Art reached the vent entrance. It was directly overhead and had a grate across it. But he could clearly see some twinkles in the half-light that constituted early afternoon on Klaster. With no atmosphere of its own, there was no cyan sky let alone clouds.
They both took off their packs and spent the next minute recovering from their exertions. “Come on Linda, break out that communicator. Don’t worry about the generator just yet.”
Linda had wanted more time to recover but she forced herself to respond “Roger Sir” and she pulled out the communicator from her bumpack. She pulled out what looked like a pine cone. It was the telescopic antenna. First she used the sucker on its base to secure it to the floor. Then she activated it and it began extending upwards. She steered its end through the grate and let it extend to its full 20m height. She then checked the battery level on the communicator. It was at 80%, which would give them about 6 hours supply. She opened up the controls and synced the antenna to the communicator. She then gave Art the thumbs up.
He shuffled over next to the communicator and opened up the pre canned signal. He added ‘Enemy attempting to breach light elevator shafts at 1300.’ He then hit the Send button and watched the console waiting for the progress bar to run through to the end. As soon as it did, he shut down the communicator.
“Rihan, we’ve sent the signal” advised Art.
“Roger that. Signal sent 1315” responded Rihan.
“Come on. Lets’ get some distance between us and this grate” said Art.
Linda de-synced the antenna, deactivated it and when it had collapsed back down deactivated the sucker and stowed the gear. ‘She knew her stuff’ thought Art and for that he was grateful. As soon as she was done he hoisted his pack and they trundled back down the vent. When they were 200m away, they stopped and rested.
Art checked his air supply. He couldn’t believe how low it was. He turned to Linda “How much air do you have left?”
“50 percent” she responded.
“Me too” said Art. “Damm it, we’re not going to have enough for the full 48 hours.”
“Why don’t we leave Pat and Cyrus behind the baffles and take their supply” suggested Linda.
“Good thinking” said Art and Linda smiled feeling very pleased with herself.
“Pat how far are you from the baffles?”
“I can see them up ahead.”
“We’re too low on air. You and Cyrus need to stay downside of the baffles. We’ll come and get your air and fuel.”
“Roger that” said a weary Pat. She was so tired she’d agree to anything.
“Let’s rest for 30 and then we’ll head back Linda” said Art.
“I’m on it” said Linda and she lay down on the ground, her head leaning against her pack.
“So I see” said Art. He too lowered his knackered limbs to the ground and just slumped, resting his head against the wall. He looked back towards the grate and prayed their signal would be in time.
Chapter 18. Pulton 1 1350, 25 May.
Art and Linda had made their way back down to the baffles. Pat and Cyrus were on the other side some 100m away. All four were fitting their suction devices ready for the big blow.
When Art saw Linda give him the thumbs up he hailed “Pat, are you guys ready?”
“We’re ready” she replied.
“Max, can you open the baffles please?”
“Hold on…opening now” said Max.
It had been agreed that Pat and Cyrus would move the gear as they had done the least exertion so far. So Art and Linda just hung on to the wall. Cyrus led the way up with Pat close to him. They made their way along very slowly with the wind picking up speed. Each was trying to get used to the syncing of voice and motion.
Pat realised in the instant that she had given the wrong command. But it was too late. Her left knee failed to gain suction when it should and her body was spun over wrenching her right knee. She let out a scream of pain, but no one heard it from inside her closed helmet.
It wasn’t until Cyrus had secured both his knees again that he looked back to see Pat struggling. “Pat, are you right?...Pat?” he asked. “Sir, Pat’s in trouble. I’m going back for her.” He moved back till he could push her back into the wall. Her helmet hit the wall hard. “I need help” he called out.
“I’ll go” volunteered Linda. It took her a good five minutes to close.
“Hold her” said Cyrus. “I’ll have to climb over her.” He tried to reach the far side of Pat but with all her gear on he couldn’t. “It’s no use. I’m going to ditch her pack. Sir, look out. Her pack may be flying towards you in a moment.”
“OK Cyrus. I’m ready” said Art and added “Thanks for the warning.”
The pack dropped, bounced, rolled and lifted a bit, then repeated picking up speed as the wind drove it on upwards. Art could see it coming now. He positioned himself lower down and side on so he could reach out and grab it. As he looked back down it lifted a bit more and he regretted changing position. It was now heading straight for his head. He put out his left arm and met the backpack. It jarred him but the suckers held. The pack started to slide down and he grabbed the webbing. “Got it” he told them.
Cyrus had now made his way over to the other side of Pat. He lifted her helmet up. He could see it fogging up, which was a good sign under the circumstances. “She’s alive but knocked out. Her knee’s at a funny angle. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Take her back to the other side of the baffles, Cyrus. Get Max to send some help to carry her out. Then come back here. OK?” said Art.
“Yes Sir. Will do!”
“Rihan, this is Art?”
“Go ahead Art” said Rihan.
“We’ve had an accident. Pat’s in a bad way. I’m arranging for her to be carried back. I have her kit. There’s only enough oxy for two of us on the surface side of the baffles anyway.”
