“That sounds like something that can work — if the hijacking isn’t reported first.”
“The offloading of the modules takes about an hour from what we’ve seen. We should be at the Juirean ship by then.”
“Still, it would nice to have a diversion down here on the ground that will give us some leeway.”
“What do you have in mind?” Sherri asked Riyad. She had been around him long enough to know that Riyad didn’t throw out a hypothetical like that without already having a plan.
“My ship, The Secura.”
“What about it?” it was Tobias’s turn to ask the questions.
“Once we get Adam and rendezvous with Jym, we probably won’t have an opportunity to come back down here to get it before all hell breaks loose. So let’s use it to cause a diversion as we’re leaving.”
“Go on,” Tobias said. “I kinda see where this is goin’.”
“We have Kaylor set up a remote control so we can have it launch — and then crash the ship into the recharge spaceport. That’ll cause such a mass of confusion down here that nobody will know what’s going on for days or weeks. And we’ll be long gone by then.”
Tobias looked back at Sherri sitting in the backseat of the transport. “Damn, that would really help out,” he said.
Sherri nodded. She knew that Riyad was a master at staging spectacular events — you might call them — and she also knew he didn’t give a second thought about the death and destruction his diversion would cause. But both he and Tobias were right, however: it would buy them extra time as well as effectively cover their tracks.
“Let’s do it,” she said. “After all, this is war.”
Chapter 36
They followed the large truck for a good forty-five minutes before it pulled up to a massive row of buildings at the south end of the city. There were five structures, each easily twenty stories tall and with towering smokestacks jutting even higher from their roofs, white smoke or stream billowing out of each one.
Beyond the wire security fence, the Humans watched as the black truck joined a half dozen others just like it near the buildings; they also saw nearly a hundred of the much smaller ground-based supply trucks, like the ones that had arrived at their two ships the day before. Apparently the large black trucks were reserved for the orbital recharges, which required larger and more numerous energy modules, plus the storage equipment for the highly radioactive containers.
Along the way to the energy facility, Tobias and Riyad easily spotted four or five decent ambush points for the hijacking. The plan was simple. They would get a second rental transport and station Kaylor in it as a lookout for when the black truck passed along the route. Then Riyad’s rental would be used to block the path of the truck at a designated point away from inquiring eyes. The SEALs would then descend on the vehicle and secure the target. Next, they would transfer the weapons cache to the black truck and all pile in for the journey to the spaceport.
Getting past the guard at the gate was another matter, and would have to be improvised. Yet as the trio of Humans drove back to the spaceport, they were all feeling confident that the minor details could be worked out on the fly. With Riyad’s plan to crash The Secura into the spaceport, all they needed was the time get off the planet without the alarms going off. After that the beings on the surface would have no way of telling that the black truck had been hijacked. They would simply assume it had been destroyed in the crash.
The rest of the day and night was spent preparing for the operation. Kaylor was able to fashion a device that would allow him to control The Secura remotely, as least for basic maneuvers like lift off and then a sudden descent straight into the OASG. The crash would be spectacular, and leave an area easily a kilometer square in total ruin.
Rutledge and Tindal avoided their still pissed-off Lieutenant and concentrated on filling two crates with all the weapons and ammunition they had aboard both ships. They threw in a few MK’s and flash rifles, yet the bulk of their firepower was in the form of good old fashion Human armament, comprised mainly of the Heckler amp; Koch MP7A1’s and the 4.6X30mm hollow-point rounds they used. Just for good measure, they also included a few of their trusty M4A1’s. Old habits die hard.
The night was spent in restless anticipation of the coming day. Sherri, Kaylor and Jym had difficulty falling asleep, but not so the SEALs and Riyad. They had been through so many battles in the past, that this part of the operation was second nature to them. They had been trained that sleep was also a weapon, and that a well-rested soldier was an awesome asset to have in battle.
Eventually the new day dawned, and whether they had slept well or not the night before, the thrill of adrenalin now took over the team.
It was game time.
Chapter 37
As it was with most plans devised by the SEALs, the first part went off without a hitch. The black truck passed Kaylor’s position as planned, and the SEALs were able to stop it and subdue the driver without too much drama. The single driver had no idea what was happening, lacking the entire concept of why his truck would ever be the target of a crime in the first place. The creature had obviously never spent any time in Detroit….
He complacently submitted to the hijacking.
The weapons were soon stored in the cavernous rear section and Kaylor joined them all for the ride to the spaceport.
The driver of the truck was a Prime who stood about two meters tall — about normal for the majority of races in the Expansion, and with features not unlike Riyad’s with his full beard. They found a Travess uniform inside the truck and Riyad changed into it, pulling the hood up over his head. The driver had not been wearing a uniform, but Riyad figured he’d deal with that fact later if it came up.
With the rest of the team hiding in the back, Riyad pulled the huge truck up to the security gate. The bored guard glanced up at the cab and called out, “You will be assisting with the offload this day?” The tone was more one of idle curiosity rather than a serious inquiry.
“They are short-handed this day, so yes, I have to help.” Riyad mumbled, so as to not draw too much attention to his voice.
The guard did not comment, but simply pressed the release button allowing the gates to separate. He didn’t even watch as the huge truck rumbled past, but rather returned to his seat next to the other guard, who was engrossed in the screen of a datapad sitting on his lap.
The next stop would be at the only shuttle in this part of the spaceport baring the Travess colors. True to her word, the dispatch clerk for the other company had sent her company ships off on other assignments, leaving the Travess ship the only one available to meet the Juirean.
In the back of the truck, the SEALs and Sherri geared up. Their weapons carried suppressors, which would dull the sound of firing, but not mask it completely. They would have to move fast once the recharge crew gathered around the rear of the truck for offload, possibly using their superior strength to subdue the crew rather that with gunfire. There were still other orbital crews around the area, just not members of the security-cleared crews.
Tindal and Rutledge crouched near the rear of the truck, anxious for the time when the door would open wide. They heard the latches unhook, and then a shaft of light burst into the truck. The door swung wide, and both of the SEALs jumped to the ground, aiming their weapons from their cheeks at the startled aliens surrounding them.
No one moved, until one massive creature with light green skin stepped forward, a grin on his face.