by Knox, Barry
“We’ll arrive at the LZ in ten minutes,” Tidwell said as his hands danced across the flight console.
“Ten minutes, Gunny,” Gideon transmitted to Xia over a private channel
“Yes, sir,” he responded.
Bernice dropped in the darkness to treetop level, skimming the genetically engineered palm trees and other types of tropical vegetation that grew on the planet’s tropical region. These plants were altered to absorb water through roots and produce energy and nutrients from the sun via photosynthesis using leaves, stems, and trunks.
The planet’s extremely hot temperatures and its hundreds of thousands of freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams resulted in high humidly. The populated parts of the planet extended from the temperate regions along the edge of the tropical forests to the colder regions of the poles. Terraforming scientists had estimated that within a few hundred years the planet’s atmosphere would be completely breathable and cooler. Currently, a person could live only a few minutes before they suffocated or had a heat stroke.
The edge of the tropical forest passed beneath them as Bernice slowed and began to land in a grassy level area located on top of a small hill. Bernice, still in stealth mode, flared to stop its forward motion and slowly settled to the ground. The marines exited in camo mode and ran to take up defensive positions around the LZ. As soon as the last marine exited, Tidwell took off and headed to a predesigned support station LZ fifty miles away. He would assist the extract team as required.
The marines lay in wet grass and small puddles of water. The temperature on their heads-up displays showed it to be a rather warm 130 degrees Fahrenheit, while lightning bolts from storm clouds periodically lit the western horizon. Their armor kept them cool, dry, and invisible; and it allowed them to see in the dim light provided by three of the four planet moons.
Thirty minutes later, the marines were still in their defensive positions. No platoon transmissions were sent since the seasoned marines knew they may stay in this position for hours. Each man continually scanned for contact using adjusted vision arrays, motion detectors, and amplified hearing aids.
“I’ve got movement due east,” Mucha transmitted over the platoon channel. Gideon crawled from his position and lay beside Mucha. Gideon watched in the direction of the detected movement until he saw someone approaching. The infrared display showed a body cooler than the ground. The dim light of the moons and intermittent lightning flashes also allowed him to see the person with normal vision as he neared.
“Zeeb,” Gideon transmitted on a private, digital, encrypted channel.
“Wolf,” the figure responded.
“Gunny, keep everyone alert. I’m going to walk out a few yards before I disable by camo,” Gideon said on the platoon channel. Gideon stood and walked slowly toward the person. When he was only a few feet away from the figure, he disabled his camo and appeared.
“I am Vaniah,” the figure said as he extended a hand.
“Lieutenant Klaxton, US Marines,” Gideon said as he shook Vaniah’s hand.
Vaniah was a tall, thin man dressed in a tight-fitting environmental suit. The suit was colored blue and showed various patches that were attached with metal velcro. His helmet had two short, parallel, wide yellow lines on both sides.
“Welcome to Leonis. I’m sorry I kelp you waiting so long. I had to be sure I wasn’t followed,” Vaniah said, paused, and reached in a pouch on his utility belt. He took out a data card and handed it to Gideon. “This contains the information you need to complete your mission. It’s encrypted, so I’m going to transmit the decryption key to your personal AI.” Vaniah used a keypad on his forearm to send the key. “I transmitted it; did your AI get it?”
“Received the decryption key, Gideon,” Anna said in his ear.
“I have the key,” Gideon told Vaniah.
“I have to leave. Please wait here for another hour, then leave,” Vaniah said. As he turned to walk away, he added, “Good luck, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you,” Gideon said.
Gideon returned to the platoon’s defensive parameter and told the marines they’d be there another hour. He then inserted the data card into a data port on his forearm. “Anna, open the information using the decryption key and read it to me,” Gideon said.
“Doctor Vashni Qasim has been arrested as a revolutionary sympathizer and is being held at a political prisoner work camp. Proceed to location designation Kilo—location coordinates included—and meet contact, code name Michael. Challenge with ‘Sword.’ Response will be ‘Crusade.’ This contact will brief you further and lead a small unit, who’ll assist you with rescuing Doctor Qasim. Expect heavy resistance,” Anna reported.
Gideon transmitted the message to his marines. His marines took the news in stride since Xia had already prepared them to expect the worse.
An hour later Tidwell returned and the marines loaded aboard Bernice and set course to LZ Kilo.
LZ Kilo, Planet Leonis
0240—February 28, 2372
LZ Kilo was located 556 miles due west of where they had met Vaniah. Bernice landed in a shallow ravine, allowed the marines to exit, and then took off again to another location two hundred miles north to stand by. The marines lay in their defensive positions, waiting for their contact to appear.
“Someone’s standing on the rim,” Xia transmitted over the platoon channel. Gideon, using his helmet’s auto-adjusting vision arrays, looked up and saw a large man standing on the rim of the ravine. A bolt of lightning from an approaching storm flashed behind the man, and as he started making his way into the ravine toward the marines, thunder shook the ground.
“Sword,” Gideon transmitted on the predefined secure channel.
“Crusade,” came the response in a commanding voice. The large man added, “Stay where you are. I’ll come and speak to you.” He approached the marines as if he could see them and walked directly toward Gideon.
