Seveq.”
“A fleet?” Damn! Not now. We are so close.
“Over a hundred ships…wait…I’m detecting other vessels coming in
from different vectors. They are all converging on the Seveq system. It looks
like my people are assembling a large fleet of ships for something.”
“Something bad I’m sure,” I said. “How long until the first ships
reach the planet?”
“We will arrive three hours before they do.”
“Lovely.”
Chapter
Five
I called everyone together for a briefing, explaining the plan to
rescue Val Evans, and the new complication presented by the imminent arrival of
the Sentient ships. We would have to move fast, landing under the cover of
darkness at a cleared construction site half a kilometer from the Sentient ship.
The rest of the journey to the park would be on foot.
The plan revolved around ambushing the Sentients on their next
body run, then getting into the ship before those inside could raise the shield.
It also called for Del to remain behind with our ship, keeping it ready for a
quick departure. The Sentient didn’t agree.
“I should go with you and present myself as one of the victims; their
sensors will pick me up immediately, and they will come to investigate. You can
set up your ambush around me.”
I looked at Stinson and Mendoza, and saw from their expressions that
they shared my concerns about including Del in the assault.
Still... “That actually might work,” I conceded. “Our Kamosuits would hide
our bio-signatures but yours would be like a signal flare.”
But can I trust you against your own people?
Loud, nagging doubts aside, this would place the Sentients exactly
where we wanted them, instead of us having to react to their movements.
I made a quick decision. “Okay. We can make that happen. While
Stinson and I stake out Del’s ‘corpse’, Mendoza will position herself in the
grass behind the ship—within striking distance of the propulsion units.”
I looked at her directly, “I want you to disable the engines so
the ship can’t lift off during our attack.”
“Yes sir,” she said with obvious enthusiasm. Too much
enthusiasm , I thought, better tamp it down a bit.
“Nothing fancy, Mendoza, just make sure you cripple the engines
without blowing up the whole ship. Don’t wait for orders, as soon as we attack,
move fast. After the engines are down, drop back behind the wall bordering the
park and watch the door for reinforcements. We have no idea how many Sentients
are in that ship, or how many might come streaming out.”
“Will do, sir.”
“Jeff, you and I will conceal ourselves behind the wall as well,
on the side of the ship where the door is. Once the Sentients discover Del and are
in position, we can pop up and take them out before they know what’s happening.”
Stinson nodded agreement.
“Del, your job is to lay there and be convincingly dead,” I said. “When
they get right up to you, they’ll know the truth and your cover will be blown.
Yell ‘Go’, and we’ll launch the attack. We should be able to put them down
before they can react to you. If you can, grab the little guy—it always seems
to be unarmed and might be someone important. We’ll concentrate on the bodyguards.”
“I understand,” it said.
I looked at each one in turn, “As the old saying goes, no plan survives
contact with the enemy . I’m positive that we’ll have to adapt and improvise
at some point during this operation. Be flexible. Be ready for anything.”
We dropped into the planet’s atmosphere fully cloaked, hoping the
Sentient’s stealth tech was able to at least partially compensate for the massive
heat signature our reentry was generating. Del leveled the ship out, and its
exterior transitioned into a standard atmospheric flight configuration; we
began to descend rapidly.
Breaking through the cloud layer, we emerged into a flawless clear
sky. Starlight spilled through small breaks in the clouds overhead, creating a
sparkling
“A fleet?” Damn! Not now. We are so close.
“Over a hundred ships…wait…I’m detecting other vessels coming in
from different vectors. They are all converging on the Seveq system. It looks
like my people are assembling a large fleet of ships for something.”
“Something bad I’m sure,” I said. “How long until the first ships
reach the planet?”
“We will arrive three hours before they do.”
“Lovely.”
Chapter
Five
I called everyone together for a briefing, explaining the plan to
rescue Val Evans, and the new complication presented by the imminent arrival of
the Sentient ships. We would have to move fast, landing under the cover of
darkness at a cleared construction site half a kilometer from the Sentient ship.
The rest of the journey to the park would be on foot.
The plan revolved around ambushing the Sentients on their next
body run, then getting into the ship before those inside could raise the shield.
It also called for Del to remain behind with our ship, keeping it ready for a
quick departure. The Sentient didn’t agree.
“I should go with you and present myself as one of the victims; their
sensors will pick me up immediately, and they will come to investigate. You can
set up your ambush around me.”
I looked at Stinson and Mendoza, and saw from their expressions that
they shared my concerns about including Del in the assault.
Still... “That actually might work,” I conceded. “Our Kamosuits would hide
our bio-signatures but yours would be like a signal flare.”
But can I trust you against your own people?
Loud, nagging doubts aside, this would place the Sentients exactly
where we wanted them, instead of us having to react to their movements.
I made a quick decision. “Okay. We can make that happen. While
Stinson and I stake out Del’s ‘corpse’, Mendoza will position herself in the
grass behind the ship—within striking distance of the propulsion units.”
I looked at her directly, “I want you to disable the engines so
the ship can’t lift off during our attack.”
“Yes sir,” she said with obvious enthusiasm. Too much
enthusiasm , I thought, better tamp it down a bit.
“Nothing fancy, Mendoza, just make sure you cripple the engines
without blowing up the whole ship. Don’t wait for orders, as soon as we attack,
move fast. After the engines are down, drop back behind the wall bordering the
park and watch the door for reinforcements. We have no idea how many Sentients
are in that ship, or how many might come streaming out.”
“Will do, sir.”
“Jeff, you and I will conceal ourselves behind the wall as well,
on the side of the ship where the door is. Once the Sentients discover Del and are
in position, we can pop up and take them out before they know what’s happening.”
Stinson nodded agreement.
“Del, your job is to lay there and be convincingly dead,” I said. “When
they get right up to you, they’ll know the truth and your cover will be blown.
Yell ‘Go’, and we’ll launch the attack. We should be able to put them down
before they can react to you. If you can, grab the little guy—it always seems
to be unarmed and might be someone important. We’ll concentrate on the bodyguards.”
“I understand,” it said.
I looked at each one in turn, “As the old saying goes, no plan survives
contact with the enemy . I’m positive that we’ll have to adapt and improvise
at some point during this operation. Be flexible. Be ready for anything.”
We dropped into the planet’s atmosphere fully cloaked, hoping the
Sentient’s stealth tech was able to at least partially compensate for the massive
heat signature our reentry was generating. Del leveled the ship out, and its
exterior transitioned into a standard atmospheric flight configuration; we
began to descend rapidly.
Breaking through the cloud layer, we emerged into a flawless clear
sky. Starlight spilled through small breaks in the clouds overhead, creating a
sparkling
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