by Ryk Brown
Captain Roselle and two of the marines followed the lieutenant commander and one of his men toward the control center. Once at the door, the lieutenant commander punched in his security code and opened the door, holding it for Captain Roselle and his men.
Gil stepped aside, waiting for the lieutenant commander to take the lead. “Let’s start with security command,” he instructed.
“As you wish, sir,” the lieutenant commander agreed, leading them down the corridor.
“How many men are currently on duty?” Gil inquired.
“We’re short-staffed at the moment. Normally, the plant runs around the clock. But the alerts delayed some of the flight training and the yard got backed up with ready ships, so production has been halted for the last week. Night staff is currently ten guards, and four officers.”
“And how many marines are stationed on base?”
“Fifty, give or take a few,” the lieutenant commander replied. “They work three day rotations, and some of them live on the other side of the lake, so they come in the night before. The current rotation ends at zero eight hundred today.”
Lieutenant Commander Kessler stopped at the entrance to security command, punching his code into the door lock. Again, he opened the door and allowed the captain and his men to enter.
“This is security command,” the lieutenant commander stated. “Of course, you know that, sir.”
“I see that two of your cameras are down,” Captain Roselle said, feigning concern. “How long?”
“Camera four went down yesterday afternoon, and camera twenty-one went down a few hours ago. There are work orders waiting for maintenance when they report in at zero nine hundred, and I have stationed an additional guard at each of the camera location as a precaution.”
“Very good.” Gil felt the comm-unit in his pocket vibrate.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like me to show you, Captain?” the lieutenant commander asked.
“Two things,” Captain Roselle began. “First, I’d like you to transmit this message to my ship. Narrow band, blind transmission, no response or acknowledgment required.” Gil handed him a data card.
“Sir?”
“I’m taking advantage of being up, and initiating a surprise drill for the Benakh,” Gil explained, a sinister smile on his face.
“Of course,” the lieutenant commander said, handing the data card to one of the technicians. “Transmit this, per the captain’s instructions.”
The technician slid the data card into a slot on his console, then initiated the transmission. “Message is being sent,” he assured the lieutenant commander.
Lieutenant Commander Kessler turned back to Captain Roselle. “You said there were two things, sir?”
“Indeed,” Gil replied. “Do you have a secure closet? One large enough to accommodate, say…” Gil looked around the room, counting heads, “…five men?”
“Sir?”
“A closet, Lieutenant Commander. A secure closet. Do you have one?”
“Uh, yes, sir, over there,” the lieutenant commander replied, pointing toward the corner of the room. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I need someplace to lock you all up in,” Captain Roselle said plainly, a smile on his face.
The guard next to the lieutenant commander made a move for his gun, but stopped when the two marines flanking Captain Roselle quickly raised their weapons and charged them to full power.
“Hands high!” one of the marines barked. “Nobody touches anything!”
“What’s going on, Captain?” the lieutenant commander asked, bewildered. “What kind of an inspection is this?”
“It’s not an inspection,” Gil said, smiling, “it’s a heist.”
* * *
“Sir, our sensor array just went down,” Ensign Vukovic stated.
Lieutenant Commander Norath moved across the Benakh’s bridge toward the sensor station, his fourth cup of coffee of the night in hand. “The entire array?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is that possible?”
“I’m running diagnostics now,” the sensor operator replied. “We should know in a minute or two.”
Lieutenant Commander Norath thought for a moment. It wasn’t the first time the Benakh’s antiquated sensor array had gone down unexpectedly, and every time it had done so in the past it had come back online a few minutes later. Engineering had spent countless hours trying to troubleshoot the cause of the intermittent failures. The best they could come up with was ‘unexplained overheating of power relays’. They had supposedly resolved the issue, and there were plans to take the entire system down and replace it after the Aurora’s overhaul was completed. But just like the Aurora’s overhaul, those plans had been postponed when the Jung began showing up deep inside Alliance space a few weeks ago.
“Link us into Tau Ceti’s sensor net,” Lieutenant Commander Norath ordered. “I’d rather not be blind.”
“The data from the Tau Ceti system-wide sensor net will be a few minutes old,” the sensor officer reminded the lieutenant commander. “I may have this resolved by then.”
“I’ll buy you breakfast if you do, Ensign. But I’d still like to have the connection as a backup, just in case.”
“Should I notify the XO?” the communications officer wondered.
“Not yet,” Lieutenant Commander Norath said. “Let’s see if we can get it fixed in short order. Besides, this may be one of those surprise tests he is so fond of.”
“Regulations state that the commanding officer is supposed to be notified when any systems, critical to ship’s operations, are not functioning properly,” the tactical officer stated.
“Should be notified, Lieutenant, not supposed to be notified,” the lieutenant commander corrected. “Two entirely different meanings, the latter of which gives me discretion as officer of the watch.”
“Of course, sir,” the tactical officer agreed, feeling properly chastised and somewhat embarrassed for having misquoted the regulation.
