Five phases for a planned rescue attempt quickly emerged. Ingress with ships from the Suppressor, disable the local Grid ships guarding the transports, disable the main Grid fleet from interceding, take control of the transports and finally egress.
Each team was assigned a phase of the plan. After several hours the phase planning was rotated to the next team for a fresh new perspective. When all phases had been covered by each of the teams a consolidation effort began. When a final overall draft plan emerged I sent each team away to contemplate and discuss its merits and shortfalls. After two such rounds of consolidation I declared the plan complete and sent everyone off to tend to their other duties.
George joined me in my office. “I hope you realize that the Grid military will be expecting a raid. If at all possible you might try to gather more Intel before setting things in motion that can’t be stopped.”
I replied, “That exact issue has been bothering me for days. I’m sending Rodriguez out in her Defender to sit and spy. She should have two full days of observation before we arrive. If anything stands out we will have to stop and re-plan. She seems to have an eye for trouble. I’m hoping they are being run by politicians rather than trained military minds. It might give us an edge.”
An aide then poked his head into the office. “Sir, sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might want to know. Frig just docked with the Injector. He should be coming this way shortly.”
I replied, “Thank you Mathers.”
I then turned back to George with a concerned look. “I wonder what brought him back. I can’t imagine they have converted every Milgari that is out there. I would have thought that would take months.”
After several minutes of speculative conversation Frig entered the room. “Sir, I received word of the President’s betrayal. I understand there is a mission planned to affect the release of our people. I would like to be a part of that if possible.”
I replied, “I’m sorry you had to cut your little holiday with the Milgari short.”
Frig responded, “It was hardly a holiday Sir. We…”
I raised my hand. “Just pulling your chain. I’m glad you are back. We are set to leave tomorrow. We will be hitting the transports with half crews on three Raiders while the Slaughter, Slayer and several Defenders attempt to hold any Grid ships in place that might try to intervene. If we can hit fast and fly those transports out I think we can lose the Grid ships with a run through the Fasture. Those transports will have a tough time, but we will see to it that any Grid ships have an even tougher one.”
Frig responded, “I can pilot the Swift if needed Sir. Wherever I can be used I would like to be of service.”
I thought for a moment. “Is there anything we can do with the Injector? George? Can a knockout spray be delivered with the wormhole generator? I would think it would be no different that the Milgari cure.”
George replied, “I’ll see what we can put together for you. Any atomized spray would be local in its effects. Of course, if you could target the bridge that might throw a ship into chaos for a bit. I’ll go and see what I can brew up.”
With that George departed.
I turned to Frig. “Were you able to free any more Milgari?”
Frig replied, “We were Sir. We managed to cure more than 15,000 who were garrisoned on two mining planets. They have identified at least another 80,000 who are currently stranded. I left Glimak and the rest of their leadership with enough cure to free several hundred-thousand more. They will have to be careful in how they administer it as those Milgari will be hostile. Most do not know that the Torrians are dead.”
I was glad to have Frig back on the team. His presence would add a level of comfort to a situation that was sure to be highly volatile. The remainder of the day was spent going over the planned raid with Frig. He was eager to be involved.
The following day we departed for the Grid. We had three Raiders, two cruisers, a destroyer, four Defenders and 18 Hawks in our fleet. I would ride out with Frig and then transfer to a Raider before hostilities would begin.
I sat on the bridge with Frig. We were alone on the vast cruiser. “Well, you certainly have room on here to roam around if needed. There would normally be a crew of around 800 on one of these. Don’t you get lonely on here by yourself? At least Feta Lunge has his computer core to talk to.”
Frig replied, “Ordinarily I would say yes to that question. I have kept myself quite busy though over the past few weeks. This ship has a thorough database of Milgari, tactics, practices, customs and of course the latest Durian tech that had been installed. It is quite the library Sir. I have several more weeks of material to go through.”
“It contains information on other species as well. Such as, the Dakar are not allowed to have offspring. They must apply to their local government, which in turn must follow quotas passed down from the State. If Feta Lunge decided he wanted a family he would have to give up his ship and computer core. That would not of course be accepted, but that would be the process.”
Frig continued, “After returning planet-side Feta would proceed to a birthing center to receive his new child. The Child would then receive his name and he would be responsible for that child’s care until it reached the equivalent of approximately five years of age. At that time the child would be turned over to the State for education. It would be likely that Feta would never see his prodigy again.”
I replied, “So Dakar get a kid that is not even their own and then have to give them up at age five? I guess that falls in line with their whole community first philosophy. You really don’t have that family unit as an anchor. It seems like it would be a lonely life to me.”
Frig looked at the view-screen in front of us. “Aren’t we all truly alone Sir? Neither of us have had that family unit to fall back on over the last decade. They are gone on to wherever you go to after death. We only have those that are here and now.”
