| Subject: ...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 27 - continued |
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TxJAG_b
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Date Posted: 11:27:53 07/15/10 Thu
In reply to:
TxJAG_b
's message, "...For Meritorious Service, Chapter 27 - continued" on 10:56:42 07/07/10 Wed
PREVIOUSLY:
**************
The Light Colonel silently cursed their luck. To get so close to stopping Darcy Livingston and run of rockets. Well, they still had Shark Three’s Flash team--
“Same here, Colonel; Winchester 66mm rounds!”
**************
Objective India
The last vehicles to leave the bunkers were three ZRK-BD 9K31 Strela-1 or ‘Arrow-1’ mobile surface to air missile [SAM] trucks.
Unlike the ones hunted down by Shark One (and unknown to Darcy) these BRDM mounted missiles were fully operational. Sahood had always counted on Dahab to whittle his armored force down to more ‘manageable proportions’.
The three SA-9 Gaskins (as they were referred to by NATO) would be more than enough to protect his small armored unit.
*~*
Kayce had grabbed for her Barrett rifle as soon as she heard Crockett’s report. She quickly aimed for the remaining pickup truck’s engine block. A loud ptang! indicated the 50 caliber round had penetrated the grill of the Toyota pickup, holed the radiator and did extensive damage to the engine.
Gasoline, oil, and water gushed from the ruined engine.
The battleground fell strangely quiet except for the burbling noises coming from the Toyota’s destroyed engine and the crackling fires of the wrecked vehicles.
Mac switched to Shark One’s frequency and spoke into her radio mike. “Colonel Livingston! This is Colonel MacKenzie, JAG Corps! You and your men are to stand down!!”
Mac looked over at Gunny and Commander May who had brought his SEALS closer on foot. She could see Rat Patrol’s vehicles were sitting just beyond the range of the M-202 rocket launcher in a semi ring around the battered farmhouses.
Nothing moved. Seconds ticked by.
“See anything moving?” Corporal Hernando Gonzalez asked as he looked for signs of movement around the three houses.
“Nothing,” Sergeant Cienfuentes replied as he kept his sniper rifle trained on closest of the three battle-scarred farm houses.
As he re-focused his rifle sights on the closest house, Pedro Cienfuentes caught some movement on the periphery of his vision. He looked up on a hill behind the building.
*~*
Enrico Gonsalves, Mick Aronson, and Jacques Lewis had managed to leave their position in the farmhouse and were now carefully making their way up the steep slope behind the buildings.
They had left Darcy and seven of her compatriots along with half dozen of Sahood’s men to keep that Colonel MacKenzie’s Force Recon Marines and Commander May’s SEALS at bay.
Jac smiled to himself. Since he had first met this snooping skirt, he had wanted to kill her. But first, he wanted to have some fun. First make her scared; he loved it when his victims panicked and tried to flee...it made the kill all the more…exciting.
He had told Sergeant Gonsalves before they headed out to only wing MacKenzie. Jac wanted to savor her fear and panic at being hunted.
*~*
“Look! Up on that hill!” Gonzalez whispered urgently afraid that pointing would betray what they could see. “He’s going to kill Colonel MacKenzie!!”
Pedro saw Enrico Gonsalves aiming his assault rifle at the Colonel. “Not if I can help it!” growled the Sergeant as put down his 50 caliber weapon and grabbed his M-40A3 rifle. He lined up Gonsalves in his sights and fired.
The crack of the rifle drifted across the battlefield. On the hill Enrico Gonsalves slumped, his rifle tumbling down the hill.
*~*
Seeing Sergeant Gonsalves lying there was enough for Mick Aronson. He threw down his rifle and stood up, waving his hands.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t--!”
A pistol retort ended Corporal Aronson’s frantic call. As he pitched face forward and began rolling down the hill, Jacques Lewis holstered his pistol.
“Dumb jerk,” he muttered as Aronson’s rolling body headed toward the bottom.
