“OK, but has she recovered enough? She had a close shave on Josker. She looked like shit when we hauled her in. How’s her leg?”
“No problems, Sir. She’s tough and I reckon she wants an opportunity to give some back.”
“So long as she knows that the mission comes first. She’s no good to us if her cover is blown.”
“Roger that, Sir”
“How long have we got?”
“Just under six hours” responded Rihan. “I better get onto that transmissions audit.”
“OK we’ll meet back here at 1300. Pug, issue the warning orders to your guys. I would like to brief the insertion team at 1330.”
“Any further questions?”
“What do you want to tell Fleet HQ?” Rihan asked.
“Nothing for now about this op. Just advise that we’re on patrol and that we’ll report back on Josker once we have conducted a thorough debrief.”
“They’re not going to like that.”
“Yeh, I know. But it will be days before their return signal and hopefully we’ll have something positive to report. Dismissed.”
As the others filed out Rihan lagged behind. “I’m sorry Sir. I got a little heated. I was out of line with that revenge remark.”
Warner studied her intently. Yes she had spoken her mind. On a bigger more formal ship that would not have been tolerated. But Warner admired her strength and courage. He knew he could be a difficult person to stand up to. Most were intimidated by his force of character. In 1st Lt Rihan Kabel he knew he had a fellow officer who would speak her mind and give an honest opinion. This he valued above any civility. He also admired the fire in her eyes. They showed real passion. He knew he could rely on her to fight and fight hard.
Softening his face and his voice Warner remarked “Yes I know. Just as well I have a tough hide, hey?” The smile came naturally from him.
The relief washed over her face. “It won’t happen again. I just had to…”
“Look there is nothing you need to add. I don’t want a Yes Sir, three bags full sir for my XO. Tell it to me straight and we’ll get on just fine”.
“Yes Sir” she responded.
Warner remained behind by himself in the briefing room. He reflected on his initial orders direct from Admiral Phil Yomoto no less. Yomoto was head of Special Operations Division located at Polaris Fleet HQ. He could see that meeting in his mind’s eye.
‘We need to find out what the fuck they are up to Dave’ he had said. ‘But don’t risk the Hermes’.
‘That was all superseded now’ thought Dave. Now, according to the last order he received from the Admiral, he had to get that intel ‘at all costs’. ‘At all costs’ is not something he was prepared to share with the rest of the crew. It was bad enough now with the deaths of nine marines.
‘What could be worth it?’ he asked himself.
‘We’ve been fighting now human v human over what? Bloody money.’
Dave hated the greed, the egos and those prepared to exploit both of these for their own advantage. They had cost him his chance at happiness, robbed him of his Amy, destroyed his family. He could not see the point in this war. “Why the fuck can’t the powers - that be agree to a better funding arrangement with the Alliance systems” he said out loud.
He glanced around to ensure no one heard that. ‘After all, you don’t get much taxation from developing systems anyway. Those greedy bastards in the inner systems just can’t help themselves. I bet no one on the Federation Council on Earth had even been out here, content to wallow in their history while denying others a fair future.’
‘Get a grip Dave.’ Dave took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He just rested there for a moment.
‘But this is my duty and it’s all I have right now.’
Chapter 5. Hermes 1200, 21 April
Warner was checking his gear. He always preferred to go in light. For his sidearm he chose the 10mm soft-nosed Kaser automatic. He preferred a solid shot over a pulse pistol when operating outdoors, primarily because it had longer range. Cleaned and loaded. Check! Burnside pulse rifle with two extra energy packs. Check. Would he take the multi-spectrum sights? These allowed engagement at longer ranges through a wide range of spectrums. Useful, but added almost a kilo…mmm…OK for now. He tucked them into the left side pocket of his patrol pack. His all-weather jacket was stuffed into the main section of the backpack. He was going to need that. By all accounts the temp range on Alpha Phi was pretty extreme from a top of 40C during the long daylight to a very chilly -10C at night and this was their summer. Thank god it wasn’t winter.
