Chapter 12

Outside on the taxiway and the maintenance area things were a mess. There were two shuttles sitting on the runway, one behind the other. Hanson had told us that his people had eliminated eight rebels inside the building. That made ten of them holding the headquarters building when you counted the one that Bob had killed, and the one taken prisoner that Susie had subdued.

Gram’s people had a much harder time, and it was good that the Marines from the shuttles, and the shuttles themselves had been available.

A quick inspection had shown that many of the aircraft had taken hits during the firefight that ensued after the blockade runner had crashed. Three of the six planes had taken more serious damage than the others and would require some time to repair. The other three could be made ready for use more quickly.

What we hadn’t known when we sent Gram, his squad and half of the SWAT teams to secure the aircraft was that there were rebels hiding in the closed maintenance hangars with trucks. It appeared that they intended to load the cargo from the blockade runner on the planes and also on some of the trucks, and then all escape with the new supplies. It would be difficult to tell exactly what those supplies were as the ship had exploded and burned after being shot down by the fighters.

It appeared that immediately following the crash and explosion, those in the maintenance hangars had burst out in an attempt to escape. Again it was difficult to determine exactly how many vehicles and rebels there had been, since the fighters and the shuttles had worked them over and also to a lesser extent several of the hangars. The vehicles had been reduced to burned rubble, and a couple of the hangars would require repairs before being used again.

Even with the vehicles disabled or destroyed, the rebels fought on until wiped out. We would never know for sure just how many of them there had been since many died in the vehicles, and others died while fighting the Marines and SWAT Team. Most had been consumed by the fires or been blown up in the vehicle wreckage by the grenades used by the Marines to root them out.

We eventually made our way out to the wreckage of the blockade runner, and wreckage is an apt description. It had crashed after being hit by the guns of the fighters and then by their missiles. There were pieces and parts of the ship scattered along a path from the end of the runway to where the ship had hit the ground some nine hundred yards past the end of the runway. It had blown up and burned on crashing. All that remained was a blackened and partly melted jumble of metal. Perhaps the crime scene experts could make something of it and what it had carried, but that would be some time down the road.

By the time the Colonel and I returned to the headquarters building, Gram was there waiting for us with his report.

“How are your people, Gram?” I asked on seeing him.

“I have two men with minor wounds. The SWAT people have one man badly wounded and one man dead. They didn’t have the armor that we wear, but it didn’t keep them from fighting as hard as we did. They are brave men,” he told us, before continuing, “The Marines from the shuttles have three men wounded but not seriously. The shuttles and the fighters were a big help when those trucks burst out of the hangars.

“They just charged straight at us and the planes. The fighters and the shuttles shut that idea down, and then it was just a firefight. None of them appeared to consider surrendering. We had to blast them out of the wreckage to put paid (finished) to them,” he told us.

“A very good report, Gram. Very complete and concise. See to your people and move back to the trucks. We’ll be leaving soon. Do any of your people require hospitalization?” the Colonel asked.

“No sir, the Corpsmen have treated all of them. The SWAT member was taken to a hospital,” he told us.

“Very good, Gram. See to your people,” the Colonel told him again before he departed. We were joined by Chief Investigator Henderson following that.

“This is certainly more than I was expecting,” he told us as he joined us. “It would appear that this was a major resupply operation for the rebels. They certainly had a substantial number of people here to transfer the cargo from the blockade runner, and very quickly the way they had the aircraft arranged. Losing this many people and the supplies will set them back quite a bit.

“The SWAT team leaders estimate that they lost eight trucks and at least fifty people, perhaps more. We aren’t sure if they had pilots of their own to fly the planes or if they intended to force the Air Wing’s pilots to fly the planes. It really doesn’t matter now, I guess,” he said before falling silent.

As the Marines and SWAT personnel had withdrawn, they had been replaced by police investigators and crime scene personnel. There was a lot of yellow crime scene tape put up. Hanson saw us standing outside and came out to talk to us.