*~*
Maqaddam [Colonel] Fisal Murtagui felt a strange sense of pride as he watched his ‘unit’ prepare itself for its attack on the American Marine unit. It wouldn’t be long now before the SCUD missiles could be launched.
*~*
“Cover me!” Mac yelled as she headed for the front door of the closest farm house. Kayce was close behind her.
At the same time Victor mimicked her actions heading for the second closest building and Commander May’s SEALS stormed the third building.
The door to the farmhouse had partially opened. The Light Colonel raised her rifle and fired, sending a dead insurgent tumbling out the door. Mac continued firing short bursts as she entered the building.
The front room had three bodies in it, but no one else. Kayce was about to say something when Mac opened fire again, catching two of al-Sahood’s men as they had tried to rush her and Kayce.
Kayce Danvers turned to her right and fired off a burst at a black clad Fedayeen soldier who stumbled to the floor.
Mac fired at a second insurgent who appeared just behind the Fedayeen soldier Kayce had shot.
“Colonel! To your left!” Kayce barked as she turned her weapon toward the new threat.
The insurgent’s first round glanced off Mac’s rifle causing her to drop it. Mac felt the explosion made by the round’s shrapnel as it impacted her rifle. The jagged fragments peppered her right hand.
Kayce aimed for the insurgent’s center of mass and fired. He dropped, his weapon clattering on the floor.
The Light Colonel looked dumbly down at her bloody hand. Then Kayce grabbed her, yelling for a Corpsman.
*~*
Victor, Sergeant Corbin, Evan Mickens, Casmir Szymas and Vicky Logan had cornered four of Darcy’s men in the courtyard in back of the houses.
“Drop your weapons!” Gunny demanded of the traitors.
“We don’t need them to take care of you!” Lieutenant Wes Baggett snarled as he dropped his pistol and rushed the Gunnery Sergeant.
“Try to take them alive!” Victor ordered as he executed an elbow strike on the Lieutenant.
“You heard the Gunny!” Joe Corbin shouted as he front kicked Corporal Phillips, sending him flailing backwards into the courtyard wall.
Sergeant Szymas followed suit with a roundhouse knee strike to Darcy’s driver, Lieutenant Peterson.
And Lance Corporal Logan delivered a roundhouse side kick to Sergeant Ramage dropping him to the ground.
Evan Mickens grappled with one of the pickup drivers, Lieutenant Sadowski, who had just joined the brawl. Evan delivered a reverse head butt to the Lieutenant staggering him while Vicky grabbed him and threw the unfortunate Lieutenant over her shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground.
*~*
Corporal Kingsley and Lieutenant Ricketts raised their hands in surrender when they saw their leader, Darcy D’Acerville Livingston, on the ground bleeding. Commander May and Master Chief Petty Officer Coskill watched as Petty Officer Vickers and Chief Petty Officer Davis secured their wrists and feet with plasti-cuffs.
Petty Officer Coskill was still shaking his head. “She didn’t give me any other options, Commander… she was going to kill Petty Officer Vickers….”
Brad May knew that shooting a Marine, especially a female, would weigh heavily on Coskill’s mind for a while. “It’s okay, Master Chief; you did the right thing….”
It was funny, but Ricketts, as he was being lead out of the building, could have sworn- that the once intimidating Lieutenant Colonel Darcy Livingston looked fragile and small as the Corpsman began attending to her.
*~*
Petty Officer Gifford gently bandaged Mac’s bloody hand.
“You’re lucky Colonel; those were just bullet fragments…no ligament or bone damage as far as I can tell…. ”
Petty Officers Sharpe and Unger set the stretcher with a pallid looking Darcy Livingston down.
Petty Officer Sharpe walked over to Mac and Gifford. “Begging your pardon, ma’am. She wanted to speak with you,” Sharpe, looked back over his shoulder at Darcy Livingston. Mac could tell he was reluctant to grant Colonel Livingston’s request.
