Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Black Knights, Steel Hearts ❯ Chapter 18
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Trboturtle 
Battle on the Coastal Highway -- Part Three
Anime/Manga: Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mecha / Cyberpunk / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.26.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 557 | Status: Completed
Battle on the Coastal Highway -- Part Three
Anime/Manga: Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Mecha / Cyberpunk / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.26.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 557 | Status: Completed
**************************************************
The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted by
Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little
while for non-monetary reasons. I can be contacted at the Email address above.
Serious C&C will be accepted, out-and-out flames will result in a Boomer
or two being sent after you, once they get around to building them.
Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . .
*************************************************
Ch apter 18
Gulf and Bradley - Japan Headquarters
MegaTokyo, Japan
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:26am
"How long until Charlie Team arrives?" snapped Cora, her face drawn with anticipation.
"They are coming into position now."
"Ma'am," called out a female tech. "Baker Team has been completely eliminated."
"What's the status of Able?"
"There's two left, neither in good shape."
"They'll have to hold their ground then. Time to the satellite override?"
"Five seconds." replied the senior tech.
Cora turned to her brother and Ozu, and gave them a cold smile. "We're ready."
"I should hope so," replied Carlton. "The data you wanted was very expensive to obtain."
"We have control of the satellite!" shouted another of the techs.
Cora turned back to the screen. "Send the activation codes!"
"Codes sent." For fifteen seconds, there was silence in the control room, then the tech shouted. "Codes have been accepted!"
"Upload the vector data now!"
"Uploading." There was silence for another fifteen seconds, then the tech shouted again. "Data uploaded. The satellite is acknowledging new orders."
"How long until the satellite is ready to fire?"
"The satellite will fire the first wave in fifteen seconds, second wave ten seconds after that."
"I doubt the Black Knights and Knight Sabers can survive both waves," she murmured.
"As I said," replied Carlton, "dear sister, we shall see."
**********
Thor Satellite 5
560 kilometers above the Earth's surface
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:26am
The satellite was one of ten that the United States of America had placed into orbit thirty years ago. Designed to drop a large number of solid metal spikes on an enemy if there is a war, the satellites were a major secret that had been quietly forgotten by most of the government. Even the current President had no knowledge of their existence. Only the military cared about them these days, and that was only so they didn't accidentally drop their cargo of one-ton spikes on an unsuspecting country.
During that time, several of the satellites had been destroyed due to collisions with other satellites, or told to self destruct because their orbit had decayed to the point where they posed a threat. Of the ten that had been in orbit at the beginning of the project, there were only five left. And of the five, only Thor Satellite 5's orbit took it over the Pacific Ocean, and the countries of Japan, Korea, and the eastern part of the Russian Federation at this time.
The computer, which had been a cutting edge system when it had been launched, was woefully out of date. So when the orders for a Thor strike were received by the satellite's onboard computer, the computer didn't wonder if the orders were wrong, or immoral. The activation codes matched the ones in its memory, and that was good enough for it.
A short burst from several of its thrusters moved the satellite into a better orbit. Inside the satellite, the targeting computer worked out a firing pattern based on the data it had received from below, and sent the data to the computer controlling the launch tubes.
The launch tube computer received the data, and sent signals to the twenty-five launch tubes that encircled the core of the satellite. Three of the tubes failed to acknowledge the signals, but the other twenty-two returned a confirmation of readiness. Now that it knew how many tubes it could count on, the targeting computer started the count down for the first wave.
When the internal timer reached 0, the satellite sent the signal to launch to the first ten operational tubes. Each fifteen-meter long tube was like a single shot rail gun, powered by a series of solar collectors to keep it charged and ready. Designed to accelerate a five-meter long spike just enough to allow it to plunge into the atmosphere, the developers decided to go with redundancy rather then a single railgun with a rotating magazine.
Without a sound, Thor 5 launched ten of the five-meter long solid metal spikes on their plotted course. Ten seconds later, nine more one-ton needles left the tubes and started their one way trip into the Earth's atmosphere.
**********
Highway 17
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:28am
It had taken less then a minute for the Rattlesnake to land, pick up the six hardsuited figures, and lift into the air. The chopper swung around to the Northeast, lifting high into the air to clear the massive amount of smoke covering the highway.
