by G J Moses
“Krogs?” asked an amused Hawke at the same time Khaleesi asked the same question.
“The Chohish look and act like a slimy lizard, Kroggers, that live on Tortuga, so it makes more sense to call them closer to what they are. Slimy nasty lizards.” replied Jeanne with a lot of sarcasm in her voice.
“Sounds good to me. Krogs, I like it” a laughing Hawke announced.
“Okay people, let’s get back on track. Khaleesi, please continue.” Zeke ordered.
“Captains Kinsley and Kennedy will coordinate on taking out the covering ships and disarming the ship they plan to board. That I will leave them to explain. What I want to review now is for removing the Chohish on the planet. Per the information supplied by Governor Reynolds, there are two Chohish camps. One camp is located at the settlement entrance and another close to one of the mining sites.”
With that, Khaleesi brought up the videos provided by the Governor of the planet Nocuous.
When they had mentioned that the weather was bad on Nocuous, they were not kidding. The atmosphere was cloudy and smoky. Even without being told, all knew it was mostly made up of sulfuric gases just from looking at the landscape that was filled with dozens upon dozens of active volcanoes. Huge mountain ranges, that ranged many miles high into the sky, were visible in the limited footage. The videos provided rocked and moved almost in sync with the constant ground shifts from earthquakes and the huge violent tornado’s rolling across the ground. There were no signs of any vegetation or animals, no life signs at all.
One Chohish enemy camp, small in size compared to the ones they had encountered on Niflhel, was situated on the side of a mountain. The small part visible facing the outside was similar in design in that is was in a circular VVV shape. The haze overlaying the camp spoke of a strong force field. All around the camp, up, down, on either side were multiple indentations where it was obvious that guard stations were set up fully equipped with their own separate force field.
The overall effect was that getting through to this camp was going to be very tough, much more so than at Niflhel even without the bad weather. The weather conditions made it even that much harder.
The other camp, being displayed on a different screen, was similar in size and setup, but was situated so that it was overlooking the mining camp. What was surprising and caused several gasps, was they could see that it looked like there was mining still being done at one of mine pits. Several very large, strange looking ore loaders could be seen coming out one of the mine pits. These ore loaders were definitely not human made. What was weird though, was that the mining activity, was only taking place at one site and not on any of the other many sites easily visible.
Looking around, Khaleesi could see that most were looking in amazement on the ground conditions. Going against the Chohish was dangerous enough in normal weather, but in these conditions, it was much worse. Especially since it was going to be attempted without most of the Marines.
“Since we got the videos and data from Governor Reynolds, we have been reviewing the footage. Needless to say, capturing a ship and attacking ground targets, will tax our personnel to the extreme. At any other time, I would say this cannot be done. But fortunately, the cooks on both our ships are well versed in hand to hand combat.” Khaleesi updated as she slowly walked around the room.
With Zeke’s ok, Isolde had brought the main conference room into the connection and had them up on another screen. A good many of the crew were in attendance even if most were nodding off from exhaustion. Not all though. It was from here, that one individual wearing a chef hat, could be heard murmuring “Crap, they were not kidding!”
Hiding his smile behind his hand, Will looked at Khaleesi with admiration. Will knew that she was lightening the mood before she got down to the brass tacks which would probably scare most here, veterans though they may be.
“And we are fortunate that the forces from New Providence have some “unique” toys that Jeanne mentioned earlier.” At this time, Khaleesi nodded to Isolde who brought up a picture of a large unique looking sleigh on the center screen.
The sleigh was a good twenty feet in length with multiple wings and rudders close to the body. The body was open to the air with several missiles connected to the sides. There was one large laser on the bow.
“And what the heck is that?” asked a very interested Hawke. “It looks like it would be fun to ride.”
With an amused glance at Gunner who also looked like he would try it out, Zeke turned to face the main monitor. “Jeanne, have you been on one of these toys?”
