She looked at Dogman, then at the Commissioner.
“Now, Sir, you have my full attention.”
Paul Miller smiled. “I figured I would. Your partner, Agent David Jackson, was able to elicit thru persuasive means some excellent and unusual information from his former prison mate, now captured Kraken. There was information about the shifts of power and other shenanigans among the Krakens, the Director and other inhabitants of the Occupied Areas. After a short discussion with me, Dogman has agreed to go back into the Tschaaa Controlled Areas, specifically the Key West area. I think things are about to explode down there, to the detriment of the Director. He knows his way around, should be able to get you close to Adam Lloyd.”
“My understanding from Abigail is that Dogman may have some Kraken enemies now,” the Shield Maiden replied. “Something about his dogs taking some Krakens down when they tried to snatch her and Torbin Bender.”
“Dogman, care to explain?” Commissioner Miller said to the large man.
“Kraken Commander Talbot and some others tried to hurt Abigail and my Dogs. His followers may dislike me, but I had a reputation among the Krakens and other people in the Controlled Areas. I’ve…done things for the Church, the Krakens. And many of the people who became Krakens or hang around them still understand family.”
Brynhildr looked hard at Dogman. “And if they don’t… understand?”
He shrugged. “Then they may die. Simple.”
Everyone sat quiet for a moment. Then, a small grin formed on Brynhildr’s face.
“I think you were a follower of Thor in a previous life, my very large friend. And since we will be protecting each other’s backs, we will become close friends.”
Now it was Dogman’s turn to smile, even if it was very slight in nature.
“Just that simple?” He asked.
“Abigail and I are cousins, even if very slight, on her Father’s side. And she is now a close friend who loves you. I trust her judgement as you trust you mastiff Matt’s.”
“Fine,” a grinning Commissioner interjected. “Now, here are the initial details on what I hope to accomplish…”
A half hour later, the two new partners left the building together.
“So, Dogman, when will you be ready to leave?”
“I could leave now. But I suggest tomorrow morning. You have a new husband.”
Brynhildr smiled. “News travels fast around here.”
Dogman scratched Matt’s ears. “Spend the time you can with loved ones. You may not see them for a long time.”
“Like you and Abigail?”
Dogman looked at the statuesque female warrior and law enforcement agent.
“Yes. And you are family now, since you are family to Abigail. So, I have your back, always.” Brynhildr cocked her head a bit. “No Mrs. Dogman, ever?”
“No. I am a hard man. Too hard for most women. Dogs and I understand each other better.”
“But you like women. Yes?”
“Yes. I’m not gay.”
Brynhildr grinned, then linked arms with him.
“Let me tell you, Uncle Buck to my cousin, about these hard Daughters of the Norse who are looking for a few hard men…”
CHAPTER 39
WEYMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA
UNCONTROLLED AREA
Torbin Bender looked out over the stern of the one hundred fifty foot Wet Stern Fishing Trawler as it pulled out form the dockage at Weymouth, Nova Scotia. Once again he marveled a bit at how this mission had come together in such a short time. Just ten days since the soon to be famous Meeting of the Four and the Breeder, all the resources of the Free Allied Nations had come together.
When it was decided that another attempt at a long range air attack was out of the question as word was the Tschaaa had learned from past mistakes, Thor Heyerdahl of the New Vikings said he had a large boat stashed in Nova Scotia that might be useful. He said that the Squids were already allowing limited fishing by humans along the East Coast, as long as you stayed within ten miles and away from the Crèche’s young. This was especially true in the colder waters. Thor had said his son Bjorn could help captain it, being an experienced fisherman in Northern European waters and also completed some runs down the east coast since they had fled to America.
After seeing the size of the ship, Pappy Gunn said the large fish hold would be perfect as a both a hidden storage and launch area for the She-Bear missile and its special payload, after a few modifications. So the die was cast. A fishing trawler used for a secret mission, much like the Russian had done for years under the old USSR. In fact, Stalin soon came up with the names of six Spetsnaz with good fishing and naval experience. Bjorn and five of his Norse Fellows with extensive ocean fishing experienced were also selected, as were six Americans. Among these were SSgt. Wall and SSgt. Benjamin Black, both former team members of Torbin during the Key West nuke attack.
