Hello all! I have no excuse. I lost my will to write when I lost the drive with all of my writing on it. For months now, I've kept trying to get back into it, and it wasn't until this week that I felt ready to write again. So, I hope you are all still around, still happy to continue reading my tale. So, here is chapter 35. Enjoy!
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Chapter 35
Thirty-nine intact tanks filled with Goh stood within the destruction of others under the hot Caronaan sun. The ground was littered with glass and the drying husks of what once had been living, sentient creatures from a planet far away. They sat behind the vast, dead engines of the Groten ship, awaiting their fate once the ship fired into life.
Many Groten scaled the sides of the ship, carrying out final checks of the newly fixed hull and finishing off work that would soon see the ship operational, which would mean the end of the Goh trapped in the tanks.
Above the ship, high in the sky and invisible to all below, three Jumpers hovered silently, waiting. Further away behind the tree line the two Caronaan Vipens sat waiting to be deployed. Seven bio-suited warriors stood beneath them, awaiting their orders. An eighth warrior stood in the trees nearest the Goh tanks, careful to stay unseen, alert to all movement of the Groten.
Major Evan Lorne sat in Jumper 2, looking down at the scene before him. His eyes darted between each Goh tank, trying to decide which two his Jumper might try to save. He knew each tank contained hundreds of tiny creatures and that by saving two tanks he would be saving many lives, but deciding which to save was proving impossible. The weight of his decision pressed heavily on his mind and he had no doubt that Teldy and Stackhouse would be having similar internal debates. How does one decide which life to save when so many were at risk of imminent death? They shouldn't have to make this decision, none of them should, for it would be one they would forever question and hold themselves in scathing judgement. If they had more time, more manpower, they might have come up with a better solution than just managing to save four tanks. Well, five, now that Teldy had committed with her Jumper space to accommodate one tank. Even attempting to save these five tanks was incredibly dangerous, and there was no guarantee that any of them would survive should the Groten get their ship back up and running and take them all out.
Everyone had agreed that the best time for extraction would be when the very last Groten had boarded the ship and closed doors. By then, the bio-suited warriors would have relative safety to work on getting the tanks into the Jumpers and Teldy's team to get one tank on a floating platform and into hers. The plan wasn't foolproof, it depended almost entirely on luck and time: time to move into place, time to get tanks on ships, time to get the hell out of the way of those huge engines before they fired up, and time to escape. Realistically, they all knew there just wasn't enough time.
He knew that sitting there mulling over his decision was wasting the precious time they had so little of, but Lorne couldn't help but try and make the best choice of retrieval. As he watched, a massive Groten passed the cache of tanks and smashed some as it passed. The Atlanteans waited above, mourning the needless loss of lives. Thankfully, a second Groten snarled at the destroyer and it ceased attacking the tanks then made its way into the ship. Despite the destruction of the tanks, the decision of which to save was no easier, but Lorne finally decided that the tanks nearest the tree line were their best bet. As he was about to contact Stackhouse and Teldy to impart this information, Lorne's com momentarily burst static in his ear as it switched channels to Caronaa frequency. The voice he heard belonged to Barna, the leader of the Southern Battalion, who sounded agitated, and Lorne could see him the break cover of the trees below to wave up.
"Can anyone up there hear me?!" Barna's booming voice hurt Lonre's ears.
"Loud and clear, Barna, what's wrong?"
"There is nothing wrong, Fer Lorne, but everything might be right. I've just had word from Central City."
Lorne smiled softly as he listened to the rest of Barna's message, already seeing their odds of success and survival increasing. Lorne bit at his inner cheek as he mulled over the new information, then made a decision and clicked his com. "All ships and personnel fall back to the holding area."
His instruction was met with both dismay and alarm as the others voiced concern over the order, even as they carried it out.
"I'll stay by the ship and keep you informed of any developments," Barna told him.
"Copy that, Barna."
At the holding area, approximately a quarter mile from the Groten ship, the Jumpers landed near the Vipens and Lorne and the others joined the Caronaans for an impromptu war meeting.
"What the hell, Lorne?!" spat Dusty as she traipsed down Jumper 3's ramp. "There's no time for this!"
"Make time, Mehra," he countered. "There's news from Central, our plan needs immediate re-evaluating."
"What's the word from Central?" Teldy asked as all congregated around the Major.
It was Orna who answered. "Central has rallied the full Eastern Warrior battalion, and they are already on their way to our location. They're also sending out another four Vipen ships, with two Advanced Bios on each.
"Advanced Bios?" Stackhouse asked.
"Bio-suits, twice the size of mine with more armament. The Advanced Bios are Central sentries; their deployment is unheard of outside of Central City."
"Oh, they sound awesome!" Dusty grinned.
"How long until they arrive?"
"The Vipens will be here in around five minutes. The battalion, maybe half an hour. It's the best we can hope for, Fer Lorne."
"Okay, okay. What's the status of the Goh tanks?"
"Barna says a further six were destroyed earlier, leaving thirty-three."
