The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 64

They were on the roof of the Hilo port customs facility on the big island. ::So now all we have to do is travel two islands over, at night, to get to O'ahu. Once there, we can either assault the president's compound, the main naval headquarters, or move on to Ni'ihau. Any plans on how to do this?::

Aoloa waited until Akela chimed in with, ::No swimming. We know what's in the water, and that's just a non-starter for us. That leaves boat or air.::

Aoloa nodded. ::Boat, then. None of us ever flew anything, video games not withstanding. If we swipe a boat rental at Hawi, that'll get us to Maui. A repeat will get us to Moloka'i, and then O'ahu. We need this to happen in one night, though, so authorities don't get an alarm raised.::

Hanale shook his head. ::That won't work. We can't swim because of the pods. They'll notice a boat traveling at night just as much. We've only got one way to do this. Air.::

Aoloa glanced at the others before sighing. ::Okay, any ideas on how to force a pilot to transport us to O'ahu quietly?::

Lopaka offered the simplest solution. ::Kidnapping. Grab a pilot's family. Hold them in the main compartment. One of us is up front with him. We'll have to do our mission on O'ahu and leave someone behind to make sure he doesn't warn anyone before we finish it. Our only other option is a hacker sympathizer who happens to know how to fly or has a boat they're willing to shuttle us around in.::

Aoloa shook his head. ::Hacker contacts in the UPS tend to disappear. They almost always flee the country before that can happen, but some just go away without warning.::

::The family of a hacker that disappeared. They could want revenge,:: Hokulani suggested.

::Not a good idea. It puts them in a bad position. I don't like the kidnapping idea either, though. There's too much risk we'll have to hurt someone who's not involved.::

Wikolia suddenly grinned, causing everyone to look at her. ::We swipe a training simulator program from a pilot's school. Using that, Kanuha and I take the controls and just fly us in.:: If anything her grin grew wider as Kanuha high fived her.

Aoloa eyed them carefully. ::You sure you can do it?::

Kanuha nodded. ::We pick up video games like crazy. This is just fancier than most. Besides, we can all bail out before we try to make a bad landing!:: he said with a grin.

::Okay, we'll do it. Welcome to pilot's school, you two.::

---

They'd crossed the island and downloaded a copy of the software. While they hid that day, Lopaka ran simulation after simulation for the two "pilots" in an effort to make sure they'd covered every possibility.

While the three of them did that, the rest discussed options for attacking the presidential compound or the naval headquarters. The presidential compound would be harder to get into, but would also have the advantage of getting prompter action. There was also a chance the president was unaware of the nature of the special forces training, and such a bold move might cancel the program entirely.

The naval headquarters would be easier to enter, but had the disadvantage of being the nerve center of everything. They'd have less issues with people arguing semantics with them, but there'd also be less overall leverage. The generals were not likely to yield, as there was a risk of consequences after everything was over.

In the end, they settled on the presidential compound. It's what they'd been trained for.