by Ben Winston
Each hypersled had a recall function programmed into their navigation computers that was capable of storing and maintaining a hyperspace course back to their home base. It was only used as a last resort in the case that the pilot was no longer functional.
“What about Planier? Were you able to use the recall function on his sled?” Jolene asked.
“Negative, his sled was destroyed when his power unit overloaded due to combat damage,” Abraxis said quietly. “However, I cannot rule out intentional detonation."
“Huh? That makes no sense. Planier was overly logical. How would committing suicide be logical?” Greg asked.
“Fighter Planier's death occurred after his teammates were injured. The only way he could assure the destruction of the other team, and thus the safe return of his team was to lure the enemy in close and detonate his power unit. In his society, this would be the logical solution,” Abraxis replied.
Bella nodded. “'The needs of the many out-weight the needs of the few.' Remember what Spock told Kirk in Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan?”
Greg nodded. “Yeah, I do. Still, it's hard to accept; I just talked to him a few minutes ago!”
“What will happen to his team now, Abraxis?” Jolene asked.
“They will return to their base for medical treatment and recovery. Then they will begin the search for a new fighter to replace Fighter Planier,” Abraxis replied. "They did not have an alternate available for his position."
Greg and the girls were silent as they absorbed the implications of losing a team member, and the thought of trying to find someone to replace one of them. If they had followed the same path as the other teams, Abraxis would have assisted them in locating other, potential team members. Once located, the new team could either form another ranger team, or stand as a reserve for the main team.
Changing the subject, Greg cleared his throat. “Uh, Abraxis, you said two of the other drones had been destroyed. I assume one of them was Planier's target, which of the others succeeded, and did they encounter any resistance?”
“Fighter Delion and her team encountered another Drellian team guarding their objective. However, she had, like you, ordered a dark approach. They used a high-yield nuclear device to destroy the drone. Since the enemy team had detected their entry, but couldn't track them, they had moved closer to the drone. The plasma released by the detonation destroyed the enemy team," Abraxis explained.
“That was kinda stupid. Why would the Drellians do that?” Bella asked.
“Because they aren't all that smart!” Jolene piped up.
Unaffected by Jolene's wit, Abraxis explained. “Part of the Drellian indoctrination destroys individual initiative in order to keep them under control and less able to rebel. Unfortunately, it also leaves them with a noticeable lack of imagination. However, on average, their intelligence is on par with, or higher than yours.”
Jolene blushed at the subtle rebuke. “Sorry, Abraxis.”
“No need to apologize, Ranger. The result in this case would appear to be the same. The Drellian team made a mistake, and Delion took advantage of it,” Abraxis added.
“Abraxis, were you able to track the team that took out Planier?”
“Affirmative, Ranger Fighter, They have reentered hyperspace and are at present moving to join one of the other Drellian teams. I have already issued a warning to the one team yet to engage their drone. However, the probabilities do not favor the Drellian team heading in that direction. Instead, there is an almost ninety percent probability that you will be facing two teams when you drop out of hyperspace,” Abraxis said.
“Could you bring up that hologram of the sector, this time with everyone's position on it?” Greg asked.
The hologram once again appeared in front of them. Greg had ordered the three ships to be joined before jumping to hyperspace this time, allowing for them to talk easier, and to conserve energy from the power units.
“Okay, here's our destination. Abraxis, this shows Delion's team still at their target location. Why aren't they returning home?” Greg asked.
“Their fight has only recently ended. It has to do with the time dilation effects of hyperspace, they simply haven't left yet,” Abraxis replied.
“That could be good, could you ask them if they would be willing to meet us at drone location 'beta' and give her a briefing on the situation?” Greg asked. “I would suggest another dark entry, only this time a bit further out, and possibly near a star so the noise of re-entry would be masked by the star,” Greg said, thinking out loud.
“It can't work like that, Greg. Most stars put out a really wide spectrum of interference. Then there are the gravity issues...” Bella began.
Greg nodded, “I figured as much, I'm just thinking out loud.”
Jolene smiled. “Drone 'beta' is only twenty-three light minutes away from a gas giant in the local system. We could re-enter on the far side, masking our signature, then use the mass of the planet to slingshot out on a direct course for the drone.”
“That’s a good idea, but how about this; work up the plot and ask Delion's team to use it? We do the exact same thing we did the first time, only a bit further out,” Greg said thinking while he stared at the hologram.
“I thought you said suicide wasn't logical?” Bella asked, but began working on the plot Greg had asked for.
He smiled slightly. “I don't plan on dying, I plan on killing two Drellian fighter teams. But this is going to take some timing.” He went on to explain his idea to Abraxis, so the old AI could pass it on to the other team's Fighter.
Once the plan was laid out, the course altered, the girls seemed a little nervous about the upcoming battle.
“Ladies, I don't know if you've thought of it yet, but one of these teams is the same one that was hunting Mandi on Earth. How pissed off do you think they are that they missed the opportunity to destroy us on our own world? If we succeeded in only destroying the drone, what do you think would be their next move?” Greg asked.