“Yes, many, many times. Sleighing the deep canyons on Tortuga is a sport almost everyone on Tortuga engages in. Men, women and even the older children. So naturally, we added some ‘enhancements’ when the war started.” Jeanne stated as she stood and walked closer to the image on the screen.
Reaching up, she put her hand on the image and ran it across like she could actually feel it. “Many a day I have flown one of these.” continued Jeanne with a hint of sadness. “But I never became the experts that Jan and Masson are. They, and their fellows, are renowned for their daring and fearlessness in the skies with these ‘toys’ as you call them. In their hands, they are deadly, very deadly.”
With that, you could hear Masson snickering before he whispered loud enough for all to hear. “Oh, what a bunch of crap. Jeanne is just as good as either of us. Well, maybe as good as Jan anyway.”
The stare from Khaleesi to Masson, even thru the monitors, was enough for Masson to put his hands up and mouth “sorry”. It took all Zeke had not to laugh out loud. Zeke had been on the receiving end of Khaleesi’s hostile stare before and it was not something you ever wanted to experience again.
Continuing like there had been no interruption, Khaleesi continued. “Masson, and apparently from what I just learned, Jan, will lead the way against the camp by the settlement with over a dozen of these sleighs. The sleighs task is to soften up the shields and any main batteries the Chohish may have. Then they are to support the arrival of the main ground force.”
“Now, for those that are not familiar with the operational capabilities of the sleigh, the sleighs special wings allow them to glide just feet from the ground in normal atmospheric conditions. But with the turbulence and activity on the planet, this is going to be very dangerous and will require them to go a bit higher than desired. But we are hoping that with all the atmospheric turbulence the they will not show up on their sensors until too late.”
“They will be followed by the ground force made up with a contingent of personnel from both ships. This group will use whatever shuttles are not needed for the destroyer boarding operation. We will not have the room for a full complement of Marines in Battleoids. The few Battleoids that will be on-board, will be the ground shock group and lead the way. The majority, will be in normal Army or Marine armor.”
“Where will you be Major” asked a technician standing at the back of the conference room.
Khaleesi turned to answer the question with a slight tightening of her face. Just as she was about to answer, Zeke answered for her.
“The Major did not have time to update me on her plans prior to now, but unless something has changed from past experience, Khaleesi will be leading the Marines from the front. Did I get that right?” asked Zeke turning to look directly at Khaleesi.
“Of course, where else would I be?” Khaleesi answered with a sneer followed by a muffled chuckle from several of her officers.
“I did not mean that in a derogatory manner, I ask because I work on the maintenance of the Battleoids. I have something that may offer an additional force field protection by a factor of three. But I only have the one prototype available. Being all here on the Lucky Strike is familiar with your disregard for your own safety, I thought that it would be best utilized on your suit.” the slightly frazzled technician replied.
Over the now obvious chuckling from her officers, Khaleesi replied offhandedly. “Oh! Well, thanks, get with Sergeant Moti aft
er this meeting. If he approves, do what you can.”
It was obvious that the conversation was going sideways so Zeke brought everyone’s attention back to where it belonged. “Khaleesi, now that we can probably keep you alive a bit longer, can you continue?”
“Yes Sir! Now, as I was saying, hopefully the sleds have grabbed the attention of the Chohish enough to allow us entry into a large cave below at the bottom of the mountain. The sleds once they unload their missiles will continue running interference with their lasers.” responded Khaleesi.
On the display screen, Isolde brought up the images of the enemy camp. “We will make land here. Just under the northeast battlements. Per Governor Reynolds, they are familiar with the cavern the Chohish have made their camp in. They were going to use this cavern early on when they first settled here, but decided against it due to several deep fissures that made the cavern unsafe for the long run. Not worth fixing as they were other available better caverns.”
“But…”, nodding to Isolde, Khaleesi continued as Isolde brought a video showing a picture of one of these fissures, “that did not mean there was no value in making part of it useful.”
