The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 60

They dove into the water, their suits protecting them from the worst of its chilling effects, their fur beneath it doing the rest. Immediately, Aoloa's HUD flashed up with an oxygen meter and water oxygenation level indicator. Near the surface, their suits gill system was able to extract enough oxygen they should have no problem.

At a mental command, the suit's feet extended into rigid flippers, while his gloves extended each finger as a mini-paddle. It made a few other adjustments, causing them to resemble a cross between people and seals, instead of people in wetsuits.

With that, they began their swim. The plan was simple, starting a mile away from the North Korean border, swim south for three miles and then make land. Once on shore, they'd move inland rapidly and disappear into the Korean wilderness until things settled down.

After an hour in the water, they paused. ::Do whales patrol like that?:: Pauahi asked. On their HUDs, a pair of creatures making whale calls were patrolling exactly on the North Korean/Russian border. There was a fair bit of distance between them, but whales could communicate over many miles by sound.

Aoloa glanced at Hokulani and Lopaka. ::Let's assume those are NOT whales, and move accordingly. Once we get in sonar range, it will be obvious we're moving as a unit. Can we make ourselves appear to be a shark or some other large fish?::

Lopaka shook his head in the negative before Hokulani clarified, ::We don't swim fast enough. I think our options are to dive below them or engage.::

::Range on pod sonar is?:: he asked.

Hanale replied with, ::Depends on the target. Assume they're already aware of us. And even if we block their comms, they can communicate with each other. They've got us on every possible aspect of range possible, Boss.::

Aoloa frowned. He already knew the pod could dive deeper than they could. If their range was greater than the colony's ability to avoid it, they wouldn't be able to escape undetected. Their only chance was to fight through, and have the UPS know they, or something like them, was in North Korea.

Holding position, he pulled up maps of the area in his comms and started going over possibilities. If we go into North Korea, we'll never be able to come out through South Korea. We can head back to Russia and try swimming to Japan, but that's going to involve a twenty mile swim. Our only other option is to go through China, which still spurns English as a useless language in most areas. On the plus side, if we work our way down to Malaysia, we can probably catch a boat to the Philippines, and from there to Hawaii.

He switched views rapidly. On the other hand, if we push north, we might be able to catch a ride on a fishing vessel out from Russia and get most of the way to Alaska. Worst case scenario would be a couple of twenty mile swims, but at least we'd be fully in the UPS, and Alaska is the least militarized. Although, it's possible they have strong naval defenses, but if we can fight or slip through that, then we'd be home free. The Alaskan wilderness should be able to support us well at this time of year.

With a sigh, he gave the order. ::We turn back. I want analysis from everyone on the following options: getting from Malaysia into the Philippines, getting from Russia into Japan, and getting from Russian into Alaska. Parameters include swimming, sneaking on boats, or combinations of the two. The goal is to avoid detection by pods, as we don't want the UPS swarming us, especially on their own territory.::

The others all signaled assent and they turned around, retreating back to the safety of Russian soil.