Earth II - Emergence
Page 12
I suggest that you reinforce that statement, so they won’t think you’re acting from a position of weakness, passed SIMPOC.
“I should also remind you that any other unauthorized entry into our space will be dealt with in a similar manner. We wish to remain friends, but because we are friends that will not be taken advantage of,” Captain Herl pointed out clearly.
In the first couple of seconds before Veenor responded, Joan sensed something. She wasn’t perfectly clear what she was picking up, but she sensed fear and uncertainty. Her nostrils also picked up the scent of perspiration. Could she be benefiting from the alien material that SIMPOC had implanted in her? That was a safe assumption, and she needed to use it to her advantage.
“We understand that we entered your space without your invitation perhaps in an aggressive manner. It needs to be said that any agreement between you and our enemy will lead us to conclude that you are also our enemy.”
“I find that unacceptable. Any agreement that we make with either the Terest or the Izod will be for the benefit of our people. We will not avoid any benefit for us so that you’ll be comforted. We are not taking either side in your conflict, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t participate in a relationship for our benefit. If possible, we will try to avoid taking a position that will hurt either of our relationships. Have I made myself clear?”
Joan sat hoping that her direct statements would cause a reaction in Veenor that she could read, and it did. The level of perspiration increased significantly as well as an increase in breathing.
“Captain Herl, I must reiterate, that any friend of our enemy…”
Joan interrupted, “that is not acceptable. Any agreement we make with either the Terest or Izod is between that party and us. It will not affect our relationship with the other. Is that clear?” Joan said?
Joan was having fun with her new senses. She was starting to read Veenor like a book. He was worried and didn’t know how to deal with her. She realized that she was playing a dangerous game and now that she had a good sense of how he would act, she decided to throw him a bone.
“Veenor, as a sign of good intentions. We won’t enter into an agreement with either party if we see that it will help them against the other. We will work to maintain our neutrality.”
That affirmation seemed to reduce Veenor’s stress level, which also allowed Joan to relax a little. She was playing the diplomatic game from a position of strength. The Terest didn’t know how strong Earth was and Joan wanted to play that uncertainty to the fullest.
“I assume that you were talking to the Izod when our ship entered your solar system?” Veenor asked, taking the discussion in a different direction.
“Yes, like our talk with you, we felt the need to meet the Izod,” Joan responded.
“Did you reach an agreement with the Izod? Veenor asked.
“No, and so far, we haven’t reached an agreement with the Terest,” Joan pushed back.
The two of them sat and stared for a few moments.
Perhaps we can strike a deal with both of them, SIMPOC added through their private connection.
What do you mean? Joan responded.
Both of them want what is on Uranus and Earth has thousands of robots. I could modify them to be miners. Then Earth trade the goods with both the Terest and Izod, Suggested SIMPOC.
“Veenor, I have a suggestion,” Herl said just as the pause was becoming uncomfortable.
“With the right incentive, Earth might be willing to mine the elements that you need on Uranus and provide them through agreements to both you and the Izod.”
Joan sensed panic invade Veenor’s consciousness. She wasn’t sure why the suggestion caused so much distress.
“I am not authorized to reach such an agreement,” Veenor said with some hesitancy.
“Then who is?” Joan said, pushing the issue.
Her answer, was more hesitation by Veenor.
“I must confer with others. I suggest you return to your ship and we’ll contact you shortly if more discussions are authorized,” Veenor said, just before he abruptly rose, turned and left the room.
That was a surprise, Joan passed to SIMPOC through their alien connection.
Indeed, SIMPOC passed back. Perhaps we should return to the Chevesky. SIMPOC added.
Agreed, answered Joan.
Joan and SIMPOC limited their conversation until they were back within their shuttle.
“Captain, we must remind ourselves that the Terest is a patriarchal society and the military appears more so,” said SIMPOC.
“Yes, I think that was obvious, I think he was about ready to blow a circuit,” Joan said with a slight chuckle.
“Interesting analogy, although apparently accurate,” SIMPOC responded
Joan gave the huge computer a side glance, perhaps seeing him from a different perspective. He’s changing, she thought to herself. Into what?
LL finds out what Tobias is up to
“LL they’re on the move,” Ruth whispered through her comm gear.
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” LL responded from the team’s rest area.
“What do we have?” he asked when he reached the monitoring area which overlooked the location of the suspicious team they were monitoring.
“The tracker, you guys, put on the vehicle is working perfectly. We’re picking up the discussions in the vehicle, and I’m about ready to launch the drone from the roof,” answered Ruth.
“Has it locked onto the tracker?” LL asked.
“Yup, it’s fully acquired and tracking the vehicle from its current position. As soon as the target vehicle is far enough away so it won’t see the drone, I’ll launch it. Then it will stay far enough away to pass on the transmission from the tracker and the zoom lens will give us a close up of what they’re doing.”
“Great,” said LL knowing that he had them, and he would know everything they were doing.