“I am Michael. I was sent to help you rescue the woman,” he said in a deep, authoritative voice.
“The woman, you mean Doctor Qasim?” Gideon said, noting the man was wearing a helmet and a robe over a black environmental suit. The robe was also black, made out of tattered cloth and looked like a robe worn by a monk right out of the Middle Ages.
“Yes, that is her,” Michael said, “She is being held in a camp five miles west. We will walk to the camp and rescue her.”
Gideon noted that Michael had a strange accent he had never heard before. The accent made Gideon uncomfortable.
“There will be heavy resistance, and we will have to fight. The soldiers in the camp are equipped with technology that allows them to see you while you’re camouflaged. You may lose a few men, but we will win and rescue her,” Michael said. He pulled the hood of his robe over his head and began walking west.
“Where’s your team? Are they going to meet us at the camp and assist us?” Gideon asked Michael as he motioned Xia to have the men follow.
“I have no team,” Michael replied as he continued walking. “The team you are talking about can’t help, and we won’t need them anyway.”
The extract team followed Michael. Gideon wanted to take it slow and cautious but couldn’t because of Michael’s pace. Gideon had to trust that Michael knew what he was doing and would get them to the work camp safely.
After an hour, Gideon noticed small trees spaced about ten feet apart. The job of the forced laborers in the work camp must be to plant these genetically enhanced trees, Gideon thought. A few minutes later Michael found a well-used trail and boldly started walking down it.
“Michael, I think we should keep off the trail and parallel it about twenty-five yards. I don’t want to walk into an ambush,” Gideon said.
“There is no ambush waiting, and the camp is over the next hill. We will stop on the hill, and I will tell you how we will attack the camp and rescue the doctor,” Michael replied as he continued walking.
The extract team arrived at the hill overlooking the work camp at 0
405. A rectangular fence surrounded the camp, with guard towers located at each corner. Searchlights located on the towers and lights in the camp illuminated everything. There were about forty buildings in the camp, each with numbered markings and its own life-support system. Wheels attached to the buildings were folded up and locked into position, leaving the buildings resting on the ground. It was definitely a mobile camp. After planting a section of trees in an area, the camp would move farther north and plant more. Gideon also noted a small building about a mile on a hill on the other side of the camp. His armor’s heat sensor detected it since there was no light on inside or outside the building. His helmet’s auto visual system adjusted so he could see it. The building looked like it was surrounded by sandbags piled about six feet high. It was certainly not mobile and probably an explosives or munitions building of some kind.
“Here is a map of the camp layout and the key buildings,” Michael said as members of the extract team saw a map suddenly appear in their heads-up display.
“Anna, how’d he download the map into my heads-up display?” Gideon asked, knowing Anna and the armor’s AI weren’t easily compromised.
“I don’t know,” Anna said.
Michael continued. “The building where the prisoners are held is in the center of the camp and highlighted in red. The doctor is there along with other prisoners. I will approach the main gate of the camp as a diversion, while you penetrate the fence highlighted in yellow. From there, go to the prisoners’ building and get the doctor. The soldiers guarding the camp will put up a fight. You will have to kill many of them, and some of you may be killed or wounded.”
Gideon listened to Michael and knew he had to say or do something. It was apparent to Gideon that Michael may not be mentally sound. “Michael, we need more planning than this. Can you tell us the number of guards, their weapon types, alarm systems? We need this type of information to plan a quick-and-quiet strike to minimize causalities.”
“The information you want will not help you, but here it is,” Michael replied in a deep voice, and the information displayed on each extract team member’s heads-up display. The information displayed included the following: number of prisoners, the number of guards, the guards’ weapon types, sensor technology capabilities, alarm types, the distance between buildings, the location of environmental suits, and so forth. The information stunned Gideon, and he was amazed by how quickly Michael had supplied it.
“We only have an hour of darkness left and must hurry,” Michael said as he turned and started down the hill toward the camp.
“Sir, the guy’s nuts!” Xia transmitted over a private channel to Gideon. “We need time to plan; there’re three hundred guards in there with lasers and mag rail weapons and sensor technology that can see us while we’re in camo mode. And that’s just what I saw with a glance at the information.”
“I agree, Gunny, but it looks like he’s not going to give us time,” Gideon replied, paused, and continued. “Gunny, let’s go ahead and get the men in place where Michael suggested. I’ll have Anna read me the information and hopefully come up with a plan by the time we’re in position. If I can’t come up with something I think will work, we’ll abort and leave.”
“Yes, sir,” Xia answered on the private channel, then switched to the platoon channel. “Let’s move out.” The marines followed Xia’s order without any questions or concerns.
As Gideon followed his marines, he listened to Anna as she read the information. With the information Anna was reading and by recalling the layout of the camp from memory, he began to formulate a rescue plan.
