Humanity Endures

Part 7 - Last Stand | Chapter 2

Key to the resultant defence plan was one extremely simple fact: the building Velan intended to defend was larger than most warships, and more confusingly laid-out than even these. Though the size of the structure made defence difficult, as the aliens were likely to attack from all directions, the place's complexity allowed for the possibility that Velan could use the size of the building as a weapon itself. Leading the aliens down false paths, into ambushes, and surrounding them with hidden forces or dead-ends to the point where advancing would be nearly-impossible was what Velan intended to do, drawing inspiration from what the aliens had done with their own warships when they were boarded over Light's End. Obviously, the tactic worked against overconfident attackers, and the human planners saw no reason why it wouldn't succeed here, even if, rather than infinite numbers of bloodthirsty, calculating, and biofluid-wielding aliens being the defenders, Velan had wounded, tired humans, many of whom had been trained as officers in the navy rather than combat soldiers. These humans were motivated just the same, and with the right strategy and weaponry, a cornered soldier could be as dangerous a foe as a monstrous alien. Indeed, with their genetic enhancements, many of the humans healed quickly as well — the aliens and humans had an unnerving amount in common.

Thankfully, the garrison complex was fully and intentionally isolated from the rest of the world's underground by a massive layer of armor, preventing, or at least significantly delaying, any subterranean alien assault; this left a defence, at the very least, theoretically possible. In order to protect the main gate and the breaches in the walls nearby it, through which the main alien assault was likely to come, the human planners intended to focus the complex's turrets on this area, with Dentor and a number of engineers working to fortify it further. Other engineers would lay barricades, weld hallways shut, and generally mess with the entrances by the rear of the complex, in an attempt to slow attacks from that direction, and free up soldiers who would otherwise be needed to defend that area of the building. The tactical placement of what few explosive mines the humans had with them throughout that area would serve to force the aliens into fighting in the labyrinthian hallways of the complex, which, with enough imagination, the humans could turn into death traps; this strategy would be especially effective against a foe who had a tendency for blind charges.

Both materials and time were limited, and not all of the major entrances into the complex could be fortified. However, this fortification also discouraged the aliens from attacking a certain area, and, by not reinforcing a specific part of the complex, the alien assault could hopefully be drawn into attacking a major choke-point, where Korthekar, many of the Kalithiharian enforcers, and his marines, would be waiting; this fortified choke point could not be too unappealing for the aliens to attack, or else they would find a way around it or assault something else, but at the same time it had to be strong enough to resist all the countless attacks that would hopefully come its way. It was a terrible strategic balancing act to have to do, but Velan and his officers, after a few minutes of debate, felt they had achieved their aim: this force would have to hold off the most central entrances into the side of the structure by themselves, one that was wide enough to permit many aliens entry, while also leaving many of the humans without much cover, as they stood against the most overwhelming odds of the entire battle; this, they hoped, would be sufficient to bait the monstrosities. Defending it would be the majority of the Enforcers, as well as Korthekar himself; knowing Korthekar, Velan had little anxiety about this particular front.

Naturally, however, making any plan based around correctly assuming the motives of an alien species was a foolhardy endeavor. Velan tried to avoid this, though it was difficult to create strategic brilliance without guessing an opponent's moves; in the end, Velan and his crew would, to some extent, just have to be lucky, as they had been before. Most parts of the plan were designed to ensure that the aliens wasted as much time as possible, rather than maximizing their casualties, for as past experience had shown, if one did not assume the aliens were endless, one would be surprised.