Chapter 1 - The Plan

Explosions and the bright flash of energy weapons could be seen in every direction.� Delta Company had made a textbook drop from orbit to test Sa'arm defensive capabilities and was getting its butt kicked.

"This isn't working, Commander Kehoe!"� Lieutenant Timmons shouted into her implant.� "As soon as we knock out the last position in a battery, the first one opens up on us again.� It's like Iwo Jima all over again."

Both the Leopard bringing in reinforcements and the A20 covering it took anti-aircraft hits from positions flanking their approach vector.� The two craft augured in after passing over Second Platoon.�� The Leopard barely missed them when it hit belly up no more than fifty meters away.� The tougher A20 was a bit more graceful as it turned dirt into dust three hundred meters further away.

Timmons called down the medivac shuttles as her platoon started pulling survivors and bodies from the downed Leopard.� Privates Fitzgerald and Sewell raced to the A20 in their commandeered six-wheel mule and pulled the injured pilot from the remains of his mangled craft.� He triggered its self-destruct and the wounded craft turned itself into scrap metal before they rolled up to Timmons at the smoldering shuttle.

It looked like half the Sa'arm Units on Tulak were converging on them as the last of the casualties were pushed into the remaining medivac shuttles.

"Son of a bitch!"� Master Gunnery Sergeant Raymond Budzinski shouted as he looked around at the ridges crawling with Sa'arm infantry.� The Sa'arm didn't appear to have artillery support, but they were rapidly converging on the hopelessly outnumbered platoon.

The mule could outrun the Sa'arm units that were moving to close the only open gap available for the platoon's escape, but it could carry no more than six Marines.� The small vehicle was intended to resupply a platoon in the field from the beachhead; not ferry a platoon around the battlefield.

Lt. Timmons was feeling a bit like General Custer as her troops fired ineffectively into the horde with small arms, mortars, and RPGs.� They were killing Sa'arm units by the hundreds, but for every one that they dropped, three more topped the ridge.

"Miller!"� Budzinski shouted, "Give me a hand up here!"� He released the pulse cannon pod from the hardpoint on the Leopard.� "Williams, give her a hand with this.� Put it across the mule."� Budzinski passed his end of the weapon to Williams and disappeared into the smoke filled interior of the wreckage.

The two Marines laid the cannon across the waist-high mule.� Budzinski emerged from the Leopard with a power cell and cable.� The improvised self-propelled artillery unit was far from stable and both Miller and Budzinski sustained serious internal injuries as they used it without a mount. �But they were able to kill enough of the Sa'arm units with each blast to keep them thinned down to numbers that were manageable for small arms and hand-to-hand. �The platoon managed to hold out until Timmons 'brought on the rain' from a flight of orbiting A20's.� With rockets and cluster bombs they cleared a three hundred meter perimeter around the besieged platoon.

A Leopard came in behind the A20's and extracted Second platoon.� Most of the casualties that boarded the shuttle were random body parts stuffed into body bags, but Timmons accounted for all forty-seven members of her platoon before she gave the loadmaster the thumbs up for dust off.

The A20's made a final pass and saturated the wide valley with ordinance seconds after the heavy explosion of the destruct package took out the classified equipment in the downed Leopard.

The Leopard started another descent to pick up a few stragglers from Fourth Platoon, but from the shuttle cockpit it looked like the ground opened up and swallowed the Marines right before the Leopard landed.� The Leopard pilot aborted the landing and called for an airstrike.� Two A20's streaked in and dropped Beehive cluster bombs over the pit while another two strafed and bombed the two small groups of Sa'arm units that were standing on high ground nearby.

The Leopard returned and deployed Second Platoon at the rim of the pit.� Timmons and her platoon were only able to collect four bags of body parts from the pit before they returned to the assault ship overhead.

Major General Charles Allen collected the mission plan materials his staff had prepared and placed them in a briefcase before handing the locked case to his aide.� It was time to present the plan to General Thornberry and hope that he would see the benefit of such a daring mission.� The two officers made their way across the military complex on Dothan to General Thornberry's briefing room.

General Allen had sent General Thornberry a brief of the mission objectives and was relieved to see that it had been included on today's agenda.� When the box above it was checked off, Thornberry turned to Allen, "Tell us about gathering data on the Sa'arm underground installations, Charles."

