Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge (14 page)

Gray Panther Spaceport Arizona

29 August 2128

It was late in the evening when the spaceport was alerted to receive a special flight of ten ships. The ships were to be put immediately under cover and no mention of them was to be made.

Flying towards Earth, Matt Andrews was totally ready to call it a day, unfortunately, he was leading a ten ship formation into the Earth's atmosphere for the first time. The feeling of gravity combined with the additional G's he was pulling while maneuvering was tiring him out by the moment as he finally was in contact with Grub, the AI from Gray Panther Central.

"Dart One, this is Grub, I have completed interface with your ships computer. You have the option of going on automatic pilot or following the input loaded on your computer."

"Grub, Dart One, thank you for your assistance I will maintain control and follow your directions home. I think I need the experience," Matt replied tiredly.

"Grub copies and will monitor. Grub out."

Matt's helmet mounted display now showed a course to the Gray Panther Space Port, along with recommended altitudes and speeds. Playing a hunch Matt dropped a thousand feet lower than recommended while still over the Pacific Ocean and away from any air traffic. Instead of any alarms or warnings, course changes were immediately updated advising against any addition variations due to fuel consumption. Matt smiled to himself as he realized his minor act of petulance had just cut into his fuel reserves. Following the course as set for him, it was not long before he was contacted when he entered US airspace and was given a vector that matched the course from Grub. Twenty minutes later, he was landing with his entire flight. Following ground control instructions, he taxied towards a part of the field that was usually restricted. Hangar 3 opened its giant doors as he was instructed for each ship to enter separately with a minimum of a minute apart and follow visual instructions from inside the hangar. Matt relayed the instructions as he entered the hangar and saw a huge opening in the center of the facility. Directional arrows materialized on his helmet display as he centered himself over the opening as he followed the directions to lower himself directly downward. It was amazing to see the different levels as he was finally instructed to move forward a hundred feet after he was thirty levels down and land as he saw a crew chief with lights waving him to a parking spot. Nine more crew chiefs were also waiting to wave each of the other ships to their parking spots. Matt was proud when he lowered the Dart so softly he did not even feel the contact with the ground as he followed the crew chiefs instructions to shut down engines. Raising his Darts canopy he watched the remainder of his flight taxi in and shut down. Removing his helmet, he remembered to close his eyes so it would be easier to adjust to seeing without the enhanced visor he took for granted. The air felt good against his cheeks, as he smelled burnt fuel and hot electronics cooling off. Matt disconnected his leads connecting him to the flight deck; he then loosened his flight suit and was assaulted by his own odor as he just closed it back up figuring a shower was going to be high in his list of priorities. The crew chief assisted him in exiting the ship and opened up a digital 781A log for the ship. Matt made the crew chief happy when he said the ship was in perfect condition and just needed to be fueled to be made mission ready, but that he did not know when that would be.

Matt waited as the rest of his flight debriefed. The pilots all agreed showers and sleep were the next item on their list. Matt asked one of the older looking crew chiefs how to get back to the surface. The crew chief smiled and pointed towards a door two hundred feet away saying that was the way to the stairwell and the thirty stories to ground level. As the winked at the other crew chiefs who all burst out laughing

Initially shocked, Matt quickly turned to rage. "Chief we have been flying for three fucking days on little sleep and crappy food and I need a god damn shower so bad you would puke if I opened my suit, so quit the shit and tell me the way to the surface!"

The crew chief looked at the kid in front of him and revaluated his position as he began to sweat as he commed for a shuttle to take the pilots wherever they wanted to go.

"Sorry about the levity sir, we did not know the specifics of your mission. There's a maintenance shack near the operations building that has good food and is still open. There will be a shuttle here any moment to take you where ever you want to go."

Before Matt could say anything, he felt his stomach start to ache from hunger as a shuttle pulled up to the group. They started to turn as a group to head for the shuttle as the crew chief saluted. Matt absently returned the salute as he boarded the shuttle, ordering the driver to take them first to the maintenance shack for a bite then back to the academy. The driver glanced at the group for just a moment wondering what all these kids were doing down here, and then just headed for the surface.

It was a quiet ride from the maintenance shack as exhaustion from the last few days mixed with full belly caught up with everyone. The driver was surprised when he parked in front of a training squadron dorm as his passengers departed.

Matt was going to order everyone to the showers as he peeled himself out of his gear and decided instead just to get under the water as soon as he could. The hot water seemed to peel off layers of grime as he just stood in front of the water nozzle enjoying himself while beginning to feel alive; others from the flight were in near zombie status as they also stood under the water streams. Steam filled the air so densely it was hard to see the walls when from the far side of the head three heads flushed in rapid succession as the water went cold and everyone tried to avoid the chilly water. Tiny Shaw stood in the entry to the showers laughing at the results of his action as the group before him debated between lynching him or laughing as they all found new strength and laughed with their tormentor.

