After many hours of planning, strategy sessions, attack and response plans, and other associated planning thought streams, we felt we had a solid basis for how we would handle the operation. Whacking a terrorist or a drug dealer is one thing, but attacking a military force is quite another and our numbers were perilously thin for taking this operation on at all. But we had Daria, and she is such a force multiplier and genius Artilect that we felt we should be on even ground with the enemy. And of course we spent many hours in the VR Deck simulating the operation in great detail.
I was to be hidden in the rocks of the mountain that the column was approaching across the valley. Frosty was armed to the teeth with auto weapons and explosives and riding the quad copter, which had more engines added and was now an octo-engine copter floating invisible over the column. D had the ship, cloaked of course, and was on over-watch with the Plasma cannon. Beast equipped with his rocket back pack and natural skills would be following the column and watching for stragglers and for soldiers running for cover when the shooting started. Mongo was set to wade through the carnage after the attack thrashing the wreckage to ensure no survivors or other surprises remained. And last but certainly not least Huey and Louie were setup with medical protocols to assist in the medical bay in the event of injury to man, beast, robot or Artilect. Our primary “motus operendi” for this mission was to keep the troops in the vehicles and kill them before they could get out and disperse into a defensive position.
The military column was armed to the teeth, with truck mounted rockets, also vehicle mounted .50 cal technicals in double and quad configurations. There was even a GE min-gun on the top of a couple of the troop carriers. They also employed several drones, sidewinder equipped, no doubt supplied by sympathetic super powers. Yeah it was going to be one hell of a fire fight.
Invisibility was our primary tactical advantage; complete communication blackout by Daria was another primary advantage, causing deadly confusion within the enemy ranks. Our firepower was more accurate and selective than theirs and was more damaging. But they had us on more weaponry and fire power, no question. Timing and surprise are critical, our attack must be brutally fast and hard, as the longer the firefight goes on the higher the chances we would have to withdraw.
Chapter 13: Military Column
I’m positioned up on a ridge line on the West side of the valley. The valley floor is quite flat for the most part, some vegetation but as it is high desert not much grows up here and it’s much dryer than the lower rain forest areas. I know Frosty will be on the East side of the column floating ready for go signal. Beast is lurking at the rear of the column, I can’t see him as he is cloaked but my helmet display shows everyone’s position. We are all at specific planned locations.
“Everyone set?” asks D.
A chorus of confirmations is returned.
“Here we go”
D deploys the communication scrambler.
“Pick a drone on your helmet screen Matt and I’ll target the other one, fire on my mark.”
I put the crosshairs of the scope on the small pulsing red pip on my screen.
“Got one, ready”
“Fire”
Both drones blossomed into explosions high in the blue sky.
D targets the vehicles equipped with rockets, technicals, and Mini-Guns with the Plasma Cannon. She fires quickly and deadly accurate, the explosions are fast and come almost at the same time. At the same time Frosty opens up on the troop carriers and equipment trucks from the copter with his RPG’s, I begin firing at the vehicles from the front of the column. My Plasma rifle has the energy turned up and it explodes vehicles with each shot. I shoot my section of vehicles as fast as I can and begin to focus on the few survivors that emerge from the flaming smoking mayhem and try to seek safety. Frosty is on the other side of the column up under the copter floating back and forth firing with automatic fire on fleeing soldiers and/or RPG’s on vehicles that need more destruction. D has the ships Plasma cannon pounding away on the trapped mid column vehicles. Everything is exploding and burning down the complete length of the column. I can’t see how anyone could survive this holocaust of destruction.
“Hold your fire,” says D. “I’m setting down at the rear of the column and turning Mongo loose to poke through the debris for survivors.”
I see Mongo appear out of nowhere as he steps off the ramp of the ship. Christ he is enough to scare anyone to death as if the explosions and bullets haven’t already. He begins stomping through the debris field remains of the convoy, tossing crushed twisted vehicles this way and that. I see Beast working the parameters looking for hiding soldiers.
“Got a couple boss,” says Beast. “I’ll paint them and the rock they are hiding behind with my laser. Rain hell down on them!”
“Roger that.”
I see the red laser spot in the scope, increase the magnification, get the crosshairs on them and touch the trigger; COUGH says the plasma rifle and the rock and soldiers explode into shards of stone and torn bloody flesh.
Still on the scope I see Beast sprint into a ditch and watch him kill another pair of fleeing soldiers. Frosty is busy pounding the survivors with his auto fire and is making excellent progress on his side of the convoy. It’s looking positive as we were able to hit them quick enough all along the column line that they did not have a chance to disperse much at all.
Mongo is lumbering along through the mayhem bashing junk to the left and right. So far he is just shaking out the dead and dismembered body pieces. Nothing alive or even partly alive has been found.
I get the odd shot away successfully but beast is tearing up the few survivors and doesn’t need much help from me. But I continue to scan the remains of the column.