“Alright Art. Keep safe and remember you need to be up and operating by 0830.”
“Understood.”
Chapter 19. Hermes 1425, 25 May.
“We have an Alliance frigate arriving Sir” said Crystal Wong.
A collective sigh of relief went up throughout the ship.
“Another frigate arriving….two caps inbound…carrier Wasp…another cap…another frigate…two more caps…2 more frigates…Sir we have a total of one carrier, five caps and five frigates.”
“Thank you Sgt” said Warner. “Ivan, give them time to do their handshake with Control, then hail the Group Commander for me.”
“Will do, Sir” responded Ivan.
Ten minutes later. “I have Rear Admiral McDermot for you Sir” said Ivan.
“Thanks, put him through.”
“Captain Warner?”
“Admiral thanks for speaking with me” said Warner.
“Do I take it that you being here means bad news on Klaster?” said RAdm Ross McDermot.
“It does Admiral. Can we meet?”
“Of course Captain. Please come over.”
“Thank you Admiral. I’ll be there directly” said Warner. Then he turned to his XO. “Ella can you please accompany me?”
“Of course Sir.”
On the short trip over in the shuttle Warner asked “Have you served with the Admiral?”
“Oh yes Sir” responded Ella. “I was posted to the Wasp Group only last year.”
“What’s he like?”
“He’s a bit of a stickler for the rules, Sir. He likes to run a tight ship and an even tighter group. But he’s a fighter Sir. Make no bones about that.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“You will be fine Sir. He will respect your record. But you do need to convince him of the merit of your case. Junior officers fear his critiques. He has a sharp mind.”
“Do you like him?”
“I don’t really know him that well. But yes I do admire him. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and once he sets his mind to something he will follow through.”
> “Mmm…” said Warner and Ella left him deep in thought.
They docked on the Wasp at 1505.
“Ah Captain Warner, welcome to the Wasp” said RAdm McDermot.
McDermot had one of the faces that weathered with age regardless of exposure to the elements. He looked fit and lean, though Dave thought he was probably more muscular in his earlier years. His thick grey hair was brushed back. He had piercing dark eyes.
“Thank you Admiral. It looks a fine ship” said Warner as he observed the military guard turned out to greet him. He returned the salute and was ushered by the Admiral to a conference room at least four times as large as the one on the Hermes.
The Admiral made the introductions. There was Captain Sean Caniff, the commander of the Wasp carrier and Commander Lindsay Han, the Wasp Group Ops Officer.
Caniff was a tall beanpole with a furrowed brow. He had cause to be worried but Dave suspected it was more of a permanent feature. He had a slight stoop. He brushed his thin greying hair back before shaking Dave’s hand.
Han was younger and looked energetic. He had olive complexion and black hair. He was serious and his brown eyes looked straight into Dave’s. Dave thought that he would not suffer fools gladly.
“Perhaps Captain, you might brief us on what’s happened on Klaster?” McDermot asked. “All I know is what has been relayed via Westfall Control from your Commodore Pious. Namely, that an enemy fleet has attacked and you have been forced away and that the base defences have been destroyed and the personnel taken to the mine complex.”
“That’s right Admiral. We were forced to warp away from Klaster just after 1600 yesterday. The enemy has a sizeable force including one carrier and four caps plus several corvettes. In the ensuing engagement we destroyed around twenty of their fighters.”
“By the sounds of it you were lucky to warp away.”
“Yes and no Admiral. Our base force warped away with 80% of its transport, which was a fair result. But the Sydney was heavily damaged and has warped to Polaris for repairs. The Washington got beaten up too but now has 80% power and I deem her to be operational. The Hermes has only minor damage. We are ready to go back.”
“I am glad to hear that Captain. Control advises that they have not received any communications from Klaster since 0345 this morning. What do you make of that?”
“That the enemy have done the smart thing and destroyed their comms arrays on the surface.”
“And don’t you think that a smart enemy would have also breached the mine complex by now?” said Lindsay Han.
“They would have tried for sure. But I doubt they would have been successful. We had four marine platoons, a Trojan platoon plus a platoon equivalent of base guards. Both entrances were heavily fortified and the defence plan called for a delay and withdrawal down into the mine complex. The entrance shafts are baffled and protected by blast doors.”
“Yes but these can all be breached. You know that” countered Han.
“But breaching takes time and that is why we must act now and warp to Klaster with the entire Wasp Group and our two frigates.”
“Captain I have orders to detach three of my frigates to recon Chelora” said McDermot.
“Yes Admiral I appreciate that. It was on my recommendation. That is where we believe the enemy is staging from. However, the enemy fleet is now over Klaster and unless we intervene with the full force at hand we won’t defeat it.”
“You say the enemy had a force not much less than ours” said the Admiral. “Normal strategy would dictate we amass a superior force before moving against them. In other words, we should wait for the Enterprise.”
“This is not a normal situation, though. By waiting we seal the fate of over five hundred people on Klaster. We surrender it to the enemy and allow him to build up his own defences there.”
