The First Contact War
Chapter 25
Induction
"A professional soldier understands that war means killing people, war means maiming people, war means families left without fathers and mothers." Norman Schwarzkopf
"Naturally, it is a terrible, despicable crime when, as in Munich, people are taken hostage, people are killed. But probing the motives of those responsible and showing that they are also individuals with families and have their own story does not excuse what they did." Steven Spielberg
25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Taskforce 242 Headquarters Coruscant.
Tracinya Vizla strode confidently down the corridor to the briefing room where she was to meet the rest of her unit. She had been chosen from many promising Mandalorians to be part of the select few chosen to represent Mandalor in the new Interplanetary Taskforce to increase co-operation between Mandalor, The Republic and the O.A.G.. She knew that she was going to be paired up with two Jedi and a Special Forces Marine. She tucked a strand of her short dark auburn hair behind her ear as she approached the door to the briefing room. Her hazel eyes showed a mix of fear and excitement.
As the door slid open to reveal the two Jetiise. A master and apprentice. The master was a six foot four Zabrac cyborg. He had green eyes and visible cybernetic implants on his face and left arm. The apprentice was a smaller five foot six human teen. He had brown eyes and hair with a Caucasian complexion.
"Greetings Mandalorian, I am Jedi Master Torak and this is my apprentice Kleos Tarkin" Kleos merely 'tched' in response, disdain barley hidden, " It is a pleasure to work with you" Torak finished.
"Greetings master Jetii. I look forward to working with you." Tracinya replied respectfully, "I was under the impression there was to be another person present, a Marine?" Tracinya inquired.
"Yes, though he seems to be running late." Torak said.
"Trust a barbarian to be late." Tarkin spoke for the first time with his voice full of contempt.
"Tarkin!" Torak snapped at his apprentice's racism.
"It's true! They are not as advanced as we are scientifically or socially, they refused to join the Republic and they don't even have any mediclorians in their blood for force sake! They are beneath us! How could they be our equals in any regard?!" Tarkin ranted.
"And how exactly does that make us 'barbarians' as you so eloquently put, we far exceed any individual interplanetary power in both size, military strength and economic power. " Tracinya nearly jumped from the sudden voice she wasn't expecting. Turning around she saw a giant. Standing at just under seven foot the Marine towered over everyone present. His well-toned body evident even under the camouflaged fatigues. He had dark blues eyes, short messy brown hair and a strong jawline. His intimidating figure silencing anymore comments from Tarkin.
"I apologise for my apprentice's words, he still has yet to overcome his prejudices." Master Torak apologised.
"That's fine, I'm sorry for arriving late. Names Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, O.A.G.N. SPECWAR division." Luke introduced himself offering his hand to Torak.
"I've heard of you from young Padawan Tano and Master Skywalker, they speak highly of you." Torak said shaking his hand. Luke turned to Tracinya.
"Su'cuy Mando'ad" Tracinya was surprised by as not many learnt to speak Mando'a outside of Mandalor and its sphere of influence.
"You speak Mando'a?"
"A little, I'm not very good though admittedly. Served on Mandalore for a while so I thought it might be of use if I learnt to speak some form of Mando'a. It's nice to meet you...?"
"Ni Ceta, My name is Tracinya Vizla."
"It's fine, you were just surprised that I spoke your language."
"You were part of the O.A.G. Taskforce on Mandalore?" Tracinya asked.
"I was assigned to the group that dealt with the Death Watch in northern Concordia." Luke replied.
"I went to one of the boot camps that you guys set up. I couldn't believe that there was so much you needed to know to be able to fight a war, I thought you merely needed to know how to fight, look after your equipment and be able to work with others. But on top of that we had to learn history, code words and signals and tonnes of PT."
"That because traditionally Mandalorians could be seen as warriors and bounty hunters not Soldiers to some." Luke noticed that Tracinya was confused while Torak was curious from their facial expressions and Tarkin looked indifferent.
"Soldier and Warrior both mean men of war, but there is a slight difference in meanings. A soldier seems to imply someone who is in the army, and has been trained by some militia. A warrior seems to imply a more barbaric figure, or at least, someone who fights, but isn't necessarily part of a state army, but are fighting for personal reasons. The next difference implied is a soldier has discipline, and works together with other soldiers as a team to form an army. They march, move, and stop at the same time. Warriors don't do this, and although many warriors might fight in the same army, the term 'warrior' implies that there is no discipline, and that they just move of their own accord. Though neither Jedi or Mandalorians could really be considered barbarians. Mandalorians have probably not been this organised as a military force for quite some time due to Duchess Satines ideas and the way in which the Republic treated them." Luke elaborated.
"I guess that Mandalorians and Jedi could be seen in this way, at least up to this point in time." Torak commented.
"Jedi were never barbarians. How could they be?" Tarkin muttered.
"Actually, Mandalorians were once an intergalactic fighting force to be reckoned with. Following the end of the Mandalorian Wars, many Mandalorian soldiers did become bounty hunters and mercenaries. Despite the wide array of professions Mandalorians took, every Mandalorian was combat trained and they could band together into an army on short notice. When drawn together as an army, Mandalorians easily settle into an informal command structure, arranging their priorities on outcome rather than personal ambition, and it was this flexibility that contributed to their success as mercenaries. Its a common mistake to make in thinking Mandalorians aren't soldiers, it has fair been while, roughly 30 years ago, since we've had a standing army. Even then, every Mandalorian warrior is dangerous as most have been trained to fight since they were kids." Tacrinya corrected Luke.
"That's why the trainers I met seemed so impressed with the militia recruits."
"All right settle down all of you!" A woman dressed in grey Gray-green double-breasted dress tunic and trousers with corresponding cover with an officer's disc. Black leather belt with silver buckle and a buckle contained another officer's disc, black leather boots and a rank badge on left breast showing a rank of Captain. She was a Mon Calamari. Tracinya noticed that Luke had taken a seat and so had the Jedi. She quickly sat down on a nearby chair.
"All right. You four are here to boost co-operation between our respective governments. It will publicly show to the people, the level of co-operation of our governments and militaries. My name is Officer Sholn Jiye, part of the Republic Intelligence Agency. I am going to be your handler for the duration of your deployment with this unit. I'll be the one giving you missions, arranging transportation and handling logistics for your unit. You have been Chosen because you are either the best or the best suited for this job. You're going to be going through a month of adjustment to get used to each other and their different combat styles. Any questions?"
