by Ricky Sides
He stared inside the locker at his silencer, debating whether or not to screw it back onto his pistol. He was afraid he would forget it when he left. He knew from reading about head wounds that people sometimes suffered memory lapses in the wake of such injuries. Rather than risk leaving the silencer behind and having it lost to the peacekeeper bureaucracy, he opted to attach it to his pistol. Even half-dead, Ralph knew he wouldn’t forget that.
***
Evan read the dispatch Patricia had sent through the computer communications system. It was a complicated plan, but he thought it would work, assuming everyone did as they were instructed. He set about making certain that all members of his crew involved in the operation understood their orders with perfect clarity.
Across the small armada, the opening moves of the battle were almost imperceptible. They entailed minute position adjustments that were necessary because the precision weapons fire about to be unleashed required that the lasers lance toward the targets from very specific angles.
Next, the drone operators had to position their drones at precise locations. Then, their flight paths were entered into the flight control computer. All drones had a preprogrammed flight capability that could be utilized. They seldom were, because the human operators were almost always preferable, but they had the capability. Now each drone operator fed the flight computer the code the drones needed to fly with precision timing along the required flight paths. All twenty-eight of the drones accompanying the ships were being assigned to the mission.
Next, the gunners were fed a list of targets that each ship was responsible for hitting. Like the drones, the weapons of the ships could be preprogrammed, but this was almost never done because preprogramming doesn’t consider variables. Now a complex set of firing solutions was being loaded into the systems of the peacekeeper vessels. That information included the weapon that would fire, what it would target, and the duration of the firing. Each ship received multiple targets. As Evan’s gunner studied the program, he whistled appreciatively. He understood just how intense the bombardment was going to be once the ship opened fire.
Finally, the fighter pilots received their orders. Unlike the drones and the weapons of the ships, the fighter systems were all manual. They were warned that it would appear as if they were about to fly into the weapons fire of the ships, but if they flew their courses correctly at the proper times, then they would be fine. The twelve fighter escorts assigned to the six ships were all being committed to the mission.
The computer firing of the weapons of the peacekeeper ships all commenced at precisely the same instant, which was another reason the computers had to handle the weapons. It would have been impossible for the human operators to initiate the firing with such precision timing. Everything now hinged on a carefully choreographed and orchestrated timetable. The complex set of events that followed would have been impossible for human operators to achieve.
The forward conventional miniguns of all the ships opened fire simultaneously. They targeted the known gun locations that the reconnaissance drone had mapped one by one.
The twenty-eight drones surged forward from their starting positions and flew directly toward the same gun emplacements at which the miniguns of the ships were firing. Those miniguns fired four hundred ninety-seven rounds each, and then they ceased firing just before the drones entered the path of the bullets.
When the miniguns had fired their fourteenth bullet, the main lasers also opened fire. Their targets were dead center of the rock and earth, six inches above the entrances to the gun positions in the center of the back wall of the bowl. Those lasers sustained their shots until the red pulses flashed down and exploded seven times each inside the holes, which was the number of secondary explosions that Pol felt would guarantee a partial collapse of the ceilings, which would inflict casualties on the enemy and should create an atmosphere of chaos and panic, thus demoralizing the opposition.
The drones stopped at almost point-blank range in front of the entrances to the defensive positions, all along the back wall. The sidewalls also contained firing positions, and those gunners retaliated by opening fire on the drones.
Now the time had come for the fighters to sweep in for their missions. More than one pilot winced as he or she shot the throttle forward and flew into the bowl, directly toward the intense beams of energy being directed at the back wall. They all breathed easier when the lasers stopped firing milliseconds before they flew through the space the beams had occupied. Half the fighters turned right and the other half turned to the left. They hammered their targets with their lasers as they executed slip maneuvers, and then nosed forward toward the east and west walls of the bowl.
Next, the Athens executed a maneuver that placed it over the bowl. The shotgun weapon discharged and maintained its fire until the red pulses raced down the beams, obliterating all of the flying autos that fell within the range of the weapon. Thanks to the addition of the vertical fins and the aerodynamic outer curves, the Athens could generate the power needed to fire the weapon once, but then it would have to recharge.
As the Athens resumed her position in the battle formation, the drones and fighters shifted to other positions in order to attack more of the gun emplacements.
Seconds later, the big ships fired their miniguns again. This time they targeted the main fortified position, pumping thousands of rounds through the entrance, and sweeping aside a large group of men who were attempting to target the ships with rocket propelled grenades and shoulder fired rockets from a few feet inside the entrance. The miniguns fell silent, and several air cars attempted to fly out of the cavern to attack the peacekeepers with their lasers, but the main laser weapons of the big ships all converged on the main defensive fortifications for a period of several seconds. Those beams of energy intercepted the raiders in midair, destroying the flying cars. Fifteen red pulses raced down the beams, causing numerous secondary explosions within the cavern before they ceased firing. Now Jim knew where the rest of the raider vehicles had been located. He smiled grimly as that mystery was resolved.
