When the laser fire battle began between the attackers rushing the Administration Building and the prison’s security guards, Admiral Hanson and the armed aides defended the entrance into the conference room. The first aide fell, and Colonel Tyrone took over his position and his weapon. When the second aide was killed by a laser blast, the Commandant himself rushed to take his weapon, and rolled on the floor in position to flank Admiral Hanson. The three of them kept the attackers out of the conference room for a few minutes longer.
The floating vid cams inside the conference room picked up the cluster of incendiaries hurled into the conference room clearly. Hanson, Tyrone, and the Commandant all yelled, “Take cover!” and dove down to the floor instinctively. But the seated VIPs had no chance. The cluster of incendiaries exploded right in their faces, with the floating vid cams picking up the flash and initial horror of the explosion a split second before being destroyed. The scene was horrific.
The recording cut back to the Administration Building’s security vid cams, showing the attackers running to their fighters, carrying an anti-gravity gurney with them, obviously Sukesh. Four fighters lifted up and rocketed off, as two hovering fighters closed in and fired missiles on the remaining prison buildings. They knew full well their actions were being recorded. Even the identification lettering on the tail of each fighter was clearly visible. The last of the recording showed one fighter hover directly in front of the Administration Building, still in one whole piece. The fighter shot its bright neon blue, irregular beam directly into the front door of the building, then launched away. The particle disrupter beam leveled the entire building in less than two seconds. The four survivors, Admiral Worthington, Commandant Richardson, Admiral Hanson, and Colonel Tyrone, were fortunate they were in the outermost, rear room on the top floor, else they would have been crushed.
The table of High Councilmen sat in silence. Admiral Mason held her head in her hands until the recording stopped. “There were initially dozens of vid cams recording the event, and all recordings were stored off-site on Mars X as a back-up to the vid comm links in use with the interview team at the Penal Colony,” Mr. Adams quietly explained to the stunned group. “There are more of the recordings, even more gruesome. We will have them available on your com tablets tonight, should you choose to watch them.”
“It was a miracle Admiral Hanson, the Commandant, Admiral Worthington, and our former Chief Prime Marine Colonel Tyrone survived,” Mr. Vladnokov remarked. “A true miracle. I know they are trained warriors, and their experience and training were responsible for their survival. Still, it is a miracle,” he offered, shaking his head.
“The death toll from the attack was astounding: over 400 prisoners killed; every guard and every prison employee with the exception of the lower level laundry techs were killed, totaling another 211; Chief High Councilwoman Li Yun and her two Prime Marines; Admiral Langford; two senior aides, Commander LaGrange and Lt. Commander Truoung; and Intelligence Officer Lt. Commander Schmidt. The total killed was 618. Another 184 injured, including Admiral Worthington and Admiral Hanson.” Mr. Adams finished his report.
“The medical forensics teams will be working at Mars Penal Colony for quite some time. All remaining prisoners, primarily those in underground solitary confinement, all of them traitors or convicted murderers, will be transferred to other locations off-Earth today. The announcement of the attack will be made this evening to honor the fallen, with their families having all been notified by this time. The Penal Colony will be rebuilt, but the timeframe for reconstruction will not be discussed until the forensic work is completed,” Mr. St. Clair announced.
“There are many unanswered questions surrounding this attack which must be brought to the table for discussion as soon as possible. But, due to the horror of the attack and the gravity of the situation, we will recess until tomorrow morning. We will resume analysis and discussion of this attack in our afternoon session tomorrow,” Mr. St. Clair stated, and rose. The High Councilmen all rose to leave quickly, and Mason opened the doors for them.
“I wish to speak with you directly after your lunch, Major Mason. I require your considerable experienced input regarding this attack, and your analysis. You may bring Admiral Mason with you, if she wishes.” Mr. St. Clair left the den, with Mason following directly on his heels, to his private wing. Then, Mason went to his wife’s office.
“This was not the type of situation I hoped you to experience your first week, Admiral Mason. Is there anything I can do for you?” Mason politely asked her as she sat in her office, looking out her window at the pristine Alps.
