Many thanks to Grundy_Golem for his help with the editing of this chapter

Progenitor


Chapter 15

It was time to go get the nuclear material, they were as ready as they would be any time soon. Kate and Sally would each be piloting a fighter, Amy would pilot the shuttle, Sam and Ted would provide security, and Jake and John would be the ones to actually get the material. Everyone in the shuttle would wear an environmental suit for protection from radiation. They also took along four service droids for the heavy lifting. The plan was to arrive at the site after dark; all craft would be cloaked. They would watch the area for an hour before moving in. It was 10pm local time when the three craft set down about a half-mile away from the site. No signs of movement were seen, scans of the area showed no life signs or vehicles in the immediate area. At 1105pm the two fighters made a quick low level flight around the perimeter, no activity was seen. The shuttle moved to within 20 yards of the location of the nuclear material and discharged it occupants, except for Amy.

As Jake and John approached the entrance to the underground storage area AL alerted them that there was an explosive device just inside the entrance. Jake sent a droid in first to remove or disarm the device. After the device had been neutralized, Jake and John carefully entered. They had to walk about 30 yards before they found the cache. Once there they found many rifles, pistols, ammo boxes, and three cases of man-launched SAMs; but they did not see anything that resembled any type of nuclear weapons or material. Jake called Ted on his comm. and asked if Ted could come take a look. While waiting on Ted, John found a hidden passage that lead to a much larger enclosure. On looking around he noticed another hidden passage that appeared to lead outside, this one was big enough to drive a semi truck through. John also found the nuclear material, in the form of five Russian ICBMs on mobile launchers! John went back to tell Jake and Ted.

When Ted, and Sam, got to Jake's location he too was surprised at the amount of equipment that was there. "This looks like a major arms cache, that explains why my old unit was sent here to recover this stuff. We need to remove everything." Ted said.

"Where is the nuclear material we came for first?" Sam asked.

Before Jake could reply John came on the comm. and told him, and the other two, what he had found and that he was on his way back to get them. As soon as Ted saw the missiles he had an idea, Ted called Amy and told her that he thought that the shuttle would be an easy fit through the truck-size opening. That would make the transfer easier. The only problem was that they could not fit even one of the big missiles inside the shuttle. Ted said he would go up the passage and Amy could home in on his signal to find the location of the new entrance.

When Ted got to the entrance he saw that it was very close to an oasis that had dried out. Amy arrived about a minute later and carefully eased into the passage and down to the rest of her crew. Once Amy had gotten out of the shuttle she saw why they could not load the missiles in the shuttle. Each missile was about 2½ stories long. After talking amongst themselves, Amy contacted AL and asked if he had any suggestions. AL had the droids to scan the missiles and send the data to him. After several minutes AL replied that the droids could just remove the containers that held the nuclear material and that they should be able to transport two to three of them at once in the shuttle. AL also told them that each missile was of 100 mega-ton type, using their measurement scale. The droids started working the first missile.

While the droids were working Ted suggested that they go back and get the arms from the other area and start loading that into the shuttle. Amy agreed with that, so everyone but her went back to load up. Amy contacted Kate and Sally and told them to monitor the area very closely for any type of activity that might be of concern to they. Kate and Sally both acknowledged this and said they would split up so one of them was always close to each entrance.

After about 2 hours the shuttle was full with all of the arms, ammo, and SAMs plus two of the warheads from the ICBMs. Amy contacted the two girls and told them that she wanted one of them to fly escort while the other one maintained a watch over the area until she could return and pick up the rest of the warheads and the crew. Amy then contacted AL and had him ready another shuttle. She would land the present one and return in the new empty one for the rest of the load while droids unloaded the first shuttle. Everyone agreed that this was a pretty good idea. They didn't want to risk someone coming and finding the droids or the missiles.

Meanwhile, Kate and Sally had decided that Kate would be the one to escort Amy and Sally would provide surveillance for the area while they were gone. As soon as Amy exited the passage she engaged the cloak and Kate took up her position for the trip back to the base. The trip was uneventful; except for one minor incident, Amy wasn't watching close enough and almost hit one of the satellites as she left Earth. Once they got back to the base, Amy and Kate both took a short break to take care of some personal business before they returned.

