by Terry Mixon
“With the Chinese blowing up the base in New Zealand, it makes more sense to use the portable gate I have and the other gates in the base to get here. They should be able to handle the load.”
Harry blinked. “The Chinese destroyed the New Zealand base? Why haven’t I heard about this?”
“You were a little busy fighting a war,” Jess said before she turned to face Brenda. “Do it. I’ve heard a little bit about some of the new resources you’ve got, so get us what we need to defend the Volunteers. Ultralights, too. Whatever you can get.”
Brenda raced toward the cave without responding.
Jess faced her partner. “Let’s say that we get all the dirt bikes you need, and all the fuel needed to get you to the settlements. Let’s even say that we get a dozen ultralights. How are you going to stop an army five times the size of the one you fought here with a mobile force? We had surprise last time. They’ll probably know we’re coming this time.”
Harry smiled grimly. “We do what we have to do. If we can interdict the Asharim forces, that gives time for the Volunteers to catch up. If we can delay the fight long enough, they’ll smash them in the rear.”
“And what do you do if you can’t hold them?”
Her friend chuckled grimly. “Then I’m not going to be in a position to care what happens next, because I’ll be dead. This is one of those missions where the outcome is more important than our lives. We’ll find the Asharim and we’ll stop them, no matter the cost. There’ll be no atrocity here. I swear it.”
Harry worried that he wasn’t going to be able to keep that brave promise he’d made to Jess. There were so many things that could go wrong. He had no idea what kind of weapons the Asharim would’ve taken to exterminate the settlements. Even here, they’d used three air cars to try to change the odds of battle.
What would they take with them to finally break the Volunteers? If he were in their place, he’d take significantly more airpower than he’d left behind. That made it all too likely that they were going to be facing mobile elements in the air with high-tech weapons, even if they were mostly untrained in their use.
What was he putting up to fight them? Ultralights. Unarmed, small engines, and limited to low-speed maneuvers. Such a fight would be brutal, one-sided, and ultimately fatal for his forces.
The fight on the ground had the potential to be more favorable, but he could only count on the motorcycles to get them where they needed to go. They weren’t going to provide any great advantage during battle.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Krueger said as he walked up.
“I think we’re in a lot of trouble,” Harry admitted. “The Asharim are going to control the air, and they can use those weapons of theirs on us from up there. Our ultralights are no match for their air cars. We have to accept the fact that the forces here probably notified them of what we did to their air cars by ambush. They’re going to be ready for that.
“And once we deal with the forces that are trying to keep us from attacking the Asharim, we have to figure out how to take the relatively small number of troops we can move and hold back what amounts to a massive army. Their weapons are not going to be comparable to ours, for the most part, but as they say, ten men with clubs can take down a man with a gun.”
Krueger shook his head slightly. “You did a lot of special operations in your day, but you never fought this kind of fight before. There are some techniques that might substantially alter the outcome you have in your head.”
Harry stopped pacing and stared at the special operations officer. “What are you talking about? What kind of techniques?”
“Have you ever heard of General George Armstrong Custer?”
Harry felt his eyes narrowing. “Sure. If that’s meant to be some kind of incentive to cheer me up, I don’t think we’re going to stand a lot better chance than he did.”
“That was hubris,” Krueger said. “General Custer thought he was invincible. Even when warned that he was biting off more than he could chew, he raced in, utterly confident that he could achieve victory. That’s not you. That’s also not the comparison that I’m making.
“What I’m saying is that he was an exceptionally skilled cavalry officer. He knew how to maneuver troops mounted on horses to achieve the very best outcome from their very different mode of transport. Dirt bikes are not horses, but they can provide a lot of the same benefits as horses when we’re fighting people on foot.”
Harry stopped to ponder that unexpected advice, scratching his head as he tried to figure out how he could use the dirt bikes more effectively. Probably some method of using them to circle around the Asharim forces and strike from many different areas and keep them off balance.
That was easy to say, but it didn’t come naturally to him. Other than watching a bunch of westerns where the Native Americans utilized similar tactics against less mobile foes, he really had no idea how something like that would work.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not certain it’s going to make a lot of difference for me,” Harry said. “We’re little short on time, and I’m a lot short on the background that I’d need to use something like that effectively.”
Krueger clapped him on the shoulder with his right hand. “Then you’re in luck. The U.S. Army still has cavalry, though not in the same way as it did in the past. Now they utilize vehicles for their mobility, though stuff bigger than dirt bikes. That doesn’t stop them from studying the past and learning from it.
“By morning, I’d wager I could have a team of experienced cavalry officers and noncoms here to take charge of the actual combat. You’d still be in overall command, of course, but they’d be able to advise you about specific actions that’ll make those dirt bikes one hell of a lot more effective.”
