Virus and earth ii boxse.., p.102
Virus & Earth II Boxset, page 102
part #1 of Virus Series
Even though the Neutron Detection Device was the best made, its range was limited. The Gama radiation propagated out from the source and the further away, the less likely it would be detected. Bottom line, LL and his team had to get close enough to measure and see what happened but far enough away so they wouldn’t lose their hair. Before departure, they had taken medication to prevent tissue damage from the radiation, but still, it was hard to walk into voluntarily.
Inspecting the remnants of Minot UCFAFB was the first base they were checking on. With the shuttles, they could make passes at very high altitudes or even in space, then lower their passes until they had good visuals and good measurements.
The two shuttles that were assigned for this mission had been modified with external optics and devices for air sampling so LL and his team could monitor the outside with some pretty impressive optics. The radiation shielding properties of the alien metal was still a big unknown so they would stay as far away as possible.
The flight to Minot North Dakota didn’t take as long as an airliner. They could easily pick a parabolic path that took them at high speed into the lower parts of space, then decelerate and descend until they were over the base. The first pass at 80,000 feet didn’t show too much detail, except the crater on the eastern side of the end of the runway. The nuclear storage facility was gone. The Neutron detector was starting to pick up readings, but they were intermittent and weren’t providing much information. LL took a lot of pictures and hoped that the next pass at 50,000 would give them all of the data they needed.
50,000 ft or slightly over 9 miles high, answered all of their questions. The Neutron Detection Devices was full on and showing a large circle which pretty much was where the nuclear storage facility ‘was.’ The entire 800 ft crater was hot with radiation.
The cameras showed there wasn’t much left of the base except the runway. None of the few remaining B-52’s were there. They likely were vaporized or blown into the next county. The old BUFF’s were due to be replaced over 10 years ago, but one thing led to another, and the last of them were consolidated at Minot. The last home of the aged bomber was gone.
The buildings on base were all gone. Ruthville, the small town, south of the base, was also gone. Some of the walls from the stronger structure were still there, but beyond that, there wasn’t anything.
“Ok, we’ve got everything, let’s get out of here,” LL announced to his shuttle and its sister ship.
Wednesday, September 20, 2051
Warren USCFABF
The plan for inspecting and securing Warren UCSFAFB was simpler and hopefully less risky. LL’s tactical Beta Team was planned with for two shuttles. Both shuttles would circle the nuclear storage facility looking for breaks in the fencing or any other signs of conflict or forced entry. If there were none, the ground shuttle would land and manually check each of the storage bunkers. The air shuttle would stay in the air watching the surrounding area for any movement or threat. If the ground shuttle encountered any hostiles, the air shuttle could also land, render air surveillance or land for emergency evacuation of the personnel on the ground. If a conflict occurred, and they had to pull out, other shuttles were on-call with additional troops and volunteers. With the alien shuttle’s abilities, they could be onsite within a few hours.
LL spoke to the shuttle pilot, reminding him, “Ok, we’re coming in from the East and let’s pass directly over Cheyenne. The base is about 4 miles to the west. I’ve got a map for the storage facility. Shuttle 2, once we’re on the ground, you can continue to circle. If everything is ok, we’ll take separate routes to check on the silos after we check the storage.”
“Roger,” shuttle two replied.
“Shuttle 1, is going down to 100 ft to check the bunkers,” transmitted the Shuttle 1 pilot. “Shuttle 2 fly the perimeter.”
“Roger.”
As the shuttle hovered near the entrance to each of the bunkers, LL used the optics to check the doors and entrances. One by one, they were checked.
“Boy this place sure does have a ton of sites,” LL commented.
“Shuttle 2, this is the MC, the bunkers look good, how about the fence?” LL asked.
“Mission Commander, Shuttle 2, the fence looks good.”
“Good, let’s hit the silos. When you’re done, check in, and we’ll join up.”
“Roger.”
It took 40 minutes for the two shuttles to check all of the silos. Each one had the entry doors intact, and the huge missile launch doors were sealed. The chances of anyone getting in were slim.
“Shuttle 2, complete Silo check. Heading for the rendezvous point.”
“Roger, we’ll be there in 3,” Shuttle 1 pilot announced.
Once they were joined up all of the crewmembers were relieved. The first two sites had been covered, and they didn’t need to get off the shuttles. If they were lucky and the rest of the mission went as well, it would be a huge relief for all of them.
The flight to New Mexico would be a little longer than the two previous legs, and they would get these late in the day.
Kirkland USCFABF
“Shuttle 2 this is the MC, just to remind you, the storage facility is a big area just south of Kirkland base. We’ll follow the same process,” LL broadcast.
“Roger, it might take us a little longer to check the perimeter, there’s a lot of fences.”
“Roger that, we’ll head to the northern end of the depot, we’ll drop down, make a quick fly over then go lower and check them individually,” LL said.
“Roger Shuttle 1, we’ll go around the fence towards the west and come around and find you when we’re done.”
“Roger Shuttle 2.”