“The Police have taken charge inside. When can we withdraw?” he asked.

“Go ahead and lead your people back to the trucks. Gram may be there already when you arrive. Have you seen the National Guardsmen?” I asked.

“I still have the two who were with us,” he told us before moving back inside to gather his people and return to the trucks.

Bob and Susie were asleep outside in a patch of shade. I woke them to return to the trucks with us.

“It looks like you will be busy here for a while,” the Colonel said to Mr. Henderson.

“Yes, this should keep us busy for some time. We’ll see what the crime scene people can discover, since most of the physical evidence has been destroyed,” he told us. Major Nonliskul, the Air Wing Commander joined us then with a grim look on his face.

“It will require much repair work before we are a hundred percent operational, but we may be able to have two aircraft ready in a day or so. That is if we can get the wreckage cleared away,” he finished looking at Henderson.

“We’ll try to get it moved by tomorrow morning, at least most of it,” the Chief Investigator promised. I could see that his people would be working overnight under lights to accomplish that, even though it was only early afternoon.

“Thank you, Major,” the Colonel said before we departed with my Partners. Luther and Miranda plus Samson and Sara had withdrawn with Gram’s men. It was a very quiet ride on the way back to the warehouse.

Miranda dropped the wards as we approached the warehouse. Bob and Susie were out of the truck as soon as it stopped to check for intruders. A pair of armed Marines had also exited each of the other trucks to take up guard positions until Miranda brought the wards back up around the warehouse and the parking area.

It actually required two days before the Air Wing had two aircraft ready to fly, which was just as well, since several of the Marines were on light duty for their wounds, and we all needed to go over our gear and obtain a resupply of ammunition and other expendables that had been used on the operation.

The National Guardsmen had been shocked by the intensity of the Marines attack. Sergeant Cracker in particular had been shocked by the sight of the rebel that Bob had taken down. In fact, he made a point of avoiding both Tigers as much as possible, even though there were additional practices to bring the four of them up to speed on Marine and Special Operation tactics.

On the afternoon of the second day, we learned that Admiral Rockler had directed the three fighters to remain on Addison III in support of our operations. We were told that it was listed as a training exercise, and that the pilots and aircraft would change over time to give as many of the fighter pilots as possible a chance to train in atmosphere. They would escort our transports to our landing sites to ensure an uncontested insertion. They would be on call for assistance when needed following that.

The morning of the third day following the Battle at the Air Wing, we loaded on two of the smaller transports for our first insertion near several suspected rebel camp sites. It required two aircraft because of our logistical tail.

Due to the local bacterial problem, there was no way for the Partners to subsist on the local prey animals without them being treated and well cooked. Even the drinking water had to be treated and distilled. This was a real hindrance to operations, but the same conditions affected the rebels also.

The first insertion site had been chosen very carefully for its location near three suspected rebel camp sites, and our destination had not been revealed to the Air Wing or their pilots until we were ready to takeoff. The fighters were also then informed of the destination. The Colonel considered this a necessary security measure, as we didn’t know who was in league with the rebels and would warn them.

We took off at 0800 hrs and the flight lasted an hour and a half. The fighters, being faster than the transports, had taken off later but joined us over the insertion site. The planes landed on an unpaved savanna area of grass type vegetation, and we were off of them as soon as they stopped. The Partners were the first ones off the planes. Sampson and Sara took to the sky to obtain pictures of the surrounding area. The Colonel had wanted to come with us, but was needed for coordination with the planetary government for support. Miranda was doing double duty handling both Sara and the Magic. Bob and Susie went out to check the area for threats, and I stayed in constant contact with them.

The Marines set up security around the aircraft, and then started unloading the necessary supplies and equipment. The fighters remained overhead for a half hour, before returning to the spaceport. Nothing of any significance had been spotted by either them or the Eagles. Bob and Susie hadn’t found any real threats either.

