Dave walked over to join them. Ella called them to attention and saluted. Dave gave back a quick cut of his right arm. “At ease, everyone” he directed. He cast his eye over the troopers. Their kit was already on board and stowed. They looked OK. A little tense but what you’d expect prior to a combat op.
Ella looked the most tense. This would be her first real close quarters op. He remembered his first and recalled how anxious he had been that night as he boarded the assault shuttle. But he had confidence in Ella. She had proved herself in the fleet actions over Klaster. ‘She would do OK’ he thought.
Art was the picture of resolve and Dave knew only too well what Art was resolved to do. He was going to give Art his opportunity to bring that resolve to fruition but he was here now to make sure that Art and the whole team knew that there were limits and constraints.
“You are about to go in harm’s way to see if Lt Chalker is being held down there and if so to release her” he stated. “It is important that we try and get back our own but this is a preliminary op to an even more important mission. We are here to destroy this enemy facility and to return to defend Klaster. You have just 43 hours to complete this mission…not a minute longer. You don’t want to be near that facility when the nukes hit it.”
He paused to see their reactions. ‘Good’ he thought. “OK then, I wish you well. Stay sharp and come back alive…all of you.” He offered his hand to Art who shook it. Dave looked into his eyes. He could see he had his battle face on. He slapped his shoulder with his free arm. Then he turned and marched out.
“Mount up” commanded Art. As he watched his best friend leave the hanger, part of him wondered if that would be the last image he would have of Dave Warner.
By the time he took his seat on the left behind the pilot she was already obtaining clearance from control. Ella was by the hatch near the bot containers. She gave him the thumbs up as she closed the hatch. Parinya glanced around for confirmation that all were in and the hatch closed.
The hanger door opened and out, into the night, glided Sue Chalker’s last hope.
Chapter 18. Whisky 1 descending to Zuon 2345, 27 June
The hanger doors were already closing as Parinya banked and began her course from around the far side of the moon. It was almost pitch black in all directions there was just the faintest glow from the rim of the moon. Her prime focus though was on the display in front of her. The route was locked in and the autopilot engaged.
She could see the shuttle icon on the display advancing along the route set to take them to the enemy facility on Zuon. She was not concerned about whether the craft stuck to the route. That was a given so long as she did not disengage the autopilot. What she was looking for were the warning signs of enemy detections and threats.
Cloaking was engaged. In theory this masked the craft from all known electro-magnetic scanners. But it was not fool proof. For reasons the best tech brains in the Federation could not explain there were times when it failed. What’s more this would be the very first time that it had been used against the sleth and they were not sure what their technological capacity was in scanning.
The first point of drama would be when they came out from behind the moon and would be within direct scanning of the enemy cap in geostationary orbit above their facility. This was coming up in a few minutes. The next point would be when they got within 40,000 kms of the facility assuming they were equipped with radar of similar tech to the Federation. This was likely to be their maximum effective range, where they would normally have the best probability of detection. They could detect out much further but at markedly reduced probability especially for such a small craft.
It was all about signature. Small craft had a much smaller radar cross section than a bigger craft like the Hermes. Cloaking was designed to blur the signature to the point that it didn’t register as a known object. Unlike passive stealth technologies it was active requiring a substantial amount of power to generate a magnetic field around the craft sufficient to deflect the active radar beam. Because of the amount of power required it was generally only suitable for small craft. Even so it was going to seriously diminish the shuttle’s power which is why they were making a long slow shallow entry with minimum friction in the atmosphere rather than a bullet run aimed directly at their objective with maximum atmospheric friction.
The third decision point would be when they got to within sleth missile range at 20,000 kms from their facility.
Art checked the console embedded into the left sleeve of his suit and saw that it was coming up to the first point of possible detection. He could just lean around the right of the pilot’s seat and take in the main display.
If Parinya was aware of his presence she wasn’t paying the least heed to it. All her focus was on the display. The timer was counting down very fast now. Just ten seconds to go. Part of her was willing there to be no warning sign while the other part of her was poised ready to respond like a gunfighter waiting for their opponent to draw first.
The count showed zero. The screen was still clear of any warning sign. She remained tense knowing that their estimate of the angle from the enemy cap may be out by as much as a degree and that they couldn’t be sure they had escaped detection for another minute or so.
Art was also willing them to avoid detection. Detection he knew would mean they had two options. First, they could abort and return to Hermes or second they could go to plan B and do a bullet-run hoping they could avoid interception. Conventional wisdom said that if you were detected by superior force at the early stage of your run you should abort as you would be exposed to interception for the greatest period. But conventional wisdom was not holding much sway in Art’s mind at the moment. He knew that that would mean abandoning Sue. If she was down there, she and whoever else was down there wouldn’t be alive for much longer.
He had argued strongly for the contingency plan to default to plan B. Buster hadn’t been too happy about it. Ella was in favour of it provided they could remain cloaked. Dave had opposed it but was only convinced when Parinya agreed to it.
