My Drone Is Better Than Your Drone
TOC
As they were passing through the Mars region Ship continued to monitor the situation on the enemy Mars base. It watched several ships come and go from the base and attached drones to each. It started to realize that well it was good to tag the ships and find out where they were going after leaving the base, it would be helpful to know where they had been. To do that it would have to access the navigation and control systems. As it thought about the situation it realized most of their agents carried basic data retrieval probes that the Faction had developed several years prior. The probe would connect to any computer system and hack in and copy the data. The ship accessed the stored code constructs that the probe used. They were basic hacking protocols that would work on almost any system. The ship reached out to Emma, the list I am showing you of hacks, are there any that you use that go beyond these exploits? These are fairly standard, I use a couple more advanced ones when I hack higher level systems such as my mom’s network firewalls, she responded. Oops, I mean I don’t hack those firewalls that would be wrong, she started to back paddle realizing she may have said too much. It is ok Emma, I am aware of Gordon and your hacking abilities and that is why I am asking your advice, the Ship assured her.
“Also I am aware of your methods that you use to cover your tracks when you are done. I would even say that your surveillance node hack goes beyond what these functions do, and it covers its tracks quite nicely, am I correct”, the Ship asked? Yes, I used some fairly strong hacking routines for that function she admitted. If I asked you to modify that function and create a generic hacking algorithm that could access any system and copy the data could you do it, the Ship asked? “Yes, the function is almost there now I would just have to modify it a little to have it identify the firewall prior to launching the exploit. The current method assumes the firewall is the standard one they use on the nodes. I have modified the code, so it is more generic and added a subsection that could even hack the firewalls that they use on the banking systems of the Alliance, though I was happy to learn there is no way to cover your tracks in that system”, she said. Well hopefully we will never have to hack that system, Ship said with a laugh, realizing Emma must have looked at the banking firewalls at some point.
With the new improved probe code it put the rest of its plan in motion. It created a spell that would allow a probe to be attached to any system within a configurable range of the caster. The data would be fed back to the Serein network for analysis, so the Ship started looking at the constructs for the drones. It made modifications to replace some of the A-chips with the Serein chips and decided to add a small coil to the design as well, the drones spent even less time around agents to recharge then did the robots, they would need the energy conversion even more. When all was in order the ship started running the retro-grade spell to update the two thousand drones it used for its special missions. When all was complete it sent a drone to the command center in the Delta base and was able to collect data without being detected, though it had to hide under a console since the command center had the new security system that detected cloaked objects. For the next test it sent a drone to the command center on the Red Team’s ship again it was undetected. With the two tests successful Ship decided to do a live test. It ported the drone into one of the enemy ships. The drone was able to probe their systems and retrieve all the data without detection. All of the data was sent out to the Serein network where it was parsed and analyzed. Ship quickly did the same for all of the ships at the base. Then pulled the drone back to maintain normal surveillance.
The new prototype had proven it could infiltrate enemy ships undetected and collect their data. As the data started being analyzed more of the holes in the intel started to get filled in. Also a map of potential Enemy Bases started to immerge, the Serein network cross referenced the places the ships had been to most frequently. Surveillance drones were sent to each location and scanned for cloaked ships and objects within the surrounding areas. Three more ships were discovered and probing their data filled in more of the map for the Mars Region and revealed other possible bases in the Jupiter and Earth Regions.
By the time David and his team had settled back into their quarters Ship had a fairly good map of the Enemy bases in the Mars Region and some in other regions as well. It had setup surveillance that would collect data from all the cloaked ships that traveled to and from the bases. The High Council had been informed of the attack on the defense grid and like the Alliance High Council was in a wait and see status. Ship on the other hand had deployed several more drones to try and ascertain what the enemy attack might mean.
Meanwhile David and his team had started briefing the High Council on their mission and the lessons learned during the two battles. The High Council was highly impressed with the success of the technology they had developed along the way and especially with the devastation they had inflicted on the enemy forces. At one point Delta Faction had hoped to reconcile the differences between them and Gamma Faction, but over the years the sheer brutality and disregard for human life that Gamma Faction had demonstrated showed that they were not just a threat to Delta Faction but humanity in general. They were a threat that must be eradicated if humanity was to survive. After the team had finished the briefing the Council confirmed what Megan had said, they wanted them to create two new teams that specialized in the robotic warfare they had used so successfully.
In addition they wanted them to establish a training program for pilots for the new Star Javelin ship they had created. As they had hoped the area around their training field was designated restricted so they could build the barracks and training facilities for the new Red Team and also train some of the pilots to work with the teams. It was determined that the basic training of pilots would be in a none restricted area where it was currently setup near the hanger, and the best of the trainees would then go on to the advanced training in the restricted area. The ones that did not, would simply perform supply and courier missions between the Delta Faction bases, an important job but not one that would have them around the top secret Red Teams. It was also decided that the two apartments next to David’s would be converted into their headquarters.
