AMP Rebellion (5 page)

The comm went silent for ten minutes as the Colonel moved his men into position outside the power station. McKinzey's chief aide buzzed us on the comm.

York answered, "I hope this is good news."

The aide replied, "This is Giles Rement. I am a direct aide of the President. He has authorized me to negotiate Sergeant, but I need more time as a sign of good faith."

York responded, "Sorry Sir. We set the rules. You have four minutes and 19 seconds to give us good news. In about three minutes we will begin the shutdown process for the first generator. Time is wasting Mr. Rement."

The aide replied, "Miss York, your fellow... Defiant soldiers are our guests. I apologize if word was not given as to our intentions early on. Many of the President's political foes wanted your countrymen arrested and charged with sedition. We are attempting to end all of this peacefully so that you can return here to the Grid or go wherever it is that you prefer. We are dealing with high strung politicians Sergeant. This is not something that happens in an instant."

York replied, "Hmm. Sounds like you are in a bit of a pickle Mr. Rement. But if I don't shut down that first generator in three minutes, I don't think you will take me seriously. McKinzey may have good intentions, but we want a transport out of here. Your politicians can then debate what it is they want to do and why."

The aide was silent for several seconds. "Miss York. The President would like to speak with you."

York responded, "Finally. A decision maker. Put him on Mr. Rement."

President McKinzey spoke, "Sergeant. First I would like to thank you for your service to the Grid directly and then for your assistance in defeating the Milgari. I know it isn't much at this time, but I wanted to offer it anyway. Second. As Mr. Rement said... your fellow Defiant soldiers are not under arrest. They were taken off Grid in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of my political opponents."

McKinzey continued, "I know it may not mean much to you Sergeant, but I give my word that you and your people will be offered the same courtesy and assistance that we have extended to the others. We are on your side Miss York. Let's end this peacefully. I know you don't want to risk the lives of anyone involved."

The comm sat silent for nearly a minute.

York responded, "Mr. President. We are willing to give up if you will keep your word and take us directly to the others. We don't want to be interrogated, we don't want any delays, we just want to be together with our people. If you can guarantee us immediate passage, we will come out."

McKinzey replied immediately, "Consider it done Miss York. You have my word."

York closed the comm and turned with a smile. "They took the bait. You just have to know who to talk to. Rodriguez, signal the others that we will be coming their way."

York pressed the button on her comm bracelet. This is York, bring 'em in. We are headed to the shuttle."

The comm button was released. "Jones, gather the dart guns when they get here. I have a special hiding place here in the power station for them. It was my hideaway as a kid when my father was on duty. I would rather they not know how we disabled the guards so that option to use them stays open in the future."

When the 75 Defiant citizens had gathered, and the dart guns had been sufficiently hidden, the blast doors to Raven gate were unsealed and opened. The Defiant teams came out peacefully.

An instant rush of soldiers moved in, corralling the group and forcing us into two single file lines.

A Major in charge spoke, "Listen up! We are headed to Alpha bay. Just keep moving. And no talking! We just want to take you to be transported to the others. Make it easy on us and we'll make it easy on you."

The march was seven kilometers distance. It was an easy stroll for the physically fit retired Marines in our group and the active duty Grid Military soldiers escorting us.

Just before reaching Alpha bay the Major received new orders. "Yes Sir. We will take them there immediately Sir."

The Major turned towards York. "Sergeant, they have a shuttle waiting for you on Alpha deck D. I know it's not the standard military deck for Alpha, but I have been instructed that a shuttle is there and ready to move you out to the others. I just wanted to let you know so you could let your people know."

York responded, "Thank you Major. We will follow your direction."

When we reached deck D a new contingent of soldiers was there to greet us. I resisted the urge to smile when I noticed several familiar faces. We were quickly loaded onto the shuttle and given clearance to launch. In less than a minute the shuttle was exiting Alpha bay and into open space.

The shuttle accelerated towards the transports where the others were being held. Within minutes we were out of range of the giant ion blasters of the Grid and our course was altered.

