Castle's Team

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Go Castle! Yeah Team! Oh, I don't own any of this. Rating: K Time: After my story Castle's Recon.

The Havenites and the Tarkai troops were all recovered by helicopter. One Havenite was found dead in the slave pen, but all the rest survived with few permanent physical ill effects. There were seven wounded Tarkai. The worst wounded was Rifleman Phu'un who had been hit in the head by a piece of debris when the ammunition in one of the farmhouses went up. Luckily, he was wearing a ballistic helmet and suffered no more than a bad headache.

Castle reviewed the reports from his platoon leaders and intel from his intelligence officer. He briefed his command.

"We've hit them pretty hard. They lost a bit over two hundred people which is about ten percent of their total strength. Their communications security is still non-existent, so we can listen in on them. They've also found out they're up against a very good combat unit. "

That remark brought smiles from everyone.

"And now the downside. They're moved well back from what's left of Haven. Well up the Jordan River. That makes it harder for us to get at them. They're also doing what they should have done in the first place. They're fortifying the farms they've taken over, digging trenches with overhead cover, clearing fields of fire, putting out what little barbed wire they have and are putting up punji stakes, building deadfalls and any kind of booby trap they can build."

"So, we'll have to get them to come to us."

Lance Corporal Horbo loved being a sapper. A sappers' job, mostly, was to blow up things. His human trainers in the UK's Sapper School had paid him the highest compliment they could give a sapper. "He just absolutely loves to blow up shit." They had said.

Horbo dug a small trench across the dirt road that ran in Euro territory. The trench was no more than six inches deep, four inches wide and ran all the way across the road. At each end was a small dam made of mud and rocks. When the trench was done, Horbo poured in a liquid explosive that quickly solidified. Before it set, however, he placed a long, thin contact fuse on top of the explosive and gently pushed it down. When the explosive was completely set, he carefully covered the newly laid mine with dirt and rocks. He examined the mine from several angles, made a few changes and decided the result wouldn't be seen by anyone coming down the road in a hurry.

He checked the other two members of his team and saw that they had completed their work. They all went back to where the platoon leader, Lieutenant Bornas had set up his command post. The rest of his platoon was dug in among the trees that lined that side of the road. The far side of the road was an open meadow covered in grass no more than six inches high.

"Are you ready?" Bornas asked.

"All set, sir." Horbo said happily. He really did love to blow shit up.

Bornas got on the radio and contacted the other platoon on the operation, that of Lieutenant Pangorran, from the Wolves of Tuscany.

"Thor 6 Actual to Wolf 6. Come in. Over."

"Thor 6 Actual, this is Wolf 6 Actual. Are you ready? Over."

"Wolf 6 Actual to Thor 6 Actual. We're ready. Out."

Pangorran's platoon began firing at a fortified Euro held farmhouse. They were careful not to use anything but light infantry weapons in the attack. The Euros had learned from their prior mistakes. Havenite slaves were now kept in the same house as the Euros. They knew that the Tarkai didn't want to kill any slaves. That didn't bother Lieutenant Pangorran. The farmhouse wasn't the objective of this operation.

An intelligence comm tech with Lieutenant Bornas intercepted a communication from the besieged farmhouse.

"Sir, the Target Echo 6 just sent out a distress signal. Central has ordered troops from Target Echo 7 and Echo 8 to meet up about three miles away from us and rush to the aid of Echo 6."

Bornas smiled.

Several miles away, a small drone from the Intelligence Platoon settled into a tree. It focused its camera on the road in front of it and turned on its sound. It picked up the sound of engines coming towards it and began sending data to the intelligence comm tech with Lieutenant Bornas.

The tech smiled and spoke to Bornas.

"Good news, sir. They're on their way. I should get a visual in just…here it is. There's a four by four, then one, two, three, four and five trucks, and then two more four by fours. There must be a hundred and fifty men there. Maybe more."

Soon they could hear the approaching vehicles and then they could see them, tearing down the road, intending to attack the soldiers attacking Target Echo 6.

The lead four by four hit the land mine and was blown into the air and landed on its back in the middle of the road. The truck behind it slammed into the disabled vehicle and all the following vehicles slammed on their brakes and stopped.

Bornas' platoon opened fire as the enemy convoy dissolved into chaos. Those who could ran from the gunfire and into the meadow. The meadow had been seeded with two types of mines. One was a claymore type mine that fired hundreds of ball bearings into the mass of troops. The other was called a Bouncing Betty. When it was triggered, it shot an explosive into the air which detonated at about head height.

The Euros began throwing down their weapons and calling out that they surrendered. Bornas roared at his soldiers to cease fire. The platoon collected the enemy prisoners and wounded and waited for a helicopter extraction.

