Trying to keep updating, despite finals starting on the 9th (What better way to celebrate one's birthday?

)
Part XIV
Infinite Energy
June 10, 2013
Schripian Research Camp, Main Impact Site
It was the same drill as last time. The black ops swam to their target under the cover of darkness. Security was even more lax here than the Arigosian facilities; no sentries were found on the shores as the black ops surfaced. Like shadows, they moved towards the lights of the Schripian camp.
The silence was torn as light flashed through the darkness, accompanied by a booming noise. One of the black ops went down, clutching the stump that was left of his leg. Another moved to assist the man, before another flash brought him down. The realization that they were standing in a minefield struck the ops hard, and they froze in place, eyes desperately looking over the ground for any sign of the mines.
With the noise and lights of the mines alerting the Schripians, they opened up on the beach with artillery fire. With no cover, and trapped from retreat by the water, the Omegians were forced to push forward through the minefield. Casualties were heavy, and by the time they came in range of the Schripian's small arms, only a handful were left. With nowhere to hide from the bullets and artillery, the black ops were all mercilessly cut down. Within minutes, the Omegians had been wiped out, and the skies were lit with cruise missiles soaring towards the Omegian transport fleet.
Jun 12, 2013
Omegian Military Command, Austin, Omegia
"We've had
how many casualties?" The disbelief was evident in General Peter's voice. He was hoping that somehow, the second time he heard the numbers, they would be different.
He was talking to a screen, showing the outskirts of the Schripian Research Camp. Smoke was rising from the camp, and explosions from inside were still visible from the screen. The captain whom he was speaking with was currently the highest ranked surviving officer in the area. With the confidence of a man who has already gone through hell, the captain responded, "Two groups of black ops, an infantry division, a tank division, two attack helicopter groups, one transport flotilla, a Kraken Class Cruiser, one Deathwing Fighter wing, and five Reaper Bomber wings."
"What of enemy casualties?"
"Still difficult to determine at this point, but we think we may have destroyed one of the national guard divisions defending the camp. At the moment, we control the southeast half of the area. Bombardment has destroyed their SAM sites, but they have so many fighters in the air that we still can't effectively use air power here."
"What assets do you currently have?"
"We have one intact infantry division and an intact tank division, half a helicopter group, and a heavily damaged tank division, most of which are low on ammo and fuel."
Peter nodded. It was better than he'd been expecting. "We have another infantry divisions and a black ops group within range of you; they'll be moving up to support you by the end of the day. When they arrive, you will launch an immediate attack to take the camp."
"With respect sir, we will experience heavy casualties if we do that. The Schripians have booby trapped the entire place, and are fighting tooth and nail to kill as many of us as they can before we kill them. We'll probably lose at least two more divisions if we were to attack now."
"Captain, we need to take this camp
now. The Erebians are being routed in the north, with only the Tannhauser Gate preventing the Iustitians from completely breaking through. We need to finish up our operations here and begin moving soldiers north as quickly as possible, or we are going to lose this war."
The captain saluted. "It will be done, sir."
June 13, 2013
Imperial Square, Austin, Omegia
"... and with this glorious new energy powering our industries, soon the world shall tremble at our might! Rule Omegia!"
Emperor Sean stepped away from the podium as applause and responding calls of "Rule Omegia!" went out. A black limo was waiting for him away from the square; the door was held open for him by a heavily armed man in a military uniform. Coeus was waiting inside the limo, still wearing his white lab coat.
"Impressive speech, my lord." He said to Sean as the emperor sat down.
"Yes, it was, wasn't it? Shame the readers didn't get to see it."
Coeus let that nonsensical remark pass uncommented. "My lord, while I know better than anyone the potential benefits of harnessing Gaia for energy production, is it really wise to put so much emphasis on something we have so little understanding of? The seemingly unlimited amounts of energy we can create for free from these stones is blatantly in breach of the laws of thermodynamics, and we still have no fully documented all the effects Gaia seems to have on its surroundings. Have you read the reports from the crews we sent to the main crater site?"
"Of course."
"And yet you still aren't worried at all? We've already had 4 cases of suicide there in just the few days since moving into it. Men have reported hearing strange noises, or of hallways leading to completely different parts of the facility than they should. We've had trouble with the time there; sometimes they claim that their clocks put them a few hours behind us, other times a few hours ahead. We received a report from them where they claimed they could see the sun setting, despite the fact that it was only mid-day for us. And our electronics technology acts strangely in the area. More than once we've been completely cut off from them for hours at a time. And despite all of this, you intend to not only mine large areas of Gaia, but also use this unstable energy we know next to nothing about to power our cities?"
Sean thought for a moment. "Yes, I think that would describe my plan very succinctly."
Coeus let his jaw drop, and held it in silence, hoping for some other response from the Emperor. When it didn't come, he sighed. "Very well, my lord. I suppose you want me to continue to research Gaia, so that we don't accidentally kill us all by tampering with it?"
"Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, this would be my stop."
Coeus looked out the window. "My lord, we are still a block away from the palace."
Sean patted him on the shoulder. "I'll walk the rest of the way. Healthy exercise, fresh air, and all that good stuff. You really should try it sometime." He motioned for the driver to stop, and got out of the car, followed by a military man. As the Emperor got out, the limo began to move forward again, leaving Coeus in the back to ponder his disquieting thoughts about the future.