Chapter 12
Plan of Action
Disclaimer: Yeah, Landmark owns it all. This is the same disclaimer you read all over the internet and web. Let's be truthful, though – this could have been a great show that Landmark and Mattel let slide into oblivion. Shame on them for being before their time in the entertainment business.
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Jon watched from a distance, leaning against a cargo crate, as Hawk and Blalock did their best to repair the damage to the jumpship's hull. A small team had been dispatched from Sanctuary to get the ship in order before their scheduled departure for Volcania.
The ship had been set down in a field, vast and wide, covered in stalks of wheat that gently waved in the rolling winds of the plains. It was food, and an abundant source of it. Jon took in the view as the seed of a simple but pressing question formed in his mind – why had it been permitted to grow?
The survivors in the west had resorted to eating anything available – rats, assorted varmint . . . even each other if they were that desperate. Yet, here was a thriving community. If Jon had come to know one thing for sure in his experiences, no one prospered in Dread's world without a price. Nothing was free, and Robertsontown seemed to be riding to hell on horseback while the rest of the known world was left to scrounge for its very survival.
He saw Sergeant Kasich approach out of his periphery across the work area. She carried several tools in her hand.
"You have some unique flight controls on that hunk of junk, Captain."
Power smiled. "It gets it airborne," he replied.
She looked in the direction of the ship. "Our two wonder boys seem to be getting the job done on some of the repairs."
"And the peace seems to be holding. We need all the cooperation we can get at the moment."
She set the tools on the crate. "The young lieutenant can be a hothead at times, but he means well."
Power knew she had intentionally opened the door for conversation. "He seems protective of Doctor Tobias."
"He is," she said, wiping her hands on a rag. "Almost to the point of annoyance."
"You don't seem impressed by it."
She took her turn leaning on the crate, her arms folding as she watched the work on the jump ship. "Hard to take orders sometimes from a butter bar who's almost half your age. He's a pre-war commission who should have had his ass shot off by now."
"You've seen your share of action?"
She gave a small smile. "I've been around the block once or twice."
"And Blalock?"
Kasich gave a slight dismissive shrug. "He's young, still by the book, even after all this time. He can't get over the fact that academic tactics went out the window in the first biomech strike."
"So, why is he so protective of Tobias?"
"Because he sees her as his superior, I guess. He's maintaining the respect for the chain of command. Take the Healer out of power, and you take away his authority."
"There's nothing personal in it?"
Kasich was pensive for a moment. "I suppose he feels for her because she brought him into the fold, gave him a legitimate command. But I think that's the extent of it. She was nice to him, a surrogate mother who gave him the respect of his rank when no one else would. Frankly, he doesn't contribute a damned thing to our mission. He's dead weight in the field."
Power's intuition crackled with curiosity. Kasich was openly feeding him information, but he could not decipher to what end.
"Does Tobias know how you feel?"
Kasich glanced at him. "It's not just me, Captain. The rest of us feel the same. I've talked to her about how it affects the team, but she tells me to deal with it the best I can and continue giving the good lieutenant his chances. Out of respect for her, I do, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Does he have any redeeming values in your opinion?"
"Why? You worried he'll sell you out when the chips are down?"
"I think I have a right to know. I have my own team to protect."
She sighed and furrowed her brow slightly in contemplation. She seemed study Blalock for a moment before giving her answer.
"He won't run in the heat of battle, if that's what you mean. He's just not the strongest leader in the field. His age gets in the way, and he lacks a sense of camaraderie. Academy training makes young officers like that. At least it did, anyway."
"He relies on what he's been taught," Jon offered.
"That may be true," she said, "but there comes a point when that rule book has to be thrown out and you have to improvise."
Jon straightened. "At least he and Hawk seem to have called a temporary truce."
She gave a quiet chuckle of amusement. "You so sure about that, Captain?"
"What do you mean?"
"They've been spitting fire at each other all afternoon. Looks like it's heating up again."
He watched Hawk and Blalock closely. Kasich was right – there was a definite tension between them. He saw it in his first officer's eyes and posture.