Once onboard, the Black Knight team quickly replaced their ammo clips with fresh magazines from storage compartments located just above their heads. Sylia watched them with one eye, while monitoring her hardsuit's status report with the other. Their hardsuits are definitely advanced models. But are they Stingray-based designs, or someone else's independent work? Are they as good as our designs? Why this mix of weapons and armor? She closed her eyes. There are so many questions I want to ask Knight One about those suits, and I cannot do so. But they appear to very good designs.
Sylia hung onto a reinforced strap, located in the bulkhead of the chopper's passenger compartment, with one hand and watched the ground below through the open compartment door. Linna was next to her, only she was hanging onto the strap with both hands. Next to her, Knight One and the other members of Red Team held on as the chopper rocked from side to side. The compartment was crowded with six hardsuits, but they were all professionals, so there were no complaints.
"Knight Wing to White Saber," said Mackie over the Saber's channel. "Come in Sis."
"What is it, Mackie?"
"I'm picking up another set of signals heading in your direction. They're coming out of the southwest, and they're closing fast. I think it's more Boomers."
Damn! She glanced at Linna, who signaled she was listening by a single nod. "What's your location?"
"Northwest of your current location, four klicks out."
"Hold there until I get back to you."
"Don't be too long."
"I try not to be." Sylia switched back over to the channel she was sharing with Knight One. "We've got trouble."
"I know," he replied grimly. "I'm sending Blue Team to assist White Team, seeing as they're coming right at White. Can you have the other Knight Sabers hook up with them, while we continue to track the Boomers and their prisoner?"
Sylia nodded. She switched back over to the Saber's channel. Priss, Nene. Status?"
Nene answered. "We heard Mackie, and we're clear. Priss is just finishing off the last Boomer now. But, both Motorslaves are out of ammo."
I'll have to design a way for the Motorslaves to carry more ammo in the future, Sylia thought. But I wasn't expecting a full scale war! "Send your two Typhoons to rendezvous with the Knight Wing. Right now, I need you and Priss to team up with one of the Black Knight teams. They should be heading toward you anytime now."
"We hear them. What are we supposed to be doing with them?"
"Hold off those new Boomers until we find out what the hell is going on here."
Priss cut in, her breath raspy from exertion. "So, you want us to team up with people we've just met, against Boomers? When did you become so trusting?"
"Be nice to our guests, Priss," Sylia said mildly. "We're allies for the time being."
"Yes mommy. I promise to play nice with the new children."
Sylia watched Linna shake with silent laughter. "Just don't break any of their toys. All right?"
"We promise," replied Nene. "Here comes the chopper in for a landing now . . . and . . . Leon!"
"Where?" asked Sylia surprised.
"He's on the helicopter that . . . just touched down."
"I'll kill him," muttered Priss, just loud enough to be heard. "I'll tear him from limb to limb! I'll . . . "
"You can tell him how much you've missed him later," replied Sylia dryly. "Just get onboard and get ready to receive the gatecrashers. And don't let on you know Leon, all right?"
"All right."
Sylia switched back over to the shared channel and looked at Knight One. "My people are getting onboard the chopper now."
"Good. Our pilot reports we're closing on the Boomers and their possible prisoner."
"How long?"
"Fifty seconds. They're staying on the roadway, which tells me there's something going on."
"They're not running?"
"Only in circles. Like they want to be caught . . . " There was silence for a second, then Knight One said, "I suddenly got a horrible thought."
"We're on open target down here," whispered Sylia, "perfect for a orbital strike . . . "
"That's the one."
Sylia glanced up at the night sky. "Particle Beam Strike?"
"Or something like that. We've given the other side plenty of time to pinpoint our position, and we're in the open here."
"Do we abort?"
Knight One shook his head. "Not until we're sure Janie VanDell is not down there." He pointed to the small group of Boomers that were now visible in the smoke below. "Better alert your people to the new possibility. That new force of Boomers probably has orders to keep us occupied until it's too late."
Sylia quickly informed the others. "Mackie, Can you spot anything in the atmosphere?"
"I started tracking a group of objects just before you called. Whatever they are, they're leaving a hell of an ion trail."
"Anything else?"
"Negative."
"What could they be?" asked Linna.
"A falling satellite?" replied Priss in irritation. She was still smarting at seeing Leon in the last place she'd expected.
Mackie's reply was uncertain. "I don't think so."
"Then what?" asked Sylia. "Any ideas, Nene?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe what?"
