Patricians: Power Politics (2 of 9)

Chapter 41: Out of Reach

Muse fighters formed aroundthe shuttle to provide escort home. Grey clouds drifted across the sky in patches, allowing the bright moon to beam through. Returning to Allied airspace, Maj. Lee sent another detachment of fighters to escort the CEO back to the Alesia. NATO naval forces had broken off and were heading towards Istanbul to engage IRME's naval armada. Swaths of fighters were returning to the Muse aircraft carriers for rearmament and refuelling. All the fighters in the sky told Henry that the first wave of Operation Medusa was well underway.

Operation Medusa was Maj. Lee's aerial offensive designed to cripple IRME fighter capacity. Fighters would engage and destroy IRME fighters, and, meanwhile, bombers would target anti-air defenses and the airfield bases. Disrupting IRME's ability to control air supremacy was the first step in any offensive thrust. Henry had given Maj. Lee permission to launch the operation before he had heard of Saladin's location. The Muse neural network was full of activity. Operation Medusa had suffered only minor casualties so far, but combat reports showed the damage that had been inflicted. Hundreds of IRME fighters had already fallen to the Muse aerial onslaught, and airbases were being evacuated from the damage caused by the sustained bombing campaigns.

Looking at the data chip, Henry tried to calm his emotions. Saladin had stayed true to her word. Keeping promises was a rare thing in the world of warfare. The data chip showed the exact location of Julia's safe house, but that hadn't been the disturbing information. According to Allah's warriors, they had dealt with the Wolf Pack many times over the years. Chaos, the group leader, didn't seem by all accounts to be the type of man to kidnap a young girl. Even the way the man had talked to Henry during the abduction seemed weird to him, but the real troubling news was the location.

Julia was being held a couple of miles north of the military cordon around Basra. Basra was the official capital of the Islamic Republic. There was no way Henry could sneak in and out without being detected. Until NATO forces could engage or draw away the bulk of the Islamic Republic's forces, there was nothing he could do. Frustration filled Henry, and he tried to quiet the anger welling up inside.

"Shadow One, you have permission to land." Maj. Lee watched the shuttle approaching from the conning tower. Fighters broke off from the shuttle and glided to a stop over the landing strip. Descending, the shuttles came to rest on the deck plate. Cpt. Anderson and his team lowered the ramp and exited the ship together. Happy smiles beamed from the faces of the Muse team. They were happy to be safely back on board the Alesia.

Exiting the shuttle, Henry carried the chip towards the conning tower. Cpt. Anderson's team saluted their commander as he walked past them. Lost in thought about how to rescue Julia Henry didn't even notice. Edward dismissed his troops and ran behind, trying to catch up to his commander. On the flight back, Henry's mood had soured. There was no doubt something was troubling the man. Determined to help, Edward caught up to his friend.

"You look troubled, sir. Is there anything that I can help with?" Placing one hand on the man's shoulder, Edward tried to calm his friend.

Opening the hatch to the conning tower, Henry looked back to see the concern in his friends eyes. There was nothing anyone could do at the moment. Henry was determined to bear the burden himself.

"Don't worry, Edward. I'll be all right. I've got a lot of work ahead of me, planning out this offensive for NATO. Keep your men on standby in case we get an opportunity to rescue Julia."

No matter how hard Henry tried to hide the truth from his friend, it didn't work. Edward knew the only reason they weren't racing to rescue Julia was that something was preventing them.