Scouts Out 3 - War

by Danny Loomis

  He nodded. “The old design is. Two years ago their design was updated. Started producing ‘em with the front ramp.” He shrugged. “Not sure why it’s more efficient, but it apparently is.”

  The speaker crackled. “How many crew were supposed to be onboard this rig?” Willy asked.

  Shag checked his board. “Ten. Why?”

  “They’re all accounted for. And all dead. Looks like sudden air loss throughout the ship.”

  “Was the force field turned off, or was there a glitch in the system?” Irish asked, skin tingling. One of his unspoken fears of space was dying by air loss.

  “Turned off. Looks like they’d powered down everything they could, except for the cloaking. Must’ve been planning on staying here a long time.”

  “Or maybe an Alliance ship was checkin’ out the asteroid so they had to turn off most of their systems,” Willy said.

  Irish nodded. “Without the force field on, all the air leaked out.”

  “Hey, Skipper, y’want to send Shag and another of our guests over? A couple more hands are gonna be needed. We have to search this tin can front to rear and see where the leak is.”

  “You got it,” he said, and turned to Shag. “I’ve got a hunch about this. Since it’s a newly built ship, could it have the same problems we did with the seal around the ramp?”

  “I’ll check on it,” he said, hurrying out.

  Within minutes of starting the inspection, Willy’s voice echoed through the speaker. “You were right, Skipper. The entire right side of the ramp’s seal had come loose. Looks like all the bolts failed on that side.”

  Icy fingers ran down his back. “Understood. Keep looking, though. Want to make sure that was the only problem.”

  “Roger.” The speaker went dead.

  Four hours crept by before they finished and returned to the Erebus. Shag entered the bridge, face pale and drawn. “Shit, man. Hope we never have an air leak. Those folks never knew what happened.”

  “Yeh, looked like they was takin’ a nap,” Willy said, following him closely. “Nothing else was wrong. In fact, we could probably fly that bird if we fixed the seal on the ramp. Its power levels are peaked, and once I got the electronics back up it was like nothing had happened. Spooky.”

  Irish rubbed his neck, trying to ease his tension. “What about the bodies?”

  “The two guys we had with us bagged and tagged ‘em. Now they’re stored in the hold of the corvette. One other thing, we found three long-range message drones all set to be launched when needed. We could get one externally attached to our ship, take it close to a nexus and release it when we need to send it back to our bosses.”

  “The Cherenkov generators for those drones are just fine,” Shag said. “I know there’s been a problem with those smaller units in the past, but these seem okay.”

  “Hm. This raises a concern we need to discuss.” Irish stood, gesturing at the other two. “Come on, let’s go talk with Brian and his team. We have to make sure and get our priorities straight on what needs doing.”

  An hour later Irish leaned back, hands behind his head. “Okay, I think we got it. Brian, your team needs to get the commo equipment on the ground ASAP. That’s our first priority. Then, Shag and Willy can take one of the drones to a nexus and send it off with an update. Need to include information about the weakness we found with the seals on the new ramp design. After that, the two of you say you can fix that ramp seal, right?”

  Shag nodded. “That we can, Boss.”

  Irish looked at Brian. “I’ll stay with you and get an update on what we can do to help your efforts on the ground. We’ll still have access to commo with the ship by putting a laser relay on this rock.” He turned to Shag and Willy. “That way, we can communicate once a day if needed.”

  “What d’you think they’ll do about the corvette?” Brian asked.

  “They usually conduct these sneak ‘n peek missions for a couple months. According to what I saw on their log, they’d been here three weeks before they died. Another two weeks passed while they sat there. So the next corvette would be ready to creep in-system within three-four weeks. That’s why it’s important they get word about what’s happened so they can bring another crew,” he said.

  “In the meantime, Willy and I can act as your messengers. We’ll still have two message drones we can put to use if needed before the next corvette gets on-station.”

