The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (32 page)

Once the target had been identified, Chief Rutledge sent one of the small inter-ship shuttle pods down to the planet with a team of three SEALs. They landed about 20 klicks from the settlement, and then approached the rest of the way on foot. They set up a small base camp just on the other side of a small rise from compound, and then spent the next three days gathering intelligence. They employed a number of small, remote-controlled drones, which the SEALs had brought with them from Earth, to record the entire compound, including the surrounding topography.

The SEALs also learned that the dominate species on the planet was a race of large ape-like creatures resembling silverbacks on Earth. Yet these apes were a lot more civilized. They had begun to congregate into villages, with tiny thatch-roof huts. They even employed a primitive language, and appeared to be well on their way to building a society of their own.

The SEALs managed to avoid the silverbacks, but there was another threat on the planet. It appeared as though the large mammals coexisted with dinosaur-like creatures, even though these beasts hadn’t grown to the gargantuan scale as they had on Earth. But still, there were raptor-like creatures that had to be shooed away from the base camp on several occasions. Luckily, Adam and his group weren’t planning on spending too much time on the planet once the actual assault was over.

After three days, the SEALs returned to the battlecruiser with their treasure trove of intel.

The news that first spread throughout the ship was that the prisoners
were
alive. An incredible sense of relief spread throughout the crew, as they now knew their journey here had not been in vain.

Next, Rutledge, Adam and Tobias cloistered themselves away in Adam’s quarters for the next day, as they put together the final plans for the assault of Calamore.

Once the plan was developed, they called all the crew together on the mess desks, where an image of the entire compound was projected on the main screen. Chief Rutledge then laid out the plan.

“Thanks to the work of Mario, John and Keith, we have a pretty good idea of what we’re up against.” Rutledge used a laser pointer to highlight certain areas of the image. “There appear to be four main sections within the compound.” His pointer landed on a round structure toward the southwest corner of the settlement. “This appears to be a power plant of some kind. Infrared didn’t pick up anybody near or in the building, so it appears to be fully automated. If we need to cut power to the compound, this will be our target.

“This large area to the north is the spaceport.” His pointer highlighted an area that took up about a quarter of the entire compound, and was dotted with dozens, if not hundreds of perfectly round circles indicating where spaceships had once rested. “There are over two hundred landing pads. We’ve also detected five pads near this row of hangers and other buildings along the perimeter of the landing field that still have ships on them. It will be a priority that we keep these ships intact and from launching. We will not be able to defend against an attack from the air, and if our mission is successful, we will need these ships to evac the prisoners.

“Next is this large area to the east.” The section of the picture looked like a box inside a box, with several buildings located inside and outside of the inner wall. “This is where they’re keeping the male prisoners. There is a wall surrounding the interior community, which appears to be quite established. They have crop rows, livestock of some kind, and even a large meeting hall. This facility is guarded by eight watchtowers located along the top of the wall. Only three appear to be manned at any given time. We figure that the planet itself has been a pretty good deterrent against escape.

“Next is this series of buildings near the center of the compound. This is the only other area that appears to have clusters of people in it. The drones were able to pick up several images of women in this area. We counted about 100 of them wearing yellow tops, and around 80 wearing green tops.”

“What’s the significance?” someone asked.

“It appears the women in the green tops stay in these four buildings nearly exclusively, while the ones in the yellow tops stay here, but appear to intermingle with the men in the compound more often.”

“I think I have a theory about that,” Sherri said. “I know that the Klin took women from Earth to become breeders for them, but I’ve often wondered what happened to the female babies. Wouldn’t be easier just to take all the girl babies and raise them the Klin way, to be breeders themselves? That way they wouldn’t have to deal with native-borns, and all the resistance we would give. A bunch of obedient, 2G baby-making machines would have been much easier to handle. The ones in the yellow could be the 2G women.”

“That would make them the enemy, right?” Chris asked.

Rutledge nodded. “That’s correct. We count about 62 of the 2G men in the compound. If we add another 100 or so women to that number, it could greatly complicate the mission.”

Adam stood up from his seat next to Tobias. “Our primary objective will be to rescue the non-convert men and to secure the Klin spaceships. We have no desire to kill
any
of the women, unless we have to. Once the first two objectives are secure – being the spacecraft and the prisoner compound – then we’ll converge on the women’s location and take them prisoner. We’ll sort things out then. Sherri will approach the women in green first. We’re pretty sure they’re being kept against their will.”

“Very good, Captain Cain,” said Rutledge with a sliver of a smile. “Since the compound area is so large, we will need the assistance of Chris and his men in the assault. Mr. Tarazi, along with two of the SEALs, will lead Chris and his men against the spaceport. There doesn’t appear to be a lot of security going on around the ships, or the entire compound for that matter. Everyone seems to be bored out of their minds. Also, from close-in imaging, we find that most of the 2G males are very young, barely teenagers, and probably too young and inexperienced to accompany the fleet that went to Earth. Unfortunately, we do not have the manpower to consider taking a lot of prisoners, at least not around the spaceport and the prisoner compound. Once we have the non-converts and the ships, we will be departing. There will be no need to hold the ground once we have met our objectives.