“It’s all right Petty Officer, I’ll talk to her.”
The Light Colonel walked over to the stretcher and leaned over the former CO of 2nd Force Recon.
Darcy shook her head and chuckled. “Too bad, Colonel…. You could’ve had it all…. A promotion…a high profile job…but it’s all gone now….”
Mac couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Either Darcy was delirious or she had lost her mind.
“Colonel, you were working with al Qaeda leader Samir al-Sahood…you killed many innocent people and you were planning to wipe out a Marine Expeditionary Unit with poison gas….”
But Darcy Livingston was past being concerned about that. “All…Jac’s fault…that stupid SOB was afraid of you…. If he had…just listened to me…all this wouldn’t have happened….”
“All his…fault. All…his…fault…even damaged your MOPP suit….” Darcy’s breathing was becoming more shallow by the moment.
“Captain Lewis didn’t get the chance to damage my suit. I caught one of Sahood’s men trying to damage it.”
Darcy’s eyes focused on hers. Strength seemed to surge back into her body. “What do you mean?”
“Sahood had sent him to damage all the suits. He was going to kill all of your men and you, Colonel. He intended for all of you to die.”
Darcy stared off into space. After a few moments she nodded with conviction. “Samir was trying to spare me….” She said quietly, and then lapsed into silence.
Mac wanted to ask her what she meant, but the roar of incoming jet aircraft in the distance took precedence.
“Colonel! We have gu11’s coming in from the south!!” Kayce announced to Mac.
Obviously this was Kayce-speak for inbound naval planes.
*~*
The three Gaskins spread out in a triangular formation within the battered battalion defensive position. Their weary GAZ-41 water cooled engines shuddered to a stop as they took up their positions. They would defend the SCUDs to their last missile.
*~*
“Eagle 22 to Eagle 21…Hammer, isn’t Mac’s recon team supposed to be down there somewhere ahead?”
Harm looked out in front windscreen and could see they were fast approaching a group of burning vehicles.
Without even being able to see her, Harm could feel her down there. Mac was there and she was alive. “Yeah, Nicole, it is.”
*~*
Mac looked up at the approaching aircraft.
“It’s him…”
Despite her ability to lead, sometimes this Light Colonel still gave her the willies. “Ma’am, how do you know? The Navy could have benched his squadron and sent another to finish the mission--”
“I just do Kayce; I always have. Get Flemming over here, pronto…”
“All right ma’am, just don’t tell me it’s some kind of cosmic connection, okay?”
Mac gave her a quick cutting look. “Right…”
In moments, Oscar Flemming came back with her and gave Mac control of his radio. Shark Three’s forward observer, Lieutenant Matt Fulmer, was at the top of the hill with a laser designator.
“Tell your ‘hubbie’ to stay away from the duckhunters, ma’am,” Kayce said in jest to Mac as she waited to hear from Harm. Mac smirked at her comment.
The aviator/lawyer’s voice came sharp and clear over the radio.
“Sierra Mike Six, Sierra Mike Six, this is Eagle 21, misno one one; fourteen fox bravos; fourteen fox fourteen delta, Northeast grid 39 Angels 3 and sliding. Time on station 1257 Bravo…Abort code delta bravo…Continue? Over…”
“Eagle 21 this is Sierra Six Mike Actual. I have visual. Laser on tangos. Sparkle on Tangos. You are cleared hot…Over….”
“Copy Sierra Six Mike, we are cleared hot…Eagle 21 out…”
As the Tomcats of VF-218 roared overhead, Darcy began to laugh. “Looks like I get a lagniappe after all, Cher….”
Kayce looked down the hysterically laughing Colonel with a mixture of anger and confusion. She had all she could stand of this vile witch. “What are you talking about?”
“Colonel!” It was Lieutenant Fulmer shouting into his radio mike. “You need to get up here now!!
