“It does.”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. I shall not waste too much of anyone's time; I have little to offer. Only minutes before the dreaded ionisation of the House of Suudeem my crew picked up a large interference from above Nicaragua. The interference was from a cloaking device, an invisible ship. It wasn’t in place long, but is certainly significant enough to bring up. Whilst I was in the process of being replaced, my assistant, a Miss Shannon, seemed to be unavailable. She was checking on some radiation tail left behind by a vessel that had gone into parsec – the one reported on earlier. We believe that the ship was the same one that operated the cloaking device. The apparent direction of flight was towards the planet Basbi triad. I believe the rest can be left to the imagination. El Pasadora would seem to have more power and control over our destination than first figured.
“I will not ask for questions as I would be unable to make any conclusions, and all detail in reference to such questioning can be answered by General Good a little later. My replacement on Spacelab Nine is aware of everything and has assured us that he will contact the Mildratawa if anything else comes to the surface. I thank you.” He bowed and sat. Sad outlines around his face stood out without mistake. His unannounced but pretentious love for Shannon had taken a definite toll on the fragile thoughts and wiry figure of this once highly respected man.
The meeting continued without delay. “Mr Sam McDonald to the floor, please.”
The screen once again displayed a visual of the chip. Sam was in position inside a minute. “My job on planet Earth is that of all sciences and I have been doing so for a period of thirty nine years now. Firstly to answer Doctor Alkoyster’s question. No, the chip that you see cannot be counteracted. Any attempt to do so would immediately alert Nicaragua of our presence.
“Although many of you may not understand microelectronics, it is a subject which I find interesting.” He turned his back on the forum and commenced to pace around the room, addressing the screen operator. “Enlarge point one on the screen tenfold.” He spoke into his hand held microphone. “As you can see by the red circuitry, halfway around the path is a small valve and then tube. The tube contains the substance mercury. Now follow the circuit beyond this point and you will notice a switch. This switch is a frequency interceptor. Any frequency of high wave will automatically spill the mercury to connect the red circuit, with the blue, via the valve. Only a high wave frequency will cause this to happen. Once this has occurred, yes, they will be notified of our presence. Questions so far?”
Doctor Alkoyster spoke: “Dear sir, what of low wave; in two parts if you wouldn’t mind. Part one; will it alert them – in any other way; part two; can we affect or override the mechanism?”
“No, Doctor. Short wave will not affect the circuit in any other way. This we have already tested in our sound proof labs. Secondly, overriding the circuit is also out of the question. A paranormal situation exists, but I assure you doctor, that all tests that can be done have been done. Questions?”
Doctor Alkoyster stood down from his folded arm posture; no one else stood. “To continue.” He spoke into the hand held mike again. “Next screen.” A spear gun bolt with a syringe type end appeared. “General Good thought that it best if I explained what you see. It is a device capable of being fired from a normal spear gun. The poundage is ample enough for the bolt to penetrate the skin of a shark without breaking its point. The needle point itself is made from a titanium base mixture.” He paused briefly to look over the crowd, assuring he had their attention. “What does it do? It sends the shark into an immediate blissful sleep.”
A man, human in likeness, apart from the fact that he was eight and a half-foot tall – an average height for his people – stood. “I have a question, Mr McDonald.”
“Please sir, your name?”
“Ozrammoz Abachazdom, from planet Alza Ningh.”
“Please, continue.”
“Why would a man wish to jeopardise his life over that of the creatures? Surely a more powerful weapon can be used against this beast? Perhaps a weapon with automatic firing capabilities.” His voice, deep and husky, had character. “And secondly; surely it would be easier just to kill the shark outright, yes?”
“You are correct, sir. Let me explain. The mechanism, or chip if you prefer, is also made of titanium, along with other components that possess the capability of freeing the mercury if a specific type of weapon is used against the chip. Yes, we can use a double, or even a triple spear gun, capable of firing three bolts in rapid succession, but confusion must be eradicated. As with the bolt that carries the syringe, we can only have one per person, due to the absolute number required; we don’t have time to manufacture the amount required for three per man. Due to this fact the syringe must be placed on a separate gun; we don’t wish to have any confusion as to which gun contains what weapon, especially in the heat of… battle. Other weapons must be avoided; for example; if the squads that had entered the channel for instance, had employed the wrong weapon, this mission of ours could well have been over before it even had the chance to start.”
“Do you intend to put the mission in jeopardy? We don’t have time for this— hide and seek, no?”
“You need to understand, Ozrammoz, we on Earth can’t put to risk the extinction of an entire race; no matter what its form. Only the combined heads of the Mildratawa could order such extinction. You need to know sir, that there exists only two dozen sharks in aquariums around the world, none whatsoever recorded in the oceans of the world. These sharks are of a great surprise to our people. It is hard to explain how we feel. It would appear that we’ve been given a second chance and we’ll take it. It offers no risk to the mission, in that you can only trust. The chip does not send out any pulses except in the case of the mercury. The spear gun also has infra-red optics that takes into account the changing angle of light spectrums through the water. We have taken all precautions. We have one other precaution to take, but that is for another man to know, and not for the Council’s ears.”
