by Ricky Sides
Since the workers who did the external work on the ship were finished and waiting for their next assignment, Pol could put them to work on the modifications while the interior work was still in progress. Therefore, the modifications wouldn’t delay the launch date.
“If this works out,” said one of the assistants, “Captain Young is going to want the modifications for the Constitution.”
“And he shall have them,” Pol said with a broad smile.
Chapter 6
The warlord stared out into the bowl of his base at the assembled air vehicles his men had managed to acquire in the past few months. He noted some that he had never seen before and idly wondered where they had been acquired.
His people were coming in from all over the country. They were gathering for a meeting with their leader, who was expected to announce the first major action against the peacekeepers.
He stared down at the assembled rogues and misfits that he had attracted to his cause. Most were hardcore outlaws, who had clashed with peacekeepers in the past, and were looking for an opportunity to settle the score. Those men now outnumbered his original band ten to one. Three individual paramilitary groups were in the process of considering merging with the air pirates, but they wanted a demonstration of the Warlord’s ability to inflict damage on the peacekeepers before committing to an alliance.
Bannister didn’t mind their conditions. It proved to him that the three men who led their respective groups were cautious, and he liked that in his lieutenants. He planned to prove beyond all doubt that he could indeed inflict harm upon the peacekeepers, and he intended to start with the base, he had since learned had been instrumental in detecting their presence, near the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Cubans had only one main ship, and were so far away from the rest of the peacekeeper bases that he felt sure that they would be able to pull off the raid and leave before the base could be reinforced. They did have a large fighter group, but his man in Cuba had reported a strange absence of the fighters as well as the large ship. In fact, he hadn’t seen a sign of the big peacekeeper vessel or the fighters in three weeks, which was very unusual, because he normally saw at least some aircraft on a daily basis.
As he stood at the entrance to the main base fortifications, the Warlord saw two men on the ground begin to fight. “Good,” he thought. “They are restless and ready for a little action.” A crowd had gathered around the men and was cheering them on.
Descending to the ground in the makeshift elevator, he exited and approached the combatants, who were still flailing away at each other with their fists. His guards fell in behind him. A portion of them fanned out to cover both sides so no one could approach their leader.
Stopping near the men, he shouted, “That’s enough!”
The two big men glanced around to see who would dare interrupt them. The Warlord estimated that they were well over six feet in height and weighed in excess of two hundred fifty pounds each. He didn’t recognize either of the men, which meant they were probably among the latest batch of recruits.
“Who are you to be telling us to stop?” asked one of the men belligerently.
“I’m the Warlord,” Bannister answered with a cocky smile. “This is my base. I make the rules. If you don’t like it, then you are free to challenge me.”
“He doesn’t look so tough to me. Why don’t we kick his ass, and then we can settle our differences like men,” suggested one of the men.
One of the guards moved toward the man who had made the comment, but stopped at Bannister’s command.
The smile was still on the Warlord’s face when he asked, “Do you realize that when I fight, it’s to the death?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” the man who had spoken of fighting the Warlord said.
There was general laughter from many of the bystanders. “Good. A man should never be afraid to face his destiny. I’m not afraid to face mine.” Saying nothing further, the Warlord drew a pair of daggers, which he twirled expertly in his hands.
The man who had sought to confront Bannister watched the display of knife skills. His eyes widened in alarm as the knife wielding Warlord increased the tempo of the manipulation of the blades. Faster and faster, they twirled until Bannister’s left arm lashed out and embedded the blade in the ground to the hilt, a fraction of an inch from the toe of the startled man’s left boot.
“Pick it up and fight me, or take a knee and serve me. It’s that simple. The choice is yours, but you have to decide now.”
Without hesitation, the man went down on one knee. I choose to serve you, Warlord. I’m sorry. I spoke foolishly and in anger.” The man reached down, pulled the dagger from the earth, and held it extended toward the Warlord, hilt first in his open hand.
Bannister took the handle of the dagger and tilted the edge of the blade. While looking the man in the eyes, he cut the man’s palm, making a shallow wound about an inch in length. “Such vows should be sealed in blood,” he explained.
There was a general cheer and many men welcomed the new recruit in their midst.
“I’ll be taking the blade,” the other man said in a loud and menacing tone, causing the cheering to abruptly end. “I’m not like that yellow dog. You still don’t scare me. All that fancy twirling tells me is that you seek to frighten the meek away from a real fight. Well, mister, I’m not afraid.”
“You want the blade?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Then you shall have it,” the Warlord said. He gently tossed the dagger to the man hilt first.
As the man’s right hand wrapped around the handle of the dagger, the Warlord threw his blade. His victim felt a sharp pain in his chest. Glancing down, he saw the hilt of a dagger protruding from his upper body. He felt someone pluck the dagger from his right hand and glanced up as the Warlord slashed his throat, causing blood to fountain and spray onto the grass in the area.
“Thus, die all who oppose me in this base,” stated the Warlord ceremoniously as the dead man’s body pitched forward.
