"The usual," Sedova said with a grin. "Complaining about the ride and busting for a fight. I don't envy the Hammers. Kallewi and his marines will tear them new ones."
Michael laughed. "You don't say? You've copied our systems status?"
"Have, sir. Pleased to see you'll be able to do your bit after all."
"Don't be cheeky, Lieutenant Sedova. Anyway, good luck. Widowmaker, out."
When he dropped the comm, Michael glanced at Ferreira. "You okay?"
"Apart from nearly shitting myself, yes, I think so."
"Know what you mean," Michael said. "Hold on while I update the troops. All stations, command. Well, folks, we're good to go, and there are no changes to the ops plan. At the moment we are about 60 kilometers to the southeast of McNair, heading east. In two minutes' time, we'll cross the coast. There we'll leave Alley Kat and Hell Bent to head for the lay-up point, Point Lima, to drop off Chief Bienefelt and her team before rejoining the rest of the team for the final assault on the camp. Command, out."
Michael settled back, happy to leave Widowmaker in the capable hands of Mother, the lander rattling and banging its way through the turbulence toward the coast.
Bienefelt commed him. "Command, LALO leader."
"Command. Why so formal, Matti?"
"Just wanted to say, sir, that if you ever put me through anything like this again, I'll… I'll, well, I'll just have to do something about it," she finished lamely.
"Sorry, Chief," Michael said, grinning, "but it can't be helped. Anyway, the lander's fine, I'm fine, and so, by the sounds of it, are you."
"Yeah, yeah," Bienefelt grumbled.
"Joking aside, you set?"
"Yes, sir. All drop pods are nominal, and the sooner you can get us all on the ground, the better."
"Let me see… yes, we'll be feet dry in 50 seconds, then it's 2 minutes 48 to Point Lima. I expect to have your size 500 feet on the ground in less than four minutes. Happy?"
"Yes, sir," Bienefelt said. "Can't wait. Good luck. Hope it all goes well."
"Thanks. Command, out."
"Sir," Ferreira said, "I think that's the NRA calling."
"Patch me in, Jayla. It's about time," Michael said. "NRA, Helfort. Authenticate."
"I authenticate Uzuma, repeat Uzuma."
Relief washed over Michael. "Roger. Stand by burst transmission… sending now."
"Roger… receipt confirmed."
"Message is encrypted; passkey is name of man who escorted me after the attack on DocSec convoy. Repeat, passkey is name of man who escorted me after the attack on DocSec convoy. Do you copy?"
"Understood."
"Good. Tell General Vaas I'll be in touch. We've got work to do. Helfort, out."
"Think they'll buy it?" Ferreira asked, her face set in an anxious frown.
"Yes," Michael said more firmly than he felt. "We've got too much to offer."
Ferreira nodded, and Widowmaker's flight deck fell silent while the lander rocketed toward the coastline. If anything, conditions outside were deteriorating. The tropical depression was more than living up to Michael's expectations, dumping rain in thick driving sheets that smashed into the lander's windscreen, winds gusting more than 60 kilometers per hour, the night sky punctuated by the spectral white flares of lightning. Michael was happy with that; the thick layer of cloud and the intense lightning overhead were making the Hammer's elaborate spaceborne defenses all but useless and their formidable armory of ship-killing lasers and kinetic weapons impotent.
"Command, tac. Stand by decoy… now!"
"Command, tac. Stand by… feet dry. Coming right to 120."
"Roger. Alley Kat, Widowmaker. Feet dry. Breaking away. Will confirm ETA at 5209 on completion of drop."
"Alley Kat, roger."
"Loadmaster, command. Two minutes to run. Stand by to launch pods."
"Loadmaster, roger, stand by… LALO pods ready to launch."
"Roger."
"Command, tac. Point Lima coming up abeam. Turning in for drop run. All pods nominal."
Michael had no time to reply before Mother slammed the lander over into a tight, banking turn, foamalloy wings biting hard into the air, artificial gravity rippling in its struggle to absorb the savage g forces. The maneuver was so brutal, so close to the limits, that afterward he would swear Widowmaker's overloaded wings and airframe screamed in protest.
"Command, tac. Ramp going down."
Michael did not need to be told; his hands were clamped to the seat as Widowmaker bucked and heaved under him. The lander's aerodynamics resembled those of a brick at the best of times; forcing the ramp down at speed made it close to unflyable.
"Stand by pod launch… launching now… Launch was good, pods are good. Cleaning up."
"Command, roger," Michael replied, eyes locked on the lander's aft-facing holocams while they tracked the pods, fleeting blurs against the night sky, gone almost before they were seen. Anxiously he watched the systems status board; drop pod technology was good, but like everything built by humans, pods failed sometimes. In quick succession, the pods' tightbeam datalinks reported their progress: clean launch… pods stable in ballistic free fall… transition to winged flight… decelerating… established on vector to landing zone… chutes deployed… landed. He took a deep breath of relief and turned back to the command plot, his heart beginning to pound with excitement now that he was so close to rescuing Anna.
"Command, tac. Two minutes to target, and we're on schedule."
"Roger. All stations, two minutes."
What followed remained burned into Michael's memory for the rest of his days, burned deep by a mix of fear and elation: fear that Anna might not be there after all, elation that she might. "Command, tac. We have tightbeam comms with Alley Kat and Hell Bent. They are 10 seconds from the IP."
Michael studied the command plot while it updated. The Gladiator operations plan called for Widowmaker to arrive over the target after the two heavy landers had made their second pass. Without any detailed intelligence on the camp's defenses, Alley Kat and Hell Bent would trash everything outside the camp's razor-wire fences: guard towers, barracks, admin buildings, workshops, stores, everything. Then the landers would take out a planetary ground defense force training base next door. All had to go in an orgy of destruction that Michael knew the crews of the two landers were going to enjoy.
"Command, tac. Alley Kat reports first pass completed. No opposition. They're lining up for the second pass, then will take out the PGDF base before landing while Hell Bent puts the blocking force in position."
"Roger."
"Command, tac. Second pass completed. We are cleared to land."