"There have been rumors on the 'net for years of a space borne defense system that the USA put into orbit at the turn of the century." Nene sounded slightly frustrated as she tried to recall all the details. "I never heard any real details . . . but it's suppose to be able to drop a solid spike of metal from orbit . . . onto its target."
"Great," muttered Priss. "Big iron spikes from space. Shouldn't be too hard to dodge them."
"You don't understand!" snapped Nene. "If it is this defense system, those spikes are becoming red-hot right this second. After that, they'll become white-hot. By the time they hit the ground, they're molten. All that built up energy has to go somewhere. When it does hit, the spike will turn that energy into an expanding sphere of destruction that will turn the area around the impact into a firestorm."
"In small words, Nene," said Linna.
"Each spike will explode when it hits the ground. A LARGE explosion. Sort of like one of the USSD particle beam weapons was to fire in bursts rather then a continual beam. Understand?"
"Nene," cut in Sylia quickly. "Switch over to channel Beta three, and don't use any personal names."
"Right!"
Sylia switched back over to the shared channel, and said, "One of my people has a theory about the incoming. Pink Saber, Go ahead and tell Knight One what you just told us."
Nene briefly outlined the possibility in short, terse sentences. Knight One listened in silence, then muttered, "Damn Thor satellites. I'd thought they died long ago."
"Thor?" asked Sylia
"Yes, Thor," replied Knight One angrily. "A bright idea thirty years ago, but stupid by today's light."
"What are we going to do about it?"
"It's possible that what's coming at us is a Thor strike, just like your team mate said. Only, it's liable to be worse then she stated."
"How?"
"Each satellite was armed with twenty-five of these spikes, designed to be fired in two or three waves. What we're seeing is the first wave."
"White Saber to Pink Saber. Can you patch into the Knight Wing's systems and get us an estimate on how long we're got before those things hit?"
"Already on it, White. Knight One was right. We're picking up a second group of objects just coming into the atmosphere. ETA on the first wave is six minutes, ETA on the second wave is six minutes, thirty seconds. And I've just calculated the trajectory of those objects - and we're at ground zero."
"We've got five minutes to do this," said Knight One swiftly. "That'll give us a minute to clear out."
"What about the ADP?" asked Sylia. "I doubt all of those spikes are going to hit inside their containment area."
"I'll contact one of our gunners - he's ADP."
"Leon McNichols?"
"I see you know him."
"Blue and Pink Sabers IDed him when the helicopter landed. We know each other, mostly by reputation."
"Then you'll agree he's the best man to tell the ADP's on the site commanders to clear out."
"If they listen to him."
"If my sources are correct, they'll listen to him. I'll pass the word along to him." There was silence for several seconds, then Knight One said, "He's contacting them now. Now all we have to worry about are our friends below."
He waved a hand toward the open compartment door. "Ladies first?"
"After you," said Sylia. "After all, you are a guest in my country."
"If you insist. Our team frequency is twenty megs down from this current channel." Knight One tapped one of the other Knights on the shoulder. "Red Four will give you the frequency skipping configuration we use, so you can stay on the same page with the rest of us." With that, Knight One moved over to the opening. The Black Knight that Knight One had identified as Red Four moved to stand next to Sylia. The Knight held up a small computer pad with a series of numbers which Sylia quickly read off into her hardsuit's communication computer. After several seconds, the frequency skipping matched up, and Sylia could hear Knight One outline the plan.
"Myself and Red Two first," he said, "then the Knight Sabers, then Red Three and Four. Five seconds between each pair. We have four minutes before all hell breaks loose."
**********
Priss dropped to the roadway, followed by Nene, and the members of Blue Team. Before them, the scene was straight out of a nightmare. The tractor trailer that had been transporting the ambush force of Boomers was a burning twisting wreck that littered the roadway. Scattered around the trailer's wreckage were the broken remains of several Boomers.
A shadow stalked out of the haze, and Priss turned and aimed her handcannon at it.
One of the Knights grabbed her arm and pushed it down. "That's one of ours," growled the Knight. Priss recognized the voice that had curtly introduce himself as Blue Leader in the chopper on the short trip over to this location.
Priss pulled away from the Knight. "Don't ever lay a hand on me again!" she snarled. She turned and walked toward Nene, who was talking to another Black Knight.