Harry wasn’t certain about that, but it wasn’t as if he had a lot of choice. “Make some calls. We’ll have Black Jack pick them up and take steps to make sure they can’t identify any of the bases Brenda is using to get them here. We’ll need to have them here before dawn to examine the equipment and the riders. As much as it annoys me, we’re going to have to take the time in the morning to do a basic orientation for dirt bike riding in the wild. People need to know how to operate the equipment.”
Krueger nodded. “Are we going to have the dirt bikes here by then?”
“I sure as hell hope so. That’s going to be on Brenda and her ability to get enough bikes for us and get them to a place where we can utilize them. And she’s going to have to do it all without tipping her hand to the US government. They’d stop whatever she was doing and try to seize the gate if they get wind of it.”
“I wish I could say that you’re wrong, but you’re probably not,” Krueger admitted. “This operation is going to revolve around those vehicles, so we’d best pray she comes through. If she lets the US stop her, tens of thousands of people are going to die, and there’s not really anything we can do to stop it from happening.”
Harry stared off at the stars beginning to appear in the sky as darkness took over the landscape. This was a beautiful world. One that would make a great second home for humanity. To make that happen, he needed to do everything in his power to make certain that the people here survived.
If he failed, he’d have a terrible atrocity on his conscience, or he’d be dead. Neither one of those options sounded all that good to him, so he was rooting for Brenda Cabot. She had to come through. She just had to.
36
Brenda wasted no time summoning every member of the Families in Washington, DC, to the base in Virginia. She had the folks at the Vault tied in by secure, encrypted com.
Hopefully, that would make it too difficult for any spies to trace them, though the United States government was supposed to be honoring their occupation of that facility. Time would tell whether they could be trusted that far.
When she had everybody listening, she got right down to business. “We need dirt bikes. I know that seems like a very strange request, but we need them in as great
a quantity as we can get them. It’s late afternoon here in DC, and we have to hit any place that sells them and buy up everything they have in stock. Once we have that, we have to get them back here and take them to Volunteer World.”
Victor raised a meaty hand, his expression somewhat befuddled. “I thought they were fighting a war there. Why do they need dirt bikes?”
“The bottom line is that they have to catch up with an army that has a two-day lead on them. There’s no way to get larger vehicles through the cave the gate is in. That means they’re going to have to use motorcycles, and since it’s rough terrain, that means dirt bikes. The easiest places to hit first are the ones that sell these things for a living. We’re going to clean them out.”
Cyrus Patterson shook his head over the video link. “If you try that, they’re going to think this is some kind of scam. Credit cards are going to make them suspicious for that kind of purchase. Cash, they’ll wonder if it’s fake or stolen. What you’re proposing is going to make them turn us down.”
“So what are you suggesting?” she asked. “Gold Krugerrands? That certainly wouldn’t be suspicious.”
Cyrus chuckled slightly. “No, that wouldn’t work any better. What you need is for someone they already have a relationship with to make the deal. Someone that will tell them that this isn’t a scam. Somebody here has to know someone that’s into dirt bike racing. Anyone?”
A couple of hands went up in the big hall, and Cyrus indicated he had a couple as well. “That’s good,” Cyrus said. “These folks know people inside the industry. They have a relationship. What they need to do is contact their friends and find someone that knows some of these dealerships. That way they can vouch for our people and the cash we’re offering.
“And they’re going to want to see cold hard cash in their hands. Not gold, not digital, just regular money that they can check to make sure it’s not fake.”
Todd Granger shook his head. “Do you know how much dirt bikes cost? They’re not cheap. Do we have that kind of cash on hand? If we don’t, can you imagine going to a bank and asking to withdrawal hundreds of thousands of dollars? Or a million? That’s going to bring all kinds of attention that we don’t need.”
“The Families have money stashed away for various purposes, and I’m going to raid that fund,” she said. “Humanity Unlimited will reimburse us. The purchases are still going to raise some eyebrows and have people checking into us. I guess this is the point where we find out whether the treaty we have with the US government is worth the paper it’s written on.”
She gathered those with connections to the racing industry and started them contacting their friends. By the time she had enough cash on hand and had paid their friends a handsome fee for assisting them, it was going to be just a couple of hours before these showrooms closed.
Once that was started, she tasked others with going through the papers and finding dirt bikes for sale by individuals. That was something that could be handled more easily and wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
The number of bikes they could get that way would probably be fairly low, but in a city the size of DC, there would still be dozens of bikes for sale. Everyone would help. She had no idea how many troops Harry needed to move, but they probably wouldn’t be able to get enough bikes for everyone.
“Todd,” she said, gesturing for the doctor to come over. “We need ultralight aircraft as well. None of us is going to know anybody with an in on that angle, so I want you to find out if there’s a dealership and head over there right away. We’ll get you enough cash to buy as many as they have on hand. If that sparks them to call the police, then we’ll deal with it, but I need to get Harry every piece of equipment that we can.”