“Yes. Please come in, close and lock the doors.” He did as she asked, and she ran into his arms. He held her closely and stroked her back as she trembled, and silently let the tears fall. Mason slowly walked her over to her couch, and he held her there until she stopped crying.
“I’ll get you some wine, it’ll help you,” he said. He opened a bottle of French red wine for her. He poured two glasses, a full one for her, and a half glass for him. He made her sip some wine, ordered lunch to be delivered to her office, and came to sit with her. She held her glass and swirled the wine. After a few minutes, she spoke.
“As a surgical nurse, I saw terrible wounds, maimed limbs, and gory operations that sickened me, but I somehow got beyond the blood and gore and helped the wounded to heal as best they could, as much as I could help them. The battle was not brought to me until the Hesperia, however, at my wedding rehearsal, where you saved my life, John. Today’s recordings brought all the fear from the Hesperia back to me, and the feeling of sheer terror I felt then. I tried to meditate and prepare myself to view terrible destruction this morning, and it helped a great deal. But not enough to stave off the fear and shock at seeing the death, suffering, and devastation in today’s recordings. All those poor people! I am afraid, John, afraid for all of us. If someone had not forged your resignation, you would have been there, too, and most likely have been killed, John. There is a reason for everything,” Rachel explained.
Mason held her closely. “I remember the attacks on the Hesperia very well, Admiral. Yes, you were afraid. You had a right to be afraid. Mutineers and traitors were attempting to kill you and Captain Baines. Even at your wedding reception, they attacked you and the Captain a second time; they attacked by the dozens! But I saw you set aside your fear and take control of your emotions when you saw the wounded, and realized you should help them. The surgical Head Nurse you were came back in control, and you took charge again, running along with the stretcher, holding my open head wound with your hand, and taking me to the hospital for immediate surgery. You even spent your wedding night in surgery, assisting Dr. Hassan in operation after operation. I watched you from Sherrie’s recovery room bed.”
Mason continued, “You had to look at these recordings today, to be able to take the steps necessary to deal with the traitors, and Sukesh. You still have that control inside you, Admiral, I know you do. You are also more vulnerable because of the threat to our family. This is another trauma for you, escaping our home in Houston in the night, and coming here to this chateau. Don’t chastise yourself for feeling fear; appreciate your ability to feel fear and empathize with the victims. How long ago was it you were under attack on Mars X? Not so long ago. Sukesh personally targeted you, Admiral Mason. You have been the victim of several traumas lately, and you must deal with them.”
Mason affirmed, “Every warrior must deal with their fear, realizing only a fool is not afraid. We all handle our fear differently. We have to find out the best way for you to channel your fear, Admiral Mason. It is a natural response, our ‘flight or fight’ response mechanism.”
“But I am not a warrior, John. You are the warrior.” She put her head on his shoulder.
“The way of the warrior is a path, Rachel. Do you think a seventeen year old does not feel fear in his first laser fire fight? Or his fiftieth battle? We all feel fear.” He looked directly into her eyes. “The way of the warrior is sometim
es forced upon us. You may not have consciously chosen it, but you are now set upon the path by circumstances we cannot control. You have already walked the warrior’s path, both on the Hesperia, and on Mars X; and you walked it well. Now, you are called upon to walk the path again, to help everyone in the URE this time, to rid our world of the invaders, and bring the traitors to justice. You are a warrior now, High Councilwoman Admiral Mason!” He stood and saluted her.
Admiral Mason realized her husband was right; she was forced upon this path years ago by the ONE, and she was now on the path again. She stood straight, returned his salute, and said, “Thank you, Chief Prime Marine. Will you join me for lunch today? I would like to discuss some of your observations from the recordings.”
Their lunch was delivered, and they enjoyed it together, talking about the recordings from a logical, analytical frame of reference. Mason developed a list of questions with her to address in their afternoon meeting:
Who gave the orders to commence the raid? The Mars Penal Colony dome was opened to allow the fighters inside, and closed afterwards. Is the traitor on a Mars base, or at Earth Command?
