Hi guys,
Sorry that I haven't posted a chapter for this in a while. I was hesitant to post this chapter because of a topic that will come up towards the end of the chapter and will be part of the next chapter. The other reason is because of school and work. I am also getting back into the bad habit of starting multiple things and not finishing them (i.e. I have start outlines for two/three other stories floating around in my mind-yay!). I try to get the chapters out to you guys but no promises.
There are warnings for the next two/three chapters just because of the topics they touch.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
So, this and the next chapter are the reason there is a Mature rating for this story-other than the violence that typically comes with a Call of Duty Story. This chapter does deal with children and the reference of them being hurt for experimental purposes. So, if you are uncomfortable with this concept-SKIP THIS, CHAPTER 12, AND 13.
Some of the things implied to be done to these kids is similar to what Dr. Josef Mengele (AKA The Angel of Death) did to children in Auschwitz during World War 2. Though, I DID NOT go into detail of what was done in this or the next two chapter.
Again, if you are not comfortable with this topic THEN SKIP THIS CHAPTER, CHAPTER 12, AND 13.
You have been warned, so please do not report this or get mad at me because-again-you've been warned to skip if you don't like it.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing had happened since the Galaxius.
It made Devon antsy wondering what Salen's next moves were going to be as she slide her Jack onto Ret's runway. She listened to Salt and Reyes go back and forth over the comms, Salt still giving him shit about some flight maneuvers from the Galaxius battle the few days before.
"Hey now," Devon intervened, "you have done some not so great moves yourself."
"So have you!" Salt replied.
"Yes, but I am what you called a…" Devon started. She couldn't remember the word. "Dust Devil?" Reyes laughed.
"Daredevil, Dev." he corrected. The platform descended into the hanger, where Kloos and Boss were waiting. Both had clipboards and pens at the ready for the jackal inspection.
"Anything, Commander?" Boss asked, as she helped him out of his jack.
"Nope. Nothing so far." he responded. "And I don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing."
"That's always a bad thing." Devon said, helping herself out of her jack despite Kloos' proffered hand. "Means Salen is thinking."
"You make it sound like he's stupid." Boss chuckled.
"No, strategy just comes easy to him." she replied. "He's been a brilliant tactician since childhood. He often beat our grandfather and older brother at chess."
"Really?" Boss said. "Admiral Kotch would beat the Great Commander Kotch-at chess?" Devon nodded. "Has anyone beaten him?"
"I did a few times." Devon replied, but quickly shook his head. "But, he'd quickly loose his temper and flip the table in a rage."
"Did he ever get physical?" Salt asked. Devon slowly nodded, reminiscing about all the times.
"Almost every time. He'd give me a black eye and a nose bleed." she said. "I think he might've broken my nose once or twice." Devon shrugged and stated walking towards the elevator. "I don't remember." Reyes, Salt, and Boss exchanged looks. More pieces to add the puzzle that had once been Devon's life. Salt and Reyes joined her in the lift.
"Well," Boss began, as she typed in the commands into the console. "Hopefully the action won't get here before we have a chance to finish up on your jackals."
"You'll do fine, Boss." Reyes said. Boss gave a mock salute and smile as the lift doors closed. Devon twisted her upper body so she could type in her own destination. "Where are you off to now?"
"Got a message from the Admiral." she replied. Reyes didn't say anything, other than 'ah'. Dev caught the look in Salt's eye.
"You beat Salen at chess?" she asked. Devon nodded slowly. "And yet, he's admiral?"
"You forget very easily, Salt." Devon began. "Women typically don't serve in SetDef other than auxiliary positions. I am the exception."
"How, did your parents feel about it?" she asked.
"About what? Being active duty?"
"No," she chuckled. "beating your brother."
"Well, Isemay wasn't very happy. Said 'chess is a man's sport and crydonian women have no right to partake in the event'. Bitch" Devon said, grumbling out the last part under her breath. Salt laughed. The lift slowed as it reached Devon's destination. The shaft's lock's engaged and the doors opened with a hiss.
"Good luck, Dev!" Reyes shouted as she walked off and down the hall. Devon threw a look over her shoulder at him that was a mixture of 'what the fuck' and 'shut up'. It gave Salt and Reyes a good laugh. Devon continued down the hall until she reached comms. The comms specialist inside pointed her to the same conference room as before. When she walked in, Admiral Raines was already on the video board. She stood at attention.