Without another word to Kasich, Power began walking toward the two men, intending to head whatever was coming off at the pass. He approached them quickly, working his way between them.
"How's it going?" he asked.
Blalock straightened and closed the spanner he held in his hand. "The strut's bent a little. Landings aren't going to be smooth until you can get it replaced."
Hawk folded his arms and leaned against the jumpship's haul. "If we can't find anything in the scrap yards," he said to no one in particular, "we can always hit Tobias up for some spare parts."
Blalock's lunge for Hawk seemed to be in slow motion to Jon. The captain anticipated it and blocked the young officer's attack, knocking the spanner to the ground and holding the lieutenant by the shoulders.
Hawk was at Jon's back, reaching for Blalock, capitalizing on the opportunity to throw a punch. Jon pushed Blalock to the ground and then turned in one motion to do the same to Hawk. In a flash, the captain's ire had grown to a seething level that he reeled under control once Hawk was flat on the dusty makeshift airfield.
"That's enough!" Power shouted.
When Hawk tried to get up, Jon pushed him down with a hard boot to the shoulder. "Stay there!"
Blalock stayed put but rolled to one elbow. "I've had it with him!"
"I've had it with both of you!" Jon bellowed. "We are in this war together, dammit! Every minute you spend trying to kill one another is one less minute we spend putting a stop to Dread!"
Hawk stabbed a finger in Blalock's direction. "He's got a traitor for a leader!"
"Right now," Jon said, cutting off Hawk's tirade, "we're all that stands between what's left of humanity on this planet and letting the machines win. We have to trust one another."
Hawk and Blalock simultaneously slipped out of Power's control and began grappling with one another.
Kasich walked calmly up to the three of them, past the group of workers who had circled to watch the spectacle. Faster than the eye could track, she threw a ka-bar combat knife between the three men. It stuck into the ground with a resonating ping. The shock of the threat instantly drew the two fighters apart, both of them jumping to get out of the way of the blade.
She shoved her hands into the pockets of her fatigues and moved to where the knife had landed.
"Seems to me," she said to Power, "that we have a shortage of trust around here lately, Captain. It's only understandable that these two can't get along."
Her nonchalance startled them all into silence. The only sound was the labored breathing of Blalock and Hawk.
Using her boot, she hitched the edge of the sole onto the hilt of the blade and flipped it out of the ground and into the air. She caught it chest-high and slid it smoothly back into the sheath on her equipment belt.
"I have had about all I can take," she continued, "with egos and bad tempers. "
Her attention turned to the lieutenant. "Sir, with no respect intended, you're a waste of good military training."
Then she addressed Hawk. "And you, sir, should know better, because here's how it stands – if we're going to go in to Dread's base, you two are the last ones I want backing me up. I'll take my chances with the rest of the enlisted if this is the way officers act."
She glanced at Power, immediately bringing forth a conciliatory tone. "Present company excepted, Captain."
Jon considered interjecting but decided Kasich was doing just fine.
Kasich brushed at her brow that held a thin sheet of perspiration at bay. She addressed all gathered at the jumpship in a loud voice.
"We all took an oath to protect the innocent and to keep the world safe. That requires us to work together, even with outsiders. We've been given a chance to put a dent in Dread's forces, and we're going to blow it before we ever get off the ground.
"I realize," she said, "that the lieutenant and I have not gotten along, but the time for that is over." Her outrage diminished a notch as she brought it all into perspective, at least for herself. "We're approaching that zero hour we've all heard our superiors jaw about in the past. Only this time, it's for real."
"Yes, it is, Sergeant," Power said in agreement.
He turned to the group, walking among them. "What we plan to do is not impossible. I don't know much about your cell here, but I do know what my team is capable of doing. By combining our forces and our resources, we're that much stronger against Dread and his armies."
He held out a hand to Blalock. The lieutenant took it and stood up, brushing off the dust of the airfield. He helped Hawk up next, making sure to stay between the two men just in case the fight had not completely terminated.
"We have to unite as a fighting force. If anyone here is incapable of doing that, leave now."