He nodded and headed for the gate.
She racked her brain, trying to figure out if there was anything else she could do to improve their odds of winning this fight. She really wished that she had access to high-tech weapons other than the flechette rifles that they’d recovered in various places.
Still, she supposed that those would be helpful as well. She’d gather up everything she had on hand and get it sent through the gate with the dirt bikes when they arrived. Then it would be all up to Harry and Karl.
The idea that her lover was going to be in such dire circumstances made her stomach roll, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop him from doing what he thought was right. That was one of the things she liked about the man.
One way or the other, this was a throw of the dice. If they came up good, they might be able to break the Asharim on Volunteer World once and for all.
This was a pivotal moment in their expansion into the universe. If they blew it, a lot of people would die, and they’d be back where they started. She didn’t want to see anyone else die, so she was going to do everything in her power to make this work.
Jess managed the arrival of the dirt bikes as Brenda Cabot delivered them. They started as single units, and then, after about an hour and a half, the first large shipment arrived. By the time dawn was close, they had several hundred dirt bikes ready for use. She was amazed at how well the other woman had done.
Transporting the fuel was significantly more complicated, as everything had to be brought through in containers. Not only what they needed to fuel them up, but more containers to transport fuel with them as they tried to chase down the Asharim forces. They also needed things like helmets, gloves, and jackets to protect the riders. All of those things were coming in a flood.
There were also additional troops arriving every hour. Forces from New Zealand, Australia, and even the United States. All transported in a way that didn’t reveal the locations of the gates. She wasn’t sure how that last was going to play out when the alliance got around to throwing the US out of the group. That wasn’t going to be fun, and she was glad she didn’t have to be involved.
Somehow, Harry managed to keep track of all the frantic activity and force order onto the chaos. He and Commander Krueger were able to keep everything moving and organize the incoming troops into appropriate units and get them armed.
Brenda had sent along some of the Asharim weapons they had in storage. They’d been useless with no one able to charge them but were now available. There were a bunch of them on Freedom Express as well that her people were sending over. Maybe even enough to arm the mobile forces entirely. She hoped that those advanced weapons made a difference.
She’d expected everyone to go tearing off into the wilderness as soon as dawn broke, but Harry surprised her and held organized training for those who were unfamiliar with the use of motorcycles. There were surprisingly many that didn’t know how the little devices were operated.
She’d have expected more military people to be familiar with motorcycles. They seemed daring and dangerous, so she’d expected there to be some type of correlation. Apparently not.
He was also training the troops in the use of the flechette rifles and pistols. There was a lot of hooting that she could hear from the shooters. It sounded as if they were pleased.
Also coming through the gate were ultralight aircraft that could be used for scouting. They could probably also be used for firing down from great height, but that seemed like a sure way to invite the counterattack. The little things had no way of protecting the riders from being hit by birds, much less bullets.
Being someone that had gone into space before, she’d always found herself attracted to aircraft. Her training in flying them was limited to the lifters, but she’d enjoyed quite a bit of time flying around in ultralights. One of the engineers that she’d worked with had been a fan of that sort of thing.
She’d suspected that he’d hoped taking her up for a couple of rides would lead to some kind of romantic entanglement, but she hadn’t been looking for that sort of thing at the time.
He’d been a good sport about it, and she’d made sure to introduce him to one of her friends that she thought might find him interesting. Since they were now married with three kids, it seemed she’d
guessed well.
That passive knowledge about the small craft, added to what she knew about flying from the implanted Asharim skills, gave her the impression that she might actually be able to fly one of these things. Perhaps not as well as a trained pilot, but they didn’t have enough of those in any case. Brenda had brought far more ultralights than they had pilots.
Jess paid close attention to the familiarization spiel that one of the trained pilots was giving the rest of them with any experience. Everything made sense, and she was confident that she could remember what the controls were and how to use them if she needed to.
Harry would be severely pissed if he knew that she was going along. Hell, Sandra would be furious. That last might be able to be rectified.
Once the familiarization class was over, Jess went to find her bodyguard. She didn’t have to look far. The woman was watching her from about fifteen meters away.
“You were going to do it, were you?” Sandra demanded.
“Not without talking to you first. We’re going. Both of us.”
Sandra’s eyes narrowed. “We have plenty of ultralights. Why would I allow you to go charging in like that?”
“We might have enough aircraft, but we’re really short on pilots. Harry isn’t going to wait much longer. As soon as he has those people down there able to go without falling over, he’s going to head out. I’d give him no more than an hour.
“I suggest you arm up with your sniper rifle and some of the Asharim weapons, and we’ll follow along. We can communicate with the scout teams from the air, and if Harry runs into trouble, you can use that sniper rifle to help make sure he gets clear.