Koban: Rise of the Kobani

by Stephen W Bennett

  “How does that help you make better decisions?” Andreana wanted to know.

  “It is actually the start of one of my better decisions. Up there I can Link with the Mark. We need reinforcements. A lot of them.”

  Chapter 4: Proof of Concept

  Mirikami knew from the last report from Carson that the TGs had taken control of the Dragons and plasma batteries, and the subsequent flashes reflected from low cloud bases told the story of a conflict being waged, but not of how it was going. The Link wasn’t reaching anyone that could answer. Jakob verified that there were no transducers responding that he could detect. The hills from only three valleys away were blocking the weak rice-sized transducer signals more than anticipated.

  He had the Mark’s plasma chambers hot, the barrels preheated, and the port covers opened on those and the lasers. He had pulled in the ramp and was prepared to lift in support of the force he had out now, but if the clanship had realized the opposition came from the nearby ship, he could lift up into a hail of missiles and plasma fire.

  He had a hundred and fifty TGs with him total, two dozen went to the valley, and twenty others were on guard at their valley entrance. He had over a hundred on board that were pushing for a chance to go after the Krall, armed only with pulse rifles and pistols. He was worried about why the group had not returned or reported. Although, they obviously had encountered opposition. Sending additional poorly armed TGs out, without knowing what was happening was reckless.

  Thad agreed, and wondered why one of the three with Link capability had not called them with a report. He had sent Carlos, a TG1 with a Link to the valley entrance, right behind the previous stampede that had gone to guard that. They hadn’t seen a thing of interest other than the same flashes reflected from low clouds. Just a few minutes ago he’d sent Kally, another of the ten TG1’s up to the ridge top closest to the ship, with their best pair of old field glasses, to see if she could spot any of the TGs on other ridge tops closer to the clanship.

  Kally reported that she could see Peter Godwin, on the ridge closest to the clanship, and that he ran down the slope out of sight back this way for a moment, and then returned to his point of concealment. That implied he was on watch, and without a Link was calling information back down into that other valley. Some of their people were obviously waiting there, and not involved with the fighting.

  Reynolds thought most of the cracks he heard, which followed the flashes some seconds later, were from Dragon main guns. The echoes made it hard to be sure that they were only Dragons. The plasma cannons were smaller bore, and he expected them to sound softer. He didn’t hear any of those now, but thought he had earlier. He had seldom heard them previously in fighting, because the Krall normally kept them so far behind an assault line, as a means to discourage aircraft attacks, or to fire on human hilltop strongholds from a distance. The loudest cracks were obviously from the clanship, as were the intense red laser flashes. The Dragons only had small lasers.

  No sooner than Kally told them she saw Carson, he was Linked with the Mark. Mirikami had Jakob put him on speaker. “We hear you, Carson, Kally is on a ridge top and saw you through her glasses. What’s your situation?” The Bridge listeners were on virtual pins and needles.

  “Captain, our use of the Dragons and plasma cannons was sloppy, and we found ourselves in a fight with sixteen Krall that stumbled onto us before we knew how to use what we took from them. However, we won that fight because the Krall were driving construction equipment, not more tanks or cannons. Ethan and Conrad led the tanks and cannons out around the protection of the valley opening, and shot out the main thruster system on the clanship. It can’t lift, but it can still shoot. We lost Gamal and Jolene on two of the cannon carts when they stayed exposed too long.” Sighs and a low groan were all the listeners expressed. Expecting casualties was one thing. Losing the first of the youngsters was another.

  Reynolds had a question he couldn’t hold back. “Son, if the Dragons took out the main thruster, why can’t they blast the guns when the ports are opened? We’ve done that with big lasers before, and the Dragons have more than enough power to damage the barrels or aiming system, I think.”

  “Sarge, the Krall infrared vision can see the magnetic field forming a fraction of a second before a pulse is fired. They managed to slam the gun ports closed with their fast reactions. I just passed this on to Ethan and Conrad, but I don’t know if knowing that helps. We started with eight Dragons, but two are out of the fight. No casualties by the way, but the ceramic cracked and the turrets won’t turn.” He rushed to add that last sentence.