I looked and shook my head. “Oh, I believe you are not fully thinking that statement through. We both have that family foundation that our lives are built upon. We may not be able to converse with our family members physically, but they play a large part in our daily decision making. Take my father for instance. I have not seen him since I was ten, but the wisdom and character he left me with gets put to use every day. I feel for Feta and his people, as that is something they do not have.”
Frig thought for a moment. “I stand corrected Don. I spoke without consideration for my family’s contributions to my character. I may have gone astray for a period of time, but they do remain a considerable force in my life. Looking at the broader picture, I believe that both Humans and Gambits have an advantage over many of the species out there. Natural pairings and the births that follow, along with a tight family structure, offer a foundation for growing Intelligence.”
Frig continued, “If we consider all of the species we have encountered Sir, only two others have a similar family component to their societies. If we look at the timelines of those species we see that they progress at a much faster rate than others. The Dakar have been in space for several thousand years and yet only a thousand years ago the Gambit were living in mud huts. I would place the Intelligence of my species well above that of the Dakar. I believe a large part of that Intelligence growth could be attributed to the family component Sir. Interesting…”
We continued our discussion for several hours before reaching Grid space. A private comm link was established with Captain Rodriguez.
I spoke, “Anything to report Maria?”
Rodriguez replied, “No Sir. I have been sitting here for two days. There has not been a single ship in or out of the area. It kind of makes me a little nervous Sir. You don’t hold a hundred thousand prisoners without some type of activity going on. It almost feels like a trap Sir.”
After a short discussion with my senior people it was decided that we needed to take a look on-board one of the transports. One of o
ur hawk pilots, Brian DeChamps, volunteered his services.
Brian spoke, “Sir, I can take my Hawk right up to the first of those transports with my image projectors on. If I take a few hours to coast in there I can stop right next to the transport without the others seeing me. So long as they don’t have someone monitoring exterior cameras, I should be able to slip right up to her. I am practiced at boarding craft from the outside Sir. I worked for several years as a hull inspector on the Grid. Inspections took place before docking.”
I replied, “Thanks for the offer Brian. Unless someone has another way I think that is what we will go with. Land your Hawk in the hold of the Slaughter and have the Intel guys there go over the floor-plan of that transport. When you make it in you will need to know where to look. Set the self-destruct of your Hawk before you go in just in case you are captured. We still have to be careful with our tech.”
The plans were put in place and Brian DeChamps was schooled on the interior of the transport. He would drift unseen for three and a half hours before coming to a quick stop beside the transport. He would then make an extra-vehicular jump to the ship and find his way inside through external hatches. In the event anything was to go wrong he was to broadcast any recorded data and images before being captured.
From the bridge of the Injector we would attempt to add to DeChamps’ chances. Frig would deploy a tiny wormhole and inject a knockout spray onto the bridge before DeChamps was to arrive. If all went well there would be no one conscious to monitor the external cameras. DeChamps would become momentarily visible as he came to a stop. After a final briefing the plan was put into motion.
As DeChamps approached the transport Frig spoke, “Sir. I’m bringing the wormhole online now… established. The injector is prepared. Cargo has been delivered. We can listen to any sound waves emanating from their bridge Sir while the wormhole remains open. It might tell us if the spray is effective.”
Frig continued, “Audio is online.”
A voice from the bridge of the transport could be heard. “We’ve been sitting here for a week. They aren’t coming.”
A second voice replied, “Well, at least we won’t be getting shot at. I don’t like my chances sitting in this unshielded people hauler. I would rather be on something with a little bit of armor on it.”
The first voice responded, “I have two more weeks of this duty. Got a new girl waiting back in Gamma. Just want this to be over.”
The second voice replied with a yawn. “Yeah, doesn’t get much more boring than this. When I was first assigned I thought ‘action baby’. But it’s no different than any other duty I’ve seen.”
The thud of a body could be heard hitting the floor followed by another. The last remaining groggy sounding voices were soon silent. The bridge of the transport was asleep.
DeChamps pulled up to the transport, exited through the hatch and jet-packed his way to the transport’s bridge maintenance hatch. He quickly disappeared into the transport, leaving us waiting for information. Several minutes passed without word.
DeChamps spoke, “It’s a trap! Cargo and passenger areas are full of soldiers! I’m… got a few blasters aimed at me. Going for the hatch!”
Pfft! Zzzzp! Pffft Zzzp! Pfft! Zzzzp! Pffft Zzzp!
DeChamps’ comm went silent. Less than a minute passed before his Hawk powered up and moved away from the transport. When it reached a safe distance the self-destruct was detonated. The Hawk exploded, leaving little more than millions of tiny bits of debris.
What happened next was not expected. Two Durian cruisers uncloaked and began deep scanning the area.
I gave the order. “All ships pull back quietly. Make immediate headway to the Fasture. If you get captured you all know the drill. DeChamps just showed us what we have to do to protect each other.”
As our tiny fleet headed towards the Fasture nebula I had Frig take the Injector closer to the Grid. If the Durians were now deeply involved with McKinzey a takeover of our home was not far behind. I again wondered if McKinzey was a Durian plant.