Seeing no one say anything Sholn continued, "Right then, your unit call sign will be Guardian. You have the rest of the Day to get acquainted with one another. Report back here tomorrow at 0800. Dismissed."
Tracinya and Luke snapped a salute while the two Jedi bowed. The doors slide shut behind Captain Jiye as she left. Torak turned to the other three. "I'll go first then. Well, I'm specialized in the Jedi form of Shii-Cho and Makashi. My outspoken apprentice is still learning the two."
"I can talk for myself… Master." Tarkin snapped. Tracinya was surprised by the level patience show by Master Torak.
"Well I was taught by my clan and then later my instructors in CQC, doesn't matter who my opponent is I can beat them. I was also the best shot in my batch of recruits."
"Well I learnt MCMAP in basic and specialized in other forms of martial arts. I am also the best shot in the military, doesn't matter the distance or complication of the shot, I'll hit it."
"I bet I can beat you any day." Tracinya said without thinking. Realizing what she had just said she was about to apologize before Luke spoke.
"It's been ages since anyone challenged me, you think you can win?" Luke said with a smirk on his face. Tracinya resolved to knock that smirk of his face.
"I don't think, I know."
"Well then, there's a training room in the lower levels. See you there in five." With that he turned and left. That did it in her mind. She was going to take him down a peg and sow him why the Mando'ad were feared and respected by many. She left the room in a hurry.
"Come on then Tarkin, let's go watch and make sure they don't kill each other."
Downstairs
"Take one of the rifles from the table" Luke didn't even look at her, just staring to the side. Following his line of site and she saw an armoury of weapons in a room, a rifle placed on the table in front of the window along with some clips she assumed went with it.
He suddenly spoke, "C'mon, hurry up! We don't have all day, people are waiting!" She quickly walked over to the table and picked up the gun. She picked up the clips and slowly slide them into their slots in the vest on her Beskar armour. Tracinya guessed that she might need them or he wouldn't have put them there.
Once she placeed the clips in her pockets, Luke spoke up once more, "You know the drill. Go to station one and aim your rifle down range." Tracinya turned to see the Jedi walk to the side and up onto a viewing platform that is set up behind some cubicles. Going over to one of them, Tracinya stepped into the one with the number one on the floor. "Now aim your rifle downrange."
Turning, Tracinya saw the Luke looking down the range. Said range has some pieces of wood on the floor that have targets behind them she assumed he would make them pop up one at a time. "Bring it on!" She shouted up at him.
Once the butt is firmly snuggled against her shoulder, a target from the roof suddenly springs up. Squeezing the trigger, she loosed off three shots. She hit one of the targets and watched it fall.
"Shoot all the targets!"
She discharged a round-up at it, hitting one of the outer rings. Another target pops up and she shoot that one too. "Lovely," the soldier comments sarcastically. "Now, shoot at the targets while firing from the hip." What targe-, three more targets spring up further down the range in a tight group. Tracinya shoulder the rifle and sent three bursts down the range that all went wide. Growling, she tried again and again until all three targets are down.
Luke called from behind her, "Now I'm going to block the targets with a sheet of plywood." A sheet of plywood comes up right as he finishes. "I want you to shoot the targets through the wood. Plasma will pierce thin materials like wood, plaster and sheet metal!"
"I already know plasma doesn't just stop, is this necessary?!" Sighing, She swept the piece of wood in a hail of hot plasma. The ding that echoes to show she hit something and the wood falls back down, leaving just a haze of dust that slowly settles to the concrete floor.
"Good, I am going to make the targets pop up one at a time. Hit all of the as fast as you can!"
Targets start popping up all willy nilly and falling. He's kriffing with me!
Tracinya shouldered the rifle again. Aiming through the dot scope, she lined up the shaky barrel with the first target and pulled the trigger. The gun jumped in her hand and she saw that she hit centre mass. The next one comes up and she shifted her stance over to hit that one as well.
She proceeded to do this again and again over the course of the next two minutes, hitting each target with increasing accuracy.
"Tracinya it is your turn for the CQB test. Everyone else who wants to watch, head to observation. For this test, you will have to run the cargo ship solo in sixty seconds." Luke gestures with his hand at the wooden construction project behind them that she somehow missed.. "A trooper called Boomer holds the current squadron record at twenty-nine seconds. Good luck! Climb the ladder over there."
Tracinya turned and looked for the ladder he spoke of. She heard Luke say "Pick up the M60 carbine and four flashbangs!"
Looking at the crates in front of her, she saw just what he'd told her. She place her rifle down on the crate next to the carbine and clips the new smaller rifle to her vest. She picked up the flashbangs,
"On my go, I want you to rope down to the deck and rush to position one! After that you will storm downstairs and hit position two. The hit position 3 and 4 following the programmes precise instructions at each position. Grab the rope when your ready!"
Grabbing the rope, she repelled down. As Tracinya landed and pulled up her carbine with a little hesitation. The sound of the programme informing for her to go filled her ears, invigorating me with the energy behind the voice. "Hit the targets!" Tracinya looked to see three targets in the room. She brought her rifle up and fire a burst at each as she side stepped around the side of the building where she saw the door. She hit each of them thanks to the training of her clan and teachers.
As Tracinya rush down the stairs, a target popped up and she sent a shot into the leg, but it counted. Turning the corner, the programme yelled for a flashbang through the door. She pull the grenade off her vest and pulled the pin and held it for a second before throwing the primed grenade into the room and hiding behind the wall with her helmet protecting her ears.
Once the bang sounds, Tracinya entered the room to see targets coming up. She sent some plasma into each as she moved along. Three more targets popped up at position, five which she eliminated with the rest of the clip. Dropping the rifle, Tracinya took her pistol out of the holster on her leg and put a flashbang through the door.
Following the instructions and as she walked through the door, she could barely see a target in the room, she tossed the flash in. She aimed the pistol and fired a round into the human sized target.
"Course complete. Twenty-Five point Zero Seconds. New Record."
Tracinya smirked, she just set a new record. Let's see that Marine beat that!
"Sit back newbie, let me show you how a pro does it." Luke said cocking his M60-AR.
"Sit back newbie, let the pro do it" Tracinya said in a mocking voice as she made her way her way to the observation platform. Reaching the railing she leaned against it with her arms crossed.
