Casserine

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Hello Governor,” Jake said.

  Risling looked up and smiled when he saw Jake’s face. “Jake, you look like shit.”

  “I hear tell you’re getting flack from the people back on Earth about my heavy handed treatment of the ET’s. Well, I got two words for you Governor, and the second one is ‘you’.”

  Risling broke into laughter. “Who told you that, Jake? Hell, the people back on Earth genuflect in front of any picture of you, or your crew. Boys as young as sixteen, are flooding the recruitment offices. They all want to be Nest Marines, like your guys out there.”

  Jake had already whipped around, searching for Sara. “Corey, I’ll have your ass in the brig for this.”

  Corey was pumping her arms in the air and pointing at Jake. “I so got you, General.”

  “I hope you feel the same way when you’re piloting a trawler off of Rigel,” Jake retorted, turning back to Risling. “Sorry Governor, it seems I’ve been the butt of a practical joke.”

  “Forget it, Jake. Have you finished on the Passallion home world?”

  “We just wound up the last of the nest operations,” Jake replied. “I was planning on leaving the Yorktown here with a couple of the ambassadorial staff we brought. They can see if there’s anything we want in payment, and get a list of what we might like to trade for. I even thought about trying the new jump gate we have the coordinates for.”

  “You mean the one to Earth?”

  “Yea.”

  “Casserine would be easier to get to if you made the jump to Earth first, rather than going back the other way,” Risling said, nodding his head in agreement. “We’ve got an emergency, Jake.”

  “On Casserine?”

  “Yea, we had an informer on Genoa, who turned out to be in league with a group of the nastiest fuel pirates we have operating around here. They’ve always been too smart to try an attack on Casserine because of past failures. They normally work the trade routes near the Tarawa Jump Gate, holding up smaller transports, and passenger craft.”

  “I thought you had a rotating shift of Cruisers keeping Casserine’s warehouse guarded since Adrian and I left,” Jake replied.

  “Yea,” Risling sighed, leaning back. “They drew us off with a fake attack on a transport, close enough to the Cruiser at Casserine, the duty officer on Genoa released them to aid the transport. We goofed, and they goofed. Even with stolen gravity suits, they couldn’t get the fuel cells loaded before the Cruiser made it back into orbit, after they set off the alarms on Genoa.”

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  “We had stockpiled ten times the usual number of fuel cells there, because I had been unsure whether we could avoid a shooting war with Earth Command,” Risling answered. “They’re threatening to blow the warehouse if we don’t back off, and let them take what they want.”

  “So, pay them off,” Jake offered. “You can collect them later.”

  “They have the transport, they used to decoy us, hidden somewhere. If we don’t give them what they want, they’ll blow up Casserine’s stockpile, and the transport with nearly five thousand people on board.”

  “Five thousand? What the hell’s a transport doing with that many colonists?”

  “They were on their way to fill in on Omaha, and Bougainville. With things under control there, we expect those two planets to be thriving within the next couple of years. Naturally, there are people interested in starting over somewhere.”

  “You could call their bluff,” Jake observed. “They would die on Casserine, and their cohorts, who blew up a transport laden with five thousand people aboard, would be hunted to the end of time. Do you really think they’d do it?”

  “If not for their leader, I’d be willing to gamble,” Risling replied. “Their leader is a former Earth Command dupe, even they couldn’t control. After he tortured and murdered thousands of his own people, they chose to avoid controversy by exiling him. His name’s Sodom Hushanni.”

  “Who the hell do these guys sell all the fuel cells to anyway?” Jake asked, frustration apparent in his voice. “I always wondered about that.”

  “Thanks to Earth Command, the price of fuel cells to private companies, and colonies for that matter, was exorbitant,” Risling explained. “We’ll correct that in the coming years with all the new sources. I’m sorry to say these pirates black-market the fuel cells everywhere, and to be fair, they do it in such a way some of their customers don’t even realize the merchandise is stolen.”