  “I was about to try something new to help, using the big armored trucks. They have roof top plasma cannons on each section, and there are two of them in the valley below me. We were hoping to try staggered shots at the gun ports, to see if we can catch one as it opened.”

  Reynolds did a headshake Carson couldn’t see. “I didn’t know about the advance flash, but the early infrared flash you describe will happen anyway, and they’ll just slam the ports closed again. We always had trouble knocking them out, so the guns the PU Army found most effective on clanship gun ports were heavy lasers. They fire instantly with no warning, so perhaps that’s why they worked so well. Unfortunately, you only have the small antipersonnel lasers. The alternative was to use a heavy plasma cannon that can burn through the port covers and hull, or fuse them closed. You don’t have those either. I think you simply need to prevent the warning flash,” Sarge said.

  “OK. How do we ‘simply’ redesign a plasma gun, Sarge?” The frustration was showing in Carson’s reply.

  Calmly, Reynolds explained. “Perhaps you should try a variation of a trick my ambush teams used a few times. We covered a number of plasma batteries with cloth tarps and wood frames to change their outline, or hid them under haystacks. The Krall drove or walked right up to them before we fired. The tarps and hay were less than cobwebs to the bolts, but we could sight the guns using cameras, which were not covered. If they don’t see the first flash at the end of the barrels, they won’t have any warning to shut the ports. That concealment may have accounted for our success at surprising them in ambushes.”

  The silence at the other end was as eloquent as a “DUH” accompanied by a slap on the forehead.

  “Sarge, we shoulda brought you with us. You old cats have some tricks to teach us.”

  Reynolds did a shrug invisible to Carson. “The phrase is ‘old dogs’ which you don’t have on Koban. Unless you carried me, you would have left my tired SG ass below the first cliff you young mountain goats climbed. We never figured out the advance infrared flash thing, which probably happens too fast for us mere mortal men to use to our advantage anyway. How did you learn about that, considering your infrared vision is no better than mine?”

  “Watching a rifle bolt fired that grazed my leg before I could react, and then asking the Krall commander, whom I captured, how he was able to dodge a head shot from my rifle. He spilled the data to my Mind Tap.”

  “You have the clanship commander?” Mirikami blurted. “Still alive?”

  “Yes Sir. He should be in the land of the paralyzed numb and dumb by now, but alert and thinking. He has been a fountain of information.”

  “OK. Try to keep him that way. Let’s move on to things that are more vital. I believe I know what you called about, since you didn’t come back here with the purloined Krall toys, and tried a shootout with the clanship. How can the few of you there take the ship, even if you disable its outer defenses?”

  “Yes Sir. I don’t want to risk losing any more of my friends.”

  “Carson, you can’t permit the fear of losses to petrify your thinking. There will be lives lost no matter how carefully you plan, and some will be friends. Once your small force was discovered, and the clanship was prevented from lifting, you had done everything you were capable of doing on your own.

  “There will be additional TGs coming to help you take the ship, but first you need to find a way to shield
the ends of your plasma cannons on both the Dragons and those on the big transports. I don’t want you risking anyone again on those carts yet. Sarge’s idea would only be good for a single shot, and then you retreat to cover the ends again, so try to get it done the first try with all six Dragons. Use any available nonmagnetic material that will cover the muzzles and not disperse the bolts. The reinforcements can’t rush the ship until the heavy weapons are neutralized.”

  “Yes Sir. I’ll have people looking for covering material, and I have an idea if we can’t find anything the Krall left lying around. One serious problem we have is the lack of Link to everyone. These tall ridges cut us off from you sooner than we expected. I see a lot of red in the strata of these cliffs, and it’s possible there are more iron oxides here than Jakob expected. We were out of communication with you as we approached the tanks and clanship.”