"That was impressive. Your clan has trained you well."
"Thank you Master Jetii."
"I could do better." Tarkin muttered.
"Let's see how our Marine friend handles." Torak said ignoring Tarkin.
Tracinya watched Luke aim the rifle. BANG. Tracinya watched him unleash burst fire mechanically into each target. She watched him methodically switch between them placing rounds in the head or centre mass. She'd bever seen someone so accurate, maybe he wasn't all talk afterall. She continued to watch as the plywood started coming up and blocking the targets. He still went on with his task, his entire being focused on hitting the target and nothing else.
Luke then walked over to a crate with some flashbangs on top. Attaching them to his vest he walked over to the start of the CQB test.
"Round Begin"
Tracinya looked on as he repelled down the rope and his feet hit the ground, his knees bending from the impact. He raised his rifle and hit the targets as they popped up. He quickly rounded the corner and proceeded down the stairs. As he came to the door he prepped a flashbang. He kicked the door open and threw it in before taking cover behind the wall. When the grenade detonated he pushed off the wall and entered the room placing a single round in each target. He moved toward the door scanning for any threats. He switched to his sidearm and then breached the door with a kick. He aimed at the targets head a squeezed the trigger. The plasma sailed into the targets forehead knocking it back.
"Course Complete. Twenty-five point One seconds. Better luck time."
"Looks like were equal" Luke said walking over to Tracinya and the others.
"No, I got the better time. I beat you." Tracinya replied not understanding his logic.
"True, you beat be by point one of a second but I beat you at the shooting range. Luke one, Tracinya one." He explained.
"Technically he is correct." Torak supplied, causing Tracinya to scowl, "but you did get the better time."
"Fine then. We'll settle this hand to hand. Then we'll see who is better." She smiled knowing she had no way of losing this.
"Okay then, let-" Luke was interrupted by the beeping of all their holo-communicators. Activating hers, the image of Captain Jiye appeared.
"I need you four to come upstairs immediately, a situation has occurred. Report to the briefing room on floor twelve."
Upstairs
Tracinya and the others filed into the room quickly standing around the holo-table that was projecting an image of what seemed like a bank in the old market district. It was a small two storey building which was a rarity on Coruscant. The buildings around it offered good firing positions for snipers. She could see the Republic police surrounding the building on the three roads that gave access using speeders and Gunships as roadblocks and cover.
"An hour ago an unknown number of hostiles took over this bank in the old market district, it has been confirmed that there are a large number of hostages. They appear to be Separatist sympathizers. We have received permission to go in if the negotiation team fails."
"A few questions. Have they made any demands? What weapons do they have? Do we have an exact estimate of the number of hostages? How will we infiltrate the building and lastly what are the rules on engagement?" Luke fired off in quick succession. He must have done stuff like this before. She wondered how long he had been in combat for and just what he had done.
"They have not made any demands as of yet. They appear to just have blaster rifles and pistols only but they may have scatter rifles or shotguns as you call them. It is believed that there could be anywhere from thirteen to twenty hostages, some people were able to escape out the back before the hostiles sealed the building. You will infiltrate the bank via a rear do to the bank, using explosives to knock the door down you will enter the bank and make your way to the lobby where the hostages are being held. Jedi General Russo oversees the Republic police in the area he'll be in command of the whole operation on the ground, you'll be backed up by Republic police and an O.A.S.D.F. sniper team. As for rules of engagement, you are shoot to kill unless otherwise instructed."
"Who's to be in charge then?" Tarkin asked.
"Usually it would be Jedi Master Torak but considering the nature of this operation I recommend that Lieutenant Sparrow take the reins, he has experience with these kinds of operations. The LAAT leaves in half an hour, I suggest you get prepped and head to landing pad Bravo on the east wing on the ninetieth floor. Dismissed and Good luck."
"Well then, Lieutenant I shall defer to your judgment in this matter." Torak said.
"Why? Were Jedi, why should we differ to this man? What can he do that we can't?" Tarkin asked.
"Tarki-"
"No its fine. Why should you deffer to me? Well, I have served in the Special Forces branch of the military for two years, fought in battles across a dozen worlds with different climates and urban environments. I have killed more machines and people that you have met in your life. On top of all that, this is something I have trained for since I joined the military when I was eighteen, nearly five years ago. Is that resume good enough for you or do I need to add detail?" Luke said, finally fed up with Tarkin's shit. Tracinya couldn't help but smile at Tarkins silence, glaring at the floor.
"Good, now then Master Torak can you and your padawan handle a pistol?"
"Yes. But not that well. Why?"
"It's good to have a back up and gives you some range. These are people were going up against, they aren't machines. They think, they have families and they bleed, not like some emotionless piece of scrape metal. You cannot hesitate, you cannot show mercy, you cannot get caught up with rushing to the civilians aid, until all hostiles are eliminated they, and we are in danger, only after the hostiles are gone do you help. Be aware, they may have hostiles mixed in with the hostages. Watch your corners, people can hide behind them and make sure every room is clear before you move on. Don't want someone to come out from behind and shoot you or a buddy in the back. Clear?" Luke finished explaining, waiting for the others to repond.
Tracinya nodded as did the others.
"Good, then let's get ready shall we. We'll make more fleshed out plan en route so we can get more details"
Timeskip
"Are we going to be back before dinner?" Tracinya asked. The four sat inside a LAAT gunship. Each one of them were dressed in their combat gear. Tacinya always had her trusty blaster carbine and dual blaster pistols. She had her Mandalorian Shock Trooper Armour on, it was coloured blue and black. Representing Duty and Justice, two things she held in high regard.
"Might be just in time for apple pie," Luke replied with a small chuckle. He was dressed in the O.A.G.'s standard Marine armour, but it had some modifications. On his left shoulder, he had fitted a combat knife to go with his bayonet that was on his belt. He wore Multicam camouflaged fatigues under his Beskar armoured vest, shoulder and knee pads. The thought of non-mandalorians using Beskar armour did not sit well with her and many other Mandalorians, but at least it was being used by those, at least for now, who fought with honour.
"I'm guessing this appel pie is a dish from your home region?" Master Torak said. He was wearing his brown Jedi robes but had some plaststeel armour on. The white-cream cloured armour covered his legs, chest and forearms. The same applied for Tarkin.
"Correct, I'll make some if little Tarkin doesn't need his hand to be held on his first mission."
