Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Addendum: The BBC owns Red Dwarf. Quinn's just borrowing.
Notes: Not sure the whole newscast, and segue to meetings elsewhere (secret Presidential bunker, US Embassy in Cancun, etc.) really works. Needs a rewrite. Someday.
Word Count: 3,319 (12 of 18)
"Ready?" Brittany said, straightening her uniform blouse.
"Maybe?" Rachel said. "Why do I have to lead this?"
"Because," Santana said. "So, get out there."
"You're the embodiment of our leadership," Quinn said. "You'll do great."
"I'm the embodiment?" Rachel said. "When did that happen? I didn't vote for that."
"San is Fleet, Quinn is the Ground Forces, and nobody needs to know what I do," Brittany said. "That just leaves you. Beside, they all love you and words of encouragement before we go into battle is your thing."
"My thing?" Rachel said. "Really?"
"Yes, so get out here," Santana said, giving her a push.
Standing at the podium, Rachel looked out at the gathered women, Fleet and Ground.
"Ladies, tomorrow we take the next step in this grand adventure we are on," Rachel said. "We will secure the lands of the Lost Clan and make it ours again." She waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. "Early this morning, the shields went up around our lands and we will begin rebuilding our presence."
They boarded the ships immediately after all of the present Nine gave a few words of encouragement. It wasn't the entire Fleet. Or even a large portion of it. Just enough for this stage of the job. Mostly Quinn's Ground Forces. More Fleet personnel would join as the Zone was turned into their Base.
"What are you watching?" Rachel asked, joining Brittany and Santana in Santana's cabin on the Fleet flagship. They were dressed in their field uniforms, ready to launch the attack.
"The news from Earth," Brittany said. "They've noticed the shield we've put up."
"Will that cause problems?" Rachel asked. "Aren't you about to launch?"
"Quinn and her first regiment drops in an hour," Santana said. "Dragon Flight is running top cover."
"The Earth forces can't breach the shields," Brittany added. "They just seem a bit puzzled by the whole thing."
"Oh," Rachel muttered. "Can you turn that up?"
[A voice, speaking in English, was narrating]
"Today, a large part of Mexico woke up to the following strange sight."
[The scene shifted to show a large silver dome with the sun reflecting over the top and trees reflected against the bottom.]
"A large silver dome, estimated to be ten miles high, now covers a large portion of the Yucatan Peninsula. Mexican authorities have not commented on the sudden appearance of the dome.
Several thousand nationals from other countries are believed to have been in the area when this event occurred. Washington has also remained silent on this issue.
Members of the international group '2012 Apocalypse' stated that this is no coincidence. They believe that there will be signs, based on early Mayan calendar discoveries, that the world will come to an end on this date."
"Amusing," Santana said. "Can't wait to see the coverage when things really get rolling. Do we have any gear taping any of the governments to see what their non-PR response is?"
"I'm working on it," Brittany said.
"What do you need from me?" Rachel asked.
"Besides what you're already doing?" Santana asked. "Nothing specific. Just keep up your internal video blog and keep up morale like you've been doing. When we go public you're going to be very busy so enjoy the light workload."
"Okay," Rachel said, nodding.
[Somewhere in a secret government conference room in Virginia...]
"General! What's going on!"
"We don't know yet, Mr. President," General Pontife said. "We lost contact with our assets in the region at approximately 3AM local time and have been unable to insert new assets into the area."
"What is this thing?" the President asked, pointing at the silver dome. "Who's lab did it escape from."
"Satellite imagery suggests it is a complete ovoid sphere, Mr President. Nothing is coming or going through it," the National Security Advisor said. "It's beyond any of our technology, even things that won't be out of the lab for another decade."
"What can you tell me," the President said.
"There are several oddities, Mr. President. At approximately 2AM, a warning was broadcast to all airplanes in the neighborhood, telling them to avoid this thing. Also, all of the airlines that use the local airports now under the dome were informed that all airports in the Yucatan would be closed until further notice. The same was sent to any form of transportation that uses Yucatan ports, bus stations, and rail lines."
"Friendly," one of the President's advisors said, sarcastically.
"Yes, they are," the President said. "Whomever is responsible is going out of their way to avoid accidents. Just think how messy it would get if some pilot tried to fly through this thing?"
"Well, several airlines report that aircraft that were already in the air were able to leave the area," the advisor said. "And several cruise ships left without noticing this thing until they were on the other side."