One of the guards rolled the man over onto his back and retrieved the Warlord’s dagger. He callously wiped the blade clean on the dead man’s shirt and then he handed it hilt first to the Warlord.
“Now, enough of this foolishness. We have a raid to plan. Those of you who are with me pay heed. Those against me, leave while you can, but never cross our path again.”
Bannister wasn’t surprised when no one tried to leave. For the next twenty minutes, he explained to the men present that they were about to raid a peacekeeper base. It was a base with no air cover. He then revealed tidbits of information concerning the plan. He only told them enough so they would understand that there was a very good chance that the attack would be successful and yield a fortune in arms and equipment, which they could use or sell. By the end of the meeting, the men were eager to begin the mission.
***
“Captain, we just completed the last search grid of the day. Do you want to begin another?”
“No. This looks like a good place to stop for the night. Hover here at altitude for the moment.”
“Yes, sir,” the pilot responded.
“Communications specialist, get Sergeant Maroney up here.”
“You wanted me, Captain? Ralph asked. He had just walked into the control room.
“Yes. We’re about to land so the pilots can come aboard. Prep your team to stand guard outside while they are vulnerable.”
“Right away, sir,” Ralph stated, and then he turned and walked out of the control room.
“Let the pilots know we are about to land so they can come inside for the night,” Evan ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” Lisa responded. A moment later, she said, “Captain, the pilots have acknowledged their orders. They are lining up for the landing sequence.”
“Thank you. Pilot, take us down. Let’s see if you can get this landing perfect.”
“Have I bounced us yet, sir?” asked Corporal Dutton, whose landings w
ere feather soft.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Evan responded with a grin. He watched the southern horizon as the big ship descended. A few moments later, he felt the slightest of tremors through the hull under his feet. “You almost got it that time, Corporal. My compliments.”
“Thank you, sir,” responded the pilot.
“Let the strike force know they are a go for deployment,” Evan ordered communications. “Pilot, unseal and lower the cargo bay door.”
Turning to the drone station, Evan said, “Launch your drones to cover us while we are on the ground.”
“Aye, Captain,” both drone operators responded.
“Captain, The strike force leader says we have multiple incoming aircraft approaching from the north,” Lisa said in alarm.
“Drones, get between us and the approaching targets. Lisa, order the fighters to break off their landing sequence, and get the ground team inside. I want to know the moment we can close the bay door.”
***
The Warlord’s advance scouts were flying south along the flight course that he had given them when they had departed their base. Their job was to make certain that the rest of the air armada didn’t fly headlong into the flight path of peacekeeper aircraft. The six aircraft that made up the scout team was a mixed lot of cars, trucks, and one of the converted APCs. They were flying an hour ahead of the main pirate force.
The pilot of the APC was the first to spot the formation of peacekeeper aircraft as the Valiant and her air assets were going through the landing sequence. “Look what we found,” he said to the gunner who had just spotted the enemy. “They’re sitting ducks down there. They have their backs to us and don’t even see us coming.”
The gunner prepared to flip the toggle switch that would activate the laser. “I’m ready when you line us up,” the man said eagerly. “The Warlord is going to reward us for this,” he added.
Dropping down to fly in just above ground level, the pilot drew a bead on one of the descending fighters. The gunner saw his opportunity and opened fire. The blue laser punched through the right wing of the fighter as if it were made of tinfoil. “Move us to the left!” the gunner shouted. Then his eyes widened in fear as he saw one of the drones coming up to line up with their APC. He remembered the drones from the sea battles, and knew from experience just how deadly those aircraft were in battle. The man flipped the toggle on the laser and saw it hit the drone. “Yeah! I got you, you little bastard!” he shouted in glee.
The pilot said, “There are men on the ground scrambling to get inside the big ship. We should hit it before it gets in the air.” Even as he spoke, he saw puffs of dust on the ground and knew the other scouts had opened fire at the men on the ground with their conventional weapons, but so far, they were missing the peacekeepers.
“Oh hell yeah, let’s do it before the other gunners get them!” the gunner shouted encouragement as the pilot dropped even lower. He was just bringing his weapon into alignment, when a laser penetrated the cockpit and struck the pilot, who fell forward onto the controls. The gunner had time for one shot, and to his credit, he took it. His laser flashed briefly before the drone that he had hit only moments before crashed through the windshield of the converted APC. The aerodynamic nose of the drone slammed into the gunner’s chest, pinning him against the flight chair with such force that it cut his body in half.
***
As Ralph was running for the cargo bay ramp, he saw the enemy laser flash briefly and strike the starboard side of the Valiant. “Hurry!” he shouted to his men as they raced up the ramp.
Ralph was the last man inside the ship. He slapped the panic button, which closed the bay door. While his men guarded the closing door, Ralph hit the intercom button and reported that the strike team had boarded as ordered and they were in the process of closing the bay door, and then he sent two men looking for the damage that he knew the laser had to have inflicted when it struck the ship.
In the control room, a drone operator said, “I got him, Captain. I lost my drone, but I took that gunner out.”
“Great. I’ll get you another drone soon. Pilot, get us airborne.”
