Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned in or related to this draft, and am not making any profit off of it
I do apologize for misleading you guys. I had to put in more dialogue than originally suspected. If I had cut straight to the action, you would have missed some interesting plot points. I will get more into the battles in later chapters.
Chapter 4
There was considerable tension after the meeting, and the Green Earth commanders saw it best to retreat to their own conference room in the Green Earth wing of the AN Headquarters. Eagle and Jess seemed to have something on their minds. Javier decided to break the ice.
"That was quite an impressive display. But who is this Admiral Henson?"
"I really don't think that was Admiral Henson. There was something familiar about the deployment of the ships," Jess said thoughtfully.
"Agreed," Eagle replied. "I can't quite place it, but I do recall my father telling me something about a commander he worked with that was quite avid at doing the impossible. I can't remember the name, but I know where I can find it."
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"Admiral, we are approaching a monitor station. I am not detecting any weaponry, ships, or radar equipment." Captain Grant reported. "It doesn't make any sense to have a monitor station that isn't functioning."
"I don't like the looks of it. Captain, would you mind bringing the advisor here?" the Admiral asked. He seemed to have a new respect for the advisor.
The student was already on her way to the bridge. She had a sneaking suspicion that the admiral had found himself in another pickle. The captain had just left the bridge to retrieve the advisor. How pathetic. The admiral hadn't even had a shot fired at him, and he was already running to the advisor for help. She stepped onto the command deck and looked at the landing zone. Sure enough, there was a monitor station. How did the advisor know about this station? She didn't know about this station, and she had spent hours studying satellite photographs of the area. That, however, is why she was the student, and he was the teacher. She couldn't wait for the time when she would be the most respected tactical advisor in all of Black Hole.
"You needed something?" the Advisor asked.
"I wanted to inform you that we are passing an inoperative monitor station. I also wanted to introduce you to the commander of the landing forces. Ah, here he comes."
A young man clad in a dark brown field marshal coat had walked into the command deck. He had a very solemn look on his face.
"Field Marshall Hawke, I would like you to meet the man who got us here in one piece."
"It is a pleasure. I am to understand that you managed to subdue an enemy sector fleet lead by the very one who is responsible for this war. You must possess great tactical prowess to have defeated Sturm in such a short period of time." Hawke had a very skeptical look on his face.
This attack on the advisor's ego had no effect. The Advisor simply stared at him with eyes that were concealed by dark sunglasses. The advisor responded, "Perhaps I got lucky."
"Lucky indeed."
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As they reached the LZ, the advisor picked up on a disturbing detail: there were forces waiting for them on the shores.
"Well Marshal Hawke, it is time to see what you are capable of," the advisor said. Hawke proceeded to command the landing forces with the confidence and skill of the advisor. However, there was something wrong. The advisor picked up on something that bothered him. Hawke wasn't like Henson. Hawke was like…himself. And that bothered him more than anything. If he wasn't careful, he could lose control. The advisor shook his head, clearing his thoughts before they strayed too far. He was always in control. He had control at all times. The admiral, the field marshal, and even the executive commander of the war committee, Lord Von Bolt, were blissfully unaware of what was really going on. They were only allowed to do what he allowed them to. And the beautiful thing was that they never suspected what he was planning. And they never will; until it was too late.
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"Artillery, assume positions on the beach head and cover the tanks to the left. Don't allow a single enemy to get in their way. Tank unit seventeen, engage the recons in sector three. 305th infantry, capture the CP on the west dock." The beach spanned a very wide area and Hawke had decided to take the western half first. The dock extended out toward the sea quite a ways, making it easier to reach from his side of the beach. Taking the dock would also provide a clear landing zone for other landers. Hawke had been commanding the forces for three hours now, and seemed to be slowly, but surely making his way up the beach. The admiral and the advisor seemed to approve of his tactics. Little did they know that Hawke was operating under his own agenda. He had been ordered by the lord to monitor the situation. Meaning that it was his responsibility to ensure that the lord's plan went smoothly. The admiral had pledged his allegiance to the lord, but that allegiance was becoming questionable at best. The admiral had been making far too many mistakes for them to be accident; the sector fleet incident was just one of many. The advisor was another matter all together. He had made no pledge to any of the leaders, making him a liability. He was nothing short of genius to be sure, and he had exhibited much potential, yet there was something to his genius that made Hawke cringe. The advisor was a very cold calculating man. Even the most introverted personalities Hawke had known had possessed some form of emotion. Something that he could read. Yet that was not the case with the advisor. There was absolutely nothing readable about the man; from his perpetual emotional detachment, to his dark, imposing sunglasses that blocked off the view to his eyes. Hawke was certain that the advisor was acting upon his own interest, but without anything for Hawke to interpret personality wise, Hawke couldn't decipher if he was an ally or a threat, nor could he decide whether or not the student was involved in the advisor's doings. After the battle, Hawke would send a message expressing this concern to the lord. The lord was a wise man; he would know what to do.
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The story seems to be taking an interesting turn. If you have any questions about this draft that do not relate to spoilers, feel free to ask them in your reviews. I also apologize for any format errors. I have just recently put Office 07 on my computer, and Microsoft decided to be cruel and completely redesign the system, so I am having to relearn Microsoft Word.