Hunt for the Saiph (The Saiph Series Book 3) (19 page)

"Cruiser Squadron 1.2.2 assumes a blocking position beyond the weapons range of the Deres ship currently in orbit, with orders to halt the progress of the advancing Deres fleet that undoubtedly plans to reinforce Marshall Poll. If we can deny him reinforcements, then it at least gives you the chance to reach a negotiated settlement and the release of the hostages."

"Do we have any idea of the intentions of the remainder of the Deres fleet, Senior Force Leader? Are they making any aggressive moves?" Minister Yalus of Garunda asked.

"Commodore Mkhize's surveillance drones are picking up contradictory orders coming from multiple sources. It is our assessment that following the destruction of the House of the People and the death of Commissioner Malas and most of the Deputies, no one is quite sure who is in charge. Units loyal to the marshall are moving to secure key points, while those units which may remain loyal to the elected government are either fighting piecemeal or are sitting out the fight to see who comes out on top. To be honest, Minister I can't really blame them."

"And where are the Nilmerg in all of this?" The question came from the newest member of the Council, Tracy LeBlanc, representing Janus.

"Ambassador Isa is currently on Nilmerg, preparing for the upcoming peace talks. She reports the Nilmerg have increased their readiness state but are waiting to see if the Commonwealth will stand by its position as guarantor of the current ceasefire before taking any independent action."

The holographic Persai face of Minister Tovana leaned closer into the pickup. "As the humans would say, ‘the ball is in our court’. Assuming we prevent the marshall's forces from linking up, what do you believe our chances are of securing a peaceful outcome, Senior Force Leader?"

"You have all seen the same video recording I have. I believe the marshall is sincere in his statement that if we interfere in any way, then he will begin executing the hostages."

To one side of the holo cube in her office was a still image of the smiling face of Marshall Poll, holding a pistol to the head of Director Boone as he transmitted his demands to the Commonwealth cruisers. Poll had given the Commonwealth until his fleet arrived in orbit around Planet IV to leave the system or he would begin executing his hostages.

"Are you saying we have no choice but to initiate a rescue attempt?"

Tolas hesitated before answering but when it came his voice was firm. "I do not see how we have a choice, Madam President. If we wait and call the marshall's bluff, then I believe the next video recording we receive from him will be one showing us a dead hostage and any window of opportunity to launch a rescue mission will have gone."

"How long until the Deres fleet reaches our cruisers?"

"At the current rate of advance, we can expect contact in a little under seven hours, Madam President."

The room lapsed into an uneasy silence as Rebecca looked from one holographic face to another until her eyes finally came to rest on the image of Sarah Boone. If she did nothing, then there was the chance the marshall would do nothing but... Rebecca stared at the image for another few moments and the look in the marshall's eyes was enough to convince her he was a man who could not be reasoned with. Time to throw the dice and hope your luck held.

"Ministers. It is the recommendation of Earth’s government that you authorize the Senior Force Leader to use any and all force necessary to secure the release of the hostages and to enforce the provisions of the peace treaty of which the Commonwealth is the guarantor."

As it was Garunda's turn to chair the Commonwealth Council, it fell to Minister Yalus to take the next step. "I think we can all agree time is of the essence, so I call for a vote. The question before us is, do we authorize the Commonwealth forces to take steps to secure the release of the hostages, regain control of the joint base on Planet IV, and prevent any further Deres aggression? How say you, Minister Tolas?"

"Pars says aye."

"Minister Weinberg?"

The senior civil servant, having already heard what his president had to say on the matter, knew his vote was a mere formality. "Earth says aye."

"Minister Wakk?"

For the first time, the Benii were being asked as full members of the CUOP for their opinion and Rebecca noted Minister Wakk had chosen to remain silent during the briefing, so it was anyone’s guess which way they would vote.

"Benii says aye."

"Minister LeBlanc?"

"Janus says aye."

"As the representative of Garunda, I vote aye. The vote is unanimous. Senior Force Leader Tolas, under Article 52.4 sub-paragraph six of the Commonwealth Union of Planets Charter, the Council authorizes the deployment of such forces as the Combined Joint Chiefs feel necessary to secure the release of the hostages and to regain control of the joint base on Planet IV and to prevent any further Deres aggression. The authority shall remain in place until such time as this decision is either endorsed or revoked by the respective heads of state of the Commonwealth Union of Planets."