"I don't need your help!"
"Of course, of course." Luke said dismissively
Tarkin grumbled in frustration as the three seniors laughed at him. Blocks ahead, the police had sectioned out two blocks from the bank as the sympathisers had opened fire on anyone trying to get into the bank. They had left several clone SWAT members dead and threatened to execute the hostages they were holding inside. Guardian Squad had the pleasure of working with Black Team, a Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego or GROM Sniper Team. Four of them had set up around the bank and had maintained eyes on the men inside.
"Black One, Delta One," Tracinya heard the radio crackle her helmet.
"Guardian One, Black One, send. Over," Luke replied, the LAAT slowing down as they approached the police checkpoint.
"Eyes on ten tangos equipped with what looks like Separatist spec blasters. Black Team counting twelve..." there was a short pause, "no eighteen hostages, break. Black Team will continue to report as situation develops."
"Roger that Black Team. Delta One out," Luke replied, the LAAT halting at the checkpoint.
"Stop. This is a police checkpoint," one of clone four policeman said, walking up to the vehicle.
"Excuse me," Luke said and pulled out a small identification card.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Right this a way." The police quickly waved the four through realizing they were the special forces being sent in. The pilot slowed the vehicle down to a crawl and expertly made his way towards the rear of the bank. So far, no one knew they were there and he had to move quickly to get inside before the terrorists had known they had slipped their net.
"Delta One, Black, friendlies approaching the bank's rear," Luke reported as he parked the vehicle at the bank's rear door.
"Black Three, eyes on you. No tangos in sight. Continuing overwatch," the SEAL sniper quickly replied.
"Alright, everyone out. Get your game face on," Luke ordered, coking his M60-AR.
"Tracinya, take point and recon the door for a breach. Tarkin, Torak, form a defensive perimeter and make sure no one stumbles onto us," Luke said and pulled up a small balaclava from his shirt.
"Roger that Lieutenant," Tracinya replied and pulled out a small tube. Inside was a camera connected to her personal data pad. She reached under the door, feeling the small space between the floor and the metal door. He slid the tube in and activated the sensor.
"Nothing. Only one long corridor," She reported.
"General Russo, we are outside the bank and are prepared to breach. Are the NOCS in place?" Luke spoke into the radio. General Russo was the commander of the Counter-Terrorist NOCS, special unit within the SWAT Team and he was overseeing the entire operation in coordination between the special forces teams and the Police.
"Yes, they are in place. Do not worry Guardian. We will not interfere with your operation," General Russo replied. Luke gave a satisfied nod to Tracinya whom was working on the door breach. She pulled out what looked like greenish clay from a pouch attached to the left of her utility belt. With careful and practiced hands, she moulded the clay on the door hinges then, he plugged two wires into the clay before giving Luke a thumbs-up.
"Stack up," Luke whispered. The four split up into pairs and pressed themselves against the walls on both sides of the doors. Luke and Tracinya were closest to the door with Torak and Tarkin bringing up their rear. The four tensed their bodies.
"Breaching," Tracinya reflexively said and squeezed the detonator. The green clay strip went off with a soft and gentle, pop. The metal door slammed into the granite floor as she and Luke rushed into the hallway. They were pressed against the wall, moving to cover the hallway in an effective crossfire. On the end of their barrels were thin metal cylinders to suppress the noise and flash of their fire.
"Corridor clear," Luke reported and continued pushing forward into the hallway.
"Delta, Black One, we have activity," the radio crackled as Luke held up a fist to stop the team.
"Send it," Luke replied. They stopped right before a metal door. Slowly, he circled the door and stopped at the other side to let Tracinya get the biggest field of fire.
"One of the tangos look agitated and ordered his buddy somewhere. Tracking...tracking, yellow, yellow, red, no solution," Black reported. Luke grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door inside.
Torak rushed inside.
Tracinya heard a female yelp as she entered the room next. Inside the room was a single female, she looked a bit older than her coworkers. Two of which were male and were pointing what looked like DC-17 blaster pistols at him. The four of them were at a short standoff. One of the two male workers noticed Luke taking aim at him from outside the room and tried to adjust his aim.
"Drop your weapons!" Luke ordered. The two men hesitated. Tracinya could see their uneasiness with two heavily armed soldiers pointing high powered rifles at their foreheads.
"Are you Republic?" the female asked, pushing her two coworkers aside.
"Identify yourself," Luke stated as he shifted his aim. Male or female, it seemed he wasn't going to let someone seduce their way out of this situation.
"I am Gina Mancini, manager of this bank. These two are my bodyguards," she said with an arrogant and pompous accent. She hated the woman in control, more so if they were someone who thought everyone below her was nothing but a savage animal.
"Torak, check the lady and the two grunts," Luke ordered. Torak nodded and walked over to manager while Luke was busy contacting General Russo. The manager gave out an earful of insults as Torak patted her down. Her bodyguards did nothing to intervene, they seemed to see it like some sort of payback.
"General," Luke said simply.
"What is it Guardian?" he replied.
"We've got a Gina Mancini here claiming she's the manager of the bank," Luke reported as Gina shrugged Torak off after the short pat down.
"That is correct," General Russo said.
"I'm going to keep her here until your units clear the bank," Luke said, it wasn't a suggestion, it was a statement.
"Will do Guardian."
"Secure the manager," Luke ordered, "we're leaving her to NCOS."
"You can't leave me here!" she cried out desperately.
"Let's go," Luke brushed off the comment.
"Who are you to tell me, Gina Mancini, that I'm going to sit here and wait with a bank full of robbers?!" the manager retorted. Panic and fear turned people into desperate animals, ready to do anything to get free. Soldiers don't feel that. The reason is because they are what sends people into a spiral of fear and panic.
"I could fucking shoot you and leave you here to rot," Luke growled in frustration, "I work for a unit so elite, you would be but a little shit stain in the galaxy compared to what we do."
The bank manager was frozen. Maybe she wasn't used to scolding. What Tracinya could see was that her coworkers were snickering behind her back. She probably did the exact same thing to them on a daily basis. Luke clearly didn't regret anything. This was his job. He was a Taskforce 242 member. Luke and Torak walked over to the door, closing it shut.
"Good day," Tarkin said before using his multi-tool to lock the room from the outside.
"Good riddance more like it," Luke scoffed.