Nene looked up at Priss's approach. "Something wrong Pr . . . Blue?" she asked,remembering only at the last moment the two of them were on the same frequency as the other Knights.
Priss glared at the Black Knight. "I need to talk to my team mate alone."
"But Blue -" began Nene
The Knight shrugged. "Don't mind me, Blue," replied a male voice. "I'm going."
The Knight turned and walked over to the other members of his team. Priss watched him for several seconds. "Switch over to our own channel," she growled.
Once Nene signaled she was ready, Priss said, "Don't get too friendly with these people, Nene. I don't trust them."
"But Sylia said they were OK."
"And how do we know it isn't a trap to lure us out here so we can be attacked?"
"Because Leon's in that chopper over there," replied Nene. "He's not going to part of a trap to eliminate us."
"And how do you know he's not being duped also?"
"Leon's smarter then you think he is."
"That's not too hard."
Nene giggled, and Priss gave her a hard look, despite the fact Nene couldn't see the glare. "What's so funny?"
"You. You were out looking for Leon tonight, weren't you?"
Priss was taken aback by her team mate's question. "I was not!"
"You happen to be traveling along the highway, kilometers from your trailer, for what then?"
"I was . . . er . . . well . . . "
"Uh-oh," said Nene quickly, looking over Priss's shoulder in the direction of the assembling Knights. "Better switch back to the common frequency."
Priss did so, catching the last part of the Blue Leader's orders. "...take the left, while Blue Three and White Three form a reserve and jamming core with Pink Saber behind the main line. Any Questions?"
Nene waved a hand. "Sir. We missed the first part of your orders because we were discussing something on our own frequency. I know where I'm suppose to be, but where is Blue Saber supposed to be?"
Blue Leader strode over toward them. "Your friend is on the front line, right in the middle of the action," he growled. "The Boomers are less then thirty seconds out, and we're going to need your friend's handcannon."
A roar of a helicopter from behind them interrupted the conversation. The chopper that had carried Blue Team and the two Knight Sabers was lifting off. As Priss looked at the cockpit, she saw Leon, his helmet visor pulled up to expose his face, give them a thumbs-up as the helicopter rose into the air.
The three of them watched the helicopter fade into the darkness for several seconds, before Blue Leader snarled, "Enough of the sightseeing. We've got a battle to fight."
"Now you're talking!" cried Priss. "Time to trash some Boomers!"
With that, the three turned and ran toward the other Knights.
**********
The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted by
Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little
while for non-monetary reasons. I can be contacted at the Email address above.
Serious C&C will be accepted, out-and-out flames will result in a Boomer
or two being sent after you, once they get around to building them.
Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . .
*************************************************
Ch apter 18
Gulf and Bradley - Japan Headquarters
MegaTokyo, Japan
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:26am
"How long until Charlie Team arrives?" snapped Cora, her face drawn with anticipation.
"They are coming into position now."
"Ma'am," called out a female tech. "Baker Team has been completely eliminated."
"What's the status of Able?"
"There's two left, neither in good shape."
"They'll have to hold their ground then. Time to the satellite override?"
"Five seconds." replied the senior tech.
Cora turned to her brother and Ozu, and gave them a cold smile. "We're ready."
"I should hope so," replied Carlton. "The data you wanted was very expensive to obtain."
"We have control of the satellite!" shouted another of the techs.
Cora turned back to the screen. "Send the activation codes!"
"Codes sent." For fifteen seconds, there was silence in the control room, then the tech shouted. "Codes have been accepted!"
"Upload the vector data now!"
"Uploading." There was silence for another fifteen seconds, then the tech shouted again. "Data uploaded. The satellite is acknowledging new orders."
"How long until the satellite is ready to fire?"
"The satellite will fire the first wave in fifteen seconds, second wave ten seconds after that."
"I doubt the Black Knights and Knight Sabers can survive both waves," she murmured.
"As I said," replied Carlton, "dear sister, we shall see."
**********
Thor Satellite 5
560 kilometers above the Earth's surface
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:26am
The satellite was one of ten that the United States of America had placed into orbit thirty years ago. Designed to drop a large number of solid metal spikes on an enemy if there is a war, the satellites were a major secret that had been quietly forgotten by most of the government. Even the current President had no knowledge of their existence. Only the military cared about them these days, and that was only so they didn't accidentally drop their cargo of one-ton spikes on an unsuspecting country.