He looked at both men, one then the other, waiting. The repair crew stood back, waiting for an answer as well. Power looked at Hawk, hoping the major would take the initiative to make the plan work. Surprisingly, Blalock stepped forward first.
"I'm in," he said, holding out a hand to Hawk.
Hawk reluctantly returned the gesture. He said nothing, just nodded an agreement with the lieutenant.
"Let's get to work," Power said.
He returned to the cargo containers. Kasich followed at his side. They walked slowly and finally made it back to the containers where the sergeant began putting tools away in a box.
"Think they bought it?" she asked quietly, cleaning a box wrench of grease.
Power smiled. "I'm sure there's a 'for now' hanging out there with Hawk, but he's good on his word, or the lack thereof. What's important is that the rest of our crews are on board."
"Forgive my pessimism, Captain, but thirteen against a couple thousand of Dread's mechs doesn't make for great odds."
He smiled slyly. "You wimping out on me, Sergeant?" Power challenged.
"Not at all, sir. All I'm saying is that we have to have a failsafe plan. A 'be-all-end-all' solution has to be available if we're going in that deep. Despite appearances, our unit is not as organized as it appears. Having an extra ace up your sleeve is a necessity."
At once, he knew what she was saying. There should be something big, something final.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked quietly.
The wind picked up, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Power and Kasich turned away from it, but he still felt the grit of the dust get in his eyes, stinging them. Rubbing only made it worse. When the breeze died, he was still clearing his vision when he noticed Kasich had left his side and was near the transport.
She got inside and motioned him to follow. When he joined her, she handed him a data pad, taking the liberty to reach over and tap the command panel to bring up a schematic.
Kasich slouched down in the driver's seat. "It's what I call a security blanket. It contains a thermal core. If it moves, it's dead when this thing goes off – biological or mech."
He examined the data, realizing after a few moments that it was the detailed layout of a high-yield explosive, powerful enough to level Volcania and an area the size of old Michigan.
"You can't be serious?" he said in disbelief. "This will kill every innocent for a thousand miles."
"And leave what's left intact on the coasts. The fallout will dissipate before it can reach them, and human life will go on, less one Lord Dread."
He quickly handed the pad back to her. "Unacceptable."
"I agree," Kasich said, slipping the pad into the side pocket of her fatigues. "That's why it's a last resort. You know as well as I do that what the Healer is suggesting we do is insane. To have the audacity to penetrate Volcania's walls is over the top, and we're going to have only one shot at shutting him down. The idea is to plant the device and use it only if all else goes to hell."
"Does Tobias know about this security blanket?"
"Know about it?" Kasich gave a snort. "She designed the damned thing."
Jon leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. "I should have known."
"Whatever your feelings are about Doctor Tobias, this weapon she's designed is our last hope. Frankly," she said as an afterthought, "it's more than you have to offer, Captain."
He looked over at her and then straightened. "Take me back to Sanctuary. I want to talk this over with Tobias."
He called out to Hawk that he would return in a while, but gave the major no more details. Power felt the need to discuss the greater merits of a bomb more powerful than anything Dread had ever unleashed on humankind. He considered the mindset of Tobias' crew. In one sense, he understood their acceptance of such a weapon as an option. They lacked the technology Power and his team enjoyed in the fight against Dread's forces. However, that was not acceptable, for he had come to know all too many times that another way existed. He had to believe that there was a better answer than killing so many to let the rest live.
Kasich bypassed the town on their way back to Sanctuary, bringing him into the ruins of the outer city. He took a moment to see what was really left of it. It resembled most other bombed out areas he had seen, except this place had been much more modern in its day, and much of the core of its architecture remained intact. It was no wonder it had caught the eye of Special Forces. Anything this solidly built had to be of value. It must have been pure luck to find the stocked bunker underneath it.
She parked the transport inside the lobby of the building. Again, guards peered down at them, keeping a trained eye on Power as he followed the sergeant into the elevator. For the first time, he noticed the floor of the car. Smears of brown and rust spattered the tile. In an instant, he knew he was looking at dried blood. Some of it may have been Pilot's, but surely there had been others brought down below in the same way.