  It was easier than Irish anticipated to sneak in-system to a large solar collector satellite circling Eire. Attaching themselves to the back of it had been ticklish, since they didn’t want to cause any fluctuations in its movement. Once they’d mapped the interlocking detector array in the Eire system, the primary concern had been not coming too close to any other ship. Now, Irish was deep into planning their next move.

  “After we have all the equipment packed in the shuttle, we’ll be seriously short of room for your team,” he said. “It might be wiser to make two trips. More room for you and your folks to stretch out that way.”

  “We can put up with having everyone packed in if you can lift us,” Brian said with a shrug. “I think it’s worth any discomfort we might have to only make one trip to the surface.”

  Irish took a last bite of his breakfast rations before putting the fork down with a sigh. “You’re right, of course. I’ve been thinking peacetime transport.” He nodded decisively. “Okay, we’ll only make one shuttle trip. Even with all the supplies and equipment we need to take with us, the shuttle can handle the load. I was just concerned about having you and your team squeezed into the remaining space.”

  Brian laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. “No problem, Captain.” He indicated the other nine at the table with a wave of his hand. “They’re used to fitting into tight spaces. Me, I’ll be your co-pilot so won’t feel a thing.”

  “You’re so sympathetic,” Irish said with a chuckle. He stood and moved towards the lift. “In the meantime, let’s all get off our fat asses and load up our beast of burden, shall we?” There was laughter and chuckles from all while they trooped after him.

  Once the equipment had been packed and weapons stowed, Irish headed for the bridge. “We’ll take off in thirty minutes,” he said. “I’ll be with Willy and Shag if you need me.”

  * * *

  The shuttle coasted down until ten meters from the surface of the meadow. Irish glanced at Brian, riding in the co-pilots chair. “Okay, now where?”

  He pointed left. “Towards that small group of trees at the base of the hill. According to our map, there’s a small cave close to there.”

  A deft touch on the controls had the shuttle edging among the trees. He touched down, and shut off the gravitics. “How’s our security?” he asked.

  “Nothing within ten kilometers, Captain. I think we can offload now.”

  “Right after you have one of your team put out sensors, okay?”

  Brian gave a theatrical cringe. “Oh, damn. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Irish shook his head while lowering the ramp. “As if you hadn’t thought of that already. Go ahead, say it. I’m being a mother hen.”

  “No way, not when my men are already callin’ me that for landing so far away from our HQ.”

  “More likely they’re thanking you for paying attention to good security practices for once,” Irish said. He gave the map on his monitor another look. They were twenty kilometers to the southeast of the rebel camp, and a hundred northeast of the nearest city, Ennis.

  Minutes later they were all carrying boxes of equipment towards the cave that became apparent after a screen of brush was parted. Only a meter and a half high and wide, it was six meters deep and four wide once past the entrance. Eight boxes, each holding one of the special commo units, had been left onboard.

  They trooped back in the shuttle and sat around the table in preparation for a briefing. Irish looked all of them over, again struck by how alike they looked. Blonde hair, blue or green eyes,
all close to or over two meters tall. Related? Same clan? He shrugged and began. “Okay, now that we’re here we need to make sure all the commo units get to where they belong. Brian, could you go over your plan again?”

  “Right, Cap.” He unfolded a map and placed it on the table. “First off, we’ll take the shuttle to within twenty kilometers of here.” His finger touched a red circle on his map. “A four-person team will meet us.” He indicated one of the men. “Gil, you’ll stay with this group. Once they’re trained up on the commo, make your way back to HQ. Questions?” At Gil’s headshake, he continued. “Bran, when we get to the south coast, you’ll join up…” It was another half-hour before the briefing wrapped up.

  “One last thing,” Irish said. “Please find out soonest what your folks need most that we can supply from the Confederation. Keep in mind we’re limited as to what we can bring.”

  “A couple dozen more just like you to train our snipers,” Smith number four said. “We got the weapons, we got the people, but we desperately need training.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Irish said. “Hopefully I can get my lords and masters in the Confederation to see the wisdom of providing you with help.” He smiled. “In fact, I’m going to twist some arms and try to get eleven of the galaxy’s best snipers here to train your folks soon as possible.”

