***
Several weeks after Site R had polled all available units, Willis had been summoned to the main communications room. Heller met him outside the door.
“Lieutenant, I have orders that you and only you are allowed inside. Site R was adamant about that,” he said flatly as if disappointed about not knowing everything that happened inside his facility.
Willis nodded then entered the room. This was his first time inside the communications room. He had expected a high tech room filled with all kinds of cutting edge audio/visual equipment. Instead, it looked like a workroom. Desks lined one wall, and in the center was a large conference table, the back wall had racks of electronic equipment with a small work bench off to one side. Willis closed the door behind him and scanned the room. In the center of the conference table was a speaker phone with a light flashing indicating a call on hold. He sat down then reached forward and pushed the button.
“Willis?” a gruff, authoritarian voice asked.
“Yes sir, Lieutenant Willis here,” he responded.
“This is Admiral Romero,” the voice on the other end of the phone stated.
“Sir,” Willis said unconsciously coming to attention.
“As you know, the United States and the rest of the world have fallen victim to what we’re referring to as an infection. I know you and your team has been hopping but I have a priority mission for you. This one is hot and very important. The fate of what’s left of this nation now rests on you. I’m placing you directly in harm’s way. Do you understand lieutenant?”
“Yes sir,”
“Your team is to travel to Area 51 where they will meet an Air Force asset that will convey them to Fairchild at Spokane, Washington. From there, you will consolidate with other assets and proceed to Alaska. The commander at Fairchild will have the rest of the mission orders. Upon arrival in Alaska, you will proceed to the objective and neutralize any hostile opposition while gathering as much intel as you can.”
There was a pause at the other end of the line as Romero shuffled papers.
“Lieutenant, I don’t need to remind you that this is priority tasking. Reaching the objective is imperative. You need to do everything within your power to successfully complete the mission.”
“Yes sir. I understand sir,” Willis said. “What kind of resistance will we encounter?”
“I don’t have that information,” Romero replied.
“Will there be any kind of support?” Willis asked.
“We’re working on that,” Romero stated. Before Willis could ask any further questions, the admiral cut him off. “Lieutenant, I know you’re lacking solid intel on the op and I apologize. We’re doing what we can with what we have available. Yours is not the only operation that’s ongoing.”
“I understand, sir,” Willis said.
“Very well, Lieutenant. Good luck and kick ass,” Romero said.
“Hoo-yah, sir,” Willis replied as the line went dead. During the course of his career there had been many times where the team was on mission with limited data. Developing intel in the field during an op was not the most opportune time or place. However, given the status of the military command structure and the lack of contact with intelligence agencies, this was beginning to form into a ‘develop as you go’ type mission.
Willis stood and left the room. Outside, there were a large number of residents rushing down the hall. Willis closed the door behind him and watched as the crowd surged towards the main cafeteria. Rogers walked up and leaned against the wall watching the last of the crowd disappear into the room.
“Billy, what’s up?” Willis asked.
“Fucking freak show, sir,” Rogers replied. “They sent a couple of their robots into Vegas now they want to watch what’s being sent back.”
Willis frowned as he thought of the images that these sheltered kids would be viewing. He hadn’t been aware that Chambers’ request to send drones into the Las Vegas area had been approved.
“Let’s go see if we can get some front row seats and popcorn,” Willis said as he moved down the hall towards the cafeteria. Rogers lagged behind, leaning against the wall, before he followed his OIC.
The cafeteria had a party-like atmosphere inside. Various departments had acquired tables while other members of their group were in line getting snacks. The audio/visual team was setting up a large LCD television under the supervision of Captain Heller.
One of the A/V team nodded to Heller who turned and motioned for quiet in the room. He wore a Bluetooth wireless earpiece in one ear, presumably to communicate with the drone operators.
“Everyone, everyone, calm down and take a seat please,” Heller said as the noise died out.
He put a finger to the earpiece, nodded and then turned to the A/V team. The television screen came on to show white snow, then blackness until it cleared up into four split screens. Willis and Rogers stood at the back of the room and scanned the crowd. The younger personnel were anxious and excited to see what was being broadcast while the older members of the facility were more reserved. Heller stepped to one side of the monitor, speaking quietly into his earpiece. On the screen, the upper right image adjusted resolution but it was obvious that the broadcast platform was still mobile.
“People, this will be a live broadcast so what we’re seeing is in real time,” Heller announced.
The screen resized to show another view of the drone as it moved and was tracked by one of the stationary platforms. There was no sound. Loosely based on the old SWORD Armed Robotic Vehicle, this model was several generations beyond that. The image stabilized as the vehicle came to a stop and panned one of its cameras around.
“This is the view from camera 1 on PANDA,” Heller said to the now quiet room. “PANDA and CUB entered from I-95 and are now at the intersection of Sunset and Bermuda.”
PANDA’s camera panned in a complete 180 degree arc catching its companion drone CUB that was stopped at an angle. Willis saw the weapons mounted on CUB and had to wonder what PANDA was mounted with. The image showed abandoned cars haphazardly scattered on the streets. The doors and windows on most of the homes and buildings were open or broken out. The image shuddered as the drone began moving towards Las Vegas Boulevard. The screen resized to a split screen to show the images from CUB as it trailed behind PANDA. The closer the two drones came to the Las Vegas Strip, the more destruction there was. What struck Willis as very odd was the lack of bodies. The images stopped as the drones reached The Strip.