Now that we were in the field, the four National Guardsmen began to prove their worth. Being familiar with all of the native plants, insects, and animals from a lifetime among them, they were able to show us the best place to set up camp and which plants and insects to avoid.

Tents for sleeping and operations were quickly set up as well as a mess area. The heaviest equipment was the portable freezer for meat and the distilling unit. There were plenty of field rations and ammunition to unload also. Lastly, there was the communications equipment and their power source. The planes took off to return to base as soon as they were unloaded.

By noon we were set up and had established contact with our headquarters, the spaceport, and Task Force Six commo. Following a meal of field rations for us, and cooked meat for the Partners, we set out for the first camp site which was some two miles away.

The Partners led the way with Samson and Sara in the air and Bob and Susie on the ground. The Marines still on light duty were left to guard the camp. One of the Corpsmen and one of the Army Medics had come with us, and they would alternate with the other pair.

It was hot moving through the jungle to the first camp due to the lack of a breeze in the heavy jungle growth. When we arrived there, all that we found was an abandoned camp. There was little of value left by those who had been here. It was also apparent that the camp had been abandoned for some time. Over the next three days, we checked on the two other suspected camp sites in the area. It was hot, dirty work as the insects were very bothersome at two of the sites, but we found nothing of value at any of the camps. They all appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. On the fourth morning, the transport planes returned, and we loaded up to return to Arnold, and the warehouse there to rest, resupply, and repair our gear before going out to even more distant locations.

The next three weeks saw a continuation of the first sweeps, as we checked ever more distant camp sites, but found little to encourage us. Eventually we needed to switch to the larger transports, the ones which had been damaged the most severely. They had been repaired and were airworthy now. They had a longer range that the smaller transports that we had been using, but required a larger and longer area to land in. Fortunately, we only required one of these larger aircraft to move us and our equipment.

The National Guard contingent had also changed as their required training time was up. The new contingent was composed of professional hunters. They were younger men, and all were excellent shots. Their leader was a Staff Sergeant named Butler, James Aron Butler. He was a short man at 5’-7’’ tall and about 150 pounds. He had a mop of red hair and was sunburned, as were all three of his men. What he lacked in stature, he more than made up in attitude and spunk. His spirit not only encouraged his own men, but also the Marines, who were tired of coming up with nothing on our sweeps. He was a very can-do guy; even Bob liked him.

Things started improving during the fourth week of sweeps. Early that week, we hit a campsite that proved to still have vegetables growing, and a scattering of small items left behind. Attitudes definitely improved with this discovery, as our people began to think that we were getting closer to finding the rebels.

We were now down to a single Eagle Partner, as Sara was required to incubate their two eggs. Samson helped her with that duty on the days that we weren’t in the field.

Things improved even more at the end of that week when checking another campsite, we came under fire as we approached the camp. Bob had warned us that there were still people in the area.

“Smell man, gun,” he had sent, and I had alerted all of our people to that.

At the first shot, everyone hit the deck, and became less visible due to the tall grass that we had been moving through. I contacted Bob and Susie.

“Can you tell where the shot came from,” I sent to them, but it was a number of seconds before I received an answer.

“Man up in tree. Tree too small to climb,” Susie finally sent.

“There are many trees,” I sent back.

“Samson fly over tree. Will tell when near tree,” she sent.

“Susie really is pretty bright,” I thought to myself before calling Luther on the radio. Since we were in constant contact with our Partners, it wasn’t possible to use the mental link for other communications.

“Luther, have Samson fly slowly above the trees in front of us, but not too high. Susie will use him to point out where the sniper is,” I told him.

“Roger, Cleve,” he returned. Shortly Samson broke off his high altitude patrolling and swooped lower over the trees flying across those some two hundred yards in front of us.

“That tree,” Susie sent when he was midway across the row of trees that formed the edge of the forest area in front of us. There was a flash of light then as the sun reflected off of part of his weapon as the sniper tried to aim it at Samson. He didn’t have a chance to get off a shot however, as the flash was followed less than a second or so later by a shot from our skirmish line.