by Bob Blink
"That's going to have significant impacts on the power grid along the Eastern Coastline," Grummon said. "And people are going to be curious. One doesn't simply shut down everything in a plant, even for maintenance. One unit at a time would be more typical."
"We'll have to use the leak excuse," Simmons said.
Grummon paled.
"We can't do that. The publicity will destroy us."
Zack was nodding.
"If you released a report that suggested a major radiation leak had been detected and the plant was being shut down until it could be located and repaired, no one would question the action."
"We can retract the statement and explain the necessity later," the Colonel said, but knew there was a possibility that wouldn't happen if a decision was made to keep this all secret later.
"This can't be happening," Grummon said unhappily.
"When can this be implemented?" Colonel Jones asked.
"We can start this afternoon," Simmons said, glancing at his boss, if I get back there. "The plants can be in cool down by tonight."
"Good, because we are going in tomorrow morning," the Colonel explained.
"You are concerned that these aliens will be suspicious when we shut down the reactors?" Simmons asked. "It might spoil your surprise."
"Son, the number of planes, troops and disruption starting late tonight will alert them that we are coming no matter what else we do. Now, let's see what you can tell us about this place so my men can operate with some understanding of the facility. We need to get you and your boss back to Calvert Cliffs so you can get started there."
"What are you going to tell our people when all of your troops appear?" Grummon asked.
"You'll tell them we have indications of a terrorist threat against the facility," Colonel Jones replied. "You need to do that today, since when you start shutting down, they'll know that there is no leak."
Chapter 52
Preparations for the occupation of the Calvert Cliffs plant had begun even before the meeting between the Colonel and Jed Grummon. Steph and Karl coordinated an effort to see that all transmission lines running out of the facility were equipped with monitors that hopefully would let them detect if the aliens moved in or out of the facility. If a migration were detected, it would be all but impossible to track where they eventually went due to the number of junctions in the power grid as it moved across the state.
Truckloads of troops began to move into the area around four AM the following morning, men armed with a variety of weapons. Roughly five thousand armed troops would be positioned in and around the power plant, in addition to the two teams that would make the actual penetration into the facility. All carried M4 carbines equipped with the optional grenade launcher. There was considerable doubts about the potential effectiveness of the grenade launcher, and the rifle itself had proved ineffective against the energy orbs. But there was no information how vulnerable the aliens themselves might be, and there was always the risk of large numbers of alien manufactured clones armed with the deadly blasters being released. They, at least, had proven susceptible to the standard weapons.
Augmenting the drones flying high enough to be invisible but providing a sharp aerial picture of the area, were four Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters armed with 30 mm chain guns, laser and radar-guided Hellfire missiles and a double load of Hydra 70 rockets appeared and took up a patrol pattern near the facility. There was considerable confidence that the Hellfire missile would be capable of damaging the aliens' weapons, and more of the gunships were positioned nearby to supplement the force should it prove desirable, or to replace any of the aircraft that might be lost in an engagement should it develop. Considerable discussion had been spent on the possibility. In Washington, the brief firefight with the aliens had been constrained to the power facility before the aliens elected to withdraw, and some didn't believe the aliens were set up to leave the structures, so such a fight was unlikely to develop. On the other hand, the Colonel wished to be prepared, to the extent that a squadron of fully armed jet aircraft was on call should the fight develop and threaten to extend beyond the immediate area.
Stephanie and Karl were in position with the troops surrounding the facility, located where they should be safe enough with two trucks of portable equipment that would allow them to monitor the aliens via the electromagnetic signals they had seen in Washington. Thus far, no signs had been detected of anything flowing down the transmissions lines, but as the troops began to flow into the area, the internal sensors started to show activity, indicating the aliens were here, and the arrival of the forces hadn't gone unnoticed, whereas the shutdown of the two reactors the evening before hadn't produced the slightest blip of activity.
By seven AM, the two assault teams were in place inside the facility. Alpha Team would be led by Major Garcia. The team included two squads of highly experienced soldiers selected from the Special Forces, augmented with a dozen Naval trained fire-fighters who would man the fire fighting hoses that had been reconfigured the previous afternoon with extenders to allow greater range within the facility. Mark would be going along with Alpha team, armed with three of the alien hand weapons, the only thing they had that was known to be effective against the arms they expected to encounter. The soldiers, including Janet, were armed with the same M4s as the support troops outside, as well as three of the powerful FGM148 anti-tank weapons that were considerably more capable than the grenades fired by the rifles. The damage such weapons might cause inside the plant was of considerable concern, especially to Nick Simmons, the Chief Engineer, who had insisted on going along to try to minimize damage to the facility.
Bravo team was similarly constructed, under the command of Major Sarah Walker; unknown to Ed and Glen who were assigned to the force, but apparently popular and well respected by the solders they had spoken with.
The facility was manned with roughly ten percent of the usual staff, only those required to see the safe cool-down of the plant. All others had been given the day off and directed to stay clear of the area. It was unknown how many believed the story about possible terrorists but any that were aware of the large military force assembled wisely concluded the advice to remain clear was sound. Those inside the plant were under the direction of a shift manager and a Sgt. Martin, who might at any time direct them to evacuate the facility, regardless of the consequences to the plant, if the situation with the aliens became too dangerous for them to remain.
