Mission Origin View (Final Days Trilogy) (31 page)

“
I’ve got better things to do than read a first-grade reader!” Xia replied and continued working on his helmet.

***

Bernice
slipped through space in the
time-speed dimension until it reached the Leonis inner moon, Loona
, and then exited the
dimension.
Bernice
remained in stealth mode as its speed began to slow to enter the atmosphere of Leonis. Tidwell’s combat display started identifying and displaying hostile targets. The planet was surrounded by combat ships and stationary combat platforms
. Bernice
weaved through the traffic and began to enter the atmosphere. The stealth technology allowed
Bernice
to enter the atmosphere without being seen or detected. A complicated formula using an assortment of cooling agents, friction retardants, and armor camo technology embedded in her outer skin allowed
Bernice
to have a cool and an invisible entry.

“
We’ll arrive at the LZ in ten minutes,” Tidwell said as his hands danced across the flight console.

“
Ten minutes, Gunny,” Gideon transmitted to Xia over a private channel

“
Yes, sir,” he responded.

Bernice
dropped in the darkness to treetop level, skimming the genetically engineered palm trees and other types of tropical vegetation that grew on the planet’s tropical region. These plants were altered to absorb water through roots and produce energy and nutrients from the sun via
photosynthesis
using leaves, stems, and trunks.

The planet
’s extremely hot temperatures and its hundreds of thousands of freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams resulted in high humidly. The populated parts of the planet extended from the temperate regions along the edge of the tropical forests to the colder regions of the poles. Terraforming scientists had estimated that within a few hundred years the planet’s atmosphere would be completely breathable and cooler. Currently, a person could live only a few minutes before they suffocated or had a heat stroke. 

The edge of the tropical forest passed
beneath them as
Bernice
slowed and began to land in a grassy level area located on top of a small hill.
Bernice
, still in stealth mode, flared to stop its forward motion and slowly settled to the ground. The marines exited in camo mode and ran to take up defensive positions around the LZ. As soon as the last marine exited, Tidwell took off and headed to a predesigned support station LZ fifty miles away. He would assist the extract team as required.

The
marines lay in wet grass and small puddles of water. The temperature on their heads-up displays showed it to be a rather warm 130 degrees
Fahrenheit,
while lightning bolts from storm clouds periodically lit the western horizon. Their armor kept them cool, dry, and invisible; and it allowed them to see in the dim light provided by three of the four planet moons.

Thirty minutes later, the
marines were still in their defensive positions. No platoon transmissions were sent since the seasoned marines knew they may stay in this position for hours. Each man continually scanned for contact using adjusted vision arrays, motion detectors, and amplified hearing aids.

“
I’ve got movement due east,” Mucha transmitted over the platoon channel. Gideon crawled from his position and lay beside Mucha. Gideon watched in the direction of the detected movement until he saw someone approaching. The infrared display showed a body cooler than the ground. The dim light of the moons and intermittent lightning flashes also allowed him to see the person with normal vision as he neared.

“
Zeeb,” Gideon transmitted on a private, digital, encrypted channel.

“
Wolf,” the figure responded.

“
Gunny, keep everyone alert. I’m going to walk out a few yards before I disable by camo,” Gideon said on the platoon channel. Gideon stood and walked slowly toward the person. When he was only a few feet away from the figure, he disabled his camo and appeared.

“
I am
Vaniah,” the figure said as he extended a hand.

“
Lieutenant Klaxton, US Marines,” Gideon said as he shook Vaniah’s hand.

Vaniah was a tall
, thin man dressed in a tight-fitting environmental suit. The suit was colored blue and showed various patches that were attached with metal velcro. His helmet had two short, parallel, wide yellow lines on both sides.

“
Welcome to Leonis. I’m sorry I kelp you waiting so long. I had to be sure I wasn’t followed,” Vaniah said, paused, and reached in a pouch on his utility belt. He took out a data card and handed it to Gideon. “This contains the information you need to complete your mission. It’s encrypted, so I’m going to transmit the decryption key to your personal AI.” Vaniah used a keypad on his forearm to send the key. “I transmitted it; did your AI get it?”

“
Received the decryption key, Gideon,” Anna said in his ear.

“
I have the key,” Gideon told Vaniah.

“
I have to leave. Please wait here for another hour, then leave,” Vaniah said. As he turned to walk away, he added, “Good luck, Lieutenant.”

“
Thank you,” Gideon said.

Gideon returned to the
platoon’s defensive parameter and told the marines they’d be there another hour. He then inserted the data card into a data port on his forearm. “Anna, open the information using the decryption key and read it to me,” Gideon said.

“
Doctor Vashni Qasim has been arrested as a revolutionary sympathizer and is being held at a political prisoner work camp. Proceed to location designation Kilo—location coordinates included—and meet contact, code name Michael. Challenge with ‘Sword.’ Response will be ‘Crusade.’ This contact will brief you further and lead a small unit, who’ll assist you with rescuing Doctor Qasim. Expect heavy resistance,” Anna reported.

Gideon transmitted the message to
his marines. His marines took the news in stride since Xia had already prepared them to expect the worse.

An hour later
Tidwell returned and the marines loaded aboard
Bernice
and set course to LZ Kilo.

LZ Kilo, Planet Leonis

0240
—February 28, 2372

LZ Kilo was located
556 miles due west of where they had met Vaniah.
Bernice
landed in a shallow ravine, allowed the marines to exit, and then took off again to another location two hundred miles north to stand by. The marines lay in their defensive positions, waiting for their contact to appear.

