Neptune's Massif

by Ben Winston

  "Orders understood, Major. I can have that ready in time," Samuel replied.

  "Okay, now the real fun starts. Open the door and let us in please," Jana asked and raised her pulse rifle to the ready position.

  The Argyris mining facility held a nominal crew of roughly five thousand people comprised of the staff, miners and their families. Jana knew going in that there were only thirty one hundred life signs remaining and that some of those would be rebels. It was a very intense, nerve-wracking hour that followed the team's entry. There were a few obvious guards and those were taken out quickly. The difficult part was rebels using people and children as shields. It didn't help them that much, but they did still try.

  Between the rebels fighting back and the people they simply killed outright, one rebel grabbed his weapon and just opened fire on anything that moved, which were mostly panicked hostages trying to run away. They lost another two hundred and ten people. According to the sensors, once the fighting stopped and the area cleared of all hostile forces, there were two thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four survivors.

  All of them were injured in some way, as well as being underfed and dehydrated. None of the station administration staff had survived, as they had been the first killed when the rebels arrived and took over. The other roughly two thousand people had died at the hands of the occupying troops.

  Once everything began to get back under control, Jana sighed and knew that she would have to stay at the station until another authority could be spared to take over here. She simply couldn't, in good conscious leave the station in the current social situation. She was tempted to leave a couple of times to assist in the battle, but these people really needed her, her team, and the three shuttle loads of medical and mental health people.

  Combat Theater 'Astra'

  Raptor Damocles

  House Boden Lunar Facilities

  New Talos System, Carnius Sector

  “Dealer, this is Joker Three. We are in position.” Cindy knew from listening to the comm traffic that Raptor Hephaestus, call sign Joker Five, was already in position and waiting on the other moon. She also knew that other teams had been sent to the four orbital fortresses, but had yet to report in.

  “We copy Joker Three. Joker Five?”

  “Five here.” Major Corvis of the Raptor Hephaestus answered.

  “You and Joker Three are ‘go fish’. Queen’s Bishop to Queen's Knight’s three.”

  The battle code, worked out by the operations section for this operation, told Cindy to begin her attack on the moon base she had been assigned. It also told her that ‘Queen’s Bishop’, in this case, Star Dancer, was moving into position between the two moons. The other ships had already been deployed around the system to handle any other surprises the rebels might have.

  “Joker Three, copy.” She answered, then switched to the intercom. “Okay people, we’re inbound. Get ready. ETA to drop point; three-zero seconds.”

  For this mission, Lissa would be alone aboard Damocles and would set down two kilometers away from the command center. After setting down, she would set the automatic defenses and begin her own assault against the base computer system.

  Cindy and Shannon would hike to a maintenance hatch near the missile command center, while Jerry and Sasha disabled the small hanger facility. The two groups were to wait for Lissa to gain control of the base computer system before breeching the base.

  Lissa reached her landing point, activated the automatic defenses and then leaned back in her chair. Closing her eyes, she pulled her consciousness into her core nestled in the heart of the Damocles’ main computer system. There she simply entered the moon base facility main computer and took control.

  The computer system was quite a bit larger than Lissa had expected. She discovered that the computer was also responsible for the military prison thirty kilometers away across the airless surface. She also discovered that the two facilities where connected by an underground, high speed tram, so workers and maintenance personnel could safely move between the two. This increased size took her a few extra minutes to gain control of. The computer fought back, but not much. She was an AI after all, and the base computer system wasn’t.

  Several kilometers away, a guard that had been alerted to watch for anything unusual near the base, noticed that part of a hill that had always been on the scanners was missing. He isolated then zoomed in on it. He discovered it was a strange distortion of some kind. He didn’t know if this was the ‘unusual’ he had been told to look for, but he didn’t want to take the chance and get stuffed out an airlock. Commander Tiel had been a vicious bastard before he was convicted of killing his own squad. The guard had seen firsthand evidence that the man hadn’t changed at all.

  “Commander, this is post four. I have something strange on the scanner over near the base,” the guard said over the comm.

  “Post four, do you think you can be a bit more specific? ‘Strange’ doesn’t help me very much,” came the terse reply.

  “Well, not really, Sir. It’s showing up as a distortion on one of the hill tops. It wasn’t there a minute ago,” the guard replied. "You told me to report anything unusual and this qualifies."

  “We see it down here now. We’ll send a team out to check it out. Good work, post four. Keep an eye on it; if there is any movement around it, let us know,” Tiel replied and closed the channel

  “Yes Sir! Asshole-Sir,” the guard mumbled and continued his watch.

  “Admiral Tomiakin, this is Commander Tiel at the missile base. We've detected something near the base. I’ve sent a team to investigate.”

  The military leader of the rebels looked confused for a moment. “Hmm, What would they be doing setting on the surface? They have no ground troops. Wait a minute! I bet it’s a Raptor! Have you seen any movement?”

  “No Sir, as far as we can tell, it’s just sitting there. No movement yet. What’s a Raptor?”

  “Never mind that now, it’s imperative you blow that thing up as fast as you can.”