Frosty has moved back from the column and is tearing the shit out of a bluff of bushes where several survivors have fled to.
D is scanning back and forth the length of the column wreckage using the ships sensor arrays to search for anything even partly alive to be permanently killed. After four passes back and forth the ship materialized in front of me, a stairway extends.
“Come on aboard sailor, it’s looking very positive for the good guys in this little fire fight fracas,” says D.
“It gives me such a warm satisfied feeling when our planning and tactics work correctly,” I grin.
“For sure, let’s check on the rest of our team,” chuckles D.
We set the ship down at the head of the debris field.
“Looks clear on my side, I’ve made three passes with no action,” says Frosty. “Going to return to the ship.”
Mongo has completed his pass through the debris field and is in need of a bath to clean the smoke, grime and stains of battle off.
Beast has made several scans of both sides of the column and nothing is out there.
“Seems clean on both sides out two hundred yards,” xmits Beast.
“Ok, everyone back into the ship and I’ll perform another series of scans while you folks get cleaned up. And one of you give Mongo a good pressure wash cleaning please, he looks like he was in a bloody coal mine.” says D. “And nicely done people, excellent execution!”
“Is that a play on words D?” I ask with a smile.
“Not deliberately, but I can see how a person might make the assimilation.” replies D.
Beast and I watch closely as we move slowly over the debris of the convoy, it’s just a disgusting mess of bent and charred metal and broken and exploded body parts that goes on for close to a quarter of a mile. The stench of burning steel, oil, grease, body parts, blood, and shit would choke a goat! We were extremely proficient at the slaughtering; but also our proficiency is planning and execution as we never gave the enemy the opportunity to adequately defend themselves. If we had it could be one or all of us laying down there in pieces in the disgusting stench and carnage of the battle. I shake my head, and remind myself about the “why” of our actions, and how many innocent human lives would have been snuffed out by the mil
itary convoy if we had not slaughtered them with extreme prejudice. Humans have been doing this to themselves for as long as humans have been on this planet. I accept that is part of who we are, but I really don’t understand it.
“You alright Matt,” asks Frosty?
“Yeah, just admiring our handiwork,” I reply with a sigh.
“If we hadn’t fixed this problem you could have an extended tour of hundreds of villages of innocents slaughtered under worse circumstances than this. We were quick clean and surgical, we didn’t torture, starve, rape, kill, mangle children as they would have if we had not acted.” reminds Frosty.
“True enough mate, I need a shower and a couple of beers, and we need to get away from this mess ASAP.
Beast “woofs” and damn near knocks me down snuffing and leaning on me.
I scruff his head and ears, “Thanks buddy!”
Chapter 14: Aftermath
We have performed maintenance on all gear and systems after the battle. Mongo took some serious scrubbing to get clean so we have decided to spray him throughout with a thin film of ceramic coating called Cerakote. This will increase his resistance to wear and grime and make cleanup of the big brute a giggle.
Beast is inspected carefully for any damage or excessive wear indicators. Aside from cleaning his fur and giving him a thorough grooming the only maintenance he required was removal of skin and meat from his claws, particularly his disemboweling claws. There is something very therapeutic about grooming a big animal like Beast. He enjoys it and it provides me with a peace and calmness not often found in my line of work.
Frosty is Frosty, just as the name suggests. He gets out of all the combat gear, showers himself up and gets back into his mad professor lab coat and goes back to doing maintenance of Daria’s computer hardware and/or the ship.
D and I talk about what has happened, why humans do what they do, why we did what we did. She reminds me how excited the Swiss Bank is to house our semi-load of cash. It took a while to convince them that we meant business. But once they saw the pallets of cash in their vault and the cash total was correct they were extremely cooperative with the plans D had presented as to how her empire for children could be actioned on. We talked of the balance of life and how important it is for the harmony of humans.
Then we entered the virtuality construct and made love, slept, more sex, slept, hugged one another and slept again, soft and dreamless, in peace and total harmony.
Chapter 15: Loose Ends
“Do we have executions here Sheriff?”
“No, I believe they died of natural causes.”
“Natural causes?”
“Natural to the line of work they are in.”
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell to Deputy Wendell at the site of the drug deal massacre.
No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
I have to confess I enjoy the killing. It’s very satisfying for me to rip the life out of an insane piece of shit that has been preying on the young and vulnerable. Religious fanatics of any flavor are a favorite of mine, radicalization freaks and weirdos. All of them right up there along with drug dealers, gangs, perverts, child molesters and psychopaths. Those beauties of society that cause harm but are very difficult if not impossible to bring to justice. So I kill them, terminate them without any guilt at all, just taking out the dangerous garbage so society has an honest chance.