“
Someone’s standing on the rim,” Xia transmitted over the platoon channel. Gideon, using his helmet’s auto-
adjusting vision arrays,
looked up and saw a large man standing on the rim of the ravine. A bolt of lightning from an approaching storm flashed behind the man, and as he started making his way into the ravine toward the marines, thunder shook the ground.

“
Sword,” Gideon transmitted on the predefined secure channel.

“
Crusade,” came the response in a commanding voice. The large man added, “Stay where you are. I’ll come and speak to you.” He approached the marines as if he could see them and walked directly toward Gideon.

“
I am Michael. I was sent to help you rescue the woman,” he said in a deep, authoritative voice.

“
The woman, you mean Doctor Qasim?” Gideon said, noting the man was wearing a helmet and a robe over a black environmental suit. The robe was also black, made out of tattered cloth and looked like a robe worn by a monk right out of the Middle Ages.

“
Yes, that is her,” Michael said, “She is being held in a camp five miles west. We will walk to the camp and rescue her.”

Gideon noted
that Michael had a strange accent he had never heard before. The accent made Gideon uncomfortable.

“There will be heavy resistance, and we will have to fight. The soldiers in the camp are equipped with technology that allows them to see you while you’re
camouflaged
. You may lose a few men, but we will win and rescue her,” Michael said. He pulled the hood of his robe over his head and began walking west.

“Where’s your team? Are they going to meet us at the camp and assist us?” Gideon asked Michael as he motioned Xia to have the men follow.

“
I have no team,” Michael replied as he continued walking. “The team you are talking about can’t help, and we won’t need them anyway.”

The extract team followed Michael.
Gideon wanted to take it slow and cautious but couldn’t because of Michael’s pace. Gideon had to trust that Michael knew what he was doing and would get them to the work camp safely.

After an hour, Gideon noticed small trees spaced about ten feet apart. The job of the forced laborers in the work camp must be to plant these genetically enhanced trees
, Gideon thought. A few minutes later Michael found a well-used trail and boldly started walking down it.

“
Michael, I think we should keep off the trail and parallel it about twenty-five yards. I don’t want to walk into an ambush,” Gideon said.

“
There is no ambush waiting, and the camp is over the next hill. We will stop on the hill, and I will tell you how we will attack the camp and rescue the doctor,” Michael replied as he continued walking.

The extract team arrived at the hill overlooking the work camp at 0405. A rectangular fence surrounded the camp
, with guard towers located at each corner. Searchlights located on the towers and lights in the camp illuminated everything. There were about forty buildings in the camp, each with numbered markings and its own life-support system. Wheels attached to the buildings were folded up and locked into position, leaving the buildings resting on the ground. It was definitely a mobile camp. After planting a section of trees in an area, the camp would move farther north and plant more. Gideon also noted a small building about a mile on a hill on the other side of the camp. His armor’s heat sensor detected it since there was no light on inside or outside the building. His helmet’s auto visual system adjusted so he could see it. The building looked like it was surrounded by sandbags piled about six feet high. It was certainly not mobile and probably an explosives or munitions building of some kind.

“
Here is a map of the camp layout and the key buildings,” Michael said as members of the extract team saw a map suddenly appear in their heads-up display.

“
Anna, how’d he download the map into my heads-up display?” Gideon asked, knowing Anna and the armor’s AI weren’t easily compromised.

“
I don’t know,” Anna said.

Michael continued
. “The building where the prisoners are held is in the center of the camp and highlighted in red. The doctor is there along with other prisoners. I will approach the main gate of the camp as a diversion, while you penetrate the fence highlighted in yellow. From there, go to the prisoners’ building and get the doctor. The soldiers guarding the camp will put up a fight. You will have to kill many of them, and some of you may be killed or wounded.”

Gideon listened to Michael and knew he had to say or do something. It was apparent to Gideon that
Michael may not be mentally sound. “Michael, we need more planning than this. Can you tell us the number of guards, their weapon types, alarm systems? We need this type of information to plan a quick-and-quiet strike to minimize causalities.”

“
The information you want will not help you, but here it is,” Michael replied in a deep voice, and the information displayed on each extract team member’s heads-up display. The information displayed included the following: number of prisoners, the number of guards, the guards’ weapon types, sensor technology capabilities, alarm types, the distance between buildings, the location of environmental suits, and so forth. The information stunned Gideon, and he was amazed by how quickly Michael had supplied it.

“
We only have an hour of darkness left and must hurry,” Michael said as he turned and started down the hill toward the camp.

“
Sir, the guy’s nuts!” Xia transmitted over a private channel to Gideon. “We need time to plan; there’re three hundred guards in there with lasers and mag rail weapons and sensor technology that can see us while we’re in
camo mode. A
nd that’s just what I saw with a glance at the information.”

“
I agree, Gunny, but it looks like he’s not going to give us time,” Gideon replied, paused, and continued. “Gunny, let’s go ahead and get the men in place where Michael suggested. I’ll have Anna read me the information and hopefully come up with a plan by the time we’re in position. If I can’t come up with something I think will work, we’ll abort and leave.”

“
Yes, sir,” Xia answered on the private channel, then switched to the platoon channel. “Let’s move out.” The marines followed Xia’s order without any questions or concerns.