“There she goes,” Ruth announced. “I’ve programmed it to stay 1,000 meters away from the target and here is the audio and visual from it now,” Ruth said as she pointed to the monitoring station on the table in front of her.
The video display showed the vehicles moving in a single line down the streets.
“Is the audio working,” LL asked.
“Yes,” Ruth said as she checked the gain and volume to make sure that it was okay.
“Turn right,” suddenly exploded out of the speaker, and Ruth turned down the volume a little.
The lead vehicle turned, and it took a few seconds for the drone to maneuver to a different position, so they’d have visuals again.
“Where are they?” LL asked.
Ruth changed the display to show a 2D rendition of the streets of Washington.
“There they are,” she said as she pointed to a red dot heading towards the Capitol building. Then she cycled the display back to the real-time images.
“Tobias look, there’s a group on the lawn over there,” the voice came out of the speaker.
“So, it sounds like Tobias is the leader you saw earlier,” LL said aloud.
“Seems possible,” Ruth responded. She toggled the display again, and the dot showed their location near the Capitol building.
“Let’s figure out what they know,” the original voice said.
The vehicles drove up onto the grass and approached a small group of people living in tents.
“Will we be able to hear them,” LL asked.
“From what I’ve been told, if they leave the engine running the system will filter out most of the engine sound, but the quality will be hurt. If they turn off the engine it should pick anything within 50 meters,” said Ruth.
Some of the people in the small encampment ran towards the caravan as the two men in the front vehicle got out with weapons drawn.
“Boy are we glad to see you,” a voice said. “We’ve been here hoping someone would come by. We need food and medical help. Are you military or police or what?” the voice asked.
“No one, like we said we need help. Are you here to help us? Are you from the Government in Norfolk?” the man from the encampment asked.
Two others from the second vehicle in the caravan exited and were catching up to the first two. The group of four ignored the questions of the man and walked towards the remainder of the group. As they approached the group, they were showered with versions of similar questions, who were they, were they from the government in Norfolk, would the help them? None of the questions were answered by the four men. They just walked around the small group of tents and supplies that were stacked up.
“Nothing here,” the voice of Tobias announced.
As he walked away, he merely gave a wave of his hand, and the other three men with him opened fire on the small group. The group ran and sought cover, but they had no chance. Within seconds 12 people were dead.
“Bastards,” Ruth said under her breath.
The four men didn’t show any hesitation or remorse. When the murders were complete, they turned and walked back to their vehicles.
“Tobias, where to now,” the second man in the front vehicle asked as they were driving off the lawn.
“Let’s head over to the Pentagon, I want to see what’s there,” the voice of Tobias said.
“LL, we can’t follow them that far. The drone doesn’t have the battery to cover that distance. It’s made for short-range surveillance only.
“Cover them as long as you can that retrieve it. It’s the only one we have, and we might need it later,” said LL.
“Roger,” responded Ruth.
“I’m heading back to the team, let me know if you pick up anything else,” LL said as he left the surveillance to Ruth.
As LL walked back the to team area, he had to think. Who were those guys, what are they here to do? He didn’t have an answer, but he knew his team would have to deal with them and to deal with them soon.
Lee’s Team
General Keung knew the realities of conflict. The first rule of which, was to have sources of information. Either the sources were motivated by loyalty to him, or out of fear of what he might do to them. Regardless, he had sources within General Quiang’s military that he relied on. His communicator had information from one of those sources. Lieutenant Lee had already left on her part of the mission along with Chang. He tapped his screen a few times, and he asked Lee’s subordinate Luon to keep updating him. Even though Lee was a trusted subordinate; it was always a good idea to have a second set of eyes.
Sergeant Luon was excited when he received the data from the General. Now it was time for him to accomplish great things for the people of China. Luon was eager to play his part.
General Keung’s Diversion
The coordinates that Sergeant Luon received were near him. He only had a few minutes to move 100 meters to the west, and he would be in position. The plan was simple but delicate. The ALT submarines were stealthy, but they needed to cruise near the surface for short periods of time, so they could communicate with their leadership. His coordinates would put him exactly in the path of one of those Eastern Alliance submarines. In order to move his two surface pontoon craft to the right position, he relied upon the small electric motors that could provide the power with very little noise in the water. They shared similar propulsion technology with the ALT submarine, and it was difficult to hear them. His General provided two of them, and Luon wanted to make sure they were used to achieve something momentous.
“Sergeant, we are in position,” the driver of Luon’s small craft whispered to him.
“Good, drop the passive sensor in the water and give me a countdown, to when our target is 50 meters away.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” the man whispered.
Sergeant Luon’s heart was pounding. When the target was 50 meters away, he and his men had to work quickly. The ALT would slow to reduce noise during its update, and as it passed underneath, he had to act.
“50 meters,” he heard whispered.
