The Yeomen of England (Posleen in England)

Interlude

The Posleen came once, twice…and each time they missed Europe and Britain. Major Posleen forces hit all the east coast of North America, Australia, India, China, South America, and the Middle East, devastating their human opponents. In China, the war went nuclear, devastating the country, but failing to stop the Posleen amid an orgy of political repercussions. It might have had an effect, if there had been enough Chinese left to care…

In the Middle East, from Egypt to Sudan to Saudi Arabia, the Posleen spread out across the land. Muslims and Christians and Jews fought together, united by a sudden threat from space, but the criminally corrupt regimes had spent too long blaming their ills upon the West. In Mecca, Osama Bin Ladin fought a final stand against a foe who cared nothing for the rule of law, for the common decency that had allowed his organisation to hide from the searchlights¹⁸.
(Perhaps he understood, as the Posleen smashed the defences that had held for less than an hour, that Allah’s favour went to those who served him well, not to those who sought His blessing for acts that served the devil. Perhaps he repented, before a Posleen ate him, before they spread out like the wrath of an angry god. Perhaps he fell into the fire with hatred on his lips, perhaps…
Allah knows and men do not…)
For a long time, Europe dared to believe that the bullet had missed them. The minds of those charged with the defence never relaxed, but the politicians and even the public chose to believe that the Posleen would never come for them. It was an illusion that would be cruelly shattered.
***

The Posleen emerged from hyperspace, already moving to confront the units of Fleet that had been hastily deployed to meet them. Perhaps if more humans had survived the battles, more questions would have been asked about the outcome, but as space become a flickering morass of lights and explosions, the human force was slowly, agonisingly, destroyed. They fought for seven days, led by the massive Lexington, but in the end the fleet was destroyed.

They closed in on Earth, already picking their targets. Fire and death fell towards the planet as the PDCs engaged them, firing desperately to break up the massive globes before they disgorged their cargos onto the planet. They divided their forces, heading for South America, for India, for North Africa…and for Europe. The globes began to break up, dispersing their landing craft, even as the net updated itself with information on the planet below.
The God Kings didn’t question the source of the information. All of the net was sacred; they would no more question it than they would pledge themselves to follow a common – and stupid – normal Posleen. They adjusted their positions, moving more ships to target Europe, to reinforce the forces in Africa, such as they were. The other targets had already been claimed, more or less, the God Kings in India had claimed the fertile lands as their own.
The first globes fell down a week after the battle in space had begun. The globes that landed in Spain and France discovered an enemy who fought well, but hadn’t made enough preparations for their coming. In the end, Spain was reduced to a quivering remnant, hiding in the mountainous areas that the Posleen could not reach, praying for deliverance. France fought well and hard, but they hadn’t done all they could have done; the Posleen held the entire south of the nation by the time the landings ended.
For Italy, for Poland, the Posleen came and killed. The Italians held out in the north, even as the divisions between north and south became explosive. If the Posleen had sought more than simple destruction, there might have been grounds for an alliance, but the Posleen knew nothing. The hints on the net meant nothing to them. In Poland, the Polish survivors didn’t understand why some Posleen kept them alive; the remainder of the country had been destroyed. A few cities held out, praying for a deliverance that could never come.
In Germany, the Posleen met a match; the German armed forces, augmented by the rejuvenated SS Korps. The battles were long and bloody, but the Germans held, preventing the Posleen from seizing their country directly. Even as Germany rallied itself for the final battle, the Posleen massed at the borders…and comparisons to 1944 were all too common.
They were the lucky nations. In India, the Posleen had completed the task of conquering the nation long since, except for some mountain fortresses. In Africa, there was only silence; no radio transmissions marked the fall of the African nations that fought hard against the enemy. In South America, the Posleen hunted the few remaining humans, pressing up against the United States border. Michael O’Neal led his ACS units against the foe, fighting to hold them back, whatever the cost, as the United States slowly died…
And as for Britain, four globes detached themselves from the main swarm, heading for the British Islands…

Chapter Nineteen: Cry Havoc

Permanent Joint Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

27 March 2007
“The fleet couldn’t stop them,” Colonel Jaffrey reported grimly. “They’re closing in on us.”
The ground shook violently. “They just hit the PDC five kilometres away,” Captain Norrell reported. “Sir, this is a more intensive bombardment; the PDCs are getting hammered themselves.”
“I hope they’re doing some hammering themselves,” General Mathews snapped. “How many of the bastards are there?”
“Around ninety globes,” Colonel Jaffrey said. “I guess that whoever uplifted the bastards didn’t bother to include any concept of synchronised flying.”
Anderson swore. Ninety globes meant more Posleen than they could possibly handle. He kept his voice as calm as he could. “Do we have a landing site yet?” He asked. He dismissed the possibility of the Posleen missing them out; Britain was too important a site for the Posleen to avoid, the PDCs alone would draw their interest.
“No, sir,” Colonel Jaffrey said, as calmly as he could.
“Alert status?” General Mathews asked. “Are the Posleen targeting the projected targets?”
“Alert status is CONDITION RED,” Anderson said grimly. He stared down at the display. “The Posleen have hammered some targets that were included in the list.”
The two men shared a long glance. “Inform Sir Robert,” Mathews ordered. “Do we have a landing site yet?”
“They’re still orbiting,” Colonel Jaffrey said. “The Germans and Americans are getting in some licks.”
“Good for them,” Anderson said. The display flickered and changed. “They’re moving.”
“I think they’ve found their targets,” Colonel Jaffrey said. “We have…I think somewhere around forty globes coming to Europe. I’ll have updated landing tracks in a moment.”
Anderson held his breath. Was it possible that Britain would be spared? He looked at Colonel Jaffrey’s face and knew that the answer was no. “Posleen incoming,” Colonel Jaffrey said, his voice agonisingly calm. “We have at least four globes coming our way, heading towards us. It looks more like the South-West.”
Anderson swore. They’d slipped the Darhel information, information that the Posleen had clearly used when planning their landings. “Transmit the warning,” he ordered. “Can you give me a precise landing site?”
There was a long moment. “Four globes, now breaking up,” Colonel Jaffrey said. “Birmingham, Cheshire, near Manchester and Bath.”
“They’re looking to tear the entire country in half,” Anderson said. “I’ll have to inform the Prime Minister.”
“There’s going to be panic,” Mathews said. “I’ll call the Prime Minister.”
“Touchdown in thirty minutes,” Colonel Jaffrey said. “Warnings transmitted.”
***

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s face was flushed and pale. “I can confirm that the Posleen are landing in force,” he said. Charlene watched as the display automatically updated itself, warning of the Posleen coming down near the heart of the country. “The Government urges everyone outside the target area to remain where they are, and for everyone inside the target zone not to panic.

“The Prime Minister has appealed for calm, warning that panic only helps the enemy,” he continued. “For the moment, the civil defence force is moving into action, and we hope to defeat the Posleen very quickly.”