Redemption (17 page)

“Now we wait, Lieutenant.  Whoever takes out the comm tower will activate the Hal robots.  All we have to do is wait for our friend here to …”

Alarm sirens shrieked.  Stadium lights lit up the darkness and turned night into day.  Powerful strobe lights flickered atop buildings.  Chinese soldiers were moving all over the base.  Screaming and gunfire could be heard in multiple locations.  Richard grabbed Lieutenant Banaski’s arm and pulled him to the ground.  “Get the fuck down!”

“Oh Jesus, we’re fucked!” screamed the lieutenant.  “What the fuck are we gonna do now?”

“Calm down, son, this will all be over very soon.”  Richard was certain someone would have activated Hal by now but didn’t wait to find out.  He ran his hand down the side of the robot and was about to pull up a panel that exposed the on switch when the robot activated.  The legs folded down and two arms clicked out and locked into place.  The red fish eye lens in the center of the robot glowed.  “Hal, initiate the failsafe, you—.”

The robot did not acknowledge General Dupree and was already airborne before Richard could finish his sentence.  Richard lifted the frightened lieutenant to his feet.  Banaski started toward the airfield when Richard grabbed his arm.

“Stop!  Follow me!”  Richard sprinted away from the airfield.  Banaski looked over his shoulder at the airfield and back at his commanding officer.  Richard did not slow down and screamed over his shoulder.  “Now, Lieutenant!  Get your ass moving!”

Banaski started jogging.  “Sir!  Sir!  You’re going the wrong way!”

Richard was furious and screamed, “Run!  Run!  Run!”

Banaski felt the desperation in General Dupree’s screams and it finally dawned on him what was about to happen.  The young lieutenant had never run so fast in his entire life.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Nine hundred and twelve yards away from General Dupree, a mortally wounded paratrooper activated the first Hal robot.  The dying man lifted the panel with the two remaining fingers on his left hand and flipped the switch.  In the span of a few picoseconds, Hal activated the other ninety-nine robots assigned to the mission and gathered the critical data he needed for the mission.  Another few picoseconds elapsed and he had a clear picture of what was transpiring. 

No data could be gathered from the missions taking place at Minneapolis and Baton Rouge, meaning the Hal robots had not yet been activated.  Twenty-three paratroopers assigned to the St. Louis mission did not survive the fall.  Another twenty paratroopers missed the drop zone and could not contribute to the mission.  The closest was six point two miles away and the furthest was forty-seven point nine miles away.  Of the fifty-seven paratroopers that successfully landed in the drop zone, nineteen were now deceased.  Three point two seconds prior to his activation; the Chinese had sounded the general alarm.  At the time of his activation, Hal detected eight radio transmissions from the Chinese seeking clarification as to why the alarm had been sounded.  No outgoing transmissions had been detected.  No order had been given to the airfield to launch any craft.  Hal concluded that none of the mission objectives would be completed before the Chinese sent a distress signal.  The thirty-eight remaining paratroopers were now facing active resistance.  Even in optimal conditions, the robots in the combat zone would not be able to disable communication in the fleeting seconds remaining.  If a distress call went out, the Chinese would be on full alert and the invasion force getting under way from the Rockies would be annihilated.  General Dupree had given Hal clear instructions on what to do in this circumstance.  Operation Nantucket was about to go down in flames.  Hal initiated the failsafe order.

The robot closest to the airfield was the one assigned to General Dupree.  Hal activated it sent it hurtling to the airfield; no time could be allotted to converse with the general.  Hal disengaged the safety lock to the robot’s power cell and activated the detonation command.  The small nuclear power cell went critical three hundred and nine feet above the airfield and detonated.  The kiloton blast carved out a crater sixty feet across and sent out a blast wave that leveled every building within a two thousand foot radius.  The fighter jets on the airfield scattered through the air like toys.

Three nanoseconds after the first detonation, a second robot’s power cell went critical five hundred and seventeen feet above the center of the Chinese base.  When the blast waves from both explosions subsided, nothing remained of the Chinese base.  Thousands had died, including the majority of the paratroopers that had dropped from the stratosphere.