Luon gave a signal to the other boat, and they slipped into the water. They had 30 seconds to drop 20 meters, then to wait. When Luon reached the 20-meter point, his mask beeped in his ear. He quickly dropped a line from his belt that dropped down another ten meters. The line just reached its full extension with a large hook when the silent form approached from his right. Everything happened so fast, it caught him by surprise, but his training took over.
The line went taut, and Luon was pulled at 15 knots. The force of the water and the forward motion of the submarine caused him to descend and slam into the top of the deck. All he could do was hold on. There was too much turbulence for him to see if the others on his team were safely connected. Hooking to the ALT submarine was only half the challenge. The success of the plan depended on the craft following its standard procedure when fouling was suspected. The hope was that the noise of the team connecting to the superstructure would sound like the submarine had fouled on a fishing line or anchor line. If they wanted to remain stealthy, they had to surface and remove it, or else their mission would be compromised. If the crew didn’t hear Luon attach, then he and his team would die.
Luon’s rigid suit had only 15 minutes of air. So, if their plan was going to work, something had to happen quickly. The initial changes were subtle, and he felt the turbulence decrease as the submarine slowed. That was the first sign that it was going per their plan. Once the sub had slowed to almost zero, Luon and his crew had to reposition themselves so as the ship surfaced they wouldn’t be washed off the deck. They needed to be positioned so they would be near the two topside hatches. When the sub broke water, Luon’s team had 30 seconds to discard their rigid suits and remove the waterproof coverings over their weapons.
“Everyone set?” he whispered into his mike.
He got thumbs up from everyone. At that instant, the two hatches were popped, and the assault team was positioned behind the hinges. When the heavy metal hatches swung their back and locked position, Luon and his team sprang. He didn’t need to give the order, as their training told them when it was the proper time to move around the hatch and take control of the opening.
Sergeant Luon stepped around the open hatch and shot the man who was emerging. As the body fell down the hatch, he shot the female that was on the ladder below the first. Both bodies fell through the lower hatch onto the deck below.
Without any hesitation, Sergeant Luon was climbing down the ladder, and one of his team was providing cover. Luon dropped the last couple of feet onto the lower deck and faced three other crewmen. He didn’t have time to negotiate, so he shot them and raced aft towards the ladder which went down one deck. The ALT was a three-deck configuration, and his team had to go to the middle deck, move aft then up the central ladder into the sail. They had to move quickly because once the command personnel knew they were under attack, it would take them only a few seconds to secure the watertight hatches leading to the sail. If they did that, then the mission would be a failure.
Luon moved at a run, shooting any crewman in his way. His other assault team members covered his rear as he moved. He reached the ladder to the sail, stopped and looked up. There was a young seaman looking down with confusion on his face. Luon could hear some muffled yelling coming through the hatch from the sail. One shot and that problem was solved. Luon stepped aside as the body fell through the hatch, then he was moving up the ladder.
Per their plan, emerging into the sail would be the most vulnerable part of the plan. The command crew had pistols in a key-locked locker within the command section. With enough warning, they’d have time to open the cabinet and arm most of the crew in the section. Luon was planning on that not happening. Confusion is an effective ally.
Luon was willing to sacrifice himself for the success of the mission. His life was small compared with the future of his people. He pulled himself up through the hatch, trying to pick out anyone that was a
rmed. The crew were confused and just stared at him.
Why was someone who looked like one of their brothers doing this, they all thought?
The aft part of the command area, where the gun locker was locked, was just out of sight because of the close quarters. Luon couldn’t wait he had to take out the Captain, trusting that his teammates coming through the hatch below him would deal with the crew at their stations. He took quick steps to get around the center planning table, and there he was. The Captain was just pulling a pistol from the gun cabinet, and Luon shot him. He stood for a second, staring at Luon, with a profound look of confusion on his face. The expression remained on his face as he fell to the deck.
After sound and smoke cleared from the gunfire, the deck erupted with shouts and commands. His team was getting control of the people and the situation.
The Executive Officer stood and asked, “What do you think you’re doing? Who are you?”
Luon didn’t want to take the time for any lengthy discussions. He shot him.
“I am in charge of this submarine,” he yelled to the command crew. “If anyone doubts that, speak up.” The personnel remained silent with looks of horror and disbelief on their faces.
“Radio Communications Officer, I want you to transmit this message on this frequency. Do you have any questions?” Luon yelled at the seaman.
There weren’t any.
Attack
General Quiang was enjoying some peace and quiet. Even though the world had changed so much, he needed to return to what he knew. A big part of that were the same rituals that had kept his mind centered over the years. Every morning, he needed his time in the park to follow Qi Gong. The steps that he followed and the associated peace of mind that it gave him was how he kept his mind focused in such a turbulent world.
The park was still wet from the morning dew, and the sun had just broken above the horizon. There was one place where General Quiang felt at home. The small fountain in the corner of the park had been his favorite place for the last three years since he lost his wife of 35 years. When she was alive, they went to the park together, but each had their routine and favorite location. Feng Mian whose name signified a gentle breeze in the forest loved the sounds of nature.