"It's time," Major Garcia announced over the secure net that both teams could hear, indicating it was time to move into the reactor building where the signals were being detected. Normal communication would be restricted to members of a single team, but the two Majors, Mark, Glen, and the Colonel, who waited outside with the bulk of the fighting forces, were able to communicate across teams.
Unit 2 was built identical to Unit 1. Both were large cylindrical structures, four levels high, with the containment structure housing the reactor positioned in the center of the building. Each level was supported by a massive steel and concrete floor, designed to support the weight of the oversized equipment used in the plant. Twin circular stairways wrapped around the inner perimeter of the building, requiring one to walk half the circumference of the cylindrical building to advance or descend between floors. There were also two elevators, one for personnel and a larger one for freight, but elevators were death traps in combat. Entry from the main building into the reactor areas was at level two, with level one a basement area with limited equipment and a massive reinforced concrete support pedestal for the reactor.
Considerable discussion and planning had gone into the attack plan, and how the two teams would coordinate their movement through the facility. There simply was not sufficient room on any given level for both teams to be present at once, yet the Colonel was reluctant to proceed with any smaller force. As a result, the movement of the two teams had been carefully thought out.
Alpha team would initiate potential contact by sweeping across level two
, splitting the team around the containment vessel as it moved across to the far side. This posed a bit of a concern with teams on either side of the massive stainless steel vessel, making situational awareness imperative so that firing at one another didn't happen. These were combat experienced men, and had dealt with similar situations before. As team Alpha swept the level, team Bravo would descend to the lower level. Both would end up on the same side of the facility.
As Bravo team cleared level 1, Alpha would move up to level 3, both teams moving the same direction across the structure, so any firing would be directed away from all personnel. At the opposite end, the procedure would repeat, with Alpha team clearing level three, as Bravo team ascended toward level one. This nominally kept a cleared level between the teams, with Bravo team then making a secondary sweep of each level as they moved systematically upward in case the aliens or their clones attempted to slip away past the attacking forces. Once the upper most level had been reached, they would secure the facility, although everyone suspected it wouldn't be this simple once the enemy was contacted.
Mark unconsciously checked his three weapons as the men started to move across the floor. The firemen had charged the hose from the fire station that was located adjacent to the stairs on either side of the floor. Two men carried the business end of the hose, while the remaining firemen helped keep the lengths of heavy hose from tangling and moving forward as the team progressed.
Mark had the powerful alien blaster in a makeshift holster at his side, one of the two larger vanishing type weapons in hand and the other strung around his neck on a strap. It would be reassuring to know how many shots each contained, but they hadn't found a means of detecting that, so he was prepared to discard any weapon that ran dry and switch to another. His throat was dry, and his heart hammered. He couldn't help remembering that Jessie had bought it in a very similar situation. Simmons looked uncomfortable in his combat vest as he followed beside Mark.
They crossed level two without incident, and Bravo team made it to the lower level without encountering trouble as well. Steph, who was on the net, but normally silent, indicated that their movements had not triggered any additional activity in the signals she was monitoring. At the Colonel's signal, Bravo team began its sweep of the lower level, as Alpha team moved up to level 3.
"What are those things?" Mark softly whispered to Nick Simmons, indicating a huge stainless steel structure that extended out of sight through the floor in either direction. The variety of equipment, the thousands of cables, most neatly attached to walls or running in cable trays under the carefully elevated floor walkways they followed, was simply mind-boggling. The containment structure gleamed in the well-lit room as they moved upwards.
"Main coolant pump," Simmons replied. "They are placed symmetrically around the room."
A pump? Mark was stunned. He thought of a pump as something the size of a basketball, or in extreme cases, like the gasoline powered jobs he'd seen emptying a ditch, maybe as large as a bale of hay. He couldn't even imagine how they built something as large as these things. But then everything in here was super-sized.
Once again, their maneuvers were completed without incident. It was Alpha's turn to sweep the floor, as Bravo moved up a level. The clearing operation proceeded without incident as they continued to move upward. Mark was once again stunned at the sheer size of the top hat on the containment vessel, and the massive motors that Simmons told him were the control rod drive motor that stuck out at odd angles from the top of the vessel.
Bravo team was sweeping the second level when Steph abruptly announced a sudden massive build-up in signals, just as Major Walker shouted that they were under attack. Mark scanned his surroundings expecting to see several of the deadly alien orbs appearing as they had at the Capitol plant, but there was nothing. Below he could hear the sounds of rounds being discharged, despite the fact the men had been told they wouldn't be effective. Maybe they were dealing with clones, Mark decided.
By Glen's count, five of the deadly orbs had simply materialized without warning. As he watched another pair were zooming in the direction of the team. He scanned the area, wondering if he would finally see one of the aliens, holding back his fire against the possibility, knowing that his weapons might be the only thing effective against the ETs. He spotted nothing beyond the deadly glowing balls, some already sending rippling tentacles of silvery destruction into the team.