During that time, several of the satellites had been destroyed due to collisions with other satellites, or told to self destruct because their orbit had decayed to the point where they posed a threat. Of the ten that had been in orbit at the beginning of the project, there were only five left. And of the five, only Thor Satellite 5's orbit took it over the Pacific Ocean, and the countries of Japan, Korea, and the eastern part of the Russian Federation at this time.
The computer, which had been a cutting edge system when it had been launched, was woefully out of date. So when the orders for a Thor strike were received by the satellite's onboard computer, the computer didn't wonder if the orders were wrong, or immoral. The activation codes matched the ones in its memory, and that was good enough for it.
A short burst from several of its thrusters moved the satellite into a better orbit. Inside the satellite, the targeting computer worked out a firing pattern based on the data it had received from below, and sent the data to the computer controlling the launch tubes.
The launch tube computer received the data, and sent signals to the twenty-five launch tubes that encircled the core of the satellite. Three of the tubes failed to acknowledge the signals, but the other twenty-two returned a confirmation of readiness. Now that it knew how many tubes it could count on, the targeting computer started the count down for the first wave.
When the internal timer reached 0, the satellite sent the signal to launch to the first ten operational tubes. Each fifteen-meter long tube was like a single shot rail gun, powered by a series of solar collectors to keep it charged and ready. Designed to accelerate a five-meter long spike just enough to allow it to plunge into the atmosphere, the developers decided to go with redundancy rather then a single railgun with a rotating magazine.
Without a sound, Thor 5 launched ten of the five-meter long solid metal spikes on their plotted course. Ten seconds later, nine more one-ton needles left the tubes and started their one way trip into the Earth's atmosphere.
**********
Highway 17
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
3:28am
It had taken less then a minute for the Rattlesnake to land, pick up the six hardsuited figures, and lift into the air. The chopper swung around to the Northeast, lifting high into the air to clear the massive amount of smoke covering the highway.
Once onboard, the Black Knight team quickly replaced their ammo clips with fresh magazines from storage compartments located just above their heads. Sylia watched them with one eye, while monitoring her hardsuit's status report with the other. Their hardsuits are definitely advanced models. But are they Stingray-based designs, or someone else's independent work? Are they as good as our designs? Why this mix of weapons and armor? She closed her eyes. There are so many questions I want to ask Knight One about those suits, and I cannot do so. But they appear to very good designs.
Sylia hung onto a reinforced strap, located in the bulkhead of the chopper's passenger compartment, with one hand and watched the ground below through the open compartment door. Linna was next to her, only she was hanging onto the strap with both hands. Next to her, Knight One and the other members of Red Team held on as the chopper rocked from side to side. The compartment was crowded with six hardsuits, but they were all professionals, so there were no complaints.
"Knight Wing to White Saber," said Mackie over the Saber's channel. "Come in Sis."
"What is it, Mackie?"
"I'm picking up another set of signals heading in your direction. They're coming out of the southwest, and they're closing fast. I think it's more Boomers."
Damn! She glanced at Linna, who signaled she was listening by a single nod. "What's your location?"
"Northwest of your current location, four klicks out."
"Hold there until I get back to you."
"Don't be too long."
"I try not to be." Sylia switched back over to the channel she was sharing with Knight One. "We've got trouble."
"I know," he replied grimly. "I'm sending Blue Team to assist White Team, seeing as they're coming right at White. Can you have the other Knight Sabers hook up with them, while we continue to track the Boomers and their prisoner?"
Sylia nodded. She switched back over to the Saber's channel. Priss, Nene. Status?"
Nene answered. "We heard Mackie, and we're clear. Priss is just finishing off the last Boomer now. But, both Motorslaves are out of ammo."
I'll have to design a way for the Motorslaves to carry more ammo in the future, Sylia thought. But I wasn't expecting a full scale war! "Send your two Typhoons to rendezvous with the Knight Wing. Right now, I need you and Priss to team up with one of the Black Knight teams. They should be heading toward you anytime now."
"We hear them. What are we supposed to be doing with them?"
"Hold off those new Boomers until we find out what the hell is going on here."
Priss cut in, her breath raspy from exertion. "So, you want us to team up with people we've just met, against Boomers? When did you become so trusting?"
"Be nice to our guests, Priss," Sylia said mildly. "We're allies for the time being."
"Yes mommy. I promise to play nice with the new children."