There was no money for us to earn in this instance. We had stumbled over some very disturbing communications between the Islamic Muslim populace in Eastern Canada and this small town out on the prairies of Western Canada. An out of the way unsuspecting place to encounter a large active Islamic Muslin Fundamentalist radicalization cell. According to our communications snooping the cell was focusing on young teenage girls, some runaways, some abducted to make it look like runaways. Drugging and raping the girls held prisoner as they ran them through the gauntlet of radicalization. D monitored their communications and movements as we completed the business we had been contracted to do. When we had fulfilled out obligations in Eastern Canada D asked the question I knew would be coming.
“Anyone feel like a scenic trip out to the prairies of Canada, it’s nice out there this time of year?” asks D, stroking Beast’s head. He is sitting on the floor in front of D and is larger than she is.
Frosty smiled, “You want us to straighten out this radicalization cell don’t you D?”
“In a word, yes!” replies D.
“Matt what are your views on the matter?” asks Frosty.
“I think that when an opportunity falls in our lap like this that we are obliged to apply remedial action. Besides I am predisposed in my hatred of religious fanatics.” I reply.
“Beast, you ok with a trip out onto the prairies?” inquires Frosty.
“Sounds good to me, never been there before, be nice to have a look around.” he xmits.
“The land of the huge sky, Beast, you’ll love it out there.” I smile.
“It’s decided then, a little sightseeing recreational trip with some corrective harvesting of the criminally insane. What an opportunity!” replies D as she murmurs to the ships AI Navigation system.
I can feel the ship change direction, slowly rise in altitude and accelerate.
Chapter 16: Prairie Emptiness
D chats with the ships AI Navigation system and explains where we would like to be positioned. The location is hovering silently in the river valley, cloaked of course, invisible to all. Perhaps the river birds are aware of our presence but if they are they remain silent about it and continue about their bird business of feeding, reproducing, squabbling and socializing. For the most part not that much different from any of the creatures of this planet I muse to myself.
It’s late summer and moving toward fall. Apparently there has been a frost as the leaves on the trees are vivid in heartbreaking colors, contrasted by the green of pine and fir evergreen trees, and the lovely manicured river bank grass parks. There are gaggles of large Canada geese waddling around on the parks and bike paths looking well fed and very content. Not to be trifled with these geese, we see instances where dogs attempt to chase the geese unsuccessfully. The geese rise up to their full stature, spreading their ample six foot wingspan and charge hissing and flapping at the annoying dogs. It’s no contest, geese one, dogs yelping scared shitless. It sure captures Beast’s attention.
The air is soft with the smell of harvest and damp foliage floating around on a faint but crisp breeze. There are several bridges that span this narrow river and we are positioned between two of the bridges in the valley. Apparently the flight path to the airport in the North West is close to us as passenger and cargo jets are arriving right over our position. Landing into the predominately NW wind I expect. Beast is eager to get on the ground and explore the river bank. But we convince him that it would be better to wait until after dark for his nocturnal explorations and to be sure to not be annoying the geese just for fun.
D has located the source of communications of the Islamic Muslim Radicalization cell. It is sadly a religious Mosque located not more than five blocks from our position. That’s alarming as I’m sure the vast majority of the legitimate worshipers know nothing about and would vigorously condemn if they were aware of the illegal activities going on there. But they sure as hell are going to find out!
We have breached their Mosque security, telephone, all cell phone traffic into and out of the Mosque. The Mosque has an additional level below the basement that only the Radicalization Clerics and selected devotees of the Holiest Order knew existed. Here was where the abducted girls were held prisoner, drugged, tortured, raped, whipped, caned, and abused during the radicalization process. Some of these girls look to be as young as fourteen. The Journey to Higher Learning of a freakish religious sect buried in the dark ages. Each of the girl’s cages has a camera and they are monitored constantly. The cages contain nothing but a dirty mattress and a toilet. At the other end of the room were tables and chairs where punishment is administ
ered, rapes are conducted, and religious dogma is beaten into the girls. Enough chairs for the senior clerics and officials to observe and enjoy the rape and abuse, even participate if inclined.
Chapter 17: Clear Message
“We need to send a very vivid message for all to see that this type of activity will not be tolerated.” curses D hitching up her yoga pants with her cute bum wiggle.
“Well there are a variety of methods we can employ to discourage these diseased rats.” I reply.
“Did you know there are sixteen gangs in this town of just over a quarter of a million people and that all the gangs are aboriginal.” asks Frosty? “This town has the highest concentration of gang membership in Canada, it’s riddled with criminals.”
“Well, maybe we can include some of that in our “Taking out the Social Garbage” exercise.” I offer.
“I’m still back just seething on these diseased rats raping and radicalizing girls,” replies D.
“There are a lot of bridges in this town aren’t there?” transmits Beast thoughtfully.
We all turn to look questioningly at him.
“Yup, some eight bridges I believe counting the railroad bridges.” replies Frosty. “Not too unusual for a town a river runs through.”
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