Talosian Chronicles 5: Raptor Squadron Page 10

  "The gentlemen to your left are Officer Jerry Conan, our sniper and covert operations specialist, and Officer Samual Asper, Heavy weapons and ground assault specialist. Behind you is Officer Benjamin Conan, our equipment specialist and resident engineer. He is also Jerry's mate. The woman to your immediate right is Officer Sasha Gorski, ship's weapons officer and our explosives expert. Finally, the woman beside Ben is Lieutenant Shannon Rogers. She has been attached to us for this mission to assist us in locating you," Cindy replied.

  "I'm afraid all we have for rations are replicated foods, and we don't have a lot of Benesian foods available. With respect to your escorts, we will keep you safe until we can return you to our cruiser. If your escorts would like, we would be happy to show them the arrangements we have made to ensure your security while you are with us."

  Hisar nodded. "That would be very much appreciated Major. If I may ask, you said locating Shies was only part of your mission here, may I ask what the rest of your mission is?"

  "I can't give you details, Commander, but we are here to retake this world," Cindy said grinning. "Another part of our mission was to make contact with the local resistance and offer any support we can in the time we have. I am also authorized to brief them on the plan to liberate the planet. So, you folks have really helped us out this morning."

  The Ambassador smiled. "Please, call me Shies. We are all pleased to meet you and very relieved that you are here. By your comments, I understand that replicated foods have not yet been accepted by the Benesian Synod. Unfortunately, in order to survive, I've already had to violate that." She looked sadly at her two mates. "But, that will not be the only thing I will be punished for." She turned back to Cindy and smiled bravely.

  "Ben, Sasha, take guard duty for now. Jerry, could you set up a place for our new friends to sleep. If it would be acceptable for everyone, we can talk more over breakfast," Cindy suggested.

  The new people agreed, and Lissa offered to serve the meals. To break the ice, Cindy ordered a pancake breakfast with sausage, coffee, and milk. Shies asked for the same, but Lissa thought to clarify the order. "Ambassador, the Major has ordered a common morning meal from her home planet. However, it does include meat and a mild stimulant. Although the food is replicated, the original product came from the flesh of an animal."

  "Ah, thank you, Lissa. Please omit those items if you would," Shies replied.

  Lissa nodded. "I will do so; I understand that the produce of an animal is acceptable though? The milk she ordered is produced by a living animal."

  Shies nodded. "Yes, that is acceptable."

  Lissa quickly got each person's meal from the replicator and set it in front of them. Trante asked for a duplicate of Cindy's meal, but the rest of the men ordered typical Talosian meals, but did wish to try the stimulant.

  When Lissa had finished, she sat with only a cup of brownish liquid, but no food.

  "Are you not hungry Lissa?" Shies asked.

  "No ma'am, I'm not. This will do for me," Lissa replied smiling at the woman.

  Shies smiled tenderly at her. Cindy had noticed that none of the men had touched the food in front of them and so hadn’t attacked hers, afraid that she might offend someone. Her instinct had been correct, for a moment later Shies spread her arms and tilted her head back.

  “Blessed Lady, thank you for this bounty. It will strengthen us, sustain us and allow us to fulfill our lives. Thank you also for bringing these new friends into our lives, and give us the opportunity to correct this great wrong.”

  That last part raised Cindy’s eyebrow, but she kept her peace. Shies lowered her head and brought her hands back in front of her. “Let us begin. Major, I am totally unfamiliar with this dish or how to eat it,” she almost laughed.

  Cindy did chuckle, asked everyone to call her Cindy, and described what the items were, how to prepare them and then how to use the utensils. After the first bite of the sticky mess, Shies’ eyes lit up and she did smile. “This is wonderful!”” she said after she swallowed her mouthful.

  The men expressed their approval of the coffee and asked for more. Cindy rose and ordered a pot and placed it on the table.

  Shies asked what the food she was eating would normally be made from, and Cindy spent the rest of the meal, in between bites, explaining the origins of maple syrup, butter, pancakes and orange juice.

  To her astonishment, even the men had questions about the food. However, Shies finally asked what planet Cindy had originated from.

  “We are all from the same planet. Earth, in Sol Sector,” Cindy replied.

  Shies looked thoughtful for a moment, but Hisar spoke first. “I know. I’ve been out of circulation for a few years, but I don’t remember a planet Earth being a member of the Alliance. When was the colony formed?”

  "Earth isn't a colony and we are not a part of the Talosian Alliance. We are a part of the Alliance of Races. We are on friendly terms with the Talosians though. Commander, a lot has happened since Hyperion was taken. It's going to take some adjustment to get used to it," Cindy replied. "I don't mean to change the subject, but very shortly, this will become a combat zone. We will get you to safety as quickly as we can, but it might not be soon enough. I ask that you please stay close to the ship so we can protect you until transport is possible"

  "Possible? Why can't you send for a shuttle now?" Yaris asked.

  "At present, the Empire has no idea we are about to attack. Currently, there are two battle cruisers and a light assault cruiser hidden in this system. There is a lot more going on here that I can presently tell you," Cindy explained. "After the fighting starts, we may be able to get you up to the ship in the confusion, but until then, we have to remain hidden."