Gray Panther Academy AZ

30 August 2128

Carlos Diego had enjoyed a relaxing weekend and had decided he was going to go easy on the flight for the next few days until they graduated. They had shown that they were intelligent and willing to do whatever it took, just a shame they seemed to lack any character as a flight. The flight had struck him almost like computers with their ability to hide their emotions and perform as required. Turning the corner to the barracks entryway Diego was surprised to see one of the bunks under the covered area; next to it was a chair and locker, all in prescribed space from one another all the way to the boots and shoes lined up under the bunk. The only deviation was that there seemed to be an abundance of tape securing cadet Shaw to his bunk. Fighting to keep from laughing; Diego entered the building and went up to the second story.

"All right, everybody fall in!" Diego shouted towards the sleeping flight. There was not a sign of life. Grabbing the two trashcan lids, he walked down the hallways using the lids as oversize cymbals as he woke the flight.

"OK boys and girls, I see we are missing one of our own. Since he seems to be sleeping so well I have an idea, let's join cadet Shaw so when he wakes up he will not be lonely. I will return in ten minutes. The furniture for the entire flight will be correctly configured in conjunction with the placement of cadet Shaw's bunk outside in the covered area. If he wakes up before I return I will be very, very, unhappy. Do you understand?"

The loud-chorused reply of "Yes Instructor Diego" sounding as one voice from the flight reverberated from the walls as he left the bay.

Diego commed Bailey asking him to meet him in the orderly room.

"Thanks Ray, I was going to give the flight a little no-notice inspection and would appreciate if you would lead it as this may be our last time with these guys."

"If I didn't know you any better, Carlos. I would think you are getting sentimental in your old age. Let's go and get this over with."

Turning the corner and seeing the flight filling the outside covered area Bailey did not miss a beat. Walking up to where the entrance to the bay would have been and seeing they were sitting in their chairs studying from their tablets with one exception. Bailey walked up to Shaws bunk and flicked open his switch blade and cut the cadet loose without waking him. He then turned to the rest of the flight and ordered then in a soft voice that carried to all to fall in for inspection. Bailey resisted the urge to gig the flight for having a dirty floor and instead gave them all a pass. Winking to Diego he then said he would perform the inspection later when he had his tablet so he could document any infractions and for them to return to their bay. Diego fell in step with him until they turned the corner and Ray elbowed Carlos and congratulated him on the great joke.

"Joke was on Shaw, he was all by himself when I got here and I thought he might be lonely so I had the rest of the flight join him. He must have really torn it up on the weekend for them to get away with that without waking him," Diego confessed.

"Well, Carlos, jokes on you then. They were in space all weekend doing familiarization training on new equipment. The update to the training schedule came in Friday after you went off duty."

"Damn, the kids have more to them than I gave them credit."

Behind them, the flight was in a predicament, should they or shouldn't they wake Shaw as they returned their furniture to the bay?

"Let's just play it safe and return him with the furniture, we can get our payback later," Matt said as he lifted a corner of the bunk.

The bay was back in order and everyone was sitting in their chairs in the prescribed manner for studying when Tiny woke; looking around the bay he saw it was already 7:00. He scrambled as he made his bunk and then dressed. Looking at the stone quiet faces of his flight mates, he decided not to ask why they let him sleep or how he got away with sleeping in. He sat down in his chair and opened his tablet as Instructor Bailey strolled in.

"Cadet Andrews, take the flight to breakfast then proceed on to the sims from there. You will then take the flight to lunch and back to the sims followed by dinner then return to the dormitory," Bailey ordered as he then left the bay as quietly as he had entered.

Gray Panther Head Quarters AZ

30 August 2128

Dan listened to Juanita as she explained the latest problem found with Grub. The fact that they soon would not be able to build any AIs for the ships would make for serious problems since more training would have to go into ship maintenance and operations because the AI did most of this on the ships and made it easier to either maintain or operate the ships with computer guidance from the AI. He looked at the report that Grub had provided on the fluid used with the AIs, and where and how to get more. The first thoughts that came to his mind was the raider. It had the speed and could most likely get through. Then his marine Captain Young could be able to do what was needed. He was fast on his feet and resourceful. The mission questions though were should the raider be sent with all its fighters or just a skeleton crew in case things fell through, but if thing did fail the additional firepower might make a difference.

Dan opened the drawer to his desk and held up his bottle to Juanita as she went into the next room and returned with a glass of water as he tossed down a couple aspirin from the bottle. "Juanita get with Capt Young and, no, never mind. I will brief him personally; it's the least I can do for a mission like this one," Dan said as he tried to think about all the parameters of the mission and then instead decided he would leave it to the Capt.

"Grub, where is Capt. Young at this moment?" Dan asked.

"Capt. Young is at the OPFOR building preparing his team for their mission on the Arizona Space Ship Beater. He is then having a weapons evaluation until noon. He has nothing scheduled from 1300 hrs through 1500 hrs."

"Thank you, Grub, inform him I will be visiting him, no scratch that it would only make him nervous and fear its some type of inspection. Inform him to report to me at 1300 hrs for a chat please concerning his upcoming mission.