"Admiral." she announced. Raines looked up from the file he was reading.
"Lieutenant." he greeted. He motioned to the nearest chair. "Sit." Devon followed his instructions. She found a tablet at the seat, opened to Salen's file.
"I am reviewing the final dossier on your brother, Lieutenant." he began, looking through the file. He looked up at her expectantly. "Anything to add?" Devon looked through the file herself. She thought back to the last meeting
"He's methodical." she answered. "The fact that neither Ret nor Tigris has seen action for the past several days means he's taking his time. Carefully planning things out. He looks at the pieces on the chess board and wonders which pieces to sacrifice and what moves to make."
"Could High Command or the council being playing a role in this as well?" the Admiral asked.
"Certainly." Devon replied. "A failed takeover of Earth; two remaining enemy warships; the failed Luna OP; the intact orbital outpost; and now the Galaxius. Command does not want another failure. Not while their prized star is at the helm, so to speak."
"And that is what he is to them. A prized animal at auction?" he asked. Devon's face dropped a little.
"I don't understand what you mean by that, Admiral." she said, but quickly regained her composure. "He bears the Kotch name. He is also way more visible than our older brother who sits on High Command."
"And your father sits on the High Council. So, if Salen fails…" Raines said.
"Then, not only is it another blow to the family name, but it puts Lytton in an unsavory position within the government. It also questions his standing as a Martian as well as that of the entire family." she said.
"Why would the family be subjected to it?" the Admiral asked.
"As of right now-as it has been since the ending of the Succession Wars-the Kotch family is at the top of the social hierarchy." she informed. "Entrances into the top schools for any profession-military or civilian-is not only based upon test scores but also one's standing with the government. That standing is based upon a loyalty point system."
"Which explains why they put your bounty out in loyalty points rather in credits for currency." Raines replied. "Its almost like the Soviet Union."
"It is loosely based off it, yes." Devon replied. "Another part to this is life partners. Because they are at the top, they get first pick of who they want their children to marry."
"And those picked are also in good standing with the government." he added. Devon nodded.
"If they were to loose their top spot, they loose all of those privileges and more." she said.
"And someone else-a rival-could come in and make it worse for them." Devon nodded again.
"So, remember back to the last conversation-his broadcast shows that he is nervous, which means he's already taking heat from not only the council and Command, but also from Lytton." Devon finished.
"So, its about the legacy?" he questioned.
"Its always been about the legacy for Lytton." she said. Raines looked down at the file and gave a small nod. He wrote something in the margins before looking back up.
"Anything else, Lieutenant?" he asked.
"We need to continue winning these battles. Even the small skirmishes. Then, we need to magnify them."
"What do you believe should be or next target then?" he asked, folding his hands.
"Shouldn't this be discussed with the Captain, Admiral?" she asked.
"It should." he said. "But, you're the expert when it comes to SetDef, seeing as you use to be one. I am asking what you believe-given this new assessment-should be done first." Devon thought for a moment. There were a lot of options on the board right now, but she didn't want to give anything out without Reyes being in on the decision. But…they could take out several more ships around the system, taking more of their fleet offline and give Earth's "fleet" a better dighting chance. Or they could hit one of SetDef's outpost. Devon began to think in terms of what Earth needed at the moment.
"Titan, sir." she finally responded.
"Titan." he repeated. She nodded.
"Yes, Admiral. More specifically a refinery station." she said. "If we are able to get more of the fleet back online, then we're going to need fuel for those warships. Fuel for our fighter craft. Earth only has so much. And it'll take away a fueling depot from the Front. Might even be able to take out a few Ajaxs as well."
"But, not a destroyer?" Raines asked, a brow raised.
"I don't think we're going to get that lucky." she replied. "Ajaxs are versatile. They can be used in combat as well as in transport runs."
"Like makeshift fuel tankers." he said. She nodded.
"Some are specially made to hold large quantities of fuel," she informed. "but, most of the time, they have to be modified to hold smaller quantities." Raines looked back down at his desk, writing something in the margins of the file. He looked back up.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." he said. "This will help STRATCOM with further initiatives and strike against the Front."
