Casserine (48 page)

“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 replied. “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 good 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.”

“Great idea, Charlie,” Jake nodded. “Jas, you and Sara will have to work on the communications angle. They must have some kind of signal the others missed when they recorded everything. The detail’s there, but there has to be some kind of encoded signal getting through to their buddies holding the transport. We will have to have split second coordination between me, Alpha, and the Intrepid, to block and emulate their safe signal while we locate them. I have no doubt Charlie will find out where the transport is if we can get Hushanni alive.”

“We’ve packed up what’s ours from the Passallion operation, General,” Peters said. “We can leave for the new gate whenever you wish.”

“I’ll have a talk with Doug, and then let’s get underway. The Governor thinks we have time, but I’d rather be in position as early as we can get there. If Charlie and Tim don’t mind, maybe we can do a final test right on Casserine.”

“Count me in,” Mercer replied. “Maybe Tim and I can prove to you we can be of help in the grav suits.”

“I’ll be glad to do it, Jake,” Dougherty added. “We’ll be on board Alpha backing you up during the mission though, once Han Solo here finds out just how useless he’ll be in a grav suit.”

Jake switched his night vision on, and left the cave to return to Alpha Drop Ship. Everything had been in the same place as the last time he had been there with Adrian. After making some tea from his supplies, Jake set up a communications relay outside the cave, in a direct line with the storage area. It was the third relay he had set up, leaving the one outside the cave for last. They now had triangulated the relays, for both scanning purposes, and communications.

“How’s that, Sara?”

“Oh Jake, we’ve got them good,” Corey answered. “I can tell when each one of them takes even a step. Tim’s isolating each of their auras, as he calls them, both in the storage area, and on their ship. He’ll know their names in a few more minutes.”

“I only care about one name: Hushanni,” Jake replied.

“I’ve got him zeroed, Jake,” Tim chimed in.

“Outstanding, how’s Charlie feeling?”

“He’s okay,” Tim laughed. “You warned him about taking off the grav suit out there, and I had already explained the suits would not work once they’re opened up. Charlie knew he wouldn’t be able to just seal it up without getting back into normal gravity. He told me the most embarrassing part was being carried back to Alpha like a grain sack.”

“No big deal,” Jake replied. “It gave me a workout, and our trial run helped a lot. If the suit frustrated Charlie enough for him to take it off out here, you can bet those guards ain’t thrilled about them either.”

“I never knew you were near me until you let me know, Jake,” Tim said. “Those boys in the storage area will never know what hit them.”

“Hey Jake, how’re you doing,” Mercer came on line.

“Fine, Charlie, the relays are all set. Tim says you’re doing okaytoo.”

“I’m alright,” Mercer said sheepishly. “Sorry about pulling that stunt out there.”

“You probably wouldn’t have believed me otherwise,” Jake replied. “Tim will need your help in there to isolate signals, and keep watch over their main ship. I don’t want Jas to chance doing much out in orbit. They’ll be scanning out there constantly, and if they pick up anything from the Intrepid, we’ll all be in trouble. You’ll be a lot more use to me on Alpha, than plodding around out here. If the variation you and Tim made up, using Mr. Snappy’s design, works as well as it did on the ship, I’ll have it made. You’re sure it will work right through the suit though, right?”

“Jake, when that dart hits the outside of their suit, it will be the last thing they ever know,” Mercer said with obvious pride in his voice. “I don’t know why I never thought of working on it before.”

“Make sure you don’t touch them for at least a minute, Jake,” Dougherty cautioned. “This ain’t no attitude adjustment jolt. That dart only does one thing: it kills. The residual will still be active on the suit, so you want to wait until it dissipates. It fries their suit com units too. You’ll be able to instantly set up the smaller relay in their spot. Charlie and I will take over from there.”

“I’ll be on with you every step, Jake,” Corey added. ‘Your vid unit is working great, even in that gravity. If anybody moves somewhere they’re not supposed to, you’ll know about it. How do you plan to set up the containment fields for the explosives?”

“I don’t know yet, Sara,” Jake admitted. “I’ll have to do a recon first. Thanks to you guys, I know right where they have them placed; but I’ll still have to see them, so I can tell how I will have to proceed.”

“At least they were as lazy as you originally thought,” Dougherty said. “They don’t even have motion detectors for you to worry about.”

“Well, I better get going. Let’s keep silence on the line unless something unforeseen comes up. Just give me a quick acknowledgement as I set up each relay.”

“Will do, Jake,” Corey replied for all of them. “Good luck.”

“If I’m right, luck won’t have anything to do with it.”

Jake shouldered the MAG50 he and Adrian kept in the cave, along with his particle beam rifle. He checked the makeshift holster at his side, where he kept the redesigned sidearm. The hand blaster discharged a small blunt dart with multiple needles covering the nose of the projectile. Inside each dart, connected to the needles on the nose by a microscopic circuit board, was a small carbon copy of what worked Mercer’s neuralizer, called Mr. Snappy. Although much smaller, each dart had ten times the amplitude of the original torture device. The toned down pulse blast, which acted as the force behind the dart, was accurate up to twenty feet. Jake had no intention of firing it from more than half that distance.