Art was peering over Parinya’s shoulder, not just to see if there was a detection, but to lend some persuasive presence should she consider changing her mind about the best course of action to take. But there was no need for subtle persuasion or direct action as no warnings came. When the timer started counting down to their next decision point, Parinya turned slightly to acknowledge Art’s presence. He eased back into his seat without saying a word.
On the port side Parinya took in the reflected light from the moon’s near side. They were descending on a shallow approach path that would take them down to Zuon. It was night time on the planet below but the starboard side of the shuttle was bathed in light from Zuon’s sun. It was dazzling but not for long. In a few minutes they would dip down and the lip of the planet would provide a sunset for the members of Whisky 1.
It was going to be over three hours before they reached the next decision point. Art knew that his console would alert him five minutes before that time. So he eased back into his seat and closed his eyes. He knew it would be nigh impossible to sleep but he wanted to gain the maximum rest he could. Once on the surface there would be no rest at all.
Chapter 19. Whisky 1 descending to Zuon 0340, 28 June
Art could hear the alert but he had in fact dozed off. It took him a few moments to get his bearings. Then he sat upright, looked around the cabin to see Buster talking in a quiet voice to Ella, something about the bots. He turned his head to look forward. He saw Parinya checking her flight plan. She too knew that the decision point was coming up fast.
He leaned around her seat again and tapped her shoulder. She lifted her headset off her right ear.
“Looking good?” queried Art in a low voice, not wishing to disturb the slumber of the other occupants.
“Plain sailing so far Commander” said Parinya. Pointing to the display, which now refreshed with a map view, she added “the enemy cap and her two chums haven’t
moved. No other activity. It looks good so far. Enemy detection range is coming up in a just over 3 minutes. Intercept range in 9 and ETA over facility in 15. ”
Art nodded his appreciation and Parinya restored her headset and turned her focus to scanning the display for alerts. It was all focus for the next few minutes. But nothing happened. No alerts fired and so Plan A continued in force.
It was time to galvanise the troops. “Stand to everyone” commanded Art. “Suit up but don’t lock down yet. Ella, ready the bots.”
“Roger” said Ella. She pulled on her helmet but kept the visor opened and the oxy off. They would preserve their suit’s supply and only lock down if required. She and Akos Salaman, the sniper, began moving the first bot into the centre space.
Meanwhile Buster went from one marine to the next ensuring their gear was just right. He assisted Dai Shu, the medic and demolitions expert, check that the additional satchels on the back of her pack were secure. He checked Dakota Bridgwater’s quanto rapid fire pulse gun, made sure her energy packs were secure in the pouches that protruded in front of her and gave her a hearty smack on the right shoulder. She smiled back but noted that the quick fire jokes that she was renowned for were missing. She was still grieving the loss of her Brian but she was made of tough stuff.
That was all that was left of the original pre-war Bravo team. The rest were lost over Beta and Alpha Phi and Klaster. Attrition had been high in the Hermes Marine Detachment. But those that had survived were now regarded as hardened veterans.
The new chums were survivors from the Sydney’s Marine Detachment press ganged after the Sydney was damaged over Klaster and forced to return to Polaris. They had been in the thick of the action retaking Klaster. So they weren’t greenhorns but they knew that they still had something to prove before they gained full acceptance from the ‘originals’. And like all troops forced to work in close proximity with each other and forced to rely on each other they craved that acceptance.
Trooper Keto Sante, the other quanto gunner, had already made sure that everything was in order with his kit. Buster looked him over, found no fault and gave him the thumbs up. Keto even detected a note on Buster’s face that he just might be impressed. But he saw that expression wiped when Buster came to Trooper Jacinta Miles.
“I thought I told you to secure the communicator” said Buster.
“I have” said Jacinta. She was sick and tired of him giving her a hard time but the chip on her shoulder prevented her from just knuckling under. She glared back at him.
Buster wasn’t impressed. “Look” he said as he pushed the communicator down into the pouch and secured the flap. “Now it’s secure” and he just shook his head and moved on.
Trooper Jack Wapani shifted his big Maori frame fearing a serve from his new team boss. But Buster was pleased to find all was in order. “Good” was all he got from Buster, who quickly reached out and pulled Trooper Roj Hamadi back towards him. This caught Roj by surprise but the noise emanating from the back of the cabin clued him up.
Ella had just hit the deploy button on Alex the first bot. In a series of mechanical movements the box before them unfolded one section at a time to reveal the so called male bot. Alex was now fully extended and standing. He stepped over the container shell. Took a look around and then bent over to hit another button on the side of the shell. It compacted in on itself to form a much smaller container.
“Alex,” commanded Ella “secure it over there.” Alex did so, making no noise and with all the dexterity of his human master. By this stage everyone on the team had already got used to the bots movements. They paid it no heed. Their attention was only diverted again by the deployment of Bella, the female bot.
Both were kitted out just as standard marines. They looked like human soldiers. Their facial expressions changed as dictated by their powerful AI. While in most cases they could pass for a human they could be caught out with the right interrogation. Where they really came undone was “humour”. Despite all the best AI programming they usually came undone with some locale wisecrack or joke. Empathy was still a work in progress. It were these little things that set them apart and that is why they struggled to be accepted as part of human teams.