  "Yaris and Fram have to return to their homes. They are known to the Imperial census and would be missed if absent for an extended period. They will also have to make contact with the rest of the resistance to let them know something is about to happen," Hisar replied. "Trante and I will remain with Shies. We're not registered and the Imps have no idea about Shies at all."

  Cindy nodded. "Good, we'll try to keep it that way." She looked back at Yaris and Fram. "As I said before, I am authorized to render what aid I can to you. Is there anything you and your people might need?"

  Fram snorted. "Just about everything, really. All we have for weapons are hunting rifles. We have no armor or medical supplies, no explosives or anything else. Most of us don't even have any training. Luckily, the Imps didn't stop the merchants that travel from town to town, if they had, we'd be forced to rely on runners that could be caught." He paused. "We've not been very good at pushing them off the planet, but we have been able to keep Shies hidden as well as some other folks."

  "I am due to report in soon, but before that and if you don't mind, I'd like to get some more information from you gentlemen," Cindy asked.

  "What would you like to know, Major?" Yaris asked.

  "Well, like I said, we are going to take this world back. We'd like to know how many folks can fight, where you need us to drop supplies for them if we can, stuff like that," Cindy replied.

  "Major, you do know that we are talking about completely untrained civilians here right?" Hisar said. "Very few of them know how to fight, most of them have never even seen a pulse rifle,"

  Cindy smiled back at him. "Would two divisions of Marines help with that? Commander, we know that these are civilians. But ask yourself this; if you were in their shoes, would you stand back and watch if you thought you could help?" Cindy asked. "I get the impression that life has not been pleasant here since the Imperials arrived. Do you really think that those people are not going to try to do something to help us?"

  "It's what I've been trying to tell you, Hisar. If they had the weapons, we would have already tried to retake the planet ourselves. Especially now that we know the Imps are up to something here," Yaris replied.

  "What are they up to?" Cindy asked. "Are the ships in danger?"

  Hisar sighed. "Major, to be perfectl
y honest with you. I've never heard of you before. I've never heard of a battle cruiser and I've certainly never seen a ship like this one or a team like yours. My instinct is to not trust you because there are simply too many unknowns. However, Shies tells us you are not only trustworthy, but are really here to help us get free of the Empire." He gestured to Yaris and Fram. "The resistance sees Shies as their figurehead, the heart of the resistance. They would do anything for her, and if she says you are trustworthy, they accept that without question. In a lot of ways, she is the real leader of the resistance. So, forgive me for seeming to doubt you and your motives. I am only trying to do my best for Shies and the people of this world."

  Cindy nodded. "There is nothing to forgive, Hisar. I would be suspicious as well, if I were in your position. I can swear to you that, to the best of my knowledge, there is no deception or untruths involved in this issue. I will freely admit that there are things I cannot tell any of you, but that is a matter of security and not one of mistrust."

  Shies looked a little uncomfortable. "Major, please understand that Hisar is a military person, much like yourself. It is simply in his nature to be suspicious," She sighed. "It has been given to me as a facet of my gifts, a limited type of foresight. That is how we knew when and where to find you this morning. It doesn't always work, and cannot be directed. It simply shows me what I need to see at times. It is in this manner I know you to be trustworthy."

  "Thank you for that trust," Cindy replied. "If you would, please tell me what it is you have discovered, Yaris. Maybe we can do something about it."

  Fram actually answered the question. “As was said, we’ve recently found out a few things. It’s not common knowledge among our people, but we believe the Imps are…… harvesting us, for lack of a better word.

  "We’re not sure why, but we are all required to go to their clinics once a month, to ‘monitor’ our health. They sedate us and then stick a needle into the back of our necks. We all have horrible headaches for a few days after. One of our people was able to watch what was going on. They drew several vials of fluid out, then moved the person into a room to recover from the anesthetic. Every person on the planet is required to do this. We have no idea what they are doing with all that spinal fluid.

  "Freighters come and go pretty regularly; not surprising in itself since we supply food for their damned armies, but we load those ships. There is one ship we are not allowed anywhere near. It gets loaded in the big hanger at the spaceport and we've been unable to get anyone inside there to see what's going on. Shies can’t read the Imps like she can us. It's a bit of a stretch, but we think they are shipping that spinal fluid off world on that freighter.”

  "I'll let command know what you've told me, I'm sure they'll want to check it out. We've often wondered what the Imperials do on captured worlds and how they are treating our people. Do you know when that freighter is due to depart?" Cindy asked.

  "Not for a couple days, yet. The schedule is pretty regular," Fram replied.

  Cindy nodded. "Okay, now how about we figure out how to get your people some weapons they can use?"

  CHAPTER SIX

  TDF Star Dancer

  Aurigae System, Durnam Sector.

  Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

  "Admiral, Damocles is on the comm for you," Alex replied.

  "Thanks, I'll take it here," Ian replied and tapped the accept button.

  Cindy's smiling face appeared. "Reporting in Admiral."

  "You're a little earlier than I expected. Did you find something?" Ian asked.