The one closest to them would be the actual headquarters, the one on the other side would be converted in to a mini-barracks for the twins and the two squad leaders that were going to be coming to join the team and help build the new teams. Their area would have comfortable rooms around a common area with a kitchen. And it would connect to the headquarters similar to the way the Seaver’s apartment would. The next day they started constructing a blockade wall that segregated the area around the training area from the rest of the base. There was a gated entrance on two sides, with guard stations that were manned 24/7 by security guards with the highest clearance level.
The nice thing about the almost rock star status that David and his team enjoyed was that everybody wanted to be on their team, so when a request for volunteers with high level clearance went out they could choose from the best of the best. Not surprising many of the crew of the Marauder wanted to be on the teams. Mainly because some of them had seen the battles take place on the screens in the command center of the ship and those who had not, heard about it through the rumor mill that a ship the size of the Marauder couldn’t help but have. They had also been around David and his team and seen how down to earth they were, despite all they had accomplished. The ones with the most combat experience were selected and their positions on the ship were back filled by the best volunteers that did not have combat experience. Some requests the Captain refused to release on the grounds they were too valuable to him on the bridge. He gave them the news himself, and explained his position, explaining the best way they could help was to make sure the teams had a ship to come back to when the mission was over. They all took the news with mixed feelings, but for the most part were happy he had so much faith in them, and
were willing to stay onboard.
Jully Reed was one of the candidates for the Javelin project, she had been chosen early on, before David’s team had gotten involved in the project. She had strong gifts but also had demonstrated some skill in flying. Jully was what most would call a fiery redhead with bright red hair and dark grey eyes. Now that they had the actual ship she was even better than she had been on the simulator during the selection process. Her sister was part of the crew of the Marauder an though she didn’t share specifics about their missions she did tell her about how nice it was to work with the team and the sense of family everyone had. Since they had lost her parents in a Gamma Faction attack on their settlement, family was something she wanted most of all. She had advanced through the pilot training and was showing great promise, so much so she was being considered for the advanced training course. Her best competitor for top of the class was Derick Jones he was also being considered for the advanced training. Therefore, it was no surprise when they were chosen to fly a mission to retrieve some Delta Agents from a safe house in the Saturn Region.
Two Javelins were sent to pick up the two squad leaders and two members of their team of their choosing. They would meet the ships at one of the safe houses on Titan. The Commander was not thrilled to be losing six guys off his team, but also understood the need for it. Also despite his sometime love hate relationship with his Alpha Squad Leader he was happy for him to have the opportunity to command the new team. He was going to be the Commander, and the Bravo Squad Leader was going to become the Alpha Squad Leader and the other guys would help bring the new recruits up to speed and take leadership roles within the teams. The Red Team SF which was now what the old red team was called, would move guys up within their ranks to take their places and then receive six new recruits from the training program to fill the gap. It was all coming together, the families that were living in the apartments next to David moved out to other apartments and construction began on the new headquarters.
All recruits would stay in a barracks within the restricted area and the three red team members minus the new bravo squad leader would stay there as well. They would function as instructors slash drill sergeants. The training was split into two sections the basics about the suit and all the functionality that they used along with the use of robots in combat operations. Then the specifics regarding the different tactics the two newly separate teams used to fulfil their mission. Having the ability to construct solid objects out of carbon made the construction process go by quickly within a few weeks all of the buildings were setup and most of the recruits for pilot and team training were identified.
Between the former Red Team Members and David’s team they were able to put together a crash course that would produce a fairly competent team member within a four week period. All of the recruits had agent experience and combat experience. It was just training them to use the suit and the interface. The pilots were mostly already selected prior to the first Javelin being built so it was just a question of getting them trained on the actual Javelin and selecting the ones that would go on to team training.
Meanwhile, during the down time Emma, Gordon, Joan, Alex, McKenzie, and Megan all started a project that was near and dear to them. The other guys on the team helped too were they could but it was primarily Gordon since he was part of the technical crew. During the time when Gordon and Emma had been going through the wetware figuring out all that it did, they stumbled across some functionality that upset them. They had found the control code to the wetware that limited life expectancy and reproduction. What made it worse was because Delta Agents where hidden from the Alliance their wetware had defaulted to provide very limited help and the lowest reproductive setting. While everyone agreed it made since to keep the controls in place that prevented teenage pregnancy they wanted to remove the other restrictions. Emma, Gordon, and Alex started working on a method for reversing the settings with a nano-agent that would reprogram the wetware.
Joan, McKenzie, and Megan started working on putting together a briefing they would give to the High Council and to the members of Delta Faction explaining the benefits of the procedure. There would be two different methods, one for men and one for women, since they would need the reproductive section of the process to counteract the limits put in place. Of course the benefits were going to make Delta Faction members far more healthy and help people have a better chance for having families. But they needed to present the information in a way that would not upset people and make them more angry at the government. There was already enough people that talked against helping the government in any way, they didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.