  “Carson, modern longer range transducers are something we hope to acquire if we can get in contact with General Nabarone. I plan to send your dad out to you for planning the internal assault on the ship once you pull its teeth. Colonel Greeves and Sarge will take a team to start walking the tunnel towards Novi Sad. I’ll send another TG with a transducer to stay on the ridge where you are, for a constant Link. We had ten TG1s and ten TGs equipped with transducers when we left home, and I only have sixteen of you down here with me, and two each on the other ships. I’ll standby here with Chief Haveram and a couple of Linked TGs for relay or as runners. Good luck to you, son.”

  “Thanks. I believe we’ll have the clanship guns silenced soon. Out.”

  As Carson signed off, Mirikami turned to Dillon. “I know Thad has more military training than you, but I need him and Sarge to make contact with Poldark forces. You’ve participated in all of the ship clearing practices, and the kids know how to do that anyway. I want you there as a stable influence for them, and a source of older advice.

  “I’ll send you with another hundred TGs, including most of those guarding our valley opening. The clanship doesn’t have any warriors to spare to send over here, so two on watch with one Linked is enough for a warning. You take the Krall shuttle and stay below the ridges to land where Carson is. Haul as many TGs with you as will fit in the shuttle, and let Carson teach you and them, by Mind Tap, how the transports work. The rest will go overland as before, to the valley with the second pair of armored transports.

  “As Sarge said, these young mountain goats would leave your tired SG butt far behind. Fly back to join the others at the other valley and a TG1 can pass on what Carson teaches you about transport operation. All of you should be able to crowd into the two big trucks, to drive to join with the other two. When the clanship guns are down, you have four armored transports for shelter to surround the clanship. The portal doors can’t hold up to your massed cannon fire for long, so the Krall may decide to come out after you, thinking humans can’t beat them.”

  Dillon laid a hand on Mirikami’s shoulder. “Sounds like a plan, Tet. I don’t know about you, but letting these young squirts have all the fun wears on the ego. Know what I mean?”

  Thad nodded in sympathy, but offered a caution. “Being closer to the action is fine, but don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking we SGs are a match for a Krall, just because the smallest TG kid, including the girls, can kick Krall asses in a straight up fight.”

  “I’ll keep my head down. Let me go pass the news to our eager beavers below.”

  Just then, cheers were heard from decks below. They had not restricted Bridge access, and had spoken to Carson on speaker. The exciting news, once overheard, shot down the stairs with several TGs that had been eagerly waiting.

  Thad shook his head and chuckled. “If I needed more proof that I have not instilled military discipline in these youngsters, that sound is as conclusive as it gets. I will be pleased to have the task turned over to men that have combat experience, and have done more than play militia war games over twenty years in the past.”

  ****

  Dillon flew the Krall shuttle out of its small hanger, preceded by the rush of TGs on foot headed to take over the clanship. The shuttle had barely departed when Greeves and Reynolds walked down the ramp, followed by twenty TGs, two of which were TG1s. They headed for the concealed vehicle ramps of SOB-23, and Reynolds lowered one of the ramps as he passed the hidden control pad.

  As soon as they had marched down into the parking area, Reynolds keyed the ramp to close using the ambient light that filtered down. The ceiling lights would activate once the ramp shut. Only this time they did not.

  A shouted command came from the darkness behind them. “Lower your weapons to the floor and freeze in place. We can see every move you make. Your Links are disabled, so calling to the ship for help is a waste of time, and hazardous to your health. Greeves or Reynolds, whichever of you is in charge, kindly tell those youngsters with you to quit moving around and looking for us, or someone is going to get killed.”

  As startled as they were at the trap that had been sprung, hearing their names called out was more surprising to the two older men. Yet that seemed promising for their goal of making contact with Poldark forces, because the voices were clearly human.

  Thad spoke out. “TGs, these appear to be the people we hoped to contact. Carefully unsling and lower your plasma rifles to the floor. They have night vision. Don’t do anything foolish to ruin our mission.” As he spoke, he lowered his own rifle, bending slightly, and heard the rustle and clatter behind him, and from Reynolds on his left.