Hal immediately dispatched the functioning robots to collect the surviving paratroopers.  A robot landed on the ground next to Richard Dupree.  “Sir, are you injured?”

Richard was lying in the dirt.  After the detonation on the airfield, he and Lieutenant Banaski were far enough away from the blast zone to survive, but just barely.  They had been swept off their feet and thrown down a hill.  Richard coughed and rubbed his head.  “I think I’m okay.  Banaski?  You still alive?”

“I’m still here, sir.”  Banaski stood and ran his hands over his body, checking for injuries.  “I think I’m good, sir.”

Richard rolled over on his back and sat up.  “Talk to me Hal.”

“All three targets have been completely destroyed, the Chinese do not have adequate air support to repel an invasion.  By the time the enemy can launch a counterattack, our hypersonic aircraft will be in Chinese airspace.”

Lieutenant Banaski charged the Hal robot and tried to knock it over.  The robot didn’t budge and the young lieutenant was knocked backwards onto the ground for his effort.  “What the hell did you do?  You pulled this shit at Minneapolis and Baton Rouge?  You slaughtered our own people!  You never even gave us a chance!  What makes you think you can make these kinds of decisions on your own?  You’re not in charge of jack shit!”

Richard stood over Banaski and helped him to his feet.  “That’s enough, son.  Calm down.”

“Sir!  This robot’s lost its mind!  It’s turning against us!  We have to do something!”

“Hal was acting on my orders.  Once Hal knew the mission would fail, he did what I told him to do.”  Richard stared down the young man; making it crystal clear the issue was closed for debate.

“I understand, sir.  Sorry.”

Richard patted Banaski on the shoulder.  “Take a walk, son, get some fresh air.  Hal, continue.”

“Yes, sir.  The remaining robots from Operation Nantucket are standing by to collect the surviving paratroopers.”

“How many?” asked Richard.

“Eighty-two, sir.”

“Jesus, eighty-two out of six hundred.  Hal, leave the troopers where they are for now and send the robots into the fight.  I want the Mississippi secured as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Instruct the survivors to engage the enemy wherever possible using guerrilla tactics.”

“Yes, sir.  I have also taken the liberty of briefing the president of our progress.”

“So he’s pissed?”

“He is not, sir.  As per your instructions, I have retracted the relevant portions of the report.  The president only knows the targets have been secured, he does not know how.”

“That’s my boy, good job.  I’ve just committed treason.  The president has always said the nuclear option would be the end of us all.  I’m hoping he’ll let this one slide.”

“You are welcome, sir.  I am optimistic that the president will agree that the ends justified the means.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we’ve got a long way to go.  Where’s my jet?  I’m ready to get in this thing.”

“Your jet will arrive in twenty-one minutes, sir.”

“Good, that gives me time to change clothes.”

“Yes, sir.  Is your uniform unserviceable?”

“You could say that.  I shit my pants on the jump and I’m not even remotely ashamed of myself.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

While Richard was waiting for his jet to arrive, the two hundred and fifteen surviving Hal robots from Operation Nantucket were in a battle with the smaller Chinese outposts along the river.    Hal focused his efforts on the smaller air defense batteries scattered along the river.  The goal was to create large holes along the Chinese line so the PSA could safely cross into enemy territory.  By the time Richard’s private jet landed and he boarded, Hal had done considerable damage.

“I missed ya, buddy.  Been out there having fun?”  Richard settled into his cabin and settled into comfortable, plush recliner and kicked off his boots.

“Sir, I have missed you as well.  Yes, I have been having - ‘fun’ as you would call it.  Are you comfortable, sir?  Care for a nap?”

Richard had leaned back in his recliner and raised his hands up to interact with the holographic readouts, he slowly pulled them towards himself so he wouldn’t have to sit up.  Now, all the monitors and readouts were directly within arm’s reach.  “That’s good, Hal.  Wait, did you just ask me if I wanna take a nap?”

“I did, sir.  You do seem comfortable.”

Richard smiled and laughed.  “Hal!  Buddy?  You making a joke?”

“I am, sir.”

Richard chuckled.  “Well now, shit, that was pretty funny.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“The war over yet?”