Six fighters with their full complement of weapons attacked in less than 30 minutes of the VIP team arrival. Mason’s conjecture was someone notified the traitors of the plan to interview Sukesh at least two days ahead of time, if not earlier. One of the fighters was outfitted with the new particle disrupter; only Prime Marine war birds carried the new weapon. The six pilots and attack teams, approximately 30-36 men, would have to be pre-assembled and waiting for the go-ahead signal, in addition to five Space Forces’ fighters and one Prime Marine fighter. It was unnecessary to utilize six fighters for the raid. Were the raid’s organizers anticipating a larger defensive force accompanying the VIP interrogators at the Penal Colony, instead of an entourage? The informants’ intelligence sources were flawed.
Sukesh would have called out to his sympathizers for rescue immediately upon regaining consciousness. Was that the signal to attack? Or, was the informer the one who relayed the signal to begin the attack? The assault teams were fully armed with laser rifles, extra ammo, incendiaries, and stun gas canisters. Was a Mars base armory raided to supply them?
Where were the six fighters acquired? Fighters sat on the Mars Colonies II and III base tarmacs unmanned and unguarded, awaiting scheduled maintenance. The vid recording clearly identified the tail numbers of each fighter, so pinpointing each war bird’s location prior to the Penal Colony raid should be an easy task. Base security must be increased at all bases going forward, and not leave deadly weapons ripe for the taking.
The killing of hundreds of prisoners of the Penal Colony was an act of sheer terror. The raid and rescue of Sukesh could have been accomplished without those 400 men killed. The total destruction of all buildings was unwarranted, especially the annihilation of the Administration Building by particle disrupter. The bombing of the conference room containing the Chief High Councilwoman Li Yun and the Joint Chiefs was unnecessary. The assault was a demonstration of the lethal power held by Sukesh and his rebels.
Mason was also interested in the identification of the pilots and attackers in the raid. Since the security vid cams on the Administration Building recorded the attack, he recommended every attempt be made to recognize the individual faces of the attackers, and thus ID them. He was primarily interested in discovering who among them might be working on any Space Forces/URE bases currently. Were they all AWOL personnel? Or were they officers and crewmen now back to work, like nothing out of the ordinary took place; hidden traitors, waiting silently for their next set of orders from Sukesh?
XXXVI
The morning light pierced their drawn curtains through a tiny gap at the top, right on Mason’s forehead. As he opened his eyes and saw the ray of brilliant sunlight, he felt touched by an angel and told to awaken. The sunlight was so much more intense at these altitudes, the air so pure and thin, that the beam of light resembled a small laser.
Mason put his black silk robe on, but it was no match for the morning Alpine chill. He took the extra blanket off the rack by their bed and wrapped it around his body, stuffed his feet into his slippers, and silently stepped outside onto their bedroom terrace to greet the sunrise.
The rising sun gave a pinkish tint to the range of mountains stretching out before him. The misty clouds enveloping the peaks made the entire sunrise appear ethereal to him; he let his mind wander where it would go and tried not to think. The wind stirred the clouds to encircle and envelope the mountains. He fixed his gaze on the movements of the swirling clouds. Mason was cleansing his mind in the sunrise.
A lone eagle entered his field of vision, soaring high in his hunt for food. The eagle was magnificent, with his wings spread full, and wing tip feathers slightly raised. He was hunting for his breakfast. Then the eagle suddenly banked and came nearly to Mason’s eye level. Mason felt the piercing stare of the soaring hunter as he stood motionless on the terrace, returning the large bird’s stare in kind, predator to predator. Both the man and the eagle were highly accomplished killers, fast, efficient, and deadly. The eagle fixed his gaze on Mason, circling, totally focused. Mason was the new predator in the eagle’s territory, and had to be reckoned with.