It had been a good defensive plan, but unfortunately, for the raiders, the methodical attack on their base being carried out by Patricia’s program caused the lasers to fire at the entrance the same time that they elected to launch their offensive with their air cars.
The drones and fighters shifted again. This time they converged on the few remaining gun positions that were firing at the peacekeeper air assets.
Two minutes and thirty-three seconds after they had begun, the opening battle sequences ended. The weapons of the ships and the control of the drones were all turned over to their human operators.
Evan sent three of his drones into the main fortified position to check for survivors. He sent another three down to the large ground floor cavern that served as the communal eating area. He dispatched the two remaining drones to the top of the mountain to see if any of the ventilation holes were being used as escape routes by the defeated enemy. One had been lost to one of the enemy laser positions. It was one of seven destroyed during the brief, but intense, battle. His four fighters had all survived the conflict, although two had damaged canopies from multiple strikes by large caliber conventional ammunition.
One fighter pilot had been killed when a laser gunner hit her in the center of the chest. Rose had transferred to the Constitution to replace a pilot who had opted to retire from the peacekeepers and participate in the Ark program with her extended family at the height of the plague. Rose was twenty-three.
The drones that had been sent into the caverns met heavy resistance. They carried the fight to the men inside, and soon discovered that the two caves were connected by a sloped passageway. Evan dropped down to the floor of the bowl to permit the peacekeeper ground forces to exit and enter the cavern.
Tim flew the Peacekeeper, spinning her around and offloading his strike team in the main defensive position that the drones had entered. The fighting inside those two chambers was brutal. The trapped r
aiders fought desperately, wounding several peacekeepers, but eventually the two peacekeeper forces met in the passageway that linked the two caverns. It had taken them two hours of fighting, but they had cleared the main sections of the base.
While they were doing that, drones and fighters inspected every cave opening in the bowl. Most were just small alcoves used to man firing positions overlooking the basin. Every captain in the armada knew that if they were permitted to set up laser defenses in all of those positions, then the outcome of the battle would have been radically different.
The Athens had taken several hits from the laser gun emplacements. That had occurred when the battleship had moved over the bowl to employ its shotgun weapon. She had also taken two hits from shoulder-fired rockets that had extensively damaged the impact areas. Thankfully, no crewmen were lost to the strikes. The gunners had targeted the Athens’ weapons. They had managed to destroy two of her lasers and a conventional minigun.
Jim ordered teams of men to check the two caverns where the prisoners had been housed at the base. They were the only substantial caverns that had not yet been checked by the ground teams. When both those caverns and their associated ventilation shafts had been cleared, Jim called a halt to the activities for the night. By the time he ordered all personnel to return to their ships, it was 1:00 a.m. The men were exhausted and ready for rest.
Because of the damage to the Athens, Captain Young landed the Constitution to pick up the ground forces that Evan’s ship had ferried to the battle. Pol felt it best not to land the damaged vessel on the uneven, rocky surface, because of the risk of further damage.
“Tim, if you don’t mind overseeing the full inspection of this base tomorrow, I think I’ll head back to the Damroyal,” Jim explained to his brother via radio.
“You go ahead. I’ll see to it that everything worth salvaging is picked up in the morning. Now, let me speak to your strike team leader for a moment,” Tim said.
Jim sighed, but put the requested man on the line with Tim because he knew he’d never get home to Lina if he argued with his brother half the night.
“Of course, Captain. Consider it done. It’s my pleasure, sir,” Jim heard the lieutenant responded to Tim.
“He said to tell you to have a good night, Admiral,” the strike team leader stated.
“What else did he say?”
“That I am to surround you with my team and escort you to your quarters when we reach the Damroyal, Admiral.”
Jim sighed in resignation and ordered the pilot to fly them to the Damroyal, which was now less than thirty minutes away. It was time for him to go home to his wife and resume his responsibilities aboard the battle fortress. He was actually looking forward to doing so. He was also eager to see his grandchild again.
Chapter 18
Ralph awoke to the sound of people yelling. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was a bit past 1:30 a.m. The sound of yelling again caught his attention. It sounded as if it was coming from the main treatment bay of the infirmary, which was a large room set up for treating mass casualties when necessary, and was located outside his room.
Getting up and moving to the door, he cracked it open to see what was happening outside. He saw a man with a pistol shoving an orderly toward a huddled group of medical personnel who were being forced to their knees by other men in fatigues.
Ralph’s right hand automatically dropped to his side, as if to draw his pistol. It clutched empty air where the butt of his pistol should have been located. He remembered then that he hadn’t worn it to bed. Easing the door shut, he returned to the nightstand and hastily equipped the pistol belt. Now he was glad that he had attached the silencer. If one of the men entered his room, he’d be able to defend himself.
Next, he went to the closet and removed his battle armor. He quickly put on the chest piece and slipped on the long sleeved BDU shirt. Easing back to the door, he cracked it open and looked out. The man with the pistol was questioning the medical personnel, while the others held them down on the floor.