“That’s if their fate has not already been sealed” said the Admiral. “I think it best to send a reconnaissance first. We can do that while the other recon mission is conducted to Chelora. Then when the Enterprise Group arrives we strike with overwhelming force.”
Warner looked at the other faces in the room and apart from Ella he saw no comfort in any of them. He realised he was losing this argument but he knew he could not afford to. “Admiral, how can you abandon these people? I wonder if your position would change if they were Alliance personnel.”
“Captain, that remark is unworthy of you. I understand your motivation for wanting to return and save your people but I have to consider the lives of over two and half thousand personnel in this Group.”
At that point a junior officer entered and passed the Admiral a note. “Excuse me” McDermot said to Warner and then he read the note.
He looked up at Warner and McDermot could see the resolve in his eyes. It was no wonder, he thought, that this man had achieved what he has to date. He averted his gaze back to the note.
He pondered his own words earlier about the risks to his 2,500 people. This was one of those decisions senior officers are paid the big bucks to make. It was not an easy decision. If they were to commit now and fail it could well lose the war. But if they defeat this enemy fleet decisively then they may well win it here and now.
He reflected though that the most likely outcome would be a bruising battle in which both sides suffered loss. The question then as to whether it would be worthwhile lay in the probability of them forcing the enemy to retire, for securing Klaster would provide a significant advantage.
He again looked up at Warner. This young captain had not changed his demeanour and it was starting to rub off on the Admiral.
“This note advises that your people are still holding out on Klaster and that the enemy began breaching the light elevators at 1300. It would appear there is no time to lose. Captain if you would place your flotilla under my command we shall warp to Klaster post haste.”
A very relieved Warner responded “Thank you Admiral. We are at your command, Sir.”
“Right, now Captain, let’s work out a plan of attack while our ships are replenished. Han make sure we are ready to warp by 1700” ordered the Admiral.
“Will do Sir” responded Han. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Han left to pass on the deadline to the Group Quartermaster.
The Admiral turned to Warner “I understand the Base Commander Rihan Kabel is your fiancée.”
“That’s right Sir. But that’s not the only reason motivating me Sir. You made the right decision for strategic reasons” replied Warner.
“I understand” said McDermot and raising his right eyebrow added “I just want you to know that I am not completely ignorant of the situation at hand.” He finished with a smile.
“So I see Sir” and Warner gave a smile back.
Han came back in like a man with a purpose.
“Ah Lindsay, everything to hand?” asked McDermot.
“Yes Sir. The Federation base force is lending a hand with the refuelling. We should be right for a 1700 warp.”
“Thank you Lindsay. Now let’s put our heads together and nut out a plan.”
Chapter 20. Pulton 1 1530, 25 May.
“Maam, that’s the last baffle gone” said Liz.
“Roger that” said Rihan. “Same deal as before I reckon. You’ve probably got another two hours before they demolish the elevator.”
“Yes but how will they breach the blast doors? The light lift is too small for one of their shuttles.”
“They obviously have a smaller shuttle or they wouldn’t have been able to get this far. It may mount a beam weapon too. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
A few minutes later Sue also reported that the last of their baffles had been blown. There was not that much she could do now. She had committed everything other than her precious reserve – 3rd Pl and Tango 4.
She looked across at the Commodore who was asleep on a cot in the corner. He had been up most of the night. They were so fortunate to have had him as their senior officer, she thought. ‘How wrong I was about him when h
e first arrived.’
She reflected on judgement and how it came in many guises, shapes and forms. It wasn’t always packaged inside a stereotype. That was for sure, if Pious was anything to go by. The initial appearance of the dapper martinet with his prudish almost puritanical attitudes had now given way to a man of great principle, courage and self-discipline. He had proven to be a man with a mischievous, almost wicked sense of humour. He had also been very generous and had shown great compassion when it was needed.
She couldn’t help but draw parallels to her father. In so many ways they were opposites but yes she thought the Commodore was a man to look up to, to admire.
And then she thought of another man to admire, her lover. She knew he was coming but she did pray that he would come soon and bring the Wasp Group with him. She couldn’t help but note her own practical thought processes in all this. Yes, she had come a way with her spirituality but her nature was extremely practical. She was the archetypal organiser, the doer, the fixer.
‘What was it that Dave said’ she thought ‘Oh yes, the two wings of the bird, self-effort and grace. Both are needed to succeed. So, I have done all I can and now it us up to grace to deliver the rest.’
She liked that. She felt the worry drain away. She turned to her console and opened the novel she had been reading. She leant back a little and felt content.
Chapter 21. Hermes 1700, 25 May.
“Warping in 5, 4, 3, 2 and away” said Aubrey.
“Thank you Aubrey, the ship is yours” said Warner.
“Roger that. The ship is mine.”
“Emma, Chase, Ivan, meet me in the battle lab in five” ordered Warner.
“Roger Sir” from Emma and the other two nodded.
“Chief Shavez and Sgt Puket please meet me in the battle lab in five” hailed Warner.
“I’m on my way” said Emilio.
The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Page 37
