TSN: The Best Laid Plans (Terran Space Navy)

by Paul Phipps

  Evana/Comm Mode: “Roger”

  All of the TSN vessels were floating between 5,000 and 500 ft. They were invisible behind their masking. But even with those advantages that high technology gave them there was always the possibility that something would give them away.

  * * *

  “Mahmoud, did you see that?” Asked the young Private who had been a goat herder only the previous year before.

  “See what? Are you thinking about your bride-to-be once again or the goats you left behind?” The other said with a cackle.

  “No, you fornicator with goats, the moon, something passed in front of the moon.” The private insisted.

  Out of the darkness came to voice of the Sergeant of the guard. “What are you two doing? You should be watching the pass!”

  “Sergeant, Goat herder here, says he saw something pass in front of the moon.” Private Mahmoud told the Sergeant.

  “You did? What did it look like?” The sergeant asked curiously.

  “I can’t really say, I was looking at the moon and it got wavy like I was seeing it in in the water then it looks like it does now. I’ve never seen that before when I was herding my goats.”

  “Hmmm, I was looking for an excuse to wake up those pansies down there.” The sergeant said quietly. “Good work Private.”

  Then the Sergeant looked around and once he spotted the field telephone he made his call and reported what was seen.

  “In a few minutes, men were boiling out of the bunker heading for their prepared positions and the Missile batteries came fully to life and started to swivel around searching for a target.

  * * *

  Rover spotted the installation waking up almost immediately and informed the three humans of the occurrence.

  Gunnar/Comm Mode: “I wonder what got them stirred up. An unscheduled drill, maybe?” Gunnar wondered.

  Ansel/Comm Mode: “It doesn’t matter in fact it might work in our favor.” Ansel decided instantly. “Evana, are the Samurai’s in position yet?”

  Evana/Comm Mode: “The last three are dropping now. Five minutes until all are in position.”

  Ansel/Comm Mode: “Very well, I am thinking of modifying things slightly. Gunnar, Rover, Let’s back out around twenty miles and unmask. We’re going to come in to the center of their camp. If they shoot a surface to air missile at us, I want you to destroy it. As long as we keep Radar masking up they shouldn’t be able to get a lock on us. But it’s better to be prepared.

  Once Rover has landed in the Camp, I’ll have my Telefactor come out and talk to the good Colonel. We’ll proceed from there. Gunnar you and Shoshone stay up and keep Rover and I covered.”

  Gunnar/Comm Mode: “Either you are awfully trusting or just plain foolish. Evana and I will be ready to blast anything that gets violent though.”

  Ansel/Comm Mode: “You’re probably right. But I think unmasking all of our units especially the Samurais will dampen any ardor for a fight as long as we do it at the right time. If there aren’t any other questions then let’s get going.”

  Rover and Shoshone then moved up to 100K feet and twenty miles away from the Bunker Complex. They unmasked and then boosted up the brightness of their hulls and moved in at a leisurely rate coming to a complete stop directly over the bunker.

  Colonel Al-Quds came into his Command Center deep inside the bunker and asked the captain on duty what was going on. The Captain reported that the Sentries at post 12 had seen something unusual cross between themselves and the moon. The Sergeant of the guard notified him and they decided to call an alert. If there was nothing then it was good training. If there was something though, it was better to be prepared.

  The Colonel agreed and complimented the Captain on his rationale. The Major who was his second in Command came in and reported that all Missile Batteries were ready for action.

  After discussing the situation the Colonel motioned the Captain to accompany them on an inspection of the Guard posts and the Missile Batteries. Training was always good.

  They were walking toward the Command and Control Vehicle for AA Battery #2 when they noticed all of the men looking up into the sky. Colonel Al-Quds looked at his men in confusion, and then he too looked up…Straight Up. There was a bright light that was getting brighter and brighter…Then it was large, very large.

  He was about to order his men to fire, then he thought, ‘I asked Allah for a sign. This must be it, Inshallah, as Allah wills it.’ He watched with his men as the light resolved itself into a large white disk that fell quietly and softly as if it was a feather. Then it was on the parade ground in front of the bunker.

  He turned to the Captain by his side. “Tell the men to put their weapons on safe. And lay them down on the ground.”

  “But Sir!, we are ordered to defend this place by the Grand Mullah himself.” The Captain started to protest.

  “Captain, do you know what we are here to defend?” The Colonel asked in a weary voice. “We were sent here to defend death. The DEATH of everyone! Lay down your weapons, what you see in front of you is life, a gift from Allah himself.”

  Then he was walking down the path to the TSN Scout Ship. As he neared it, he could hear the order he had given being repeated and obeyed. Then the ship opened up and a ramp extended itself. A lone figure of a man dressed in Black walked down and stood at ease awaiting his arrival.

  Ansel, waited at the bottom of the ramp. Rover was relaying to him that most of the men were laying down their weapons as they were ordered to. But there were a few that were ignoring the order and preparing to shoot him.