Papa Gunn had a modified C-130 fly the missile and payload to Nova Scotia, with the technicians to modify the trawler. A Deseret VSTOL Osprey flew the rest of the armed personnel two days later. Although in violation of normal military thinking, a newly married team was also brought along. Ichiro was added due to his great experience in handling Squids in close combat. Plus Abigail because, well, she was Abigail, a unique force in the annals of combat. Torbin knew that if something happened to him, the two would insure the mission was carried out. Not to mention the fact if one went the other would probably just stow away rather than allow the other to go into harm’s way alone. They had just been married, after all.
The Mission? To launch the special biological based weapon Colonel Bardun had developed, created specifically to kill Squids. The target had been changed from the terror one of attacking the Crèche young areas to hitting the Tschaaa Lords during their meeting on Lord Neptune’s huge Mobile Sea Platform. The Lord had used this Sea Platform as his headquarters since the Key West Attack. Using the targeted biologicals meant heavy Tschaaa casualties for hundreds of miles around, as the weapon would spread for some forty eight hours before a manufactured die off. Once the word got out, there would be a panicked stampede to get the young completely out of the area before they could be affected, though some collateral damage was expected.
If the majority of the Tschaaa Lords were killed, there might be a chance that many survivors would attempt to leave and go to the generational starships that were preparing to leave the solar system after a slingshot around the sun. Or maybe the Tschaaa would realize they were not the apex predator in control, and come to some agreement with the humans as they claimed they would do in some of their hacked historical documents. Or maybe they would go completely bonkers and start laying waste to the Earth with large rocks, screw collateral damage to the oceans. No matter what happened, living under the constant threat of Harvesting was no longer a viable option for many humans. As the saying went, better to die on your feet than live on your knees, especially if at any time you could be butchered to be some Squids meal.
Torbin touched the small packet hanging from a thin chain down to his chest. Only he, Ichiro and Abigail knew the contents. For in the packet were the “No Go Codes”, to be used by Madam President if, by some chance, the Breeder called Elizabeth and the Special Female known as Cassandra were able to somehow get the Tschaaa Lords to ‘see the light’ and sit down with the humans, arrange some type of compromise or treaty of co-existence. Torbin thought the chance of this was on par with finding ice water in Hell, but he was a Marine. If the Commander in Chief said, do this, make this work, he tried his damndest to make it work. Even if making it work meant he may die.
He heard and felt a person behind him. Ichiro, a large wide brim hat to cover his Japanese features form any prying eyes in the Ssy came and stood by him on the ship’s rail.
“Deep in thought, my friend?’
“Just reviewing the odds and the possibilities in my head, Ichiro. To be honest, I am surprised we have gotten this far without mass destruction being rained down from above.”<
br />
“Such destruction would kill many of their young, which is what they hold most dear, Torbin-san.”
Torbin sighed. “I hope that holds true. But after seeing their reactions when we killed a bunch by accident with our nuke near Key West, I think their species can fall into a berserker type rage also. And, I bet you there is a Squid version of a sociopath, unable to feel empathy for anything. Either way, some Lord may overreact and bang, long term nuclear winter, massive die offs in all species. Nobody wins, everyone loses.”
Ichiro regarded his blood brother. “That will not happen, Torbin-san. I feel it in my bones. If we fail in our attack, we may die, the U.S.A may die, maybe along with Free Japan, but people will survive. And they will crawl back off their knees and fight again. For our species is a warlike one, who kills its own on massive scales. That same brutal and vicious nature is not something the Tschaaa really have. We are meat, not worth their continued hate.”
“You really think that, Ichiro? That the Tschaaa don’t have it in them for a world-wide genocide?”
The samurai shrugged. “No, I do not believe they do. We gave them ample reason when we tried to kill Lord Neptune, at least reason to turn the Unoccupied States into a complete wasteland if all Lords became involved. It did not happen. They do not understand total warfare for years on end. If they did, the Stones, Rocks would have fallen again.”