General Allen's aide, Major Charlotte Wilson, queued the presentation on the projector.� The general stood and began speaking.� "Every time we've attempted to penetrate a Sa'arm underground installation we get our heads handed to us.� All attempts to probe their warrens have resulted in the destruction of the probe shortly after it penetrates the outer defenses.� We have no accurate data on the structural integrity, general layout, sensors, or defense mechanisms used in Sa'arm warrens.� We do know that they can disgorge more Sa'arm units and weapon systems than we can counter, and nothing we've attempted to date has provided any reliable intelligence on how their installations can be breached or neutralized."

The bored faces around the room discouraged Allen, but he pressed forward.� "We need to examine the interior of their underground facilities to learn how deep they go, where we can expect alternate access points to appear, and how we can defeat their security systems.� We believe we can do all of these things if we can find an abandoned facility."

A few faces perked up and started paying attention as General Allen continued, "A likely place to find such a place is on a world that has been depleted of its resources and abandoned, a world that is probably deep within Sa'arm occupied space."

"My staff has prepared a mission plan to find such a world, gather detailed intelligence about their most secret places, and return with valuable data about their structure, layout, and defenses.� The analysis of this new data can then be used to develop weapons and tactics for neutralizing their underground facilities.� Until these installations can be breeched, we are, at best, only fighting a delaying action."

Major Wilson displayed the slide with the recommended order of battle.

Before General Allen could continue, Rear Admiral James Forney spoke up, "My God, Man!� That isn't a reconnaissance mission; it's a damned invasion force!� We can't possibly divert that kind of resources just to find out where the Sa'arm live and breed."

Even General Thornberry was critical, "At this juncture I have to agree with Admiral Forney.� There's no chance that any force we send that deep into Sa'arm territory can be expected to fight its way out.� If it's a division that gets caught on the ground, then we'll lose a division.� If it�s a hundred ships that are jumped by a hive fleet, then we lose a hundred ships."

Thornberry sighed, "I agree that intelligence about what they have buried out of our sight is something that we must have, and your concept is a sound way of getting that intelligence.� Let's revisit this after you've cut the resources to the minimum that can accomplish the mission within a year.� Remember, it has to be a force that we can afford to lose if they're caught by surprise."

"Yes, sir," Allen replied.� What else could he say?

General Allen appeared calm through the balance of the meeting, but Major Wilson knew he was pissed.� Generals don't like to be embarrassed by anyone at any time, and to have to just stand there and take it made it worse.� She had tried to counsel him to get the opinion of some of the other panel members before presenting his plan, but it wouldn't be politic to mention that now.

On the way outside the general didn't even look at her.� He just said, "Take care of it."

"Yes, sir."� Major Wilson had no problem talking to generals.� She knew just what to say to them.� She sympathized with Allen's concubines, though.� They were going to catch hell for the next few days.� Men with bruised egos could be such little boys.

Back in her office she did a search of personnel in or near Dothan. �She needed someone who could give her the probability of a ship finding an abandoned Sa'arm planet.� Ensign Mark Wallace had been an astronomer and astrophysicist before being extracted from Earth, and he was right here on Dothan being trained in surveillance and sensor analysis.� He sounded like the perfect candidate.� During a quick call to Wallace's commanding officer Wilson assured the colonel that Major General Allen would be grateful for the favor. �He gave her immediate access to Ensign Wallace.

With the standard Marine enhancement package Ensign Wallace no longer looked like a geek, but only a dedicated nerd could have the focus required to run the hundreds of simulations that he created using what was known about the stars in the suspected Sa'arm section of the Orion Spur. �Wallace calculated that a K'treel class explorer should be able to locate a planet matching the criteria in about a year.� It would need three months to get into the target area and another nine months of searching.

Major Wilson reviewed Ensign Wallace's results.� It was clear to her that three small ships should be used to conduct the search, with a fourth ship acting as command and control as well as providing transportation for the ground units.�

The sensors recommended by Ensign Wallace allowed spectral and gravitational analysis of stars as well as atmosphere analysis of planets.� High-resolution laser and radar systems permitting detail mapping of the surface of most any type of planet, moon, or asteroid were part of the recommended equipment.� The package was much more sophisticated than the one normally found on even K'treel exploration ships. �And, this was going to be a military reconnaissance mission into enemy territory, not a jaunt into unexplored space.� It was a job for the Navy, not the Fleet Auxiliary.