"Happy to help, Admiral." Devon replied, dipping her head and give a short, small smile. She sighed as she slumped in the chair and rubbed her face after the feed ended. The pressure was building at her temples and behind her eyes. How long had she slept last night? Not enough, apparently. Not that she was going to now anyways. Not with her mind being pulled in twenty different directions. She sighed again and shoved herself out of the chair. She took the tablet with her as she left the room and handed it back to the specialist. She took the stairs across the hall from the comms office and headed down towards the belly of the carrier. It was quicker to use the lift, but Devon wanted the exercise. Even with the comfort of a gravity machine, it was still easy to fall victim to muscle atrophy. True, she could pace around the lift like a caged lion, but she liked the cardio she got from the stairs. Her mind unintentionally wondered as she walked. She stopped abruptly when something Salt had said popped in her mind.
'What's this thing made of?' Salt had said. The comment bounced around in her head like an echo in an empty room.
What was it made of?
Devon's mind began to race and with it her feet. She skidded to a halt at her door and forced her way in. She jerked the lamp on and fell into her seat. She thought back to when Olympus made the jump. She snatched a pen from its holder and slid a pad of paper to her and began jotting notes down. Olympus was named after the shielded volcano which Salen climbed nearly five years ago. It was a feat even for him as it stood at 22 kilometers high. A documentary had been made by the propaganda machine and was a mandatory watch for everyone under the Front's control especially those still in the education system. For months afterwards, the capital flew banners and showcased on jumbotrons his success. Most often the images displayed were of him planting the SDF banner at the lip of the Olympus' calderas. Other images had included the trek itself and a group photo around Salen and the banner. All with serious expressions.
Not long after the infamous climb, her older sister, Eryn, was put back into work by High Command. Devon had thought at the time that the council was preparing for an invasion, a likelihood no matter how calm the relations were between Mars and Earth. Not long after Eryn was brought back into work, Eurion stopped coming home or even calling and was instead moved out of the labs on Mars and into one of their off-world sites. Devon put everything in perspective on the paper, drawing lines between the three things. It hit her then, looking at a physical representation of what she was thinking and bolted from her room to the lift. She called Boats along the way, telling she needed to speak with Reyes, not matter what. She didn't care at the moment if he was on conference with someone, this took top priority. She paced back and forth anxiously with her hands folded behind her back. Finally, the lift slowed to a craw until it finally stopped at the bridge level. Devon bolted out like a loaded spring and knocked Brooks over as he rounded the corner.
"Sorry, Brooks!" Devon yelled over her shoulder as she kept running to the bridge. She ran full force into the door and used the momentum to push down on the lever and pushed the door. "Boats."
"Already notifying the Captain, Lieutenant." she replied, as Devon jumped from the top of the stairs, landing in crouch before spring back into a run. She skidded to a stop and waited for Boats to give her the all clear before she began banging on the door.
"Enter!" Reyes called out. Devon pushed the handle down and rushed in.
"I have an idea for an Op." she said, not giving Reyes a chance to even to greet her.
"Shoot." he replied.
"Salt mentioned how hard it was to penetrate Olympus." she started. "Before I defected, Command pulled my brother, Eurion, off all of his projects and put him on something else. This one taking up all his time. And they pulled our sister, Eryn, out of retirement for a project. It coincide with his climb on the Olympus Mons volcano."
"How does all of this match up?" Raines asked from the screen. Devon jumped slightly, not knowing he was there.
"Eryn's specialty was designing warships for the Front." she said, looking back and forth from Reyes to Raines and then back to Reyes.
"Dev, are you saying your sister might have designed that carrier?" Reyes asked, his brows furrowing as he leaned forward in his chair.
"Aye. And Eurion developed the metal." she replied. "Eurion is a scientist, but not like yours who study nature and create vaccines." Raines leaned back in his seat.
"How does this help us, Lieutenant?" he asked.
"I know the facility where it would have been kept." Devon replied. "Command had me do a transport run on sensitive documents."
"Did you get a look at those documents?" Reyes asked. But, Devon shook her head.
"Negative. High level of encryption. Only those pertinent to the project, council, and command had access. To include Salen." she replied. "It makes sense because Salen was big on keeping things in the family. A project like the Olympus would be no exception."
"Where is this base?" Raines asked, still leaning back in his seat, looking unconvinced. Devon moved to the screen and typed in a few commands, putting in the exact coordinates. The live feed of Raines minimized to a small square and moved to the upper left corner of the screen. The rest was taken up by a three-dimensional image of a base enclosed on all sides with high concrete walls. In the middle was a squat building and next to it a runway that disappeared underneath a metal enclosure built into the icy ground. Opposite of Raines, was a rotating picture of one of Saturn's moons. She transmitted these images to him as well.