“Well, that would explain why it took them so long to really wipe out Atlanta. Reports before we left were that the final assault had begun, screw wasted dark meat.”
“It is sad we can do nothing to help, my friend.”
“Not without exposing us and using up our still limited resources. Which is what Lord Neptune human advisors probably wish would happen, and told him as such.”
Torbin smiled. “No matter what happens, my brother, this has been one hell of a ride.”
He stuck his hand out and Ichiro took it, smiling. “Yes. We are the subject of legends, to be passed down for generations.”
Torbin made a face. “Please, Ichiro. Not with the ‘hero’ stuff. I’m just a grunt Marine.”
With that, Ichiro took Torbin’s hand in both of his, a serious look on his face.
“Colonel Torbin Bender, whether you wish to admit it or not, you are a hero. You do have a special purpose in your life, besides being just a grunt, as you say. I know. I see and feel it.”
Torbin chuckled. “I guess I’m outvoted. You, Abigail, that cyborg robocop Andrew, everyone seems to say that I’m something special. Well I don’t feel it.”
“Just accept it, my blood brother. You have your thousand stitch belt on, yes?”
“Of course. Never leave home without it.”
Ichiro then grinned, slapped his friend on his back.
“Then we are ready for glorious battle. I will go below, make sure Captain Sato and Sergeant Porsche Jefferson are completely prepared for their roles.”
“Thanks, Ichiro. I’m heading toward the wheel house, check on our Captain and his Helmsman.” Ichiro disappeared down below as Torbin made his way forward.
In the wheelhouse, SSgt. Wall was at the wheel, expertly maneuvering the large fishing trawler out of the seaport area under the watchful eye of Bjorn Heyerdahl.
“Sergeant Wall, I did not know you had Navy blood in you.”
SSgt Wall laughed. “I don’t, Colonel. Just worked on fishing boats for several summers to make money before I decided that the Military was more for me than the fishing fleet. It frustrated my uncle, who owned the boat out of Seattle.”
The Sergeant sighed. “Thanks to the Squids, and a couple of volcanoes, Puget Sound is a wreck. No more fishing for a long while.”
“Well, Sergeant.” Bjorn interjected. “If you ever wish to start fishing again, let me know. I can use a good helmsman like yourself.”
“Coming from you, Sir, that is a serious compliment,” the Sergeant answered.
Bjorn looked at Torbin. “Are all your people below, Colonel?”
“Yes, Skipper. A few of the Russians will help you during daylight hours. Some of
your fellow Vikings, with all the coverage on television the last few months, may cause some eye in the sky to get suspicious.”
Bjorn nodded in agreement. Heyerdahl’s son was as big as his father, but his hair was dark brown, so he was not the stereotypical New Viking everyone expected; tall, huge, blonde or red headed.
“We can make between ten to fifteen knots. That means about two hundred forty to three hundred nautical miles a day on average. We will reach the Northern Bahamas by the end of this week.”
Torbin nodded. “We should have an exact plot of the huge Sea Platform by then. The thing is as big as several aircraft carriers. Hard to miss.”
“So, we must get to within about twenty miles to launch the weapon, Colonel?”
“Yes, Bjorn. Twenty miles is the goal.”
The trawler Captain paused for a moment, then spoke.
“When it is launched from the hold, it will not set us afire, Ya?”
“No Sir. It is sitting in that tube launcher that will use extreme high pressure air to launch it up into the air, clear of the deck before the missile’s engines cut in. Then, it goes up and to the target.”
“If the rocket engines do not fire?”
“Then it sails to about fifty to a hundred yards off the bow and goes kerplunk into the Atlantic Ocean. The warhead is programmed to expel its munitions about a thousand feet above the Sea Platform in a large shotgun pattern. One hundred of those very light plastic spheres will rain down on and around the sea platform. If it just goes into the water off our bow, the whole shebang sinks, and two small charges will eventually break the nose cone apart, shattering some of the spheres. Until the contents hits salt water, it is dormant.”