The image now showed a huge entrance carved into the rock. The entrance was massive and the extra support provided was very obvious. While they watched, the ground heaved and shook. Still, even though many cracks could be seen, the entrance was clear.
“There are two entrances like this. The other one is too damaged by upheavals for our use. The one we are going to enter was abandoned only a few years ago as they found other better storage accommodations that were much safer. But if, as we hope this one is, still intact, it should lead us right under the Chohish camp where we will set demolition charges to bring the whole place down.”
“Not much of a plan, but it is all we have. Not like we can do any reconnaissance before we get there.” Khaleesi said while shrugging like it was no big deal. And Khaleesi shrugs were mirrored by her command staff. Zeke would have laughed if it was not so serious.
“Do you have enough fighters? The Chohish will outnumber you by hundreds to one.” asked Will.
“Our plans are not to fight them, but to just hold them back until we finish what we need to do. We do not have to worry about holding territory, damage, contamination, civilians and so on. Our goals are simple, place a few charges and vamoose.” replied Khaleesi, again said nonchalantly. Like fighting and holding off an army of Chohish was nothing to be concerned with. Again, her officers shrugged and nodded in agreement.
Unlike Zeke, who successfully hid his amusement, Hawke started laughing. “Mwahaha… Khaleesi, I know I said this before, but I really think you have Sorath blood in you. Are you sure your ancestors have not been to my home planet at some point in the distant past?”
With that, Zeke made his way to stand by Khaleesi at which time Will signaled he had something to say.
“Question?” Zeke asked.
“What about the other camp? We do not have any more resources available to throw at it. Are we going to leave it as is?”
“On the contrary. I want that mine and everything mined from it, destroyed. That has to be a top priority. I want the Lucky Strike and the Fox, if able, to make way there once all enemy ships have been neutralized and the boarding party has returned. I want that mine pummeled and made unusable for the near and distant future. I want every storage bin destroyed. And, of course, I do not want any Chohish left alive.” replied Zeke, but unlike Khaleesi, with real passion in his voice.
Knowing Zeke so well, Hawke heard something in his reply that the others missed. “Why? What is it that you are not saying? What is so important at that site?”
“An idea that needs further research before I can explain. Now, unless I am mistaken, we are done here. Meghan, anything from your side?”
“No, we are good. We have identified the personnel that will be flying the sleighs. We need to send them across before you get too far ahead of us. Based on current speed projections, we will arrive at Nocuous over a half hour behind you, too late to do much help besides assisting at the mine.” Meghan replied.
“I agree, which is why I will also need a few more of your shuttles. We will only get one chance at this.” directed Zeke.
“We already figured you would need them. Captain de Clisson will gather the crews and bring them over presently. Are we still planning to meet at the end of the tunnel?”
“Yes, Meghan, I want to verify that there are no impediments in our way so I will take the Lucky Strike and a good portion of the fighters and clear the way. Please keep me updated on what you find out about your engines.”
“We should have a good idea on the engine status once we reach the end of the tunnel. Until then, there is a lot to do so unless someone has something else, I am going to sign off.”
“Nothing more from me so unless the Captain has anything….” Khaleesi looked at Zeke and seeing him nod negatively, finished with. “Ok, everyone, thanks for attending, we have a lot to do also, so…”
Everyone jumped up and ran out of the room. Zeke smiled as he saw that there would be no repeat of the last meeting. Zeke watched as Khaleesi and her officers marched out. It was impressive to watch their coordination.
Will and Hawke stopped by where Zeke was leaning on the conference table.
“Thoughts?” asked Hawke.
“Khaleesi is going to have a lot tougher time of it than she let on. The numbers are dramatically against her team. I sure hope the Battleoid upgrade the technician talked about is as good as he said it is. I am very concerned for her safety. With the way she puts herself in danger, she will need it.” replied Will.