“Yes, sir,” the pilot responded as he took the ship up, spinning the Valiant on her axis as she climbed.
Staring out the windshield of the ship, as they went for altitude, Evan saw that the damaged fighter was still airborne and carrying the fight to the enemy. The other three fighters and the remaining drone were all firing at the two remaining flying trucks that were attempting to break away and run. “Gunner, take out the targets if you can,” Evan ordered. The main laser fired immediately. Its powerful beam of energy didn’t even slow down as it lanced through the truck on the right. A smaller energy beam struck the same truck, and then the red pulse shot down that of the Valiant. The resultant explosion shattered the body of the vehicle in midair.
Evan saw multiple beams strike the remaining vehicle, blowing it out of the sky.
“Captain, we have a problem,” Ralph stated as he came into the control room.
“Report,” Evan said tersely.
“The enemy laser struck us. It passed through the starboard side of the ship. I’m afraid it passed through the galley before exiting the hull. Sir, it’s the cook. He’s dead.”
“Secure the body, Sergeant,” said Evan sadly. “Then find the engineer and tell him I said to patch the holes.”
“Specialist Sparks is doing that now, sir.”
“In that case, get ready to help the pilot of the crippled fighter aboard.”
“I’ll be in the cargo bay,” Ralph said.
Evan nodded his understanding and then turned to Lisa. “Radio the Damroyal. Give them a situation report. Then, tell them we are going to have the crippled fighter land on our hull and take the pilot aboard, but then we are heading north to try to find more of the enemy.”
“Yes, Captain,” Lisa responded.
“Pilot, take us down and make it quick.”
This time, when the Valiant landed, there was a distinct bumping sensation. Almost immediately, the crew heard the sound of a fighter landing on top of their fuselage.
Outside the ship, Sergeant Ralph Maroney and his team waited as the fighter pilot scrambled down the access ladder.
Off to the side, Ralph saw one of the downed enemy aircraft. A flicker of movement caught his eye. “Get the pilot inside,” Ralph ordered one of his men. He used hand signals to direct the attention of the rest of the team to the downed aircraft. They moved in the direction of the wreckage, fanning out to surround it.
Ralph moved slowly as he worked his way alongside the downed truck. He heard a faint sound of movement inside the wreckage. Bracing himself, he lunged the last foot to the open side of the vehicle. He aimed his rifle inside as he searched the wreckage, but it was obvious that the pilot was dead. One of the lasers had struck his chest, burning a fist-sized hole through his torso before exiting the bottom of the aircraft, blasting a hole through the battery compartment, which caused the truck to lose power and crash. The movement he had spotted was a large piece of the headliner fabric that had torn free and was fluttering in the wind.
Ten minutes later, Ralph walked into the control room. “Captain, I think you should see what I just found,” he stated, and then he handed Evan a bundle of papers.
“Summarize it for me, Sergeant,” Evan ordered as the Valiant lifted off the ground. He was busy thinking of the search pattern he wanted to execute in order to try to locate the pirates.
“We took a minute to search the downed truck and found these documents. One is a map that has a flight path depicted. The destination is Havana, Cuba or El Moro to be precise. The other is a set of papers detailing what they were to report to the main body of the enemy. Otherwise, they were to maintain radio silence.”
“Let me see that map,” Evan said with a sense of urgency.
Moments later, he ordered Lisa to scan the map and the other papers and send an encoded message that contained the d
ocuments to the Damroyal.
Jim was in the control room aboard the Damroyal when the latest message came in from the Valiant. After examining the documents, he had the communications officer summon Captain Ramon Marino to the control room. Then he got on the radio to the Valiant. “Captain,” he said when he had Evan on the other end. “Are your air assets up to the task of continuing the hunt?”
“Yes, Admiral,” Evan responded.
“Good. I want you to fly due west fifty miles. Order that now, and then I’ll give you the rest of the orders.”
Evan issued the Admiral’s orders to his pilot, but then he said, “Admiral, I don’t understand. Why are you ordering us that far to the west? We’ll never even see the rest of the enemy. We’ll be out of position.”
“That’s right, and they won’t see you. I want your battle group to fly west and wait out the night. Come morning, I want the Valiant to be at the northernmost point of the flight course depicted on the map your people found. If we’re lucky, the map will lead your group to their base. If you find it, I want it destroyed, if possible. If that proves to be impossible, then you are to inflict as much damage as you possibly can.”
“Understood, sir, but what about the attack on El Morro?”
“We’ll deal with that threat. Your job is to find that base. I want to deny the Warlord the advantage of a strong defensive base. There are also reportedly numerous captives located somewhere under their control. I’m betting it would be that base, so if you can neutralize the defenses sufficiently to attempt a rescue, that is your priority.”
“Understood, sir.”
There was a brief pause, and then Jim asked, “How are you holding up? I know what losing a crewman is like. What it does to a captain.”
“I’ll be fine, sir. I intend to make them pay for his death.”
“You do that, but keep a cool head as you go about accomplishing that goal.”