Amy, and Kate, had been gone for about 30 minutes when Sally noticed that there was a helicopter approaching the first site. The copter was hugging the ground and coming fast. Sally alerted the ones still in the enclosure of this. When the copter got close enough, Sally was able to see that it was not a US craft; it was a Russian Hind with two smaller copters escorting it. Sally relayed this new info to John and the others and asked for instructions. Ted, as 1^stofficer, asked Sally if they looked like they were going to land here or just seemed to be passing by. Sally informed him that they looked like they would land there. She then told him that she had noticed a truck headed for the other entrance in the oasis.

Ted told Sally to concentrate on the copters first and see if she could keep them busy while the rest of them got ready for the unwanted, and unneeded, "visitors". Ted and Sam took up positions just inside the entrance to the large enclosure. Sally, fearing for her brother's life, decided the best way to occupy the copter was to take out one of the smaller ones. Sally took aim at the closest one, selected the EMP weapon, and fired. The result was the copter targeted just quit working and auto rotated to ground. The other copters continued on unaware of the problem, or the force they faced. When Sally saw that the others were not stopping; she fired again, this time at the Hind. It too went down about two miles from the site, and about a ¼ mile from the first copter. The second smaller copter landed beside the Hind to see what was wrong.

Sally notified Ted, and the rest, of what had happened. Ted was surprised that she had fired without a specific order. Sally told them that she had gained some altitude and that the truck was stopped about 5 miles from the oasis. Ted didn't like this one bit. He asked Sally to take a closer look at the truck and tell him what she saw. Sally landed about 30 yards from the truck and saw that it was just sitting there, but there were several men with rifles standing around it. Sally notified Ted of this. Jake approached Ted and Sam with an idea; why not hit the truck with the EMP? That way it would not run for a while and any radios would cease to work also. That would buy them some time and not cause any of the crew to have to kill anyone. Ted and Sam liked Jake's idea; so Ted asked Sally if she could do that safely. Sally she didn't know if the weapon would work with her on the ground, but that she would just take off and then take the shot.

About a minute later the crew heard Sally say "Scratch one truck". At the same time back on the base Amy had just entered the second shuttle and heard the same thing. She immediately contacted Ted to see what had occurred. When told the situation she said she and Kate would be there very shortly. Since the fighter was faster than the shuttle, Amy told Kate to get there quickly and to backup Sally. She wanted one of them on each problem, she also told them to be careful. Amy then set course for the entrance she had used the last time and told Ted she would be there in about 15 minutes.

As soon as Kate arrived, she took over watching the copters while Sally watched the truck.

Sally: "Those guys don't look too happy that their truck just quit and won't restart"

Kate: "The ones at the copters aren't too happy either. The small copter is taking off, okay it is going to check on the other small one - no problem"

Sally: "Hey Kate, try using the EMP weapon on it after he lands that way he won't be able to take off again. If I remember right they had lost all radio usage too. No calling triple A for them". Giggling heard.

Amy: "Hold down on the chatter ladies. The rest might need to get through"

Ted; "Someone is going to be very unhappy when they find out about the missing missiles and firearms"

Jake: "Too bad we can't just tell the US forces about this place; that would make their day. Amy what would you think about taking a few prisoners and turning them over to the US forces? "

John: "Yea, can you imagine the look on their faces when some kid just shows up with prisoners for them in the middle of the dessert?"

Ted: "Better idea; AL can you fix it so I can broadcast on the military frequency?"

AL: "No you comm. devices just work between you and the base. But, I could rebroadcast your signal from here; if it was a short transmission nobody would know where it came from"

Amy: "What's on your mind Ted?"

Ted: "If I used my old call sign, I could alert the military of the situation and they could capture the forces themselves. We wouldn't be involved."

