In the future,earth's warriors haveconquered the heavens.But on a distant world,Humanity is in chains ...Many millennia ago, the human race was enslaved by the An -- a fearsome alien people whose cruel empire once spanned the galaxies, until they were defeated and consigned to oblivion. But a research mission to the planet Ishtar has made a terrifying -- and fatal -- discovery: the Ahanu, ancestors of the former masters, live on, far from the reach of Earth -- born weapons and technology ... and tens of thousands of captive human souls still bow to their iron will. Now Earth's Interstellar Marine Expeditionary Unit must undertake a rescue operation as improbable as it is essential to humankind's future, embarking on a ten-year voyage to a hostile world to face an entrenched enemy driven by dreams of past glory and intent once more on domination. For those who, for countless generations, have known nothing but toil and subjugation must be granted, at all costs, the precious gift entitled to all of their star-traveling kind: freedom!

2 JUNE 2138...

Giza Complex

Kingdom of Allah, Earth

0525 hours Zulu

The trio of TAV Combat Personnel Carrier transports camein low across the Mediterranean Sea, avoiding the heavilypopulated coastal areas around El Iskandariya by crossingthe beach between El Hammam and El Alamein. Skimmingthe Western Desert at such low altitudes that their slip-streams sent rooster tails of sand exploding into the pale predawn sky, the TAVs swung sharply south of the isolated communities huddled along the Wadi El Natrun, dumping velocity in a series of weaving banks and turns. Ahead, silhouetted against the brightening eastern horizon and the lights of Cairo, their objective rose like three flat-sided mountains above the undulating dunes.

The defenders would know that something was happening;even with stealth architecture, the three transatmosphericvehicles had scorched their radar signatures in ion reentrytrails across the skies of Western Europe as they'd descended from suborbit, and the mullahs of the True Mahdihad been expecting something of the sort. The only questionwas how long it would take them to react.

Captain Martin Warhurst, CO of Bravo Company, sathunched over in his travel seat in the rear of CPC Delta'sred-lit troop compartment, crowded torso to armored torso with the men and women of 1st Squad, First Platoon. Therewere no windows in the heavily armored compartment, noviewscreens or news panels, but a data feed painted a small, brightly colored image within his Helmet Data Overlay, showing the outside world as viewed through a camera in the TAV's blunt nose.

There wasn't a lot to see, in fact -- abstract patterns of light and darkness wheeling this way and back with theTAV's approach maneuvers. The area beyond the Giza complex,along the west bank of the Nile, was brightly lit. Theextensive archeological digs behind the Sphinx and betweenthe two northern pyramids, those of Khufu and Khafre, werebathed in harsh spotlights reflected from aerostats hovering high above the ground-based beam projectors.

He knew the mission orders, knew the lay of the land andthe location of the company's objectives, but it was almostimpossible to make sense of what he was seeing on his HDOdisplay. Balls of yellow and red light floated up from theground -- fire from enemy antiaircraft positions. Coloredlines and symbols glowed among alphanumerics identifyingtargets, way points, ranges, and bearings. His cranialink provided analysis, based on data jacked through from the CPC's combat computer. He could see the area marked as the platoon's drop-off point, midway between the Sphinx andKhafre's pyramid.

"Captain Warhurst," the phlegmatic, female voice of theTAV's AI pilot said in his helmet receiver. "Thirty seconds. Hot LZ."

"I see it," Warhurst replied. His grip tightened on hisweapon, a General Electric LR-2120 Sunbeam pulse laser,with its M-12 underbarrel 20mm RPG launcher and data hotlink to his Mark VII armor. He'd been in the Marines forsix years and made captain two years ago, but this would behis first time in combat, his first hot drop, his first time in command with a live enemy.

God, don't let me screw it up....

The TAVs made a final course adjustment, shrieking low above the sands between the middle and southern pyramids,their dead-black hulls slipping through crisscrossing targeting radar beams like ghosts, evading hard locks. Air brakes unfolded like ungainly wings as their noses came up, and billows of sand exploded from the hard-driving plasmathrusters arrayed at wing roots and bellies.

"Hold on," the AI's voice said, as deceleration tugged at Warhurst's gut and the steel deck tilted sharply beneath his booted feet. "We're going in."

"Hang onto your lunches...

Ian Douglas is the author of the popular military SF series The Heritage Trilogy. He lives in Pennsylvania.