CUB’s camera slowly panned to the south showing the empty casinos and resorts while PANDA’s showed the same only to the north. The streets were devoid of activity and bodies. PANDA’s camera tightened focus on a high heel shoe lying in the middle of the street. CUB slowly panned to show the Excalibur resort then stopped to focus tightly on the darkened entrance. PANDA came into view as it negotiated the curb and rolled along the sidewalk before turning to enter the large resort. CUB soon followed, its camera adjusting for the curb then panning to follow PANDA as it entered the resort. CUB stopped at the entrance, the image changing to show an umbilical arm extending to prod a dried out corpse that was partially hidden behind a large concrete planter. As the probe extended, three ‘fingers’ splayed open to grasp the back pocket and retrieve the wallet. The arm retracted out of view and the image changed to show PANDA just inside the entrance, slowly panning the interior.
The image changed to what PANDA was seeing. The interior of the Excalibur looked like a warzone. Slot machines were lying on the floor, gaming tables flipped over, token buckets were scattered everywhere. The image lightened as PANDA’s floods came on illuminating the bodies that were lying amongst the wreckage.
“Holy shit,” someone muttered in the room. PANDA rolled forward, its lights reflecting off the shiny surfaces. The drone stopped and the camera panned down to show a rotted corpse that looked to be melted into the carpeting. Willis knew that wasn’t the case; it was caused by decomposition. Several people ran from the room and he could
hear retching from the hall.
The camera panned around before the drone backed up and turned to focus on the entrance to the hotel tower before rolling forward. A red light flashed in the bottom corner of the screen then the image changed to green, gray and white as the camera shifted to night vision and the external floods shut off. More bodies lined the hallway with several sticking out of the elevators. PANDA stopped its forward movement and the camera slowly panned down. In front of the drone was a detached arm. The camera focused on the hand then slowly trailed up to the elbow and then the bicep where it ended. Several flashes lit the screen as the digital camera was triggered to document the injuries. The image cut to CUB who was still stationary at the entrance. A series of curved red bars were flashing on the bottom corner of the screen then disappeared when crosshairs appeared.
“CUB has detected movement and initiated combat mode,” Heller stated as all noise on the room stopped. “PANDA is moving back to the entrance,” Heller added. “TIGER and WOLF are also moving from their position at Desert and Valley View. Estimated time to intercept is six minutes.”
CUB’s camera showed nothing besides light trash and some paper moving on the street.
“Heller, is this some kind of fault in the system?” one of the senior scientists asked.
The Air Force captain put his hand to his earpiece and listened.
“No. Drone Control has verified that CUB has a viable threat,” Heller replied. The image shuddered slightly as CUB slowly rolled forward. The screen split into two images as PANDA emerged and tracked CUB.
CUB stopped with its sensors, cameras and weapons facing the Tropicana Resort and Casino. Willis saw a barrel of one of the weapons on CUB as PANDA panned across its brother and searched the street before the same red bars appeared on its screen followed by the crosshairs.
“PANDA has initiated combat mode. Two separate threats according to the computer,” Heller stated. Willis watched as the crosshairs on both drones focused on various items on the street with some kind of numerical value next to each item that it identified.
“TIGER and WOLF have just passed 15 and are turning onto Las Vegas Boulevard,” Heller announced.
The screen changed to show the images from those two drones. The view was less jerky as the cameras were on gyro stabilized mounts. Cars and other items blurred past as the drones moved at speed to support their robotic brethren. They slowed as they passed the MGM then split up as TIGER went up on the sidewalk and then stopped, looking down the street towards the Tropicana.
WOLF rolled up on the opposite sidewalk before halting and facing the entrance to the resort from behind a car. Willis was impressed, these drones seemed to be able to adapt to conditions and seek out cover.
“TIGER and WOLF have initiated combat mode as well,” Heller announced as the images from those two drones shifted to red with floating crosshairs. He tilted his head listening. “RHINO is on the move.” A small cheer came from one table as he announced this.
Willis and Rogers shared a ‘what the fuck’ look as the screen changed showing dust flying up from two large, knobby tires then city streets as the new drone maneuvered around cars, cut across sidewalks then slowed to a stop in the middle of the street. The monitor changed to show six images as RHINO’s cameras panned the area. One image showed the PANDA and CUB AARVs, the other, TIGER and WOLF. All the images shuddered as a dust cloud obscured the view.
“PHANTOM is now airborne,” Heller announced.
On the monitor, a small airborne drone could be seen as it moved towards the Tropicana entrance. It looked like a small, blunt nosed aircraft, but only a few feet long and maybe four inches thick formed into a crescent shape. As it moved, Willis saw what looked like ducted fan motors explaining how the drone could hover in place and move. The monitor changed to show the images broadcast by PHANTOM as it hovered outside the entrance then moved through the open doors, its cameras adjusting to the dim interior. It appeared as if the Tropicana had been more popular just before infection as the number of bodies inside was testament to that. PHANTOM lingered over the main check in counter for the resort then panned the room.
