The packages were at a distance of almost four thousand kilometers when the squawk was sounded. This meant that it would take the packages would take almost twice the amount of time to arrive than planned. The moment the packages got their marching orders, small explosive bolts blew out the carbon coated meteor camouflage of the missiles. The missiles oriented themselves and then turned on their thrusters at full throttle. This was standard operating procedure for human mine/missiles. What was unique to these four missiles, was that these four were actively broadcasting their position in encoded signals.
It would normally be considered crazy for a missile to broadcast its own position. That makes the job of an antimissile that much easier. There was a reason for these four missile to do so, though. Humans were fairly certain from what the heretics had told them that there were no missile defense system on this moon. More importantly the missiles need to let the marines know where they were without anyone on the space station getting a clue about the existence or the location of the marines. Hence broadcast it all round, and let the marines pick up the signal.
Lt. Pimenta saw the signal of the four missiles and immediately knew that they had hit upon their first real snag of the mission. They would have to improvise, else their plan was in trouble. Lt. Pimenta quickly routed the data being sent from the missile to his computer and asked it to calculate the maximum delay possible for the marines to start their final approach burn and yet crash into the space station at no more than thirty five kilometers per hour. That speed in itself was fairly dangerous for even an armored marine to crash into a hard object. Some marines might break bones if they didn’t land properly, and there was serious risk of getting impaled if any of the marines or the heretic warriors landed on something sharp and protruding.
Even the maximum delay wasn’t good enough. Lt. Pimenta realized that the assault team would have to show their hands a bit too soon. It wasn’t being shot at that he feared, as much as the word getting out beyond this moon. That would ruin the entire mission, and probably doom the marines in the next phase of their mission. This whole mission depended too much on stealth and deception for Lt. Pimenta’s liking. Lt. Pimenta had a plan for preventing the word from getting out too early. He just hoped that the space station was full of novices who would panic, and not be able to keep their wits about them when all hell broke loose.
---XXX---
“Proctor! It is as the Warmaster had predicted! Four missiles floating in the dark near our moon, suddenly came to life and are headed straight at us!” Despite the training imparted, the Proctor could taste fear and panic in the taste of the novice reporting to him. The Proctor tasted the radar report. Despite this being a warrior training facility, the communication and navigation equipment was non-warrior grade, used by the curious caste and the builders. This place was never designed to be a warrior base.
The radar report, along with the report from the optical and infrared telescope, which had translated light into taste, gave a consistent report. Four missiles with the characteristic signature of Ka-Baal missiles were headed straight at the base, and possibly also targeting the space station. The missiles were at their maximum observed acceleration. The intent was clear.
The academy had not been embedded deep into the ground. It was hard to dig on this moon, and there were no natural tunnels deep inside this moon. So the academy had been built in a shallow impact crater, covered up from above. It was literally on the surface, something that their beings usually don’t do. The academy had no protection from a nuclear strike. The proctor resigned to the inevitability of what was to follow. He decide to do the best he could for the novices and the trainers, hoping some of them would survive.
“Sound the evacuation alarm for the entire academy. Ask the beings to carry extra battery and rations and get as far away from the academy, as fast as they can. Ask every being to evacuate now!” The proctor ordered the novice. Then he connected directly to the space station. The channel was answered by the dispatch, who immediately connect the Proctor to the only trainer currently on board the space station.
“Scent of Sacrifice, there are four Ka-Baal missiles heading our way, no doubt to blow away the academy and possibly the space station as well. Get as many beings as you can out of the space station. Use the local shuttles to evacuate as many as will fit, and move them behind the moon. Undock the two interplanetary shuttles from the space station and move them behind the moon as well. Those shuttles will be the only hope of rescue for any being lucky enough to survive. Do it now Scent of Sacrifice, there is no time to waste.”