  Then the Samurai’s were appearing next to each man who was preparing to fire. And they merely crushed the barrels of their AK-74’s. Then the Samurai’s waited to see what the man they were assigned to would do next.

  “Good Morning, Colonel Al-Quds, I am Commander Webster of the Terran Space Navy.” Ansel told the Colonel when he was in front of Ansel. They both spoke in Farsi and then began the intricate ritual greeting that lubricated tense social situations in Islam and the Middle East in General.

  “You know why I am here, Colonel.” Ansel said with authority.

  “Yes, you are here for Death, ‘Shaitan’s Breath’. “ The Colonel said simply. “You are welcome to the filthy thing. But before you take it, promise that you will destroy it.”

  “Yes, we will, we are going to toss it into the sun. Would you like to witness that?” Ansel told him.

  “If I may be allowed, then yes, I want to see it destroyed.” The Colonel said with feeling. “But what of my men and the scientists? What will you do with them?”

  “Everyone here must be tested to see if they are infected. This will take time and we have a safe place for them on the moon. All will be treated fairly in accord with the Laws and Customs of Islam. The food will be Halal and safe and a comfortable place will be made for all. Once it is determined that they are clean we will return them here or allow them to stay. It will be their decision.

  But if they are infected… We will succor them and assist them in their pain. For as you know there is no cure for ‘Shaitan’s Breath’.

  “Please call them here and we will explain it together. Then we need to go and remove Death from this place.” Ansel finished.

  The Colonel nodded his head, and then said simply, “Thank you.”

  “Captain! Sergeant of the Guard!, to me, now.” The Colonel called out.

  Once the two were in front of him he gave his orders for all of the men both inside and outside of the bunker to be brought here. ‘Allah had answered his prayers now it was time to do Allah’s will.’

  The Captain and the Sergeant both saluted and turned to do the Colonel’s bidding. It was as much due to the presence of the TSN Samurai’s as it was to their training that all of the personnel of the bunker including the Chief Scientist and his four assistants were made to be present.

  Ansel came up to the Chief Scientist and held up the crystalline pyramid of a verifier. And then asked him one question: “
Are all of the samples of ‘Shaitan’s breath’ here?”

  ‘Yes, Yes of course they are.” and the verifier went to a bright red.

  “You lie, now where are the missing samples?” Ansel said calmly.

  “I… I don’t know. Two were sent away from the main Lab. I don’t know where they are.” And the Verifier was muted blue.

  Ansel smiled and said, “You told the truth but not the whole truth, do you know where they were going?”

  The Scientist looked at him then the Colonel who had a look of murder on his face. He slumped his shoulders and said in defeat, “One was to go to the Uighur’s in Mongolia. The other was to go Montenegro.” The verifier confirmed that he told the truth.

  Ansel thanked him and then asked the last question. “Did you open any of the samples here and if so, is anyone infected with ‘Shaitan’s Breath’?”

  The Scientist opened and closed his mouth but wouldn’t answer.

  Ansel/Comm Mode: ‘Ariadne, I need a blockade 50 miles in all directions with this place as the center. I need it as soon as you can get it set up.”

  Ariadne/Comm Mode: “On the way, it will take approximately seven minutes to complete.”

  Ansel gave the Head Scientist a look of contempt; he motioned to the others to come to him.

  “Has ‘Shaitan’s breath’ been released here?” He asked them with a deadly look.

  “He opened up one of the vials before we left the lab. We might be infected, we might not be. But the Lab is totally compromised now. To open the door is to let out the Weapon.” replied one of the other scientists dejectedly.

  “I see… Colonel I am having a special ship come in. Each of your men and yourself will be placed into a cylinder that will put you to sleep. This will protect those who are not infected. It will also isolate those who are.”

  Ansel/Comm Mode: “Ariadne, bring the carrier here we need to get these people in the ISO-tubes right now. Also I need a secondary blockade ten miles across. Maybe we can catch it in time. At least it’s not too windy right now.”

  Ariadne/Comm Mode: “Gunnar, would you mind moving off to the side, I’m landing the ISO-Tube Carrier now.”

  “Colonel, another ship is going to land here in a few minutes. It will have a place to keep your men safe. I will do my best to ensure that all will survive even those who were infected by this” and Ansel gave the Head Scientist a withering look, “person.

  When it arrives all your men need to do is walk up the ramp and there will be a green and gold door. All they need to do is touch it and they will be in a safe place.”

  As Ansel was completing his sentence Ariadne landed the ISO-Tube Carrier. It was an Oval vessel around One Hundred Fifty feet in length and seventy five feet at the widest point.

  Colonel Al-Quds looked at the new craft and sighed, and then he straightened his back and told the Sergeant who had been standing behind him to start marching the men up the ramp. “If they wanted to live that is, since this fool of a Doctor has just tried to kill us all with his deadly germs.”

