Disclosure
by
Chaoseternus
The Truth Is Out At Last, Are You Ready For It?
Thirty-Eight"Contact report sir," Penhall stated, glancing up from the swiftly scrolling screen of the Command/Control computer, "light resistance on hills Baker-25 and 26, enemy withdrawing"
"Damnation," General Hendricks frowned, "they're retreating too easy. They must mean to compress their battleline"
"Da Comrade," Vladin', "this may be a problem, if they compress their battleline too much then they will be near immune to a frontal assault from the forces we have available to us"
"There is also the matter of our rear, with hostile units known to be moving towards our flanks and rear…" Gel'tec shrugged expressively, "this may be time for some of that tactical brilliance the Tau'ri have earned themselves a name for"
"A compressed battleline is highly vulnerable to air attack," Hendricks mused.
Major Penhall glanced once at the tactical display, then shook his head, "only Free Jaffa Udajeet available at this moment and they are not effective at assaulting ground targets"
"Perhaps by your standards," Grl'tec noted, "but the craft have been used in that role longer then I have lived. The pilots are used to it"
"Questions of suitability can wait," Hendricks shook his head, "if they can, then they must. We do not have the luxury of picking and choosing our tools"
"Very well sir," Penhall nodded sharply, then turned back to his console, his mind already swiftly formulating the appropriate orders
"It is times like this I regret that the use of napalm is technically illegal nowadays," Vladin' mused.
Hendricks snorted, "legal or not, everyone still stockpiles some… but Death Gliders can not deliver the ordinance nor be refitted to in time and the Air Force is shattered, no longer able to maintain 24/7 operations"
"Da," Vladin' frowned, "it was an oversight not to have included fighters in the airlift"
"Excuse me," Gel'tec interrupted, "but I see a blip marked high on your display but I know not what it stands for"
Vladin' glanced across swiftly, and then sighed, "American B-2 in case we fail. If the mouth opens, then the English countryside will once more know the heat of a nuclear furnace"
"I see," Gel'tec shook himself, disturbed, "understandable and regrettable both"
"Hills 25 and 26 secured," Penhall announced, the large display flickering at the update, "minor casualties reported, no fatalities. ATC now expanding the landing zone"
"That is good news," Vladin' noted, "but still, the final assault, how do we do this?"
"I don't know," Hendricks frowned, gazing swiftly across the tactical displays, "we have our LZ, troops are landing fast now but we must consider both our flanks and rear, the normal jaffa that will oppose us as well as mind-controlled French and UN units…"
"Do not forget the supersoldiers," Gel'tec pointed out.
"How can I?" Hendricks shivered, "they are the most vexing aspect of this, we have very little that will pierce that armour and none of it is available to us here and now"
"They will massacre our forces if Iblis has nay on planet" Vladin' shook his head, "I have little doubt we could succeed against the other forces Iblis has available to him,"
Gel'tec and Hendricks nodded as this, "but those supersoldiers, they could easily be the death of us"
"We may…" Hendricks paused, then sighed, annoyed, "have to look beyond the technological for an answer"
"I hate to say it," Vladin' agreed, "But I must agree… and disagree! We risk much if we do and much more if we don't. The explanation to our troops, that we are dealing with a ancient armies trapped by the ancients that Iblis wishes to release, it holds for now but if we start using magic we will encourage them to ask questions… and the fewer who know that magic is real the better!"
"That is indeed an effective ploy with which to hide the truth of our mission here, but Vladin' is right, if you use magic now you save your Earth… for now, and expose a greater threat. It may be best not to touch such heresies"
"The explanation has a certain irony," Hendricks shook his head, "and as I understand it, a certain truth. But you are right… and yet, we need, no, we must have some sort of edge. We could win this battle only to have the tables turned on us by the appearance of those enhanced soldiers"
"It seems incredible to me that something that can be carried by a man can protect against such incredible forces as those represented by a rocket," Valdin' frowned, gesturing agitatedly with his hands, "but if Stargate Commands reports are to be believed and I have seen no reason not to…"
"There are weapons which can neutralise the protection," Hendricks shook his head, "but of course, they are not available to us here and now and whilst the Ha'taks weapons would almost certainly overwhelm their protection…"
Vladin' snorted, muttering quietly under his breath, "that might just manage to disprove rule 37…"
"Rule 37?" Gel'tec asked, frowning.