The Proctor issued the instructions, but didn’t wait for acknowledgment. He had precious little time. He made a data packet of his course of action and left the live feed coming from the radar and the telescope in transmission mode to the warrior council headquarters on World #2. The signal time delay meant that they would be receiving the alarm sounded by the academy only a few seconds later. The Proctor intended to be on his way out by then. He had a duty to try and save his own life, even more than ever right now. This whole moon was filled with novices, who would need his guidance to survive, if they survived the initial nuclear attack.
As the Proctor filed out of the academy, he noticed the novice who had initially reported about the missiles to him also exiting. “It makes not too much difference any longer Proctor, but I think I had detected the triggering signal of those missiles.” The novice radioed the Proctor moving besides him.
“What?! You did?! And you found it not important to convey that information to me? Which being in their right mind told you that such information is not important?” The Proctor conveyed his disbelief and anger at the novice. Then realized that the being running besides him was only a novice, and probably had no appreciation of the significance of such information to a warrior.
“This novice stands corrected Proctor, and shall remember the significance of such information henceforth. I cannot be absolutely sure that I found the triggering signal, because I didn’t have the time to run it through a computer analysis. The loud squawk was flagged by the computer as an anomaly, and almost immediately the alarm for those missiles was raised. It seemed too much of a co-incidence to me, so I am guessing that the signal was meant to trigger the missiles.” The novice replied.
“And you are probably right in making that connection novice, but do you realize the implication of that signal novice? It implies that there is an enemy vessel somewhere nearby which would have issued that signal. Even if we can’t do anything about it, don’t you think that is the kind of information that we need to convey back to the warrior headquarters?” The Proctor asked.
“I understand now Proctor. I can still run a computer analysis remotely. I am still connected to the control station remotely.” The novice replied.
“Do it now. If true, this is significant information that we need to pass on.” The Proctor replied.
The analysis was run, and the results of the analysis lay waiting, but the excitable novice had forgotten about it by then, because he had something even more dramatic to report to the Proctor. This was the first lucky break that the marines got, otherwise their deception might have been revealed to the warrior headquarters in World #2. “Proctor! The space station is reporting flares of space suit thrusters all around the space station!”
“What in the name of Ka is happening?!” The Proctor exclaimed.
---XXX---
The time was upon them, the computer had delayed this event as much as possible. It couldn’t be delayed any further, if the marines didn’t want to be plastered all over the walls of the space station. Stealth was over and done with, now the marines and the heretic warriors had to reveal themselves and go into straight action. The suit thrusters of the Marines and the heretics went into full throttle simultaneously, along with the lifting of radio silence. Radio communication wasn’t going to last too long, so Lt. Pimenta took advantage of the time he had and quickly started coordinating and giving out orders.
<
br /> “Approximately four minutes to radio blackout. Sergeant Dorji, I can see a few marines badly out of position. Warn them and guide them if needed. Remind them that if they miss the station, we may not have the opportunity to pick them up again. Unless they want to become a permanent satellite of this godforsaken moon, they better up their game. That should motivate them.
“Master Scent of Swiftness, the same goes for your warriors. I can see many more True Believers than Humans out of position.” Lt. Pimenta said, adding an element of friendly inter species competition to goad all of them to do better. “Remind your warriors that getting lost in orbit is an inglorious death and does not lead to the path of the Truth. The opportunity for glory and a place with the prophet lies in being able to land on that space station.”
A few moments later the heretic leader connected with Lt. Pimenta. “Master Offspring of God, I see the service shuttles being undocked, but more importantly, I see beings boarding the two interplanetary shuttles. They are making preparations to undock those two shuttles and move them away. It looks like the delay in the arrival of the missiles has given the beings on the space station enough time to react. If they succeed in moving away with those two interplanetary shuttles, then our mission will fail and we would be doomed.”
