Legend of Oria 1: Initial Contact (38 page)

Lee and Miki had no idea of what they were facing.  They came to take on the Creytes with the best SWAT technology that the State of West Virginia could provide.  It was no match for Creyte hand weaponry.  Retilia ordered Durinea to fire on the two teams, annihilating the two teams in a series of large explosions.

Carlos listened in on the SWAT radio frequency through their last moments of life.  When the signals went dead, Carlos knew that the State’s best had encountered the same fate as had Larson and his deputies.  Deputy Chief Lewis listened in to the SWAT frequency with Carlos.  He wanted to be on hand if anything happened.  What he did not expect to hear was the destruction West Virginia’s two best SWAT teams.  Lewis knew that it was time to escalate this situation up to the U.S. Military.  A move he did not want to make, because of the alleged attack by the U.S. Military on a local West Virginia sheriff office.

4:30 PM:  Pentagon - Martello discovers Helen/Creyte connection

Martello managed to evade the MP sweep of the Laser Watch team.  He had many connections within the various Pentagon security teams and managed to get an advance warning.  Unfortunately, he did not get the warning in time to save Bronson.  Martello knew that technically, the MP’s wanted him too.  He also knew that for some reason, they would be unable to find him conducting research inside of the security office.  Of course, the Sergeant that let him into the security office somehow didn’t connect Martello to the same Martello on the arrest warrant.  The Sergeant greeted him as he always greeted him and asked Martello if knew of any other Martello’s that worked at the Pentagon.

Martello didn’t have much time to get to the core of Helen Marshall and the Creytes.  His friends couldn’t play this game forever.  Martello decided
to cash in on one of his White House connections.  He suspected that if dirt existed on Helen, Ratherson would have it.  Sure enough, when his friend downloaded and emailed him an encrypted copy of Helen’s file, it contained juicy dirt on Helen’s sordid past.

Unfortunately, the details of Helen’s file weren’t sufficient to nail her.  Martello needed to find a connection between the information in the White House files, Helen, and the Creytes.  He started to pull up newspaper articles and some internal reports on the White House break-in.  A smile broke across his face as he read that a White House Database Manager and the IT Security Manager died shortly after the break-in.  Interestingly the deaths had linkages to acts of cannibalism.  Martello wasn’t sure what this meant.  However, he knew that he was onto something.  He just didn’t know what.

Martello sat back in his chair trying to think through the various bits of information.  A news report coming across the Pentagon monitors caught his attention.  He saw several pictures of creatures.  Martello immediately recognized Retilia.  They were Creytes!  Next, he watched several pictures of the Creytes eating people.  That was it!  Retilia must have led the White House break-in.  That explained the ability of Retilia to control Helen, and connected the Creytes to the White House database.  Martello was so excited about his discovery that he almost overlooked the fact that the West Virginia Police were in a war with the Creytes and losing big time!

6:30 PM: Pentagon - SECDEF’s office

Martello wasted no time after his discovery.  He wormed his way into the detention center holding Bronson.  After several minutes of intense conversation with the MP in charge, the MP finally agreed to let Martello talk to Bronson.

Bronson saw MPs leading Martello down the corridor.  He was in a foul mood having spent the entire day in jail.  He spoke to no one all day, not even an attorney.  Helen Marshal saw to it that that Bronson spoke to no one by declaring any conversation with Bronson a National Security risk.  Of course, Martello knew his way around this constraint.

Martello stopped just outside of Bronson’s cell and faced him.  “Hello, General.  I’ve been working to get you out of there.  I think I’ve discovered something.”

Bronson knew better than to ask Martello how he was able to avoid arrest and was able to acquire this opportunity to speak with him.  It was
best not to discuss some things.  “Captain, by all means enlighten me on your discovery.  I certainly would like to get out of here.”

“General, I think the Creytes are blackmailing Helen into her position.  I have evidence that the Creytes broke into the White House database.  They were able to obtain the sordid past of Helen Marshal.  In addition, it appears that the Creytes were seen earlier today eating people in West Virginia.  There is a battle going on between the West Virginia Police and a Creyte stronghold.  West Virginia has just requested the U.S. Military to assist them.  The Creytes are the bad guys, not Oria.”

Bronson smiled.  “Excellent work Martello, who else knows?”

“No one yet General.  I’d like to get us together with the SECDEF and explain the situation.  Unfortunately, Helen has him pretty tied up.  I have a plan for that though.”

Bronson chuckled.  “I bet you do Captain.  You know where to find me.”

“Yes General.  I’ll be back.”