Art, the special forces veteran come spy come political officer, had seen it all before. He got on well with Buster. He respected his technical skills and his coolness under pressure. He could still recall vividly that hairy ride out of Tindel with Buster at the wheel while Sue lay bleeding in the back of the vehicle and the Alliance soldiers raked the area with fire. Yes he could rely on Buster and Ella to sort things out while he remained focussed on the next decision point.
The timer counter was ticking down rapidly on Parinya’s display. The shuttle’s icon was virtually on top of the enemy detection range ring. Art felt a tight knot in his throat. He recognised this symptom of fear. It was how it manifested in him. He responded to it with a deep breath in and long exhalation. He did not take his focus away from the screen. The counter hit zero and stopped. He held his breath unconsciously. He felt the knot again and forced himself to breath. Then he saw the counter kick in again for the next decision point. No alerts. He knew that from here on detection could come at any moment. But somehow seeing the timer kick off again allowed him to relax a little.
Parinya brought up her checklist for the recon pass. She tapped each item in turn confirming its automatic activation. All she had to do now was tap the final commit button to lock all the measures in. These would set off the bursts of active scanners – hopefully in short enough intervals that the enemy’s scanners would interpret it as some form of electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) anomaly rather than a concerted and purposeful surveillance effort. It also would trigger the high speed, high definition cameras that would record in visual, infrared and thermal imaging and the almost simultaneous video analysis system that would detect, spot and fuse intel entities of interest.
The contingency plans were already entered into the battle management system. The AI was already instructed to choose the optimum plan based on the priorities agreed at the last planning session back on board Hermes. There would be no time for second thoughts. It was one pass over, automatic plan selection and then execution.
Parinya hailed Akos to ready the repelling lines in case they were needed. Normally this would have been done by Alain Favre but he had already moved into his turret. He had to be ready to respond with the 30mm rapid fire pulse cannon should the decision be taken to engage. Akos moved quickly to release the cover over the container built into the rear bulkhead. The ropes were coiled around their spring loaded drums with just the fastener protruding ready for each marine to grab, secure and pull as they exited the craft.
“Swivel seats” ordered Parinya.
Art hit the button on his seat as did each of the marines in the cabin. His seat rotated to the right facing inwards, then recessed back a bit to provide maximum clearway down the centre aisle. Art caught Buster visually checking that each of his charges was now facing the right way.
“Enemy Interception Range in 10 seconds” advised Parinya.
‘Why do pilots always seem to have that steady measured voice’ thought Art but then he recalled a few cases where the pilot’s voice was anything but measured and smiled.
“No alerts” advised Parinya. That was to keep Art happy. From here on they were in the critical phase.
This was the moment that if you had any doubts at all about the mission they would play havoc on your nerves. Danger was close. Fear raised its ugly head. There were no activities to distract or occupy the mind.
Old hands like Art used these moments to refocus on the purpose. He wasn’t a spiritual man like Warner. So praying wasn’t his thing. Though if the truth be told, he had done that on occasions. He closed his eyes and pictured Sue. He kept her face before his mind’s eye. The image of her laughing with him in the broom closet on Pulton reminded him of what his goal was.
“Entering atmosphere in 2 minutes” advised P
arinya. “Secure all gear. Fasten seatbelts. Main lights out. Thermals on. Seal the cabin.” The cockpit bulkhead raised from the floor and sealed Parinya into the cockpit section and the team into the main cabin.
Buster cast a scrutinising eye over the cabin. All the gear was secured. His troops were buckled up in their harnesses. They looked like stuffed teddy bears with helmets, all suited up with just the dim helmet lights illuminating their faces. He knew there was no more he could do. His team was ready.
Ella was desperately trying to control her fear. Logically she knew that she had already faced death in combat before but this was beyond logic. The prospect of close quarter’s danger was playing foul with her gut. She tried to slow her breath but it didn’t work. She was now breathing quick shallow breaths. She knew she had to hold it so she focussed on giving her mind a task to do. She went through the procedures she would need to take to deploy the bots in the event they had to repel down to the surface and the procedure if they could actually land.
She felt the shudder as the atmosphere began to bite on the hull of the shuttle. It increased to a buffeting and then a tearing sound as the craft split the air. For some inexplicable reason she felt comforted by the noise. It centred her.
“Commencing surveillance pass in one minute” advised Parinya over the intercom. She peered out into the night but could see nothing. The shuttle was slowing dramatically now as the atmosphere thickened and she applied the reverse thrusters. The G force increased accordingly and everyone in the craft was feeling it big time. Not as bad as on a bullet run but still a force to be reckoned with.
The shuttle levelled out at an altitude of 20 kms. The autopilot banked and commenced a shallow dive down to 10 kms.
“Beginning surveillance pass” advised Parinya. She hit the commit button. An icon appeared on the screen indicating the intel system was engaged. Then the icon changed to indicate it was done. It was all over in a flash.
Redemption: Book 2 of Warner's World Page 8