Sholan Alliance - AU Bk 04 Ch. 16

Ike snorted, "I understand. Billy's ship is over engined for its size but I watched the thing move on the scopes. If I repeated what I said at that point I'm sure Amanda would hear me and come and thump me. It wasn't a very nice reaction." He sipped on his coffee, "Are you going to go with? If so I'll speak to my senior Marine officer. If not get me the name of who is in charge and I'll have her report to your senior officer." He appreciated the offer, "Oh, it worked on picking up Sholan's as well." He smirked at Alaric when he said that.

He grunted in reaction since he had to admit he was curious and the Sholan's smelled good, "I'll send you the information you need. I need to get back to my office. Two days and we send the troops out?" It was going to take a bit of time to arrange everything.

"Works for me. Talk to you tomorrow evening?" He called for an escort for the Grand Marshall before standing and holding his hand out, "Take care and keep a guard close. If the Organization suspects anything they will try and kill you. If they were going to shoot a Sholan they won't even think twice about you. Don't forget they also killed Billy's business partners to try and get someone into the company. Be careful, very careful."

Alaric gave him a good nod, "Already taken care of. Take care of your lovely wife and companion as well." The guard showed up and escorted him off the Barque.

~~~

The troops belonging to Ike filed onto the drop ship they were going to be using. As expected they were grumbling as they were marching on. Why the sudden exercises they didn't know but it had been ordered. Getting their armor, weapons, and ammunition on had taken a day. Once they had on-loaded all their equipment they found their berthing and felt the ship lift off.

Once the ship was in space the Marine Captain opened the sealed orders while sitting with the ship's Captain. Both had sealed orders which had caused both of them concern. Usually sealed orders like this was for operations which would never be talked about. It didn't bother them but it was concerning. The marines were members of Occam's Raiders and members of the Marine special forces. When she thought about the name of the team she always had to grin at the joke. From what she understood someone wanted to name the team Murphy's Law but the other stuck better.

After entering his personal encryption key the orders unlocked and he scrolled through them and she had to grunt, "Interesting. What do yours have to say?" She kept reading the orders and scrolled through the various sections. They were very detailed as to why they were being tasked with this and what she was to do.

"Hmm, not sure what your orders are but I've been directed to meet up with a EU drop ship as well as a light carrier and then shape course to some coordinates below the ecliptic. They also say that I'm to coordinate with you on this and the captain of the EU drop ship is going to be passing the orders." He kept reading and tensed, "Oh good, looks like we get a chance to take out an Organization base. It is heavily stealthed and we get the fun of taking it out." He kept reading as well. The orders were long and very detailed. He knew they weren't expected to adhere to every detail. Most of the details were expectations and thoughts. He knew the Admiral and had served with him.

"Oh goody, this is going to be way too much fun. Looks like you are supposed to imitate a hole in space, let us slide out the ass ramp, and slowly approach the station. Once there and we meet up with the EU troops we break in and take over. Kill any troops but keep any scientists alive if possible. I'm down with that." She didn't know Billy but he knew Ike did and they were going to get some revenge for the attempt on Billy's life and that one Sholan's life.

Both looked at each other and traded knowing grins. This was going to be fun. Both knew they were probably going to lose troops but being able to give the Organization a blow like this made them pleased. They started talking options. That section of space was pretty much empty of anything so it was going to be a very careful insertion.

~~~

I'Malon and the girls

He had taken them to the nature reserve and they had loved it. Most of the time he had the littlest girl on his hip since she was clinging to him. The older girl was holding his hand. When she had taken his hand, he had to talk to her about not squeezing to hard since it could make his claws come out. When she asked what he meant he held his hand out and extended his claws. She had gasped and carefully felt them. As she was doing that she had managed to prick a finger and ended up sucking on it, "That's why, I'd hate to accidently claw you and hurt you. We are felines and have claws on our fingers and toes. We can even run on all fours when needed."