Martello headed out of the small detention center.  His next stop was the Pentagon situation room.  From the situation room it should be easier to get Wilson’s attention.

John Wilson was in a heated discussion with Helen Marshal when the situation room alarm in his office went off.  He broke off the conversation with Helen and headed directly to the situation room.

Wilson was livid when he saw Martello standing in front of him and not detained like the rest of the Laser Watch team.  “Captain Martello, what are you doing here?  I’m going to get to the bottom of this.  You and everyone who helped you will pay.”

Martello replied in an equally strong voice.  “Sir, please grant me one minute.  If what I tell you is unacceptable, I will willingly cooperate with whatever punishment you want to send my way.”

Wilson never wanted to arrest the Laser Watch team in the first place.  Therefore, it was easy to grant this one request.  “Captain, you have exactly one minute.”

“Sir, the State of West Virginia is at war with a Creyte stronghold as we speak.  Earlier today the Creytes were discovered eating some campers.”

Wilson’s anger turned to shock.  “This doesn’t make sense.  I’ve had several conversations with Commander Retilia today.  There doesn’t appear to be any conflicts.”

“I can’t explain that, Mr. Wilson.  However, I can explain why Helen Marshal is so supportive of the Creytes.  The Creytes are blackmailing her.  They are the ones who broke into the White House database. That database contains dirt on Helen.  They are using it to blackmail her.  Further, check the news consoles here and you will see the battle raging in West Virginia.  I’m surprised no one told you.  West Virginia is requesting DOD to assist
them in destroying the Creytes.”

Wilson abruptly broke away from Martello and headed to one of the news consoles.  He was horrified at the reports.  One of the officers working the console showed Wilson several photos of the Creytes eating humans.  One of them clearly was Retilia.  Wilson turned to the duty officer and ordered him to pass the word down to the MP’s to have Bronson, Sloan, and their teams meet with him in his office immediately.  He also ordered the officer to send several MP’s and place Helen Marshal under arrest.  He would deal with Ratherson later.

12 AM: Army Special Ops Called In

It seemed like a lifetime to Bronson since he left the White House with Wilson and Sloan.  At first, Ratherson was angry with Wilson for freeing Sloan and himself.  However, his mood quickly changed when he saw some of the latest newscasts and the research package assembled by Martello.   Ratherson actually became quite docile.  Bronson had never seen him that quiet before.  It was clear they needed to take action against the Creytes.  Ratherson essentially gave Bronson and Sloan a blank check and ordered them to do whatever it takes.

Bronson and Sloan worked many hours considering various alternatives to take on the Creytes.  They called in many of the Pentagon’s top strategists and scientists before settling on a plan that required the Azortec laser technology as developed by GeoTechnology.  Microbot-swarms would supplement the laser weapon systems.  Bronson would work with GeoTechnology to outfit Air Force fighters and a STAR Hawks space shuttle with the new laser systems.  Sloan would organize a Special Forces unit and the microbot-swarms.

Bronson knew that he was on a tight time line with no time to waste.  Once they settled on a strategy, Bronson immediately called his friend, Peter Franklin, to get GeoTechnology working on building and installing laser systems.

Peter Franklin was in a deep sleep when his phone rang.  When he answered the phone, he was only somewhat surprised to hear Bronson’s voice.  “Hello Stewart, What’s up?”

“Peter, we need your help.  The Creytes are successfully blocking all our attacks from the police special response units.  Since they have much of the same types of technology that we possess, we don’t believe our Special Forces will have a different result, that is, without a new edge.”

Franklin’s mind was quickly waking up and racing through areas where he thought that he could be assistance.  “I agree.  We’re working on a lot of projects at GeoTechnology.  Which one did you have in mind?”

“Peter, we need the laser system you’re working on.  I want to mount them under F-35’s and a larger one in one of our space shuttles.  They must be operational by tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning!” shouted Peter into the handset.  ‘Stewart, you’re asking a lot!”

“I know Peter.  We’re running out of precious time here.  These Creytes have to be stopped, and quite frankly, our current firepower won’t make an impact without those lasers.”

“We’ll get right on it.  Is it safe to presume that Colonels Henley and Johnson are our contacts?”

“Yes, they will be coordinating our efforts.  Johnson will handle the F-35’s and Henley the STAR Hawk shuttles.  If you run into any problems, and I mean ANY problems, call me immediately.”

“Then let me get started Stewart.  It will probably take several hours to contact my team and get them going.”

Bronson had already anticipated this issue.  “Johnson is working on that now.  Air Force helicopters are already in route to pick up your team.  We have fighter transports on call to fly any necessary personnel to Florida.  This is a top priority, straight from Ratherson himself.  We have no choice!”