  A different voice, from another direction, confirmed there was at least one other person watching them. “Don’t forget your other Krall gifts. The pistols and belts as well. Don’t even check the safeties. Keep your hands clear of the gun butts, and lower them to the floor by the belts.”

  “Do what he says people.” Thad also did as directed, but he was discomfited by the reference to other Krall gifts. Clearly, they were under a cloud of suspicion from whoever this was. On reflection, Greeves wasn’t very surprised by their suspicion. They had access to a Krall ship and weapons, which other humans could not operate.

  A third voice came from another direction, obviously conveying that they were surrounded. “Shuffle straight ahead until we tell you to stop. Make sure you don’t trip and fall on a weapon until you are all clear. That could cause one of ours to go off with a fatal result for the clumsy person.”

  Thad repeated the advice. “Keep your boots on the floor as you shuffle, gently shove anything aside you encounter. They don’t know yet we came here to offer them help and the intelligence they need. We need to convince them we are allies.”

  “Shut up Greeves! No clues as to how you want them to behave. We will get what we want from them without your damned help.” The sharp, nasty tone of voice from a fourth person showed there was more than professional caution being displayed. That man was definitely hostile.

  The sounds of their boots scraping the floor lasted for a longer time than necessary for the last person in the group to have cleared the pile of weapons. Their captors were being extra cautious. Even in the blackness, Greeves knew they were still less than half way across the large parking area. The echoes confirmed that, and his now dark-adapted eyes caught a faint green glow from patches along the walls, where he recalled water seeps were present. It was the faint glow of the bioluminescence of algae growths, which Reynolds had said were in the tunnels.

  He saw multiple shadows briefly block the green glows from each side, and not from where he had heard the voices originate. There were at least a dozen of them to the sides. From slight noise, which they couldn’t fully avoid making, more of their captors were behind them, blocking access to the firearms. He detected no sounds from his front, which meant that they now had clear lanes of fire at their captives, with no risk of cross fire to themselves. Professional certainly, but not comforting.

  He suddenly realized they had not ordered them to remove their knives. The calf sheaths would be clearly visible to night vision. They we
re apparently not concerned, implying they probably wore armor. Only he had not heard the heavy thuds, and servo noise that he expected the powered armor Reynolds spoke about to make. Perhaps it was something lighter than heavy body armor. In any case, even knives in the hands of TGs could be deadly missiles to light armor. That meant they didn’t know anything about the capability of their younger captives. Including observing what the TGs had done scaling the distant cliffs, or fighting the Krall. At least not yet.

  “Stop.” It sounded like the original voice from behind them. Perhaps the leader?

  “Place your hands behind your heads, fingers interlaced. We will gradually bring the light up so that no one needs to fake a grimace or turn to avoid a bright light. Keep still and facing forward. A few of you shuffled to the sides and are slightly turned the wrong way. When you see the far wall, where you were headed when you came down the ramp, turn to face that way.”

  The slowly increasing dim ceiling glow was easy on their eyes, and Greeves saw that Reynolds was several steps ahead of him to his left, and the far wall was perhaps fifty feet ahead. Too far to make a dash for any of the doors there, which were all closed anyway.

  “Young lady with the dark hair, turn to your right and face the back wall.”

  That had to be Kally, since the second girl with them, Miriam, had almost blond hair. It was the calm cool voice of the original speaker. He then confirmed he was in charge.

  “My name is Captain Joseph Longstreet. I am in overall charge of the three teams that have captured you suspected collaborators.” The gasp of astonishment of the TGs was clear, but the accusation was not a surprise to either Greeves or Reynolds.

  “That’s right! We have every reason to believe that you are cooperating with the Krall, and have been granted an encrypted key to use their equipment, such as the plasma rifles we just took from you. We watched you march out of the clanship and observed the departure of almost eighty more of you from the valley, and saw the Krall shuttle that followed them. I think the others are going to link up with the second clanship five miles from here, and this group was to either disarm the demolition charges here, or demonstrate that you could travel through the tunnels that Sergeant Reynolds knew were here, and lead closer to Novi Sad.”