Karen, the older girl gave him a wide-eyed look, "Really? You can run on all fours? Wow. That's cool." Since he had explained why she shouldn't hold his hand to tightly she relaxed her grip. The prick from the claw had been painful and she didn't want him to feel back if he accidently got her again.

"Yup, maybe one of these days I can show you but for now let's go swimming. I have an alert set so when they are done looking at your mom I'll be notified." He headed towards one of the pools he knew about, "The pool I'm heading to tends to have a number of Warriors like me. I'm sure they will love to have some kits to play with. Some of us have kittens of our own and miss them. Just for good measure I'll growl at them and tell them to be good." He started laughing when he said that.

The girls giggled as well. When they walked into the clearing he called out, "Hey, I'm watching these two since their mother is sick. Be good or else." He walked over to a fridge and after running his ID band across it pulled out some chilled water for the three of them. He pulled his robe off and tossed it on a chair before slipping into the water, "Come on in, it's just the right temp."

The girls watched him shuck his robe off and stared. The older girl had to wonder why he didn't look like a boy. They finally pulled their shorts and shirts off. Both had a one-piece swimsuit on and they jumped into the water as well. The older girl almost squealed, "You call this just right? It's cold!" Her sister hopped out and shivered for a moment before hopping back in.

One of the others couldn't help but laugh, "Well we do have fur so it might feel different to us. Sorry your mom's sick and you are about the age of my oldest boy. My daughter is about 8 turns old." He took a sip of his beer and laughed when the little girl splashed I'Malon. They were in the same unit, "Get him, he deserves it."

I'Malon shook his fist at the other, "I'll deal with you later, you ingrate. See if I brush your back fur again." He returned the splashing though he was careful not to make the splashes too large. They played for a while and it was obvious the girls were having fun. It was about an hour later when his comm alerted him. He checked it and stood, "Come girls, your mom is in a room. Not sure if she is awake or not but we can at least see her and you can tell her to get better soon."

The warrior gave I'Malon a concerned look. When he noticed it, he flicked an ear at them, "Several of the human's came down with something and were taken to medical. It's why I'm watching these two. I met their mother last night and spent the evening getting to know the three of them. When she was taking to medical I was asked to keep an eye on them."

"Ah, if you need help or a break let us know and we can help as well. It's nice to be able to enjoy being around kittens." He scooped the youngest girl up and walked out with her, "Once dry I'll go with you. Today is my day off and don't have anything else to do."

After letting the warm air jets dry them off they redressed and left the reserve with the girls and headed to medical. I'Malon ended up carrying the older girl since she was starting to cry. Why he wasn't sure but guessed it was because she was worried about her mom and it was bringing back memories of her father. When they walked in he walked up to the desk, "I'm Warrior I'Malon and this is Warrior K'Lesh. We are watching Djana Paula's girls since she is sick. Even if they can't give her a hug they want to see her and tell her to get better soon."

K'Lesh could feel the little girl tucking her head into his shoulder. She was crying though she wasn't sobbing. He could feel the dampness where her face was, "It's going to be okay little one. We are here for you."

The nurse looked up at the warriors before entering the names in the system. Once he was done he looked back up, "Have a seat and someone will be with you shortly. They will talk to you and show you to where she is." All five telepaths had the ni-uzu virus and were in isolation rooms.