Some energy rations were shoved into the right pocket. On his belt hung his Kaser on the right, water bottle on the left, restraining cuffs at the rear. His communicator and command console were built into the suit and helmet. By all accounts they wouldn’t need to wear the suit sealed. The terraforming had done its job and there was enough oxygen to breathe normally. He always sweated like a pig when sealed anyway. So this was a plus.
He added the portable secure comms box into the bum-bag at the bottom rear of his pack. If shit hit the fan, and he had to ditch his back pack, he didn’t want to be caught without comms to Hermes.
Finally, he reached for two frag grenades and inserted these into the left pouch at the front of his belt. Into the right pouch he added his combat gloves – light, tough, warm and thin enough to allow operation of weapons and equipment.
Shades…where were they? He picked them up from the desk, put them on and, admiring his bespectacled face in the small mirror by the door, gave himself a nonchalant nod of the head. Yes he could have had one of those eye operations that allow the iris to adjust to glare automatically but he had always hated sharp objects like needles and there was that annoying 1% risk factor of losing your sight that he just couldn’t come at. Besides they looked cool, well the ones he had anyway. Or so he told himself.
“Commander” Rihan hailed “we need to talk… in private.”
“Fine. Come to my cabin.”
A minute later Rihan knocked and entered with her console in her hand and a worried expression on her face. “I checked the logged transmissions and yes they’re all in order. But you were right about the deletions. I noted that three transmissions were deleted over the 24 hours we were at Josker.”
“These may be perfectly innocent or they maybe our rat covering their tracks.”
“What should we do about Kiralenko? He may or may not be responsible. Any number of the crew could have had access from the engineer to the doctor. Who knows?”
“You’re right. It just muddies the waters with yet another possibility. We can’t watch everyone 24/7. But we can ensure that all future comms go through you. At least we can remove that means from the equation. Agree?”
“Agreed!”
“At the same time I want you to personally setup a snitch over all comms traffic so we can log and review them after. Who knows we may glean something. Don’t mention our suspicions to anyone else.”
“But they’ll be alerted by the change in comms procedures.”
“Good point. Let it be known that we are setting up a special comms channel for the insertion team and that its security necessitates the change in procedure. That’s credible and should avoid giving the game away.”
“OK, consider it done.”
“One other thing. Make sure you are armed at all times from now on. Ask Pug to post an armed marine in the command centre and ensure you have direct comms with him. Tell him its part of the op requirements.” Then Dave cautioned “Take care Rihan. Watch your back.”
Responding to his earnestness, Rihan nodded consent and left.
Chapter 6. Hermes 1300, 21 April
Back in the conference room, Chase was looking excited, Rihan was deep in thought and Pug was still entering instructions on his console as Warner walked in. Pug looked up for a second and held up two fingers pleading for a little extra time. Warner nodded OK and surveyed the others. “Everything OK, X
O?”
Bringing her attention back into the room, Rihan looked up at Warner and said in a serious tone “Yes.”
Turning to Chase he got the thumbs up. He sat back in his chair and thought of that time before Josker when he had sat here brimming with confidence and optimism. The confidence had taken a beating. Seven dead can do that. Optimism comes from knowing you hold all the aces. But that was now clearly not the case.
“I’m right to go now Sir” said Pug. “I was just putting the final touches to the plan.”
“OK Chase can you give us a recap on the situation.”
“The situation as we know it is that the enemy hold Alpha Phi. It is still only sparsely populated. We’re concerned with a small town called Tindel located in the northern hemisphere in the temperate zone. Tindel is a base camp for mining operations on the high plateau region. It’s extremely dry and hot during the day and bitterly cold at night. The signal we received from Manger was to RV at the tavern in Tindel at 2000. Apparently there is only one tavern so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Population is supposed to be around 500. Local militia amounts to around a dozen troopers, lightly armed plus a handful of police, also lightly armed. The nearest professional military forces are at least two hours away by air transport from Niku. They’ll come heavily armed and supported. So we don’t want to face off against them.”