Major Wilson requested a meeting with Admiral Forney's staff to determine what ships could be made available from the vessels that the Navy was holding in reserve.�

Forney's aide, Lieutenant Colonel Carl Segal, offered, "There are eleven of the Sir Lancelot Class assault ships that are not likely to be required for some time.� They're being phased out and replaced by the Tarawa Class ships.� But even the Tarawas aren't in demand at the moment.� The Marines keep getting their butts kicked when they show up in force."

Wilson displayed discomfort when responding, "I don't know, Colonel.� This mission is deep into Sa'arm-controlled space and will require orbiting a planet.� It's not really the ideal setting for a large, unarmed ship.� What can you spare that's small, fast, armed, and expendable?"

"You're making this sound like a suicide mission," Segal frowned.� "I don't like sending ships on suicide runs."

Wilson nodded, "That's why I believe that using a fleet of unarmed and unescorted Sir Lancelot assault ships is a formula for disaster.� Admiral Thornberry seems to think that whatever we send will be destroyed if they encounter the Sa'arm.� I'd hate for it to be something as big as an assault ship."

"Well," Segal sat back considering the possibilities, "There's a small selection of Castle class corvettes that could probably be spared for a year, but they don't have the capability of carrying the sensor package you need.� Plus, there's no way you could squeeze even a platoon of Marines into a corvette!"

Wilson thought about the limitations of the Castle class corvettes and proposed, "What about three corvettes to do the surveying and scouting with a single close-support carrier to bring in the Marines once the target area has been secured by the corvettes?"

Segal shook his head, "We can't spare a carrier.� It's taking all of the carriers and heavy cruisers we can muster to hold the blockade at Tulak.� Those Sa'arm bastards have been consistently increasing the size of the fleets being sent both to and from Tulak in their attempt to reestablish communication between Tulak and the rest of the Sa'arm collective.� These larger fleets entering in force is why we've had to withdraw the corvettes.� They were too much at risk of getting slaughtered even as pickets."

"Uh huh," Wilson acknowledged; then asked, "How about cutting down the troop capacity of a Sir Lancelot assault ship and adding some minimal weapons to give it a chance to make a hole and run?� It could also assume the role of fleet command and control for the three corvette scouts."

"That make sense," Segal agreed.� "But you still wouldn't have a place on the hull of a Castle class corvette for all of the sensors you require."� Segal brought up the specifications for the Castle Class vessels.� "They have a tough spine, but anything projecting very far from the hull behind this forward section will interfere with the particle beam projectors and possibly throw the ship out-of-balance."

A junior member of the Admiral's staff, Commander Sarah Bronson had been sitting quietly, but suggested, "We could remove both of the outdated particle beam projectors.� One turret could be replaced with Wallace's wish list of sensors, and the other replaced with one of the new 130mm plasma cannons.� Each one of these new cannons is more powerful than the combined output of both of the projectors currently installed on a corvette.� The point-defense units could also be upgraded to use the new high-speed 38mm pulse cannons that are effective against lightly armored ships as well as being lethal to missiles."

"The plasma cannons are heavier and require a lot more power that the particle beam projectors," Segal was shaking his head.� "However, if I understand Major Wilson's mission, they'll be running if the Sa'arm show up; not charging into them.� The arc plasma torpedo is only effective against targets in front of the corvette.� Bronson, see what escape tactics you can develop if we replace the torpedo room with Wilson's sensors and upgrade both projectors to 130mm plasma cannons."

Bronson responded, "I'll get on it right away, sir."

Looking at Wilson he said, "Let's give Bronson a chance to work that problem and reconvene in three days."

"Very good, Colonel," Wilson agreed.� "Thank you both for your time."

Commander Bronson was an experienced spacecraft engineer, but three days?� The massive spacecraft, including the relatively small Castle class corvettes, were a mix of nautical and aeronautical engineering nightmares.� Even with the compensators, the thrust of the powerful sub-light and FTL engines used on starships could flex sections of the hull about undesired pivot points when an off-center mass creates unexpected moments of force on the frame.� Weight distribution in the long vessels was often more critical than the total mass.

Bronson knew that this was an important assignment and didn't want to rush into it tired.� She had gathered up the specifications for the proposed ships and equipment and headed home to her Swedish bath to clear her head and think.

