Casserine (34 page)

“No thanks, but if you’re really going to miss me that much, I can have you stationed with me. Why don’t you come back and live on Casserine with us?” Jake asked, smiling.

“You have me stationed on Casserine, and I’ll have you fragged.”

Chapter 32 

Alien Engagement

Jake sat in front of his cabin monitor on board the Intrepid, waiting for the Commander of the Yorktown. Colonel Douglas Wilcox came into view a moment later, smiling at Jake. “Hello General, sorry to keep you waiting, I.”

“Don’t worry about it, Doug,” Jake smiled back. “I just wanted to know if everything is clear about what we’re doing tomorrow. You’ll be the only one, along with a few Command Wing Fighters, between the Alien Gate and Omaha. I have the Gallant between Omaha and Bougainville, just in case the Aliens have something I don’t know about.”

“I know you’re worried about being so thin on ships at your back,” Wilcox nodded, “but don’t be. If things turn upside down, we’ll have your escape covered.”

“I’m more worried about some of their ships wandering through the Gate while we’re gone. It could happen, because we’ll all be cloaked, and you can bet your ass there will be a force on the other side of the Gate. Their Gallant class ships carry thousands of crew, according to our Alien ally. I’ve promised him to try and disable the Alien fleet, protecting the Gate, without massacring them,” Jake told him for the first time.

“Shit, General,” Wilcox said, recovering from the shock. “I understand now why you’re sweating the details.”

Jake nodded his acknowledgement. “You have it right, Doug. I know it seems stupid, but as Binky pointed out, many of those crew members on the Alien Ship are related to the rebel party we’re backing in this planet take over. Any Alien ship running through the Gate must be destroyed when it reaches you. You have no constraints. We have the defenses built up on Omaha and Bougainville, but I don’t want them tested.”

“Permission to speak freely, Sir?”

“Go ahead, Doug.”

“I think you’re nuts to risk our ships to save these Alien crews,” Wilcox replied, “and I won’t have any trouble blowing the crap out of them if they come through the Gate.”

“That’s all I ask, Doug,” Jake agreed. “Don’t worry too much about it. At the first sign of a problem, I will wipe out the entire Alien race without hesitation, including vacuuming out the Alien force on our own ship into space.”

Wilcox laughed. “I feel better already, General. Good luck, Sir.”

“Thanks Doug, Colonel Peters and Major Corey will be in communication with you the whole way. Your Command Wing Fighters will be under your direct control as well as the Yorktown. Use them as your shock troops. I’m sorry we ran out of time to get your cloaking shield in, but General Richardson guarantees me your shielding will handle anything they have for weapons. Your Fighters will take them out long before they get to you anyway. I’m glad we have you out here with us, Doug.”

“See you later, General, Wilcox out.”

Mercer walked over, and handed Jake a mug, as he sat down next to him with his own. “Nice to have a guy like Colonel Wilcox on this side of the Gate. Don’t think I don’t know why you have him there either.”

“I trust Anton, and his actions helped us recruit our Alien landing force. I would be just as confident having the Gallant at the Gate,” Jake said, sipping his tea.

“You can try spinning that stuff on Jas or Sara, but don’t waste your time with it on me, partner,” Mercer retorted. “Colonel Stavros was under direct orders to obliterate any ship coming through the Gate. If they had been able to fire off a few bursts, they could have blown the Gallant’s fire control systems, leaving them helpless. We were testing the systems on the other side. He was to take no chances. You should have busted him down to Lieutenant for a bone head play like that.”

“Anton’s a good commander, Charlie,” Jake said quietly. “I talked to him in private. No one feels worse about it than he does. After reading our reports, he knew exactly what could have happened. Luckily, I found out a couple of things, without paying too high a price. One, Stavros acts a little too much on instinct in situations where he should follow orders without question. Two, Sara knew he screwed up the moment he did it. She would have hit the Aliens with everything she had when they came through. It worked out in the end, and did you see Doug’s face when he heard what I had planned?”

Mercer nodded, laughing and pointing his finger at Jake. “He was about to tell you what an idiot he thought you were.”

