The bandits knew that they had too much speed to target him, and pulled up to make another pass. That would give Kim and and Lawson enough time to get into the fray. Hermandez lessened his angle of bank, but kept his wingtip feathers all the way out. He wanted to be nimble. The bandits did climbing left turns to lose airspeed, and then tightened their formation to make another pass. The moment they caught sight of Kim and Lawson was obvious from their actions. They instantly pulled out of their approach and turned to face the higher Madrin fighters. Hermandez smiled when he thought about what was going through the three pilot’s minds at that moment. Going from being the hunter to the game was not an enjoyable experience.
Kim and Lawson were too smart to dive at the bandit’s guns, and kept their altitude advantage. They were looking for a way to get behind the lower bandits. Two bandits increased speed, while one of the bandits broke formation and headed at Hermandez. “Clever bastards” thought Hermandez. Kim and Lawson would have to keep on the other two, leaving Hermandez to deal with someone 1000 feet higher. Not good.
Hermandez pulled in his tip feathers and dove towards home. Normally this was the worst strategy with someone higher on your tail, but he had an idea. He made shallow turns to keep an eye on the bandit behind him. As expected, the bandit was closing fast and would have a shot in a few seconds. Hermandez flipped the cover off of the yellow tail armaments button on his cockpit, and waited for the right moment. He reduced his bank to get the bandit right behind him, and then pushed the button.
The tail section of Hermandez plane blew open as a small explosive charge launched stainless steel balls outward in a radial pattern. The balls tugged thin titanium wires out in all directions, spreading a spider web of steel in the air.
The Gengon pilot had his finger on the trigger when he saw the back end of the T-tailed fighter explode. His first thought was that is own weapon had malfunctioned and fired, hitting the tail. A second later he saw a shiny circular outline in the air in front of him. He pulled back on the joystick all the way to his crotch, but it was too late. His plane struck the top half of the web. Momentum carried the balls backwards as the fighter shot into the wires. The wires cut into the nose and leading edge of both wings. Able to go no further, the balls swung around in arcs, wrapping the wings and fuselage tightly in wire. The final impact of the balls slamming into the plane was louder than gunfire. The canopy was punctured in two places, and ball-sized holes appeared along the wings and under the fuselage.
The pilot tried the joystick. The wires had cut into the flaps and ailerons, freezing the controls. He had no way to control the plane. Deciding to bail out, he pulled the release levers on both sides of the canopy. Nothing happened. The titanium wires had wound several times around the cockpit, making it impossible to open. The pilot released his harness, twisted around, and tried to use his feet to push upward on the canopy. It would not give way. The plane’s bank tightened as its nose headed towards the ground. The cockpit had become the Gengon pilot’s coffin.
Hermandez did not have time to admire the results. The other four planes were locked in a dogfight about two miles away, about 1000 feet above his altitude. Hermandez decided that the best way to help was to get higher so that he could dart into the battle with some advantage. He headed towards them, but started circling as soon as he hit lift. He was climbing steadily when the lead Gengon plane seemed to fall apart in mid air. It looked like Kim had a kill. The second fighter pulled up and its pilot bailed out. That plane had no visible damage – the coward had just given up.
Hermandez, Kim, and Lawson headed for home. They would have quite an argument over who should get credit for the last “kill.” Hermandez suspected the Lawson would get it, so that all three of them could claim a kill. Not a bad day’s work, on what started out as a completely stupid mission.
Major Walters and John Young were sitting across the table from Hermandez, Kim, and Lawson. Hermandez had almost completed the debriefing on their flight.
“At that point the third pilot bailed from a perfectly good airplane. We took a few pictures for kill confirmation and then headed for home. The rest of the flight was uneventful.”
“Remarkable work gentlemen.” The major stood up as he spoke. “I hated giving you that assignment, but it was necessary for reasons we can’t go into. You managed to not only carry it out, but to turn it to your advantage and down three enemy fighters. That is a huge strain on Gengon resources, and momentarily puts us at an advantage in the air. I will be recommending all of you for citations.”
The pilots could not suppress their grins. They were on top of the world.
“One more thing. That last kill, where the pilot bailed from an undamaged plane, is probably the one to be most proud of. You intimidated the pilot right out of his aircraft without firing another shot.”
“Thank you Sir.” Lawson was grateful for the Major’s last comments. He was afraid that the last kill would not count, since no bullets were fired.
“That will be all gentlemen.”
The three young pilots left the room, leaving the Major and John Young alone.
“Remember that Hermandez was going to be scrubbed just a few weeks ago. Your instincts were right about that one John.”
“Thanks. He’s pretty cocky now, which is good in a pilot. I just hope he lives long enough to get the skills he needs to become a top pilot. He could take my job.”
“Don’t retire yet John. I’ve still got work for you to do. I’m sorry I’ve been keeping you on the ground the last few days, but the coordination of these missions has been critical. I’m going to have to ask you to ride down to Camp Williams again tonight. They need your help working through some air-to-ground IR communications they intercepted. They did not say so, but I’m guessing that they must have broken the Gengon codes. Largos won’t talk about it, but I’m guessing that’s what is going on.”
