Two minutes later, a soldier escorted Logan and Cap into the control room.
“How’s your friend doing?” asked Styles.
“She’s getting her stitches looked at, but she’ll be fine,” said Cap.
“Good,” said Styles. “Do you want a second chance at getting your magic rock back?
“Hell yes,” they said in unison.
“Great. I’m told you’re now privates in the League Army. Get to hangar one. They’re prepping the Talons for flight. Be ready to brief the team on whatever you know.”
Cap left the room, but Logan stayed behind. Cap turned to look at him, but Logan waived him on. Then he turned to face Lieutenant Styles and said, “You don’t believe us about the Apollo Stone, do you.”
“I’m not sure what to believe,” she said, facing Logan. “But I know that gunship and those Red Legs demolished this airbase in less than fifteen minutes. Then the gunship disappeared and reappeared two hundred fifty kilometers to the north. I don’t know how it did that, but you three seem to be the foremost experts on it.”
“We know a little. Ravenwood knew more,” said Logan.
“Well, he’s dead now and Kane’s gone. It’s up to you to get that stone away from the PRA.”
“We’ll try,” said Logan.
Lieutenant Styles took a few steps toward Logan. “I didn’t know what to make of you and your friends. But seeing the way you fought today, and the fact that you almost shot down the gunship, convinced me you’re here to help, so I’m going to lay it out for you. You know that hundreds of thousands of PRA troops are massing near St. Louis. They’ll pour across the river within days, and we can’t stop them. The League has a quarter as many troops as the PRA. We have a unified command structure, but some cities refused to commit everything they have and insisted on keeping troops and weapons close to home in order to defend themselves if the war comes to their door.”
“Understandable,” said Logan. “They’ve got their own people to protect.”
“Understandable but regrettable,” said Styles. “We need every single soldier, tank, and plane we can get our hands on. The PRA’s forces will be most vulnerable when they’re crossing the river at St. Louis. We need to hit them there hard, weaken them as much as possible, so when we fall back to the fortress at Deep Six we’ll be able to hold out.”
“What if they starve you out?”
“We’ve been preparing for this for years,” said Styles. “Deep Six is well supplied and heavily fortified, but it’ll be our tomb if we can’t cut the PRA troop numbers at least in half at St. Louis.”
“You’ll need to do better than that,” said Logan. “The PRA won’t leave any troops behind to secure the territory they’ve gained as they chase you to Deep Six. Behind the advancing army will be thousands of SPD officers. And the SPD is very good at keeping civilians under control. That means every Flat Foot and Red Leg that crosses the river will be on your heels.”
“All the more reason to get that magic rock and disable the gunship,” replied Styles.
“Agreed,” said Logan.
Chapter 56
Logan caught up with Cap and together they entered the hangar. Ground crews were rushing to finish preparing four Talon helicopters for flight. A lieutenant was briefing a group of fifty League troopers about the upcoming mission. Logan and Cap trotted over to the group. They were surprised to see Lena there, already in League-issued green and brown Provex field armor.
“What are you doing here?” asked Cap. “You’re supposed to be in the infirmary recovering.”
Lena smiled. “You didn’t think I was going to let you go on the mission of a lifetime and leave me behind, did you?”
“Your leg wound is going to slow you down,” said Cap. He folded his arms. “You’re not ready for combat.”
“Hey!” shouted the lieutenant. “You mind?”
“Sorry L.T.,” said Cap.
“That’s Lieutenant Pierce to you, Private New Guy.”
Cap was about to respond, but shut his mouth when he caught a warning look from Lena.
“As I was saying,” continued Pierce. “We have recent intel putting the Blackhawk gunship in the Mississippi river valley two hundred fifty klicks due north. She’s wounded and apparently had to make an emergency landing. We’re going to go and pay the Red Legs back for what they did today. Crew Chief McKinney’s worked his magic and got four of the damaged Talons in serviceable condition.”