“He sure was,” Jake smiled. “He may be right too.”

“Hey, this is not the same as sitting on this side of the Gate with untested equipment, and taking chances with thousands of lives. I’m with you on this. Nick has us outfitted so we can do pretty much anything we want to do. Like you said, anything goes wrong, and we’ll pulverize the whole bunch. We’ll just go on like we planned at first, and Drop Ship down for our hostages.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, Charlie.”

“Uh oh.”

“I think you and I will take some of the boys down, and protect our people, while Binky takes care of business with the ruling enclave,” Jake outlined. “No use in putting all our bets on one horse.”

Mercer nodded. “And no use in worrying Binky’s little head about it either, right?”

“Exactly,” Jake acknowledged. “Jas and Sara can look out for Alien defenses, both in orbit and on the ground, with the other Drop Ships and Command Wings. You, Tim, and I can fly on over to the prisoners’ compound. We’ll hedge our bets with Alpha Drop Ship and a company of Marines. You haven’t jumped on me about my Earth colloquialisms, Charlie. What’s wrong, you give up?”

“I’m ignoring you,” Mercer replied, with a dismissing wave of his hand. “Sara said that would be more practical with a wussy boy like you.”

“She did not.”

“Maybe not in those exact words, but close enough,” Mercerinsisted.

“I’ll have you both busted for insubordination.”

“We’ll just tell your wife on you,” Mercer replied. “She’ll set you straight. We’ll rat you out so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

“That’s cold, Charlie,” Jake said, shaking his head sadly. “I thought you and I were like brothers.”

“I’m more like your brother-in-law,” Charlie instructed.

Jake walked up the boarding hatch of the Drop Ship loaded with five hundred Aliens, armed with pulse weapons, without an escort. Binky, in full battle gear, met him just inside the hatch. The Alien rebel force sat strapped into their Drop Ship seats, quietly checking over their gear. Jake took the Alien Commander’s proffered hand in his own.

“You did not have to come here, General,” Binky said, “but I am honored you did.”

“I just wanted to make sure your communications setup here in the loading bay was sufficient, and see if you had any questions before we go through the Gate,” Jake replied.

“I have tested them out with Colonel Peters, on the Bridge of the Intrepid,” Binky confirmed. “All is in readiness. Once you have disabled the ships on the other side of the Gate, I will broadcast to them your message to surrender or be destroyed. They will be told to stand down, as any movement will lead to instant death. Your weapons officer, Lieutenant Dougherty, has the precise layout of both classes of our warships. He knows exactly how to disable both weapons and propulsion systems.”

“Good,” Jake nodded. “Are you sure the plan you have for blocking any signals back to the home world will work?”

“I do not believe I have overlooked anything,” Binky replied, “but I cannot say for certain they have not changed the frequency of their communications. If you destroy their communications, I will be unable to enlist their help to stay quiet during our planned mission. They would warn the home world, just by their silence, and other ships would be sent to the Gate.”

“You realize why you have been loaded in here, and why the hatch will be closed and locked by the Drop Ship pilot?”

“Yes, General,” Binky answered. “We will be killed if my plans fall through.”

“No, Bink,” Jake shook his head. “You all will be killed if you try to interfere. We may not be able to talk the reception committee, on the other side of the Gate, into going along with us quietly, and they may have something rigged we don’t know about. If so, no chances will be taken by my Commanders. If your comrades get excited, your Drop Ship pilot is under my direct orders to fly you on out of here, and open the hatch in space. The inside of the loading bay here has been shielded. You cannot get into the turret section or the cockpit area. My people know their jobs, and will carry out your plan to the letter, or they will execute you all. The choice will be yours.”

“You are a brave man to come in here,” the Alien observed. “We could take you hostage, or kill you.”

Jake grinned menacingly. “My weapons officer has those pulse beam weapons rigged to blow if pointed at a human. As to taking me hostage, anytime, anywhere you feel lucky Bink. You would find out quickly I did not come to this juncture in the road without skills. You gave me your word, and I accepted it; but know this, you lay a hand on me, and I’ll carve you up so fast in this bay, your soldiers will think you were dropped in a meat grinder.”