The elevator opened into the basement floor once more. Mason and Dixon were there, and Jon instinctively reached for his weapon. Kasich gave him only a passing glance as he stood down on his guard. The corner of her mouth creased up slightly as she led the way down the hall toward past the conference room.
They entered a lab area, where Tobias was seated on a stool, working at a terminal. An array of testing equipment, both electronic and chemical, lined the walls on counters. Kasich and Jon approached cautiously, careful not to disturb the doctor's work. They waited until Tobias finished typing and turned toward them.
"Thank you for waiting," she said. "It's not often people are considerate enough so as not to interrupt a train of thought. What can I do for you, Captain?"
Kasich spoke up instead. "Captain Power has some concerns about our security blanket plan."
She reached for an empty stool and pulled it over for Jon. "You realize," she said, "it was always meant as a last resort?"
Jon sat down, feeling his adrenaline increase, readying himself for a fight. "So I've been told."
"Then I really don't see the point of your objections, Captain. I don't think any of us really wants to die in this little escapade. I'd be quite happy if all of you returned in one piece and we never had to uncrate the damned thing."
"It's not an option, even as a last resort," he said plainly. "I won't put so many people at risk because we can't come up with a better plan."
"Weapons capable of great destruction have more often than not been the deciding factor in world conflicts. They deliver the crippling blow that cannot be countered or recovered from in time to regain the upper hand."
"And in the process, we kill thousands who are just trying to survive. I'm not willing to let that possibility creep into this equation."
Kasich rested against a computer console. "Even your team has failed to bring Dread to his knees. If we don't stop Dread once and for all, you can add a million more to those thousands you're mourning so prematurely. They're going to die one way or another. They are already lost no matter what we do."
Power felt overwhelmed with astonishment. "I just can't believe you're even considering this. You both sound like you wanted it to come to this."
"For the last time, of course not," Kasich said with a hint of exasperation, "but given the circumstances with Dread's quest to become a computer chip - and the fact that we don't have a hell of a lot of time to stop him from doing just that - we have to have an option of a final solution. Dread's reign has to come to an end."
"Captain," Tobias said. Then she paused. She considered her words carefully. When she looked at him, her eyes bore into him, and he could see truth there as she spoke.
"You, yourself, have admitted we have reached the final move of this chess game. Your father was a master player against Dread's skill and cunning. He was an even more effective warrior against Lyman's tendency to cheat and forsake honor. He knew this was bound to happen. That was why he created Mentor – to give you a way to combat Taggart and his machines."
"My father didn't invent a weapon to kill millions," he countered.
"No, but he did make available the technology to deliver one. Furthermore, Mentor is aware of the weapon. It has not voiced any objections so far, because the use of the security blanket in this situation is not only logical, it may be necessary. Our plan computes with Mentor. Therefore, it should also make sense to you."
"Sense, yes!" he said, his voice rising, "but not everything that's logical is right."
"If you had one ounce of understanding of what Dread will be able to do once he completes the transfer," Tobias said, her anger surfacing in her voice, "you'd be knocking at his door with Sabre already."
There was a sound in the doorway. They all turned to see Jennifer Chase standing there, her progress monitored carefully by Holcomb.
"Don't stop on my account," she said, walking gingerly into the room. "I'm eager to hear how the story ends."
Holcomb led her to a chair at a console. He eased her down into it, and then took up position behind her, leaning against the small counter there.
"How do you feel?" Tobias asked.
"I'm not ready to run any races," Jennifer answered carefully, "but I'm sure I'm better off than I was a while ago."
"Good," the doctor said, pleased.
"What's the topic?" Jennifer asked, adjusting her position in the chair.
"Sabre," Tobias said plainly, as though it had total meaning to the corporal.
If Jennifer was surprised, it showed in neither her voice nor her features. "I wondered what happened to your work with that. Dread certainly never used it."
"That would have spoiled all his fun," Tobias said. "You can't get engrams from ashes."