  “You aren’t hinting the authorities all this time turned a blind eye to this, because it undermined Earth Command, are you?”

  “Possibly some officials over the years have been bought off,” Risling admitted, “but we did go to war with them around the Tarawa Jump Gate, remember?”

  “That’s true,” Jake acknowledged. “Some of us grunts often wondered if that wasn’t just some turf war between Earth Command officials, using us as enforcers.”

  “There may be more to what you say than even I’m willing to admit, but one thing’s for sure, we are under new management. Hushanni may be a left over product of the way things used to be, but he’ll still have to be dealt with. I’m afraid he will do exactly what he threatens.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “He’s on Casserine. Although he seldom risks even being seen, I believe he was trapped by his own mistrust and greed. When he decided to take the massive fuel stores on Casserine, Hushanni couldn’t find anyone in his group he trusted enough to pull it off, and then bring him the plunder. We figure he was worried they’d go into business for themselves.”

  “How about I take the Intrepid and hit these guys from orbit, while we’re cloaked. They’ll never know what hit them. Lieutenant Dougherty could rig up a way to pinpoint their.”

  “They have explosive charges planted to set off the fuel cells,” Risling cut in.

  “This sounds familiar,” Jake griped. “I guess they watched our operation to free up Earth prisoners on the Byzantlan home world.”

  “As did all of us in the known galaxies.”

  “Maybe all this openness wasn’t such a great idea.”

  “Jake, we now have vid records of a number of complex missions against two races of Aliens, a monstrous horde of creatures from hell, and they were all successful, thanks to you. We were sold out on Genoa by an

  EC leftover. We’ll learn from this and make sure we screen our people better.”

  “I suppose time is running out on Casserine, huh?”

  “Not really,” Risling replied. “I told Hushanni he has to give us time. He no longer wants the fuel cells, because he knows we’d be on to any sales instantly since he was caught. He wants five billion credits.”

  “Five billion credits!?” Jake exclaimed in awe. “Where the hell does he think you could get all that out here?”

  “Hence the time allowed,” Risling finished. “He knows I can only get that much from Earth, namely the United States. His group’s comfortable, having stolen or bought a ship large enough to buck the gravity on Casserine. They rotate guards in the storehouse, and live out of the ship, which has a normal gravity setup, and plenty of fuel cells to power it. The good news is Hushanni never expected to get caught, so he’s using a low tech detonator setup to make good on his threat. We’ve scanned for signals, which if they get interrupted, the storage area blows. He has nothing like that.”

  “How many guards does he rotate?”

  “Six, and they are in constant contact with the ship. He has a total crew of thirty. We’ve monitored their conversations. That’s what pisses me off. We know when one of them so much as sneezes, but we can’t do a damn thing about them as things stand.”

  “We are going to have to make an example of this SOB,” Jake said forcefully. “I should see if I can round up one of the Bug survivors, and feed the wretch to it.”

  “You’ll have to take him alive to do that, and I am out of ideas as to how we’ll be able to save those people,” Risling repl
ied. “I knew if there was anyone who could do it, it would be you.”

  “Well, Adrian would kill me if I allowed our stuff to get blown up,” Jake grinned, rubbing his chin. “Let me get some sleep and think this through. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough, Jake. I’ll talk to you then, and I’ll uplink all the data on Hushanni’s ship to the Intrepid so you can access it at your convenience. Tell everyone I said they did a fantastic job, and I hope to personally thank you all on Genoa. I’ve approved all of your officer’s recommended promotions and medals.”

  “I’ll pass that along, Governor, thanks. Matthews out.”

  Corey met Jake as he walked away from the communications console. “That didn’t look good.”

  “What, my conversation with the Governor, or your insubordination?”

  “You know you would have told me to get lost if I hadn’t come up with something to get your adrenaline flowing,” Corey pointed out. “Don’t think for a moment I’d believe you would have simply walked away from your little celebration with those two miscreant friends of yours.”