“Sarge, this site looks pretty clean. I don’t see anything suspicious,” the pilot said to LL over the shared comm.
“Shuttle 2, MC. First pass is clean we’re checking the doorbells.”
“Roger, we’re over the southwestern corner, all clear.”
“Shuttle 2, all done on the ground. Meet you over the main base in 5.”
“Roger.”
The day had been long, and they planned to spend the night at Kirtland. They could have found a nice hotel or stayed in base housing, but the consensus was to find a nice out of the way piece of land and spend the night in the shuttles. They brought sleeping bags and camping equipment so it would be a pleasant night.
It was funny, but most of the survivors didn’t like to be reminded of the tremendous loss. So instead of dealing with bodies and destruction they might find, it was less stressful to spend the night under the stars in the desert.
Even though they had devices onboard to heat their meals, the men elected to have a campfire. It turned into a relaxing evening among friends and LL was enjoying himself. The only drawback was Beta23 standing by the shuttle door.
I guess he’s going to stand there all night, LL thought.
Thursday, September 21, 2051
Pentax Plant
The morning broke nice and clear in the New Mexico desert. LL and his two shuttles took a short time to make their breakfast and launch their alien craft.
The flight to the Texas Panhandle took about an hour long, and as they approached the target area, LL spoke to the pilots, “Shuttle 1 & 2, the Pentax Plant is a few miles northeast of Amarillo, just follow the main highway Rte 60 to the northeast and the plant is on the north side. Admiral Hagerly told me this is the one that he’s most concerned about. It is where all of the nuclear weapons are assembled and dismantled. It is a quasi-military/industrial complex with a couple of companies running operations. That’s what makes it iffy. Whenever there are multiple groups involved, there will be gaps, and when you throw in the profit motive, you can bet on some issues developing. We’ll follow the same procedure; Shuttle 1 will make a quick fly over while Shuttle 2 does the perimeter. This site has multiple storage areas. The nuclear area is within the main plant boundaries. Shuttle 2, check all of the boundaries, and we’ll check the nuclear area first, then we’ll just do visual inspections of the conventional areas.”
“Roger.”
After shuttle one had completed the first pass of the key buildings, the shuttle 1 pilot said, “MC, my first fly-over is done, did you see anything?”
“No, go ahead and find a place to set down,” LL said.
“Will do.”
“Shuttle 1, there is a fence breach on the southwest corner,” shuttle 2 reported.
“Roger,” LL responded.
“MC, there are signs posted around the breach, they have a bunch of peace stuff written all over. There is one sign that says, ‘You’re dead, we’re alive.’”
“Roger, go ahead and check the remainder of the fencing, we’re heading for the bunker doors.”
Rog,”
“Sarge, do you see that?” Mack asked.
“Sure do, why would someone put flowers in front of each of the bunker doors,” LL said.
Mack suggested, “maybe the people that put the signs on the fence, knew enough sense to know what was here and to stay out. They were making a statement.”
“Could be, let’s run a bead of weld around the doors, I want to make sure they can’t get in if any of them are left,” said LL.
“Shuttle 2, this is MC. We’re going to weld the doors shut, should take a couple of hours.”
“Roger, we’ll stay orbiting.”
The ESC Emerges
Three and half days of details, debates, and wonderment left everyone nearly exhausted. Each day was intermixed with time on the Chevesky and time on their individual commands. Then return trips to debrief each other and share their learned experiences.
“First off,” Admiral Monson said to get everyone’s attention, “I’ve spoken with Alpha and SIMPOC a couple of times, and I’d like to have Alpha as part of my crew. I’m starting him as my ops officer or captain of the ship. As time passes, we’ll see where he’ll fit best. With SIMPOC’s help, they’ve passed a great deal of the technical data, and I think he’ll be pretty busy as we exercise these ships.”
“Admiral, I think that’s a great idea,” responded Joan.
“Now to continue, Ok, we’re going to arm the cow-robots and move them to the supply ships as they’re armed; correct?” asked Admiral Monson.
“Yes, but we’ll leave as many as necessary on the ground to help with construction, protection, etc., “ responded Tom.
“These Vakeel seemed limited; I notice that we don’t have star maps that cover much more than their areas. Is there any information beyond those boundaries?” Admiral Mears asked.
“No, they don’t seem to have the adventurous spirit that we do. Their civilization puts tremendous pressure on the leaders for resources and expansion. From their perspective exploration is only necessary to find the next system where they can harvest what they need,” responded SIMPOC.
“Do you know where Julius ended up?” asked Captain Drummond.
“Yes, he was sent to this system,” SIMPOC answered as he brought up the system on the 3D Display then zoomed in on it.
“Do you have information about what is in that area?” Admiral Monson asked.
“The Vakeel had just jumped to that system, and there wasn’t much information available. It is the first time that they’ve gone to that area, and it is one of the furthest areas,” responded SIMPOC.