"Anything else?"
"There were some unusual banking transactions reported this week centered on the area. Someone has been selling gold, platinum, and other precious metals in unusual quantities," one advisor said.
"It's not the entire peninsula," another said. "They seem to have missed Campeche."
"What's the importance of that?" the President asked, frowning.
"Oil," the advisor said. "The area covered by the shield is all agricultural and tourist revenue supported."
"Tourists?"
"Cancun, and several large ruined Mayan cities."
"Why does that sound familiar?" the National Security Advisor interjected.
"The predicted Mayan apocalypse is today. There are a large number of Apocalypse tourists in the area this week."
"Ah," the President said, grimacing. "Let's get some experts on this," he added. "Find out if this is a coincidence. We don't need panic among the usual suspects."
"Yes, sir."
"And the Mexicans?" the President asked. "What was their reaction?"
"Nothing yet. We aren't sure they've really noticed."
"What are we going to do?"
"We want our people back, Mr. President."
"Of course," he said. "Can we let them keep the ones there for the so-called Apocalypse? What about this shield?"
"Take a shot at it?" one general suggested.
"We don't know what it is," one of the science advisors protested. "You could kill someone."
"Okay, let's take a wait and see approach," the President said. "We'll need a statement for the Press."
"The usual?" the National Security Advisor said.
"Yes. Keep me updated. And someone get Mexico on the phone," the president said. "I'll be in my office."
"Yes, Sir." They watched him leave the room, followed by his Chief of Staff.
"Let's just shoot at it," the National Security Advisor said, shaking his head in disgust. "Let's not start a war when we have no idea what's going on." He then left the room.
[More News]
"We have here in our studio the Mexican Ambassador," the reporter said. "Mr. Ambassador, what can you tell us about the events this morning on the Yucatan peninsula."
"We currently are not sure of the exact order of events," the Ambassador said.
"There's this huge silver shield covering Yucatan," the reporter said. "How many people live in this area?"
"It is not the entire peninsula," the Ambassador said. "The peninsula contains three of our states, Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo. Campeche is still under our control."
"Have you heard from anyone inside this area?" the reporter asked, pointing at the map on the screen behind him.
"Nothing," the Ambassador said.
"We have reports of several cruise ships leaving Cancun this morning," the reporter said. "Have they mention this?"
"No," the Ambassador said. "They didn't see the shield until they reached the other side."
"So, the people there might not know that anything has happened yet?" the reporter asked.
The Ambassador shrugged. "We will get to the bottom of this," he said. "We do ask that anyone planning a vacation to the area contact their travel agent before leaving."
"And the people who were there?"
"We are investigating," the Ambassador said.
"And there you have it," the reporter said. "Tune in at 9PM tonight for additional information about these amazing occurrences in Mexico. Our guests will be Dr. Jensen Hoos, Apocalypse Society of London; Bobbi Winston, Cult of the Dragon; Dr. Wenn DeSouzza, Author and adventurer."
"Ready?" Santana said, looking at Quinn on the forward screen of her flagship.
"All set," Quinn said, pulling down her helmet. "Smoke me a kipper skipper, I'll be back for breakfast."
"Okay, Q, that... was bad. You need to work on your material," Santana said.
"That was a classic exit line," Quinn said. They could hear the smirk in her voice. "Wait till you see our entrance." The screen went blank.
"Q!" Santana said. "Stubborn bitch." she grumbled when there was no response. "Artie!"
"Yes, Lady Air?"
"I want video from the ground," Santana said, her voice firm.
"As requested," Artie said.
"Where's Brittany?" Rachel asked.
"Brit is already on the ground," Santana said. "She's with her team, monitoring all communications in the Zone."
"And you let her?" Rachel said.
"I don't let Brittany DO anything," Santana said, forcefully. "I'm lucky that she 'lets' me love her."
"Aren't you scared?" Rachel asked.
"Aren't you scared that Quinn or any of the others will get hurt?" Santana said. "I'm terrified. But this is the job we agreed to do."
"Of course I'm afraid. She's a friend," Rachel said. "And these are all our people. They wouldn't even exist if it weren't for us, so we're ultimately responsible for them."
"I don't believe things work quite that way," Santana said. "They are responsible for their own actions. They are our people, yes, and we are the ones who involved them in this job, but they are doing this because they believe in what we're doing."