AL: "There is another aircraft approaching from the base you were at Ted. It appears to be a large one; much bigger than the one you were in and it is very high in the atmosphere"

Ted: "I bet someone noticed the EMP and are looking for the source"

Kate: "You can forget about that second copter; it tried to take off again and crashed. I guess I had the gain set too high on the weapon. Oh there is a lot of smoke from that site now and the other copter just exploded. There appears to be a small group of men leaving the big copter and starting towards your location Jake. What do I need to do?"

Jake: "They are about five miles away from here; it will take them awhile to get her on foot. My suggestion is to just watch them for now. Ted, Amy, or Sam, what do you think?"

Ted: "Just watch them sounds good"

Amy: "Kate, are you cloaked? If not, you might show up on radar"

Kate: "All cloaked up and orbiting the area. Say, I'm registering some really strong radar signals from the direction of the truck. Sally, is anything going on there?"

Sally: "Nothing happening here. Some of them are working on the truck and one, no make that two, are keeping guard on the truck. I'm getting about 10 life readings from inside the truck though."

Kate: "Uh oh, scanners picking up a fast mover, no make that three fast movers, headed our way. They appear to be from your old base Ted."

AL: "My scans show them to be what you call F-16s. They are receiving instructions from the larger aircraft that is up higher"

Amy: "Approaching entrance, everyone stand clear so I can get in and land. AL, Kate, keep an close eye on those 16's they could cause us problems. Everyone else hold your traffic for a while."

Amy entered the passage and once again landed her shuttle. After she opened the hatch, the droids started loading the remaining warheads. While that was going on, the rest of the crew talk about what had happened and what it might mean. It took about 15 minutes for the droids to complete the loading and everyone was loaded and ready to leave.

Amy: "Kate what's the situation with the 16's?"

Kate: "They have started orbiting the area over the crashed copters. Every once in awhile one of them will make a low pass over the site there."

Sally: "Hey, they just pulled people out of the back of the truck. They are lining them up and the guards are getting their weapons! Oh Shit, they just shot one!"

Amy: "We will be there is one. Kate, keep a close eye on our friends"

Sally: "They just shot another one! Some of the guards are pulling the cover off the truck; there is what looks like a missile in the back and the scanner shows strong radar coming from there"

Ted: "Sounds like antiaircraft with surface-to-air missiles. Sam, when we get there the two of us will try and take out the guards; Jake, you and John try to keep them from firing that missile"

Amy brought the shuttle to within 30 yards of the truck and positioned it so that the hatch was away from the truck. Ted and Sam exited quickly and moved to neutralize the guards. Jake and John headed for the truck. Kate reported that the jets were heading out towards the truck also, their arrival would be about 1 minute.

Kate: "The jets just launched missiles at the truck"

Everyone of the crew hit the ground quickly. The truck was blown apart as all three missiles impacted it. Jake and John were the unlucky ones; they were both hit by shrapnel and knocked out by the concussion of the blast. The guards were also hit and went down. Ted and Sam were lucky in that they were unharmed. The shuttle was undamaged also.

Ted checked the people on the ground while Sam went to Jake and John.

Amy: "Kate if you have to fire on the 16's; but do not let them get off another missile! Ted, Sam report!"

Ted: "All the guards are either dead or near dead. The others have a few wounds, nothing life threatening"

Sam: "Jake and John are both unconscious and wounded. The suits seem to be protecting them from bleeding out. They both need medical help NOW"

Kate: "The jets are leaving; I'm enroute to the truck"

Sally: "I'm exiting now to check on John"

Amy: "Sally, stay in your craft; we will need to leave here in a hurry. Sam and Ted will load Jake and John on to the shuttle!"

Sam: "Kate, Sally your brothers are okay for now. We will get them back to the base and to the Doc"

Ted: "What about the others? They appear to be Russian, and they were prisoners. Their hands are tied and they won't last long once the sun comes up"

Amy: "Load our people first; if there is room we will take the rest with us. But our people come first!"

