by Ben Winston
However, a Hypersled could not carry cargo in the amounts needed. A heavy cargo shuttle was prepared with a cloaking device as well as a holo-projector to camouflage it once it was down. Greg and his team would run escort for it and would wait outside the shield for Jarad to make contact with the rebels and to make sure he was secure. If it all went to hell, Greg and his team would breach the shield, blow the shield generators to hell and protect the shuttle while Jarad flew it back out.
If the landing was successful, then Jarad would stay in Las Vegas for a week. He would teach the people how to use the equipment, and distribute as much as he could in the time he had. Four marines, two combat medics and one doctor would be going with him. At the end of the week, Greg would stage a raid on that part of Las Vegas to rescue the wounded that needed better treatment, and to get Jarad and the shuttle out.
The people going with Jarad were all volunteers and knew that there was a very big risk in going on this mission. Greg and Jarad both objected when the Harclen Doctor that treated Bella also volunteered. As a being that was clearly alien, she would be a primary target for the Cabalist forces and impossible to hide from a determined search. She continued to insist that she be allowed to go, even though there were other, human doctors that also volunteered. It took the Harclen Ambassador having a quiet word with Greg for her to be allowed to go on the mission. Greg still thought it was a bad idea, but he agreed to allow it, provided the Terran Commanders agreed.
They also had concerns with an obviously alien member of the mission but agreed to allow it. The truth was, she had been training with the Marines when she wasn't on duty treating the wounded. She was the only 'combat' trained doctor they actually had.
The combat medics would assist the doctor, as well as help the Marines train the people. The mission was approved and prepared. While the mission itself would not be launched until well after nightfall, Joyce and her team flew multiple detailed recon missions of the entire area, mapping out the locations of the rebels, enemy troops, weapons installations and the shield generators. With the aid of the Intel AI, the mission computers were kept up to date on the absolute latest information they could get.
The mission launched on schedule, the selected landing area would be an abandoned warehouse area near the famous Las Vegas 'Strip'.
Greg and his alpha team would attack from the west, coming through the Red Rock Canyon area, while Joyce and Beta Team would attack from the northeast, near the airport and some the heaviest of the enemy defenses ten minutes later. Jarad and the shuttle would be following Greg's team in, and they would head to the landing zone when Joyce began her attack. Two shuttles full of Marines would be waiting on standby for rescue missions if it would be needed.
Greg and Jolene hit the first shield emitters at five minutes past three in the morning local time. Bella was still on medical leave because of her shoulder injury. Harclen Ranger Pilot Pursia had returned to Harclen as the upgrades to her sled had been completed.
From all appearances, it had been a quiet night in the city as marshal law had put an end to the city that never sleeps. Greg and Jolly blew a huge hole in the shield/detection net on their first pass. When they turned back, they hit the local Cabal guard stations and weapons emplacements. This part of the assault was the most difficult as the targets were 'danger-close' to civilian areas. The Rangers used the focused pulse weapons on the shield emitter/sensor units. No people were actually hurt, though some were knocked out. However, attacking enemy positions in the city without hitting any civilian targets would be a much more difficult task.
The people that were in closest proximity were those supporting each of the small mini-bases. They amounted to basically non-military slave labor. Each district was commanded from the local former police precincts. Unfortunately for the former policemen, they were among the first to go through indoctrination and now were part of the occupying Cabal military. Las Vegas had been forcefully transformed from Sin City to an overly strict police state that was little more than a recreational area for the Cabal military as well as housing for the workers that built the Cabal infrastructure.
Greg and Jolene hit the Police Building near Sun City, leveling it in one pass. They also destroyed the local communications transmitter that had been located on the roof of the building. There were smaller substations that had been hastily erected in suburban districts, and they hit as many of those as they could while on their way to the next police station near the landing zone.
Shortly after hitting that building, though, Greg and Jolene were hit with a strange pulse that canceled out their cloaking fields. They were now fully visible as they streaked across the Las Vegas at very low altitude.
"Joyce, they just took out our cloaking fields. We're staying on the deck to avoid the big stuff," Greg said to Joyce were she was getting ready to start her own assault. "Defense shields are still intact, but we are visible. We're going to have to pick up the pace."
"Understood. Abraxis thinks he knows where the pulse originated from. It'll be a bit hairy, but we'll see what we can do about it," Joyce replied. "Beta is inbound."
"Ground team monitored. We're launching now," Jarad replied. They had been sitting in a sheltered valley west of the city waiting for Greg and Jolene to do their thing to the detection grid.
"All units, this is control," Mandi's voice came over the comm. "I'm resetting your cloaking generators, and programming them to continuous frequency cycling."
"Thanks, control," Greg replied.
"I have no idea if it'll work, but we need to do something about it. You're all toast if you're visible," Mandi replied.
Jarad listened to the reports from the other Rangers as they began their attack. Beside him in the cockpit was one of the Marines that had pilot training, as well as the Harclen Doctor sitting in the currently useless astrogator's seat. (An astrogator was the hyperspace navigator) When the pulse went off and he could see the sleds on his normal scanners he said 'oh shit' softly. He was just about to tell Greg their cloak was gone, when Greg himself called Joyce to report it.