Quinn watched the meter as they dropped towards the shield covering the Zone. Their hard suits would easily pass through the shield, something they'd practiced for weeks. And had run through the simulators for even longer. But it still made her nervous. Clan tech was good but nothing was perfect.
"Sound off," she said, after dropping through. She'd do this once more when they reached the ground. Her team called in. Then the other team leaders also called in.
"Red Team, clear," Red Team Leader said.
"Blue Team, clear," Blue Team Leader said.
"Green Team, clear," Green Team Leader said.
"Gold Team, clear," Quinn announced. She could see all of the teams on her display, though they were invisible to anyone on the ground who happened to look up at that moment. Each team, consisting of four small trooper regiments, would secure a part of the eighty thousand square kilometer Zone. Each team would set up its base at one of the Mayan city ruins, her team taking Chichen Itza and rebuilding it as the main base for the entire Zone.
Rachel had grumbled about their plans to use several of the ruined cities for their bases but she'd understood the necessity. That they'd document them down to the last molecule before unleashing the nanite builders on the cities had only slightly mollified her. Quinn grimaced at the thought of Santana's reaction to the inevitable odes to the lost heritage sites that Rachel would certainly produce so they wouldn't forget the cost to history of the invasion.
As her team dropped down on Chichen Itza, she listened in on the chatter from the other teams with approval. She wasn't too worried about anyone listening in on their combat channels, but Quinn had drilled proper communication protocols into her troopers, agreeing with Santana that discipline was a good thing.
Securing the Zone came in several distinct phases. Their plan allowed for up to a month for each phase, though the goal was one week per phase.
Phase One was securing their bases. After clearing any intelligent life from the area, a secondary shield would be erected over the area. A scan would then be made of the site, down to the last molecule. This would enable virtual reality reproductions for future analysis. Once the scan was completed, nanite builders would be released into the shielded area. The nanites would first restore the city to its original state and another scan would be made, once more for VR purposes. Following the second scan, the nanites would turn the old cities into usable facilities with all of the amenities required by a full Clan drop team. When completed,a process that could take forty-eight hours or more, depending upon the level of restoration required, the shield would be turned off and the team would move into their new quarters.
While the restoration process was going on, the teams would be familiarizing themselves with their designated areas, taking care to catalog any potential forces they would need to deal with. The initial goal was to ignore the major cities and their populations. Those would be dealt with in later phases.
Artie's scans had revealed over a million Lost Clan descendants on the entire peninsula. The rest of the population would be given the option to leave peacefully if they didn't wish to live on Clan lands, though there were contingency plans. Fortunately, due to a month of low level earthquakes shaking the entire Zone, the population had been reduced to a third before the reclamation began. But there were still a lot of people who would need to be convinced to either pledge loyalty to the Clan or abandon their homes.
"B?" Quinn said, contacting Brittany and her intel crews, as she looked out over the jungle from an old Mayan pyramid a mile outside of the city. It wasn't scheduled for restoration until some time after the city was complete.
"Yes, Quinn?"
"We're all on the ground. Phase 'City Restoration' has commenced. What can you tell me?" Quinn asked.
"Great!" Brittany said. "That company of US Special Forces troops on maneuvers with the Mexicans has gone to ground, as expected. They were spooked by the loss of radio contact with their brigade."
"Do we know where they are?" Quinn asked.
"Of course," Brittany said. "Green Team should contact them at some point soon. You still want them alive?" she asked. "They won't be able to tell us anything we don't already know."
"Santana wants to wrap them up in a bright red ribbon and drop them on the White House lawn on Christmas day," Quinn said.
"Was that really her idea?" Brittany said, sounding surprised.
"Not completely," Quinn said. "She was going to drop them off nude but Artie convinced her to tone it down a bit."
"How'd she do that?" Brittany asked.
"She might have threatened to tell you," Quinn said.
"That would do it," Brittany said. "We really don't want to embarrass anyone if we want their co-operation in the future."
"Have you found anything unexpected?" Quinn asked.
"Several stashes of high quality cocaine," Brittany said. "The guards refused to surrender."
"Ouch. Any injuries?" Quinn asked. They'd discussed before the drop how the teams would deal with the drugs cartels and drug lords. The general consensus had been 'no mercy' if they refused to surrender.
"Not any of our people," Brittany said. "Someone is going to need a spatula to wipe those guards off the walls."
"Okay. What else do you have for me?"
"The air has been quiet," Brittany said. "There are several Mexican Army companies camped just outside of Merida but they don't appear to have noticed anything. They were supposed to join the war games but we'll have them in custody by the end of the day."
