Chapter 93

Apollo

Being on patrol in a nearby solar system Apollo had answered the call to return to Atlantis for mission reassignment quickly. During her hour long high speed dash to Lantea a ready reaction team of six 1st SFOD operators geared up for deployment. The highly trained men of the much famed but secretive direct action unit steeled themselves for any eventuality they may face. Beaming aboard Apollo the six operators along with Colonel Dean Frost set out to find out exactly what situation they would be facing. Ready for her intelligence gathering mission Apollo leaped into hyperspace.

Joining Apollo's commander on the bridge was Colonel Frost. Seeing the steely eyed warfighter in their midst the bridge crew of the Apollo treated him with a difference and respect normally reserved for someone much higher ranking. Seeing Frost enter Colonel Ellis rose from his seat and shook his opposite's hand.

"I don't have a full brief on what we're doing here. Can you fill me in Colonel" asked Ellis.

"At this point it's unconfirmed but we have intel to suggest Genii forces have overrun Dagan, and are holding many of the population by force. We're going to jump in quietly and verify that fact while gathering as much intel as possible. Trust but verify is a motto to live by" replied Frost.

"Will we be inserting the men you brought aboard with you" asked Ellis.

"At this time I'm going to say no, but that hinges on what the scene looks like upon our arrival. I would rather not send my boys in blind on something like this as I'm sure you can understand" answered Frost.

"When we exit hyperspace we'll move into low planetary orbit. Our sensors and other intelligence gathering systems should make sense of what's going on at ground level relatively quickly. Right now my people are primed for planet wide scanning, anything specific you need a closer look at please have the sensor operator's task in on" stated Ellis.

"For starters I'm going to need full spectrum photographic doc.u.mentation of the larger structures, along with interior life sign and infrared scans. From there we can scan outlying structures and wilderness areas. I'll also need a full spectrum radio sweep to see what frequencies there are operating on" explained Frost.

"I'll have the sensor stations calibrated for that before we get there. We should exit hyperspace in about ninety minutes. That should give us enough time to outfit two of the 302's with Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System pods. The will give us a closer look at things, but it will announce our presence unless they stay above ten thousand feet at sub mach numbers" stated Ellis.

"Go ahead and make that happen. We're going to need all the intel we can get our hands on to present to the Pentagon. This one is going to go up the ladder quick I'm thinking. While you take care of your end I'll go see that my boys are prepped and ready if needed" finished Frost.

As Apollo blazed towards her target through hyperspace those aboard the vessel sprang into action. In the port side hanger bay crew chiefs went about attaching the TARS pods to the sleek interceptors, while others were prepped for an as needed air support mission. Pilots in the ready room were briefed on the coming mission objectives, and their preplanned mission profiles. Elsewhere aboard the vessel Frost saw to it that the six operators' that had accompanied him were ready. Weapons already cleaned were stripped and field cleaned, ceramic plates were added to body armor, and encrypted soldier to soldier radio links were tested. Ten minutes before exiting hyperspace all were ready. Pilots flying the reconnaissance mission sat in their c.o.c.kpits with engines already idling. Four other pilots standing by in the alert aircraft sat with electronic systems already aligned in preparation for rapid startup and departure should the need arise.

Dropping out of hyperspace close to Dagan the Apollo quickly established low planetary orbit. Her powerful sensors and intelligence collections systems jumping into action Apollo began to vacuum up sensor data in vast amounts. In the hanger bay the TARS pod equipped 302's launched for their trip to the atmosphere below.

"I'm showing an active wormhole at this time. Sensors indicate a steady stream of life forms and material flowing from the gate" called out the sensor operator.