As the appropriated VDF shuttle skillfully maneuvered to its impromptu destination, a contingent of VDF regulars supported by civilians-turned-militia crewed an archaic anti-aircraft piece. A quartet of large mass drivers, fully automated and radar-assisted, loaded with super-dense alloy slugs. Armaments were few and far in between. Everything needed to be called up out of reserves and storage. Even the museums that weren't destroyed yet saw their collections pilfered. This anti-aircraft emplacement was no exception.
The VDF Sergeant leading the crew scanned their sector with his magnified viewfinder. Save for the howl of wind cutting through the canyons of steel, glass, and plastoids, silence filled the air...and shuttle engines?
He turned to the Corporal gunner as both of them studied one another's features in silence. Were they hearing the same thing? Was it what they thought it was? Before jumping to conclusions, the Sergeant looked to the radar operator, a retired VDF cook given a crash course in the equipment he operated.
"Jaul!" he called out to him, securing his viewfinder to his belt. "Tell me you hear that? Sounds like a shuttle coming in fast. ID it, ASAP!"
The Sergeant returned to the seated Corporal at the center of the weapon system.
"Veris, spool up and stand by. Taking no chances on this one….talk to me Jaul, what are we looking at?"
"Over here, now!" One of the other regulars called out, assembling his gun crew on one of the other mounted guns nearby, an older ballistic piece pilfered from a museum, quad mount off one of Vort's old naval vessels, entirely manually operated. "Get that searchlight ready!"
"Uh, Sergeant," Jaul called out from his console, "That's definitely a shuttle all right...one of...ours?" The cook turned radar operator looked to Veris, "What gives? I thought the evac wasn't supposed to take off for another half an hour?"
"What's the ID on it?" Veris asked of him.
"Ohnmatu. Ervaus."
"I'm calling it in," Veris keyed the radio next to the radar console. "Command, this is Sector 11. We picked up a shuttle airborne inside the wire."
"Do you have a signature, Sector 11?"
"Yes, Command. Shuttle is identified to Ervaus Team of JSOG Ohnmatu." The radio went silent after that message was sent. Far too long as the noise of the engines grew louder. "Command, how copy?"
At that moment, a new voice appeared on the radio, "Sector 11, this is Taskmaster, SIS. Your orders are to down that shuttle with extreme prejudice. Shuttle is hostile in the hands of enemy combatants. Repeat, shuttle is hostile. How copy?"
"Good copy, out." Veris got off the radio, "Sergeant! It's hostile!" He flipped on the fire controls to the various automated defenses as a small team turned on the searchlight and trained it on the shuttle.
"Hostile?" The Sergeant reiterated, confused as he looked between his gun crews.
"Inbound and closing fast, Sergeant." Vaul notified, targeting telemetry being sent to the radar-assistants for each of the platforms at their disposal.
"Sergeant, orders?" Another of the Militia queried, swallowing dryly as he also prepared his station, powering up and standing by.
He growled, caught between blindly following directives and questioning authority. Why target one of their own?
"Veris, who's authority?"
"SIS, sir!"
"Fuck…" He cursed to himself. Of course it was the off-world spooks that everyone was terrified of. Did he defy them and risk his own neck? Did he follow through with their issued command and target potential friendly...or was this shuttle in fact compromised and full of Irken? Too many questions, not enough answers.
"...ancestors forgive me if we're wrong…" He mumbled to himself. "Online and safeties off, boys! Soon as you have a clear target, knock it out of the sky!"
The crew on the old ballistic mount started loading armor piercing cartridges, they were the last gun online as they joined the other mass driver mounts in firing at the illuminated target.