The cameras stopped panning and went back to the gaming floor. Something moved in the shadows. The camera focused on the movement switching through several filters before the image could be seen clearly.
Two of the infected were gnawing on bones. One stopped and jerkily looked around as if sensing something. It stood and looked towards the entrance then started to shuffle that way. PHANTOM increased its altitude until it was inches from the ceiling. This increase allowed its cameras to see beyond the two infected and expose the horde that was milling around in the step down high rollers section. The infected that remained chewing on the bone stopped and stood, looking towards where the other had gone then followed it to the entrance. A few minutes later, the horde followed. The monitor changed to show the images from all the land drones primary cameras as the horde exited the resort.
“We have a green light. Weapons free. All drones are engaging,” Heller said as the images shuddered from the vibration of the mounted implements of warfare serviced their targets.
Willis was in awe at the amount of firepower that the drones unleashed on the infected. The precision of their targeting was shocking. Ammunition counters appeared at the bottom of each image showing the remaining amounts. Infected were literally blown apart and sprayed onto the street and walls of the buildings. The carnage continued until nothing remained of the infected except smoking, eviscerated charred bodies and blood splatter.
PHANTOM could be seen exiting the building and returning to RHINO, its sensors and cameras sweeping the shredded bodies as it passed over them. The room erupted into cheers and yells as the Geeks and Phreaks celebrated the successful field test of their projects.
“Can you believe that shit?” Rogers asked. “Not only do their toys do a recon but they engage and destroy the enemy, all from the safety of an air-conditioned room,” the CPO said. “Future of modern fucking warfare right there on the screen,” he said disgustedly as he shook his head.
“If the world hadn’t gone to shit when it did, we would have been out of a job in a few years.”
***
Willis jerked awake at the noise and shuddering of the E4B as it lowered its landing gear and flaps in preparation for landing. Rogers looked over at him.
“What’d you dream about?”
“Lollipops and candy canes, chief. What else is there?” Willis replied as he tightened his belt and checked his gear.
*****
Chapter 8
Port Winthrop Naval Base, Washington State
The damages and losses inflicted upon Greerson’s Task Force Paladin at Anacortes by the anti-ship missiles resulted in naval forays being limited to short trips that either kept the coastline in sight or were far out to sea and away from shore based threats. LPH-11, The New Orleans, had been tied up to the pier since limping away from that conflict and based on the damage, there was no way it could project force as it had just a few months prior. The complement of aircraft, those not destroyed, were now housed inside the largest warehouse on the installation or covered in tarps and tied down in parking areas. The personnel were housed either on shore or onboard the other ships in the force. They all knew now that there was someone or some force that was determined to prevent any recovery operations or eradication of the infected.
With the ships tied up at the pier, sailors had started referring to that area of Winthrop as ‘Steel Beach’ reminiscent of the days when on an extended float they would have a ‘beach’ party on deck although now the term had a different meaning.
Commander David Powell, captain of SSGN 897 Claggett, stood in his office and looked out the window. The world had changed from the days when he used to play hide and seek with Soviet Akula class attack subs and their bigger brother, the ICBM launching Typhoon. Now hide and seek consisted of staying inside the ‘Green zone’, behind the wall that protected Port Wi
nthrop on three sides from the infected.
“How long before New Orleans is ready to go back out to sea?” Powell asked Greerson as he turned from the window, pulled his chair out and sat down behind his desk. The New Orleans wasn’t a new ship of the line by any standard. Launched in 1968, the third ship to be so named and the first to be named for the Battle of New Orleans, she had seen action in the Persian Gulf Wars of the 1990s until her name was bounced off the active list and slotted for the reserve fleet. Her last cruise was to have been a round trip from San Diego to Diego Garcia then presumably to the inactive rolls and eventually scrapped. Then IT happened.
“Six months, maybe a little more to get her up to where she was,” Greerson replied optimistically. “She took a heavy pounding out there but she’s a tough old bitch.” He paused for a few seconds as he patted his pockets searching for a cigar. “Lost over half our air assets and the hangar deck is a mess.”
“What did you find out from the ship that launched the attack?” Powell asked.
Greerson neatly snipped the end of his cigar and lit it before replying.
“Not much. The Marines were all over it, bow to stern, top to bottom. Someone spent a lot to time and money modifying that tanker into a missile platform.” Greerson shook his head slightly.
“Doesn’t make any sense at all. Totally automated, no crew, just sitting out there waiting for an activation signal. Then we sailed in and took it right up the ass.” Greerson leaned back and puffed smoke rings towards the ceiling. “Makes no damn sense why it was there or who set it up,” he added.
Powell handed Greerson a folder.
“This doesn’t make sense either,” he said as the other officer accepted the file. “Every single small town, convenience store and strip mall between us and the Narrows Bridge has been burned to the ground. It looks like someone stripped the shit out of them before torching them. No trace of anything or anyone, human or infected. Scorched earth.”
Up From the Depths: Book 4 Movement to Contact Page 9