Chapter 11
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What happened before.
AS Ranma and Tofu arrived at X-Com Okinawa there was already an odd atmosphere to the place. The normally deserted landing pad had three other helicopters on it and around one were a group of nervous looking men in Black trench coats. No sooner had they picked up their bags from the pad when the general's own aide approached them. The man looked like he was a reject from Stalin's gulags, he was pale drawn and emaciated. The bags under his eyes made him look as if he hadn't slept since Ranma left.
"whassup Puck?" Ranma asked, effortlessly hefting his kit bag onto his back.
"you're late" Puck replied, as if it was a hanging offence.
"Big blow off Tokyo." Ranma explained.
"What's wrong with him?" Puck asked finally noticing that Tofu was swaying slightly and more than a little green around the gills. Ranma just smiled
"BIG blow," Ranma replied, "when's briefing?"
"They started when they heard your chopper was in" Puck replied. In the background the helicopter was already spinning its blades back to speed. The trio ducked and ran for the elevator entrance.
Sixty metres straight down and they stepped out into the secured entry area, automatic guns tracked their every move, the heavy door only opening when they had passed through yet another level of security. Inside the corridors were that unique mix of gun metal grey and beige, toped off with piping and insulated cables. It may not have been pretty but it was home. Heavy work could be heard from the nearby Hangar bay, and there were enough people hurrying in the corridor to convince both the returnees that something big really was happening, and in a hurry. Taking the hint Ranma and tofu dropped their bags onto a nearby shelf and ran to the briefing room.
The room was a spectacle of wood and screens. It was also fuller than any of them had seen it in a long time. Representatives from strategy, science, medical ops and security topped out the normal command staff. The general was in deep conversation with a scientist that neither new arrival had seen before. By the way he was waving his hands they were talking flight of some sort, Jack was not happy.
"Shut that door." Jack said "gentlemen please take your seats and we'll get this show on the road.
"Ladies and gents this is Dr Romanov he is fresh in from Novrogod and is our space spaecialist." General O'neil introduced the man and sat down.
"Good avternoon Komrades" the man started. He was a small fat balding man with bottle bottom glasses and a tiny moustache. His accent was old Russia. "The reason you hav been kalled is because our launch window for optimum mass retention in a high energy insertion is rapidly closing. We must launch within three days or sacrifice half your payload!" the general stood back up
"Way I see it we got three options, you guys all know the rough outlines, we've got two hours to choose one and start the upload. So without further ado I give you Major Slather"
"Option one," said the tall Arabian man "hit them hard, pull no punches and kick their scaly asses back into the stone age. We are talking nukes and a full combat sweep after the ground cools. No prisoners, no compromise. I don't think I need to tell you the obvious benefits of this plan, and I sure as hell can't see any drawbacks that we can't get around." The man was practically foaming at the mouth and had that burning zealot look shining from his face.
"Bullshit! We simply cannot, will not pass up this opportunity to learn more of them. We still have not made one hundred percent sure that we can't come to an acomodation with the Aliens. All we really need is to let them know we have the apability to attack them and they are sure to deal!" So said Dr Raoul Souplas, a French Scientist who had consistently favoured accommodation with the Aliens. He had been investigated but nobody had found any evidence of complicity, yet.
"Raoul, stand down. We have talked about this before and the answer is still no. Its us or them the only question is how we do the killing." Jack said with obvious reluctance. "Captain Blasar." Jack introduced the second speaker.
Blasar was as scurrilous a looking fellow as ever there was, a little bit shorter than average but a lot greasier. His moustache was ripped straight out of a spaghetti western set in Mexico and his attitude was similar. "Genteeelmen and laydees" he started "the answer ees still stealth. Forget the launch window we'll get another, right now we just don't know enough about Cydonia to even frame a mission let alone give up the lives of some of our best on a fool's errand." Slather scoffed, Souplas nodded and waved his hands in agreement. "Instead we send in a stealth team, sneak them round the dark side and set up listening posts, we learn and then we strike from the shadows." There was plenty of agreement with this, it was by far the safest of the options. Even Jack had to consider it.
