95 Chapter 95
Bolting into action the six men divided into three individual fire teams. Each team boarded a separate jumper with pilots already manning the controls. Rising from the deck of the hanger bay the jumpers slipped through the protective energy field enclosing the bay and streaked towards the ground far below. Closing in on the target area with rapid speed the close air support element of alert 302's armed their rail guns. Unfortunately their normal load out of AIM-120's would do nothing to assist them in this mission.
"Burglar Lead this is Broadsword Lead" said the CAS flight leader.
"Broadsword Lead, Burglar Lead. The civilians appear to be cornered in a valley, high rock walls to the east. Hostile forces had stopped and are providing fire support for dismounted infantry. Recommend you make your approach north to south" replied Burglar Lead.
"Broadsword Lead copies. Maintain high orbit, we have jumpers inbound, Estimated time of arrival if four minutes" replied the CAS commander.
The civilians below were in a panic. Having cornered themselves in the valley they knew their capture or death could come at any moment. The vehicles pursuing them had stopped and were laying down sustained heavy fire all around them, while soldiers advanced towards them on foot. The message was clear; do not attempt to run. Children wailed in hysterics while woman gave prayers to the ancestors for rescue they didn't believe would come. The men hunkered over their families, trying to shield them from the attacks with their own bodies; sure that death could come in scant seconds.
In teams of two of four close air support 302's made their alternating attack runs. Doing it this way allowed for two aircraft to provide coving fire from their rail guns every sixty seconds. Never designed for the ground attack mission the 302's lacked the sophisticated air to ground targeting systems found on many aircraft in the Air Force. Knowing this inconvenient fact Broadsword Lead thought to himself that they were just going to have to wing it.
With grace and speed the first two aircraft closed on their targets, and unleashed a torrent of fire from their onboard rail guns. For the pilots time seems to slow to a crawl as they watched tremendous amounts of weapons fire advance on the ground, kicking up clouds of dirt with each impact, towards their selected target. Traveling at eleven thousand five hundred feet per second the dense tungsten rounds shredded two half tracks on impact. Moving at that speed the rounds fired by the rail gun negated the need for explosives as the impact of the dense material was more than enough to tear through even the heaviest of tank armor with ease. Terminating their firing run the first 302's banked sharply to the right to line up for their second gun run while the next par of aircraft rolled in for their attack.
"Broadsword two and four, recommend you concentrate your fire on dismounted infantry" stated Broadsword Lead.
As two and four began their attack runs three cloaked jumpers became visible, while setting down and opening their rear ramps. From within the jumpers the black clad Delta operators emerged, their Heckler and Koch HK 417 rifles spewing 7.62 mm rounds toward the approaching enemy that was now seeking cover. Three of the operators took knee down prone firing positions while their wingmen sprinted the forty feet to the cowering mass of civilians.
"Run to the jumpers now" barked Captain Carlyle.
"You're going to kill us" screamed one of the women.
"We're from Atlantis and here to rescue you, now run" ordered the Captain.
The continuous gun runs of the 302's made short work of the enemy vehicles, but the dismounted infantry posed a problem. Half of them, seeing their comrades shredded by the rail gun fire decided that safety lay in getting as close to the Lantean's as possible. Surely the Lantean's wouldn't fire on their own people.
"Broadsword flight this is ground element" called Captain Carlyle into his radio.
"Go ahead ground" replied the flight leader.
"Enemy troops advancing on our position. Request danger close fire support" stated Carlyle.
"Ground element, we can't target fire with any type of accuracy. Confirm danger close request" responded Broadsword Lead.
"Ground element confirms danger close request. That means buster" replied Carlyle.
In the military the word buster carries with it a heavy emphasis on now, as in right now, this moment, I want it yesterday. The message came through loud and clear to the minds of the 302 pilots. Danger close airstrikes were reserved for times when friendly forces were being overrun; calling in those strikes literally on your own position. Knowing that their brothers in arms were in dire straights the 302 pilots broke into single ship elements to maintain an almost constant stream of fire on the approaching infantry. With reckless abandon the 302 pilots wrought carnage and destruction on the enemy forces that sought to harm their countrymen.
"Eight evacuees to a jumper. I don't care if you have to pick them up and throw them in their just get them onboard" thundered Carlyle.
The three operators that had provided cover fire for their teammates during their sprint to the civilians now broke the civilians into three groups and herded them in the waiting jumpers. The other three operators took a knee and began laying down a mad minute of automatic weapons fire. As each soldier ran out of ammunition calls of "loading" could be heard over and over again. Overhead the 302's continued to pound the soil near their fellow soldiers with enormous amounts of rail gun fire. From the many impacts a wall of dust and debris blanketed the air until visibility dropped to nothing more than a handful of feet in front of each man.
"Captain we're good to go, precious cargo is aboard" called out one of the Operators over his radio earpiece.
"Broadsword, the civilians are aboard and accounted for. Request cover fire for extraction" said Carlyle into the earpiece.
"Ground element, roger that. Depart to the north and engage cloaks" replied Broadsword Lead.
The three Operators quickly got to their feet and in a crouch sprinted towards the waiting jumpers. Once onboard the jumpers cloaked and quickly rose from the surface before speeding into orbit at high speed. Once their departure was confirmed the 302's of Broadsword flight broke off and set course for Apollo.
Minutes later the jumpers landed in the starboard hanger bay, to remain clear of the returning 302's in the port side bay. As the ramps lowered medical staff from the infirmary aboard Apollo swarmed over the civilians, quickly checking them over for any sign of injury. Behind the medical staff stood Colonel's Frost and Ellis. Stepping forward once the medics cleared out of the way Ellis approached the gathered group of frightened civilians.
"Welcome aboard the Apollo. You're safe now" began Ellis.
"Are you really from the city of the ancestors" one man demanded.
"If you mean Atlantis then yes" answered Ellis.
"You could just be saying that. How are we supposed to believe you" demanded another man.
"We're returning to Atlantis now, you'll be able to see for yourself. Your leader Allina is there under our protection. We should arrive in a few hours. Let's get you people cleaned up and fed in the mean time" replied Ellis while signaling several waiting crew members to show the new arrivals the mess hall.
As the frightened civilians exited the hanger bay the Delta operators exited the jumpers, while stripping off their body armor and emptying chambered rounds from weapons already with their safeties engaged.
"Great work men. You saved those people and should be proud" said Frost.
"All in a days work Colonel. I don't think that's the last time we'll see the Genii" replied Carlyle.
"You've got that Captain. Get your men cleaned up and fed. We'll debrief in forty five minutes" replied Frost.
Watching the six operators make their way out of the hanger bay Frost stood there and watched them go. A quote came to his mind from the great writer George Orwell. People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. The Colonel thought that never had truer words been spoken. The next time men under his command encountered the Genii violence would be visited upon these so called soldiers, of that he was certain.