After loading and securing Jake and John, Sam and Ted went and got the prisoners and escorted them to the shuttle. As soon as everyone was on board, Amy, and the two fighters, set a return course for the base at best possible speed. Once again AL had stretchers waiting when they landed. Jake and John were both taken to Med Bay accompanied by Amy and both sisters. Ted and Sam unloaded the prisoners and took them to Med Bay also to be checked and treated.

After "Doc" had checked both Jake and John, he removed all shrapnel from both. He told Amy and the girls that both of them should be up and about in 24 hours as nothing serious was hit. He then started checking the Russians, most were malnourished and needed minor cuts and scratches dressed. Doc took about an hour to treat all of the Russians, a total of eight. Two had shrapnel removed and would need to stay overnight for observation. The rest were taken to the Mess Hall and fed.

After the "refugees" had eaten, with Ted and Sam watching over them, one of them approached Ted. Walking with his hands out and very slowly, the refugee got to within 5 feet of Ted and stopped. He started to speak, in Farsi, and Ted just nodded. Ted replied, in the limited Farsi that he knew, and told the man that they were Americans and did not speak Farsi or Russian. The man smiled and said, in English, "My name is Ivan, all of us were taken prisoners by the ones you killed. We, along with 5 mobile launchers, were being used to target US troops and to teach them how to operate and launch the ICBMs. What will happen to us now?"?

"I don't know at this time. We were not expecting to find you, your people, or the missiles. It will be up to the Captain as to your fate. For now, you will be fed and given a place to sleep and bathe; under guard of course. Your two friends that were injured will be cared for and returned to you as soon as the doctor say they can leave the hospital. I really can't tell you any more than that at this time" Ted replied.

"Many thanks for rescuing us; we all thought that we were to be killed one at a time until we could explain why the truck quit and would not start. They thought we had something to do with it. If we may, we would like asylum in the US. We do not want to return to Russia. They will think we have defected and would imprison us as spies." Ivan added.

"I will pass that along to the Captain. Now I must ask that you rejoin your friends at the tables" Ted replied politely.

Ivan just nodded his head and returned to the tables and rejoined his companions. After Ivan had sat down Ted motioned for Sam to join him and told her what was said. He asked Sam to keep a close eye on the group while he contacted Amy. Ted stepped over to the wall, so as not to raise any questions, and contacted Amy to filled her in on what he had been told. Amy told him to put them to bed and they would deal with this new development in the morning. Ted returned to Sam and relayed the instructions.

"Ivan, would come over here for a minute please" Ted said. Ivan got up and returned to Ted.

"I've talked with the Captain, we will show you each to your rooms for the night. Do all of you speak English?" Ted asked.

"No, the only other person who speaks English is Tasha, and she is one of the ones in your hospital" Ivan replied.

"Okay, then we ask that you explain this to your companions and act as a translator for the time being. If any of them wish to stay together we need to know now. You will be in the same block of rooms, but will not be allowed to leave them until later today. Each room is complete with bathing facilities and if you need anything else just ask. I'm sorry but we do not have any type of Russian food here and no alcohol of course." Ted explained.

"I think it would be best if you kept us in separate rooms. I know that I would like the privacy. But I will ask." Ivan replied. 

He did ask and everyone, or so he said, wanted their own room. Ted and Sam escorted each of them to their room, gave a brief explanation of the facilities, and secured the door as they left. Ivan was the last one to be put to bed. Ted and Sam returned to the Mess Hall and discussed the situation between themselves. They were joined shortly by Amy, Kate, and Sally. The girls reported that both Jake and John were "out like a light" for the night. The five of them had a small quick breakfast and retired to their quarters as all of them were drained.

It was noon before Amy woke up, after about 6 hours rest, and had AL wake the rest of the crew and have them meet her in the Mess Hall. Once everyone had arrived, and had their coffee, Amy asked for everyone's opinion on their "guests". After about 30 minutes discussion Amy told Ted that for the time being she would like for him to deal with Ivan and the rest. Pending the agreement of Jake and John, the Russians would be offered a job on the base. Depending on what their interests were they would be assigned duties. Each of them were to have complete medical exams and scans; then fitted with comm. units and given the "quick learning" to become familiar with English. Ted said he would take care of it. Just as they finished their meal and discussion in walked Jake and John. Jake told everyone that he had talked with the female, Tasha, in Med Bay and that he thought they should invite the group to join them.