Pierce walked over to a view screen and pulled up the satellite image of the downed Blackhawk. “It’s in an abandoned river town. There might be a few Travelers in the area, but no permanent population. There are hostile Dellians just across the river, but with the nearest bridge out of commission, they can only cross by boat. No sign of them in the area yet, but keep an eye on the river. Also, be aware that the pasty albino we saw today and about five Red Legs made it on board before they took off. We believe they have abandoned the gunship and moved to the high ground just west of the crash site.”
“Sir,” said a soldier. “We hear the Blackhawk somehow disappeared and reappeared at the crash site. Any word on how they did that?”
Pierce took a deep breath. “No idea. But now’s our chance to get it and find out.”
“And why did they hit this base?” asked another trooper. “There are other bases closer to St. Louis that would have made more sense if they’re prepping for the main offensive.”
Cap leaned toward Logan and whispered, “What’s with all the questions?”
Logan nodded his head slightly and whispered, “Sergeant Major Mojeski would have quashed this in a heartbeat.”
“I know there are a lot of rumors flying around,” said Pierce. “So I’m going to hand it over to an expert on the Blackhawk who will be joining us.”
He looked at Logan and said, “Private Brandt, please enlighten the team on everything you know about the Blackhawk that might help.”
Logan looked at the soldiers who had turned to face him. He shot a glance toward Cap and saw he was wearing an amused grin but offered no help. Logan cleared his throat. “Well, you know about the Blackhawk’s firepower, but the thing that makes it so dangerous is its navigation system, which allows it to instantaneously move from one place to another. That’s how it disappeared and reappeared so far north. But for the navigation system to work it needs something called the Apollo Stone. It’s a little round black ball, about the size of a marble. My friends and I stole the stone from the PRA and brought it here. That’s why they hit this base. They took it from us and we need to get it back.”
“Okay,” said Pierce. “We’re splitting Charlie and Dog Platoons into four Talons. Twenty troopers per bird. Charlie 1 will deploy in the high ground to the enemy’s right. Charlie 2 will be on the enemy’s left. Dog 1 will deploy on top of the hill to prevent them from moving west, although there’s wide-open terrain in that direction, so we don’t expect them to go that way. We expect more troopers will join as soon after landing. We’ll flush them out then.
Dog 2 and Crew Chief McKinney’s team will deploy near the Blackhawk. Your mission is to secure the area while the techs work to get the gunship operational. Lieutenant Styles tells me we’ll be getting fighter support, which will help keep the PRA’s air force off our backs.”
Logan looked to his left and saw Lieutenant Styles had entered the hanger. She was wearing green and brown battle armor.
Pierce continued his briefing. “Now these bastards aren’t going to let us just take their gunship, so expect company. Like I said, we’ll be getting additional trooper support, probably from Dubuque and Rockford Forward Station, but we’ll be first on site. When the Blackhawk is operational, we pull out.”
“What if we can’t get it to fly?” asked a soldier.
“Then we blow it to hell.”
“The task force will be under the command of Colonel Longmire. Pierce looked at an officer standing off to the side. “Anything to add, sir?”
Colonel Lon
gmire, a broad shouldered, squared jawed man of about forty, took a step forward. “You all know how to do your jobs, so I’m not going to waste my breath on that. But I want you to understand that what happened here this morning wasn’t a one-off raid. It was the first battle in a war with the PRA. There’s a hell of a lot more fighting ahead of us. We can win it if you remember your training. Just keep your chin up, your head down, and one round in the chamber.”
He paused a moment, scanning the young faces of the soldiers he was about to lead on the mission. “Saddle up, let’s go.”
The troopers boarded the four waiting Talons. Logan looked across the aircraft’s small cabin at Lieutenant Styles, who had her hand pressed against her ear in order to hear something she was receiving through her integrated communications system. Her blue eyes were focused on the floor. She nodded her head as she listened to the ICS, then she said something about watching for hostiles trying to cross from the east side of the river. Logan looked at the long thin scar along her jawline and wondered how she’d gotten it. She looked up at Logan and he turned away.