*~*
Harm could see the MAZ and ZIL trucks were ready to launch their weapons. It would be just like last time.
“Tally Ho! I’ve got a SCUD TEL ready to launch – 10 o’clock low!!”
“In your back pocket, Hammer…” Supergirl reported
“Eagle 21 is in…”
*~*
The three venerable Gaskins turned on their passive radar detection systems and began searching for any incoming American aircraft. As soon as they started searching, one of the systems shorted out, then a second one.
Ra’is (Sergeant) Mudullah aboard the third SA-9 prayed that his targeting radar stayed on line long enough for them to get a shot at the approaching American aircraft.
*~*
Harm’s Tomcat slowed as the aviator lawyer lined up his first target.
Ra’is Mudullah’s crew of the SA-9 mobile SAM vehicle tracked Eagle 21.
A warning tone reverberated through the Tomcat’s cockpit, breaking Harm’s concentration.
“Commander, we’ve got radar trying to lock onto us!” barked Pete.
“Hang on Pete, I’m dumping chaff…”
A spray of pyrotechnics burst from the plane as she winged her way toward her target. But it was too little, too late. The BDRM’s SAM launcher tracked the American plane as the unit’s radar sounded the lock tone.
Pete heard the same tone. “It’s not working Hammer, they’ve got a lock!”
The Gaskin’s box launcher glowed as four 9M31 missiles roared out into the sky, in staggered sequence, tracking the Tomcat.
The tone of the threat warning indicator changed.
“Missiles inbound!” Screamed his RIO.
Harm engaged his afterburners and put the Tomcat into a punishing corkscrew. These maneuvers combined with the drifting flares caused three of the missiles to zero in on the brightly burning flares and detonate. The fourth missile, however, had locked onto Eagle 21’s exhaust.
“The missile’s turning, she blowtorching her way toward our tailpipe!”
Harm tried every maneuver that he could think of, but it was as if an invisible string was tied from the Eagle 21 to the Strela-1 missile. And the distance between the two was rapidly being eaten up.
“We’re not going to outrun it! Brace for impact!!”
Impact though, for the 9M31 missile, was not necessary for a kill; all it had to do was get close enough for its shrapnel to reach the delicate aircraft and she would also go down. As Harm and Pete braced for the missile smacking into the tail of Harm’s plane, they felt a push from behind as the missile, having reached its desired proximity, detonated.
Mac, who had just reached the top of the hill, watched in horrified fascination as the tail and back of Harm’s Tomcat was peppered with shrapnel just like her dream had predicted.
“No! Oh God, please, no, no, no!!”
The cockpit filled with tiny angry buzzing pieces of metal. Both men alternately grunted and screamed as errant pieces of the SAM missile ripped into them. “Ah Shit!” barked Harm angrily as the plane began to buck violently, warning lights all over his HUD display began flashing.
Pete, trying to staunch the blood dribbling from penny sized wounds in his arm dully looked around and saw the cracks and pinprick holes in the Plexiglas. His foggy mind also noted the holes in the metal skin of Eagle 21. Smoke was pouring from those wounds.
Nicole nosed Eagle 22 over and headed toward Hammer. “How bad is it?” asked her RIO, Jeff ‘Pitcher’ Rodriguez.
Nicole watched as it quickly became evident just how successful the SAM had been. “Hammer took a glancing blow from a SAM!”
White smoke began to fill the cockpit. Both men grabbed their masks but quickly realized their hoses had been holed. They both involuntarily inhaled, taking in the foul air. Both began coughing violently Harm keyed his mike. “Eagle...21 to…Eagle 22…”
“Hammer! This is Supergirl! Go!!”
“Supergirl… how… how bad is it?”
She swallowed hard looking at the damage “How does she feel?”
“…handling… like a brick on ice…acts… as if…wants to… roll over… and die—"
“Harm, are you and Pete okay?!”