"Uh guys," Ranma started "don't think that's a good idea." Everyone was now looking at him, so he sorted his collar and smiled.
"Why not Saotome?" asked Jack, several others nodding.
"Cuz we won't get another chance like this." Ranma began to explain "Right now they have no idea we know they have an HQ on Mars let alone the capability to get there. The Sectiod we picked up from X-ray Theta says that they are still digging out their big ack-ack guns and that they ain't hurrying.
"As one of the poor saps who is gonna have to fly through their air defence buried is sorta the way I like it. If we let em know we know then sure as hell any drop'll have to be heavy as hell. An while we're doing that who's gonna keep a lid on intecrceptor ops. Goin in with rookies is a recipe for body bag fillin'"
Slather leapt up, "So we nuke em, nuke em till they glow."
"Nah, that suck too." Said Ranma "An you know it. What if we had just burnt out all their ships huh, no psi-ops, no flying suits no nothing. Who knows maybe they're out at Pluto too. We just can't take that risk." By now people could already see what was coming. "There rally ain't an option, we do what we're good at, we go in hot an fast, shoot anything that twitches an then rape their data sources till the pips squeak.
"Sure we don't know what's there, but that ain't never stopped us before. We are the best this planet's got and what-ever they throw at us we can cope with, as long as we can reach it." Everyone in the room could hear the pride and confidence in his voice and few could doubt his ability to back up his words.
"It will be bloody" said Jack.
"So what's new." Ranma replied. " you know we can do this."
"lets Dot the 'I's' and cross the 't's" said Jack. "We go with option three."
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The briefing room had emptied out only tactical command was left
"Who'd ya need" said Jack
"I'll take all of Alpha team and the best Psi-ops we got" Ranma replied
"Won't leave much load for gear" replied Jack, doing the mass to volume figures. "Wait you can't do this, not enough space."
"huh?" asked Ranma
"You'll need to bring in all your own medical gear, doctors, tech staff, just can't see how you'll get them in one Avenger." Jack replied "Maybe we could outfit a second?"
"No way, just don't have the time. My boys are working back to back outfitting even the first one for he trip." The Chief Engineer, Tomoko butted in."
"So that it what twelve agents tops?" Ranma asked.
"Sorry Kaptain," said the Russian specialist "we will need at least twice the normal load for the engines." He turned to Tomoko "niet?"
"Hai," replied the chief "without extra cladding, cooling and air tanks the engines they will burn. The engines will burnout and you will splat."
"Fuck it," said Ranma. Everyone turned to him, "plan B"
"Care to share?" asked Jack
"All of this is based on SOP's right?" Ranma said referring to standard operating procedures. " we throw them out and start again with what we need."
"I don't like where this is going." Said Tomoko
"Forget flight crew, train Penny and Ace instead, they used to be Air force. Forget engineers, if the ship breaks we'll burst anyway. And forget the docs, you all know there ain't no point." Ranma said, finally voicing the unspeakable. "This trip is one-way, all or nothing, no holds barred." One by one the others nodded slowly
"Shit who wants to go grey" Ranma said smiling.
"Hey" said Jack
"-And senile" Ranma continued.
"Stand down soldier" commanded Jack
"-I mean thirty, jeez you might as well get measured for a Zimmer." Ranma mimed a bad back.
"That's it you are busted" said Jack. "Private Saotome get back in your seat. "Chief how does this change things?"
"A one way trip?" Tomoko asked, Jack and Ranma nodded. "I'll work some figures."
"Meantime we need to work out a bets guess scenario, use what we know to predict what we don't." Jack. "Write the aliens a script and then make em follow it."
"Shit, planning" Ranma joked "I hate planning."
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Ranma and the tactical team pulled an all-nighter drawing up possible scenarios, trying to cover every angle. However around four the next morning they had gotted so bogged down tempers were flaring.
"Alright guys," Ranma said "time for a break. Everyone out, grab some ramen and meet back in an hour." Everyone quickly dispersed, with many an ache as they stood. "Shit I hate this thinking crap."
He went for a walk himself, wandering aimlessly around. It wasn't long before he found himself in the number one docking bay. Orange clad engineers were crawling all over the ship, sparks flying from elerium powered cutting torches. The interior was being stripped, the exterior modified beyond recognition.