"What's wrong, Ranger Fighter?" the Doctor Alure asked.
"The Cabal has a new gadget that defeats our cloaking technology. The sleds are now fully visible to enemy weapons. We will be too," Jarad replied.
"We are not aborting the mission are we?" the Doctor asked. She was still adamant that they go ahead as planned.
Jarad shook his head. "No, we'll still be going in; it only means we get to see how good a pilot I actually am," Jarad replied.
"Doctor, forgive me for prying, but may I ask why it is so important to you to come with us?" the Marine asked gently. "If they catch you, they'll hurt you in ways you can't begin to imagine."
"Simple Lieutenant, I'm an Alliance spy," she replied grinning. "Have you noticed that my pelt coloring is different from others of my kin?" She asked referring to the almost completely black fur and skin she had.
"Of course, but the color of one's skin isn't that significant to us," the female officer replied.
She smiled. "I am a member of a clan that would be considered a genetic throw-back to our own violent past. Of all the clans and families of Harclen, my… breed, as you would call it, is the most violent. Not that we are actually violent to each other all that often, but we have not evolved past our violent pasts. We are not as averse to violence as my fellows are. Many of my clan are now in the Alliance Marines because of this fact. Our males are in demand from other clans that wish to bring this trait back into their own genetic makeup." She grinned. "I would imagine it's a bit confusing to those of other races."
The female shook her head. "I suppose it is, but I think I understand what you are saying. How does that make you a spy for the Alliance? You would have no hope of blending in here on Earth."
"Strap in ladies, we're launching now. Ell-tee, let the kids know we're going ahead of schedule," Jarad replied as he had heard the orders Greg had given. "The LZ will most likely be hot."
The co
nversation lapsed as Jarad lifted the shuttle off and moved forward only a few feet of the ground as fast as he dared move.
The shuttle Jarad had chosen for the landing was a civilian cargo model that had had a holographic generator and stronger shields added. It did not have any weapons but did have stronger shields. He skirted the Arroyo Golf club and followed West Charleston Avenue toward the city center. Wake from his passage set off several car alarms and knocked over garbage cans. Since he was so close to the ground, he did now want a supersonic shockwave to basically flatten the community as that would hurt people and basically leave a trail right to where they would be landing. He did note that there didn't seem to be that many cars, and there were no people at all.
"Drop the droids, Ell-Tee," Jarad said. Beside him, the lieutenant released the small cargo of remote scanning drones that had been hanging on to the outside hull of the ship. Each of the very small devices fell away and headed off in different directions, staying close to the ground. "LZ in two minutes," Jarad said when she'd finished.
One of the jobs Greg and Jolene would be doing, in addition to taking out the command structure for the guards was to drop several smoke generators and create a lot of confusion in as wide an area as possible near the landing area. There was a lot of confusion just from the destruction of the police stations, several of the guard units were no longer getting orders from their superiors, which left them almost static. They knew they were under attack, but not by who or from where.
The people that Jarad was coming to help, took advantage of the confusion to stage a small attack on the main downtown office of the Police. It was a heavily fortified building with a lot of guards and automated defenses. Greg and Jolene saw them and tried to help as much as they could. When the sensors on the sleds indicated that the building was becoming unstable Greg used his external speakers to tell the ground folks to pull back, the building was about to collapse. It worked pretty well, once all the rebels had gotten clear, Greg and Jolene ensured the collapse of the building by firing particle beams into the structure to destroy the underground supports. The building dropped almost straight down.
While the collapse of the building was a victory for the locals, there were still a lot of Cabal troops in the area as well as robotic and automated weapons. Greg dropped to the ground and told one of the local fighters where to find help. He was only on the ground for a few seconds as the area was still very much a combat zone. However, the fighter was so glad to see him that he thought the former gang-member was going to hug him.
A few blocks away, Jarad sat the shuttle down and activated the holographic generator, ground shields, and stealth systems to keep them hidden while they were there. "Greg, we're on the ground, So far there has been no response to us."
"Understood. I told one of the locals where to find you so you should have friendly visitors shortly," Greg replied. "Crazy buggers were attacking the main police headquarters; so we helped them."
"All units, this is control, we are tracking inbound fighter craft from the Cabal base area. It's time to say goodbye to Vegas, Greg," Bella said over the comm. She was running the comm center for the operation since she couldn't fly yet.
"You heard the lady, Jarad. Good luck. I hope you know what you're doing," Greg replied.
"So do I, now get out of here now so we can get to work," Jarad replied.
"All Rangers and Marine units; Package is on the ground, retreat as planned." Greg ordered.
The reserve Marines lifted off and used ground cover to get away from the city before heading back to the moon. Meanwhile, Greg and Joyce linked up to engage the incoming fighters. The plan was to fight them, but to fall back as if the fighters were too much for them to counter.