After the heat of the bath had drained her, she had her only male concubine, Hasid, work the remaining tension out with a full body massage.� Hasid was very skilled with his hands � and other body parts.� Bronson delighted in dominating the large Turk that she had selected during her extraction from the exotic coffee house in New York, but it was a bit like keeping a tiger as a pet.� She never knew when he might rebel and fight back, but as the only male in her stable of four concubines, Hasid was kept amused day and night.

Bronson got off on rough sex and loved it when Hasid would force his big tool into her ass.� She even gave him the occasional treat of fucking a virgin.� The nanobots could grow a new arm or leg in a few weeks, so restoring her hymen was child's play for the microscopic automatons.� It was one of the major carrots that kept Hasid in line.

She rolled onto her back and Hasid started working the warm oil into the soft skin of her thighs.� She was thinking about any nonessential equipment that could be removed from the corvettes to make room for additional fuel for the long mission, larger engines, and bigger power generators.� Hasid was thinking about her denuded pussy.� He would gently brush the soft lips as his hands swirled at the tops of her thighs.

Curiosity was killing Hasid.� Bronson hadn't fucked him in several days.� That frequently meant that she was a virgin again.� Hasid had finished with her legs and had moved up to work on her pectoral muscles and firm breasts.� She moaned softly as Hasid gently abused her soft breasts and roughly abused her hard nipples.� They both knew that he would be exploring her slit when his hands again reached the juncture of her thighs.

Hasid didn't rush.� Bronson's knowing smile as he worked on her chest had given him a clue about what he'd find when he delved into her inner lips.� As he worked on the hard muscles beneath the soft skin of her abdomen, sweat had broken out on his upper lip as he anticipated what he would find and struggled to decide between using his fingers or his tongue to probe her sex.

Bronson held her breath as Hasid's slick fingers stroked her lower abdomen in slow, sweeping circles.� She pushed into the hand that finally slid over her bare pussy and gasped when a lone finger stroked her slit firmly.� The curious finger slid across her vagina as it travelled slowly from the perineum to the clitoris.� The finger continued a circular massage of the tight bundle of nerves at the top of the bare slit as Bronson breathed in short gasps.

Hasid knew this game very well.� He continued to excite her with his touch until she could take no more.� Bronson sat up and swung her legs off of the massage table.� He took her hand to steady her as she struggled for balance as she led him to a low padded bench where she knelt with her butt high in the air.

She braced herself on her elbows as Hasid moved behind her and began to stroke her hips, thighs, and finally her sex.� Bronson prepared herself as Hasid got into position to tear through her hymen yet again, but she was surprised when his lubricated pole pushed into her anus instead.

"Agh, what are you doing!"� Bronson shouted in surprise and pain at the unexpected intrusion into her unprepared rectum.� Hasid had gravity working for him and the more she struggled, the deeper his thick cock penetrated the stretched and burning tissue.

Hasid sounded very pleased with himself as he answered, "I take you by surprise, no?"� He reached for her swollen nipples with one hand and her excited clitoris with the slick fingers he had used to covertly apply lubricant to his dick.

As she was rather brutally fucked in the ass, it flashed in her head to do the same thing to the Sa'arm.� She couldn't hold the thought for long because Hasid was pushing her over the brink into a very satisfying climax.� As she thrashed in orgasm she felt semen pulse through the vein of his incredibly hard cock and spray deep into her bowels.

It was several minutes before either could move.� They helped each other into the shower and gently washed the oil, sweat, and remnants of sex from each other's body.

"Thank you, Hasid," Bronson said as she gently caressed his jaw with her hand and kissed his lips.� "That was very exciting."

"Thank you, Sarah," Hasid replied as he helped her into a light robe.� "I'll keep things quiet while you work.� I sensed that you were distracted and probably have important things on your mind tonight.� We'll deal with your new hymen when I can have your full attention."

She smiled in appreciation of his perception.� He was a brutal beast when he was in her bed, but he was a considerate lover when he was on his feet.

'What was it that had flashed through my head with Hasid's surprise attack?'� Bronson was replaying the image that flashed through her head just before she was consumed with the pleasures of the flesh.

She was lost in thought when she sat down at her terminal and looked up the B53 bomb.� There were fifty of them in storage on Earth.� They were simple and crude, but incredibly effective.� The W53 variant fit nicely into the General Electric Mk 6 warhead that was capable of gently delivering the weapon to the surface of a planet from space.� The shape and composition of the ablative materials covering the warhead protected it from the heat of atmospheric entry and slowed it to subsonic speeds before it even descended to ten thousand meters in Earth's atmosphere.� It would be simple enough to add a radar altimeter to replace both the barometric switch in the base and the frangible wires in the nose.� That would keep the speed from being as critical in atmospheres of different density.� The radar device could also double as a proximity fuse if it were deployed as a mine.