"There is no overkill, only 'Open Fire' and 'I need to reload'" Vladin' smiled tightly.
"…we would need to get the supersoldiers out into the open" Hendricks mused thoughtfully, one hand stroking at the harsh hairs, a remnant of days without proper shaving.
Gel'tec glanced at Hendricks startled, "You are serious? Use warship weaponry to kill mere supersoldiers?"
Hendricks shook his head, grimacing his annoyance, "we do not have anything that might qualify as just enough kill… our only hope is sheer overkill"
Vladin' nodded, turning to Major Penhall, "signal the artillery controllers, have them co-ordinate with the Ha'taks, we may be using them for heavy support"
Hendricks smiled, an amused glint coming into his eye for just a moment, "rule 34…"
"If your leaving scorch marks, you need a bigger gun," Vladin' translated, glancing amused at Hendricks who despite planning the downfall of Iblis had apparently been managing to keep track of the conversation going on in his periphery as well, "I rather doubt that the Ha'tak weapons will be leaving anything as crass as scorch marks"
"Perhaps," Gel'tec shook his head, "you risk your own soldiery… and you must also bring the supersoliders to a place the Ha'taks can actually bring their weapons to bear"
"If supersoldiers appear," Hendricks commented bluntly, "then we are going to lose people containing them regardless. Best they die for a purpose"
"Could you not manoeuvre your warships in order to acquire a better field of fire? Perhaps even invert them?"
"Invert no, not in the atmosphere…" Gel'tec hesitated, and then nodded, "but they can hover over the engagement zone for certain and perhaps tilt in order to bring the main weapons to bear better for a while, but the engines will be strained. We would have a short window of availability for each ship before they would be forced to land once more"
"Then we stagger them," Vladin' stated.
"Indeed," Gel'tec nodded, and then walked towards Penhall, preparing the orders that were to be passed along.
"Still," Vladin' frowned, "we do not really have the forces to attack across a large front and yet if we concentrate we increase the number of people likely to be killed by our own weapons should the supersoldiers appear"
Hendricks shook his head, "I want a sharp assault, near pinpoint to force a break…"
He stepped forward, gesturing across the display, "like a needle we make a break in the skin then push the plunger. Insert what elites and veterans we have available into the complex itself, assisted by selected standard forces. Use regulars to widen the breech, assaulting along the flank we have created and perhaps moving through the outskirts of the base to attack fortified positions from the rear. We make a hole… then we pour through it"
Vladin' nodded, "we should move any armour to the point of the breech"
"Indeed," General Hendricks laughed, darkly, "that's maybe twenty tanks total… but only eight of those are Challengers. The others are best suited to recon and rapid reinforcement duties towards our rear"
"Latest estimate from the Ha'taks, they say Iblis's shield will almost certainly be down within five minutes" Gel'tec noted, hurrying back into the conversation.
"Then we move everything to… Hill-45," Hendricks stated, his tone one of pure determination, " everything. The next wave of reinforcements will take the task of watching our rear"
"You risk much…" Vladin' noted, but wearily continued, "but da"
"War is risk," Hendricks frowned, "and now is the time to gamble the whole hand… and hope Iblis isn't holding too many aces"
"Now," Gel'tec said, "which units are assigned which task? We do not have much time to decide"
"No," Hendricks sighed, "we most certainly do not"
"Okay," Vladin' leaned forward across the display, "First we deal with Iblis's coordination. Penhall, signal Thundersdawn, its time to turn out the lights"
