by Chris Hechtl
One moment the craft was going belly down, the next it jerked and then dangled.
“Quick, String, that cable won't hold for long,” Caitlin said. “Get them out to sea!”
“Already on it. Plot me a better course around some of the buildings in the way though,” he replied.
“Okay, on it,” Caitlin replied as the flashing lights of a LEO aircraft arrived on the scene. “Better late than never I guess,” she muttered.
<)>^<)>/
“Well, this is a fine mess you got us into. What now, genius?” Curly demanded, eying Moe as they dangled in the gondola.
“Shut it,” Moe said weakly.
“Mmmm,” Curly said in frustration as he ran his hand over his face. The gondola began to twist and spin in the wind. His stomach ripped with nausea. “I think I'm going to …”
“Not …,” Moe managed to close his eyes and turn away in time to keep the barf from getting into his face. It sprayed all over the cab, however. “Nice one,” he muttered sarcastically.
“Sorry,” Curly said in a meek voice.
<)>^<)>/
“That was a close one,” Major Chase Rice said with a shake of his head. The Neorottweiler XO was a hard charger so he got along well with his boss.
“Yeah, too close for comfort,” Captain SG Demi Aliana the staff spook said as the staff settled down around the council table. “They certainly did all the right things. They just didn't account for us getting tipped off so soon and that Lone Wolf unit being in the area. They are the other reason this attack was stopped. But it's certainly set off some panic even though they didn't set their bombs off,” she said in disgust.
“An individual can understand some things, but dangers tend to reduce us to instinctive responses. People in groups are sheep and tend to go with their baser instincts. In this case, fight or flight. They can't fight so they want to flee … or at least bitch about it,” Chase said with a shake of his head.
“They don't like that we didn't get out a timely warning. And that we had no clue this was going down,” Captain JG Lena Chen, the staff logistics officer growled.
“How could we? We had no INTEL on it. The local LEOs didn't pass on about the X-ray thefts. ONI may or may not have heard about it; if they did, they didn't think of it as a threat and obviously they didn't pass it on to us. That's something that needs to be fixed. Be glad it was a dirty bomb and not a biological attack though. Can you imagine if they went that route instead?” Demi asked.
Chase closed his eyes in pain. “Please don't go saying that in public and give them ideas,” he said fervently. “One volunteer or poor sucker in an airport is all we don't need,” he said sourly.
More than one person shivered at that idea.
“Believe me, I won't. But it is something else we need to keep in mind and keep a watch out for, which means we need additional resources since we're not set up to handle that sort of thing,” Demi said. “I've been trying to work with ONI, but we're saturated.”
“Frack,” Chase muttered.
“That means we'll eventually have to bring the local LEOs and their fire and rescue people in since they would most likely be first on the scene. That will give the show away to the public eventually,” Lena observed.
“Don't remind me,” Chase growled in disgust. “Okay, so …,” he tapped out the idea and a request for support. “That's one problem. What else can they come up with, and how do we look out for it and or stop it before it gets too far off the ground? Or dissuade them totally?” he asked. When no one said anything, he turned to the colonel. “Sir? You've been awfully quiet over there,” he said.
“Oh sure, go ahead, poke the bear,” Lena said as she picked up her tea and took a sip.
Chase glanced sharply at her. “Well, someone has to,” Chase said as he turned expectant eyes on the Neogrizzly. If one was observant, one would think that the colonel's propping up of his passive head by one large handpaw meant he was overtired or in need of hibernation. Looks could be deceiving they knew. They had come to learn that was the bear's thinking pose.
“That's what bothers me. They wanted this to happen for a reason. To get us to pull in our horns and go on the defense. And what bothers me even more is, with the political pressure, we're going to go that route. And there isn't a damn thing I can do about it either,” Valenko growled.
“Well, we can keep the air units and militia on offense, sir. And we can take a page from Colonel Harley's playbook and keep a unit in a shuttle or two in orbit for a drop as a fast reaction force. The same for a gunship or two. Drones …,” Lena shook her head.