Tolas let out a gruff "Thank you, Ministers. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get to work." The link to Central Command terminated and with a nod to the Council ministers, Rebecca terminated her link to them. Alone in her office, Rebecca stared at the last remaining image in the holo cube. A smiling Marshall Poll holding his pistol to the head of Sarah Boone.
Keep smiling Marshall, but we're coming for you!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Sound of Thunder

ZARMINA - 20.3 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH

The noise of hundreds of voices in the auditorium struck Brigadier General Vladimir Egnorov like a wave as he entered through a side door. Waiting for him was his Second in Command, Colonel Andreas Kendale. The German gave a curt nod to the Regimental Sergeant Major standing at the side of the auditorium’s stage. The RSM brought himself to attention and raised his not-inconsiderable voice to ensure he was heard.

"Regiment! Regiment attention!"

The sound of 300 pairs of feet slamming into the floor threatened to bring the walls down as the massed troopers of special operations unit Thunder came to attention. Accompanied by Andreas, Vladimir made his way to the center of the stage. Halting, he let his gaze take in the massed ranks before releasing them from the position of attention.

"Please be seated, ladies and gentlemen."

Giving the troopers a few seconds to settle themselves, Vladimir looked over at the RSM who complied with the unspoken order and sent troopers from Thunder’s intelligence shop scurrying throughout the auditorium, delivering PADs to the gathered officers and senior noncoms.

"Troopers. Thunder has received orders to immediately deploy to Planet IV of 23 Librae system, where approximately 125 hostages are being held by a force of Deres numbering approximately a battalion’s-worth in strength. The PADs being handed out contain the most up-to-date intelligence we have. This intelligence is being updated as and when new information comes in from the cruiser squadron on station in the system. The hostages are being held by soldiers under the direct command of Marshall Poll, commander of the Deres space forces. There are also reports that naval units believed to support the marshall have carried out a missile strike on the Deres capital city, killing the Deres Commissioner and all of the civilian representatives. These naval units are now en-route to Planet IV and will arrive in under six hours."

From the audience came a few muttered oaths and some not-so muttered. The troopers in the auditorium were considered the toughest the Commonwealth had to offer, but even they balked at the callousness it took to carry out a missile strike on a civilian target. Privately, Egnorov shared his troopers’ sense of disgust, but he had a job to do and time was short.

"Time is against us, so this will not be the well-planned, well-practiced, small-unit operation we are used to. This will be a maximum effort. We are going to rely on stealth, surprise, and the natural aggressiveness of the Thunder trooper."

That got a few "Oo-rahs" from the audience and Egnorov smiled proudly at his troopers’ confidence.

"The PADs you have also contain combat team orbats and load outs. Everything else we'll work out on the fly. Admiral Glandinning has given permission for us to use some of the new toys I know some of you have been drooling over. We fold out in two hours. Senior non coms, go and get your boys and girls moving. Officers, stay put. Colonel Kendale and I want to go over the outline plan with you and get your thoughts. Let’s go get our people back! Dismissed!"

Thunder was on the move.

#

PLANET IV - 23 LIBRAE SYSTEM - 83.7 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH

The muzzle of Vladimir Egnorov's plasma rifle slid snake-like through the tall grass and came to a stop just as it cleared the last stalk, enough to allow the passive optical sight mounted on it to give him a clear view of the flat plain below and the clear plasteel dome housing the captured base. So far, the operation was going like clockwork. The two specially modified Excalibur-class assault ships the navy put at Egnorov’s disposal to carry his Thunder troopers to 23 Librae system had worked as advertised. For months, the scientists and engineers on Zarmina had been redesigning and reengineering the Excaliburs to tailor them to Thunder’s specific requirements. The ability to insert a large force of troopers and all their equipment into a target and get back out without being detected. The Excaliburs reentered normal space on the opposite side of the planet from the base and the Buffalo troop shuttles ferried his troopers from low orbit and flew below the radar horizon of the base until they reached Egnorov’s chosen landing zone in a valley only eleven kilometers from the target. There had been no sign of the Deres ship in orbit above the base having detected the Buffalos approach, no doubt due once more to the inventiveness of the Zarmina research teams, who had added a few tweaks of their own concoction to the standard Chameleon stealth units integrated into the Buffalos.

