Chapter 17

We were prepared for the attack well before 1000 hrs. Everyone had been fed. The employees had all been moved to the laundry in the basement of the hotel for their safety, but after the mess-hall had been shutdown. The commercial power had been turned off, and Sergeant Bell had one Power Unit running to keep Commo up and those in the basement comfortable. The Colonel had messaged Admiral Stanfield about the planned attack.

Everyone was in position as 1000 hrs. approached. Even the Partners were out of their cages and had been strategically placed to detect any breaches in the wards the Magic users had up all around our now expanded compound.

Ten o’clock arrived and nothing happened. There was no shelling by Artillery, nor any Infantry assaults. No tanks appeared either. It was as quiet as the grave for several minutes as everyone held their breath ... waiting. Eventually there were questions.

“Is the war late getting started?” the Colonel asked me. “Is the Parthas Army so poorly organized that they can’t launch a planned offensive on time?” she continued, before a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

“Or is this just a strategy to wear us out on alert and wear us down so we relax our guard, so that we won’t react to a real attack until too late?” she asked following that.

“Unknown, sir, but we can’t stay on full alert status all of the time. At some point, we will need to downgrade the status of the alert, so people can eat and get some sleep before they go back on duty again,” I told her, but had only finished when there was a rain of laser fire from one or more of the ships in orbit. Fortunately, everyone had their helmets on with their screens down, and they darkened sufficiently to save the eyesight of anyone looking in the direction the fire came from.

This was followed almost instantly by the crash and explosion of a number of aircraft several miles from our compound. The explosions and later the smoke from the fires were very visible from our location. It was 1010 hrs. when this occurred.

“I guess the Air Force was a little late,” the Colonel said to me, while the various section leaders checked on their people or Partners to be sure that they were okay. A few minutes later, there was a message from Franklin Commo.

“Franklin Commo to Commander, First Mobile Headquarters Team. Commander, Task-force Franklin sends the following: ‘One of our destroyers engaged five Parthas Air Force aircraft headed for your compound. All five aircraft were eliminated. Aircraft in following waves broke off and returned to Parthas airfield. Oversight remains in effect.’ End of message. Out.”

“Isn’t that interesting?” the Colonel said before contacting our commo.

“Headquarters Commo, send the following to Franklin Commo: ‘Appreciate the assistance. Good shooting’. Sign that Commander, First Mobile Headquarters Team. Do you copy? Over,” she finished.

“Headquarters Commo to HQ6. Good copy here. Will transmit to Franklin Commo. Nothing further. Out,” we heard from Sergeant Dohla, who was on duty in commo.

“Cleve, reduce the alert condition to fifty percent on duty. We’ll see if they have a follow up to that attack,” the Colonel told me. I issued orders to reduce the alert condition, and also issued orders to get the electricity back on, the mess-hall back in operation, and the S-2 and S-3 working again. The Partners were also reduced to 50% on alert. Luther readied the Eagles for a patrol to check out the area of the crashes. The Falcons were sent on a close in survey of the surrounding buildings to look for any sign of infiltrators. Lastly, the Magic users reduced the strength of their wards to their normal levels. We would wait to see what the Parthas Government and Military would try next.

The pictures returned by the Eagles from the crash scene showed a lot of property destruction created by the crashed planes, plus from the large fires and explosions that followed the crashes. There was also collateral destruction from the laser fire that had brought the planes down. The Falcons found no indications of enemy infiltration.

There was no further activity in our area from the Parthas Government or Military for the remainder of that day. By 1300, the Colonel reduced the alert condition to one squad from each platoon of Marines on duty for four hours at a time with part of them resting and part of them on roving patrol in our area. We also maintained a watch from the roof of the hotel with our people, and the feathered Partners flew a close-in patrol of the area near our compound every couple of hours.

The commercial power was a bit unsteady for several hours after the crash, and Sergeant Bell had all of our Power Units on line for a number of hours to keep us operational until the commercial power stabilized.

Meanwhile, the Colonel had taken under consideration the problem of how the Irish girls could continue to work on our Talents without breaking any Special Operations’ regulations, thus keeping us out of trouble while they completed their necessary work. Her solution to this complex problem was rather simple.

The conference room was cleared of furniture, and four somewhat narrow beds were moved in there along with some equipment from our Medical Team, plus a desk and several chairs. Doctor Mellifont plus SFC Atchine and her Team would monitor and observe the entire procedure. At all times, either Mellifont or Atchine would be there with one other member of the Medical Team. We four would sleep on the beds, and Eachna and Eavan would do the work necessary to increase our Talents to the level where we could meet with their Leaders and the Law Givers on an equal footing.