“I suspected as much, General,” the Alien replied, his face contorting into their grotesque facsimile of a human smile. “It explains why no one seemed concerned after we were armed.”

“You have kept your word, or all of you would have already died,” Jake told him. “If even one weapon had been pointed at a human, with the subsequent result, all of you would have been killed instantly. I ain’t playing games with you, Bink. I am just as deadly serious about this operation as you are. Any questions?”

“No, General. I hope this works out, so we may be friends some time in the future.”

“I do too, Bink. Good luck.” Jake turned, and walked back out of the Drop Ship.

Just out of sight of the Drop Ship bay, Mercer and Dougherty waited with particle beam rifles at the ready. Jake cleared the hatch, and it closed behind him, as he gave orders to the pilot. Jake joined his two friends, who were shouldering their weapons. Mercer shook his head in exasperation, and sighed hugely, having listened to the entire exchange between Jake and the Alien they called Binky.

“Tell me again why you couldn’t do that over the intercom,” Mercersaid.

“I like stuff as serious as this to be face to face,” Jake answered. “I get the feeling Bink believes we have done everything possible to prevent loss of life, and even if we have to destroy the ships at the Gate, he will still lead this operation.”

“Knowing you only have the option of doing so, or space walking without a suit probably has a lot to do with it, Sir” Dougherty observed.

“I don’t think that’s the only reason, Tim. Facing extinction might have more to do with it. He won’t like it if thousands die at the Gate, but the alternative is we will go get our people, and wipe his race from existence. Lieutenant Colby knows what to do if Binky’s force gets frisky, and then it won’t matter what Bink thinks. Colby calls his own shots on when and if to vacuum out the loading bay.”

“That boy Colby’s a little young for this gig, Jake” Mercer opined.

“He piloted the Alpha Drop Ship on the botched Earth Command mission, when the Bugs wiped out the command party,” Jake replied. “He sealed the hatch in time to keep most everyone alive. That took guts, and instant decision making skills. Major Kitchner, and all his men would have been dead, but for Colby’s quick action.”

“I guess you do have the right man for the job after all,” Mercer allowed.

“What do you have in mind for our side mission, Sir,” Dougherty asked, as they walked towards the Alpha Drop Ship.

“We know they only have a perimeter defense at night, which corresponds with Binky’s mission. Bink says they only guard the factory and supply depots in the complex at night. We’ll take out the perimeter defenses first, and drop our own MAG50 nests on the walls. Next, we’ll land the rest of us in on the living quarters part of the complex, and fan out. We’ll get the people ready to go in case we have to land a few more Drop Ships to take them out in a hurry. Alpha will patrol, and you’ll kill anything moving that ain’t human, Tim.”

“You driving, Jake,” Mercer asked.

“Are you kidding,” Jake laughed. “I ain’t that proficient. Tim has to have a steadier hand at the controls to be as deadly as I know he can be. Sara already let me know we either take her on as the driver, or she’ll tell on me.”

Both Mercer and Dougherty laughed out loud at Jake’s reference to their inner circle joke.

Mercer clapped his hand on Jake’s shoulder as they neared Alpha Drop Ship. “You do have a sense of humor, General. How does Colonel Peters feel about going through this mission without an Executive Officer?”

“He’d tell me if he had a problem with it. It was all I could do to convince him I needed him on the bridge of the Intrepid. He wanted to fly a Command Wing Fighter. Jas realizes how tight we’ll have to be on coordination during this operation. Our fighters will have to disable their fleet in orbit, and patrol for late arrivals, while the Intrepid stands ready to assist even on the surface.”

“There’s Sara,” Dougherty pointed out, as they saw her walk out of the loading bay, talking to Lieutenant Mendez, who would be acting as

Mercer’s second in command of the nearly regimental strength Marine detachment they were taking on the operation.

The two turned and saluted formally as Jake, Mercer, and Dougherty walked up. “We’re all loaded, Sir,” Sara informed Jake.