“Make that diagnostic quick, Ensign,” the lieutenant commander urged, his voice a bit tense.
“Aye, sir.”
“Comms, warn flight ops that we may have to launch an additional patrol, close in.”
“Yes, sir,” the communications officer replied.
The more Lieutenant Commander Norath thought about it, the more he was certain that he was being tested. Early morning, the captain’s off-ship, near the end of the watch, when everyone is tired… If this was one of Commander Ellison’s little surprise tests, he was determined not to fail it.
* * *
The inside of the cargo pod lit up briefly as the light from the Morsiko-Tavi’s jump spilled in through the opening before Commander Jarso and his Rakers.
“Raker Leader, Morsiko-Tavi. Jump complete. You are clear to launch. See you at the recovery point.”
“Tavi, Raker Leader. Don’t be late,” Commander Jarso replied. “Leader to all Rakers, follow me out.”
Commander Jarso applied slight upward thrust, then forward, sending his fighter sliding out of the cargo bay into open space. He waited several seconds for his ship to completely clear the cargo pod’s exit, then applied enough thrust to bring him up to insertion speed.
The commander glanced over his right shoulder, looking back to see the other five Rakers following him out. “Leader to all Rakers, turn to jump heading.”
Commander Jarso initiated the turn, coming to the course they had calculated would bring them to their target in a single, half-light-year jump.
A quick glance at his squadron status display told him that all his mens’ ships were on course and speed, and were ready to jump. “Leader to all Rakers, jump in three……two……one…”
Commander Jarso touched the jump button on hi
s flight control stick. His canopy suddenly turned opaque and he felt as if his ship had hit a wall, throwing him forward against his restraints. As his ship shook violently, his canopy cleared revealing the lights of Geraleise spaceport directly below them.
The commander quickly activated his targeting system, selecting the four leftmost targets, as planned. A few seconds later, his targeting systems verified the targets had been acquired and his weapons were ready to fire. He reached forward, pressing the auto-attack button on his console, transferring control of his diving fighter to the combat computers. The ship began flying itself as the plasma cannons on either wing sent a barrage of plasma bolts streaking toward the surface. His combat flight computers made tiny adjustments much more quickly and accurately than any human pilot could, allowing him to destroy all four targets on the ground before the men stationed at the spaceport could even realize just what the alert klaxons they were hearing truly meant.
Once his targets were obliterated, he took back control of his ship, pitched his nose up level to end his dive toward the spaceport, and pressed the jump button to clear the immediate area before the surface defenses could lock onto him and seek their revenge.
As Sergeant Ayers and Sergeant Morano herded the stunned lieutenant commander and his men into the closet, Gil Roselle inserted a data chip into the security console and typed in his command codes.
As he waited for the data to download onto the data chip, he pulled out his comm-unit to check his messages. As the officer tasked to protect the entire Tau Ceti system, he would be notified if anything within the system was amiss. As expected, he was receiving flash traffic about an attack at the Geraleise spaceport by an unknown enemy.
“All personnel have been secured,” Sergeant Ayers reported.
The console beeped and Gil removed the data chip, inserting it into his comm-unit. “I’ve got the codes,” he told them. “Get into position and I’ll join you in a moment.”
The two Ghatazhak sergeants, both dressed in Alliance Marine combat armor, exited the room, securing their escape route.
Gil typed in several commands, causing the security system to go into an emergency restart cycle. As soon as the cycle started, he turned and went to the server rack and planted several small, remotely-triggered charges. “That should do it,” he decided, taking one last look around.
Just then, the security console went dark and Gil smiled and exited.
Neither Ghatazhak sergeants bothered restraining or imprisoning the officer and guard who had brought them to the launch control tower, choosing simply to stun them instead.
“You sure that will keep them out long enough?” Commander Ellison wondered as he uploaded Vladimir’s improved control program into the ground movement and launch control system.
“By the time they wake, we’ll be long gone, or long dead,” Sergeant Notoni assured the commander. The light next to the data card slot blinked green and the system beeped, indicating the upload was complete.
Commander Ellison typed in execution instructions, then activated the time delayed program. He turned to look at the two Ghatazhak sergeants dressed in Alliance Marine combat armor. “So far, this is going too easily.”
“Don’t say that,” Sergeant Notoni said. “Things usually start to go terribly wrong immediately afterwards.”
“Superstitious Ghatazhak,” the commander scoffed as he headed for the exit. “Now I’ve heard everything.”
The windows on the combat jump shuttle turned opaque, and the entire ship suddenly jolted as if it had struck something in the air.
“Twenty seconds,” Lieutenant Latfee warned over General Telles’s helmet comms. The general reached over and released the latch on the port side door, allowing it to slide aft. At the same time, Lieutenant Jessup, sitting next to him, did the same with the starboard door.
The cool pre-dawn air of Kohara swirled into the cabin of the combat jump shuttle as it swooped in low over the rolling hills of the Geraleise province. The general checked his weapon, then dropped his visor to check the tactical data it was designed to display.