Lorne's features darkened, understanding that hundreds had died as they watched from above. It was an unconscionable loss of life, annihilation which they had been incapable of stopping without alerting the Groten to their presence. Lorne felt the loss heavy in his chest, but as he looked around him at the expectant faces of his comrades and friends, he understood that inaction had been his only choice at that moment. Even though he would happily have fired on that Groten and blown it to smithereens, he had a duty to care for everyone, not just the tiny creatures in the tanks. Lorne wasn't exactly sure when they had all started to look to him to lead. It had happened gradually, and with subconscious fluidness, he had taken on the mantle of commander of this mission. He felt it, the heaviness of the position upon his shoulders. His mind fired through workable scenarios with the new influx from Central on the way, trying to come up with a new and viable plan. He turned from the gathered group and asked Barna for an update.
"No more movement at the tanks, but it appears the Groten are getting close to lift off. They're starting to call in their workers. Aft doors already closed. Turrets are still and silent, I think they've finished their run-through."
Again, time seemed to be their worst enemy.
"Major Lorne?"
Lorne cast his eyes around to find the speaker, seeing Caran Muro take a step out from the crowd.
"Since we have three Jumpers, and the other Vipens will arrive shortly, I may have a plan we've not thought of before."
"Okay, let's hear it."
"I was thinking about when we dropped Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard at Ignothia. I modified the shields to allow him to be placed in the water."
"Okay, and?"
"Well, what if the Jumpers were positioned to the rear of the Groten ship and I was able to use the shields to save all of the tanks?"
"Is that even possible, Caran?" Teldy asked. "You know our ship is playing up, we can't take a weak chance when we have a stronger option."
"A stronger option that will see most of the Goh destroyed," Teyla reminded them.
"Yes, but with significantly better odds of our own survival."
"Can you do it?" Lorne interjected.
Caran looked around at the Vipens and warriors, then back to the Atlanteans and Jumpers, and nodded. "Yes, I think I can. It wouldn't have worked before, but with more ships and people, I think it will work."
"What do we need to do?"
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The four Vipen ships had arrived, and word was that the eastern battalion was only several minutes away. The eight Advanced Bios warriors disembarked to appraising glances. They were huge machines, as large as Orna had said they would be. Instead of the standard blue metal, the Advanced suits were bright red, with a black stripe that ran through the body and outer limbs. Orna had failed to mention that the Advanced Bios possessed four arms as well as the heavy weaponry that adorned the upper body. It was clear that those within the suits required special training to work in them, as the extra set of arms were controlled not by any muscle movement of the pilot, but purely by their minds. The mental acuity of these highly trained pilots was staggering as one gave a show of the suit's capabilities to a stunned crowd.
While they waited for the eastern battalion to arrive, Caran worked on the three Jumper's shields and controls. She planned to have the Jumpers linked and work in union, with their shields set to a greater range to encompass the Goh tanks. Caran was unwilling to simply guess what the shield range should be. It would be disastrous if she miscalculated and the shield harmed anyone or anything. Therefore, she intended to set the range once the Jumpers had landed, meaning there would be a time of extreme vulnerability for all involved. With everything they faced, time and timing were still the overriding issues. The Jumpers would be exposed until they were on the ground and the shields set up. They would not be able to use the shield to cloak and so would be visible as they took up their positions.
This was where the Vipens and Bio-suited warriors would come into play, protecting the Atlanteans and Goh while everything was set up. It sounded a simple enough strategy, but it was a complicated plan involving many people playing their part to the letter. The Jumper pilots were to fly into the area in a synchronised pattern, so close together to be almost touching. The Advanced Bios were to somehow get to the Groten ship turrets and disable them. The warriors and remaining Atlanteans were to protect the Jumpers, Goh tanks and Caran as she set up the modulated shield. Then, all had to fall back to the Jumpers in time for the shield to come online so that all were protected from the Groten and the ship engines. And all of this counted on the Groten hitting the skies thereafter, something Dusty brought up as Caran rewired a crystal array in the back of Jumper 2.
"What if the Groten don't head off? What if they decide to stay and battle it out? We can't hide behind the shields forever."
"The ensuing battle would be catastrophic for us," Caran replied. "Therefore, let's just hope they don't stick around."
"That isn't much of a plan, though, is it? Hopes and prayers won't help us if the shields run dry and those beasts come after us."
"Look, I came up with a plan to save the Goh, I didn't factor anything other than that into my plan. It's up to Major Lorne and the others to figure out the rest. Hand me that bag, please"
"Are the shields strong enough for what you're asking them to do?" Dusty asked, handing the bag over. "I mean, those engines might just blow us away like paper in the wind."
"Combined and linked, they will be stronger and more resilient than one alone," Caran replied. "We can power the Jumpers to maximum reverse thrust if required. The Jumper engines work on a separate system to the shield, which is why both can run simultaneously without compromising power. I hope that the Groten will get their ship in the air as soon as they can. All we need is for the shields to keep running long enough to save the Goh."