Sylia watched Linna shake with silent laughter. "Just don't break any of their toys. All right?"
"We promise," replied Nene. "Here comes the chopper in for a landing now . . . and . . . Leon!"
"Where?" asked Sylia surprised.
"He's on the helicopter that . . . just touched down."
"I'll kill him," muttered Priss, just loud enough to be heard. "I'll tear him from limb to limb! I'll . . . "
"You can tell him how much you've missed him later," replied Sylia dryly. "Just get onboard and get ready to receive the gatecrashers. And don't let on you know Leon, all right?"
"All right."
Sylia switched back over to the shared channel and looked at Knight One. "My people are getting onboard the chopper now."
"Good. Our pilot reports we're closing on the Boomers and their possible prisoner."
"How long?"
"Fifty seconds. They're staying on the roadway, which tells me there's something going on."
"They're not running?"
"Only in circles. Like they want to be caught . . . " There was silence for a second, then Knight One said, "I suddenly got a horrible thought."
"We're on open target down here," whispered Sylia, "perfect for a orbital strike . . . "
"That's the one."
Sylia glanced up at the night sky. "Particle Beam Strike?"
"Or something like that. We've given the other side plenty of time to pinpoint our position, and we're in the open here."
"Do we abort?"
Knight One shook his head. "Not until we're sure Janie VanDell is not down there." He pointed to the small group of Boomers that were now visible in the smoke below. "Better alert your people to the new possibility. That new force of Boomers probably has orders to keep us occupied until it's too late."
Sylia quickly informed the others. "Mackie, Can you spot anything in the atmosphere?"
"I started tracking a group of objects just before you called. Whatever they are, they're leaving a hell of an ion trail."
"Anything else?"
"Negative."
"What could they be?" asked Linna.
"A falling satellite?" replied Priss in irritation. She was still smarting at seeing Leon in the last place she'd expected.
Mackie's reply was uncertain. "I don't think so."
"Then what?" asked Sylia. "Any ideas, Nene?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe what?"
"There have been rumors on the 'net for years of a space borne defense system that the USA put into orbit at the turn of the century." Nene sounded slightly frustrated as she tried to recall all the details. "I never heard any real details . . . but it's suppose to be able to drop a solid spike of metal from orbit . . . onto its target."
"Great," muttered Priss. "Big iron spikes from space. Shouldn't be too hard to dodge them."
"You don't understand!" snapped Nene. "If it is this defense system, those spikes are becoming red-hot right this second. After that, they'll become white-hot. By the time they hit the ground, they're molten. All that built up energy has to go somewhere. When it does hit, the spike will turn that energy into an expanding sphere of destruction that will turn the area around the impact into a firestorm."
"In small words, Nene," said Linna.
"Each spike will explode when it hits the ground. A LARGE explosion. Sort of like one of the USSD particle beam weapons was to fire in bursts rather then a continual beam. Understand?"
"Nene," cut in Sylia quickly. "Switch over to channel Beta three, and don't use any personal names."
"Right!"
Sylia switched back over to the shared channel, and said, "One of my people has a theory about the incoming. Pink Saber, Go ahead and tell Knight One what you just told us."
Nene briefly outlined the possibility in short, terse sentences. Knight One listened in silence, then muttered, "Damn Thor satellites. I'd thought they died long ago."
"Thor?" asked Sylia
"Yes, Thor," replied Knight One angrily. "A bright idea thirty years ago, but stupid by today's light."
"What are we going to do about it?"
"It's possible that what's coming at us is a Thor strike, just like your team mate said. Only, it's liable to be worse then she stated."
"How?"
"Each satellite was armed with twenty-five of these spikes, designed to be fired in two or three waves. What we're seeing is the first wave."
"White Saber to Pink Saber. Can you patch into the Knight Wing's systems and get us an estimate on how long we're got before those things hit?"
"Already on it, White. Knight One was right. We're picking up a second group of objects just coming into the atmosphere. ETA on the first wave is six minutes, ETA on the second wave is six minutes, thirty seconds. And I've just calculated the trajectory of those objects - and we're at ground zero."
"We've got five minutes to do this," said Knight One swiftly. "That'll give us a minute to clear out."
"What about the ADP?" asked Sylia. "I doubt all of those spikes are going to hit inside their containment area."
"I'll contact one of our gunners - he's ADP."
"Leon McNichols?"
