Alpha (short story)
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- This article is about the short story. For other uses, see Alpha.
| Alpha (short story) | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Short story |
| Author | Phaedra M. Weldon |
| Pages | 10 |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | BattleCorps |
| First published | 23 January 2007 |
| Content | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 13 March 3068 |
| Series | Case White (series) |
| Followed by | The Breaking of Chemical Bonds |
Alpha is a short story by Phaedra M. Weldon that was published online on BattleCorps on 23 January 2007. It was also published in print in 2013 in the fourth BattleCorps anthology, Fire for Effect.
Together with its companion story Omega by the same author it served as the opening and ending, respectively, of the Case White series of stories about Case White, ComStar's ill-fated attempt to reconquer Terra from the Word of Blake in 3068. (In Christian theology the greek letters Alpha and Omega, being the first and last letters of the alphabet, symbolize the concepts of Beginning and End.)
[edit]
| “ | 13 March 3068, Case White +4 days—Twenty Com Guard WarShips have made it to Earth's orbitals. Now it's up to Precentor David Alsace to defend Terra. Ensconced in TerraSec Command and Control in Geneva, Terra will live or die by his hand—his, and his Manei Domini watchdog's. The Battle for Terra has begun. | ” |
Plot summary[edit]
In the TerraSec command bunker, Precentor TerraSec David Alsace (the narrator) and Demi-Precentor (Ghost Adept) Lamashti are informed by Apollyon himself via an HPG relay routed through New Earth that the Case White fleet is inbound. Alsace is monitoring the space battle when he receives a private call from his concerned wife who can see the space battle going on. Lamashti interrupts, pointing out that they have "a battle to win," just before several of the many inbound DropShips make planetfall. Lamashti is stunned, as she thought it impossible that they could break through, and Alsace oberves that she apparently never calculated for a mistake—but luckily, he had.
DropShip landings are reported from North America, Germany, Latvia and finally also France, where Alsace's pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter are. Alsace leaves Lamashti to coordinate the space battle and begins to organize the defense on the ground.