."

The Doctor gave a quick rebuttal but Sullen shook his balled up paw and shouted "Do it NOW! … and may the Creator have mercy on my soul."

The Imperiam Colonel uploaded his instructions.

"If I give the authentication codes, Excellency, there's no stopping it. Are you sure you want to do this?" Brewster stated.

Sullen said nothing in reply. Instead he nodded and then walked off. The die was now cast. Every platform received the hacked authentication protocols and each sent a series of warheads streaking towards the planet below.