for that island and every Kaiju on and around it will swarm us. Only the troopers be toast, but odds are they'd find a means to take us down too, even if we don't actively engage them.”
“Oh,” Bach slumped in his chair.
“This mission is scrubbed,” Thornton said. “Let Trident Two know that the mission is aborted and we need to head back to base.”
“Wait!” Dr. Bach snapped his fingers. “What did you say?”
“I said the mission is scrubbed,” Thornton repeated.
“No, before that?” Bach turned to Calloway.
“These ships don't have cloaking devices?” He guessed.
“That's it!” Dr. Bach exclaimed. “I'm a fool. Give me an hour before you do anything.”
“That's gonna be stretching the limits of our fuel if we want to have enough to make it back to Lemura,” Calloway warned.
Thornton checked the fuel gauge and did some quick mental math. “You got your hour, Doc, but that's it. Our return trip is gonna force us to tap into our reserves. While you're doing whatever it is you're doing, we'll follow the SOPs and go over the long range sensor data. It might at least give an idea of what we're up against and how to get the troops where they need to go.”
Dr. Bach barely heard Thornton speaking. His mind was already lost in a sea of possibilities he'd never considered before and his hands flew over the keypad of his console.
An hour later, the two Tridents were circling the island at a respectable distance. Calloway was fiddling with the comm while they waited for Dr. Bach to confirm that his plan was ready.
“I think... I’m ready,” Dr. Bach finally said, interrupting the relative silence.
Thornton glanced over at Dr. Bach. “You really think this is going to work?”
“The theory is sound and my models suggest that it will work,” the scientist assured him. “There's no reason why it shouldn't.”
“So you're telling us you've built a real cloaking device in an hour, with only what you had on hand?” The disbelief Calloway felt was clear in his tone.
“Not exactly,” Dr. Bach explained. “I didn't build anything. I just rewired my Kaiju Overmind detector, if you want to call it that, into more of a transmitter. You see, as we approach the island, I'll be blanketing the area with what you would call white noise, like an old electronic jammer. It'll confuse the Kaiju, Lord willing, to the point that they never be able to distinguish us from their swarms. The only risk we run is if the Overmind determines that the blank spot is a danger. It’s something to keep in mind.”
Thornton shook his head. “You're either a real genius, Doc, or a certifiable madman. I'll let you know when I figure out which. Start up your gizmo and let's get this over with.”
“My pleasure, Captain,” Dr. Bach grinned and flicked on his hastily rewired again comm. system. After a second, he said, “You're good to go.”
Thornton nodded at Calloway, who switched the comm back on.
“Trident Two, Trident One, stand by for Stage Two.”
“Roger.”
Calloway flicked on the internal comms of the ship. “Dogkillers, listen up. Insertion in five minutes. Be prepared for a splash and dust. Loader at the ready.”
The loader, a technical sergeant seated in the cargo hold area with the Dogkillers, swung up from his seat and clipped on his safety tether. He gave it a quick tug, was satisfied that it would hold him, and then he slowly ambled back to the drop door of the Trident.
“Listen up!” the loader ordered as he overrode the comms of the Dogkillers. “You do not go until I give the signal. Once I give the signal, unass out of my bay and move away from the ship. You do not want to be under the exhaust fans when we depart. If you hesitate, you will die. Do you read?”
“Oorah!” came the shouted reply.
“At the ready!” the loader ordered. The
“Oh,” Bach slumped in his chair.
“This mission is scrubbed,” Thornton said. “Let Trident Two know that the mission is aborted and we need to head back to base.”
“Wait!” Dr. Bach snapped his fingers. “What did you say?”
“I said the mission is scrubbed,” Thornton repeated.
“No, before that?” Bach turned to Calloway.
“These ships don't have cloaking devices?” He guessed.
“That's it!” Dr. Bach exclaimed. “I'm a fool. Give me an hour before you do anything.”
“That's gonna be stretching the limits of our fuel if we want to have enough to make it back to Lemura,” Calloway warned.
Thornton checked the fuel gauge and did some quick mental math. “You got your hour, Doc, but that's it. Our return trip is gonna force us to tap into our reserves. While you're doing whatever it is you're doing, we'll follow the SOPs and go over the long range sensor data. It might at least give an idea of what we're up against and how to get the troops where they need to go.”
Dr. Bach barely heard Thornton speaking. His mind was already lost in a sea of possibilities he'd never considered before and his hands flew over the keypad of his console.
An hour later, the two Tridents were circling the island at a respectable distance. Calloway was fiddling with the comm while they waited for Dr. Bach to confirm that his plan was ready.
“I think... I’m ready,” Dr. Bach finally said, interrupting the relative silence.
Thornton glanced over at Dr. Bach. “You really think this is going to work?”
“The theory is sound and my models suggest that it will work,” the scientist assured him. “There's no reason why it shouldn't.”
“So you're telling us you've built a real cloaking device in an hour, with only what you had on hand?” The disbelief Calloway felt was clear in his tone.
“Not exactly,” Dr. Bach explained. “I didn't build anything. I just rewired my Kaiju Overmind detector, if you want to call it that, into more of a transmitter. You see, as we approach the island, I'll be blanketing the area with what you would call white noise, like an old electronic jammer. It'll confuse the Kaiju, Lord willing, to the point that they never be able to distinguish us from their swarms. The only risk we run is if the Overmind determines that the blank spot is a danger. It’s something to keep in mind.”
Thornton shook his head. “You're either a real genius, Doc, or a certifiable madman. I'll let you know when I figure out which. Start up your gizmo and let's get this over with.”
“My pleasure, Captain,” Dr. Bach grinned and flicked on his hastily rewired again comm. system. After a second, he said, “You're good to go.”
Thornton nodded at Calloway, who switched the comm back on.
“Trident Two, Trident One, stand by for Stage Two.”
“Roger.”
Calloway flicked on the internal comms of the ship. “Dogkillers, listen up. Insertion in five minutes. Be prepared for a splash and dust. Loader at the ready.”
The loader, a technical sergeant seated in the cargo hold area with the Dogkillers, swung up from his seat and clipped on his safety tether. He gave it a quick tug, was satisfied that it would hold him, and then he slowly ambled back to the drop door of the Trident.
“Listen up!” the loader ordered as he overrode the comms of the Dogkillers. “You do not go until I give the signal. Once I give the signal, unass out of my bay and move away from the ship. You do not want to be under the exhaust fans when we depart. If you hesitate, you will die. Do you read?”
“Oorah!” came the shouted reply.
“At the ready!” the loader ordered. The
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