On arrival at the landing zone, the Buffalos powered down every nonessential system to reduce any chance of detection while the Thunder troopers disembarked and formed up, ready for the approach march to the objective. The Wraith suits worn by the troopers adapted to the environment around them, and within moments each trooper disappeared like a ghost into the misty rain that was beginning to fall, their individual footsteps muffled by the damp ground. Without the aid of his suit’s sensors, Egnorov would never have been able to tell that he was surrounded by 300 of the best soldiers the Commonwealth had to offer.

Back to business. It appeared Andreas’ interpretation of the thermal scans was correct. Evenly spaced around the perimeter of the dome were Deres weapons emplacements reinforced by earth works and sporting a heavy machine gun and infantry section. By the main airlock, guarded by yet another weapons emplacement, were four shuttles, their crews milling around the rear loading ramps. Hanging from each of the sharply raked wings was a weapons’ pylon with six evil-looking missiles. At either side of the cockpit windows was an ovoid protrusion with a hole pointing forward. If Egnorov was to make an educated guess, each of those protrusions was rapid-fire cannon of some sort. The navy's thermal scans had shown six of these shuttles in use by the Deres, so where the hell were the other two? In answer to his silent question, his suit’s external pick-up brought him the sound of rapidly approaching turbo fans. Seconds later, two Deres shuttles screamed low over the long grass concealing his position, and banked sharply. One shuttle continued its turn, gaining height, and began a long, lazy circling of the base. The second shuttle’s nose dipped as its pilots brought it to a hover before slowly descending to touch down a short distance from the other, already-grounded shuttles. As the engine noise died, Egnorov saw a group of soldiers rushing forward under a cajoling officer who quickly formed them into a perfectly straight line. The rear ramp lowered and barely had a chance to touch the wet ground before a large Deres was out, his head scanning left and right like a bird of prey searching for its next victim.
Bodyguard!
Egnorov thought. Somebody important must be on the shuttle. Seemingly satisfied, the Deres stepped to one side and a second figure descended the ramp at a more sedate pace. The waiting soldiers sprang to attention and presented arms. With a dismissive wave that passed for a salute, the senior officer strolled past the assembled soldiers and, accompanied by the bodyguard and the officer from the arrival party, he headed for the airlock leading into the base. Egnorov tracked their progress through his weapon’s sight until he lost sight of the small party as they entered the airlock. The double tone in his ear bug focused his attention onto his suit’s heads-up display. Andreas was signaling that all the assault teams were in position. In the top-left corner of the display, the numbers of the countdown clock marched on remorselessly. Twenty minutes until the approaching Deres fleet were within weapons range of the Commonwealth cruiser squadron. If the Deres were still in control of the base and its hostages when the clock reached zero, then Commodore Mkhize would be forced to withdraw and the Deres would have won. Thunder and Egnorov were here to ensure this did not happen. With a final check on his troopers’ positions, Egnorov activated his suit’s link.

"All Thunder units, this is Egnorov. Strike! Strike! Strike!"

In a split-second, all hell broke loose. This was no silent assault. Thunder was coming in noisy. Each of the Deres weapons emplacements had its own dedicated Thunder fire team assigned to it. At Egnorov's order, the emplacements fell under plasma rifle fire from the concealed troopers. The boiling plasma cut through the earthen defenses as though they were nonexistent. The Deres soldiers staffing them were given no chance to react before the hail of incoming fire cut them down. However, Egnorov was taking no chances, and a volley of High Velocity Missiles streaked forward. The HVMs pummeled the emplacements to dust.

From the high ground above the shuttle landing area came more withering plasma-rifle fire targeted at the hapless shuttle crew. They died where they stood. The circling shuttle didn't have to wait long to share the same fate as its grounded comrades. Egnorov had no way of knowing how many of the Deres shuttles would be airborne when he began his assault, so in the tradition of more is better than less, his plan called for two anti-air teams per shuttle. With only the one shuttle in the air as the assault launched, all twelve teams turned their missiles onto the sole remaining air threat. Team three would later claim to have downed the shuttle, but with twelve missiles accelerating past Mach three in the few seconds the shuttle had to react, no one would ever know. What Egnorov did know was that the ear-shattering explosion and ball of flame and falling wreckage meant that the Deres air threat was dealt with.

With the perimeter defenses down, the dome assault teams moved up. The assault teams were not going to waste time cycling through the dome’s airlock. Instead, they made their own doors. Troopers carrying frame charges placed them against the plasteel dome walls and stepped back out of the shaped charges blast area. With muffled bangs, Thunder blew eight large holes in the dome and the troopers went pouring through, ignoring the air escaping from the dome as nature fought to equalize the pressure differential. Assault teams headed for their assigned objectives.