“Both…both of us took shrapnel …from the missile…cockpit…filling with smoke…” Harm’s voice sounded lazy, as if he wanted to sleep.
“Can you hold her together until we get back to Patrick Henry?”
“No can do… Supergirl, she’s… bucking… so hard right now…afraid… she’ll break up …before we… could get there….”
“We’ll stay with you Hammer. Get out of there as soon as you can!” She broke contact for a moment as she fought to keep the tears from overwhelming her eyes. She didn’t want to think about what the inside of that cockpit looked like. She keyed her mike again.
“Good luck Harm, Out”
“Thanks… Nicole, …Hammer…. Out.”
The white smoke drifted in front of Harm's eyes making it difficult to see. He
fumbled with the radio controls until he was back on the fleet net.
“Pie Tin…Pie Tin… this is… Eagle 21…I’m…declaring an… emergency…”
“Eagle 21 this is Pie Tin what is the nature of your emergency?" Came back the
radio operator's voice "What is your situation? Over.”
“We’ve taken… a missile hit… just north of Mirbullah… coordinates are… latitude 2301 …longitude 4507”
The CAG immediately came on the radio. “How bad is it Harm?”
“I’m losing hydraulics…tail controls are… sluggish. Engine one… is…misfiring…
shutting…down one…now.”
Harm swore softly under his breath, “No…no change… in attitude or… altitude control… Pie Tin.…”
"Eagle 21, can you make it back?"
"Negative…"Harm began coughing again "… Negative…losing… altitude fast…Mayday… mayday… we’re… going… down…."
Harm laid his head on the back of his damaged seat. He closed his eyes for a moment, but the buzzing of the CAG's voice in his headset jogged him back to semi-consciousness.
"Eagle 21! You are ordered to eject! Eject now Hammer!! HAMMER! Do you read me?! You are to EJECT NOW! HARM!! EJECT!! EJECT!! EJECT!!!"
Harm turned off the radio. He didn’t want to be badgered right now. He had to concentrate on getting themselves out of this wreck and that was going to take all the energy he had left to focus on this task.
"Pete…"
Harm turned his head…the pain caused was excruciating, but he had to see if his RIO was still with him. Thoughts of Mace floated through his mind. He called out louder.
"Pete…Pete…!"
"Still…uhhh… with you…Hammer…."
"Ready… to punch out… on my command…." Then Mac’s words came racing back to him.
He licked his lips, forcing himself to remain awake despite the overwhelming urge to just close his eyes and sleep "….Pete…Pete… check… your seat… make sure nothing’s… damaged…."
“Check…Hammer…” Pete, coughing violently, slowly, painfully began to look around.
“Are you… ready…?”
“No Harm…no… damage to my… seat….”
His mind spun, the pain from his wounds making it difficult to concentrate “…Bad…?”
“…Visible…but…can’t tell… what it’s… done… to…ejection… system--"
“Fire it… manually… Pete…ready…?”
“Three… two…… one…… eject…eject....”
Pete hit their manual override ejection buttons sending the canopy sailing up and back over the craft through the hot afternoon air. This was followed by Harm and Pete’s seats jetting skyward out of the doomed Tomcat. Their initial descents were textbook perfect, but the SAM shrapnel had shredded several of their restraints. Harm never felt the shattering of his left arm and Pete was unconscious when his right leg bone was splintered.
They sailed out of the smoky cockpit into the bright afternoon sun.
Mac gazed in horror at the unreal scene as her dream replayed in reality. Both men, on wildly different trajectories, sailed up and back away from the burning plane, but not before it disintegrated into a glowing fireball which sent debris hurtling toward the two men.
Just like her premonition, the debris did not reach them, but she could see they were injured. Both hung limply from their chutes.
The burning shattered remains of the F-14D arced downward and augured into the damaged Gaskin missile launching vehicle. The resulting explosion obliterated both vehicles, sending an ominous fireball into the afternoon sky.
---TBC...
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