General Thornberry had been looking for an opportunity to speak privately and discretely with Admiral Forney about the mission General Charles Allen had proposed. �Thornberry took Forney aside at one of the frequent cocktail parties hosted by the rarely seen Fleet Admiral Paul Gunn.� "I'm glad I bumped into you, Jim.� We were a bit rough on Charles at Monday's briefing.� I understand that his aide, Major Wilson, is working with your Colonel Segal to turn his extravaganza into something workable."

"I've pretty much given Colonel Segal a free hand provided he doesn't take resources away from the Tulakat blockade," Forney confirmed as he nodded.� "I suspect that your parameters are going to require a number of ships to coordinate a widespread search.� Who are you thinking should be in command of the expedition?"

Thornberry scratched his chin, "I'm thinking it should be someone from Naval Intelligence.� If it takes more than a platoon, then I'm not inclined to approve the plan.� Whom do you have who's qualified to command a fleet and can be spared for a year?"

"Jason Achord just got his first star.� He has no combat experience, but he's a damned fine organizer and intelligence officer."� Forney suggested and then asked.� "Could he have Major Wilson on his staff?"

Thornberry burst out with a laugh, "Oh hell no!� She's the only one I have who can keep Charles in line!"� He reflected for a moment before asking, "How about that pain-in-the-ass on your staff, Commander Bronson?"

Forney nodded as he answered, "She's a bit of a wild card, but doesn't have any combat experience, either.� Not that it really matters.� If they get boxed in by Sa'arm and can't run, well, then they're all dead anyway.� If they do make it back this mission would give her some of the seasoning she needs to advance further. �No need to send a bunch of experienced personnel on such a long, boring mission.� We may need the experienced officers here in case the Sa'arm hit Tulak with something too big for the space superiority carriers to handle."

Thornberry nodded agreement before changing the subject, "How's that new Korean masseuse working out for you?"

A big, satisfied grin took over Forney's facial expression, "I had no idea that anyone could do such things with the human body!� There's no way to describe it, and I'm afraid I wouldn't get her back if I loaned her to you."

The two officers laughed as they wander back into the crowded room.

Three days after her meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Segal and Major Wilson, Commander Bronson met with them again.� She projected the modified corvette plans on the conference room's screen as she presented her proposed changes.� "I believe that the Castle class corvettes can be modified to fulfill the requirements established by Major Wilson.� With the removal of the arc plasma torpedoes, the existing power network can accommodate the 130mm plasma guns, provided that the sensor package is powered down.� The additional weight of the sensors, heavier armament, and additional fuel required for a twelve-month mission will require upgrading the acceleration compensators and replacing the engines with newer, more powerful models.� The existing generators will be adequate under the previously mentioned restriction."

Pointing to the aft section just ahead of the existing fuel tanks, she detailed another major change.� "The auxiliary weapons bays in each ship can be modified to carry the additional fuel.� The inability to deliver mines is offset by adding external mounts out of the way of the guns along the dorsal and ventral ridges for two B53 bombs and two PAM rockets attached to General Electric Mark Six delivery vehicles carrying the W53 variant of the B53 ten megaton fusion bomb. �Actually, the bombs are nine-point-eight megaton devices, but why quibble over such a small technicality?� In any case, the six kilometer fireball should be enough to discourage any pursuer or interceptor."

Colonel Segal pointed out, "The Sa'arm have been consistently hitting incoming missiles from ranges of five to ten kilometers.� It would be easy for them to avoid the B53 deployed as a mine and shoot down a big two-and-a-half by ten-meter rocket."

Bronson smiled, "If they wait until the missile is ten kilometers away, then it's already too late.� If one of these bombs detonates within fifteen kilometers of their ships, then they will certainly be destroyed by the heat and radiation.� The high-speed neutrons will kill the crews from a lot further away than that."

Bronson added, "The six kilometer fireball reaches several million degrees Kelvin in microseconds.� You're not going to be able to stand next to that kind of heat and live, not even in the vacuum of space.� The weapon won't need to hit the enemy; it just needs to get close.� After all, 'close counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and thermonuclear devices'.� In fact, it won't matter if the explosion doesn't damage their ships at all as long as it makes the intercepting Sa'arm ships maneuver away from our escaping ships."