I spoke, “We need to talk to our team on the Grid. I want to know if they were able to draw a sample of McKinzey’s blood for a DNA comparison. If the Durians are already here the Dakar and Prassi cannot be far behind. We just need a way to get on there without being noticed.”
Frig replied, “I want to try an experiment Sir. It will take a short time to set up. I have the exact coordinates of our team offices on the Grid. I will attempt to open a wormhole to that location and then to establish a comm link through the wormhole. If successful, we will have a comm link that appears to originate from the Grid instead of from our ship. I can heavily encrypt the signal and set the power extremely low so that snoopers on the Grid will not have access.”
I responded, “That is an excellent idea my friend. If this works we will have to figure out a way to make use of it from on-board the Suppressor. Imagine instant comm with our guys on the Grid whenever we need it. We could then work on expanding it to our fleets. We know the exact coordinates of the Suppressor. With this ship you could open a wormhole from anywhere and communicate in real time.”
Frig thought for a moment. “Hmm. The Suppressor is in orbit around Jarhead Sir. I would not be able to open a reliable link to her while she is in motion. We could however, set a stationary satellite to act as a fixed link. From that point our only limitation will be the length of time a wormhole is open.”
Frig got to work on a wormhole comm link while I contemplated the existence of the Durian ships. If McKinzey was working for the Durians the entire security of the Grid was in jeopardy. I wondered how the fact that alien warships were being allowed in Grid space was flying with Grid Command. The Milgari threat was over, but that was hardly reason to allow another military access to our space. It was my opinion that perhaps our freedom was at more of a risk now than ever before. Perhaps our biggest enemy was the one coming from within.
Chapter 6
Frig spoke, “Sir, I believe our comm test is ready. I will attempt to open the wormhole at an elevation in the main office where it will not put life at risk. If someone were to accidentally walk into the hole while it is open it would be catastrophic for them. Imagine a small portion of your body being transported elsewhere while the remainder stays where it is.”
I paced about the bridge. “Do what you can to make it safe. We need to let them know what’s going on out here and if they have any ideas as to where our people were moved to. If they have been moved off Grid and are in the custody of the Durians we are in trouble.”
I stopped and quickly turned. “Open that link! If the Durians have our people they already know the location of the Suppressor! They might be sitting out there right now!”
Frig replied, “Coming online in three… two… one…. Link established Sir.”
I opened a comm channel. “This is Grange! Who is the officer of the deck today? We have a bad situation brewing here!”
Major Pam Howler responded, “That would be me Sir. Is this a secure access Sir? Our equipment says it is originating here or nearby.”
I replied, “I don’t have time to explain Howler. This is what we have going on. Our troops are not being held on the transports. They are a trap, a trap that was setup by the Durians. I think McKinzey is working with them. We need several things from you Howler. We need McKinzey’s DNA. We need to know where they might be holding our troops and we need to know what activities the Durians may be planning right there on the Grid!”
Howler responded, “The DNA grab is in the works Sir. I will see if there is any way to speed that up. The Durian ships are indeed a bad sign. We have been picking up some comms that are going off Grid, but we have been unable to determine who was on the other end. And as far as our men go, everything we have says they were taken onto shuttles and flown out of here.”
I replied, “Could they have been brought back aboard? Can you analyze the shuttle t
raffic to see if anything unusual shows up since they were taken away?”
Howler replied, “Can do Sir. We should have an analysis of that data within the hour. As long as the shuttle logs were not erased or tampered with, we should be able to track their movements. Harmon! Borrick! Get on that shuttle traffic immediately!”
Before I could respond the wormhole collapsed and the comm went silent.
Frig spoke, “Recharging wells Sir. We should be able to re-establish that link in another 24 seconds.”
Once my comm channel was again online I gave further instruction to Major Howler. Finding our people was a top priority. I again began to pace the bridge of the Injector.
I turned to Frig and spoke, “What are the chances that you can establish a comm to the Suppressor? I want to get word to them that every ship should be moved to the Fasture and parked there, including the Suppressor. If we have to abandon equipment then have it destroyed before they go.”
“We cannot risk having anything fall into the Durians hands or any advantage that we may currently enjoy would become a liability. I don’t want to make decisions based on bad Intel. We would get eaten alive if we went into battle without our tech.”
I continued, “Frig, if our comm will work going through that wormhole, what about our sensors? Could we open a hole and make use of our sensors through there?”
Frig replied, “Are you suggesting doing a deep scan through the wormhole Sir? If so, I would have to say no. We would not have time. But we could achieve a partial scan. And it in turn would reveal a significant amount of data.”
I replied, “OK. Here is what I want. Open a wormhole to the area surrounding the Suppressor and Jarhead. It doesn’t have to be exact, just in open space. Do what scanning you can and tell me what the area looks like. If we see anything unusual, anything at all out of the ordinary, I want to know.”
AMP Rebellion Page 5