"We were just talking about that very subject. We decided that if both you and John agreed, we would do just that." Amy said as she slid next to Jake. Kate slid up next to her brother on the other side. While Sally was doing the same to John.

"Well since that is taken care of, I guess that it is time to let everyone know that when you take advantage of the "quick learning" AL inserts an override in your mind so that none of us can talk about this base with anyone else but ourselves. I was told of this shortly after Ted joined us but kept it a secret until now. The same thing will be done to all that join us. Also, the subcutaneous transceivers act as a tracking and bio-monitoring device." Amy explained.

Jake explained that Tasha had told him that two others in the group spoke English besides her, Ivan and Gregori. All of them had been taken prisoner and were being forced to teach their captors how to operate and fire the five big missiles. They had been captive for over six months and had been stalling as much as they could. The reason they were in the truck was that last night they were to launch the first missile or be tortured to death one at a time. It turned out that the leader of their group was one of the two killed last night. Jake had also been told that the Russians were not sure which group of Arabs were the ones responsible for the abductions and theft of the missiles. With that said, Amy decided to go talk with Tasha in Med Bay. Jake told her that she might as well talk with Gregori also as he was the other one in Med Bay.

After talking with Tasha, Amy had Sam and Ted escort the rest of their guests to the Mess Hall. Ivan did not appear very happy that Tasha was there. Tasha seemed to be accepted as the new leader by the rest of the Russians, except Ivan. Amy asked that Tasha translate for her.

"My name is Amy; I am the Captain, or commanding officer, here. I want to offer an invitation for each of you to join our little group. I've been told that all of you want to avoid going back to Russia for fear of imprisonment. If any of you disagree with this then please speak now. You do have a choice. You can join us or you can be sent back to Russia. The choice is yours. We have at our disposal a technique to help you learn English very quickly. This available to all of you, in fact it is mandatory if you stay. I can not go into very much detail at this time about our location or our purpose. But be assured that you will be well treated while you are here. As Tasha and Gregori can tell you we have some of the best medical facilities you could ever find. Each of you will have a complete medical exam today; any problems will be taken care of quickly. If you have any type of medical condition please tell the doctor when you are seen. Are there any questions?" Amy explained.

No questions were asked. Amy turned to Ivan and asked him why he had not mentioned Gregori speaking English? Ivan replied that he was unaware that Gregori spoke English. Gregori spoke up and said that he also was fluent in Farsi and French; but nobody knew this but Tasha and their now dead leader. By keeping his language skills secret he had been able to listen in on the conversations of their captors and report to his leader what was said. He had heard the previous night that the target for the first missile was to be Washington in the United States. They had hoped to disrupt the government so that all troops would be recalled from their homeland. Gregori went on to say that he and Tasha both knew that Ivan spoke English and that had not found the time to inform him of the target.

It took about two hours for all of the new crew to be examined and fitted with transceivers. After everyone was finished they all met back in the Mess Hall for dinner. After dinner, Amy stood and explained the very basics about the base and informed the new people that the transceivers were also locators. She told them that they had the freedom to move about the base but there were some areas that were off limits and they would not be allowed to enter. She then introduced each of the senior officers and explained who was responsible for what areas. Most of the group elected to work in Engineering. Tasha asked for security and Gregori asked to be allowed to work with John in the science section. Ivan said his main background was Communications and asked if he could work in that section.

Jake told Amy that with the addition of the material from the warheads they now had enough power to operate 95% of the base; or 100% if they reduced power in the unused sections to minimal. Also, that he and John had an idea as to what to do about the "terrorists". Their idea was to send the location of the mobile launchers to the US troops and let them "find" the trucks and the bodies of the dead Russians.