“Not quite, sir.  The hypersonic fleet was able to launch over a thousand robots to secure the Mississippi.  We have secured large portions of the river to the north and south.”

“Jesus, that was quick.  Is it just me or did that seem too easy?”

“It did, sir.  The Chinese have all but abandoned their defenses to the north and south and consolidated what remains of their defenses to protect their forward outpost at Kansas City.”

“Show me.”

The four small holographic displays in front of Richard quickly faded to be replaced by a large one that filled Richard’s field of vision.  Hal’s assessment was of course spot on as usual.  The forward outpost at Kansas City was a small one of no real tactical value.  The base only served one real purpose: to provide a forward staging area should the Chinese decide to invade the PSA.  It was obvious the Chinese would not be in any position to plan such a bold move any time soon.  Hal had not assigned any value to the tiny base because it was on the wrong side of the Mississippi.  The goal of Operation Nantucket was to take the Mississippi and push east, not to backtrack and destroy an insignificant target.

“What am I missing, Hal?  What are they doing?  The second wave of the invasion will wipe out that base, they don't stand a chance in saving it.”

“Sir, the only explanation is the base in Kansas City is protecting something the Chinese are not prepared to lose.”

“How long before the second wave can engage?”

“Fifty-eight minutes, sir.”

“Hmm, this is tricky.  We can’t afford to lose our momentum and circle back to take care of Kansas City, but I don’t like them just sitting there when we have no idea what they are doing.”

“Sir, I believe we have our answer.  A high speed train has departed from the base and is heading west.  The train is heavily defended.”

“A train?  What in the holy hell would they put on a train?”

“Sir, I am unable to ascertain the primary contents of the train.”

Richard’s cheerful giddiness over the progress of Operation Nantucket was ruined.  “What are you saying?  How is that even possible?”

“Sir, it is apparent the Chinese are using a technology unknown to me.  Three of the cars are somehow shielded from my scans.  The remaining cars are transporting passengers.”

“Show me.”

The display in front of Richard showed an aerial view of the train, no doubt taken from the a satellite.  The readouts detailed practically everything about the train.  Richard knew the type of engine and what minor deficiencies needed to be addressed on its next maintenance check.  He knew that fifty-six men and nineteen women were onboard.  The one thing he didn’t know was what was inside three of the cars.

“Okay, Hal, I don’t like this at all.  What will happen if we circle back and take it out?”

“Sir, I would not advise such a tactic.  The bulk of the Chinese military resides along the Eastern seaboard; the most crucial phase of the operation will begin soon.  We cannot afford to divert any of our resources at this time.”

“Can we speed up the second wave?”

“We cannot, sir.  The bulk of the second wave consists of ground forces.  The aircraft in the second wave are primarily for transporting troops.  The escorts assigned to the transports have the means of destroying the train, but their speed is limited.”

“Shit.  I don’t like this.  I want options, Hal, surely we can do something besides waiting for the second wave to take them out.”

“Again, sir, the train is heavily defended.  Our momentum to the Eastern seaboard would effectively cease while dealing with this problem.  Any delay at this point would result in a counterattack that we are not prepared to answer.”

“Can we spare this jet?”

“We can, sir, but this craft alone is not able to pierce the defenses around the train.”

“I know, Hal, we’re not going to the train.”

“And where would you like to go, sir?”

“Colonel Samson was right, I belong in Denver.  Can we do a flyby of the train on the way?”

“We can, sir.  Our route back to Denver will put us within visual range of the train.  I should note, sir, that we will not be able to gain any additional intelligence.”

“I don’t care, Hal, I want to see it with my own eyes.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Mind telling me where we are?  Kinda think maybe I should have some say in what’s going on, don’t you?  Oh yeah, how’s Colonel Samson doing by the way?  Sharp guy, bet he’s doing great.”

“Sir, we are just off the shore of Jacksonville, Florida.  We were headed north but I have changed course and we are traveling west to Denver.  Colonel Samson is doing an adequate job.”

“Adequate?  That’s high praise coming from…, wait, did you say Florida?”

“I did, sir.”

“Didn’t Max grow up in Florida?”

“He did, sir.”