A voice cam over the comm. "Shuttle AN6678, this is Alpha bay command. What reason do you have for the course correction?"

No response was given. The Grid command repeated the hail and military vessels were soon dispatched towards our position. I gave the order and our modified ion drives were put to use. We were soon out of Grid space and our heading was again altered. We would swing through the Fasture nebula and then return to Jarhead and the Suppressor. Our plan had worked to perfection!

On the ride home York spoke, "Sir. I am having trouble believing they fell right into our plan. I would have thought they would at least be looking to single you out. I am thinking luck had a big part to play there today Sir."

I replied, "Chalk it up to planning. We were looking to get a quick escort to the shuttle bay and we got one. I’m sure at the time the commanders were ecstatic that it all ended without gun-play or damage to people or property. You know they are scratching their heads about now. Wondering what just happened."

York responded, "Now that we are away from the Grid, what are the plans from here Sir?"

I replied, "I’m hoping that when we get back to the Suppressor our fleet will be waiting there for us. I think we man it as best we can and come back to free the others. The Grid fleet should be vulnerable to Yacabucci’s ion field. If we can hold them in place for a short time we can take over the transports they are housed on and leave."

"I wish we had the Colonel and his staff here to help plan this. They are good at covering those little details that make an operation run smoothly."

York replied, "We have at least a week to plan Sir. I’m sure we can cover what’s needed. The guards on those transports are not likely to be combat vets. If we take away their blaster capabilities the physical take-down should be no problem."

There was no question about York’s confidence in carrying out any plan we would come up with. She was just one of those people who would step up and do whatever it took to succeed. For York, failure was not an option.

Once back on the Suppressor I called for a meeting of all senior personnel.

When everyone had assembled, I spoke, "The Grid has three large transports holding our men. They sit just outside of the range of the guns on this station. We want to get our people back. So, we need a plan. And above all, keep in mind that these captors are our fellow Humans. They believe they are following the orders of a President who is doing the right thing. We know different, but they are still innocents in this affair and we need to do everything we can to ensure that we do not cause them harm."

"I have asked York and Rodriguez to join this planning team as I trust their judgment. We have 25 people in this room. I want five teams of five. I want to see plans that have contingency plans and I want those contingency plans to have contingency plans. Map everything out with times, places and enough personnel and equipment to overwhelm and overtake any opposition. I want to see plans that offer a high degree of certainty of success. Let’s get planning people!"

Five phases for a planned rescue attempt quickly emerged. Ingress with ships from the Suppressor, disable the local Grid ships guarding the transports, disable the main Grid fleet from interceding, take control of the transports and finally egress.

Each team was assigned a phase of the plan. After several hours the phase planning was rotated to the next team for a fresh new perspective. When all phases had been covered by each of the teams a consolidation effort began. When a final overall draft plan emerged I sent each team away to contemplate and discuss its merits and shortfalls. After two such rounds of consolidation I declared the plan complete and sent everyone off to tend to their other duties.

George joined me in my office. "I hope you realize that the Grid military will be expecting a raid. If at all possible you might try to gather more Intel before setting things in motion that can’t be stopped."

I replied, "That exact issue has been bothering me for days. I’m sending Rodriguez out in her Defender to sit and spy. She should have two full days of observation before we arrive. If anything stands out we will have to stop and re-plan. She seems to have an eye for trouble. I’m hoping they are being run by politicians rather than trained military minds. It might give us an edge."

An aide then poked his head into the office. "Sir, sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might want to know. Frig just docked with the Injector. He should be coming this way shortly."

I replied, "Thank you Mathers."

I then turned back to George with a concerned look. "I wonder what brought him back. I can’t imagine they have converted every Milgari that is out there. I would have thought that would take months."

After several minutes of speculative conversation Frig entered the room. "Sir, I received word of the President’s betrayal. I understand there is a mission planned to affect the release of our people. I would like to be a part of that if possible."