“On the contrary, this might just be the opportunity and the break we were looking for. Depending on how you look at it, this action on part of the beings on the space station can be a bane or a boon. All we have to do is adapt and improvise. Look at it this way, we no longer have to force our way into the space station. They have opened the hatches to evacuate the beings faster on to the interplanetary shuttles. We no longer need to get in and find the dock release mechanism for the interplanetary shuttles, they would be released for us by the beings inside the station. All we have to do is to change our plan and target slightly.” Lt. Pimenta said.
“Easier said than done Master Offspring of God. By the time we reach the station, the interplanetary shuttles could well be undocked and on their way. We have no hope of catching them in our suits.” The heretic leader retorted.
“That is true, if you think conventionally. But we have a secret weapon that those beings boarding the shuttles aren’t aware of – you… and your warriors Master Scent of Swiftness. I believe that your beings can withstand far higher impact force than our beings. I am told not having to depend on skeletal support means that your beings can withstand three times the impact force of our beings and yet not be significantly injured. Is that correct?” Lt. Pimenta asked.
“That is broadly correct Master Offspring of God, although it is not advisable unless there is an emergency.” The heretic leader replied.
“Trust me Master Scent of Swiftness, this is an emergency. The next question is this. Would the interplanetary shuttles suffer any damage if many of your beings were to impact on it with that much force?” Lt. Pimenta asked.
“Our beings believe in robust engineering Master Offspring of God. Like our bodies, our void vessels are robust, whatever be their class and purpose. Ka-Baal build flimsy void vessels just like their bodies, not us beings! The interplanetary shuttles would not even suffer a scratch with our impact.” The heretic leader replied, and Lt. Pimenta thought that he could sense a touch of pride in the reply of the Shaitan.
“Then there is a change of plan Master Scent of Swiftness. Instruct your warriors to reduce their thrust and target the maximum impact velocity that they can reasonably withstand. That will enable them to reach their destination a lot faster and hopefully beat those beings undocking the interplanetary shuttles. Let them divide themselves into two groups and instead of targeting the space station, let them target those interplanetary shuttles. I know that those shuttles are a lot smaller target that the space station, and many might miss. Hopefully some would still be able to hit the space station. Don’t tell your warriors right now, but despite what I said earlier, we will wait and pick up any of your warriors who misses the space station as well and goes into orbit. For the moment let them try their best, believing that it is a do or die situation.”
“The warriors of the True believers always fight like it is a do or die situation Master Offspring of God. They do not need the incentive of being able to keep their life. They forfeit the right to life, the moment they enter the battlefield as a warrior. But I get your point. I will instruct them immediately.” The heretic leader replied, and again Lt. Pimenta thought he could detect a hint of pride in the reply. He had been told that Shaitans do not indulge in such base emotion as pride or hatred. He was sure that the experts who had told him so, didn’t understand the Shaitans as well as he was getting to know them while fighting besides them.
“Good Master Scent of Swiftness, for I will let you know the second part of the plan, once you have finished instructing your warriors. Sergeant Dorji, there is no change of plans for the Marines, but they will now have to storm the space station all by themselves without any help from the warriors. The objective of the Marines is simple. Get inside the hatch and prevent any more of the Shaitans from exiting the space station. You will have to hold them there till I give the signal to evacuate, then you run like hell and reach any of the two shuttles.” Lt. Pimenta commanded.
Then he added more softly. “It is going to be tough Dorji, don’t kid yourself about your task. The Shaitans live a lot more cramped than humans. God knows how many Shaitans are crammed inside that space station. You may have to hold off hundreds, possibly even a thousand desperate Shaitans who will be pushing out with their sheer weight. You will have to block the entrance with a pile of bodies. Preferably with Shaitan bodies. This is too early in the mission to start mourning Marines. Is that understood sergeant?”
“Loud and clear, sir. The Marines will get the job done, sir.” Sergeant Ranjo Dorji replied in his typical drill sergeant voice.