"Black, Guardian, alert," Guardian's radio squawked, "one times foot mobile headed your way."
"It's about to get really fucking loud," Luke stated and activated his polarised visor, activating his weapon's laser. The four focused on one large metal door at the end of the hallway. This area seemed to be where the information technicians and technology staffed worked. It was the perfect area for computers. The area slightly sank underground and the air was cool.
"Cut the lights," Luke ordered. Tracinya nodded and tapped at the PDA mounted under her left arm. The cool air felt crisp as she took a deep breath.
"Thirty seconds," She whispered calmly, tapping away on her PDA. Nothing moved. The bank seemed fairly sophisticated, how did these guys manage to infiltrate, Tracinya didn't know, her job was to eliminate them and make sure the hostages was safe.
"Five seconds," She said, waiting for her PDA to hack and assimilate into the bank's control system. Brushed aluminium walls and granite floors reflected the harsh tungsten light. Both were good at deflecting laser beams. He knew that this team was trained enough not to muddle their aim and shots.
"And..." Tracinya said, elongating, and, for dramatic effect, "lights out."
The hallway instantly became pitch black within the blink of an eye. Tracinya reached for the button on her helmet to activate the night vision that was able to turn the darkest of nights into day. It's only disadvantage was that it couldn't see in complete black out environments. She had a solution and came ready.
She squeezed a small pad in front of the foregrip to activate the infrared torch that bathed the entire corridor in a blinding, invisible greenish light. The metal doors slid open to reveal one individual. Dressed in a suit and grayish pants, he walked inside. His heels clicked against the floor in silence. Words escaped his mouth in a language unknown to her. In his hands and close to his stomach was a E-5 Rifle. His eyes were wide-open and clearly spooked.
"Hey buddy," Luke whispered, making the man jump.
In that instant, two bright green beams shot out from the darkness and dotted his chest. Luke's rifle coughed thrice. The man's chest exploded into a mist of darkened black before crumpling into the ground, his rifle echoing with a clatter. Two shots in the chest and once in the head. The Marine's famous double tap. Torak and Tarkin stood up from their position opposite of the pair's wall.
"Sad," Torak said, "didn't even stand a chance."
"The only rule in combat," Luke chirped, "is to fight dirty to win."
Torak's hand hovered over the dead robber's eyes and closed them for eternity. Cold, accurate, precise and above all lethal. These were the words that described Guardian's Marine in Tracinya's opinion.
The team of four continued moving. Through the door, the electricity resumed. Tracinya looked back at the dead body. Blood pooled out from underneath the corpse, the shining granite smothered by red liquid. Like rivers, the stream of blood flowed freely. She watched Luke moved on without regret and no emotion. Emotions affect judgment, muddled judgment leads to death and death was not what he wanted.
"Tango down," Luke reported.
"Roger that Guardian," the radio crackled in reply, "the men in the main lobby are getting restless. He's holding up one of the females in a choke hold. Pistol is pressed to her temple."
"We need to move faster," Luke whispered underneath his breath.
They ascended a set of spiral stairs towards the main lobby. Tracinya could hear the fearful pleads of the civilians and their tearful sobs. At this point, any soldier would have a reaction. Something like a tug at their hearts, making them want to save the poor souls faster. Tracinya did not. She was trained for operations like these hundreds of times over.
"Break, break, break," the radio crackled again, "we have five blacked out vans moving towards the lobbies. Multiple snipers have set up on adjacent rooftops. Is this the NCOS?"
"NCOS, what the fuck?" Tracinya muttered, the four of them reaching a wooden door.
"General Russo, what's happening?" Luke asked.
No reply.
"General Russo. What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?" Luke asked with a frustrated tone in his voice.
"I'm sorry Guardian but the Republic will take it from here. We believe that you have done enough, stand down." General Russo replied with a confident tone, Tracinya looked at Luke who had a concerned expression on his face.
"General, pull back now. If you don't, there will be a fucking blood bath!" General Russo had already decided to ignore Luke.
"Fuck. We need to do this now," Luke grunted and stacked up by the door.
"Four flashbangs, first volley on three, second volley on four," Luke explained, seeing his teammates nod.
"Pull!" Luke grunted. She pulled the pin on his cylindrical grenade and waited. She counted, one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three. Slamming the door open, she lobbed the grenade with all her might and saw the small greyish tube tumble towards the centre of the room. She ducked behind the wall and covered his ears. She heard a fizzle, then a loud bang. Her hears rang as the flashbangs detonated with the loudness of a jet engine close up and the flash of a thousand suns, enough to blind one person for a short amount of time.
"Help me!" One screamed rose above the chaos.
Tracinya and her team sprang into action, storming out the door with rifles aimed. Tracinya started going through the steps in her mind. Five tangos, where did the other four go? She shrugged of the thought and concentrated on the ones in front of her. One was holding a teenage dressed in a casual tee and jeans, the pistol pressed to her head. She focused on the one closest towards him. The poor bastard was looking over the bank teller's counter, eyes shut to combat the bright light from the flashbang with his rifle pointed towards the ground. The carbine coughed. Two in the chest and one in the head. His head smacked against the granite top and tumbled into the ground.
"Tango down!" Tracinya screamed and shifted.
The one next to the door was already in the process of falling towards the ground, his chest having three plasma burns and head disfigured by what she guessed was Luke's powerful M60-AR. Her eyes moved to another trio standing watch over the hostages. They were recovering from the flashbang but no fast enough. Tracinya aimed her Westar Carbine's little red dot on the man's chest and tapped the trigger twice. She saw the robber fall backwards like he was hit with a strong punch to the chest. With just enough time, she readjusted and fired a bolt straight into his head. The two beside the downed hostile was quickly taken out by Tarkin and Torak.
"Stop or I shoot her!" a voice yelled. Tracinya froze and turned to see the one taking the teenager hostage had recovered with the girl fearfully holding onto the stranger's arm.
"Drop the weapon!" Luke yelled, taking point.
The tango made no move up tried to shield himself behind the defenceless female.
"Drop the fucking weapon!" Luke yelled again and took a step forward.
"Don't move any closer or I shoot!" the terrorist screamed.
"Black Team?" Tracinya asked.
"Black, Guardian, I have a solution. Yellow, try to move him a bit more to the right," her radio responded.