In the meantime, Lieutenant Pangorran kept up a desultory fire against the farmhouse. He didn't want the enemy there to even think about disrupting the evacuation of Bornas' platoon and their prisoners. When that evacuation was over, Pangorran withdrew his troops, leaving the 60mm mortar team for last, dropping the occasional shell on the farmhouse to keep everyone inside. Soon, both platoons and their prisoners were gone.

Captain Castle was having breakfast when his new radioman, the newly promoted Lance Corporal Prebo, called out to him.

"Sir, we have a message from Brother Daniel. He says a ship is in orbit. It says it's a Pandoran ship carrying a diplomatic mission. It seems Pandora has found out that there's a UK mercenary unit here and want to find out what we're doing here. Brother Daniel would like you to come see him ASAP."

Castle looked at his unfinished breakfast and sighed.

"Tell him I'm on my way. Call for a vehicle and a driver. You'll be coming with me as well."

Brother Daniel had been joined by a Sister Gina, a tall, burly woman who was in charge of whatever off planet relations Haven had.

"The Pandoran ship is sending a shuttle down with a Commissioner Norman. He says he's here to check out reports that a UK force has invaded Haven." Sister Gina growled. "I'll show him an invasion."

They met Norman at what passed for the dirtside spaceport at Haven, an open field just out of town.

Norman himself was tall and slim, with a white beard and hair. He was dressed in a style of a loose tunic over baggy culottes that had been fashionable on Earth fifty years ago. With him were several aides, all males.

"I see our reports are correct. One of the so-called mercenary units from the UK has come here. Why are you doing here, soldier?" he demanded.

"If you are here on a diplomatic mission to Haven, you should talk to me. I'm Sister Gina and I'm in charge of the Congregation of External Affairs. May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Pandora is worried that the UK may become involved in Haven's affairs. That said…"

Sister Gina interrupted him.

"And since when have the internal affairs of Haven been the concern of Pandora? I find your interference in Haven's affairs to be improper."

"We worry that Pandora might get involved in any fighting here involving the UK's so-called mercenaries." Norman managed to get in.

"Obviously, Pandora was not concerned when Haven was attacked by two thousand armed Euros. Why are you now concerned?"

"We have spoken to the Euro leader. He says they were attacked by these mercenaries while trying to establish a peaceful colony."

"He's lying." Sister Gina said.

"I see no reason to assume that."

"That's because you've seen nothing. All you've had is some sort of verbal communication with them. I suggest that you ask to visit some of the Havenite farms taken from their owners. Talk to Havenites who have been enslaved by the Euros."

"Enslaved?" Norman said. "These are civilized men all the way from Earth, our Mother World. Your charges are very serious and not very believable."

"Then the Euros should have no objection to your going to see for yourself. We can suggest a number of farms you could visit." Sister Gina said with a smile.

"I'll do exactly that."

Castle sat back and enjoyed what came next. The Euros were quite happy to allow the Pandoran delegation to visit anywhere they wanted. With certain exceptions, unfortunately. The owner of this farm was ill and shouldn't be bothered. The owner of that farm was too busy working to host a delegation. When it was pointed out that videos from the orbiting Pandoran ship showed no work being done, Central corrected himself. The work was being done inside the farmhouse. The next farm owner was cranky and didn't want to be bothered. And so on and on and on.

In the meantime, the Pandorans were allowed to meet hundreds of Havenites who had been enslaved on their own, or other, farms. Central said they were lying, although he did admit that a few Havenites who had committed crimes were doing work as part of their rehabilitation. When Norman asked to see the records of those trials, he was told that the records were sealed for the good of the criminals who could go on to live productive, peaceful lives without the stigma of being imprisoned. The Pandorans couldn't talk to the Havenite criminals as this would violate their privacy.

Eventually, Norman gave up trying to visit the areas held by Euros.

"I am not happy with the presence of soldiers from the UK here on Haven." Norman said to Brother Daniel, Sister Gina and Captain Castle. "However, I have been unable to uncover any solid evidence as to what the Euros are or aren't doing."

"So, Pandora won't complain about the soldiers we brought here to protect us?" Sister Gina said.

"I cannot answer that. I'll deliver my report to the proper authorities. What they will do I cannot tell you."

Norman left and they never heard anything more from Pandora.

Surgeon-Captain Renoir had a few things to say.

"He was unable to uncover any solid evidence of what those Euro cochons have done here?" She screamed. "Idiot! Imbecile! Cretin! Am I not a doctor who has diagnosed beatings and rapes to that couard! I will…I will…" Simone stamped her foot. "I will do nothing as there is nothing I can do."

Castle managed to calm Simone down and she went back to treating the Havenites.

Castle now had another problem.

"The Euros are learning. They keep their slaves inside the farmhouses. They don't send rescue columns to farms we attack. They send their Havenite slaves out to work in the fields while they're covered by rifles from inside the farmhouse. A few Havenites have escaped, but not many. We've managed to shoot a few of their riflemen, but not many. They just hunker down in hopes that maybe we'll go away or something. We need to do something to put the pressure on them."

TBC