Ralph eased the door shut again, and then he returned to the bed. Working quickly, he removed the pistol belt and then undressed enough to equip the rest of his armor, which he slipped into the special pockets sewn into the legs of the pants. He replaced the belt around his waist, and then jammed his feet into his boots and bent to tie them. He was still tying the boots when he again heard shouting outside the room. He heard a door slam. It sounded as if it had come from the next room. An angry voice demanded to know what the hell was going on, and then he heard the sounds of a scuffle.
Ralph stood erect. Now he had all of his gear, but he surveyed the room for anything else that might be of use. He scooped up the pencil he had used earlier and tucked it in his pocket. Then he spotted the bottle of solvent on the nightstand and an idea quickly came to mind. He scooped up the bottle and the rag he had used to clean his pistol.
Ralph knew that something was wrong. He didn’t know the men he saw in the infirmary, but he was almost certain they weren’t peacekeepers. Therefore, they were probably raiders who had somehow infiltrated the ship. He remembered the downed APC that Maggie had referenced earlier, and assumed that the men had masqueraded as peacekeepers to gain entry. As a strike team leader, he had taken advanced training not available to all peacekeepers. Part of that training consisted of educating him about the potential value of hostages, especially anyone close to the council. He knew that Maggie might be a target, because she was married to Pol. She was also a well-known advisor to the council, who had almost as much authority in the peacekeepers as a council member.
Since no security team had arrived, he had to assume that no one else aboard the ship had been alerted to the threat. Therefore, he needed to get security to the infirmary, but how could he do that with no access to communications? The answer was the fire alarm. The moment that was triggered, a board would light up with a location indicator in the control room. They would then send a team of fire fighters and security personnel to the location indicated.
Ralph didn’t smoke. Not many peacekeepers did, because cigarettes were hard to locate and smoking aboard ship could get you kicked off the crews, but like most peacekeepers with advanced training, he carried a lighter for survival applications. He was searching his pockets for the lighter when he heard a woman scream.
Ralph was getting frustrated. He knew he needed to summon help, but his instincts were telling him to forget it and get out there and deal with the intruders. He was about to stop looking for his lighter, when his hand brushed against it in the pocket he was searching.
Ralph laid the lighter on the bed and then he applied a few drops of the solvent to the rag. When he touched the flame from the lighter to the saturated cotton, it immediately caught fire.
The strike team leader clambered up on the bed and held the flaming material next to the smoke detector. A moment later, the unit went off, sounding a strident blast of noise. Ralph winced as the sound made his wounded head throb. He threw the flaming rag onto the floor and stepped on it as he climbed down off the bed.
He heard the sound of shouting voices drawing nearer outside the room and drew his pistol. “Let them come,” he thought. “At least I sounded the alarm, and help will be here soon.” The strike team leader turned to face the door as it was thrust open and three men rushed inside. They were all wearing the BDUs. Ralph recognized them as men who had forced the medical staff to their knees. He stroked the trigger of his weapon three times in rapid succession, shooting each of the startled men in the face.
Striding past the dead men, Ralph entered the main room of the infirmary. He saw two more of the men rushing toward him with scalpels in their hands. Firing from the waist, the strike team leader stroked the trigger of his pistol twice, hitting both of the men in the chest. A portion of his mind noted that they weren’t wearing peacekeeper uniforms, because the fabric of their BDUs wasn’t bullet resistant or it would have stopped the pistol rounds from penetrating the soft armor. That confi
rmation was a welcome revelation.
Now only two of the intruders remained. One held his pistol pointed at Ralph. The other held a scalpel near Maggie’s face. The raider had already cut the doctor, whose face was bleeding profusely, and that incensed Ralph. He ignored the man with the pistol and shot the man wielding the blade in the side of his head.
Ralph felt something slam into his chest and he was knocked backwards by the force of the impact. He felt two more impacts, which continued to pummel his chest, driving him further back across the room.
“Why won’t you die?” asked the shooter.
“I’m already dead, asshole,” Ralph said, applying a psychological trick an older peacekeeper had sworn worked wonders with the superstitious.
“She’s not,” said the man with the gun and then he pointed his pistol toward the baby in the small bed.
“You hurt her and I’ll kill you,” Ralph swore as he aimed his pistol at the man’s head.
“Don’t hurt her,” Maggie pleaded.
A pounding sounded at the door, which Ralph belatedly noted had been barricaded. “What’s going on in there?!” shouted an excited male voice.
“Intruders took hostages, only one raider is left! Maggie’s been badly cut! She needs medical attention!” Ralph responded.
“I want to negotiate. Get me the Admiral!” Bruno shouted.
“I’m here,” Jim answered. “Open the door and let me in so we can negotiate.”
***
At the air raider base, Tim, Pol, and Evan were all summoned to the control rooms of the Peacekeeper and the Athens. Word had reached them that there had been an incident aboard the Damroyal. As the details of the incident were revealed to the men, they ordered their ships to get to the Damroyal at once. Tim sent messages to the rest of the ships informing them of what had transpired. He asked Captain Young to take command of the situation there at the base and see to it that a thorough investigation was initiated at first light.