“Our Forces amount to a small lightly armed team of seven with indirect support from the Hermes plus direct support from Whiskey 1. But let’s not fool ourselves into believing that we can stand and fight a major action. Even with the warthog’s gun systems it has limited loiter time if it is to extract you all back to the Hermes.”
“Likely enemy intentions, if you are detected, would be to contain with the local militia while they bring in the cavalry from Niku.”
“Thanks Chase now what about those insertion options you’ve been working on?”
“I’ve ruled out inserting with the Hermes direct as this won’t go unnoticed. That leaves inserting in Whiskey 1. But even cloaked and stealthy it can still be eyeballed from five clicks. So I’ve identified two suitable LZs, one to the north on the far side of a ridge line and the other to the east behind the tailing hills. Both are about 6 clicks from the town. The one to the north has a fairly open approach route to the town but there doesn’t appear to be much activity in that sector. Needless to say you’ll be hoofing it the whole way. The one to the east has a lot more activity with mining vehicles coming and going. So you could hijack a ride if the opportunity presents, though you’ll have to ensure you don’t raise the alarm.”
“Mmm…” pondered Warner. “I’m not fond of hoofing 6 clicks in that heat. Let’s opt for the Eastern LZ.”
“Roger that” acknowledged Chase.
“Pug, who have you chosen for the team?”
“Sir, apart from yourself and Sgt Chalker, there’ll be Sgt Shavez leading, Cpl Williams is your tech, Cpl Shu will handle the demolitions and Troopers (Tpr) Riley and Bridgewater will be providing fire support. Buster Williams will also be responsible for counter measures and Dai Shu can double as a medic. Cpl Puket’s in charge of Whiskey 1 along with Trooper Favre on the weapon systems.”
“OK good. Make sure Puket understands that they are to stay put at the LZ and avoid engagement. But they need to be ready to come pick us up at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes Sir that’s already taken care of.”
“Rihan can you brief us on the extraction phase?”
“Normal extraction will be triggered by you Sir once you have Manger or you are ready to leave. Code word is “cleaver”. Whiskey 1 will then make its way asap to the open area 100m north of the tavern. Your team must make its way there, mount up and return to ship.
If anything goes wrong and I deem it necessary to abort I’ll trigger an emergency extraction with the code word “juno” followed by a prefix for the extraction location. Juno 1 will be the normal location 100m north of the tavern. Juno 2 will be out front of the mine entrance along the main east west route into town. It’s about 1 click from town. I’ll use that one if you have company in town. Juno 3 is a couple of clicks north of the town just behind the slight rise here. I’ll use that if the second location is compromised.
It is very important that you respond to the emergency extraction signal immediately. We cannot afford to remain exposed for any length of time. Whiskey 1 will remain at the extraction point for one hour only. After that it will return to ship with or without you.
If for any reason you cannot make it, then we will schedule a return for 2200 hours three days later at the same location as originally ordered. You will have to hide up till then.
In the event that the Hermes is engaged and cannot return, well you’ll know in three days’ time when we don’t show up and you’re on your own.”
Those last words trailed off setting a sombre tone for all to ponder.
“Looks like we better take some rations just in case, hey!” Warner said trying to change the mood. “I have no further questions. Anyone else?”
After quickly panning around the shaking heads, Warner added “Chase lock in the eastern option and send me the revised plan. Pug, can you make sure your marines are ready for their briefing in ten. We’ll do it in the battle lab. See you there in ten. Rihan, can you stay for a minute. Thanks Chase. Thanks Pug. Good work and good luck everyone.”
After Chase and Pug left the room, Warner closed the door and addressed his XO. “Have you setup the comms snitch?”
“Yes it’s running now.”
