Blood Lily Company - Afghanistan, year 1

XIX

Once dinner was over, Miss Heavy Helmet and our officers sat apart in the mess hall, while I helped the R&R get settled.

We finally made use of the nice holographic table! For an issue with the licenses for the maps (well done Quartermaster), we hadn't been able to use it professionally yet. But I had used it to create maps for our role-playing games and I was pretty good at using it.

So Lin asked me to come and wrangle it – we finally got the license – while the officers talked business.
- So, Elise, you need kerosene for your aircrafts. Well, as I'm sure Erk told you, we don't have any. We will have to find a solution.
- Do you think there are some reserves from the cowboys, somewhere around here? Fatso asked.
- The GIs have been gone a long time, Erk replied. I'm afraid the juice will have gone flat, if it hasn't already been siphoned away.

I looked at Elise out of the corner of my eye. She looked a little lost. I don't think she's been practicing argot, it doesn't fit with her proper military behavior.
- Otherwise, there's the French Air Base in Abu Dhabi, mumbled Kris, but it's a bit far.
- Yes, in that case, answered Elise, we might as well wait until the weather clears at our base and they can bring us some fuel.

They all fell silent, thinking. And then Fatso, who had been around here for a while, opened his mouth.
- I do have an idea, but it will make things hairy for us afterwards.
- Get to it, Erk said.
- It's not just military aircrafts that use kerosene. And unless military kero is not the same as the civilian – and I do doubt it – we should find something to keep Elise's birds happy.
- Do come to the point, if you will, Lin was frowning.
- There are some people around here that will not go crying to the UN if we happen to "borrow" some of their juice. We, BLC, will feel the windfall, but the UN will never know...
- Traffickers! Kris said, finally truly awake. Opium traffickers. They have to have planes to lug their shit from processing centers to ports or other to take it out of the country.
- Exactly, Kris. Opium will allow us to get you home, Elise.
- Besides, Kris continued, it might slow down the diffusion of their shit. I like it, Fatso. Archer, show a map of the area, to... Elise, if you siphon one of the helicopters into the other, what range do you have? And at what speed?

The too uptight babe thought for a moment, calculating things in her head and then announced a range of 35-40 minutes at 300kmh without falling into the reserve.
- OK. So, Archer...
- Got it. That said, if we go with the Land, we won't be driving 200km so, if that's OK with you, I'm looking first with a maximum range of 50km, then 100 if we can't find anything.
- Good call, said Erk.

I was happy with the compliment. I fiddled with the controls and a 100km-sided map, with our base at the center, appeared in the holo-table. More fiddling, with contrasts, and the 3D map looked almost solid.

The holo-table is one square meter, in useful dimensions. There is a small edge 3cm high, and after, the sky is the limit or quite.

On the edge there is a small flat screen and a virtual keyboard. I put on a pair of special gloves, which would allow me to manipulate the map as if it were a smartphone screen. I started by highlighting the roads, constructions. I added a thermal layer, to make the fields stand out, since an irrigated field doesn't have the same temperature as a dry one. I brought out tarmac, too, just in case the airfield got it. You never know...

Kris, meanwhile, took his combat tablet out. He would use data provided by the map to obtain satellite images and refine the search area.

I nodded to Lin and they all leaned across. There were interesting red spots. I blocked the maximum size of the map, so as not to go too far if we had to zoom out.

Lin and Fatso each showed me a spot. I zoomed on Fatso's. There were fields, there was tar, there were buildings. I gave the GPS coordinates to Kris, who interrogated the satellites. He transferred his screen to the white wall. Nothing. He fiddled with contrast, colour balance... Nothing.
- Of course, Erk remarked. It's dark and they don't light out at night, over there. I think we'll have to review that tomorrow morning.
- Damn! We're wasting time, Kris grumbled.