“You ready?” she shouted above the engine noise as they lifted off.
Logan looked at her again and said, “Yes I am.”
“How’s your shoulder wound?”
“Better,” he replied. “The doc injected it with super HGH – that stuff’s amazing.”
“They’re good at patching us up to fight again,” she said with a nod. She turned to her left to talk to some of the other soldiers, asking them if they were prepared or had questions. After a few minutes, she turned to Logan again and said, “Who was that albino I saw you fighting back at the base?”
“He’s an old secret the PRA’s been keeping. You heard about the signals we’ve been hearing coming from space? There’s a good chance there’s a bunch more like him on the way here. They’re bad news for Earth. If you see him, watch out.”
“He should watch out for me,” she answered, her blue eyes cold as ice.
“He’s very good with a sword,” said Logan. “My advice is don’t fight him alone.”
She said nothing and turned her attention to the soldier next to her, offering some guidance on what to do when they landed.
They had been flying for forty minutes when Logan heard a voice in his ICS. “Approaching the LZ. One minute to touch.”
Logan reached over his shoulder and felt the handle of his sword in the battle pack. The League version of field armor felt a little strange, but it was lighter, less bulky. He hoped it was as strong. Then he reached behind his waist and felt the stock of his K-45 assault gun sticking out the bottom of his battle pack. They were shorter guns than the PRA’s M-35, and they slipped more smoothly into the battle pack, making it easier to switch between gun and blade.
He looked at Cap, who nodded to him and gave a thumbs up. Lena was lost in thought, but she felt Logan’s eyes on her. She looked at him and smiled.
“Okay, troopers,” yelled Lieutenant Styles. “Put on your war faces. It’s go time.”
The Talon quickly descended toward the smoking Blackhawk. Logan saw the other Talons slip past them and hover over their assigned places in the hills above the town. Troopers quickly rappelled from the helicopters down multiple lines to the ground. As soon as the last trooper touched earth, each Talon flew off to await the call to retrieve them.
Dog 2’s Talon landed in the town near what was once a levee, but was now a series of overgrown ledges and crumbling concrete walls. Nevertheless, it managed to keep the high spring waters out of the town’s center. Logan, Lena, Cap and the twelve other troopers stormed out of the Talon and took up defensive positions around the Blackhawk. Several troopers entered the craft and quickly checked it for Red Legs. When they gave the all clear, Crew Chief McKinney and three technicians entered the gunship and got to work trying to make her flight ready. Lieutenant Styles gave a few troopers some orders and they started offloading some equipment from the Talon.
Colonel Longmire approached the troopers around the gunship. He pulled a well-chewed unlit cigar out of his mouth. “Lieutenant Styles, make sure we get those auto Air Defense Arrays set up on each side of the LZ; two ADAs on each side, one hundred meters out from our position.”
“Already on it, Colonel,” she said. “We’re also stationing the scramblers about twenty meters west of the ADAs.”
“Good thinking,” replied Longmire.
Colonel Longmire surveyed the area. Then he jammed his cigar between his teeth and walked parallel to the little river town’s main street, eyeing the long-abandoned shops. He toggled a switch on the ICS attached to his hip. Through his helmet’s ICS, Logan heard the colonel say, “Dog 2 troopers identify secondary and tertiary fall-back positions in case the shit hits the fan.”
He walked toward the Blackhawk with an eye on the river and said, “Lt. Gutierrez, what’s your status?”
“All three patrols are in position. No sign of the enemy.”
“Understood. The more I think about it, the more I think we need to get that albino bastard. I want you to very slowly and carefully sweep the hillside.”
“Roger wilco,” said Lt. Gutierrez.
Colonel Longmire toggled his ICS. “Central, this is Madhat.”
“Go ahead, Madhat.”
“We’re deployed and pursuing our primary objective. What’s the ETA of additional ground support?”
“Madhat, ETA of your ground support is fifteen minutes. High top-cover is already in place but maintaining high altitude.”
“Understood.”
“What is the status of your primary objective?”