  “Yes Sir. I’ll relay that to the team I’ve sent. I’d use a missile, but unfortunately, it’s sitting right on top of the tunnel.”

  “Actually that’s good, because a missile launch could be detected. We don’t want them to know we are aware that they are here yet."

  Commander Tiel frowned, “What about our pilots? Should we at least put them on standby?”

  “Yes, get them to their ready rooms. If the Raptor team hasn’t moved yet, then the rest of their forces are still moving in.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Tomiakin out.”

  Lissa gained control of the computer system just as the alert signal was sent out to the base. She acknowledged the signal as if she were the computer. However inside the base, no such alert was given. Lissa also discovered the truth about the facilities.

  Lissa called Cindy, “Joker Three-One to Joker Three Actual, abort mission and return. We are compromised.”

  “Fuck me! What’s your status, three-one?”

  “I have a lunar crawler advancing on my position from the direction of the prison. However, the computer system was issued an order to bring the base to full alert. It seems to me that someone should be calling back to verify the order. I am currently searching the base records to see who is supposed to be on duty so I can imitate them. I also found out that there are no civilians or standard Talosian military personnel on that base.”

  “So the question becomes, where did they take the people from this base?” Cindy asked.

  “The base is under the control of military prisoners from the prison. All regular personnel have been taken to the prison and locked up. In fact, there are only prisoners in the base at present.”

  The pause told Lissa that her commander was thinking.

  “Fuck me.” Cindy said again. “You better tell Dealer that they know we’re here. We’re on our way back. Can you handle that crawler?”

  Lissa chuckled, “No problem, its computer controlled and still s
eventeen kilometers away. They will have an equipment malfunction in a few more kilometers. It should be a long walk back to the prison.”

  “Good, three-three and three-four, did you copy that?” Cindy asked.

  “Da, we are also on our way back,” Sasha replied.

  “Good, maybe by the time we get back there, ops will have figured a way to get our asses out of this sling.”

  Lissa noticed that the computer had been programmed to search for comm channels and had just locked on to her team’s channel. She also found the feed from the strange sensors. While she pondered the new sensors, she compiled a report for command then called it in.

  Combat Theater 'Astra'

  Rebel Command Post

  Location Unknown

  New Talos System, Carnius Sector

  “Okay, they’ve started moving in. Have we locked onto the comms yet?” Tomiakin asked.

  “No Sir. So far, they haven’t transmitted close enough to one of our listening posts. We are still working on it,” one of the techs replied.

  “Good, let me know the minute you get something. That’s how they track their own fighters, so we have to find that channel. Any other energy signatures after the Summer's Eve reported in?”

  The man at the comm station turned and shook his head, “Nothing, Sir. It seems they have to be very close for these sensors to work. Perhaps once we lock on to their comms we can maintain a fixed lock on them even if they shift channels.”

  “Well, keep working on it. I have to report something to our new ‘President’.” Tomiakin smirked. A round of chuckles ran through the assembled officers. “Alert the other moon base and orbital stations to watch for a Raptor approaching. There can’t be more than four of them, so let’s try to find them before they can cause us mischief." Tomiakin paused and looked at the layout in the holotank. How could a Raptor have already landed on the moon if they didn't detect the hyperspace event of its arrival? It had to have been carried in or it had to have been in the system for a while, and they simply hadn't detected it. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "Get me Commander Roan on the Summer's Eve."

  "Sir, I'm not getting a response to hails. However, I can still access all the data feeds from her sensors. They might have had a comm failure, it's not unusual since the AI malfunctions began," the tech reported.

  "It would be very odd timing for such a failure, Ensign. See if you can get one of our fighters or other craft out there to verify that. If we lose that base, we're in trouble," Tomiakin ordered.

  "Sir, I have reestablished comms with the Summer's Eve. They did have a comm failure. The lieutenant there also reports that Commander Roan is currently away from the bridge dealing with a discipline issue. He asked if you would like for him to call you once he returns to the Bridge," the ensign at the comm terminal asked.

  Tomiakin sighed. "No, that won't be necessary. Thank you, Ensign. Good Work."

  The tech nodded to his superior and turned back to his station and the task of locating the enemy communications channels.

  Very quietly, Tomiakin studied the large hologram in front of him and mumbles; "What are you up to Ian Williams?"

  Combat Theater 'Astra'

  Star Dancer Command Center

  New Talos System, Carnius Sector

  “The report from the Damocles is troubling, Sir, but not much there is out of line with what we already knew. The interesting part is that the base computer system was actively searching for comm channels and was plugged into a network of energy sensors. We believe they are trying to detect our cloaked ships either by the comm signals or the energy output of the ships. We’ve already ensured they won’t be able to lock on to our comms, but we have no idea how these energy sensors work. If they can lock onto any of our comm channels we believe that they will be able to track us. At that point, it’ll be a stand up boxing match,” Chloe reported. "The same energy sensors were connected to the Summer's Eve sensor network. I've passed on a request for Samuel on the Cherokee to analyze them and let us know what we're facing."

  “If it comes to that, we’ll still be able to take the system, but it will mean casualties.” Ian thought for a moment. "Any word from Hephaestus?”