“No problem Major. I’ve got another reason for going down there. That defensive tail weapon worked very well today. We need to get those installed on all of our planes. The problem is that the Gengon will find the wreckage of that downed fighter and figure out what happened. We should assume that they will have similar weapons fitted within the next three to six months, so I’ve got to get the technicians working on a countermeasure.”
“You’re right John, no advantage is ever sustainable. Anyway, use Largos’ secure line if you need to communicate with me while you are down there. I’ll let him know that you are on the way.”
“Very good Sir.”
John left the Major’s office and went to see if his favorite horse happened to be available. He was hoping he could see his daughter Sara while he was at Camp Williams. John had no idea that she was the one who had broken the Gengon codes.
* * *
Marta Atonavich, head of Northern security, was back in Benjamin Fowler’s office.
“We’ve received indications that someone is going to be staging an attack on the brewery. I do not have confirmation as to the identity of the attackers, but we are expecting an attack soon.”
“I’ll tell you who the attackers are. It’s that damn bastard brother of mine. Abe must have figured out that we have been knocking off his men. It’s his way of getting back. Fuck, if he gets the antidote to the virus, he could be incredibly powerful.”
“It’s likely that you are right Sir, but I do not have any direct evidence linking your half-brother to the plan.”
“I don’t need any more God damned evidence. Double the guard on the brewery, find that idiot brother of mine and kill him.”
“The guard has been doubled Sir, and we will increase the number of squads in the field immediately.”
“Let me know the minute you kill the bastard. Now get out of here.”
Marta Atonavich saluted and left the room. She had seen it before, the degeneration of an otherwise good mind under the pressures of war and politics. Time for Marta to quietly change allegiances. Leaders came and went, but good security off
icers stayed in power for decades.
* * *
Henry, the mule train, Claude, and Mark Kauf’s squad were making good time towards their destination. Mark had put his team in front of the mules, with Menard on point. Claude stayed back with Henry at the head of the mules. It was a bit awkward, as it was Henry that knew the best route, and he was not out in front leading. They made it work. The breaks needed to feed and water the animals provided a chance for them to plot the next leg of their journey.
Henry’s route was taking them on the western side of the ridge, rather than his more normal path to the east. He had several reasons for this. One was that the forest was thicker on the western slopes because there was more rain on the slope facing the damp westerly winds. Another reason was simply that there were fewer people to the west, and less chance of being seen.
The trail was muddy over much of their path. Recent rains had turned the loose volcanic soil into a viscous paste that accumulated on the bottom of the men’s boots. In the thick patches the mud would adhere so strongly that it would build up a rounded sole of mud under their boots, and then ooze up on all sides of the boot like a heavy earthen overshoe. Conditions improved as they reached a riverbed that they planned to follow all the way to Trintney.
By the middle of the second day, it was clear that they would be able to get to Trintney the evening of day three if they did not run into opposition. Henry got Mark’s squad to detour around the one cabin location when he delivered food. The family was delighted to see Henry, and accepted Claude’s presence without comment. They had no reports of any gunfire or other signs of hostility in the area. Apparently soldiers in green uniforms made routine patrols of the area and kept the outlaws at a distance. The patrols were infrequent, with no fixed pattern.
Resuming their journey, Henry had Claude caught up with the squad and passed on the information about the patrols. The last thing they needed was a firefight to alert everyone of their presence. However, the day continued without incident and they stopped about twelve miles outside of Trintney.
“We’d better camp some distance apart,” Henry said to Mark Kauf while they got the mules set for the night. “I’m well enough known that I don’t think a patrol would hassle me, although they may try to get some free supplies. That could be tricky, since you have a lot of stores in some of the mule’s packs.”
“Why don’t we camp just above you, behind those rocks. We’ll keep a watch, and should be able to help you if something goes wrong. We’ll take the weapons and explosives with us, so that you don’t have to worry about getting searched”
Claude thought over the situation. “I’d best stay with Mark’s team tonight. My rife won’t do you any good if I’m right next to you when someone shows up. Better if I can move around without being seen.”
“OK with me Claude, but I will want you to take one of the watches during the night. The more sleep we spread around the better.”
“Fine. Dog and I can take a turn at watch.”
All their preparations turned out to be unnecessary. It was a quiet evening. Mark remembered to use the captured communication gear to send the two odd fragments of messages they had been given in their last briefing on T12. He then put away his gear and fell asleep.
* * *
John Young had not been able to get Diablo for the evening. Diablo had already had a full day of military training, so he had to take another horse. This one was Sally, a white mare. Sally was a handful. She took a bite out of everything even remotely edible along the path, constantly dipping her head and turning to one side to grab the next mouthful. She was also pretty wide around the middle.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you Sally?” The horse didn’t answer, but John was pretty sure he was right. “Go ahead, eat your snacks, I’m not in that much of a hurry.”
