The Ganthoran Gambit (The First Admiral Series) by William J. Benning
Authors: William J. Benning
Ads: Link
firing button was on the top of each pistol grip. The firing button on top of the left pistol-grip operated the four low-yield pulsar-cannon built into the front of the anti-gravity plate. The Operator had four low-yield pulsar-cannon just in front of their feet for the close-quarter defence of the vehicle. Meanwhile, the firing button on the right pistol grip operated the four low-yield pulsar-cannon built into the rotating platform above the Operator’s head.
Twisting the right hand pistol-grip allowed the Operator to target the pulsar cannon on the rotating platform above their heads. These pulsar-cannon were highly effective against any airborne threat to the vehicle, and could also be pivoted downwards to add to the firepower of the cannon at the Operator’s feet.
Now, a newly-qualified Troop Sergeant, in command of five Ghost Hammer vehicles and their Operators, Geor Thardan, had been landed in Ganthus City.
The landing on Ganthus itself had gone smoothly and almost entirely to plan. With Frontier General Kallet’s fleet eliminated, their ground forces were entirely at the mercy of the Alliance. The Ganthoran rebel troops had no means of escape, and nowhere to run to. The Alliance Eagles ruled the skies over Ganthus City, and the entire planet. Nothing could move on the surface that the Alliance didn’t know about.
With the last of Kallet’s battle fleet driven off or contained, the landing operation began immediately. The First Admiral had made it quite clear to all the officers that they had to complete this operation as quickly as possible. Like most of the Alliance military, Geor Thardan was well aware that the other three Ganthoran Frontier Fleets were heading towards the planet Ganthus. Speed was of the essence here.
It had been a classic textbook Landing Trooper assault. Four hundred circular Assault Landing Ships, each carrying thirty Troopers, had deployed under an escort of one thousand Eagle fighters. The Eagles had flown patrols over Ganthus City to try to tempt out any anti-aircraft capability that the Frontier Fleet troops had left behind. Whilst Avavid Kallet was prepared to use indiscriminate weapons fire from orbiting warships to suppress any resistance, Billy Caudwell used the precision strike capability of his Eagle fighters to minimise civilian casualties in the City itself.
When the Eagle pilots were satisfied that there were no threats, the Assault Landing Ships were allowed to approach the Landing Zone. The first twenty Assault Landing Ships carried the Blast-Jump Squads, who were the pathfinders for the landing, and were to target the parkland to the north of the Imperial Palace. The job of the Blast-Jump Squads was to secure the Landing Zone, and allow the other Assault Landing Ships to deploy their Troopers in relative safety. Having entered the atmosphere of Ganthus, the Blast-Jump Squads would deploy from their Assault Landing Ships when they were two thousand metres from the ground. They would then free-fall to a height of thirty metres, where their Blast Packs would automatically ignite to rapidly decelerate the Trooper and allow them to land safely.
The second wave of Assault Landing Ships actually landed on the planet. Guided in by beacons from the Blast-Jump Squads, each Assault Landing Ship was assigned to an area within the Landing Zone, where they descended, opened the Force Shielding door, and allowed the Troopers inside to rush out before taking off again. It took no more than ten seconds to deploy thirty fully-armed Troopers from the six doors of the Assault Landing Ship. The Landing Troopers had practiced the procedure until it was second nature to them. They knew that if they were receiving fire when they landed, the best place to be was away from the six-segment domed ships, which would be a magnet for enemy weapons.
Geor Thardan, and his troop of five Ghost Hammers, did not land with the first wave of Troopers. The Ghost Hammers were landed from a specially-designed
Twisting the right hand pistol-grip allowed the Operator to target the pulsar cannon on the rotating platform above their heads. These pulsar-cannon were highly effective against any airborne threat to the vehicle, and could also be pivoted downwards to add to the firepower of the cannon at the Operator’s feet.
Now, a newly-qualified Troop Sergeant, in command of five Ghost Hammer vehicles and their Operators, Geor Thardan, had been landed in Ganthus City.
The landing on Ganthus itself had gone smoothly and almost entirely to plan. With Frontier General Kallet’s fleet eliminated, their ground forces were entirely at the mercy of the Alliance. The Ganthoran rebel troops had no means of escape, and nowhere to run to. The Alliance Eagles ruled the skies over Ganthus City, and the entire planet. Nothing could move on the surface that the Alliance didn’t know about.
With the last of Kallet’s battle fleet driven off or contained, the landing operation began immediately. The First Admiral had made it quite clear to all the officers that they had to complete this operation as quickly as possible. Like most of the Alliance military, Geor Thardan was well aware that the other three Ganthoran Frontier Fleets were heading towards the planet Ganthus. Speed was of the essence here.
It had been a classic textbook Landing Trooper assault. Four hundred circular Assault Landing Ships, each carrying thirty Troopers, had deployed under an escort of one thousand Eagle fighters. The Eagles had flown patrols over Ganthus City to try to tempt out any anti-aircraft capability that the Frontier Fleet troops had left behind. Whilst Avavid Kallet was prepared to use indiscriminate weapons fire from orbiting warships to suppress any resistance, Billy Caudwell used the precision strike capability of his Eagle fighters to minimise civilian casualties in the City itself.
When the Eagle pilots were satisfied that there were no threats, the Assault Landing Ships were allowed to approach the Landing Zone. The first twenty Assault Landing Ships carried the Blast-Jump Squads, who were the pathfinders for the landing, and were to target the parkland to the north of the Imperial Palace. The job of the Blast-Jump Squads was to secure the Landing Zone, and allow the other Assault Landing Ships to deploy their Troopers in relative safety. Having entered the atmosphere of Ganthus, the Blast-Jump Squads would deploy from their Assault Landing Ships when they were two thousand metres from the ground. They would then free-fall to a height of thirty metres, where their Blast Packs would automatically ignite to rapidly decelerate the Trooper and allow them to land safely.
The second wave of Assault Landing Ships actually landed on the planet. Guided in by beacons from the Blast-Jump Squads, each Assault Landing Ship was assigned to an area within the Landing Zone, where they descended, opened the Force Shielding door, and allowed the Troopers inside to rush out before taking off again. It took no more than ten seconds to deploy thirty fully-armed Troopers from the six doors of the Assault Landing Ship. The Landing Troopers had practiced the procedure until it was second nature to them. They knew that if they were receiving fire when they landed, the best place to be was away from the six-segment domed ships, which would be a magnet for enemy weapons.
Geor Thardan, and his troop of five Ghost Hammers, did not land with the first wave of Troopers. The Ghost Hammers were landed from a specially-designed
Similar Books