“Don't do orbital burns well I know. Not repeatedly,” the colonel replied. “But I get it. Okay, let's look into what it is going to take to set that up. Any ideas on if they've gotten people in orbit?”
“ONI has been mum on that front. I'll check,” Demi offered.
“Good. Do that. We don't want some suicidal idiot with a bomb or virus,” the bear growled.
Demi shivered and then nodded.
“What about the breakage?” the colonel asked.
“We've got some civilians who were hurt. They let us know about the attack so they are being treated. I know ONI threw a flag on one,” Lena said. “Her parents are missing. Her older sisters are off-world. We're trying to track them down now.”
“Do they need to be in the loop for medical decisions?” Demi asked, cocking her head.
“No. She's not that critical now that they've got her in a regen tank,” Lena replied. Apparently their pet spook had missed that part. “It is just a courtesy at this time. They might see it on the news.”
“Okay,” Demi nodded. She glanced at Chase. He seemed a bit nonplussed about worrying about the civilians involved.
“Her father is dead; her mother is MIA after the tsunami. Her older sister went out on a convoy south. We don't know where she ended up. Her other older sister left some time ago to Antigua. ONI is starting there,” Lena said.
“Okay. Let them handle that. The local authorities can shower them and this female with rewards when she's recovered and after the investigation's concluded. That'll take months no doubt,” he said gruffly. “We need to find the people behind this attack and hit them hard. Hard enough to stop them from ever doing it again or drive them down so deep they are too scared to ever stick their heads back up to see daylight again. The question on the floor now is; how do we go about doing that? Ideas?” Valenko asked looking around the table. “Anyone? We're on a ticking clock, and we need to get this done.”
Chapter 47
Ghost was one of the few people recovered alive; however, she was critically injured. A check of her records listed Mammacita and Zelma as her parents, but they were not around. A second check of the records found two surviving older siblings, Lil White and Lil Red. Lil White's location was not immediately known. The last known location of Lil Red was Antigua. The NCIS agent in charge of the investigation bucked the request to the ONI representative who happened to be a friend of his. A request for contact information in Antigua triggered a note that Jethro had adopted Lil Red.
That trigger was monitored by Lieutenant Fletcher. He read the file in a brief millisecond and then contacted Jethro with an email to inform him.
Jethro stopped what he was doing to read the email and attached ansible report. He was confused at first, thinking it was another from Colonel White Wolf or Shanti but the header said it was from Protodon.
That made him think it was from Valenko, but it was not. A brief scanned of the contents made him pause and sit back thoughtfully. “Well.”
He read it again, pursing his lips as he thought of the implications. Reading between the lines they said they couldn't contact Mammacita. So was she still alive after the tsunami? Zelma? The kittens? He wasn't certain. He knew the base had gotten hit too by the water. He shook his head.
<)>^<)>/
When he went home that evening, he saw Red busy with crayons at the table. She was maturing to some level,
but he wondered if she'd ever take on an adult maturity. He also wondered if she needed counseling. He'd read that some children grew up fast, while others never quite wanted to grow up after being through a series of traumatic events. They wanted to be sheltered and protected forever.
“Red,” he said quietly, getting her attention. He took a seat across from her, spinning the chair so he could straddle it.
“Uh oh, I know that tone. I'll get my chores done when I'm done,” she said firmly. She indicated the drawing. “This is for school,” she said firmly.
“Okay,” he said with a nod. He glanced at it. It was some sort of art piece, but there were lines he could make out, something about color certain sections certain colors. Okay he thought.
“Look …”
“Um … can this wait?”
“It's … I got an email. An ansible message came in today,” he said.
“Was it from Shanti? Lil White?” She continued to color.
“No, it was from Protodon. There was an incident.” She looked sharply at that last word. “Ghost was badly hurt. The authorities can't find your mom so they contacted me.”