“We need to know everything, no?”
“No, Ozrammoz, no need. It’s religious, you wouldn’t like it.”
Ozrammoz’ mouth gaped at the comment as he turned to a companion and back again. “If religion is involved then we want no part.”
“I assure you, sir, it won’t affect you or your planet’s ideas. If you need to be involved then we will cater for your customs.”
“Very well, Mr McDonald, we will trust in the Mildratawa. Thank you for your honest answers. That’s all we ask. Please continue.”
“Now for, Anamada-gabba. The size of the schools is unknown and the amount of schools in existence impossible to determine; only a wild guess can be made. From information given to us by John Younge, the size of the lake, and the time in which it takes the attacks to commence, we have come up with an estimate only. All computation suggests that it is the distinct vibration of human movement in water that draws the shark’s attention. It also suggests that a maximum of sixty schools could inhabit the lake – we have made a guess as to fifty. An estimated 3,000 shark is possible but by no means accurate. General Good will explain the size of the force required in combatting this after my brief. Also, we have proof of biological breeding, the biophysics creating extraordinary sharp teeth in all of the sharks.
“Next, the cloaking device discovered by Spacelab Nine.” He paced over to the desk and exchanged his notes. “It is feasible, but our understanding of such is limited. It’s quite likely that El Pasadora has deployed such a plan so as to destroy the structure of Basbi Triad and then the Mildratawa. All matters concerning this are in the hands of the military. This concludes my presentation. All questions concerning the military, please direct accordingly. Will there be any further questions as to the remainder?” All were quiet. He bowed towards the coordinator and took his place.
“General Carramar Good.”
The general stood, the medals over his left breast pocket gave little room for him to secur
e anything in it. His sword, a pure decoration of uniform, ran down his left side and shone brilliantly under the lighting. Two other soldiers moved out and placed a small overhead projector onto the desk and lay a pointer next to this. The large screen above the coordinator gave way to a large map of Nicaragua.
A small infra-red control panel, which General Good carried, gave him complete control over what was viewed. He placed his pointer onto the bright screen on the desk and in turn aligned this with the Nicaraguan channel, dotted lines indicating its position on the larger screen above.
“As my brief is of a military nature, I will only insist on heads or parliament, officers and warlords to remain seated. For those of you in the fields of science, imports/exports, weather containment, environment reconstruction, space travel, customs and all those representatives who won’t be taking part in the assault, you may all retire. All matters will be documented for your interest. An official Council guard will indicate where you should go for further orientation into the other matters concerning all requirements that are needed for the Mildratawa to be successful in this task. That is all.”
A large proportion departed the forum, leaving behind only a few head members from each of the planets. Only one representative from planet Alza Ningh remained behind, Ozrammoz. He was seen to send the others of his planet away for further briefing.
“Please gentlemen, move forward to the front two rows.” The remaining fifty-two members obliged. They were soon seated.
“The channel that you see is approximately thirty kilometres in length and not of a straight run. At normal cruising speed a mini sub can cover the distance in two and a half hours; this depends greatly on the current at the time, but is of no great concern. The oxygen in the tanks and the vessels will last the duration. Due to mission parameters though it is unlikely that there will be enough oxygen for a return journey. We cannot afford to take too much oxygen along with us due to the equipment required for the mission, so as you can see it must be a success. Our no return point will be the centre of the lake. Once we reach this halfway point we have no alternative except to continue.
“The size of the task force will be of two hundred strong; these will be split into groups of twenty. Each group will move along the same bearings to this point.” Carramar moved the metallic pointer. “An overall distance of one hundred kilometres. This measurement is taken from the channel’s mouth and takes into consideration the natural drift of the water within the lake and the curvature of approach due to the twin volcanoes at the Lake’s centre. The first two groups of twenty will parallel each other, five hundred metres apart. Each one of the groups following will be approximately three hundred metres behind the one to their front. All will be assisted by skimmers.”
Anamada-gabba questioned: “What of the noise, the vibration?”
“The sharks will come in due course, regardless. I believe it’s best to alert them of our presence early, but at the same time, cover more distance in a smaller amount of time. The portage of oxygen is also a factor in the requirement for speed.”
“But they only have a limited supply of weapons.”
“This is true. Let me explain something that we have held back until now. Ozrammoz Abachazdom.”
“Yes, General.”
“You will not be taking part in this act of the overall mission, yours will be explained in time.” He paused. “A majority of the force will be of the planet Earth, only we can then be blamed for the destruction of such a powerful creature of the sea such as the shark. Secondly, we intend to take along with us a monk.”
“A monk?” Anamada-gabba laughed. “You cannot be serious?”
“You haven’t had access to the information that I have. A Mr Doug McIlwraith is one of our best military men and at this very moment is being briefed on his mission. He departs for Tibet on the morrow. He himself used to be a monk and knows of some specific powers that a Tibetan monk has – an old friend of his. The monk has delivered himself into a method of meditation whereby he can communicate with dolphins.”
“Why do you talk like this?” Crabach Zimoily from planet Vudd questioned. “We’re all intelligent beings.”