“The… killer in the spheres. For Squids only, ja?”
Torbin shrugged. “I was told it could make an adult human sick. If you had an allergic reaction, you could die. But on the Tschaaa and other cephalopods, deadly. A killer.”
Bjorn smiled. “Sorry that I am acting like a nervous bride, but we New Vikings prefer to die in battle, not poisoned and bedridden.”
“No need to apologize, my very large friend. I’d just as soon it goes off without a hitch and the Squids start to die off by the thousands. But, I am not about to test that stuff on myself either. After the Key West Attack, it was decided they Squids would be watching for a launch from the Unoccupied States. This way, we sneak up, launch and, if possible, run.”
Torbin glanced around, saw they were well out from the seaport.
“I’ll go down below, remind everyone to not screw with our special cargo.”
Bjorn grinned. “I told my Vikings they would be thrown overboard if they even touched it.”
Torbin laughed. “I have a strange feeling, Bjorn, if you threw someone overboard, they would fly for quite a distance before making quite a splash. Now, Captain, I bid you adieu.”
Down below, in the crew quarters, the Russians, Americans and Vikings were all either playing various card games in an attempt to take each other’s money, sleeping, or checking their gear for the umpteenth time. They started to rise when he approached.
“At ease, gentlemen and ladies. We’re in the field, no need for extra protocol.”
He made his way to the back of the large wardroom that doubled as a large sleeping bay. A Russian Sergeant was trying to demonstrate his superior sharpening skills by showing his Spetsnaz combat entrenching shovel to Sumi Sato and Porsche Jefferson. Torbin swore that these Russians were the only troops hornier than a bunch of boot Marines.
“Would you excuse me for a few minutes, Sergeant?”
“Da, of course Colonel.”
Sumi, the Japanese “spy” gave the Russian the sweetest smile.
“We will continue the instruction later, Sergeant.”
“Da. Yes Ma’am.” He flashed a grin, then gave Torbin and the others some space.
He looked at Sumi and ch
uckled. “You and my wife. Female spies can disarm a man with a smile.”
Sumi bowed her head slightly. “Yes Sir. Here, though, we are all on the same side. And they are about to risk their lives to recover Porsche and myself, if part of the play is that we have to be taken by the Krakens to allow you to get close enough to launch. So, a smile? It is cheap payment for my well-being.”
Porsche and Sumi were to be barter goods, captives to be used to get by any Kraken sea patrols, something that had started up recently as one neared the Georgia coast and Cattle Country. The story would be that the two women were grabbed when they wandered away from a U.S. military patrol outside the border in the Feral areas. Then, they would be offered as examples of “barter” to provide reasons why the Trawler was hanging around Tschaaa areas. This would also distract the Krakens from looking too close in what they had in the Trawlers hold, which was not fish.
“Sergeant Jefferson, you down for this?”
The large African-American smiled. “Yes, Sir. Just as long as I’m not left to be some Squid’s snack.”
Torbin grinned. “No danger of that. I’d have to answer to the Banshee Commander, my wife, and a certain Senior Training Instructor.”
Porsche’s eyes widened a bit. “He asked about me?”
“Stalin never forgets those who last through his training. And, he told me to tell you that you owe him a Christmas dinner this year.”
“Sir. I…”
“No need to explain, Sergeant. You are now one of Stalin’s own. Most of the Spetsnaz
here from Russia were trained by him at one time or another. So, you are in a very special group. Just remember that.”
With a very serious look on her face, Sergeant Jefferson answered, “Yes Sir. I will.”
She paused, then said “Thank you, Sir. You both gave me another chance.”
“Actually, you earned it. We need tough troops like you. Now, ladies, please excuse me. I need to check our special cargo.”
Torbin went to the hold, where two armed personnel were watching the twelve foot She-Bear missile. He put the two men, one Russian and one American, at ease and walked around the weapon. ‘Punch in a few codes,’ he thought. ‘And swoosh, death and destruction befalls the Tschaaa, like a Biblical plague.’
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