"Thank you." They settled down and held the girls while they waited."

~~~

Anddar and ni-uzu

The Clan Lord was sitting in his cabin and mentally cursing that damn virus. The humans had been inoculated but it seemed to be able to get around it. Now they had five human telepaths in medical with it. He had just received a report about their being sick. One family he was concerned about since there was only one parent. He had requested to know what was happening with her children. When he was informed a Warrior had been assigned to keep an eye on them, he actually had to call the ship. What he found out was the Warrior had started to get to know the mother and her children.

He had been assigned to keep an eye on them and help as much as possible. Anddar had to shake his head since it seemed humans and Sholan's had a draw to each other. The reports about the pheromones had shown a very close similarity but why were they being drawn together? Billy, Satasha, and Z'Marl, Dani and Mizaki, now this? He didn't need any further mixed Leska's. The telepath's guild was already starting to be concerned about what it was going to do with the pure Sholan telepaths. How was this going to impact on their society?

It wasn't helping that Satasha had delivered a hybrid child and from what he understood Dani was pregnant as well. How were the kittens going to grow and develop? What sort of powers might they have when they were old enough to start really showing them. He really hoped the Warrior didn't end up in a link with the human woman. Since he didn't seem to have come down with the new strain of ni-uzu he didn't think it would happen but he wasn't going to hold his breath. It was going to be five to seven days before they were released from medical.

Once released they would have to go through indoc before they could be sent to Shola. A message had been sent to the guild letting them know about the delay. Thankfully he was close to finishing the treaty with the Terrans. There were another five telepaths they had identified but for the moment they were on hold. Until they knew what was going to happen with the five on the ship nobody was going anywhere.

What was so bloody annoying was he wanted to get back to his mate but it was going to be several more months before that could happen. He couldn't bring her here since she had to run the sixteen telepathic clans since he was away. He had spent time with a few of the females on the Barque but they weren't his life mate and he missed her. Unlike many theirs was a love match and they had been lucky both cared for each other. To ensure there were enough telepaths many of the matings were arranged and the best one could hope for was they were able to get along. Thankfully his oldest girl got along reasonably well with her life mate. With a shake of his head he went back to work.

~~~

Prep for the Assault

The three ships had finally reached the station. They were sitting quite away back from it and were using their passive sensors to identify everything they could. The important parts they were looking for was hanger bays, service hatches, and antenna's. When they started the assault, they would blanket the local area with a EMCON field which would block any radio communications. It would start until they were either discovered or the troops had started the attack.

They were using whisker lasers for the communications for one last quick review of the plans. Once they were confirmed they shut the lasers down and the troops headed to the morgue to get suited up. For this assault, their suits were configured for a stealth approach. They had a flat black EM absorption coating. It was based on the pain which had been used on the stealth fighters from the early 2K's but far more advanced. Even their weapons had the coating. Once they were in the station they would activate their stealth shields. It would make them blend in with the light and pain on the station. It didn't make them invisible but hard to detect.

As each man sealed his armor his buddy would verify the connections and status. Everyone loaded up on several types of ammo. The last thing they wanted was to puncture the hull unless they didn't have a choice. They had frangible ammo for use against unarmored people. Light armor piercing for those with armor, less than lethal grenades as well as lethal grenades. There was other ammo but only a few had it since it was very specialized. Their rifles and pistols were able to have two types of ammo loaded in separate clips. It allowed them to select what they needed to use. It was the same with the grenades. After everyone had been double and triple checked they headed towards the aft air lock. They all thought of it as exiting the ship out the ass of it.

Once they reached the exit they left ten at a time until all were outside. They connected a fiber line to each suit so they had totally safe communications. The Captain would control the suits as they were heading towards the station. After a check to ensure everyone's suit was working correctly he sighted in on the station. For the moment, he was taking data from the ship's sensors. Once they detached from the hull of the ship they would be using inertial navigation to reach the station, "Prepare to release from the ship." He checked, "Disengage!" He activated his jets and with several puffs they accelerated towards the station. It was going to take several hours but they had the O2 and food to make it, "Sleep in sections as planned. It is going to be approximately twelve hours before we reach the ship. Study, sleep, read, listen to music but ensure you are rested when he arrive." He settled in and passed command over to his second and was quickly asleep. He would be awakened in six hours.

~~~

Lycos talks to Billy

He wasn't happy with what they had found about the flower sender. He had scheduled an appointment with the ambassador. When he was finally called in he saluted Billy, "We have found the sender of the flowers Ambassador." He handed the clipboard over to Billy to look it.

Billy took the board and quickly reviewed what it showed. Before he realized it he snapped the board in half and was snarling a number of curses, "Dismissed Lycos. I'll deal with this." He was seeing read and needed some time to calm down.