"Black Four, Guardian, we have black vans stopping at the front of the bank." Luke circled the man's right to force him to turn. That man did just as Luke hoped he would, now Black One would take the shot and the team would continuing clearing the building but that wasn't the case.
"Green, I have the solution. Firing..." Black One didn't have time to finish his transmission.
One loud bang shattered glass in the entire room. Tracinya's vision went white, her body told her to go rub her eyes to clear out the flash. Her training told her to stand ground. And she did just that. The ringing in her ear blocked all noise. Tracinya stood still focused on what was in front of her. Slowly, the vision and hearing returned to him. It was a good thing he wasn't near the epicentre of the blast. But something else happened. One gunshot rang out among the confusion. The distinct sound of a pistol, one that she had hoped to never hear.
"You fucking bastards!" Luke shrieked, seeing the teenager's body slumping into the ground.
Adrenaline poured into her body, making time slow to a standstill. The tango still too confused to understand what he did, not to mention blind and deaf. Luke wasn't angry at the tango, oh no, he was angry at the NCOS. The ones who triggered the hostile to pull the trigger from a twitchy nerve, the one who fucked up the operation and the one who single handily want to glory hound. He aimed at the tango and poured his remaining hundred and fifty round clip magazine into him, his rage falling out like a water as he let out a warcry so fearsome that even the lions would rather go back into the den than face him. His rifle clicked empty. Luke was about to turn around to scream at the NCOS but something slugged his stomach.
Luke was lifted free off the ground just as his left arm went numb. Tracinya saw his back smack against the ground, hard. He felt his ears ring, his eyes looking at the aluminium brushed ceiling with fluorescent lights. Luke could have quit, stay lying down on the floor and looked at the pretty architecture. He was a Marine and Marines don't quit. She saw him push himself off the ground. Tracinya looked at his shoulder to see blood pooling out from the wound, he didn't care. He blocked out the pain and push onwards.
"Contact front!" Torak screamed, deflecting incoming blaster fire.
Tracinya aimed and squeezed the trigger. The rifle recoiled against her shoulder. Even with one arm down, Luke could still kill and joined in. They were trained for everything. The first of them went down, then the second, each one crumpled down like a domino. Each were killed without mercy. Tracinya paused, she was panting. The reality of what was happening was catching up to her.
"Delta Three, we have a man down. Man down," Luke reported.
Tracinya turned around, dread creeping into her. There he was. Tarkin. He was on the shining black floor with blood pooling out from underneath him. Torak was next to Tarkin, pulling the plate carrier off of his body. His robe was soaked with blood but one spot was drenched with so much blood, it was black. The shot had entered through his abdomen and exited his back. His mouth was beginning to foam with blood and his breathing was staggered between choking on the red liquid and air.
"Someone get me a fucking doctor!" Luke's voice cracked, the fear of losing a man filled his voice. The NCOS just stood there looking at the four.
"Fucking medico, capire? Medico!" Luke screamed, kneeling next to Tarkin.
"Look at me," Luke ordered and smacked Tarkin on the cheek, "fucking look at me Tarkin!"
Tarkin began to cough up blood, getting some on Luke and Torak. Two clone medics appeared and settled down next to Tarkin. They injected him with anaesthesia to numb the pain.
"We're going to try and get him out, there is a slime chance if we get him to a hospital he'll make it,"
"Do it, I'll go with you, he's my Padawan." Torak said helping the clones carefully move Tarkin onto a stretcher.
"Fuck!" Luke screamed and slammed his fist into the ground next to where Tarkin's head used to be.
Moments later, Luke inhaled a deep breath. His eyes snapped open and devoid of tears, emotion and unwanted sadness. He stood up and walked out the building on a war path. Tracinya decided to follow.
Behind the bank, was General Russo. He stood with four other NCOS member equipped with DC-15 rifles. They looked like they were waiting for an explanation where one wasn't needed.
"What happened back there Guardian?" General Russo asked and stepped forward.
"Let me fucking tell you what happened," Luke's rage had burst into the flames of a thousand suns.
"Your team went in there knowing that my snipers and our assaulters had it covered," Luke pressed his bloodied left hand into the General, his pain being suppressed by his willpower.
"This is what happens when you glory hound General," Luke stated and saw Tarkin being loaded into the back of an LAAT.
"The mistake of a few are being answered by many."
The General and his glory hounding led to the death of many innocents. General Russo stood stoic, his mind at ease with the decision that he sent the NCOS in early. Tracinya followed Luke again as he stormed off towards the gunship. She had just finished her first real mission, she felt giddy. She had just saved fifteen hostages. She felt pride in her first action in combat. And on top of that she had killed three terrorists. Who probably had families... loved... Ones... They were alive, and now because of her... They were dead. The giddiness and pride she had felt moments before began to fade as the reality of her actions began to sink in. She had just killed three people.
2623 June 4th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Taskforce 242 LAAT gunship en route to Taskforce 242 Headquarters Coruscant.
Luke sat in the gunship fuming. If it wasn't for that glory hound General, then that girl would still be alive and Tarkin wouldn't have been shot. Well, not that he would lose any sleep over it but Torak seemed like a nice enough guy. He looked up to see Tracinya looking out at the Coruscant skyline, her dark auburn hair blowing in the wind. Now that he thought about it, this was probably her first experience of real life or death combat and the first time she had taken a life… lives. He could tell from her body language with the slumped shoulders and far off look she was trying to deal with the fact she had ended the lives of flesh and blood people, not some blasted droid.
"Hey. You... err... You alright." He asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," She answered a little too quickly. Shaking her head coming out of her own thoughts. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason." The two settled into an uncomfortable silence.
"I remember the first time I took a life, I was fighting in some city back in the Orion Arm and this soldier was running at me. I aimed my rifle at him and the armour did nothing. The shot went straight through the helmet. For a while afterword's it didn't bother me, there was a lot going on, I had a job to do. But then after some time, I thought back to it and I thought damn. That man had a family, a mother, a father, grandparents, possibly a wife and children and I just robbed them of a father, husband and son. I took a life of a person and they are never coming back. Dead. The end. And then I tried to justify it. It was life or death, him or me and my comrades. It was my duty and job. The truth is, pulling the trigger was and is the easy part. It's how you deal with it that's the hard part."
"And how did you deal with it?"