The four of us awoke the next morning following a good night’s sleep feeling fine. Eachna and Eavan had gone to their room after finishing their work and would sleep late today, as they had worked until late last night. The Medical Team and Doctor Mellifont would also be sleeping in today after watching over us all night.

There had been no problems over night, so the Colonel changed the Alert condition to just one squad of Marines on duty for two hours with rotation between the Platoons. We still maintained a lookout on the hotel roof. The Eagles and the Falcons flew patrols of the nearby area at irregular times during the day.

That morning following a good breakfast, we received a message from Admiral Stanfield. It was relayed to us by our commo section.

“To Commander, First Mobile Headquarters Team, from Commander Task-force Franklin. Message follows: At approximately 0300 hrs. local time, Task-force de Gaulle arrived in orbit to supplement and strengthen Task-force Franklin.

“Task-force de Gaulle is composed of the carrier Charles de Gaulle, two light cruisers, six destroyers and a number of supply ships, plus two maintenance ships. The de Gaulle carries 40 space fighter craft and 25 atmospheric fighters. The mission of Task-force de Gaulle is to interdict all deliveries of supplies for the Planet Parthas until such time as our disagreement is settled. The Task-force is commanded by Admiral Richard Stanfield, my son.

“This message is being sent in the clear, so that those in the Parthas Government and Military will know about it. It will be repeated several times to ensure that it is received by all of the intended recipients. Do you copy? Over,” the message ended.

“First Mobile Headquarters Team Commo to Franklin Commo. Have a good copy here. Out,” Sergeant Paco sent to the Franklin.

“It would appear that someone was anticipating trouble here,” the Colonel commented after hearing the message. There was no trouble in our area that day either. In fact, there seemed to be fewer flights than usual from the airbase that day; it looked as if the Air Force was being very careful.

We still remained on a low level of alert. The Partners had been removed from alert status, but the Eagles and Falcons still made several patrols of the surrounding area that day. A solution still hadn’t been determined in case of the water being cut off, but the Medical Team now tested the incoming water several times a day to ensure that it was still safe to use. A message arrived that afternoon.

“Franklin Commo to First Mobile Headquarters Team Commo. Come in. Over.”

“Franklin Commo, this is First Mobile Commo. Send your message. Over.”

“First Mobile Commo, Franklin Commo. The Franklin Operations Officer, F-3, needs to speak to your Operations Officer. Is he or she available? Over.”

“Franklin Commo, First Mobile Commo. He is available, but we will need to get him. Wait one.”

Specialist Franks from Commo came hurrying into the S-3 after receiving this message.

“Sir, there is a call for you, for the S-3, from the Operations Officer of the Franklin,” he told me. We both hurried to the Commo room.

“Franklin Commo, this is the First Mobile S-3. Over.”

“First Mobile S-3, this is Franklin Operations. We have received numerous reports from our patrolling ships and satellites of heavy activity by the Parthas Military in the area surrounding the large flat land area. Do you know if there is any significance to this activity? Over.”

“Franklin Operations, First Mobile S-3. It sounds like they are preparing to attack the original settlers again. They would be aware that their supplies are cutoff now because of the blockade. This would not be a good thing to happen at this time. I will need to consult with my Commander before we could make a recommendation on action. Over.”

“First Mobile S-3. Franklin Operations. We are already advising our Commander. Call as soon as you have a recommendation. Franklin Ops out.”

“I’m gong to talk to the Colonel. If they call back, notify us in her office,” I told Franks. I grabbed Luther on the way to the Colonel’s office.

“We have another problem,” I told both of them, after knocking and being told to enter.

“What kind?” she asked, and I explained my discussion with Franklin Operations.

“We need to talk to Eachna and Eavan, probably Miranda should be in on this too,” the Colonel told me and Luther. We both went to find them.

I located Eachna and Eavan in their room, but only told them there was a problem. Luther was returning with Miranda, as we approached the Colonel’s office. Once inside, I explained the problem again. Both Irish girls went pale.

“Our Leaders have been waiting for more supplies to arrive for some time. We are still short of military equipment and supplies since the last attack. They have been harder and harder to obtain. Now with your ships up there, we will never receive any,” Eachna told us in a panicked voice.