“Good luck Marine. I will see you on the other side.” Lt. Pimenta said softly. He hoped this was not the last time he was speaking to this human warrior from the Himalayas. He expected the Marine casualties to be high.
The heretic commander got back to Lt. Pimenta, having instructed his warriors and having himself reduced his thrust, and as a result moved way ahead of the lieutenant. Lt. Pimenta quickly explained to the heretic commander what was expected of his warriors once they reached those interplanetary shuttles. It was just as well that he was quick in his explanation, for just as he finished, the first of the missiles arrived. It ignored the space station, went past it headed straight for the academy.
The two megaton missile vaporized the academy leaving no trace but a larger crater than the original one over which the academy had been built. The explosion was as unspectacular as any in space, since the moon didn’t have any atmosphere. What was spectacular was the afterglow of the explosion left in the heated crater. For a few seconds it glowed red and orange in the visible spectrum and then for a much longer time in the infrared spectrum, before the cold of space cooled the crater.
Lt. Pimenta hardly had time to finish gaping at the first explosion, when the second missile arrived. This one was different. This one too ignored the space station and headed below, but halfway through to the surface it exploded in space. The explosion produced a blinding flash of light, but even to a casual observer, it would have been obvious that it had not produced as much heat as was expected of a two megaton blast. This nuke had been engineered differently. It gave out a large proportion of its energy as EMP or Electro-Magnetic Pulse, something all nukes give out, but in smaller quantity.
If this nuke had exploded any closer to space station, the electronics in the marines’ suits would have fried. The effect of this explosion was that every radio transmission in the vicinity of the moon was jammed. It would stay jammed for a few minutes. The humans had cut off the metaphorical phone line to the house before beginning the heist!
Lt. Pimenta’s mind was brought back to the task at hand by the jerk due to his suit thruster cutting off. He turned his suit using the lateral
thrusters and could see the space station approach towards him at a frightening speed. Despite this, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at the two interplanetary space shuttles. He could visually see a few suits clung on to the shuttle in a manner only Shaitans were capable of clinging on to. His IFF wasn’t working due to the EMP blast, so he couldn’t be sure how many of the Shaitans made it to those shuttles. Hopefully they had gotten down to work. The faster the heretics finish their job, the faster the Marines can exit the space station, and thus lesser of the Marines would be killed.
Lt. Pimenta decided to push these thoughts out of his mind for the moment, and concentrate on the immediate job at hand – survive the crash he was about to experience. He thought clicked his suit computer to ensure that his suit was suitably coated with the special fluid that had been provided to them for this mission. It was one of the standard issue fluids that could be inserted into a cartridge pouch in the suit, connected to the suits surface pump.
The surface pump mechanism was used to coat the surface of the suit with any fluid appropriate for the mission. On missions that needed atmospheric jumps, it was pumped with cooling foam, and on missions like this one, where the Marines needed to jump on a space station, it was pumped with adhesive foam. Not just any adhesive foam, but one of the strongest adhesive known to humans. The foam emerged from the skin of the suit and froze in the cold of space into a fluffy solid with the consistency of cotton candy.
The molecular bonds of this fluffy stuff went through a drastic change on force impact, instantly locking with each other and with any surface molecule with which it happened to be in contact. The bonding was so strong that even a crane would not be able to separate the suit from the surface it was attached to. The crane could tear the suit apart with the force applied, but not dislodge the adhesive bond. The only way this bond could be broken was to apply electrical charge to the surface of the suit, which would alter the molecular bonds once again and smoothly free the suit from the adhesive foam. Without the adhesive foam, no space boarding mission would be possible. Marines would simply bounce off any ship or space station they tried to board. Unlike what they showed in the movies, ships and space stations’ surfaces are not littered with handy grab rails, and even if they were, it would be impossible for a suited marine with gloved hands to grab hold of a rail to break his impact when he was crashing in at thirty five kilometers per hour.
Triumph & Defeat (Shaitan Wars Book 4) Page 28