"At first I bottled it up and tried to forget. That didn't work. I tried to bury it in work. That to didn't work. In the end I just sat down and accepted what had happened one night. I still felt guilty, but I had come to terms with what I had done. I had taken a life, it didn't matter if it was self-defense or he was the enemy. A life is a life."
"Does it ever get easier?"
"Like I said, pulling the trigger is the easier part. Dealing with it for me… it did become easier, but the guilt still remains. That red will always be in my ledger, but at the end of the day. As long as my brothers and sisters in arms are alive, the people back home are safe and don't need to do it themselves. It is a burden I'll take." A brief silence descended upon the gunship. All that could be heard was the engines of the LAAT and the wind.
"Thanks… I needed to hear that."
"Your welcome. Remember, I have been fighting for a long time now. You can ask me for advice and tips for anything combat related kiddo."
"Don't call me kiddo."
"In this industry, you are,"
"Does that make you an old man then gramps?"
"If I remember correctly I beat you at those exercises."
"You must be losing your memory in old age, we're tying."
"Well then, when we get back let's settle this in a good old fashioned spar."
"You're on,"
Luke smiled, his talk and challenge had seemed to have done the trick. Her mind was at the very least for now, off the subject and focused on something else. And assuming her claim of being an expert at CQC was likely true, he was going to wake up with a lot of bruises.
2623 June 5th Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth
Keith let out a sigh a gazed out of his office's window and looked down upon the mother world, Earth. If it wasn't for the war he would have to start running for a second term, but it was deemed for the best if he remained President as long as the war lasted rather than to get new leadership in. He had one last meeting before he was done and could go spend some time with his wife and children. His office featured three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end. It had four doors: the east door opens to a small garden that his youngest daughter loved to tend to, she had a little rose bush in one corner that she looked after; the west door led to a private study and dining room; the northwest door opened onto the main corridor of the west wing; and the northeast door revealed the office of the president's secretary.
He was disturbed by a knock on the northeast door.
"Mr. President, the Secretary of Defence is here to see you."
"Send him in Carole"
"At once Mr. President." Keith watched Carole go. A man shortly walked in. He was in his late fifties, had greying black hair neatly combed back and stood like soldier with his shoulders squared back and standing upright. He still retained his physique from his time in the military. His name was João Lucas, a man of Brazilian heritage from the planet Reach. He was a pragmatic man above all else.
"Mr. President." Lucas said shaking Keith's hand.
"Lucas. How's life been treating you?" Keith spoke trying to delay the inevitable decision.
"I can't complain, in fact my wife is expecting." Lucas said with a smile.
"Congratulations. How far along is she and do you know if it will be a boy or a girl yet?"
"Thank you. She's about three weeks pregnant and we agreed that we'd let it be a surprise of which gender. But I think we both know why I'm here." Lucas said seeing through Keith's attempt at small talk.
"Yes, we do. Well... sell it to me good." Keith said taking a seat.
"As you know, we've been at war for nearly a year and a half, and our forces are becoming strained. We have the men, we just can't get weapons, equipment, supplies and vehicles to them in the quantities we need. This need to change or we need to throw the enemy off balance long enough to make sure more supplies get through before the enemy launch another offensive. Therefore, I propose that we either move towards Total Warfare, which I doubt either of us want," Keith nodded in agreement, he had put measures in place to build more factories to produce the needed materials and equipment the military needed and to modernise the military to meet any new threats from the east. The Z plan incorporated Orion Arm and Republic technology to build new weapons of war. All ready a new starship line was being built to replace the ageing fleets, the Imperator class Star Destroyer, it was designed to be a capital ship as well as a transport ship, space superiority starship and carrier. It would outclass any ship in service in the O.A.N., Republic and Separatist Navies, "So I suggest a second option. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, so to speak. It would be limited to Separatist space of course but it would target any and all Separatist shipping, military vessels and merchant navy. We could use our Prowlers which have stealth in the same way the Germans fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and Americans in the Pacific theatre in world war two. They can use their stealth drives to sneak up on Separatist ships and torpedo them. It will damage Separatist commerce, troop movements and supplies. It can end the war faster than if we don't. It is a logical and practical solution. we are already using surgical strikes on Separatist industry, military instillations, communication, centres of government and so on. This is the next step."
"While I don't disagree with you in saying that it could speed up the rate at which it take us to win this war, the way in which it will make attacks and movement difficult for them. I question how many civilians will die because they were on a cruise ship taking them between worlds? I will not condone civilians being killed. What if they implement a convoy system?"
"If they implement a convoy system it will make the job harder but it will also be a success as they have had to divert ships and troops to guard them, taking them away from the front lines. And we can provide supplies, both medical and sustenance to those who escape the starships in their escape pods, or we can take them prisoner."
"But civilians would still be killed, I cannot support that. War is Hell Lucas. It is up to use to decide how hellish it becomes."
"But at what cost. We currently have lost over two million men and women so far, with millions more injured. Good men and women. If the war continues for another year, we lose another million men and women dead and millions more injured. Not to mention the thousands of clones dead and wounded. The Republic citizens dead and misplaced from what could be a decade of war at the rate things are going. If we do nothing the front lines will dissolve into a meat grinder like the great war did back in 1914 all those centuries ago. We should use every tactic, every weapon, every and any means we have at our disposal to achieve the quickest possible victory with the least amount of suffering."
"If I agree to this, then all survivors of any Prowler attack must be rounded up if there are no other starships nearby. Am I understood."
"Of Course Mr. President."
"Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"
"Yes actually. The new Zeus EMP bomb has been successfully detonated, its a non-nuclear EMP as you know, I would like authorisation to use it against Separatist cities, it has a one mile effective radius."
"I'll put it forward next when Parliament meets in two days."
"Thank you sir."
One EMP burst and the world goes dark, taken from an O.A.G. article on the potential of EMP based weapons.
The sky erupts. Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses.
End-of-the-world novel? A video game? Or could such a scenario loom in O.A.G.'s future?
There is talk of catastrophe ahead, depending on whom you believe, because of the threat of an electromagnetic pulse triggered by either a supersized solar storm or terrorist A-bomb, both capable of disabling the electric grid that powers modern life.
Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) are oversized outbursts of atmospheric electricity. Whether powered by geomagnetic storms or by nuclear blasts, their resultant intense magnetic fields can induce ground currents strong enough to burn out power lines and electrical equipment across state lines.
The threat has even become political fodder, drawing warnings from former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a likely presidential contender.