  A warning chimed on the sensor board. Everyone scuttled for their weapons. “Hopefully that’s our crew from Headquarters,” Brian said, while he and Irish hurried to the flight deck.

  Once there, Irish did a 360 degree scan and readied the shuttle’s particle beamer. The five megajoule laser might be overkill in this situation, even if they were hostiles.

  Brian, now weaponed up, glanced at the board before hurrying out. “Should be our folks, but better safe than sorry.”

  “Amen to that.” Irish re-set the alarm system and continued scanning up, down, and all around with the shuttle’s detectors.

  Within minutes a long whistle signaled the all clear. A sudden thought struck Irish. He scrambled to the bay and opened his rucksack, pawing through it. Hopefully, he had it–ah, there! He lifted out a staff les than a meter in length. Thank God he’d remembered to bring it with him from the ship.

  Brian had just arrived in time to see his frantic digging. “What’s up? Looks like you just found the holy grail or something.”

  He handed the staff to Brian. “Luckily, I remembered to bring it. This is my favorite weapon.”

  “This?” He turned it over in his hands, and gave Irish a quizzical look as he handed it back. “Doesn’t look too scary to me.” He hauled out a knife with a long serrated edge. “Now this, on the other hand, is a nice tool for close-in work.”

  Irish twisted the lower half of the staff, elongating it to over a meter. Another twist on the top, and a 12-centimeter blade snicked out. “This isn’t so bad for close-in work, either.” He handed it back to him.

  “B’God!” Brian’s mouth gaped. “A wizard’s weapon.” He made a couple experimental sweeps and jabs. “Damn me, that’s a well-balanced killing tool.”

  “When it was given to me, I was told it was over a hundred years old.” He retrieved the staff, collapsing it back to less than a meter in length. “Hand made, too.” He placed it in a slot next to his chair.

  By now everyone, including the newcomers, were gathered around the mouth of the cave while they loaded up on supplies and equipment for the return trip. “I’d better go have a word,” Brian said. “C’mon out, I’ll introduce you.”

  The sun was setting by the time the team departed with their load. Irish smiled, remembering the night patrols he’d led over the past several years. Always loved it at night. Felt in his element the darker it got. He stepped away from the shuttle, admiring the spectacular orange-red clouds slowly moving across the sky.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Brian had walked up, and was also admiring the view. “Luckily our folks are used to moving in the dark. The Legs don’t like to be out after the sun sets.”

  Irish turned to him. “Legs?”

  “Legislaturist militia,” he said, almost spitting the words. “The only thing I like more than harassing or killing Legs is killing Alliance scum.”

  After a moment of silence, Irish started back to the shuttle. “C’mon. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”

  * * *

  The next three stops went as planned, ensuring the communications devices were spread throughout the continent of Dublin. For the last trip, they’d have to cross a stretch of ocean to the next continent of Burunda.

  “I haven’t crossed a body of water in cloaking mode,” he said. “The only advice I can find from the manuals is to fly low and slow when on a flat surface to avoid detection. Not sure it’s the case across water.”

  “You think you’d leave a wake behind the shuttle?” Brian asked.

  “Yes. Never tried it before.”

  Brian’s eyes lit up. “Hey, just wait until there’s a storm or high winds hit the surface. No one’d notice you then.”

  He leaned forward and clapped Brian on the shoulder. “Great thinking! Knew we had you along for some reason.” He kept the smile plastered on his face, nerves jumping. Damn, the others around the table had tensed up big time when he’d done that. One had even half-risen, reaching for a knife. He’d forgotten how protective they were.

  He jumped up and hurried for the bridge, pushing aside thoughts over what had just happened. “C’mon, Brian. Let’s look for a storm to ride. You get to drive this time.”

  By early the next day their hoped for rough weather arrived. Irish checked over the board one last time. “Okay, we’re five kilometers from the coastline, and it’s sixty K’s to the other side from there. What’s your altitude going to be, and your speed?”