Franklin felt shocked by the extent and speed that Bronson wanted to proceed.  “Stewart, what’s going on?  This sounds extreme.”

Bronson sensing the concern in his friend’s voice responded.  “Peter, we are in a very dangerous situation.  What you may have seen on TV is only part of the story.  Now that they know we are onto them, we fear that they will act quickly against us.”

Peter took a deep breath before speaking next.  “We may need more than those lasers.  They probably can easily take out our F-35’s.”

“You may be right.  What else do you have in mind?”

“Stewart, do you remember the Army’s microbot?”

“Of course, I’m thinking about using them as well.  However, I didn’t think they had any offensive capabilities.”

“They don’t officially.  Unofficially, that’s a different story.”

The General snorted, “There are always multiple stories with you.”

Franklin ignored Bronson’s last remark.  “Stewart, we have adopted a micro version of some Oria’s laser technology to the microbots.  Imagine a swarm of thousands of these microbots, each with the explosive engine that drives Oria’s laser technology.  They can be controlled from a central command center and used to launch a swarm of micro-bombs at the enemy.”

“Impressive.  Where are we going to get thousands of microbots complete with explosive devices?”

“We already have a prototype swarm.   I suggest we use it in combination with the F-35s.  The swarms can start the initial attack distracting the Creytes.  The F-35s with much larger and more powerful lasers can deliver the knock-out blow.”

“Good let’s do it. Although, I’m not sure we will sequence the attack as you suggest.  Keep me apprised of anything that starts to slip through the cracks.  I’d like to hear from you every 30 minutes until we get things under control.”

1 AM:  STAR Hawks Team Activated

Bob Jackson and his latest girlfriend, Carol, had just arrived at his apartment when a rude chirp from his wireless phone broke the otherwise romantic mood.  Bob angrily grabbed the device and examined the display to see who was bothering him at this late hour.  It was an alert from Bronson himself.  Bob gave Carol a quick kiss and grabbed his wireless PDA.  On the screen was a message telling him that STAR Hawks had just been place on DEFCON 1.  He stared at the screen and couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Bob, what’s up?”

“I can’t believe it.  It’s work!  I have to go.”

“Go? We just got here.  Bob, you promised me.”

“I know Carol.  I don’t have a choice.  You know what my job is.”

“Yes.  I know others in the Air Force.  They can always put things off for a little bit.”

“Carol I don’t have time to argue this.  Something bad is going down.  I have to go, and I have to go now.  I’m sorry.  I will make it up to you.”

“We’ll see.”

Bob grabbed his duty bag and headed towards the apartment elevator with Carol close in tow.  She argued with him the entire distance of the hallway and during their trip down the elevator.  Her appeals had no impact on Bob.  Bob knew he had no choice.

When Bob pulled up to the base gates, he noted the increased security.  It was a short drive from the gates to the hangers and the buildings housing the STAR Hawks operations and its shuttles.  Bob felt a rush of adrenalin pulse through his body as he pulled into the already full parking lot.  In front, he saw one of the bay doors to the hanger open and a small army of mechanics and service technicians gathered around his shuttle.  Bob knew some sort of mission was up.  Maybe there was some news on Karen and her missing shuttle.

The loud roar of a fighter engine interrupted his thoughts.  An F-35 had just landed and was heading straight for the STAR Hawks hanger.  Bob quickened his gait as he walked across the parking lot.  He didn’t want to
appear too anxious and had to resist the urge to run.

Bob walked through the small gate leading to the front hanger.  An MP was standing there and ordered him to stop.

“Captain, you’re required in the situation room.”

“Thanks Sergeant.  Do you know what’s up?”

  “No sir.  Just that this mission has the highest priority.  It comes straight from the President himself.”

Bob quickened his pace and headed for the situation room.  If Ratherson was in the loop, a lot had to have changed since he last checked in.  After all, it was Ratherson and his whore Helen who had Bronson placed in the brig. This had to be big.

Colonel Henley greeted Bob as he entered the room.  Bob’s flight crew was sitting around the table.  Henley pointed to one of the chairs and Bob took the seat.