  “We issued a hold order on their attack, but told them to proceed with the computer assault. They report that the base has been placed on alert. The computer system recorded a full change in personnel recently. The files on those brought in list them as recently pardoned prisoners as well. Jess reported the same sensors and comms monitoring."

  Ian thought for a moment, kicking scenarios around in his mind. “Get me a comm to the Damocles.” Ian ordered. “And tell Hephaestus to proceed with the attack, but not to worry about civilians. If it’ll speed things up, tell them to gas the facility.”

  “Joker Three,” Cindy’s voice said a few seconds later.

  “Joker Three, this is Queen’s Bishop," Ian called. "Can you isolate the people in the cells from the rest of the population?”

  “Part of the prison emergency system is independent air for the cell blocks in the event of an asteroid strike. We can isolate the prison block, but not the cells. Plus there are three civilians in the base vehicle maintenance bay,” Cindy reported.

  “I hate to say it, but we can't do much about those three at this point. We're falling behind and we need that base neutralized. Isolate the cell blocks and vent the facility. Once it's clear, release the prisoners, give them any medical treatment they might need, and have Shannon check them out. Give the base back to them, but ask them not to fire on anyone unless fired on first. There has been too much misinformation spread around for any of those folks to trust us, but we can at least give them back their freedom.”

  “Understood Bishop, what’s our timeline?” Cindy asked her voice tight.

  “Trump card will be played in five moves; Queen’s Bishop to Queen’s Rook Four. Proceed.”

  “Joker Three has the deal. We will advise on the next shuffle. Joker Three out," Cindy replied, but was clearly unhappy with her orders.

  The operations officer, who had been monitoring the communication so he could take notes and update the overall battle plan, almost jumped when he heard Ian call “King’s Rook Four”. However, he made the notation that Damocles would report after the prisoners were freed (the next shuffle), Then he upgraded the Battle Status to ‘Red’.

  Several things happened simultaneously at that point. Commodore Belirus, who would be in charge of actual ship to ship fighting and was present on the Star Dancer as a hologram standing by Ian, was issuing his orders to ready all guns, load all missile tubes, and set master safety to stand-by. Commander Loreen, temporary flight operations chief on the Tiamat, could be heard trying to launch almost a thousand fighters in the shortest possible time, without any of them colliding with each other.

  Ian watched the clock as the seeming chaos flowed around him. After five minutes, he looked at Chloe. “They know we’re here. Let’s knock on the door. Play the trump card and engage the sandbags.”

  She nodded back to him mutely and issued the orders.

  ‘Trump card’ was the code word for the initiation of the primary attack. The Raptor teams on the orbital fortresses would begin their assaults. All fighters, including the Condors and Centurions, would begin clearing the system of hostile ships. The cruisers would engage anything too large for the fighters to handle. Also, all the Marine assault teams would be beginning their drop preparations. As soon as they cleared the skies over New Talos, the Marines would be going in hot.

  Commodore Belirus saw Ian’s pale complexion and whispered something to one of his AI. She nodded and made contact with Star. Star nodded to her daughter's image and went to the replicator. When she returned, she stood beside her commander. "Sir, Commodore Belirus recommends this for you."

  Ian looked up at the older gentlemen in question.

  Belirus smiled sadly. “It never gets any easier to give those orders. The only thing you can do is hope that by issuing those order
s, you have actually minimized casualties.” He indicated the pills. “Take them, it’ll help settle your stomach.”

  Ian mutely slipped the two, small, pink tablets into his mouth and took a sip of water. He nodded his thanks and tried to smile at the older man, but his face just couldn’t make the effort.

  Commodore Belirus understood anyway and nodded in acceptance. He turned back to the battle plot and resumed his portion of the fight. Ian resumed his interrupted pacing until the pills settled his stomach.

  Combat Theater 'Astra'

  Raptor Damocles

  House Boden Lunar Facilities

  New Talos System, Carnius Sector

  “How many are left in there, Lissa?” Cindy asked quietly. Since Lissa had a block against killing, Cindy had entered the commands herself from her command computer.

  “Just the prisoners and the three guards, Major,” Lissa replied quietly.

  “Okay. Get the base drones busy on the dead. Make sure they record the identities of the fallen for identification later. What’s the status on our welcoming party?”

  “I have four individuals wearing standard combat armor walking toward us nine kilometers to the south. I told the crawler it had a primary coolant leak. The people are carrying a large quantity of explosives as well as pulse rifles and plasma grenades.”

  “Tenacious aren’t they? Let’s get ready to lift and head for the prison. Sasha can take them out as we fly over them. Right now, we have some prisoners to rescue," Cindy ordered. “Can you pump that cell block full of sleep gas?”

  “Yes, the riot control systems are still in place,” Lissa replied.

  “Okay, let’s pump the block full of sleep gas, put the guards in one of the cells, and open the rest. Once the guards are in a cell, we can wake everyone up. I want to get this over with as soon as I can,” Cindy replied.

  As they flew toward the prison, Sasha informed Cindy that the four people were dead. “Lissa, please have one of the drones come and take care of the bodies here, too. We may have to kill them, but I refuse to just leave them out here.”