“Um …,” Red sat back blinking. “Run that by me again?” she finally asked.
She was quiet when he told her the entire story and even pulled the tablet out for her to read it herself. “But you don't know for sure?” she finally asked looking up. “My mom and Lil White's kittens, they could have been evacuated?”
“No.” Jethro shook himself. “You are right. Zelma, Mamacita and the kittens could be in a refugee camp or they could be inland. I have no idea.”
“Nor do these people,” Red said with a grimace as she indicated the tablet. “Obviously,” she said in disgust.
“It happens, Red. With the evacuation …,” Jethro spread his hands apart in supplication.
She nodded sharply. “Okay. Well, my family has gone through a lot. Ghost will pull through. Those of us who have gotten this far, we're survivors.”
“Okay,” Jethro said with a nod as he tousled the fur on her hair. She mock growled and took a swipe at him then went back to coloring her project.
<)>^<)>/
Later that evening Jethro dictated an email to Shanti to let her tell Lil White. He attached the news from Protodon. “Let her down easy if you can love. I'll try to find out more,” he said. Bast nodded. “Love you and the kittens,” he said and then signed off.
<)>^<)>/
Lil White heard the news as she nursed her latest brood. She hadn't wanted to turn into a baby factory, but that seemed like the path fate and life had just sort of pushed her onto. She admitted she'd been a bit too defensive over it with her sister Lil Red.
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them to look up at the sky above. Somewhere up there in the heavens her sister was off having adventures. She missed her. And not just because she could use another babysitter.
"Are you going to class today, Mama?" Blondie asked her. She shrugged, gently checking the kitten's fur. The slums were a memory; there were plenty of places to live once the government had gotten into building low income housing. She drew a subsistence check and child support for each of her litters. There had been some talk about having her and others like her sterilized though.
She doubted they'd do that. There were too many legal challenges already she knew. But they might get their compromise through, which was mandatory birth control implants. That was tempting. The litters were taking a lot out of her.
Hopefully, this litter would survive. She'd been damn near crushed when she'd lost her first. She wasn't certain how her mother had handled such losses.
"Mama, I'm hungry," Blondie murmured, nuzzling into her chest.
"Okay," Lil White said softly, letting the kitten pull her top aside to nurse. The suckling sound woke Blondie's sibling. After a moment, she yawned and came over to nurse as well.
Lil White stroked them but then looked up to the sky above once more. Sometimes she wondered what her life would have been like if she'd chosen her sister's path.
Maybe, just maybe, in time, she'd find out or one of her kittens would.
“White come on …,” a familiar voice penetrated her brain. The scene around her dissolved into darkness and confusion. Then she opened her eyes slowly to see the pillow under her head. Then she looked up to the annoying voice to see a large Neocat there, a female one. Her sleepy mind was still locked on her dream though so her eyes widened before recognition started to drift in.
“Uh, hey, you're awake,” Rah said as White stretched, flexing her claws. “You were twitching and talking in your sleep,” Rah said.
“I … it was a weird dream. About the kittens …,” White said quietly as she stretched again then went to grooming herself. “I dreamed about Blondie and living in the slums …,” she grimaced.
“Well, it happens,” Rah said, sounding unsure of herself. “You think something triggered it?”
“I don't know. It could be exposure to the kittens,” White said as she heard the kittens playing in another room. “Guilt,” she murmured.
“Yeah, there is that. Have you tried writing to them?”
White nodded as she got up. “Yeah, nothing, not even from Zelma. Nothing from Ghost too. I hate not knowing, you know?”
“I get that part. Closure. Well, we can try again. I'm a cop. It's not my jurisdiction, but I can put a word in.”
“Thank you,” White said as she got up. She looked at the clock and then grimaced. “I guess I better get ready to help you feed the brat pack, then scoot off to class.”
“Yeah, easier said than done,” Rah sighed as they heard a crash. Both cats winced.