“You have the guard posted?”
“Affirmative.”
“Good. Hopefully they won’t be needed. But I take comfort in seeing you with your sidearm.”
Rihan could see the concern on Dave Warner’s face. A few cracks of vulnerability were beginning to appear in Warner’s armour. Despite the fact he probably was going to be in more physical danger his concern for her safety appeared genuine. This touched off a feeling of compassion and in spite of her reservations about his decision to mount this operation, she decided to make light of the situation. “So you like your women armed.”
Warner’s face began to blush and for the first time since Josker, Rihan actually laughed. It was an infectious laugh. Laughter was something that usually came easily to Warner though it had been a while since this had happened. He joined in, not minding that he was the butt of the humour on this occasion. In that moment he found himself observing Rihan in a new light and he liked what he saw and he enjoyed the sound of her laugh.
Chapter 7. Hermes 1330, 21 April
When Pug arrived at the armoury his marines were ready, sitting on their packs and chatting about anything and everything other than the impending op. It was a light moment of good banter which surprised Pug. He thought that the effects of the Josker mission would have clammed them up. But he took comfort in the fact that marines were a resilient bunch and this lot knew they were good at what they did. They knew that the screw up on Josker was not down to them or their buddies who had paid the ultimate price. Now they knew that Alpha team had been betrayed.
As soon as they saw Pug enter they stopped the chatter, their expressions changed to a more serious look. Yes this was a man who meant business and the business at hand was dangerous work.
“Follow me. We’re conducting the briefing in the battle-lab. Leave your kit here.” Pug’s voice boomed out echoing off the metallic walls. He headed at a brisk pace with his followers quickly falling into sync.
Pug hit the switch in the battle-lab and its banks of consoles with the big 3D holographic display in the centre humming into life. He had already configured the systems to display the op area around Tindel. As his charges saw it for the first time the excitement level increased in the room. But no one spoke. They knew the drill, each filing in and sitting down ready for the boss to arrive.
There wasn’t the formal hoo-ha you had on bigger ships or bases but everyone knew the limits. They had been together for ove
r six months now and there was that symbiosis you get with common purpose, shared experience and respect.
Warner arrived directly. His mind was racing a bit thinking of what he had to say to the team. He knew that Pug would have already outlined the plan. He was there to ensure they understood the purpose of the mission. His intent had to be clear in each of their minds so that even if things started to unravel they all knew what the overall goal was. That allowed them to exercise their own initiative.
In that moment Warner recalled the sheer joy he experienced when one of his special ops team members years back had done just that and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. It had saved all their lives. That experience was indelibly etched into his consciousness now. He needed to etch it into theirs.
“Good day everyone. We haven’t much time so I’ll cut to the chase. Chief Sterkze has already outlined the mission to you and assigned you your roles. Our mission is simple - meet with Manger and find out what he wants.
I will be leading this mission personally because he has requested that. In any event only I know what Manger looks like and only I have met him before. We were on the same special Opsteam together before most of you entered the Academy. He is a good operator and has survived on his own out here since the start of the war. His signal indicates an urgent need to meet me in person at the tavern in Tindel this evening. I do not have any more details on what he wants or why it is so urgent. However, he is a top operative and he wouldn’t risk exposing the Hermes unless it was very important.
There are some who say he may be the one who betrayed us on Josker. I won’t kid you. That is a possibility but I believe it unlikely. I know him and I trust him, at least enough to try and make contact. But we’re not going to be naïve. That’s why we’re sending in Sgt Chalker undercover to recce the area and make the initial contact.”
Turning to Chalker, Warner continued “If you notice anything untoward, you signal us asap and we call the whole thing off.” Chalker acknowledged with a nod. Warner noted her focus and automatically glanced to her left leg. The last time he had done so, blood was oozing out of a field dressing. There were no signs of that now. Her face was resolved. She was one tough, cool customer and he was glad she was on their side.
The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Page 3