"We are not today hardened against this," he told a Heritage Foundation audience last year. "It is an enormous catastrophic threat."
Meanwhile, in Congress, a "Grid Act" bill aimed at the threat awaits Senate action, having passed in the House of Representatives.
Fear is evident. With Arcadia's sun's 11-year solar cycle ramping up for its stormy maximum in 2624, and nuclear concerns swirling about Iran and North Korea, a drumbeat of reports and blue-ribbon panels centre on electromagnetic pulse scenarios.
"We're taking this seriously," says Ed Legge of the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, which represents utilities. He points to a North Arcadian Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) report in June, conducted with the Energy Department, that found pulse threats to the grid "may be much greater than anticipated."
There are "some important reasons for concern," says physicist Yousef Butt of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "But there is also a lot of fluff."
At risk are the more than 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines that cross North Arcadia, supplying 1,800 utilities the power for TVs, lights, refrigerators and air conditioners in homes, and for the businesses, hospitals and police stations that take care of us all.
"The electric grid's vulnerability to cyber and to other attacks is one of the single greatest threats to our national security," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in June as he introduced the bill to the House of Representatives.
Markey and others point to the August 2603 blackout that struck states from Michigan to Massachusetts, and south-eastern Canada, as a sign of the grid's vulnerability. Triggered by high-voltage lines stretched by heat until they sagged onto overgrown tree branches, the two-day blackout shut down 100 power plants, cut juice to about 55 million people and cost $6 billion, says the 2004 U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force.
Despite the costs, most of them from lost work, a National Centre for Environmental Health report in 2005 found "minimal" death or injuries tied directly to the 2603 blackout — a few people died in carbon monoxide poisonings as a result of generators running in their homes or from fires started from candles. But the effects were pervasive: Television and radio stations went off the air in Detroit, traffic lights and train lines stopped running in New York, turning Manhattan into the world's largest pedestrian mall, and water had to be boiled after water mains lost pressure in Cleveland.
Simple physics, big worry
The electromagnetic pulse threat is a function of simple physics: Electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic storms can alter Earth's magnetic field. Changing magnetic fields in the atmosphere, in turn, can trigger surging currents in power lines.
"It is a well-understood phenomenon," says Butt, who this year reviewed geomagnetic and nuke blast worries in The Space Review.
Two historic incidents often figure in the discussion:
• On July 9, 1962, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Defence Atomic Support Agency detonated the Starfish Prime, a 1.4-megaton H-bomb test at an altitude of 250 miles, some 900 miles southwest of Hawaii over the Pacific Ocean. The pulse shorted out streetlights in Oahu.
• On March 9, 1989, the sun spat a million-mile-wide blast of high-temperature charged solar gas straight at the Earth. The "coronal mass ejection" struck the planet three days later, triggering a geomagnetic storm that made the northern lights visible in Texas. The storm also induced currents in Quebec's power grid that knocked out power for 6 million people in Canada and the USA for at least nine hours.
"A lot of the questions are what steps does it make sense to take," Legge says. "We could effectively gold-plate every component in the system, but the cost would mean that people can't afford the rates that would result to pay for it."
"The high-altitude nuclear-weapon-generated electromagnetic pulse is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk," concluded a 2008 EMP Commission report headed by William Graham, a former science adviser to President Regan.
The terror effect
In the nuclear scenario, the detonation of an atomic bomb anywhere from 25 to 500 miles high electrifies, or ionizes, the atmosphere about 25 miles up, triggering a series of electromagnetic pulses. The pulse's reach varies with the size of the bomb, the height of its blast and design.
Gingrich last year cited the EMP Commission report in warning, "One weapon of this kind that went off over Omaha would eliminate most of the electrical production in the United States."
But some take issue with that.
"You would really need something the size of a Soviet H-bomb to have effects that cross many states," Butt says. The massive Starfish Prime blast, he notes, was at least 70 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima in 1945, and it may have blown out streetlights but it left the grid in Hawaii intact.
One complication for rogue nations or terrorists contemplating a high-altitude nuclear blast is that such an attack requires a missile to take the weapon at least 25 miles high to trigger the electromagnetic pulse. For nations, such a launch would invite massive nuclear retaliation from the USA's current stockpile of 5,000 warheads, many of them riding in submarines far from any pulse effects.
Any nation giving a terror group an atomic weapon and missile would face retaliation, Butt and others note, as nuclear forensics capabilities at the U.S. national labs would quickly trace the origins of the bomb, Butt says. "It would be suicide."
Super solar storm
On the solar front, the big fear is a solar super storm, a large, fast, coronal mass ejection with a magnetic field that lines up with an orientation perfectly opposite the Earth's own magnetic field, says solar physicist Bruce Tsurutani of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Tsuritani and other solar physicists view such an event as inevitable in the next 10 to 100 years.
"It has to be the perfect storm," Tsuratani says.
"We are almost guaranteed a very large solar storm at some point, but we are talking about a risk over decades," Butt says. Three power grids gird the continental Arcadia — one crossing 39 Eastern cities, one for 11 Western cities and one for the Capital.
Solutions?
In June, national security analyst Steven Aftergood of the Federation of Arcadian Scientists described congressional debate over power-grid security as "a somewhat jarring mix of prudent anticipation and extravagant doomsday warnings."
Although the physics underlying the geomagnetic and nuclear pulses are fundamentally the same, they have different solutions. A geomagnetic storm essentially produces a long-building surge dangerous to power lines and large transformers. A nuclear blast produces three waves of pulses.
Limiting the risk from the geomagnetic-storm-type threat involves stockpiling large transformers and installing dampers, essentially lightning rods, to dump surges into the ground from the grid. Even if such steps cost billions, the numbers come out looking reasonable compared with the $119 billion that a 2605 Electric Power Research Institute report estimated was the total nationwide cost of normal blackouts every year.
"EMP is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences," Graham testified to a congressional committee last year, endorsing such mitigation steps.
Stephen Younger, former head of the Defence Threat Reduction Agency, last year argued against the catastrophic scenarios in his book, The Bomb, suggesting the effects of a pulse would be more random, temporary and limited than Graham and others suggest.
The June NERC report essentially calls for more study of the problem, warning of excessive costs to harden too much equipment against the nuclear risk. "If there are nuclear bombs exploding, we have lots of really, really big problems besides the power grid," Legge says.