Ten minutes later the marines were in position about twenty yards from the camp fence. “Marines,” Gideon said over the platoon channel, “I’ve analyzed the information and concluded we can complete the mission. Michael was right. The point where we breach the camp fence and the direct path to the prisoners’ building is the best plan of attack and rescue. We won’t be camouflaged, but we’ll have maximum cover using buildings and vehicles along the way, and most of the guards are on the other side of the camp. We should reach the prisoners’ building, get the doctor, and be out of camp before they can flank us or bottle us in. And that’s without factoring in the distraction Michael has planned. Here are your assignments. Gunny, myself, and Sipes will make our way to the prisoners’ building. Mucha will follow us until we reach the water tower, and then he’ll climb to the top and provide observations and sniper-covering fire. Manelly and Kindle will stay at the fence and cover our rear to make sure our way out is secured. We’ll jump off as soon as Michael starts the diversion.
“I know this sounds like a half-baked plan, but I’m sure it’ll work. Remember, we’re marines, and we’re trained to adapt and overcome.”
***
Michael approached the main gate, walking as if he was out for a stroll. Two guards stationed just outside the gate were at first startled by the robed figure appearing so early in the morning. Then they relaxed when they realized he was alone and wasn’t carrying a weapon.
“Who are you? And what do you want?” a guard demanded as both guards raised their weapons toward Michael. The guards in the towers trained their spotlights on Michael.
“I am here to release your prisoners,” Michael said in a loud, deep voice that almost shook the ground.
“Towers, do you have this guy in your sights?” one of the gate guards asked over his communications channel.
“Yes,” both towers replied in unison.
“Place your hands behind your head,” the guard said and then motioned with his weapon for the other guard to put restraints on Michael.
Michael put his hands behind his head, then with his right hand reached below his neck into a slit cut into his robe. His right hand felt the handle of his weapon, and he grasped it. A second later he pulled the weapon out as quickly as the strike of a snake and killed the guard who was approaching him. Michael then fell to the ground and rolled out of the spotlights to his right just microseconds before laser and mag rail projectiles from the towers smashed the ground he’d been standing on. A guard in one of the towers turned the camp alarm on, and spotlights moved frantically back and forth, trying to find the intruder.
***
“Let’s do it!” Gideon said as he heard plasma burst from the mag rail guns firing at the front gate. He also heard the loud wailing of the camp alarm. Xia led the way, and as he ran toward the fence, he used his weapon’s particle beam to cut a hole in the wire so he, Gideon, and Joseph could fit through. Without slowing, the three men ran through the hole and made their way to the closest building for cover. Mucha, Manelly, and Kindle covered them until they reached the building. Then Mucha followed and joined them.
The four men then leapfrogged two by two to provide each other cover until they reached the water tower. As Mucha started up the ladder on the water tower, Gideon could see armed guards running from all directions toward the gate. Whatever Michael had done, Gideon thought, definitely caused a distraction.
***
As soon as Michael rolled out of the spotlights, he ran toward the fence, used his weapon to cut the fence, and without losing stride, entered the camp. Camp guards, alerted by the alarm, flooded out of buildings like angry ants looking for something to sting.
A few yards inside the camp, Michael stopped, held up his weapon, and fired beams of light in all directions, each individual light beam seeking a guard.
The beams burned through buildings, vehicles, and any other obstacles to reach the armored heads of guards within a seventy-foot radius. The guards within the “ring of death” fell instantly. After his weapon fired, Michael ran toward the closest concentration of guards, stopped, held up his weapon, and fired again.
***
Mucha reached the top of the water tower and propped his MPB-92 on the top safety rail of a narrow walkway that circled the tower. Using his heads-up display, he selected the configuration of his weapon and deployed the sniper scope. The scope silently emerged from
the stock and positioned itself over the magnetic rail barrel of the weapon.
Mucha looked through the scope along the path the team would take to the prisoners’ building. He saw guards running across the path toward the front gate. “I’m in position and see a lot of resistance crossing your path. I’ll let you know when to run to the next building,” Mucha said over the platoon channel.
Gideon replied with an acknowledgment chime.
“You’re clear,” Mucha said a few seconds later.
As Xia, Gideon, and Joseph ran to the next building, Mucha scanned the area for hostile targets. A couple of guards came out of a building and were headed toward the three men. Mucha quickly zoomed in on the trailing guard and fired a mag rail projectile. The man fell dead, and Mucha quickly took out the other two guards before they realized they were being targeted. Mucha then wide-zoomed his scope lens and began scanning the area again. “You’re clear,” Mucha transmitted. He continued to provide cover and took out potential threats until Xia, Gideon, and Joseph made it to the rear of the prisoners’ building.
***
Oblivious to the presence of Mucha on the water tower and the extract team, the tower guards began firing laser and mag rail rounds at Michael. Everything fired at Michael was being deflected just inches from his suit.
Michael, knowing the tower guards had found him and the number and concentration of guards on the ground had greatly decreased, used his weapon to cut a hole in the wall of a nearby building and entered. It was dark inside the building, but he could see everything as though it were daylight. It was a cafeteria for the prisoners and guards, with tables and chairs lined in rows. Michael walked toward the center of the building, pushing tables and chairs out of the way as he walked. In the center of the cafeteria he stood with his weapon, patiently waiting while rounds of laser and mag rail projectiles continually bombarded the building.