"Good. How soon will we have the governors and mayors in custody?" Quinn asked.
"The governors appear to be meeting in Mexico City," Brittany said, with a smirk. "We're collecting the mayors now. We'll bring them to you when you're ready for them."
"Okay," Quinn said. "Anything else I should be aware of?"
"The Mexican Air Force just scrambled several jets to check things out. They shouldn't be a problem, Santana has already moved a flight of Dragons in closer."
"Got it," Quinn said, looking at her display in her hard suit. "Any rioting yet?"
"Not yet," Brittany said. "Of course, most of the people have no idea anything is going on right now."
"That'll change quickly," Quinn said, "once they see the dome and find out they can't communicate."
"Should be fun," Brittany said. "Oops, gotta go," she said.
"Be careful out there," Quinn said.
"Always," Brittany said.
"Boss?" her exec said, over the comm.
"Yes, Pin?"
"We have company," she said. "Eastern quarter gate."
"And?" Quinn asked. "If they're tourists, get rid of them."
"Not tourists," Pin said. "We have those rounded up at the Western gate."
"Be right there," Quinn said, keeping her thoughts about over dramatic underlings to herself. They did have video feeds in the hard suits she could tap into.
Quick movement in the hard suits could be an unsettling feeling. More of a skip than a jump. She found herself at the gate a minute later.
"Where's the fire," Quinn said, stopping next to her Gold Team exec.
"Them," she said, waving at a small group of women standing several hundred meters away. They were all dressed colorfully, in ceremonial Mayan robes. With one exception, they were all approximately the same height. The exception was a woman at the center of the procession, who appeared taller than Quinn, if she weren't wearing her hard suit.
"That was quick," Quinn said. "Have you spoken to them yet?"
"No," Pin said. "They stopped there as soon as they saw the shield."
"Shall we?" Quinn said, even as she opened a link to Santana's private line on her flagship. "San? Is Berry with you?"
"What've you got?" Santana said. "And turn your damn video feed back on!"
"Right," Quinn muttered, mentally flipping that switch. One of her modifications to the hard suits had been the video feed. She really hated having someone looking over her shoulder, virtually or not, so she'd arranged for video to require manual activation to broadcast it. It still recorded everything she saw but wasn't uploaded to Fleet records until the suit was plugged into it's maintenance bay.
"What are we looking at, Q?" Santana said.
"You weren't snooping?" Quinn asked.
"Of course not," Santana said. "I've got more important things to do than babysit you and your anime rejects."
"I was," Brittany said, her voice carrying amusement. "You don't mind, do you Quinn?"
"Of course not," Quinn said. "Rachel can you see this?"
"You have visitors," Rachel said, her voice excited. "Can you get closer?"
"And?" Santana grumbled. "For those of us who didn't swallow the entire history of the Clan?"
"They are wearing traditional Clan Priestess colors," Rachel said. "The tall one appears to be the Head Priestess."
"How do we handle them?" Quinn asked.
"Be nice, Q," Brittany said.
"You're wearing Fleet Clan colors," Rachel reminded her. "Be respectful, but if she recognizes your colors, you have more status and she has to defer to you."
"Well, Q, don't let the power go to your head. These aren't the homophobic asses you grew up with," Santana said. "And leave the video on!" she ordered.
"Yes, Lady Head Bitch," Quinn said, under her breath.
"And don't you forget it!" Santana said.
"San! Not the time for this," Brittany said. "Let Quinn do her job."
"Okay, Pin," Quinn said, switching channels. Santana could still hear her but her voice was muted, leaving just a scrolling transcript of her, Rachel, and Brittany's comments in the corner of her vision. "These might be important people. Word is they could be Lost Clan priestesses. Who do we have free to be escorts?"
"The twins are taking a break," Pin said. She paused. "They'll be here... now."
"Ladies, these are your responsibility," Quinn said, waving at the priestesses. "Play honor guard until they leave.
"Yes, Boss," they echoed, disappearing in sudden movement, reappearing on either side of the priestesses.
"Shall we see what they want, Pin?"
Yes, Boss," Pin replied.
End Note: Not the real POTUS (US President). (Pretend it's someone from a favorite TV show who plays President. ) Or anyone else with him. Just a bunch of OC's. Not the real Secret Presidential Apocalypse Bunker either.
Next: Unexpected visitors