“Ten seconds,” the lieutenant updated.
The fact that the automated weapons towers were not already firing at them told General Telles that Captain Roselle, and likely Commander Ellison, had completed the first and most critical phase of the operation without incident.
“Five seconds,” the lieutenant warned.
“Good luck, boys,” Sergeant Torwell said from the topside weapons turret.
General Telles tapped the trusted sergeant’s boot as a response as he turned toward the open doorway in preparation.
“Go, go, go,” Lieutenant Latfee ordered calmly.
Neither General Telles nor any of the three men with him bothered to look out the door before they leapt out. Their trust in the skill of their pilots was complete.
On the way out the door, General Lucius Telles glanced at the time display on his tactical visor. The local time was zero five forty-five thirty, ninety minutes before sunrise.
“What was that?” Charnelle wondered.
“What was what?” Aiden asked as he continued with the simulation.
“I thought I saw a flash of light outside, like a jump flash.”
“Probably just a shuttle on approach. Cargo or something,” Kenji said. “They come and go at all hours.”
“Yeah, but you probably don’t know that because your rooms face the gunship yard instead of the landing pads, like ours,” Aiden complained.
“Let’s finish up this sim,” Sari urged. “We need to think about getting to our own ship to get ready.”
The lights in the marine barracks at the Kohara Cobra plant suddenly came on as an alert klaxon sounded.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Corporal Travis moaned, pulling his blanket up over his head.
All over the barracks, marines immediately got out of their bunks and began pulling on their pants and boots, preparing to respond to the alert.
“Get your lazy ass up, Travis!” Sergeant Beechum urged his bunk neighbor. “It’s an alert.”
“It’s a fucking drill, Sarge,” the corporal complained. “And I’m not even on duty yet.”
“You take a bunk, you respond to an alert, Corporal. Those are the rules,” the sergeant insisted, ripping the blanket off the corporal. “Move your ass.”
“LET’S MOVE, MARINES!” the duty officer barked as he stormed into the barracks. “ALL SECURITY SYSTEMS ARE OFF LINE! THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DRILL!”
Corporal Travis reluctantly sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and pulling on his pants. “Next time, I’m staying at a hotel in town.”
“Ghatazhak!” Commander Kellen barked from the front of the cargo shuttle’s main bay. “Stand ready!”
The nineteen other soldiers immediately stood, dropping their helmet visors and checking their weapons.
“Ten seconds,” Lieutenant Quinlan warned.
“Dropping the ramp,” the crew chief announced.
The ramp at the back of the cargo shuttle began to open, allowing the outside air to come swirling into the long cargo bay full of Ghatazhak. The ship rocked as it touched down, and the ramp hit the ground a moment later.
“MOVE OUT!” the commander ordered.
Ghatazhak soldiers ran down the ramp in two lines, raising their weapons to ready position and breaking off to the right and left as their feet touched the ground.
Commander Kellen was the last man out, following Delta team to the right as the two squads headed for the gunships.
The commander glanced at his visor, noting the local time was zero five forty-six.
Jessica sat next to the boarding hatch of the SAR shuttle. She scanned the faces of everyone sitting with her. She knew that Deliza, Yanni, and Loki would do as they we
re told. They were too scared to do otherwise. She also knew that Vladimir had spent six years in the Russian military as a foot soldier prior to joining the Earth Defense Force and attending the academy, so she expected him to be fine, as well. Josh on the other hand, was always unpredictable. The young man had amazing skills as a pilot, but his over-confidence often blinded him to his inabilities in other areas.
Robert, of course, was a well-trained, highly-experienced officer. Although he had no field operations experience, she knew that she could count on him to keep cool and remain effective if the mission took an unexpected turn.
The wild card, as usual, was Nathan. Although he appeared to be his old self again, there were times that Connor’s personality reared its head, causing momentary confusions within him. This only added to his unpredictable and impulsive nature. Unfortunately, once they stepped out the door, they would all be headed to different ships, and she would not be able to protect him and keep him under control, as if she ever could.
The SAR shuttle touched down, bouncing slightly. Robert and Nathan immediately began shutting everything down, since they planned to abandon the SAR shuttle.
Jessica popped the hatch open and jumped out, falling the last meter to the soft grass below rather than using the single step that had deployed out of the shuttle’s fuselage. Her weapon raised, she immediately moved to the left in the direction from which the responding marines would come, dropping down to one knee at the aft end of the shuttle to scan for threats.
Vladimir was next out, jumping to the ground and landing in a crouch, the same as Jessica had done. He raised his weapon, and moved to the right, also dropping down to one knee at the nose of the shuttle, scanning for threats.
Nathan, having quickly climbed from the copilot’s seat to the open hatch, stood waiting for signals from Jessica and Vladimir indicating it was safe for everyone to deploy. After a few seconds, Jessica’s hand went up signaling it was clear on her side. Nathan looked to Vladimir, who gave a similar hand sign. “Let’s go,” Nathan said, turning back to the other passengers.