  She nodded. "Ambassador Shies M'orel tracked us down this morning. She is here with us and safe. Two of her escorts were actually from the local resistance here, so we made contact with them as well. I'm sending a data file with the locations of the closer cells that need supply. Most of them are untrained civilians, Admiral, so if you can give them a couple of Marines to guide them, it would be greatly appreciated."

  "I'll see what I can do, what else did you find?" Ian asked.

  "We took a look around and so far every thing's pretty quiet. There is only one wing of fighters at Starlight and we actually had a little difficulty locating any ground troops. The resistance folks helped out with that too, the information is in the data file. We're providing the supplies needed for the local cells in our area and they will wait for the main attack before moving. There are several people the resistance is hiding down here; some of them are former government officials, but a few others are doctors and professionals.

  "There's little concrete proof at the moment, but the resistance believes the Imperials have been up to something down here. All citizens are required to visit a clinic every month. Supposedly, so the empire can monitor their health to better care for humans; since they say they have little experience with the race. What happens is that the patient is sedated, then spinal fluid is removed. The people have horrible headaches for hours, sometimes days afterward. They are going to try to get someone that has recently been 'treated' to our ship so we can have the autodoc look them over. I'd rather have Beth down here, but this will have to do."

  Ian nodded. "I understand the desire, but you’re not going to get the chance. We launch the attack in just under an hour. Tell the resistance leader I'll direct one of the medical shuttles to him as soon as it's safe for them to come down."

  "Understood, what about the Ambassador? We hadn't planned on locating her this quickly," Cindy replied.

  "Are you finished supplying the Resistance?" Ian asked.

  She nodded. "For the most part. We gave them several crates of pulse rifles, power packs, emergency medical kits, rations and personal shield modules. I threw in some grenades and other explosives as well, along with comm units, scanners and sensors. Whatever they asked for, plus anything I could think of they might need."

  Ian nodded his understanding. "Good, break camp and bring the Ambassador up here before you move on to your first target. You're gonna have to haul ass though."

  "Understood, Sir. We'll be on our way shortly," Cindy replied. "Damocles out."

  Ian took a moment to skim the data file before looking up at his aide. "Alex, parse out the data concerning the removal of spinal fluid from the civilians as well as that part of my conversation with Cindy and forward it to the CMO A.S.A.P. please," Ian asked.

  "Yes Sir," she replied and got busy.

  Ian opened a comm to Jenny down on the bridge. "Jen, can you come up here for a minute? Bring Star with you. I'd like a comm to Commander Serena and Colonel Harris as well."

  The comms were open before Jenny and Star made it to the office. Ian quickly told them about the spinal fluid and the special freighter that would be leaving the hanger at Starlight. "I would like that ship captured if at all possible. Star, during your assault on the computer systems, I'd like you to keep your eyes open for any data that might be related to this issue. It may seem irrelevant, but I can't help but feel this is important somehow."

  "Are we still on schedule, Sir?" Serena asked.

  Ian nodded. "We are. Damocles has secured the Ambassador. All other Raptor teams report contact with the resistance and have been supplying them with weapons and other supplies. Damocles is bringing the Ambassador up here before heading for their first target. We begin the assault in," he checked his clock. "Thirty-five minutes. Good luck."

  When the comms to the other ships closed, Ian told Alex he was heading down to the CIC before he had to go meet the Ambassador. She grabbed her tablet and stood to follow him. Damn that girl was efficient.

  Separated from the main bridge by a blast wall, the Combat Information Center had been built using the original ideas Ian and Star had, with suggestions from the Intel and Operations departments. It was the electronic nerve center of the ship and capable of processing every scrap of information a fleet of warships could amass during a battle. In the center was a huge holographic tank capable of floor to ceiling display. Surrounding that huge tank were terminals for the command staff to manipula
te the data in the tank. Behind them were rows of smaller holographic terminals for each of the techs and operators that worked to make sure their commanders had all the information they needed to make decisions. Every time Ian walked in there, he couldn't help but think; "NASA ain't got shit on this place!"

  "How are we lookin' Chloe?" Ian asked as the woman handed him a special ear-piece.

  "So far, so good, Admiral. We've compiled our target lists and assigned stick missions. We're having a little difficulty planning on how to isolate their troops on planet, but we're getting it worked out. We'll be ready on time," the woman replied.

  "Oh? What's the problem?" Ian asked.

  "They're actually not as spread out as we anticipated and they are more heavily armed. The main garrisons are too close to population centers for anything more than a ground attack. We're probably just going to have to slug it out with them; at least until the civilians can get clear," Chloe explained.

  "The Raptors on the ground have issued comm units to the resistance leaders. Maybe we can have them try to clear out the civilians before we hit those places," Ian suggested.

  She nodded. "I'll see what I can make happen," she replied as she accepted a call over her ear-piece.

  Looking at the tank, Ian could see that everything was in place and ready to go. Seeing that Chloe was no longer busy with her call he got her attention. "I need to go meet the Ambassador, I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll keep the ear-piece with me, so if you need me, call."

  Chloe nodded. "Major Swift-Williams will need to hurry to make her target in time."

  Ian nodded. "She knows. Be back shortly," Ian said and left with Alex.