I replied, "I’m sorry you had to cut your little holiday with the Milgari short."

Frig responded, "It was hardly a holiday Sir. We..."

I raised my hand. "Just pulling your chain. I'm glad you are back. We are set to leave tomorrow. We will be hitting the transports with half crews on three Raiders while the Slaughter, Slayer and several Defenders attempt to hold any Grid ships in place that might try to intervene. If we can hit fast and fly those transports out I think we can lose the Grid ships with a run through the Fasture. Those transports will have a tough time, but we will see to it that any Grid ships have an even tougher one."

Frig responded, "I can pilot the Swift if needed Sir. Wherever I can be used I would like to be of service."

I thought for a moment. "Is there anything we can do with the Injector? George? Can a knockout spray be delivered with the wormhole generator? I would think it would be no different that the Milgari cure."

George replied, "I'll see what we can put together for you. Any atomized spray would be local in its effects. Of course, if you could target the bridge that might throw a ship into chaos for a bit. I’ll go and see what I can brew up."

With that George departed.

I turned to Frig. "Were you able to free any more Milgari?"

Frig replied, "We were Sir. We managed to cure more than 15,000 who were garrisoned on two mining planets. They have identified at least another 80,000 who are currently stranded. I left Glimak and the rest of their leadership with enough cure to free several hundred-thousand more. They will have to be careful in how they administer it as those Milgari will be hostile. Most do not know that the Torrians are dead."

I was glad to have Frig back on the team. His presence would add a level of comfort to a situation that was sure to be highly volatile. The remainder of the day was spent going over the planned raid with Frig. He was eager to be involved.

The following day we departed for the Grid. We had three Raiders, two cruisers, a destroyer, four Defenders and 18 Hawks in our fleet. I would ride out with Frig and then transfer to a Raider before hostilities would begin.

I sat on the bridge with Frig. We were alone on the vast cruiser. "Well, you certainly have room on here to roam around if needed. There would normally be a crew of around 800 on one of these. Don’t you get lonely on here by yourself? At least Feta Lunge has his computer core to talk to."

Frig replied, "Ordinarily I would say yes to that question. I have kept myself quite busy though over the past few weeks. This ship has a thorough database of Milgari, tactics, practices, customs and of course the latest Durian tech that had been installed. It is quite the library Sir. I have several more weeks of material to go through."

"It contains information on other species as well. Such as, the Dakar are not allowed to have offspring. They must apply to their local government, which in turn must follow quotas passed down from the State. If Feta Lunge decided he wanted a family he would have to give up his ship and computer core. That would not of course be accepted, but that would be the process."

Frig continued, "After returning planet-side Feta would proceed to a birthing center to receive his new child. The Child would then receive his name and he would be responsible for that child’s care until it reached the equivalent of approximately five years of age. At that time the child would be turned over to the State for education. It would be likely that Feta would never see his prodigy again."

I replied, "So Dakar get a kid that is not even their own and then have to give them up at age five? I guess that falls in line with their whole community first philosophy. You really don’t have that family unit as an anchor. It seems like it would be a lonely life to me."

Frig looked at the view-screen in front of us. "Aren’t we all truly alone Sir? Neither of us have had that family unit to fall back on over the last decade. They are gone on to wherever you go to after death. We only have those that are here and now."

I looked and shook my head. "Oh, I believe you are not fully thinking that statement through. We both have that family foundation that our lives are built upon. We may not be able to converse with our family members physically, but they play a large part in our daily decision making. Take my father for instance. I have not seen him since I was ten, but the wisdom and character he left me with gets put to use every day. I feel for Feta and his people, as that is something they do not have."

Frig thought for a moment. "I stand corrected Don. I spoke without consideration for my family’s contributions to my character. I may have gone astray for a period of time, but they do remain a considerable force in my life. Looking at the broader picture, I believe that both Humans and Gambits have an advantage over many of the species out there. Natural pairings and the births that follow, along with a tight family structure, offer a foundation for growing Intelligence."