"I see you know him."
"Blue and Pink Sabers IDed him when the helicopter landed. We know each other, mostly by reputation."
"Then you'll agree he's the best man to tell the ADP's on the site commanders to clear out."
"If they listen to him."
"If my sources are correct, they'll listen to him. I'll pass the word along to him." There was silence for several seconds, then Knight One said, "He's contacting them now. Now all we have to worry about are our friends below."
He waved a hand toward the open compartment door. "Ladies first?"
"After you," said Sylia. "After all, you are a guest in my country."
"If you insist. Our team frequency is twenty megs down from this current channel." Knight One tapped one of the other Knights on the shoulder. "Red Four will give you the frequency skipping configuration we use, so you can stay on the same page with the rest of us." With that, Knight One moved over to the opening. The Black Knight that Knight One had identified as Red Four moved to stand next to Sylia. The Knight held up a small computer pad with a series of numbers which Sylia quickly read off into her hardsuit's communication computer. After several seconds, the frequency skipping matched up, and Sylia could hear Knight One outline the plan.
"Myself and Red Two first," he said, "then the Knight Sabers, then Red Three and Four. Five seconds between each pair. We have four minutes before all hell breaks loose."
**********
Priss dropped to the roadway, followed by Nene, and the members of Blue Team. Before them, the scene was straight out of a nightmare. The tractor trailer that had been transporting the ambush force of Boomers was a burning twisting wreck that littered the roadway. Scattered around the trailer's wreckage were the broken remains of several Boomers.
A shadow stalked out of the haze, and Priss turned and aimed her handcannon at it.
One of the Knights grabbed her arm and pushed it down. "That's one of ours," growled the Knight. Priss recognized the voice that had curtly introduce himself as Blue Leader in the chopper on the short trip over to this location.
Priss pulled away from the Knight. "Don't ever lay a hand on me again!" she snarled. She turned and walked toward Nene, who was talking to another Black Knight.
Nene looked up at Priss's approach. "Something wrong Pr . . . Blue?" she asked,remembering only at the last moment the two of them were on the same frequency as the other Knights.
Priss glared at the Black Knight. "I need to talk to my team mate alone."
"But Blue -" began Nene
The Knight shrugged. "Don't mind me, Blue," replied a male voice. "I'm going."
The Knight turned and walked over to the other members of his team. Priss watched him for several seconds. "Switch over to our own channel," she growled.
Once Nene signaled she was ready, Priss said, "Don't get too friendly with these people, Nene. I don't trust them."
"But Sylia said they were OK."
"And how do we know it isn't a trap to lure us out here so we can be attacked?"
"Because Leon's in that chopper over there," replied Nene. "He's not going to part of a trap to eliminate us."
"And how do you know he's not being duped also?"
"Leon's smarter then you think he is."
"That's not too hard."
Nene giggled, and Priss gave her a hard look, despite the fact Nene couldn't see the glare. "What's so funny?"
"You. You were out looking for Leon tonight, weren't you?"
Priss was taken aback by her team mate's question. "I was not!"
"You happen to be traveling along the highway, kilometers from your trailer, for what then?"
"I was . . . er . . . well . . . "
"Uh-oh," said Nene quickly, looking over Priss's shoulder in the direction of the assembling Knights. "Better switch back to the common frequency."
Priss did so, catching the last part of the Blue Leader's orders. "...take the left, while Blue Three and White Three form a reserve and jamming core with Pink Saber behind the main line. Any Questions?"
Nene waved a hand. "Sir. We missed the first part of your orders because we were discussing something on our own frequency. I know where I'm suppose to be, but where is Blue Saber supposed to be?"
Blue Leader strode over toward them. "Your friend is on the front line, right in the middle of the action," he growled. "The Boomers are less then thirty seconds out, and we're going to need your friend's handcannon."
A roar of a helicopter from behind them interrupted the conversation. The chopper that had carried Blue Team and the two Knight Sabers was lifting off. As Priss looked at the cockpit, she saw Leon, his helmet visor pulled up to expose his face, give them a thumbs-up as the helicopter rose into the air.
The three of them watched the helicopter fade into the darkness for several seconds, before Blue Leader snarled, "Enough of the sightseeing. We've got a battle to fight."
"Now you're talking!" cried Priss. "Time to trash some Boomers!"
With that, the three turned and ran toward the other Knights.
**********