Task Force Mars - Kevin Dockery [97]
“Let us say that we can save your comrades. Nevertheless, if your ship comes into orbit around Batuun, the planet’s main battery will simply blast it out of space as soon as it appears over this hemisphere,” Olin Parvik explained grimly.
Jackson was not about to be deterred by details. “I know. That’s why we have two missions: rescue the prisoners and take out the PDB.”
“So far we’ve survived several crashes,” Teal said with irrepressible humor. “Stolen and flown away in a number of alien aircraft. Rescued a prisoner—the very capable pilot here. Fought a small army to a standstill, and G-Man got to kill a dinosaur—ate him, too. So what’s the problem?”
Quiet laughter went though the SEALS as they thought about what the corpsman had said.
“Two difficult missions even if you had two armies. How will you do it with ten men?”
“We’re SEALS, Parvik. The best warriors in the galaxy,” Jackson replied.
Olin Parvik shrugged. “I may not argue that point right now. At the very least, I have to admire your courage. I will do what I can to help you.”
“That counts us ten SEALS and an Assarn pilot,” Master Chief Ruiz noted drolly. “I would guess that makes it a slam dunk.”
Jackson was pleased with the spirit even though he and Ruiz and everyone else knew this mission was about as far from a slam dunk as one could get. He turned to the chief bosun’s mate.
“Harris, do we still have a Mark 92 available in the demolitions kit?”
“Yep, LT. I grabbed it up when we dumped ship, and it’s not like I was going to drop it along the way; the paperwork for the loss would be incredible. One compact tactical nuclear weapon, personally carried by yours truly and set up for delayed-action deployment. Switching it over to command detonation is the act of a moment. It’s set for minimum yield right now, but I can dial it up to half a kiloton on your say-so. Sounds like you might have a target for us.”
“Yep. We’re going to have to take out that PDB before we ship out of here—or let Pegasus come shipping in. I think our little firecracker is just the ordnance for that job.”
“I like your audacity,” the Assarn pilot said, listening to the exchange. “You speak of a fission weapon, do you not?”
“Yes. It’s technology that we on Earth have possessed for about a century,” Jackson explained. “This one is compact, small enough to be carried by a man, but packs enough punch to take out just about any installation.” He thought for a moment. “Are nuclear weapons a part of your arsenal? Or the Eluoi, or the Shamani?”
“Yes. We can all make such devices. Generally they are avoided because in the past their use escalated to the point where whole worlds were destroyed. It is one of the few ironclad treaty points that have been established among the three empires.”
“Maybe we’ll sign that treaty someday. But we haven’t yet,” Jackson allowed.
Parvik nodded approvingly. “And the yield of this weapon you classed as a half kiloton. That will rouse fear and distress on Batuun, but with luck, it won’t be large enough to attract the vengeance of the entire empire.”
“Good.” Jackson had more immediate concerns than the long-term repercussions, but it was reassuring to think that his tactical escape plan wouldn’t result in an Eluoi attempt to obliterate planet Earth.
“You’ll need to sneak past a thorough defensive perimeter,” Parvik noted.
“Then we’ll do it,” Jackson replied. “How much do you know about this planetary defense battery, or about the PDBs in general?”
“Very much, actually. All of us were briefed on the one outside Batuu City. It was to be a secondary target of our recent attack—if the initial attack met with success,” he noted bitterly.
“Now, what would be the most vulnerable point in the system that we could reasonably expect to reach?”
“The outer fence, perhaps,” Parvik said. “That is, if you wanted to be reasonable. They will shoot our jetcar out of the sky if we try