"Enceladus." she replied, taking a step back so Raines could see her as well. Reyes stood and walked to the edge of his desk. He folded his arms over his chest and scratched his chin.
"Doesn't look very big." he said, looking skeptical.
"Thats because there's two parts to the facility: a surface side and a sub-level. The only way to get to the sub-level is an elevator." She pointed to the lone building in the center of the compound. "Unfortunately, you don't have ground penetrating radar to see below Enceladus' surface and I don't remember much of the facility from the run."
"How would you proceed?" Raines asked.
"Could go stealth." Reyes suggested. Devon shook her head again.
"Negative. As soon as you fire the first shot, they base would be on high alert."
"So, assault?" Reyes questioned.
"Jackals can fly ahead and carve a path to the front door, make us an entrance." she said. She began pointing out ground team entrances as well as exfil points. Primary and secondary landing zones for both infiltration and exfiltration were plotted as well. Reyes divided the teams into four groups with two staying topside and the other two going in to secure the site. But, Devon dropped a bombshell on them. "There is most likely children there."
"What do you mean there are 'most likely'?" Reyes asked, shaking his head unable to fully comprehend what she was saying. "I thought you said you don't remember much about the site."
"There are children there." Devon repeated. "That is one of the few things I do know." She looked over at the Admiral. "It was one of the things on the flash drive I brought when I came to Earth."
"Ah, great." Reyes grumbled.
"How does this change the mission, Lieutenant?" Raines asked. Devon took in a long breath.
"It means we may only have one exfil." she replied. "There are not going to be enough O2 masks to go around."
"I admire you heart for these children, Lieutenant, but the mission-," Raines began.
"Sir, we are already facing public backlash for not having known about the Fleet Week attacks. Imagine what will happen if the public found out we had a chance to rescue kidnapped UNSA Children." Devon pointed out. "The public out cry would be so immense world leaders will act against us."
"She does have a point, Admiral." Reyes said. Devon saw Raines' shoulders rise and fall as he inhaled deeply. He wasn't looking at them, rather he was looking at a random spot on his desk. Devon could tell he was thinking hard on it as his brows pushed together and the lines formed on his forehead. She could understand what the hesitation was. They needed to focus on the primary mission: capture Eurion and download any intel on the metal as well as anything else there. A site like Enceladus could be a gold mine and just the break they need if the mission was successful. But, at the same time, they were already taking heat from the general public and the UN security council about not knowing about SetDef's plan and Riah. When they found out-and they will find out-they had a chance to rescue kidnapped UNSA children and didn't, they would all be looking at court-martialing. Devon could kiss any chances of taking Salen out goodbye. The admiral sighed again and closed his eyes before giving them his answer.
"I see your point…both of you." he said.
"Thank you, Admiral." Reyes nodded. The screen switched off as the feed was cut. Reyes spared a look at Devon as he turned back to his desk and pressed the com button. "Boats."
"Ye, sir." she replied.
"Get Ethan and Staff Sergeant Omar to the bridge, please." he asked. "We're gearing up for a mission."
"They're already here sir." she responded.
"Copy that." he said. Reyes rounded his desk and exited his office with Devon following closely behind. Upon exiting, Devon saw that Salt, Ethan, and Omar were already gathered around the navigation table. Reyes tossed a had towards the table as he ordered Gator to bring up Enceladus. Devon walked over to Gator's side and gave him the exact coordinates of the base. A holographic image of the base sprang up and rotated for a 360 view.
"What do we got, Raider?" Salt asked.
"We're going to assault an SDF Black Site on Enceladus." Reyes announced.
"Finally a mission!" she said, a little too excited. Devon couldn't blame her, they had just been floating around the past few days. "What's the objective?"
"SDF scientist who created the high strength, high-impact metal used on the Olympus." Devon said, bring up a smaller hologram of the Olympus, zooming in on the surface and jumping around to any space not taken up by cannons.
"Who's the scientist?" Ethan asked, looking from the hologram to Devon then to Reyes. Devon typed in another set of commands and brought up the photo the UNSA had on her brother.
"Dr. Eurion Icarius Kotch." she replied as his photo appeared over the base's hologram. Salt pulled a funny look and at Devon.