Frig continued, "If we consider all of the species we have encountered Sir, only two others have a similar family component to their societies. If we look at the timelines of those species we see that they progress at a much faster rate than others. The Dakar have been in space for several thousand years and yet only a thousand years ago the Gambit were living in mud huts. I would place the Intelligence of my species well above that of the Dakar. I believe a large part of that Intelligence growth could be attributed to the family component Sir. Interesting…"

We continued our discussion for several hours before reaching Grid space. A private comm link was established with Captain Rodriguez.

I spoke, "Anything to report Maria?"

Rodriguez replied, "No Sir. I have been sitting here for two days. There has not been a single ship in or out of the area. It kind of makes me a little nervous Sir. You don’t hold a hundred thousand prisoners without some type of activity going on. It almost feels like a trap Sir."

After a short discussion with my senior people it was decided that we needed to take a look on-board one of the transports. One of our hawk pilots, Brian DeChamps, volunteered his services.

Brian spoke, "Sir, I can take my Hawk right up to the first of those transports with my image projectors on. If I take a few hours to coast in there I can stop right next to the transport without the others seeing me. So long as they don’t have someone monitoring exterior cameras, I should be able to slip right up to her. I am practiced at boarding craft from the outside Sir. I worked for several years as a hull inspector on the Grid. Inspections took place before docking."

I replied, "Thanks for the offer Brian. Unless someone has another way I think that is what we will go with. Land your Hawk in the hold of the Slaughter and have the Intel guys there go over the floor-plan of that transport. When you make it in you will need to know where to look. Set the self-destruct of your Hawk before you go in just in case you are captured. We still have to be careful with our tech."

The plans were put in place and Brian DeChamps was schooled on the interior of the transport. He would drift unseen for three and a half hours before coming to a quick stop beside the transport. He would then make an extra-vehicular jump to the ship and find his way inside through external hatches. In the event anything was to go wrong he was to broadcast any recorded data and images before being captured.

From the bridge of the Injector we would attempt to add to DeChamps’ chances. Frig would deploy a tiny wormhole and inject a knockout spray onto the bridge before DeChamps was to arrive. If all went well there would be no one conscious to monitor the external cameras. DeChamps would become momentarily visible as he came to a stop. After a final briefing the plan was put into motion.

As DeChamps approached the transport Frig spoke, "Sir. I’m bringing the wormhole online now… established. The injector is prepared. Cargo has been delivered. We can listen to any sound waves emanating from their bridge Sir while the wormhole remains open. It might tell us if the spray is effective."

Frig continued, "Audio is online."

A voice from the bridge of the transport could be heard. "We’ve been sitting here for a week. They aren’t coming."

A second voice replied, "Well, at least we won’t be getting shot at. I don’t like my chances sitting in this unshielded people hauler. I would rather be on something with a little bit of armor on it."

The first voice responded, "I have two more weeks of this duty. Got a new girl waiting back in Gamma. Just want this to be over."

The second voice replied with a yawn. "Yeah, doesn’t get much more boring than this. When I was first assigned I thought ‘action baby’. But it’s no different than any other duty I’ve seen."

The thud of a body could be heard hitting the floor followed by another. The last remaining groggy sounding voices were soon silent. The bridge of the transport was asleep.

DeChamps pulled up to the transport, exited through the hatch and jet-packed his way to the transport’s bridge maintenance hatch. He quickly disappeared into the transport, leaving us waiting for information. Several minutes passed without word.

DeChamps spoke, "It’s a trap! Cargo and passenger areas are full of soldiers! I’m… got a few blasters aimed at me. Going for the hatch!"

Pfft! Zzzzp! Pffft Zzzp! Pfft! Zzzzp! Pffft Zzzp!

DeChamps' comm went silent. Less than a minute passed before his Hawk powered up and moved away from the transport. When it reached a safe distance the self-destruct was detonated. The Hawk exploded, leaving little more than millions of tiny bits of debris.