Several men screamed as they were wrapped in the glowing death, their weapons melting as their flesh was consumed by the power energies released. One of the orbs sent a blast toward two men firing at it, both sending their grenades into the glowing orbs, but as many had anticipated, to no apparent effect. Even before they could realize the fruitlessness of their effort, both vanished in the manner of the smaller hand weapons like the one Glen held.
Ed was talking to the pair of firemen holding the nozzle end of the heavy fire hose. Nodding, they directed the nozzle toward one of the deadly alien weapons and turned on the strong stream of water, striking the object some eighty feet away. The effect was quite dramatic. Streams of glowing fire and arcs of electrical energy being shorted to the ground erupted all around the object, with screaming sounds of vast energy being striped away filling the chamber. The orb shook as if losing control, and the two men holding the hose renewed their efforts, sensing they may have a chance after all. The stream of water centered on the object, causing even more dramatic effects, the object shifting color rapidly and jerking as if trying to escape the deadly stream of water. Vast clouds of steam were filing the area, making it harder to see, and the men had to drag the hose closer as they attempted to finish the thing off.
Major Walker was directing her troops and reporting the apparent success the firemen were having, but there were too many of the orbs. Just as the firemen stripped away the energy enfolding the orb, exposing a metallic looking underbody, one of the other orbs fired on the two firemen, causing them to burst into flame and vanish. Ed spotted the opening, and fired his grenade at the metallic structure the firemen had exposed, his shot true, and the explosion clearly having an effect this time. Before he could reload and make a second attempt, the wounded orb spun and shot toward him, exploding with an impossible blast when it was a dozen feet away. Ed and three others near him were consumed by the power of the explosion.
Halfway across the floor three soldiers readied one of the FGM148 antitank devices, centering it on one of the deadly alien weapons. As soon as it was aligned, the soldier controlling the device launched the missile, and with a mighty whoosh, it blasted across the short distance to the alien device. The resulting explosion deafened everyone nearby, the dying orb releasing its huge stored up energy reserves in conjunction with the chemical explosives of the human weapon. The orb died, but in doing so the destructive powers of the combined explosion ripped open the side of one of the massive main coolant pumps. Thousands of gallons of heated and radioactive water flooded from the rent in the side of the pump, several soldiers being cooked in the superheated water, until the flow abated. Almost immediately a klaxon sounded and several large, red rotating lights began to warn of the emergency. Major Walker reported the event so the plant operators could hope to react, and continued to direct her failing forces against the enemy, no one having seen any of the aliens they sought as yet.
Glen couldn't hold his fire any longer. Men were dying all around him, and the plant was probably in danger of a major meltdown after the destruction of the pump. He raised the alien weapon, and quickly fired on the two orbs he could see. As expected, both simply ceased to be a threat, their energy somehow turning inward and consuming the devices as he'd seen in Washington. He turned to fire on more of the devices, discovering that some of the surviving firemen had activated another of the hoses and were blasting the devices with streams of water. Steam was filling the area so fast it was all but impossible to see. He couldn't find another target, not realizing they had all vanished suddenly. He couldn't be sure, but it looked lik
e well over half of his team were down or gone.
"What does it mean?" Mark asked Simmons when the red flashing lights began their warning alert as the klaxon wailed, and they heard over the net that the main coolant pump had been breeched. Alpha team members were already staring down toward the lower level to support their companions until attack.
"The loss of the pump wouldn't be fatal given our current heat generation in the core, but the loss of coolant because the lines were breeched is potentially going to be a disaster," Simmons explained. The core is going to get too hot, and a partial meltdown is almost guaranteed."
"Radiation leak?" Mark asked.
"Not so long as the containment vessel retains its integrity. I can't say how bad it'll get."
"What about the coolant. I thought it would be a radiation hazard."
"Again, it shouldn't be too bad. The water will drain to the lower levels and be carried out; probably has already happened. That will limit the amount of exposure people get, and for the short duration we should be in here I believe everyone should be fine, but we'll need to take readings on everyone and maybe get a proper decontamination scrub."
Mark was about to ask more, when he suddenly realized it was silent. The fighting appeared to have stopped, although the steam continued to rise from below. Then, he heard the Colonel warning that the soldiers outside were under attack.
Ten of the glowing orbs passed through the structure of Unit 2 as if it wasn't there. Four made a beeline toward the choppers circling above, while the remaining six spread across the grounds and began unleashing fire on the men scattered around the facility. Dozens were caught in the deadly emissions before others sought cover and began to fire back. Quick action by ground teams caught two of the alien weapons with antitank missiles, reducing the count to four.
Two of the chopper pilots caught sight of the glowing orbs as they appeared, and were able to maneuver quickly enough to avoid being hit. The other two were just a fraction slower, and exploded violently as the balls passed through the helicopter without slowing. One of the surviving pilots forced his chopper through a maneuver he had no business attempting, but was able to get a fix and launch a Hellfire at one of the orbs. The resulting explosion destroyed the device, bringing cheers from those on the ground.