“Well, if their current assignment is to track down and destroy Abraxis, then they would have to do something else in order to find him, which would probably be a full scale assault on an inhabited... Earth. They would attack the planet to draw us out,” Bella said.
Greg nodded. “Probably by tossing around those weapons of mass destruction Abraxis mentioned. We can't let that happen. We have to stop them here.”
“Excuse me Fighter Greg, but you are assuming that the drone theta fight will be in our favor,” Abraxis pointed out.
“Even if something goes wrong there, that will leave only one Drellian team in a sector protected by three others. No matter how unimaginative they are, I can't see how a Drellian team can consider three to one odds to be in their favor.”
“You believe they will retreat?” Abraxis asked.
“If not retreat, they will actively avoid contact and try to locate you in another way, or at the very least to gather information for the eventual counter offensive,” Greg explained.
“You have learned very well, Fighter,” Abraxis replied proudly.
Uncomfortable with the praise, Greg once again changed the subject. “Abraxis, have Jared and the General made any progress on plans for the future?”
“As a matter of fact, they have the beginnings of a plan that may prove very effective in the long term, especially if we can convince the other worlds to do the same as Earth,” Abraxis replied. “Which should be a lot easier than Earth because they know of my existence, and we don't have to be as careful there.”
Abraxis went on to tell the team of the plans for a moon base as well as the shipbuilding facilities near Mars, and mining operations projected for the asteroid belt.
“How are they planning on getting all the personnel we'll need to man all of that?” Greg asked.
“They are working on several theories on how to go about it, to include partial disclosure to the governments of the planet. However, the most strongly favored idea is declaring independence from
Earth once the moon base is up and running. However, in all cases, the strongest argument against is the location of Prometheus and the discovery of a link between the two bases," Abraxis reported.
“I hate to say it, since we just got Prometheus finished, but we might need to relocate to the moon, just to pull this off. I mean, yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but we are talking about the survival of not only our species, but also the species of the rest of the worlds in our sector that have intelligent life. They are counting on us for their protection, we can't let them down," Greg said, sighing. "Abraxis, can you ask Jared and Carl to begin preparations for bringing our Marines into the fold so to speak? At least Captain Washington and the Lieutenant?"
"I will pass it on, Ranger Fighter."
Drone location 'Beta'
Interstellar space
Sol Sector
"Fen'Ness, we have lost two of the other teams. I do not have the details of the battles, but we have also lost the drones that they were protecting," Not'Cern reported. "It is only us and one team remaining."
"Only two drones remain?" Fen'Ness asked.
Not'Cern nodded. "One of them will be destroyed as it not defended."
"Do we know how many of the enemy teams have been destroyed?"
"I do not have any way to be sure, since the drones were destroyed, the only information I have is that two of the teams have returned to hyperspace. One of them only had two sleds remaining. The status of the other team is not known," Not’Cern replied.
"You can only confirm the death of one Ranger?" Fen'Ness asked; it was clear he was not happy.
"No, I cannot, confirmation is not possible at the range we are speaking of. It is entirely possible that there was only one sled remaining instead of two, of the other teams, I cannot even be certain they have jumped to hyperspace." Not'Cern replied.
"What of the Earth team?" Fen'Ness asked.
"There is a very high probability that they will be arriving here within the next quarter cycle," Tyern'D replied.
"What do you believe will be their most likely attack profile?" Fen'Ness asked.
"As before with the last drone they engaged, they will drop out of hyperspace several light minutes out, and coast into the target so we cannot track them. This method is also the most difficult for us to counter," Tyern'D answered.
Fen'Ness only nodded as he thought about the current situation. "Not'Cern, place us in optimal firing position for the drone, spread us out so we cover three separate vectors. When they fire on the drone, we will fire on them. Tyern'D as soon as the weapons fire is detected, initiate a hyper jump, but do not jump."
"To what effect, Fen'Ness?" Not'Cern asked as their mate programmed his orders into the computers.
Fen'Ness looked back at them with an evil glint in his eye. "If we have already initiated a hyper jump, their own systems will not be capable of it until our hyper jump is complete. That will keep them here so we can destroy them." He said in an evil hiss. "Inform the other team of our actions, and have then deploy in a secondary position to ours, the more weapons we will be able to bring to bear, the higher the chances are we will destroy them!"
'Prometheus' Base
Shermandale, Utah
North American Continent
Earth, Sol System
"Agent Danielson, a situation has developed with the second drone location," Abraxis reported to the sleepy Jared.
It was the middle of the night at Prometheus, and Jared had volunteered to monitor the Command Center.
"What's the problem Abraxis?" Jared replied, coming fully awake.
"Fighter Greg and the team are aware that this drone will have a team guarding it, and Greg has planned appropriately, however, there is a high probability that there will be two Drellian teams present at the location, not one. I have made Fighter Greg aware of this as well. He called for assistance from another Ranger team, and has devised a strategy that I believe will prove effective in countering this trap," Abraxis explained.
"Okay, so what's the problem then?" Jared asked.