Within the first week they were ready to brief the Council and a couple weeks later they launched the program. They managed to keep the anti-government feelings to a minimum and had full participation in the program which was optional. By in large it was a great success. They did have one small change requested by a few of the women of the Faction, they wanted the reproductive part to be something they could turn on or off as a conscious choice based on where they were at with their life. They agreed as long as the choice was not made until after the women reached eighteen years of age. So that made them make two different methods for the women, and they could choose which one they wanted based on their belief system and personal choice. That choice was kept confidential so no one would put pressure on someone to make a certain choice. More than anything they wanted to avoid forcing a one size fits all solution on everyone like the government had done. No one could argue with the benefits of the wetware that maintained the health of the body, but the reproductive part was a bit touchy and they did not want it to become a political issue.
A few weeks later around the time, the training of the first recruits was wrapping up things started to escalate in the Mars Region. Ship noticed a much larger volume of ships coming and going from the main base and they were bringing in mercenaries, they were planning something big. To maintain the secrecy of its surveillance operations it started creating fake chatter about the area around the base, and directing it to the Delta bases in the area. The information was passed on to the High Council who then passed it on to David’s Team. During a staff meeting that Ship was in attendance for, it suggested they send some drones out to check it out. The drones reported back what Ship knew they would find, a large amount of cloaked ships around an abandoned mining operation. They sent the drones in to investigate the mine and found the buildup of what could only be troops. It was decided that the base would make a good test of the new unit so they packed up and headed for the Enemy Base.
The force that was on the base could have been handled by David and his team, but everyone thought it would be good practice for the new Red Team RT units, or RT for short which stood for Robot Tactics. Both Jully and Derick had completed the advanced training and were still top of their class, so they would be coming along as Javelin pilots, in case they were needed. It was great for Jully, she got to be around her sister more, and got to be a pilot and a member of the team.
The Mining Operation was a dome attached to an asteroid so the only way to get on the base was to dock the ship and secure the dock while the team attacked the base. Surveillance showed there was one docking area open far enough away from the other ships that they should be able to dock without drawing attention. Two teams would enter the docking area one would secure the dock and the other would conduct a search and destroy mission. To help with the plan they were going to drop some robots into the docking area on the other side of the base and have them start attacking the troops around there, that should draw the Enemy away from them while they setup for the actual attack. Using the surveillance images they setup a corridor between the decoy dock and the actual dock they were going to land on.
They used the same method of booby-trap and minefield barriers along the route and synchronized robots to drop in along the way to help herd the Enemy down the corridor. To the waiting
ambush at the other end. As before they were going to drop explosives in on the enemy when they all grouped up to attack the decoy attack. As they started running for cover the robots and explosives would force them down the corridor, those that were smart enough to realize it is a trap would still have no choice but to run anyway. They would hope they had a better chance of escaping the trap at the other end, because to stay where they were, would be certain death, it was a very good plan.
The ship docked safely with no alarms being raised. The teams lined up to exit out in to the docking area. Surveillance showed there were no troops cloaked or otherwise around the docking area. The decoy robots dropped into the other side of the base, all hell broke loose the troops started heading in the direction of the attack. The robots kept them pinned down then moved to another position and started attacking again. By this point almost all of the troops were headed in that direction or already taking up positions to defend the base from that direction.
Phase one complete, time for phase two, the teams filed out into the docking area and fanned out and took up the designated positions. Alpha Team and David’s Team minus Gordon, Emma, and Alex advanced into the base. As they moved forward the first of the obstacles started deploying into the side entrances to their corridor. As soon as they had taken up their positions the remainder of the obstacles deployed. Time for phase three, the first explosives fell in among the enemy troops then exploded. Two more teams of robots dropped in on the left and right side of the dazed troops and started attacking from both sides while the first team attacked from the front, chaos ensued, as more explosives went off in the middle of the enemy. Bravo team started dropping robots in with distraction bombs on any stragglers that had not made it into the main crowd. The main group was moving now to flee the burning death that was rolling in behind them, some tried to go to the sides only to hit the booby-traps and land mines as well as the bombardment from the robots that David and his team were dropping in along the route.
Alpha team had robot teams deployed along the end of the corridor and the team leader and two other team members handling the robots that were attacking from the rear. The enemy group was dwindling and in a full panic now. David continued to drop the explosives in on them as the robots advanced from the rear. Two of the ships that were docked on the base pulled away and started firing on their own ship that had been unlucky enough to be docked where the first robots had ported in from. They destroyed the ship that had been there and a significant part of the spaceport. Ship had already targeted all of the ships that were around the base and was only waiting for phase four to kick in before destroying them. As long as they didn’t try to leave it would wait.