It was after 22:00 when he made it to Section 12. The guards let him through the double gates, and issued him a pass for the building. Largos had arranged for John to have the same level of clearance as a Section 12 staff member for the next month, so he would not need a chaperone to move about the complex.
John debated about it, and then decided to see if his daughter was awake. He knocked on her door and waited a minute. No answer. He waited a bit longer, and decided to leave, when the door cracked open. Sara was standing there in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket.
“Daddy! I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Sorry to come so late, but I thought I might see you.”
“Um. It’s fine, but I’ve got someone with me right now. Why don’t you go down to the mess hall and I’ll meet you in a few minutes.”
“Oh, sorry. It’s OK. I should have thought…” John realized that Sara had a gentleman friend in her room. He felt ridiculous harassing his daughter in the middle of the night.
“Look Sara, it can wait until morning. I’ll see you then.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll be down in a minute.” She closed the door.
John walked down to the mess hall feeling like a complete fool. But Sara did not seem to mind a bit. She came bounding into the room looking wonderful and gave him a long hug, and then sat across from him. There was no one else in the room.
“I have to admit I had a friend in my room when you knocked. I’ll introduce you to Chad tomorrow.”
“That would be great Sara. And I’m really sorry about disturbing you.”
“Nonsense. It’s great to see you. She held his hands in hers across the table.”
“Well, I might as well make a confession to you Sara. I have a girlfriend, or should I say lady friend, too. Her name’s Barbara and I’m crazy about her.”
“That’s wonderful dad. I hope I get to meet her soon. I can tell just looking at you that you’re a lot happier. She must be good for you."
“She is fantastic. Anyway, I am going to spend some time here helping on some message traffic tomorrow. I’ve also got to go over to the research center before I leave, but I should be here all day tomorrow.”
“Well actually Dad, you are going to be helping me in the morning. I can’t discuss it here, but we requested a pilot to help us figure some things out. Great that it turned out to be you – although I guessed it would be you because only a few people are cleared for this.”
“What time shall I meet you?”
“Let’s meet here for breakfast at 07:00 and then get to work.” Sara got up and gave her father another hug before going back to her quarters.
John found the room he had been assigned and went to bed. He was incredibly happy, although still nervous about Eric. What great children he had.
* * *
Mark Kauf awoke as the first light entered the valley. He sat up and became aware of how stiff he felt after his two bouts of sleep on the ground that night. Menard was on watch, and Hirotomi and Clawson appeared to be sleeping soundly. He would let them sleep as long as he could. He expected to see Claude and Dog, but they were gone. Mark packed up his sleeping bag and ground cloth, shouldered his machinegun, and decided to do a parameter check of the area. He told Menard what he was doing, and set out to do a half mile radial sweep of the area.
Mark was only five minutes into the sweep when he spotted something moving. Watching through the bushes he recognized Dog. Mark gave a brief whistle, and then went over to find Claude.
Claude was examining the ground at a place just off the path, and overlooking where they had camped. “This looks fresh. I’d say someone was following us, or at least spent the night here for some reason.”
Mark looked over the ground. He never would have spotted it, but close inspection showed that the ground was matted, and there were fresh boot tracks leading to and from the spot. Standing up he realized that the location had a good view of Henry’s mules, but could not see the higher ground that he had chosen for the squad.
“Nice work Claude, but I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
The spent a bit more time looking around, and wondering if they were still bei
ng watched. The footprints disappeared in the rocky ground to the south. They could have used Dog to track the trail by scent, but they did not have time. Instead they returned to the camp and gathered everyone together.
“Claude found a location behind us where someone spent the night. The spot has a clear view of the mules, but can’t see the place where we slept. I think we have to assume that we are being followed.”
Henry spoke up. “I could be a thief looking for an opportunity to steal from the mule train, but somehow I doubt it. A thief would have struck during the night. I think you are right, we are being tracked. We could not be easier to follow, given that we have 50 mules in tow?”
“If someone followed us this direction, they probably know where we came from. I think I’d better go back to the mountain and stay with my sister.”
Henry nodded. “Good idea son. I think we had better change our plans too. When you get back to the mountain, please have Eric send a message back to base saying that we suspect we are being followed and are going to change profiles. The key phrase is ‘change profile.’ Do you have that?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Good. Let me give you some more food to take along with you. And be very cautious on the way back… Oh, what am I saying. You are the most skilled of all of us.”
Claude packed a few things, grabbed his rifle, and headed back south. Mark noticed that the boy immediately got off the path. Anyone else would get lost doing that, but he very much doubted that Claude had ever been lost.
Henry opened his map. “Perhaps I’m being too cautious, but I think we should leave the mules with a family I know two miles ahead, and then take a completely different route to the far side of Trintney. There is a family on the north side of town who will take us in for the night, and who may know what else is going on in the city.”
Mark agreed to the change in plans and then looked over his squad. “Why don’t we separate from the mule train now, and meet up with Henry on the other side. Henry, give the usual whistle when you get close.”
Heavier Than Air Page 24