“Captain, your team’s mission will start at 6AM sharp and that does not include travel time.  As you have probably heard in the news, the Creytes have become a problem in West Virginia.  They have killed and eaten some civilians and completely thwarted all attempts by our law enforcement to handle this situation.  It is now up to us to eradicate this problem.  We are going to be part of a joint effort using some experimental technology produced by GeoTechnology.  They are installing new laser devices on the shuttle and 6 F-35’s.  The F-35’s, a special Army Ranger unit, and our shuttle will attack the Creyte base in West Virginia.  The Army Ranger unit will use microbots armed with explosives.  We considered some prototype micro-laser, but that didn’t work out.  The F-35’s will lead off the attack followed by you in your shuttle.  Once this initial bombardment is completed, the Rangers will launch a single assault with their microbots.  The microbot assault will be followed an attack of the Ranger Unit itself.  The entire attack should take less than 10 minutes.  We give you more details later this morning.   I want all of you to catch a couple hours sleep.  The duty officer will wake you at 4AM.  By then, your shuttle should be armed and ready for joining the other assault teams in West Virginia.  You can eat breakfast on board the shuttle.  This mission is code named Mountain Expungement.  You’re all dismissed.”

Bob’s head was spinning.  He had no idea how he was supposed to catch a couple hours sleep with the news just dumped on him.  However, he knew this mission would require all of his strength and alertness.  He left the briefing room with his team and headed for the bunkroom.  They exchanged several comments and quickly retired to their bunks.

When Bob dropped into his bunk, he fell asleep in spite of his racing mind.  When the duty officer sounded the wake-up alarm at 3:30AM, it jerked Bob out of a deep sleep.  He was additionally surprised that the schedule had changed and they were now to start the mission half an hour
earlier.  Bob joined his team and they headed towards the briefing room and Colonel Henley.

Colonel Henley glanced at the STAR Hawk team as they entered the room.  He was deeply troubled by the latest turn of events forcing him to assemble his team ahead of schedule.  The Creytes had just attacked the GeoTechnology facility located near Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia.  Fortunately, they had moved the lasers to a different location prior to the attack.  The Creyte attack forced Bronson to change their timetable moving up the planned time of attack.  Henley discussed the latest developments with the STAR Hawks team and provided them with the additional mission parameters.  He then dismissed his team and ordered them to board the shuttle and prepare for flight.

5:30 AM: Mountain Expungement

It was dark and overcast as the first wave of F-35’s initiated their flight towards the Creyte stronghold.  As the F-35’s approached firing range, a massive explosion shook the sky with the first three F-35’s exploding into balls of fire and being instantly vaporized.  The second wave managed to get off a single volley of laser fire prior to succumbing to the same fate as the first wave.  Bob watched the entire drama take place in front of him as he flew the shuttle through a wall of fire.  He managed to fire a single volley as a laser shot hit the shuttle.  The shuttle’s thermal insulation protected the shuttle from total destruction leaving Bob some capability to crash the shuttle into the side of the mountain hundreds of yards from the Creyte defenses.

Bob felt a sharp pain shoot through his leg.  A piece of metal from the damaged shuttle had pierced his right foot and protruded up and through his calf pinning him to his seat.  Bob watched the Rangers launch the microbots against the stronghold.  They approached the stronghold like large swarms of bees with thousands of explosions as the microbots hit the Creyte fortifications.  The Creytes fired back at the swarm, filling the air with balls of fire, which slowly and methodically destroyed the microbots.  Bob thought the intensity of the Creyte firepower lessened as the attack proceeded.  The microbots were partially successful at eliminating the Creyte defenses.  The Rangers followed-up with an attack only seconds behind the last microbot assault.  Bob’s stomach turned as he watched the Rangers come within 50 yards of the Creyte stronghold.  Several Creytes were standing over a weapon system just waiting for the right moment to destroy the Ranger team.

Borella was closely monitoring U.S. preparations for battle.  The new laser technology and microbots should increase the chance of success, but Borella knew that they would be no match for the embedded Creyte defenses.  He decided to initiate an alert and activate the newly provisioned STAR Hawk shuttle with Karen’s and Ratface’s teams.

Ratface was already awake when the alarm rung in his quarters and the alert message flashed across one of the monitors in his quarters.  Borella was activating his team to start immediately on a mission to defend the U.S. team attacking the Creyte stronghold.  Ratface was ready for action.  It was what he missed most from his earlier SEAL days.  It only took Ratface a matter of seconds to leave his quarters and run for the shuttle bay.

Oria and Karen were in a deep sleep when the alarm sounded in their quarters.  Oria took a quick look at one of his monitors, read the message, and nudged Karen in the arm.  “Karen, this message is for you.  I’m going to join Borella on the bridge and watch from there.  Good luck.”

Karen was anxious to try out the newly outfitted shuttle.  “Thanks!  I don’t think I’m going to rely on luck.  I’ll catch you later.”