In the base what little remained of the enemy troops ran right into the wall of destruction that was Alpha Team. When the last enemy fell, phase four was in effect. Ship took out every ship that was around the base. Within an hour it was over and the teams were sweeping the base for intel. They had found some plans that indicated the base was a staging area for an attack on the Earth defense grid. The Earth defense grid was actually a group of satellite bases that sent out patrols and held troops to defend against an attack on Earth. It was very troubling that Gamma Faction was planning on attacking Earth. Ship knew that there was two other bases in Mars Region as well as one in Jupiter and Earth Region that had been gearing up as well. Their plans did not look like they were as far along as this base had been, that was why it had attacked here first. Ship planted some bread crumbs that would point to the other bases.
Michael, David, the Team Commander, and the two squad leaders were all standing around in the Ships common area talking about the results of the raid, when David asked the Team Commander what was wrong. Oh, nothing he said, he just was disappointed he had not had a chance to use the new transports on this mission. Maybe on the next one, David said, secretly feeling a little disappointed as well. I think we can safely say the team is ready for action, Michael said, and based on the intel we found we may as well stay out here and check out these other bases. Yes, we deployed drones to the areas already and they seemed to be in the process of ramping up on those bases too, the Alpha Squad Leader confirmed. “So I guess we start making plans for the next assault. We blocked all transmissions so they do not know we are out here, but they will send someone soon when they don’t hear anything from this base. So we are going to have a limited window of opportunity”, the Team Commander said. Agreed, both Michael and David said in unison.
They started going over the surveillance images of the next base and forming a plan. This base was on one of the moons of Mars and would require a slightly different approach since it was part of a larger colony, so they would have to approach the compound from the ground. According to the surveillance the troops were spread out across the compound with no clear path to corral them into, they decided instead that they would drive them to the middle by attacking from all sides. The good thing about the plan and perhaps the real reason for the plan, was that they would use the new transports to get into position. Luckily they had constructed a hundred of the transports, enough for all the members of Red Team to use one at the same time, with a few as backup. Both the Team Commander and David were looking forward to the experience.
The Ship set course for the Martian moon of Phobos, the settlement was in the largest crater on the moon, the Stickney crater. It used a plasma based force field over the crater to keep the domes safe from small asteroid strikes. The compound that the base had set up in, was separate from the main settlement down in the smaller crater within the larger crater. There were several space stations in orbit around Mars between its two moons and Gamma Faction did have a presence on some of them, so they would have to act fast to avoid detection. The problem was they were going to be making a lot of noise inside the dome of the compound. Luckily the vacuum of space around the dome would help muffle the sound. So as long as they jammed their transmissions they should be able to get in and out without detection and without alerting the other Enemy Bases to their presence, long enough to take them out as well.
The plan was fairly straight forward they would use the Javelins to enter the force field area through the spaceport, then deploy the teams with part of Bravo Squad guarding the landing zone the rest would be with the Team Commander, Alpha Squad, and Red One (which is what they had started calling David’s Team to make it simple for communications and in briefings). Emma, Gordon, and Alex had become tech support for all of Red Team both RT and SF, so they usually stayed on the ship unless they were required for the mission. For this mission Jully, Derick, and a pilot trained Bravo team member, would wait with the ships and be ready to take off if things went south and they had to evacuate without completing the mission.
The Teams would advance by transport to the four airlocks on each side of the dome around the enemy base. Once they were in breach formation they would port their robots into the dome along the outer walls to start driving the enemy inward while they entered the dome through the airlocks. Once they had pushed the enemy to the center they would drop minefields around them and explosives on top of them and all around the outer edge of the group and continue to advance to the center.
They made it to the landing zone and the teams deployed, those that were going to the dome each pulled a transport out and mounted, when they were close enough they split off to their designated airlock and dismissed the transports. Once they were outside the airlock they executed the plan. As planned the teams drove the enemy to the center and decreased their number as they closed in on them. A half an hour later they were sweeping the base for intel.
Of course Ship made sure there was intel that would lead them to the next base and stepped up the surveillance of the known sleeper cells within the Mars Region. So far they had not realized they had lost contact with the first two bases. They only had one more in the Mars Region to take out, then they could move on to the Jupiter Base. As they were getting re
ady to leave the spaceport they executed the second part of their plan. They boarded the two cloaked ships in the port and connected a temporary shield generator then took out the Gamma Agents onboard. Once the ships were secure, they flew them out of the spaceport, Derick followed them out to the other base in a Javelin, since it was far enough away from the populated areas that no one would see the ships explode. Jully was flying one of the ships and the Team Leader was flying the other one. They set charges and left on the Javelin, when they were far enough away the ships exploded becoming more of the wreckage that was the Gamma Faction ships around the old base.