Major Wilson snorted and nodded, "Messy, but effective.� What about the assault ship?� Can it be armed?"

Bronson switched slides, "Not really.� It doesn't have the power infrastructure or structural integrity to support heavy weapons on the exterior.� It would take months to tear one down and rebuild it from the spine out.� But, it can be equipped with six of the 38mm point defense lasers.� If we convert the aft Leopard bay into a small Galileo class shuttle bay, then it can also house twelve of the Mark Six missiles internally along the central spine of the ship aft of the Galileo bay.� It doesn't have any suitable locations for external hardpoints to accommodate four thousand kilogram bombs much less thirty-seven thousand kilogram missiles."

Pointing to the aft section, "The aft troop accommodations and part of the aft shuttle bay will be needed for the additional fuel.� To be able to keep up with the corvettes, it will need a completely new acceleration compensator and engine package.� Fortunately, the internal backbone is that of a heavy freighter and it can easily withstand the stress of the bigger engines."

Wilson asked, "Can we expand the assault ship's CIC to support ship-to-ship messaging and naval combat in addition to its original ground assault role?"

Bronson nodded, "Already done."� She switched to the internal detail above the aft Galileo bay.� "The original ship has space for a reinforced company of marines.� These quarters above each of the Leopard bays house the two platoons that a Leopard can drop.� True to its Darjee freighter origins, the bridge and crew quarters are between the forward and aft sections.� Even with most of the aft section being used for fuel, we can carve out a bit of the space above the Galileo bay to house a larger CIC and accommodate additional message drones. ��The forward section still accommodates two reinforced platoons."

She switched back to the corvette slide, "The sensor package takes up less space than the torpedo mount.� Adding message drones to the corvettes shouldn't be a problem, either."

Bronson pointed out, "I chose the Mark Six warheads to replace the mines because they can also effectively deliver the W53 as a bunker buster if the marines stir up trouble on the ground.� Using the ground burst option of the Mark Six; the bomb doesn't detonate until it slams into the ground.� The resulting crater is one hundred to one hundred fifty meters deep and one-point-five to two kilometers in diameter depending upon soil composition, terrain, and atmospheric conditions.� A sequence of three or four at thirty-minute intervals will dig out any bunker we've encountered, if we can find it."

Wilson asked, "Will our Darjee watchdogs allow us to use nuclear weapons?"

Segal smiled, "I think this is a case of 'don't ask, don't tell' for our Confederacy allies.� This is a low profile mission that shouldn't get much of their attention.� If the tactic is successful, we might push them into allowing us to play hardball in the future."

"A personal request if I may," Bronson asked with a serious expression.� "I'd like to be assigned as an advisor aboard the assault ship.� I've studied this tactic for some time and believe that I can contribute, even though I don't hold the required rank."

Wilson nodded when Segal promised, "I'll see what I can do.� You put together an impressive presentation in just three days.� Clearly you've been working on this tactic for some time on your own."

Major General Charles Allen signed the formal request to make four modified ships available for the reconnaissance mission and forwarded it to Rear Admiral James Forney.� Since the admiral's staff had been previously consulted, they were able to immediately recommend specific ships.� The requested modifications would require two months and, except for the expendable assault ship, would not significantly impact their capability to accomplish their original tactical mission.

Adm. Forney didn't see a future use for the sensor package, but liked the recommended weapon and engine upgrades enough to approve the proposal as written.� He ordered the Sir Galahad, the Farnham Castle, the Hurst Castle, and the Lancaster Castle moved to the naval depot yard at Dothan for modification and their crews to report to the attached training facility.

The exact size and composition of the ground units became the object of much debate among General Allen's planning staff.� The absolute minimum would be single platoon.� They could get by with a squad to penetrate the facility, a second squad to serve as lookouts, and a third squad to provide fire support and suppressive fire to cover a retreat to a transporter.� The entire platoon needed to be levelheaded veterans.� Green recruits would get themselves and others killed if the Sa'arm were encountered.

When General Allen again presented the mission plan at General Thornberry's staff meeting there were no objections and there was no discussion.� The plan was approved as written.�

General Allen had just read an award recommendation report about an under-strength platoon that had been recently withdrawn from Tulak after collecting considerable experience fighting the Sa'arm �.