“I don’t wish to upset you, sir. There are many things that can’t be explained. Doug McIlwraith has placed his life on the line by volunteering to head the mission through the channel as opposed to our using him for the reasons of enlistment in this Mildratawa task. Our change of plan in respect to him was due primarily to his connection with this monk.”
“With a monk?” Crabach came back.
“Yes, with a monk. We must have trust in each other on this matter. It’s no good to quibble over matters that aren’t understood by all. We say that we can get this man to help, and help is what we need at this point.”
“What is a monk?” Ozrammoz peered through slightly squint eyelids.
“He could be best explained as a philosopher.”
“Ah. I know of philosophy.” He looked around at the others in nodding appreciation. “This is good. It’s not of the religious sort that we have turned our backs on. He’s much like the Fio-nop robed Zudomminium. I’d like to dwell in conversation with this philosopher. He sounds like— Compos Mentis.”
“In due course, Ozrammoz. But back to the brief.” He moved the pointer once again. “At this point only five kilometres from the lake sits a large building. This is where the force field gets its power. The divers will approach this building after reaching land and blow it up with the weapons they have; each man carries explosives. The first groups push in a kilometre and cover the approach for those behind them, who are still maintaining their three hundred meter distance. The next two groups will push past these and do the same as the groups previous. This over-lap method of movement will continue until the tower is reached. The plan is very flexible, just in the case of the regrettable annihilation of one or more groups. All groups, and all members of these groups, have communications with those around.
“The monk at this stage will remain behind with ten men, one from each group for protection and monitor the dolphins. Once all are on dry land he will send the dolphins back out to sea. It seems, at this stage, that the sharks don’t intend to leave the channel; some special device of the chip may be what prevents them from going too far past the bars of the entrance, the lake is also made up of seawater, which is being churned into fresh at a large rate; so these are seawater sharks we are dealing with and as such will probably be restricted to certain areas.
“What are the dolphins there for?” Crabach seemed puzzled.
“For several reasons. Firstly to annoy the sharks into chasing them away from the divers and secondly to attack the sharks if the mission comes under assault.”
“This is preposterous.”
“Feasible, sir. The dolphins will hopefully outnumber the sharks two to one; some swimming with the divers, some acting as decoys far out to the flanks. The dolphins will not be there to kill; just to put out of action any attacking shark.”
Doctor Alkoyster, head of state on planet Mistachept, rubbed his chin in thought. “Dolphins breathe oxygen, for that they need to surface. Won’t 3,000 odd surfacing dolphins alert the enemy to our presence?”
“Hopefully not. We should be able to get to within a kilometre before such misfortune arises. Hopefully the dolphins will not need to go that close to the shoreline or the islands at the lake’s centre.”
“There’s a lot of luck involved, isn’t there?”
“There is some. Ninety percent of it is with us at this stage.”
“At this stage?”
“Yes. Let me continue; please.” Carramar peered down at his notes. “Once the tower has been struck the force field will be brought down. From here the combined quadrants will launch an assault against the defences. These defences are automatic and can shoot down any approaching aircraft within a radius of one hundred kilometres. If you view the screen now you can see that these are marked in red. There are twelve overall, all positione
d from twenty to fifty kilometres from El Pasadora’s underground palace.
“The best approach would appear to be from over the lake, but firepower from the auto cannons would be in visual and range. Also, we need to conceal the approach of the divers as best as possible. For this reason we will deploy our hover tanks from an extended line parallel to Grande de Matagalpa, forcing El Pasadora to deploy his troops into that region, hence forth, offering the divers less encounters once they reach land. One hundred squadrons will also participate, five aircraft per squadron. Each aircraft will be limited to a top speed of six hundred kilometres an hour and deploy from San Andres, or the counter measures will not be able to keep up with the pace. The counter measures will be released from the bays of the aircraft and fly in formation around the aircraft. These measures will automatically put themselves in the path of any approaching missile fired from the cannons within Nicaragua. There is only one problem with this and that, gentlemen, is the fact that once the counter measures have been destroyed, the aircraft will be unprotected. The aircraft’s only real chance for survival would be to retreat. Once again, we have a problem. The aircraft are more prone to defeat from the rear. If these aircraft don’t succeed then the ground troops cannot be deployed. You see, the aircraft to the rear of these fighters have no defences. They will be in flight and ten kilometres behind. Troops need to be on the ground as soon as possible. If the palace isn’t taken as quickly as possible then there is no telling what may happen. It is unknown as to the amount of cloaked spaceships that El Pasadora has in his possession.”
Doctor Alkoyster spoke: “What is the second target, presuming that the aircraft succeed in bringing down the defence cannons?”
“There is none, unless the commander on the spot sees fit. I know what you’re getting at though. Hover tanks will cover our ground troops. These ground support vehicles are very good. The hover tanks can travel along the creek and riverbeds of Nicaragua; the low depressions of ground seem to be large enough to protect the tank, but too small for aircraft. But we expect the enemy to dig in on the high ground along the Sierra de Amerique. If everything goes to plan we will be victorious inside eleven hours; that is from the minute the divers enter the channel at 0400hrs, until the ground troops take control of El Pasadora’s palace.
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