“Remember, he has a ship like this one. We’re sure that he will do whatever is necessary to accomplish his main objectives, which are to remove SIMPOC and most likely us,” Joan said with a solemn voice.
“I’m not sure when this will become a good idea, but if you’re convinced that he will return to finish the job, I think we need to send someone to that system and check it out.”
That statement filled the room with silence.
“Yes, that is a prudent step to take,” said SIMPOC, “But we must be better prepared than we are now before we take that step. I think any notice that we’re watching or following him will only increase his paranoia and likely speed up any attacks on us.”
The statement was met with head nods.
Admiral Mears felt the need to point out, “On the other side of the argument, the longer we wait, not understanding what our enemy is doing, only allows him to gain strength. I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to wait for the attack; it’s always better to find out what the enemy is doing.”
“Shirley, I fundamentally agree. Right now we have 11 capital ships, and he has one. We have an advantage, and I think we should focus our efforts to increase that advantage. If this other computer is as paranoid as everyone says, he may not even be there anymore. He might have jumped to another system, and if we spread out our forces, we reduce our advantage. If we chance it and go after him in force, then we leave Earth vulnerable,” rebutted Lester Monson.
En route to Whiteman USCFAFB
There was one stop to be made, and both shuttle crews were eager to get it done and get home to Norfolk. They were headed to Whiteman USCFAFB in Missouri. Whiteman was the home of the retiring B-2 Bomber and the home of the B-3. Neither of which made any differences, after recent events.
“Shuttle 2, this is the MC. The storage facility is east of the runway. Let’s follow the same procedure.”
“Roger.”
A few minutes later, “Shuttle 1, we've got problems. The main gate has been broken open.”
“Roger Shuttle 2, looks like 2 maybe two bunkers are open. Stand by while we land. Check the rest of the fence and make sure we don’t have any visitors around here.”
“Roger.”
LL was first out of Shuttle 1, and he sprinted to the first bunker door. He was followed by the remainder of Beta team who took defensive positions around the shuttle and bunker. When they reached the door, two of the team sprinted around the back of the bunker to make sure that area was clear.
“LL, perimeter clear,” said Shirley
“Rog,” responded LL. “We’re going in.”
LL and Mach charged into the bunker and found it empty.
“Shit,” was the only word transmitted and the entire team knew what it meant.
“Beta, teams of two, check all of the bunkers,” the MC said.
“Roger,” each of them responded.
“Within 15 minutes they had the bad news. Three of the 23 bunkers had their doors ripped off, and the contents were gone.
“Beta, take pictures of the empty bunkers. Let’s get out the gear and weld the other doors closed. Set up the trip wires by the gate. The next time they come back, they’ll get a surprise. Set them up so they’ll go off only for large vehicles.”
“Roger.”
“Sarge, there’s a backhoe over by the command buildings,” Shuttle 2 team lead said.
“Ok, get the equipment going and pile up all of the dirt we can by the entrances, then dismantle the equipment so it can’t be used again.”
“Dismantle it, how about if I blow it up,” O asked.
“Works for me,” LL said. LL always enjoyed watching O, which was short for O'Malley get a kick out of changing bing things into little things. He was a good guy to have on his Beta Team.
Friday, September 22, 2051
Lockup Debrief
“Sirs, as I said when I called in, Operation Lockup had some problems. Everything except the last site checked out as we hoped. Pantex had a security breach, it appeared to be people from the Peace Farm, and we don’t know if any of them are alive. They breached the perimeter and left flowers by each of the bunker doors. We welded them shut, and when we got to Whiteman, we found the main gate was crashed in, and three of the bunker doors were removed. It looks like they cut holes in the corners then pulled the doors off with trucks. The bunkers were empty. The other 20 bunkers were still secure, and we welded the doors closed, piled dirt in front of the entrances then we destroyed the earth moving equipment,” LL said to President Patterson and Admiral Hagerly.
“Admiral what do we do?” the president asked.
“Sir, the only thing we can. We find them. I’ll put the neutron sensors in 10 shuttles, and we’ll start flying concentric circles from Whiteman until we find them. Then we’ll decide what to do once we know where they are and who has them.”
“When can we start?” the president asked.
“As soon as we identify the crews.”
“Great, let’s get it done. Admiral, I want one or two crews put together and go to each of the other sites and make sure there are no other breaches. We should be able to take our time and find the right equipment. Put cement barriers in front of the bunker doors if we need to. I want all of them sealed.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Group’s Armaments
“SIMPOC, what progress is being made installing the Laser Cannon on the group ships?” Joan asked over her comm link.
“I am returning to the control room, and I will update you when I enter,” SIMPOC responded.
“Joan, we have completed the installation of the Laser on The Chevesky,” said SIMPOC.
“How about the other installations?” she asked.
“They should all be completed within a short time. All of the parts are on the ships, and the mobile units and Beta’s are finishing the integration with the ship energy supply.”
“SIMPOC, all of the Admirals are doing a great job exercising their groups. We need to exercise The Chevesky. Why don’t we make some practice jumps to get more experience?”