"Without knowing the enemy deployment, is difficult to say with confidence their attack will be successful. In fact, there is a better than seventy percent chance that our teams will take casualties in the coming encounter," Abraxis replied.
"Are they aware of this as well, Abraxis?" Jared asked, steeling himself.
"No, I did not want to hamper them with this information. As I said, I cannot be more accurate without knowing the deployment of the enemy force."
"Can you show me what you do have for information?" Jared asked.
"Of course," Abraxis replied, and reformed a hologram of the drone location 'beta' for him. Complete with Greg's plan for entry for both Ranger teams, and what was known about Drellian tactics.
"For your information, Greg and the other Rangers did discuss the moon base and other off-planet facilities. Greg has asked me to ask you to begin making preparations to bring our guards in on the true mission of the base. He specifically asked for Captain Washington and Lieutenant Mays to be added." Abraxis informed him.
Jared smiled while thinking about the situation on the hologram. "I will be speaking to Captain Washington tomorrow morning, and had planned on bringing him down to medical. Have you finished your background check on the Lieutenant?"
"No I have not, although I do believe she can be trusted. So far, I have found nothing in her life to indicate she is a spy for your agency. However, two of your current surface guard compliment did not exist before ten years ago, and all information older than two years appears to be falsified,"
Jared actually looked up from the hologram. "How so?"
"The information that should have been in the system the entire time, such as the social security number residing in the IRS computers. In the case of these two Marines, the information in the file does not match the date of the file. The file themselves were created only two years ago, even though the information contained within says it is older. This tells me that the data is false."
"Yep, that would be a good indicator. If you dig far enough, you will most likely find that both men had actually died at birth, or there is no way to locate a birth certificate." Jared replied. "These are all indicators of a false identity. Although, sometimes, that could be planted data in order to confuse this kind of search."
"There is a Lance Corporal Harlan Mills listed as belonging to the United States Marines, and it shows he is assigned to the current unit we know him to be, his records say he took basic instruction at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. There is no record at the base of this person ever attending basic training at this location." Abraxis added.
"I'd say you have probably found one of the plants," Jared replied. "Look here, am I reading this correctly? Greg has the other Ranger team coming in dark, from the far side of this gas giant, while he and the girls drop out in clear view and coast in that way?"
"Yes Agent Danielson, you are reading that correctly."
Jared nodded. "If there is time, please ask Greg about altering his angle of insertion by five degrees. If they also alter their timing so that the other team arrives a couple of minutes after them..."
"By altering their entry vector, they will miss the target, but they act as if they believe they are on target, it will force the Drellians to reveal themselves by shifting in order to engage them. The second team can cruise past and destroy the drone before either jumping out, or assisting Greg's team." Abraxis nodded once, and spoke, "I have forwarded your suggestion to them, and both Greg and the other ranger team commander agree. However, the angle will be slightly less than you suggested so it isn't so obvious of a mistake. Although it was a last minute suggestion, time enough remained to implement it."
"So if it was last minute, they should be dropping out of hyperspace soon then?" Jared asked.
"For you, it will still be forty-nine minutes," Abraxis countered.
Jared snorted. "I need another cup of coffee and a piss, I'll be right back,”
Drone location 'Beta'
Interstellar space
Sol Sector
Immediately after dropping out of the jump, Bella adjusted their course slightly, taking them off the targeted path. By altering their trajectory by just one degree, they would miss the drone by hundreds of miles.
She had already adjusted their entry speed, to be faster than originally planned. She looked up and nodded to her friends. "We're on the glide, ready to separate, be careful, both of you!"
"You too," Jolly replied. "Ready to separate."
Greg winked at both of them. Separating in three, two, one..." Greg hit the button that covered them in their individual canopies, and the three ships immediately broke apart. That was the last power emission they made. Since they knew they were the bait in a counter trap for the Drellian teams, they kept their weapons powered up, and used their short ranged comms.
"Insertion complete, we're on course. Arrival at target, twenty-one minutes," Jolene reported for the benefit of the listening audience.
"Acknowledged, Ranger Two, you're the shooter, fire as soon as you have lock," Greg replied.
Bella grinned. "Understood."
They stopped talking then, for a few minutes, until Jolene's next report.
"Still on profile, target in ten minutes,"
"Uh, I'm not seeing it, yet. Ranger one, do you have the target?" Bella asked.
Greg knew that the other team had arrived since they had been at an angle to detect their arrival, and even then, the trace had been very weak. "Negative, just keep scanning for it, we know it's there," he replied.
"Fen'Ness! The Ranger team is off course! They are going to miss us by a wide margin," Not'Cern said over the whisper channel.
"Will they be out of weapons range?" Fen'Ness asked. "How are you tracking them?"
"I've locked onto their whisper channel, which lets me plot the course they are on," Not'Cern asked. "They are going to be well out of range."
"How long until they are at their closest point?" Fen'Ness asked. In answer to his question, a small hologram appeared in front of him.
"This is their location and plot. If we are going to intercept them, we're going to need to get moving in order to catch them," Not'Cern replied.