Lt. Michael McTierney Mountain Brigade.
The ruse worked, the Major assaulted Scotia, and no one was the wiser to my group moving North through Glenville over through Saratoga County and down to Niskayuna. We were able to establish a foot hold and set up a hasty defense near the GE research site on Balltown Rd. My team was moving quickly. The news of the Majors defeat in Scotia spread like wildfire. We had to get some intel.
I sent five teams of three into the facility. Hopefully we would have enough time to raid the computers and find some sort of way to defeat the rail gun teams. They were strong, I had never seen such destruction from an unseen enemy who was so far away. That first battle outside Scotia was really intense. I watched as our vehicles were systematically destroyed. The rapid succession of the rail guns gave the terrorists the advantage. It was our job to equal the playing field.
The labs were still intact. As we made our way from lab to lab, computer to computer, we were ever vigilant. It was our hope that we could find a weakness, or get rail gun technology for ourselves.
"SIR!, I think I have found something!"
"What is it private?" I inquired racing to the lab computer he was working on.
"Blueprints, Sir!"
Sure enough the private had found the technical information on the rail guns.
"Find me the prototype lab!" I hollered at some others in the room. With a snap, they were off. I knew that if we could find some prototypes, then we could even the odds.
"Keep digging, we need to find a weakness to even the odds here."
"Yessir!"
The prototype lab turned up empty, Shaw was smart enough to take all the rail guns and the manufacturing equipment from the facility. Probably to a secure location. That was not going to stop us though, we needed an edge, so we kept looking.
"Sir! I may have found something.. a weakness.."
"Well what is it?"
"Electro magnetic pulse, sir? "
"What the heck? you mean like one generated by a nuclear explosion?"
"Yes exactly!"
"Great so all we have to do is drop a nuclear weapon on the city and we'll wipe out the rail guns? That's a great idea! you idiot!"
"No sir not exactly.."
"What do you mean Private?"
"Well sir, every electrical device generates a magnetic field- any device exploding creates an EMP."
"So you saying we can blow up any TV and get the desired effect?"
"No Sir, the EMPcreated by a TV wouldn't be large enough, we would need something larger."
"Like what?"
"Hmmmm... a power pole transformer... that should be sufficient enough, but there has to be a great deal of power running through them"
"So what your telling me is, if I set a detpack on a power pole transformer, it will knock out the rail guns?"
"Yes sir, and anything else electrical in the area- including radios, vehicles and anything else being used in the EMP blast zone"
"So we can damage our own stuff as well, not just the rail guns?"
"Yes sir- we can... there would need to be some serious planning involved to make it work, but... it can be done..."
The private gave me enough information, that I could successfully relay a weakness to command. I made a short wave radio transmission in Morse code- so that Shaw's group might pick it up- but it was so old chances are they wouldn't recognize it.
I quickly ordered all information on this project destroyed and that we were to evacuate the premises. The three man teams radioed in, and set detonation charges all over the labs. I ordered timers set to destroy things, this way there would be no human error in the mix.
15 minutes was the order, and all explosives were to be encrypted- then I ordered everyone out of the building. The teams moved with lightning efficiency, and charges were set. Once everything was in motion the evacuate command was given and we were on our way out.
Too bad Shaw's troops were waiting for us outside.
The first shot was a surprise, and my LAV exploded into a fiery ball. I had no idea where the shot came from. It was distinctive though, a rail gun was in our midst. The second shot came in, and it took out a Humvee at the back of the formation. The hummer exploded in place. Thank god all my teams were inside, except the defense patrol.
"Defensive positions!" I ordered. "Dig in!"
The teams shot past me like they were on fire, and started ducking in and out of the wreckage and away from anything that was a mass target.
"ALL teams- Split up! don't give them any mass targets- make them take us down one at a time- then maybe we can get them!"
My soldiers broke up into single man, as they darted across the open parking lots and mowed fields of the research lab. Many dug in behind bushes and trees. It was as they ducked for cover, and the next rail gun shot came in, that I realized there were fewer and fewer shots this time than at the Scotia attack. This meant... LESS GUNNERS! there may be only one or two! I jumped on the radio and ordered everyone into a search and destroy mission- if there were only one or two rail gunners out there, we might be able to take them down. All we needed was on sighting, and we could get them.
I gave the information out on the radio to all my soldiers and the began to move recon style towards the incoming rounds.
The rail gunner seemed focused on taking out our armor, that was fine by me, as long as my guys weren't getting ripped to pieces. The rail guns rounds kept pouring in on us at the rate of one every 15 seconds or so. We moved in the interim, and my teams reported in each time they advanced- so far, no one was lost.
"Team 6 leader, to command."
"Go ahead team 6."
"Rail gun in sight, 50 cal gunner has option."
"Team 6 - enable option."
"Received."
A moment later a single shot from a 50 caliber rifle lashed out.
I waited, the rail gun rounds stopped.
"Team 6 leader to command."
"Go ahead team 6."
"Option successful, target is out of bounds."
"Received 6, move in and clean up."
"Copy command, ... out."
Team 6 moved in on the downed rail gunner. They crept in moving ever so slowly in case their target was still active. "Out of bounds" was the codeword for a hostile removed by sniper fire. Team six's long range gunner had managed to successfully take this one down.
Team six arrived on the scene and the gunner lay there. The 50 cal round had punched a hole clean through him. The round hit him in the one place it was sure to take him out permanently.
The shooter was dressed in an olive green jumpsuit, obviously military in origin, or something like it. When they turned him over, his face shown the damage of the bullets entry.
"Team six leader to command."
"Go ahead six."
"Shooter is down sir, weapon recovered... you had better come see this."
"Received, on my way."
I made my way to the teams location, where the shooter was, the shooter lay there in the same spot where he was canceled.
"Well whats the deal?"
"This, Sir."
The team leader had an inflection in his voice that sounded of disapproval. It was like he was spelling sir, c, u, r, as in wild dog. I recognized the lack of respect immediately. The team leader rolled the shooter over and I realized why he was disrespectful. The man was about 25, 26 years of age. The jumpsuit, partially open revealed a t shirt that said ALBANY POLICE, The Thin Blue Line. I pawed through his pockets to find a wallet. I opened it and found a sergeants police badge. I flipped through for his ID- and there was his picture. A police ID, Sergeant James Teval, Albany Police Department.
This was not going to go over well.