Jon felt outnumbered. "So, everyone knows about this weapon?"
Jennifer searched for a more comfortable position in the chair. "Doctor Tobias was involved in quite a few research projects when I was there in the Dread Youth. I assisted her in some of that research," she explained. "The Sabre weapon was one of the last projects I worked on with her."
"It was to be Dread's work of art," Tobias added. "It was going to be the be-all and end-all of his assault against the living," she said, repeating Kasich's description of the weapon.
"So I hear," Power responded. He sighed. "Look, I know that we need an assurance that we're going to stop Dread. All I'm asking is that we use it as an absolute last resort."
Tobias gave an offended look, and he could see her temper break from her control. "There are few other options, Captain! And don't think for one minute I'm enjoying having to make this choice."
Jennifer cleared her throat more for effect than out of need. "With all due respect, Doctor Tobias," she said, "I think you and Captain Power actually agree. I don't think anyone wants to flatten half of what's left of the human race."
"Exactly," Tobias said hastily. "I'm sorry if you don't already understand that we're here to save lives, Captain, not take them. The blast radius, should we use Sabre, will be contained, and we'll be able to rebuild life on the coasts and move inward in a few years."
Jennifer stifled a yawn. Jon saw weariness in her eyes, and he could only imagine how weak her body really was after the assault. Despite her mobility, she should have been in bed. The medical devices Tobias and Holcomb had employed were eerie at best, but nevertheless miraculous. Still, there had been massive tissue damage, and even miraculous devices had to have time to heal flesh.
"So, sometimes, we have to kill some to save many?" he asked.
Jennifer's eyes closed, as though she felt pain. She opened them again and focused on Jon. "Not exactly the solution you were looking for, was it?"
In that moment, he saw the toll the war had taken on her. She had become more than just a casualty. She had suddenly grown up from a child in an evil empire to a woman whose sole mission was to right the wrongs of what was left of the world. Her eyes reflected her experiences, despite her young age. She had come in to her own, and she was a veteran of the fight. She had nearly died trying to save the human lives that remained on the planet, and she did so without hesitation. If the world had been a normal place, she would be in line for awards and medals and the lauds of her fellow soldiers and citizens. As it was, she was left to her own erratically paced recovery, in a place that was nothing more than the denizen of a temporary existence until the overunits found it.
"No, it's not," he said quietly. "It's not one I want to use if we don't have to."
"But you understand may be necessary?" Jennifer asked, pressing the issue.
He looked at Tobias, and she intently returned his gaze.
"I want the detonator," he told her.
She gave half a laugh. "You what?"
"You heard me. I want the trigger. I'll be the one to decide if and when it's used."
"You can't be serious!" Tobias protested.
"You don't get into Volcania without Mentor, and I'll have him offline in a heartbeat." He turned his head to a terminal. "Mentor?" he called clearly, his threat just as apparent.
Tobias held up a quick hand. "There is no need for threats, Captain. You'll get the trigger, but I will say this - you had best do your part to get it inside Volcania to make our initial plan work. Otherwise, we will have wasted a perfectly good argument, and the demise of the human race will be on your hands."
Tobias had the gift for being to the point, and Power could not help but admire it, despite her warning being directed at him. She was practical and did not sugarcoat the situation. Too many leaders in the past had tried to appease those around them when it came to the direness of a situation. Tobias, though, knew the truth because she had been part of the process to make it. She had helped develop the very technology they were fighting, and she knew more than anyone else the exact consequences of it. She had, after all, invented many of them and had used them effectively to further Dread's empire.
Jon looked down at her metal leg, still unclear what it was that had given her that. He did not know if it if was intentional or a punishment. He knew Tobias would never give the whole truth, because that was not her way. She had a guarded past, and for good reason. While the doctor would not deny her crimes, she would also not provide ammunition to any accuser in her midst. She would not sabotage herself in the name of guilt. Ask for penance, yes, but never sabotage. She would not go down without a fight, because that was her nature. Jon could respect that, even if he felt he could never fully trust her.
"Well," he said looking at Tobias, "here's to living to fight another day."