  The Sergeant having heard all the conversations between Ansel, his Colonel and the scientists now knew what was going on and had no problem following that order.

  A few orders later and some blood curdling threats found the men marching up the ramp and into the Carrier. The Scientists were followed by Colonel Al-Quds, his Captain and the Sergeant of the guard as they entered the Carrier and were immediately placed into ISO-Tubes. Ariadne lifted off and once above the Atmosphere turned over control to Maude. Who would guide it to the moon and the facility waiting there for them.

  TSN Auxiliary Epiphany, Saturday, November 14, 2026

  “Captain Keppler, you have a call from Commander Webster of the TSN.” Epiphany notified the Captain of the Epiphany as he was enjoying the afternoon in his Cabin.

  “I’ll accept it here, Epiphany.” Captain Keppler replied. He was getting used to having her always being around if only as a voice. It was actually quite a nice feeling he realized.

  “Captain Keppler?” Ansel asked.

  “I’m here Commander, How can I help you?” Captain Keppler replied.

  “I’m glad you asked that question, Captain. We’ve just captured the bunker complex that was holding the ‘Shaitan’s Breath’ Bio-Weapon. We’ve also evacuated the entire contingent of on-site personnel after they surrendered. Unfortunately their Lead Scientist was feeling like being a Martyr today and released the weapon.

  We’ve also contained the area with a five mile and fifty mile set of blockade screens. I am contacting you for help. I need some experienced people in Bio-warfare to help me collect the remaining vials and sterilize this site. And I need them now.

  I’m asking you to contact whoever you need to for help. Will you?”

  “Certainly Commander, I’ll do that immediately. Anything else?”

  “Not at the moment, and… Thank you.” Ansel told him, “Webster, out.”

  Captain Keppler sat in his chair for a minute, smiled wryly, and picked up his hat. Time to get to work on some phone calls.

  “Epiphany, please have Captain Harris report to me. And please contact Admiral Crane or his staff.”

  “Certainly, sir, Captain Harris is on his way. I will let you know when Admiral Crane is available.” Epiphany responded with competence in her voice.

  TSN Companion, 0615L, Sunday, November 15, 2026

  Ansel and the others have returned to the Companion for some much needed rest. He had left his potentially contaminated Telefactor at the Bunker Complex to be used as necessary in the coming days. All of the exposed Samurai’s were also left behind to both guard the site and to be used for whatever tasks might be required of them in the cleanup effort.

  A new ISO-Tube carrier was being built. Evana was going to be in charge of searching the area within the two Blockade Shields surrounding the Bunker Complex. Any persons or animal life would be brought on board via the tractor beams and placed in ISO-tubes for their own safety.

  Susanna was converting one of her smaller carried ships into a Medical and Bio-War research vessel with several dozen generic Telefactor units for working in the ‘HOT’ zones for the researchers. That would be the one used to gather up the volunteers for the project.

  Admiral Webster on the other hand had agreed to approach the Chinese and the Russians for assistance also. If they all agreed it would make this an international effort to clean up this potential disaster. And a good Public Relations move too, as the TSN would be allowing full communication by the participants with their home countries.

  Pentagon, 2130 EST, Saturday, November 14, 2026

  Secure Video Conference Room #3

  The Chiefs of Staff are once again present at an unexpected evening meeting. The Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretaries for The Air Force, Army and Navy are also present.

  Fort Detrick, Maryland

  Commanding General – Thomas Duval, Colonel Marlene Faludi, Colonel Thomas Hernwell

  Task Force 14,

  Admiral Crane, Captain Welles, Captain Keppler

  White House

  President Richardson, National Security Advisor Marion Heller-Crosby, Secretary of State Janice Flynn, NSA General A.J. Adams

  “Satellite Reconnaissance confirms that there is a new area located here”, Said General Adams as he was using a laser pointer on the projected map. “That contains two circular Force Screens of the same type used along the IUR border.

  This is a fairly mountainous terrain with no obvious roads leading to the indicated center where the bunker complex is supposed to be. We do however see at least one Surface to Air Battery of the Indigenous designed Allah’s Fist configuration.

  That indicates that something of value is there anyway.”

  “Thank you General Adams.” The President said. “So our own intelligence tells us that the TSN has done something there. We have the one request for help from Commander Webster for BIO-Warfare trained personnel to assist in a cleanup effort.

&
nbsp; Frankly, I feel relieved about them requesting help. I was beginning to think that we were dealing with supermen or with people with delusions of superiority. Instead I see that they recognize their own areas of weakness and have no difficulty in asking for help.” He paused and drank from the glass of water at hand.

  “So, do we give them our assistance?”

  “Mr. President, if we don’t someone else will. Commander Webster told me once that the Terran Space Navy was more geared to blowing things up than trying to salvage things like they are doing here. He also told me that if it wasn’t for the fact that the Iranian leadership was actively planning to distribute and use this Bio-War agent they would not have intervened.