The sun shone so brightly on the eagle’s feathers they appeared iridescent, as the large bird continued to soar and circle in the airspace in front of Mason. A sudden updraft caused the bird to rise quickly, but he never took his gaze off Mason; total, complete concentration and focus. Satisfied he was not being threatened today, the eagle banked again, flapped his great wings, and dove straight down closer to the valley, to resume his hunting. A feather floated in the cold air towards Mason, and he caught it as it tumbled.
Mason held the long feather in his hand, grateful for the eagle’s gift and lesson: respect your enemy. Never take your eye off your enemy. Assess a perceived threat as real now, or potentially threatening another day. It was not a good day to fight for the eagle. His breakfast was more important; the other predator made no move against him. It was the warrior’s way.
Mason came inside their bedroom and placed the blanket on its rack. He placed the eagle’s feather on his pillow next to her, and quietly left their bedroom to go to breakfast and work.
Inside the Chief High Councilman’s office, Mason looked at the wall of vid screens from cities on Earth and Mars. At one end of the room was Mr. St. Clair’s impressive antique desk, larger than most of the berths he slept in onboard space ships in his early enlisted man assignments. Down the center of the room was the conference table of French oak, with 12 matching chairs. At the far end of the den stood full-length windows overlooking the Alps, fitted with deep green, heavy curtains. Mason walked to the windows, and gazed out over the Alps. What would the next days, weeks, months, bring? He knew more battles and skirmishes lay ahead. War was coming; deadly, devastating, horrific destruction, unless something happened to bring the escalating fighting to an end. Hopefully, a truce of some type. Humans could not defeat the ONE.
Footsteps coming down the hall sent Mason quickly to the den’s entrance, and three High Councilmen entered. Mason closed and locked the doors, and stood his guard post directly behind Mr. St. Clair. “Good morning, my friends. Please be seated. We are joined remotely by all the High Councilmen. Turn your attention to the vid screens, please,” Mr. St. Clair requested, and he began showing a recording from Mars.
Mr. St. Clair narrated while everyone watched the big vid screen. The High Council was formulating their strategy regarding another new development. Mason glanced at Admiral Mason briefly; she was smiling sweetly at him, holding his eagle feather inconspicuously in her lap. The recording stopped and discussion began in earnest. Mr. St. Clair disclosed today’s dispatching of a High Council Inspection Team to Mars Penal Colony. He wanted the Penal Colony devastation examined and reconnoitered first hand, by the most trustworthy, experienced, and objective investigators available.
The list of analytical questions develop
ed by Major Mason and Admiral Mason were read aloud and discussed by the High Councilmen. Mr. Vladnokov recommended Mason be sent to Mars to lead the High Council’s Inspection Team, to best take advantage of his many years of battle experience and Criminal Forensics PhD. The High Council voted unanimously to send their Chief Prime Marine in the XR-8 to head the team’s investigation. Mason would depart late tonight, to stop at Moon Base to intercept the Inspection Team. Then he would fly them to Mars Colony III via the XR-8, a much shorter trip than the two-week transport.
The ONE incited rebellion among our own people, our own species, Mason realized, watching the techs refuel and provision his XR-8 at the Brussels space base. The ONE never fired a shot, or put any of their lizards in harm’s way. They were the instigators of the death and destruction, but they were not feeling it themselves. Are humans merely puppets for the ONE to play with? Pawns in a deadly game of alien chess? They and the Yellow Man triggered the chaos and the slaughter of humans. Will those surviving humans be the “worthy” ones?
Mason knew Sukesh would be brought out of his drug-induced coma, full of rage and vengeance. Would the Yellow Man even try to contain him now? Sukesh wanted free reign to tempt the weakest to commit mutiny, sabotage, and murder. Sukesh threatened to kill him over a century, a threat he would certainly make a reality if Mason was recaptured. What would he do to Rachel, or to Mason’s family? His first priority was to protect the High Council, especially his wife, the High Councilwoman Admiral Rachel Mason.
Vengeance of Sukesh: John Mason (Legend of John Mason) Page 46