"Let’s go, RSM." Egnorov cried over his link. Eager to join the assault, he stood and headed for the nearest breach, trailed by the RSM and the two other troopers making up his escort. The Wraith suit’s powerful artificial muscles pushed him along at forty kilometers an hour. Reaching the breach, the heavy, armored hand of the RSM on his shoulder momentarily restrained Egnorov as he bent to enter the gloom.

"Ladies first, sir, if you don't mind," said Sergeant Nesy Preuss as she pushed through the breach, rifle up and hunting for anything even resembling a possible threat to her boss. "Clear!"

Egnorov stepped through the shattered plasteel with the RSM and Staff Sergeant Semple at his heels. The sight that greeted Egnorov was one of cold, clinical death. Scattered around the breach lay dozens of Deres soldiers. The Thunder troopers’ orders were simple and explicit. Every Deres in uniform was to be treated as a combatant and was to be neutralized with extreme prejudice. The sight of so many dead Deres was testament to those orders. Egnorov didn't give his order a second thought. This was combat and his mission was the safety of the hostages first. Over the open command link, he heard the call he was waiting for.

"Red Team. Building Four secure. Two X-Rays dead. Five Yankees alive and well."

Egnorov let out a silent
yes
! Building Four was the power station. X-Rays were enemy soldiers and Yankees were hostages. Red Team’s success was quickly followed by more as the Thunder troopers spread out over the base.

"Blue Team. Building Seven secure. Five X-Rays dead. Four Yankees alive and well." That would be the medical center and its staff.

"Yellow Team. Building Two secure. Four X-Rays dead. Thirty-eight Yankees alive and well." Egnorov said a silent
thank you
to God. Yellow Team’s objective was the main mess hall and the naval data had shown it to hold the largest concentration of thermal signatures, leading Egnorov and his planners to believe this was where the majority of the hostages were being held. The message from Yellow Team confirmed this.

"Green Team. Building Six secure. One X-Ray dead. Fifteen Novembers alive and well." November was the designation which had been given to the Deres scientific party that has been working on the base when the Deres soldiers overran it. Fifteen would account for all but one of them.

"White Team. Building Five secure. Two X-Rays dead." That would be the entrance to the elevator shaft leading down to the cavern holding the Saiph library five kilometers below them.

"Orange Team. Building Three secure." The supply building. Egnorov was not expecting it to be guarded as it held nothing of any value, but a team was assigned to it in case any Deres soldiers had decided to hole up in it.

With only one building left, Egnorov did a quick head count. By his math, he was short two Yankees and one November. The echoing sound of automatic weapons fire told him where he was likely to find them.

"OK, RSM, sounds like Black Team is having some trouble getting into the Operations Building. Let’s head over there and see if we can give them a hand, shall we?"

Egnorov was sure he heard the RSM use a derogatory term regarding officers over the open link before his mind switched gears and he raced for the sound of the gunfire. Sliding to a halt at the corner of the mess hall, he decided it would be better to use the optics mounted on his rifle to see around the corner, rather than stick his head out. Pushing the muzzle of the weapon around the building’s edge, his HUD gave him a clear view of what awaited him. Deres soldiers firing from the top floor of the two-story Operations Building pinned down the majority of Black Team. A small number of team members were trying to infiltrate the flanks of the building, but every time they exposed themselves, they were forced back by the sheer weight of fire. Egnorov zoomed in on the ground floor windows and he was able to make out the unmistakable shapes of armed Deres, waiting patiently to fire on anyone attempting to approach from this side. Egnorov estimated that the Deres had maybe a twenty-meter clear field of fire around the entire Operations Building. Yeah, if he were going to hole up anywhere, then this would be the place. A movement in the HUD and a split-second later the corner of the building Egnorov was sheltering behind began taking fire. Back-pedaling away from the hail of fire, Egnorov weighed up his options. With the rest of the base secure, he could just wait out the Deres who were holed up in the Operations Building. It wasn’t as if they could go anywhere. On the other hand, they still had two hostages and one noncombatant in there. What if they decided to execute the hostages as they previously threatened to do? The countdown clock in the HUD was down to seven minutes. Seven minutes separated the success of the mission from failure. No, the building had to be taken.