  “One hundred meters, and going seventy kilometers an hour.”

  Irish glanced at him, a smile tugging at his mouth. “Remember, keep your hands relaxed. Otherwise you might flinch and find yourself a kilometer off-track. I’ll be ready to step in if anything happens, so don’t worry.”

  Brian smiled. “Yes, Mommy. Can I go now?”

  “You’re such a cheeky bastard! Yes, my son, you may go.”

  Brian let loose with a bellow of laughter. “Damn it, I really like you, Irish. It’s been a long time since anyone had the balls to say I was a bastard.” He double-checked his safety belt and slowly fed power to the gravitics. They lifted from the earth and drifted forward.

  “Nice,” Irish said. “Almost good as me. Now bring ‘er up to seventy K’s and we’ll head out.”

  Within the hour they’d flown over the westernmost headland of the continent of Burunda. “Landfall, time for you to take over,” Brian said. “I need to identify specific landmarks so we land at the right place.”

  “I’ve got it,” he said, easing the yoke so they lifted higher. “I’ll take it up twenty kilometers. That be enough?”

  “You bet. Take a seventy degree heading, go thirty kilometers. Should be close, then.”

  It was early afternoon when they landed, this time in a small clearing surrounded by tall, stately trees. “Move under the trees on the left, would you?” Brian asked. “We’re well enough screened, but this way that damnably incessant rain won’t fall directly on us.”

  “You’d think your precious hide was going to melt,” Irish said with a chuckle. “But in this case I agree. This constant drizzle we’ve been flying through seems to go on forever.”

  Brian shook his head. “This continent is famous, or infamous, for this kind of weather. Most every day is like this.”

  “Seems a lot more heavily forested,” Irish said.

  “That it is, especially the northern half. When our ancestors first landed on Eire, they seeded this continent with conifers from Earth. The redwoods in particular love it here. They’ve taken over a majority of the eastern seaboard.”

  The shuttle touched down, and everyone except Irish spr
inted out to emplace sensors. This time, Irish had insisted they extend their range to five klicks. Which meant extra work. He also sent a small drone to the top of the nearest tree and perched it there, to assist in aerial coverage.

  Fresh coffee was on the table for Brian and the five who remained of his team when they trooped back into the shuttle, shedding their rain gear while entering. “What’s this?” Brian asked. “Trying to prove you have a human side to you?” His men chuckled, each grabbing a mug. “Much appreciated, Captain.”

  Irish waved a dismissive hand. “We call this a coffee break among civilized folk.”

  The bonging of an alarm had everyone scrambling. Irish punched a button on the table top, bringing up a monitor showing the air space around them. “That was the air alert,” he said. “Something’s…” His finger stabbed forward. “There. Due north at five klicks. A flitter.” They watched the bright dot on the screen until it dipped downward. The ground sensors alarmed with their annoying buzzing.

  “Intruders at four klicks, looks like six people running.” Brian’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the table. “One down, the rest scattering.”

  Irish was up and reaching for his rucksack by now. “Flitter’s on the ground, next to the person who went down. Brian, can you get your men to flank the scene? You and I can move straight in.” He pulled on his ghillies, a baggy overgarment, effectively disappearing before the unbelieving eyes of the others.

  “B’God! What’s goin’ on?” blurted Brian, looking wildly around.

  Irish finished donning his camouflage, and quickly pulled back the hood covering his face. “Sorry, sorry. Hadn’t shown any of you this outfit. It used to be standard camouflage for us Scouts. I kept my set. Bends light rays around me.”

  Brian leaned against the table. “Shite, man. Think I just pissed meself.” He glanced at the others. “Alright, move into a flanking maneuver, either side. Number One, follow behind the Captain and me. You’ve got rear security on this mission.”

  He turned back, a gleam in his eyes. “We’ll give these leadfoots a one-minute head start. Then you and me, we’ll go see what’s happening. And I’ve got an idea how to use your specialized camouflage to our advantage.”