“Mr. Tobias and I will be at the command post coordinating the attack and monitoring the drones that we’ll have over the target. Captain Cain and nine of the SEALs will be designated Team Alpha, and will go for the prisoner compound. Mr. Tarazi, with Petty Officers Jordan and Martinez, will lead Chris’s men against the spaceport, and will be designated Team Bravo. Team Charlie will consist of Ms. Valentine, along with Petty Officers Tindel, Franks, Krug and Weir, who will close on the women’s area and assure that the green shirts are kept safe once the shooting starts.

“Remember men – and lady – the 2G’s may be Human, but they are
not
on our side in this war. And even though they may be young, they can still kill. So don’t hesitate when the time comes.” Adam knew he was saying this for the benefit of the others, and not the SEALs. SEALs never hesitate.

“Will this be a night op?” one of the men asked.

“Unfortunately, no. As Mr. Cain has rightly pointed out, that with the flash the enemy’s energy weapons give off, our nightvision goggles and scopes will be overloaded with the first blast. We will go at dawn. As I said, there doesn’t appear to be much discipline in the compound at this time. Many of the 2G’s will probably still be in their racks when we attack.”

“What does the surrounding wall consist of?”

“Mainly metal razor-wire fencing, none electrified, two layers. It shouldn’t be too hard to cut through. Teams Alpha and Charlie will enter here.” Rutledge indicated a point at the wall along the southeast section. “Once entry is made, the Teams will split off to their respective assignments. Team Bravo will enter here, just along the border to the landing field and these buildings. Once the area is secure, Team Bravo will commandeer as many of these golf-cart like vehicles as needed to meet up with Team Charlie at the women’s compound. Team Alpha should stay on station with the prisoners.”

On the image were dozens of rectangular objects that Rutledge had identified as golf-carts. They were scattered throughout the compound and appeared to be the primary mode of transportation throughout the entire compound.

Rutledge paused for a moment, the expression on his face was one of firm determination, and surveyed the men in the room. Adam knew the Chief had conducted countless meetings like this throughout his 22 years in the Navy, and each one of them was deadly serious. “Gentlemen, this is where it starts. The enemy has attacked our homeland, and this is when we start fighting back. Be careful, but be courageous. Let’s get in, and get back out as only SEALs know how to do. We go at dawn!”

Everyone in the room cheered, even the none-SEALs, who seemed to cheer the loudest.

But Adam didn’t cheer. Instead he firmed his jaw. Even though the 2G’s had not directly participated in the killing of his family, they were just as responsible as the Juireans. Killing some of them would be a good start.

Chapter Forty-Six

Adam felt secure with the M4A1 in his hands. Even though he had launched nearly a dozen hits during his short-lived career as an alien assassin, he had never felt truly comfortable with the rickety-feeling alien weapons he would carry. The MK’s seem to fire slow and deliver their bolts in an almost lackadaisical fashion. And the flash rifles had such a limited range that they were only useful because of their more rapid rate of fire and bolt capacity.

And then there was the
flash
itself. There was nothing subtle about a plasma bolt from a flash rifle or an MK. They not only made the air around them crackle, but the light from a bolt lit up the entire scene for half-a-klick in every direction. After all, they weren’t called
flash
rifles for nothing. Also, one could easily trace a bolt all the way back to its source with very little effort. And the last thing a covert shooter wanted was to advertise his presence to the enemy.

Now the M4 was another story. This was a real weapon, not a toy. Adam had the SOPMOD accessory kit attached, giving him an M203 grenade launcher, a KAC sound suppressor and a visible laser/infrared designator. It was a mean-looking weapon, and probably more than he needed going up against a force of untrained teenage 2G’s. But it had been such a long time that he had entered combat feeling truly outfitted…

Operated properly, the M4 could take out a target at 500 meters, and no one would hear the shot or know what direction it came from. And at one time, Adam Cain had been one of the deadliest men on the planet Earth with an M4A1 carbine rifle. Adam was anxious to get back in the field, and to test his mettle again.

The landing craft dropped to the planet’s surface on chemical drive and under the cover of darkness. It set down near where the pod had originally landed, and they all began the long, hot slog through the thick vegetation to the 2G base.

The lead SEALs, as well as the rear and perimeter lookouts all wore nightvision goggles, so the journey passed without incident. Soon they were at the base camp, and the SEALs quickly set about establishing the command post. All the team members were fitted with full combat gear, including Sherri, Riyad and the non-coverts, including wireless ear communications and video relays.

About two hours before sunrise, the three Teams set off for their entry points. Riyad’s team had the furthest to travel, but they would still reach their station easily an hour before the assault would begin.