<)>^<)>/
One by one, or in the occasional group of two, the remaining nine Phase II candidates arrived and were run through the initial set-up phases. Every single one of them volunteered even after Jethro insisted on making them see what the nanites could do if they went out of control.
It made him question their sanity from time to time. Then again, since he already knew, what did it say about his? And he was a parent; he had even less of a gripe some people said. He shook his head.
He'd toured the new base under construction with Major Lyon last Friday. Things were slowly coming together now that they'd found a budget to get the job done.
Monday he'd overseen the last of the candidates to get outfitted with their suits. Riley and Ox had been on hand to help with the fitting and teething issues that tended to crop up. The first group of six were in various stages of recovery, either from the surgeries or in the case of the first two, from activation of their A.I. and nanites.
Major Lyon was even busier now that Admiral Sienkov had arrived in the star system. The admiral had taken control of the Intelligence Ministry and was busy building it. He frequently tapped Lieutenant Fletcher and Major Lyon to help out in that regard. Jethro had heard in passing that Captain Montgomery was pretty friendly with the admiral.
He shook his head as he checked on things. Tungulria was handling the RECON and early phases of the training. Letanga still had issues with cloaking. It seemed to be a mental block, but he'd come a long way and was assisting the Neowolf with the more advanced training regime.
The major and senior leadership had sat down at a round table to discuss how to handle the new meat and incorporate them into the mix. They'd made some changes, shuffled some of the old guard around.
Shic had moved on to lead Squad 3's Fire Team 2 shooters. His other four teammates were made out of new blood so he would have his hands full. Fortunately, they were some of the last in so they weren't up to speed yet. Shic seemed rather impatient to get his team on its feet though.
Sergeant Sully Morris replaced Shic on the major's HQ fire team. The Neochimp was a good shooter, and even though he was new to his rocker, he was steady and squared away.
Tungulria was slated to be transferred to lead Squad 3 as senior most noncom as well as Fire Team 1. He seemed up to the task even though he only ha
d one new blood in the fire team at the moment. There had been a bit of talk about offering him a warrant in the future. From the occasional sulfurous growl, the black Neowolf didn't seem too keen about the added responsibility.
Speaking of transfers, Jasper had been bumped to lance corporal to take on more responsibility and to handle his own fire team. He also had to train the crop of lance corporals and sergeants assigned to heavy weapons who had come in, though they outranked him. The plan was for each of them to eventually end up with their own fire team, though for the time being they would form two fire teams. The newest class had five shooters, three RECON, one engineer, and three heavy weapon troopers.
Sergeant V'n'r had started up Squad 1's Fire Team 3 of heavy weapons, with Sylvia to help him get up to speed. Jethro would miss her, and he was dubious of taking on Corporal Richards. That wasn't anything to be said bad about the Neogorilla, but Lance was an engineer, not quite the specialist Jethro had in mind for his fire team. He'd wanted an entire team made out of RECON when he'd taken on Lance Corporal Uraj Majoric as well, but the major had overruled him.
Which to be fair would keep Jethro honest. He was a warrant; he had to stay back and in charge. He couldn't go harrying off checking the front out and be out of contact with the squad for an extended length of time. After a bit of soul searching, Jethro had become resigned to that fact.
Pamplona had taken over Tungulria's old fire team or would once the move was made official later in the week. She only had one greenhorn to deal with, Corporal Dave Phillips.
Jasper's fire team was still shorthanded, and Squad 3 had no heavy weapons squad at all and its command team was also short. There were still a few loose ends of course, and the major was considering shifting things around and either breaking up Letanga's RECON squad to flesh out Tungulria's and transferring his third fire team to Squad 3 or doing something else. Fleshing out Squad 3 would make sense in the short term since they were more likely to see combat over Squad 1. Squad 1 was going to be the reserve since the major was in it, and since Tungulria had taken over half the training, it made sense to have him hang back as well. Not that the Black Neowolf saw things that way. But all in all, things were looking up.