"...and us... and our ships..." Dusty muttered, clearly dubious of the plan. "You do realise that if this fails, we lose everything, we lose everyone."
Caran sat back and looked up at Dusty with an irritated huff. "I'm doing my best here, Dusty. And if my best isn't good enough, I'm well aware of the consequences. And why are you bothering me anyway? Shouldn't you be with the majors trying to figure this out?"
Dusty pulled a fresh piece of chewing gum from her tac vest pocket and threw it in her mouth, drawing her eyes off Caran as the scientist got back to work. She stared at the back of Caran's head for a few seconds, then hunkered down next to her and toyed with the catch on one of the tool bags.
"You know, if you pull this off, it wouldn't surprise me."
Caran huffed again and looked at her suspiciously. "What's that meant to mean?"
Dusty fidgeted self-consciously, eyes refusing to look at Caran as she said, "You know shit I've no clue about. You're clever, and, well, I'm not. I'm just a grunt, an expendable. You're not. And I don't say it enough, that's on me, not you."
"What is? You're not making any sense."
Dusty growled and got to her feet. "God, you can be really thick at times."
Caran threw down her tools and stood, folding her arms haughtily across her chest. "I'm clever, but I'm thick? That's on you, not me? What the hell are you trying to say?!"
"We don't have time for this."
"Time for what, Dusty? What's going on with you?!"
"You are!" Dusty exclaimed, gesturing towards Caran with flailing arms. "You!"
Caran stood there for some moments, absolutely clueless, staring at her best friend while bothersome tears wetted her eyes. She racked her mind trying to figure out what she had done to offend Dusty and came up blank. The more she tried to understand, the angrier she got, so when Dusty turned and walked out the Jumper, Caran was relieved. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her friend before the battle they might face.
She sat back on the floor, upset but determined to finish the job at hand. There were three of these consoles to strip back and rewire, and she was only halfway through this first one. The three Jumpers were required to be linked for this to work. She had to set up the interface beforehand so that once they landed, it would be a matter of simply linking the interface to set the shield up. None of what she was doing was easy, and Caran knew it was really a job for at least three people. The stress of the situation didn't help, nor did her quarrel with Dusty that festered away at the back of her mind, distracting her.
At last, she soldered the final connection to the modified console, placed it back in its holding and connected it back into the Jumper system. She did a final check, then wound the trailing interface cable along the length of the Jumper and hooked it by the bulkhead door. Gathering up her tools and bag, she made her way to the next Jumper to start the process again. Yanking out the console and setting it on the floor, Caran opened her bag of tools and reached in for one of her tools when footsteps sounded on the ramp. She glanced over to see Dusty Mehra amble her way onboard, a bottle of water in one hand and a snack bar in the other.
"I thought you might need a break," she said, offering Caran the meagre snack.
"I'm fine, I can't stop."
"You can spare five minutes," Dusty replied, forcing the bottled water in front of her face. "I'll even time the five minutes for you."
Caran accepted the bottled water and took a sip. "Are we ok?"
Dusty nodded, kicking her boot against the bulkhead.
"I mean, if I've done something to upset you..."
"You've not done anything," Dusty sighed.
"Then what was that all about?"
"I dunno. I guess I'm just worried, is all. There's a lot to lose in this gambit of yours."
"I know. I'm worried, too."
"Yeah," Dusty replied quietly, falling into deep thought.
Caran polished off the snack bar in two bites, then resumed her work. She pulled out the crystals from the console and stacked them to the side, then pulled wiring out from the back of the console. As she was soldering a new wire into the system, Dusty approached and sat opposite her, stretching out her long legs while blowing a bubble with her gum. When it popped loudly in the confines of the Jumper, Caran giggled quietly. Dusty grinned and chewed on the gum loudly as Caran finished soldering.
"You know you're my best mate," she said, pulling a new wire from her toolkit.
"Yep, best mate," Dusty replied in a strange tone.
Caran looked at her. "You are, you really are my best mate, and I hate it when we fight. So, let's not fight. Not with each other, at least."
Dusty stopped chewing and nodded her head. "I didn't mean to upset you. Like I said, I'm just worried."
"I know, I'm—"
"For you," Dusty broke in. "I'm worried for you."
"I told you, I'm fine. I just need to get these consoles finished."
"It's not that. When we start this, when we land, you're going to be at the back of the Jumpers, unarmed, unprotected... alone..."
"I need to be able to get the shield up and running, I can't be waving a P90 around while working with a delicate system and—"
"Goddamnit, Caran!" Dusty shouted and got back to her feet.
"What?!"
"I'm worried for you...only you."
"I... what... I... Oh..." Caran's face reddened, her mouth gaped, and her mind was suddenly void of all sense and thoughts. She just sat there quietly as Dusty tugged at her tac vest and coughed to clear her throat.
"So yeah, that's that. I'll just... I'll go see... I'll... just go..." She turned on her heels and stomped out of the Jumper, leaving Caran sitting there in stunned silence.
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