“Checking,” said Colonel Longmire. He adjusted his ICS and said, “Lieutenant Styles, how is McKinney’s team doing?”
“They think they can get her flying. It’ll be ready in an hour, maybe two.”
“Copy that.” Colonel Longmire. “Central, this is Madhat. We should be able to get her flying inside of two hours.”
“Roger that, Madhat. Your estimate for repair time is longer than expected. Keep at it but rig her for detonation.”
“Roger that,” said Longmire. He relayed the order to Lieutenant Styles, who put a couple of soldiers to work setting explosive charges at different locations on the Blackhawk.
Thirty meters away, Logan could hear Crew Chief McKinney cursing at the demolition team and warning them “they had better not fucking blow me up!”
Longmire chewed on his cigar as he walked the perimeter of the landing zone checking on the status of his soldiers’ efforts, occasionally looking at the hills above the town. The four anti-aircraft and two signal scrambling systems were well positioned. Then he walked to the crumbled remains of the town levee and pulled out his field sensors. He held it to his eyes and looked across the swiftly flowing Mississippi River, scanning the far side.
Logan was standing at his assigned position on the landing zone perimeter when Lieutenant Styles walked by. “How’s it looking, Private Brandt?” she asked.
“Good, Lieutenant,” he answered. He looked at Colonel Longmire, who was standing at the river’s edge. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s looking for signs of Dellian activity. They’re not well equipped, but highly motivated,” answered Styles.
“We were told they were friendly independent people fighting the evil League and their clan surrogates.”
“I guess that’s how the Guardians would see it,” she said.
“Who are the Dellians, in your opinion?” he asked.
Lieutenant Styles looked out across the river. “The people on that side of the river have resisted reintegration with their neighbors. They fight the PRA, the League, Canada. They hate everybody. The story is after the Impact they followed the teachings of a nut-job prophet, Raymond Dell. And his successors have kept his teachings going.”
“What kind of teachings?” asked Logan.
“The usual end-of-the-world stuff that so many people bought into after the Impact,” she answered. “Can’t blame
them, I guess. It was the end of the world for four-fifths of the people on the planet.”
“Kane told me they’re cannibals.”
Lieutenant Styles smiled. “They’ve been known to engage in a little ritual human sacrifice from time to time. They think the Impact was punishment for breaking our covenant with the Creator, who has a dual personality from which all good and evil flow. Restoring the covenant, and the balance between good and evil, requires blood payment as evidence of our commitment.”
“How much blood?” asked Logan.
“They haven’t quite decided on that yet,” replied Styles.
And what about people on this side of the river?” asked Logan, looking at the hills above the abandoned river town. “Kane called them Northrunners. He described them as neutral traders.”
Styles shrugged. “Sounds about right. This used to be the Minnesota side of the river. After the Impact, the people here broke up into competing clans like so many other places, but that didn’t last too long here. They keep to themselves now. And they strongly discourage visitors from entering their territory. Kane’s description of them as traders is a good one. They move a lot of goods up and down the river. Rumor is their trading has made them very wealthy.”
“Are they peaceful?” asked Logan.
“Yes and no,” she said. “We’re in their territory without permission, so we’ll have to watch out for angry locals. But the only people they really hate are the Dellians. The Northrunners rely on the river for trade, and the Dellians sometimes interfere with that trade or try to expand their territory across the river. That’s when fighting breaks out.”
Logan nodded and looked out over the wide channel to the distant eastern bank. Swirling brown water flowed swiftly past carrying with it large pieces of wood and broken branches flushed out of the backwaters by the spring rains and snowmelt. A flock of ducks flew over their heads from the west and glide across the channel to calmer waters sheltered by a large sandbar on the far side. Just as the flock arrived, a dozen or so birds took off from behind the sandbar, then a hundred more. Soon thousands of birds were lifting themselves into the air in a cacophony of slapping water and birdcalls. As they gained altitude, they quickly organized themselves into several flocks and turned north, toward their summer breading grounds.
The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Trilogy Book 1) Page 32