  “Miscreants? I can’t wait to let Charlie and Tim know how you really feel about them.”

  “So, what new catastrophe has the Governor dumped in your lap?”

  “Walk along with me to dinner with the miscreants, and I’ll explain it to you over a meal,” Jake replied. “I’ll get a quick shower, and a fresh uniform on the way.”

  “Okay, but those two better be eating when we get to the chowhall.”

  “If they’re still drinking, Charlie will be out cold anyway,” Jake laughed. “They’ll be sober.”

  “I’ll settle for coherent,” Corey remarked.

  Chapter 45

  Mission on Casserine

  “That’s the scoop,” Jake said, as he finished relating what Risling had told him, to Corey, Dougherty, and Mercer, seated with him in the make shift chow hall.

  “So the Governor wants you to take out thirty men, and somehow learn where the transport is being held, without getting the passengers killed, or the fuel cell storehouse blown up,” Mercer summed up what he had heard. “Maybe when you get done, you can shove a broom up your ass and sweep the place up on the way out.”

  “I know how it sounds,” Jake admitted. “I’ll have five thousand lives depending on my not screwing up anywhere along the way. I have a few ideas I want to run by you all, but the food has me dragging tail. Sara can fly us back up to the Intrepid, so we can get some sleep. They’ll be tearing this place apart pretty soon anyway.”

  “Alpha’s ready to go, Jake,” Corey added.

  “Good,” Jake acknowledged. “Risling sent all the info about the ship they’re using on Casserine, and all the details they have pieced together concerning their guard routine. I’ll need to know if we can pierce their ship like we did at the Passallion’s command building, and I’ll need some ideas on neutralizing any kind of low tech detonator they might be using in the fuel storehouse.”

  “Are we ever going to get to celebrate?” Dougherty asked, smiling. “Man, I had the next few weeks all planned out.”

  “Yea, I’ll bet you did,” Jake replied. “I’ll transfer your doctor friend before we head out for Casserine.”

  “Thanks, Jake,” Dougherty said.

  “We won’t have to resort to shanghaiing her, will we, Tim?” Mercer asked with a straight face.

  “No Han, unlike your dates, mine does not require drugging before she sees me.”

  Colonel Peters joined with Jake, Mercer, Corey, and Dougherty to discuss a course of action on Casserine. They sat in the Wardroom of the Intrepid, where they had plotted out Bug missions, and prisoner rescues. After eight hours sleep, they were all clear of mind and purpose. As the others sipped their coffee, Jake had outlined again what Risling wanted, and the many negatives facing any kind of mission on Casserine.

  “I see you all have accessed the information Risling sent,” Jake said, indicating the panels in front of each of his friends. “What do you think?”

  “I can zap them through the ship’s hull just as easy as we went through the Passallion Command building,” Dougherty put in. “I know that ship class very well. I’m sure they are unaware of our latest developments in weaponry. A year ago, we wouldn’t have been able to do much to that ship besides blow the crap out of it. Now, with the scanning improvements, and refinement of our particle beam technology, they’re toast.”

  “Good,” Jake sighed. “That makes a lot of things easier.”

  “Oh yeah,” Mercer retorted. “All you have to do is wipe out the six guards they have in the fuel cell storage area before they blow it into orbit. I know you took out a bunch on your own with that damn gear knife of yours, but.”

  “.but I didn’t have to worry about explosives,” Jake finished. “We have another advantage working for us. Adrian and I furnished a cave to retreat to in case of an emergency. They don’t know about it. They also don’t know how far we’ve come along in cloaking technology. Sara can fly me down on Alpha, and set me down at the cave. I can move on them from there. I’ll be in constant contact with you. You all know how bulky those gravity suits have to be to work at all, and how much they slow the wearer down. Those guards won’t be in the storage area dancing around like they were at a party.”

