GALAXY AT WAR - Book 4 - A Dark Time

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - February 2173 - Earth / Moon / Anthera

...Earth...

The MCU stopped. The density of the jungle floor had defeated it. Major Chamberlain stepped out of the cab and walked a few meters further in. He looked at the floor. There were tangled roots, various plants and bushes all growing and blocking the way for a vehicle. He looked at the electronic map on his wrist pad. They were still fifty miles from the target area, but he knew the MCU wasn't going any further. If he sent the ECS team in he'd either have to go in with them or trust the two team leaders to complete the mission without any guidance from him. That wouldn't matter if they attacked the right target.

The terrorist training camp that the president had assigned as their target was doing a great deal of damage to the United States. About seventy-five percent of terror attacks in the last two months had been traced back to the current target. But, due to the tree coverage, the American military couldn't be sure exactly where the camp was.

The ECS team had already proved on two occasions that they weren't entirely ready to go on solo missions. With no guidance, Unit One had brought down an entire lodge on top of himself not long ago. And, god knows what would have happened in London had he not been there.

"Not a good environment for a vehicle, is it, sir," said the chief scientist who had followed him outside.

"Not really. The MCU isn't going any further and we will be out of contact range with the team if they go in on their own," the major looked up at the blazing sun above the jungle. His shirt was already damp in places from the intense heat.

"They should have thought about that before they sent us into a forest."

"Jungle," the major looked at the scientist. "It's a jungle; not a forest."

"What's the difference? There's lots of trees. It's hot. And, we shouldn't be here."

"A forest has tall trees that block the sun from reaching the ground. A jungle has smaller trees and lots of sunlight which allows for plant growth on the floor. That's what's stopping us."

"Really?"

"You're the scientist. I'd have thought you'd know that."

"I'm not interested in trees."

"Well. We're here now and it's not viable to turn back. We should have probably airdropped in and landed closer to the target."

"My soldiers can handle the terrain easily."

"You misunderstand me," said the major. "Them getting to the target's not the problem. Fifty miles would only take them around forty-five minutes. It's what they do there that concerns me."

"They'll terminate them with extreme prejudice which is what the president wants."

"What if the target coordinates are wrong and they come across a village? Will they abort the attack? Would they continue, thinking that the village was the target? Remember, they do exactly what they're assigned. If I'm not there to stop them or adapt the plan, however slightly, they could slaughter hundreds of innocents."

"With the greatest of respect, sir. I don't think you'll be able to keep up with them."

"Of course not. But I can't risk sending them on alone. Not if there's another way."

The scientist wiped his brow. "We have communication relays. Couldn't we have one above us here. Have another set up around twenty-five miles further on, and get the team to send up some drones to survey the target area before going in?"

"That could work, but the drones are only directly linked to the MCU. Could you adapt them to link with the relays?"

"Yes. I just need a few minutes."