"You're brother?" she asked.
"Older brother. He's responsible for creating the Olympus' metal hull." she said, keeping her attention on the photo of her brother. She looked around the table at everyone else. "The site is also most likely where they assembled the Olympus. And it also houses the Sol System's largest 3D printer."
"So, schematics for the carrier could quite possibly be there?" Omar asked, pointing at the base.
"Affirmative." Reyes replied. He looked over at Dev.
"The F-SpAr cannon was printed here as well. Eurion most likely oversaw its construction, assembly, and attachment to the Olympus." Devon continued to look around at everyone, meeting everyone's gaze, even Omar's.
"We grab the scientist, any intel to include Olympus schematics, and torch the site." Reyes pointed at Eurion's photo and then to the base.
"How are we going in?" Ethan asked, wanting to get to the nuts and bolts of the operation.
"Full assault. Stealth is a no go." Reyes replied. He looked lover to Salt. "Salt, you and the Jackals will fly ahead of us to soften it up and create us an entrance."
"You'll need to take its air defense system first." Devon warned. She enlarged the hologram of the base and pointed where the AA guns were stationed along the wall. "They also have several squadrons of Skelters on stand-by."
"Place is armed to the teeth." Omar said, as all possible defenses were highlight in orange.
"That's because High Command doesn't want us anywhere near this place." she deadpanned.
"While Jackals engage air defenses, Omar, Ethan, Devon, and I will assault in with the Marines." Reyes said, highlighting the landing zones for the two teams. Reyes looked up from the table and looks around at everyone. He finally settled on Devon, who gave him a steady gaze. He knew what she was about to say and gave her a nod. She exhaled as she looked back at the map.
"There is one other thing you all need to know." she said, hesitantly.
"What is it?" Gator asked, looking next to him. Devon took a shaky breath.
"The base is also the site of human testing." she announced. She didn't need to look up to know everyone was taken aback by what she had just said. She could feel it.
"What kind?" Ethan asked.
"Don't know. Their test subjects are…" she hesitated, "UNSA children captured when SetDef took over their home colony. There were also rumors that children of SetDef criminals and defectors are there. "
"Wait, Dev. Are you saying your brother is a modern day Dr. Mengele?" Salt asked, the disbelief heard clearly in her voice.
"He's not that kind of doctor. He's more into engineering and developing things like new materials and weapons." Devon replied. "But, he does oversee scientific operations on the base. He's sort of like the head scientist there."
"So, at the very least he reads the reports?" Gator asked. Devon nodded. Salt looked back and forth between Devon and Reyes.
"Does STRATCOM and the Admiral know about this?" she asked.
"To an extent. It was one of the files I brought with me when I defected." she replied.
"Why children?" Gator asked. "They have done nothing wrong." Devon shrugged.
"Make generations pay for the actions of a single family member." she guessed. "People begin to think twice about their actions if their future generations will pay the price. Another strategy to keep people in line."
"Infil will be through ground side elevator." Reyes announced, bringing everyone's attention back to the beefing. "Expect resistance. This will an air and ground fight."
"Exfil will be out through the hanger. Easier and faster." Devon added. "There are not going to be enough O2 masks to take all the children and they'll suffocate before we can get them from the elevators to Ravens." Devon pointed out where the Ravens would have landed in the plaza in front of the lone building. "SDF will tear us a part if we do small batches."
"And leaving them behind would spell disaster for the UNSA." Gator said, looking at her and Reyes. She nodded.
"Something Salen is banking on." she said.
"Devon will have the conn for this one." Reyes replied. She wasn't surprised when she heard Omar let out a disapproving grunt. "Seeing as she knows more about the base than us."
"Not that much." she injected.
"Any questions?" Reyes asked, looking around the table.
"Just tell us when, Captain." Yetide said. Reyes looked to Devon.
"Dev?" he asked. Devon observed the map with all its annotations then looked around the table at everyone.
"If no one has questions or comments," she said. "Let's get to it." Reyes nodded with a slight smile as he pushed off the table.
"Alright. Staff Sergeant, get you men ready." Reyes announced. He looked to Omar.
"Aye, sir." he replied with a nod.
"Gator," he turned to the man. "get us going."
"Aye, sir." he replied as he plotted their course.
"Everyone, dismissed." Reyes announced. Devon spared another glance at the table before following Reyes to the lift.