  “Risling sent us the voice prints of all the guards they’ve been monitoring, and whoever did it really paid attention to detail. We know exactly when they rotate the guard. With the voice prints, I can take them out one at a time, and maybe have their voices fed into the loop at an appropriate time, so they won’t know there aren’t any guards until it’s too late. They rotate every three hours, so I’ll have to move quickly.”

  “Once I disable the explosives, Tim can hit their ship. You’ll have to fry any weapons array they have, along with taking out as many of them as you can. We need Hushanni alive, so you’ll have to zero in on him by his voice, and make sure he lives long enough to get interrogated. He may be the only one who knows where the transport’s being held.”

  “Gee, Jake, it sounds so easy when you explain it,” Mercer said sarcastically, getting more than a few laughs in appreciation. “Are you sure me and a squad of Marines can’t go with you, wearing grav suits?”

  “Have you ever been in one of those things, Charlie?” Dougherty smiled at his friend.

  “Well, no,” Mercer admitted.

  “I tried to help Jake load up a couple of times when the Tennyson first joined the rotation to Casserine,” Dougherty went on. “Remember, it has to simulate normal Earth gravity, or close to it. Even with the added strength built into the suit hydraulically to ease the effort, it’s like being in a walking compression chamber. At best, you can walk, and do simple tasks. Anything else, forget it. Jake moves on Casserine almost like he’s in Earth gravity. That alone will give him a huge advantage. The helmets for those grav suits are not clear like a bubble. They have a face plate without very much in the way of peripheral vision.”

  ‘You’ll need a way to take the guards out without causing a stir though, General,” Colonel Peters offered. “They’ll have their communications built right into the helmet.”

  “That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet,” Jake admitted. “It will have to be close up work, and it will have to be instantaneous. I have to disrupt their communications for at least a minute in each case.”

  “How often do they check in?” Corey asked.

  “They’re a little sloppy about that part of it, because they don’t believe anyone can approach them,” Jake answered. “They don’t observe regular check-in intervals, but they are all in constant contact. The guards sporadically talk to each other; but mostly, I believe they sleep through their watch. In other words, they’re effective only as long as the threat can be detected, and they can be warned.”

  “It’s a good thing they were caught without anything more lethal,” Peters noted. “Hushanni must have been pretty confident.”

  “With g
ood reason,” Jake replied. “If they had not discovered the mole he had at Genoa, Haushanni would have been long gone, with all of Casserine’s fuel stores. I believe he had the transport taken to hold up the Governor for ransom no matter how he did on Casserine. It wasn’t a backup plan, it was the second stage of his plan. If we don’t get this clown real good, we’ll be dealing with galactic kidnappers forever. Listen, we’ve expanded possible trade routes with these missions so far, we’d never be able to protect all the transports, supply ships, and even tourist ships from harm.”

  “Meaning you’ll be doing this mission on live cam for all potential kidnappers to see?” Corey asked.

  “Not live feed,” Jake said. “We will record the mission for all to see what happens to guys like Hushanni, when they screw around with us. If we can get Hushanni alive, we’ll tape his interrogation session, if Charlie doesn’t mind a little notoriety.”

  “Sounds like a winner to me,” Mercer agreed. “By the time I get done with him, there will be a lot of misguided souls looking for another line of work.”

  “I’ll have to take some time, and recon the storage area,” Jake went on. “Once I get their routines noted, I’ll be a lot more confident when I move on them. We all know the weak spots, and we have some time to work on them on the way to Casserine. Charlie, you and Tim work on the weapons angle. Get live with Nick back on Omaha, and you three see if you can rig something to maybe isolate the explosives, portable fields, or anything you can think of.”

  “We’ll get on it right away, Jake,” Tim promised. “Between the three of us, those assholes will never know what hit them. I’ll get exact density reports on their ship class, and refine our particle beam weaponry to handle some intricate elimination.”

  “With Psycho, Nick, and I on it, you’ll have something useful long before Casserine,” Mercer agreed. “We’ve got a couple of those suits around here, so we’ll have all the weak spots researched too. Maybe we’ll set up some practice sessions for you on the way.”