The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 21

They had given up on making speed. Sticking close to the roads generated too much potential attention, and the terrain was... bad. It was the evening while they sat huddled in a small cavern that his whiskers began to vibrate. A quick glance at Hokulani showed that she felt it as well.

::Thumpers,:: he said, and she nodded. She closed her eyes, focusing on whatever she could pick up from her comms. Aoloa focused his senses on what they could pick up. He could almost feel where the thumpers were. It was easier to feel it in his feet and hands.

Okay, we're the largest mammals in the area. Normally, when walking, we present a human profile. We show up on infrared. Thumpers will only give them the terrain to search, but not our location. Ultrasonic imaging will only pick us up on line of sight, and only in relatively clear terrain. Helmets muffle their sense of smell.

He looked around then saw the solution. Tapping Hokulani on the shoulder, motioned to a snow bank, then made a digging motion. She nodded in understanding, and then slipped out, quickly burying themselves in the snow, leaving just a channel for them to breath. With that, they waited.

After a while, she tapped him to indicate she'd cracked their encryption and was receiving their signals. With nothing better to do, he did the same, soon receiving the signals. His HUD filled in the overlay he needed, showing the location of their opponents. Bears, foxes, apes, moving with military precision, just as they'd expect.

::Satellite imaging placed them in this area. Where the hell are they?:: an unfamiliar voice asked.

::I don't know. I'm not picking up anything on the usual sensors. They might have moved on since the last pass.::

::They don't move far. They should be asleep in the area. Check all the caverns. They should glow on infrared. Then we just have to figure out which country made them, and what the risk is.::

Aoloa considered that tidbit. The UPS hasn't told them who we are. We're just rogue assets from some other country. That means they won't realize we know their tactics and technology. Nice.

With a command, his HUD marked the others in red, himself and Hokulani in green. They had started out quite close to their location, but were now spreading out. The apes were traveling quickly through the trees, covering ground quickly as they did a perimeter search. The foxes were crisscrossing, helmets now off as they sought to pick up a scent. The bears were nearly motionless, waiting for the others to get either a visual or olfactory hit.

It was the apes that were the most vocal, keeping up an endless chatter as they widened their perimeter. Suddenly, one of the foxes cut in. ::Holy cow! That is RANK!:: They'd found where they'd last urinated. Before they knew it, all the foxes and bears were clustered around that spot, getting the scent and starting to track in either direction from it.

It's only a matter of time until they sniff us out. We can't just wait for them to find us. He took a deep breath, then gave Hokulani the motion to cripple them. With a nervous glance at him, she nodded, then broadcast a specially coded signal into the enemy comms systems.

::What the...? Who's on this... I'M BLIND!::

Hokulani and Aoloa burst out of their hiding place and charged. They had limited time to do what needed to be done. It was regrettable, but necessary. While their enemies were ripping off their helmets in a futile effort to regain their sight, Hokulani's virus was randomly interfering with various senses, while allowing their panic to spread.

The panic grew worse when they took down the first bear, climbing up her chest to rip out her exposed throat. Her dying shrieks were soon followed by those of others as they were steadily cut down. Half the enemy was down before one voice shouted, ::I've got visuals back, everybody...:: Hokulani had tracked his signal, and felled him before he could send the repairs.

Hunting down the apes took longer. They were all injured or huddled in a branch, vulnerable, though. Falling blind had caused them to loose morale. Hearing their comrades die one by one had been worse. When it was over, one thought haunted Aoloa: We just killed twenty-eight people who should have been our friends and allies. We're no longer AWOL, we're no longer rogue elements, we're a threat.

Hokulani was the one who voiced the worst thought. ::Next time will be worse.::