“Well, our options and time is very limited. So, gentlemen, make what arrangements you need. We will be at the mouth of the tunnel in a few more hours. It is only a short trip to Nocuous from there… and… unless Governor Reynolds notifies us of major changes, we will go with the plans we have. Have your teams get what rest they can, who knows when we will get a chance again.” a tired sounding Zeke ordered just before he got up and nodded before walking out.
Both Will and Hawke watched Zeke as he made his way out of the conference room.
“He looks tired, even more than when we were in New Providence. I hope he will take his own advice about getting some rest” a concerned Will commented.
“I doubt it. While we are working on one or two items, Zeke is looking at a dozen or more. I am very curious what it is about that mine he wants destroyed. Zeke has found something. I know for a fact he has been pouring through the limited records I have of the Chohish as time permits. Oh well, not much more we can do except to see what we can take off his shoulders. With that my friend, happy hunting” Hawke replied as he made his way out into the hall.
End of the Tunnel
“All crew members, this is the captain with a priority message. Repeat, this is a priority message. We are about to exit the tunnel. Exit will be in… five minutes from my mark. 4… 3… 2… 1… Mark! Prepare for a hostile exit.” ordered Zeke from the command chair.
After a quick glance around the room to make sure his message was received, Zeke signaled Isolde with a nod along with a signal of his right index finger on his temple.
With a nod acknowledging his request, Isolde grimaced just before pushing the alarm button once to arm and immediately again so the alarm only signaled once. There was no need to do it more than that, all were aware, they just needed a reminder.
“weeeoooeee, weeeoooeee, weeeoooeee”
Stationed on the far right of the room, Will spoke without turning. “Hawke and all the fighters, except for the half dozen we left escorting the Fox, are taking point and several minutes ahead of us. Hawke is going to have one of his fighters replicate what Gunner did earlier.” A good many turned to glance at Gunner who was stationed next to Isolde.
“That fighter, Senior Airman Ms. Jacquotte Delahaye, is going to go dark and shut down all electronics.” Even with the seriousness of the situation, Will m
urmured “I just love these names. Who next, Blackbeard?” before continuing.
“Senior Airman Delahaye will have only her passive sensors on to see if there is any type of ship energy signals present. If yes, Delahaye, will send out a warning and return here post haste. If not, Delahaye will stay silent until the main fighter force arrives.”
It was obvious to all here, this was very risky at best, they had just seen it earlier with Gunner. Senior Airman Delahaye would be lucky, very lucky indeed, just to get her engines back online, let alone make it back into the tunnel if there were any enemy ships present.
“If there are ships present, the fighters will wait inside the tunnel until the Fox catches up. We have no option but to exit in force and try to eliminate any guarding ships. We cannot go back through the tunnel.” saying this Will looked around at the faces he had come to love as his own brothers and sisters. If Zeke’s guess on the Chohish fleet makeup proved wrong, it was possible this would be the last time he saw many, if not all of them alive.
“Just to refresh everyone. If there are no ships present at the exit, the Lucky Strike will take up sentry duty while the fighters do a more thorough reconnaissance. While waiting for the Fox, communication with Nocuous will be attempted.” Will finished his update before turning his chair towards Zeke where he finished with “And heaven help us all”.
It was with a heavy heart that Zeke had agreed upon the plan of using Senior Airman Delahaye in this way and that was only after Ms. Delahaye contacted him personally to request this mission. Her husband and eldest son were killed when the Chohish first attacked Jeanne’s forces, this was personal for her. She wanted a chance to make a difference, to be out front where she could yell her family’s defiance at the Chohish. Only then, did he reluctantly agree to this plan.
Sitting quietly in his command chair, Zeke wished that there was another option available. A human, even after all these centuries, could still make decisions that an AI was not prepared for. But it was hard, really hard, even with all his training to send someone out like this. It was basically a suicide mission if there were any enemy ships were present. How many more would he have to send to their deaths before this was over?