"Message has been delivered Dan."

"Thank you, Grub. How long would it take for the raider to get to the bank that is the protector of the Zia planet?" Dan inquired.

"Sir, under ideal conditions they can be there in ten days."

"Why is it taking the enemy invasion force so long to get to us then?" Dan asked rubbing his temples.

"Sir, their convoy is going as slow as the slowest ship. They consist of cargo ships and a couple old warships. They are basing the convoy on tonnage not speed. The raider according to the records was originally a high-speed cargo ship used for smuggling. The ship was confiscated and pressed into service with the military as a high-speed cargo ship that doubled for delivering classified dispatches; until its new human crew tried; it had never launched or recovered fighters. The launch bay was actually the cargo bay of the ship. The ship has a multi-speed FTL drive that makes it one of the fastest ships in their, or I should say, our fleet," Grub answered.

"Anything else I need to know about the Arizona Space Ship Beater?"

"The ship's crew have been making great strides in learning the ships systems. At this moment, the Jacka crewmember is at the lunar facilities hospital recovering from being hit by a micro-meteor the two human crew chiefs of the ship are also there ensuring his safety until they return to their ship. The officers of the ship have docked their ship in the Arizona Space Ship Cornucopia. A team of engineers will soon be installing a class 1 AI to replace the computer system and upgrade the sensors. The engineers are also going to do a 100 percent review of the ship to guarantee there is nothing ready to fail and to be sure, all systems will work with the new AI. The only problem is that there are no records or schematics of the ships construction; it was built at a Republic facility and they do not like to share their technology we are lucky the Libras captured it."

Young stood in the hallway of the headquarters building waiting for the next ten minutes to evaporate so he could report to the Gray Panther commander. He looked over his grays again to make sure there were no wrinkles or stains while trying to be invisible with all the brass that seemed to be in competition to look the most important while walking the halls. Young picked his head up as he saw a slim Latina walking towards him. He started to smile at her until he realized he was blocking her way to the door he was standing by. His face turned red as she slid by him while giving him a smile. Young started to silently berate himself as the door opened again and the same Latina looked at him and said he could wait in her office until his appointment with the commander. He followed her back into her office feeling even more foolish. He could not help but watch as she returned to her desk. The short skirt she wore showed off her legs nicely and her compact butt wiggled suggestively. She turned to sit and caught his eyes as he turned even redder in the face and smiled at him again.

Juanita silently laughed to herself at the officer before her and how awkward he seemed, then remembered he was the one who would be leading the mission she had suggested, her idea could be the death of the young officer. She opened Dan's door to let him know the officer was already there.

"Send Capt. Young in please, Juanita."

Juanita opened the door the rest of the way as Young rose to enter Dan's office and waited for her to move so he would not rub up against her. It was Juanita's turn to redden as she moved aside.

"Thanks for coming, Capt. Young, the parameters of your mission have changed. The new mission is even more important than playing pirate. I need you to go to Republic Space then coordinate the purchase of a special material that we are not able to fabricate here. The material is vital. The only support I can offer you is anything you want that you can fit on the Beater. In a nutshell, you will be going to a bank with a load of gold as currency. You will negotiate to buy the material. If they accept your offer, you will then proceed to League of Planets Space to a planet that is under Republic protection. You will then coordinate with the natives for the material. For your protection and ours, we can't tell you how the material is used or processed. It will take you about a week or more to get there then I have no idea how long negotiations will last before they allow you to go to the planet, if you succeed in the negotiations. We know what the going price was for the material before, but we do not believe anyone has bought any recently. We are willing to pay for the material by matching its weight in gold. Do you have any questions?" Dan asked with a smile on his face.

"I'm on an errand to go through hostile space, then cross over into neutral space, go to an alien bank get their permission to go to a planet they are responsible for to buy from the natives. I then cross back over into hostile space go to the planet and buy the merchandise. Then continue through hostile space to bring it back to Earth. Is that correct sir?" Young asked.

"That’s about it. Before you answer check with the AIs on the customs and courtesies of the species in the space you will be going through as well as input from the Captain of the Beater. Even the opinion and input, from their alien crewmember is invaluable. See me again in three days."

Dan stood and escorted the Captain out as Young only began to start forming questions about the mission. The secretary smiled warmly at Young as he walked through her office not noticing the smile or the girl. Young found himself walking absently in the town center area and looked up to see he was in front of the Gray Panther Bank of Commerce. Going inside he asked to talk to a representative about special accounts, an hour later he walked out of the bank with both ideas and more questions. He went to his office and called for the *OPFOR NCOIC.

"Sergeant Polanski, I will be mission planning for the next few days, unless it is something you can't handle; you are in charge," Capt. Young briefed the NCO.

"Any special instructions sir?" Pieter Polanski asked.

"Just follow the schedule and keep anyone outside of OPFOR away from me for the next two days, Pieter."

* Opposition Force Non Commissioned Officer in Charge