The decloaking pulse was fired off again twice while they fought the enemy fighter craft. Each time the pulse briefly decloaked the sleds before the cycling generators hid the craft again. The Rangers had knocked down three of the enemy fighters by the time the Marine shuttles reported they had left the atmosphere. A near miss on Greg's sled was good enough for him to fake damage to his sled and pull back. Sharon and then Jolene did the same a short time later; it was time to leave.
Jarad sighed and shut down the flight controls of the shuttle. He had been tempted to stay and watch the air battle but he had things he needed to be doing, and leaving the sensors on might be detected by the enemy. He shut down his passive restraint system and climbed out of the pilot's seat. Dr. Alure and the Lieutenant had already gone back to the cargo area to begin unpacking the supplies and setting up equipment.
True to Greg's prediction, Jarad didn't have long to wait before someone showed up. The shuttle had sat down in an abandoned warehouse after a drone had removed the roof. It was busy replacing it while the Marines unloaded supplies and crates of weapons.
The passive sensors in the shuttle, through a link to Jarad's armor told him that several humans had entered the building and were trying to remain hidden while they worked their way as close to the Marines as they could while still remaining hidden. The LZ they selected should be only a block away from the rebel's command post. Unless the intel they had was completely wrong which was possible. Jarad grinned as the hidden people surrounded them. Very shortly, a person with a limp simply walked through the door on the far wall and right up to him. Jarad's armor was different in appearance since he was a Ranger. The new person assumed that meant he was the leader here.
A hologram of The Alliance seal was clearly shown on Jarad's breast, identifying him as a member of the Alliance. The four stars above it meant he was a Ranger Fighter, but the new man saluted him. "Welcome to Las Vegas, General."
Jarad smiled at the man. "Thank you, but I'm not a general, the stars simply mean I am a Ranger Fighter. I'm Jarad Danielson, we thought you folks might need some help."
The man snorted. "Before the Cabal bastards started blocking your broadcasts, you only had three Rangers, but we could use the supplies. I'm Captain Randy Meyers, U.S. Army Delta Force, Retired."
Jarad nodded. "We brought you more than just supplies, we have medical supplies and a doctor, advanced weapons, and armor, food and water, just about everything you might need."
Randy nodded. "We hoped we could make enough noise for you folks to notice us. That was a ballsy attack tonight, the Cabal was certain that they had set a trap for you that you wouldn't be able to get out of." Randy turned and whistled to the surrounding darkness. "Come on in people, they need help unloading."
"Thanks, there is a lot of stuff for you. We couldn't bring in many troops, but I did bring enough to train your folks on the new weapons and armor. We also brought in a few toys you might find useful; on our way in, we dropped about two dozen smart drones that are spreading out through the city, gathering information on the enemy. We also have local comms that you should be able to use without the Cabal detecting them, and finally, we brought a comm link that we think will let you talk to the Alliance base on the moon.
"So this is more like a supply drop, then. Fair enough," Randy replied. "How long can you folks stick around?"
"We need to be ready to leave in about a week. We don't plan on going back empty, though; we'll take as many sick and badly wounded with us as we can fit in the shuttle when we go. Command will work out a schedule with you for more supply drops and the like once we get a better idea how the Cabal is going to respond to this attack. Obviously hitting the guards every time we need to get you supplies won't work for long, someone is bound to catch on to that really quick."
"Yeah, well you sure did us a hell of a favor tonight. We've been trying to figure out how to bring down that command center since we started. Our current weapons do little more than piss most of those Cabal assholes off," Randy replied. "They don't hurt the robotic stuff at all."
Jarad nodded. "Yeah, we thought as much. We're going to change that. We have pulse rifles, modern armor, shields and a whole bunch of fun new toys for you. As we get bigger, we might eventually be able to send you some h
elp as well, but the world is a big place; for now, we are really short handed." He paused as he led the man over to the Doctor. "Doctor, this is Captain Randy Meyers. He's the local leader here. When you have time, can you take a look at his legs? It's from an old war wound."
"Certainly, Ranger!" Sheness replied. "Captain, is there a better location to set up our medical facilities or would here be the best?"
"Here is as good a place as any. We've been having a lot of trouble with our wounded. We've been trying to take care of those that have survived getting hit, but our doctors just don't have a lot of experience with these types of wounds, and supplies have been an issue. Right now, the worst of our wounded are back at the base. We sent the others home until they could heal up," Randy replied.
Sheness nodded. "Okay, we'll get set up here, and get your doctors and wounded over here as soon as possible. The other wounded people you have can come in a few hours later."
"Forgive me Doctor, but what the hell are you doing down here?" Randy asked. "There is no way in hell you can hide from the Cabal patrols; one look at you and they'll know you're not human. Hell, you don't even walk like a human."
"That is a subject I had a long argument with command about before I came down. I am well aware of the risks Captain. However, you needed the help, so here I am. I also don't have a problem shooting an enemy if I have to. I might be Harclen and I might be a doctor, but I also know when to pull the trigger," Sheness replied and grinned. "Besides, I can be very hard to see if I want to be; I am a cat after all."
"Well, we are living in the middle of a big sandbox, so at least that's taken care of. We might have some trouble with getting bowls of cream, though," Randy replied with a teasing grin.