"What the hell are those blobby things" he mused aloud.
"Mind shields," replied Tomoko in Japanese, suddenly behind him. "course they'll mess with your head being that close to them for so long. An the field strength ain't anything close to what we got here."
"Thought we couldn't make them that small" Ranma asked worriedly.
"Can't," Tomoko replied, "no guarantee it'll work at all, but hey nothing lost if it don't eh?"
"Sure." Said Ranma very much not sure. "what-cha doin' inside?"
"goo," replied Toomoko
"Goo?" asked Ranma.
"You gonna be packed so tight in there that there ain't a chance you'll be able to stand the other side so we ain't gonna try." Replied Tomoko as if he was talking about the weather.
"You're not??" said Ranma starting to really worry.
"Nope we're using a combination of Alien food tanks and surgical techniques to create one big sleeper tank. It will probably work, no real reason it shouldn't" Tomoko replied, almost sounding confident.
"So you're telling me you are gonna drown us in goo and then use bug torture techniques to keep us alive?" Ranma said blatantly confused.
"And fit, don't forget fit. In fact no reason you shouldn't get one hell of a workout while you are on the way out there." Tomoko said cheerfully
"So I'm supposed to be grateful you're turning me into Ranma flavoured Miso?" Ranma retorted
"Uh huh" nodded Tomoko smirking. "What can I say? Rather you than me!"
"This is really starting to suck." Ranma mumbled. He stomped back to the briefing room, even less confident than when he had left. But the walk had done the trick, everyone was back on form and they got straight back to work.
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"Ready Major?" Jack asked teasing Ranma about his new rank.
"Sure you can't bust me back to PFC after all?" Ranma was sitting in his room, putting the final touches to his dress uniform. All his combat gear was already stowed and loaded and z hour was fast approaching. Just one last thing to do, brief the men. Now that, that was scary, Ranma would rather face an angry Muton commando armed only with a potato peeler than step into that room and have to talk to all those people. "This sucks." He said
"Ranma, You know me, pep talks and jingo and me don't mix but you are doing the right thing and god knows there isn't anyone better at it than you. If anyone can find a way to bring them back alive its you." Jack said, laying a hand on Ranma's shoulder.
"You really think there's a chance" Ranma asked, for once his legendary confidence wavering. Jack looked down at the smaller man.
"Hell yeah." Jack replied, but there was a hollowness to it.
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Alpha Commando was gathered in ranks in the mess, along with the best of those agents selected for advanced Psychic Assault training. Behind them stood a select few of the command staff, In front stood Major RanmaSaotome, medals and all.
"Right guys here's the lowdown. It's the big one. Some weeks ago we kicked an Alien base to shit. Inside we captured an honest to god member of the Alien Shogunate. Kodachi-sama make the fuckwit talk and now we know where his piss-ant friends are hiding. Here-" Ranma pressed a button and a 3d image of a red globe appeared.
"Mars."he said, there were several indrawn breaths. "To be exact, here" the image zoomed, "The Cydonia Highlands. The bastards have built some kind of facility under these pyramid type things. Some where inside it is the queen bee, the bitch that gives all these gits their marching orders.
"We are going there and we are gonna kill it. Kill it and every other fucking thing that walks, crawls or slithers on the whole face of the goddamn poxy world.
"By the time we are finished with this rock its gonna be deader than Friday night round Dr. Jackson's." There was a cry of indignation from the back.
"Now I ain't gonna lie to ya, this one is going to suck. We are gonna be outnumbered and out gunned. From the moment we hit atmosphere till the moment we find a way off that rock we are gonna be neck deep in Alien bastards all of whom at best want to kill you. So this is a volunteers only run, anyone who don't want in don't have to be. Walk away now and you can still hold your head high for every other thing we've achieved." Ranma paused but nobody moved, not even looking around.
"That's what I told the General. We ARE the Best
ALPHA UNDEFEATED!"
From every throat around the room they echoed his cry
"ALPHA UNDEFEATED"
Ten minutes later they were all drowning in goo.