Flying some 5,000 feet hight (almost 2,000 meters) several airplanes have their back door in the cargo area open, they flying over the desert, some 30 kilometers between them, 4 keep the formation, but any person from the Earth would feel strange call this "airplane", their wingspan is much less than the main body and if you have seen the A380 or the Beluga version from Airbus, this characteristics is much more obvious, they had "wings", but shorter in length and more wider and in place of big turbines, there's small in comparison "tubes", this not the only difference: the sound and stability, the first is almost like nothing is there and for the second: a plane that can literally perform VTOL land and lift off manuovers, there no point stress the stability issue.
[This is Sierra Foxtrot Tango 07, Group Alpha Charlie 23, do you copy?]
[Sierra Foxtrot Tango 07, this is Group Alpha Charlie 23, leader Alpha Charlie 2237, we receive crystal clear]
[Ok, that's good, we need you to take 3,000 meters high and proceed with the mission tasks]
[Group Alpha Charlie 23 got it, starting the deployment mission]
Thomas, was the pilot of this double decker cargo plane, the rise the altitude and the markers starting to flash the indicated place they need to release their bouys, the compartmentopen the door and a automatic system, connect to a pocket space device, readies the curious looking thing, passing in line inside the plane and last minute checking, calibration and other: they calling bouy, and that's because the 12 meters high and 20 meters lenght device can levitate and being "anchored" using a system similar to GPS, they keep the position floating in the air, looking like a elongated romboid with up and down deploying tower inside as it looks like a Circus carp from the outside, inside there's antennas, radars, repeaters and many more needed instruments.
The airplanes deploying these artifacts every 25 kilometers in a close to 3,000 square kilometers radius, with Summer Field as the center, had to be so many because of redundancy requirements at the moment, this planet has a variety of unknown flying species with unknown behavior, and for this you need to add up climate or ethera concentration.
🔱
High above them, an smaller but no so much, an AWAC version airplane, is coordinating the rescue teams, the explorers, security details, and hunters on the ground. Each AWAC has a designated area, usually 3 of them working at the time, 2 on the desert side, and the other in the mountain range.
The hunters teams are part of the Military Forces keeping the sensors and weapons ready, the rifle they are using is a railgun version they only need the proyectiles inside the frame of the weapon, a system using ethera crystals as batteries, and a high-power electromagnetic device.
Time to time, they get nests of scorpions, desert snakes big as Australian road trains back in Earth, the insect nests are the most problematic, but they need to thin as much as possible before the ethera rises too much, inside those nests they often use barometric pressure bombs.
The development and upgrade of weapons has been constantly and so quick that it is not strange to see one new model in the morning and being retired in the night, the mini railgun rifles have the power to reach but lack hit strenght, this becomes an issue when fighting animals with exoskeletons, like arthropods, so they started using a 12'' gauge shotgun but in the railgun version, this hybrid weapon has the strength of the shotgun, with rifle reach without being too heavy or big like the classic anti materiel sniper version back in Earth.
The vehicles used levitation systems, from bykes, Boxy Osprey V22 without the rotors, and APC (armored passenger carrier) with tank purposes that size a heavy road train truck with 2 48' containers in the back, one after the other, almost triple the width.
In the AWAC above them, coordination is taking place:
[We need to adjust the position of the teams 53 to 74 in the 1238 quadrant map]
[The 34th Regiment?]
[Is there someone else besides them?]
[Company Charlie of the third Battalion, second Regiment Headquarters Special Operations]
[Why are they inside a nest?]
[Capturing live specimens, a request from the production and industry department]
[Ok, do the adjustment needed]
9 Ospreys V22-like, but bigger and without rotors, come landing close to the nest, leaving jumping soldiers and lifting off almost in one flow maneuver. flying quickly from the active combat area, the APC-T keeps firing, containing the hundreds of house-sized Scorpions.
The Air Bykes are keeping poking and probing the Scorpions, they are trying to capture live specimens; they need to know more about the enemy and also how to place their materials.
As soon as they can get one in ropes, they pull over with a floating armored truck to the APC-T, loading inside the cargo area.
Soon they got their quota, and they started to withdraw from the place.
[34 ready to fire in the hole?]
[In 3 minutes, Alpha 3]
[Ok, we are getting out and... Yes, you have green light 34, Air Command, we are ready to do cleaning here]
[Here Air Command, roger that, 34 proceed]
[34 here, roger... In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and released the package]
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Part of the salvo shot before by the APC-T's was echolocation devices trying to map the nest inside, the released multiple gliding bomb got teleported inside the nest in different coordinates and detonated after, the barometric pressure bomb made their work; on the surface a quake was felt, and even the sands jumped.
[Alpha 03, here Air Command, we detect parts of the nest collapse]
[Air Command we following the data stream, seems pretty much the nest fell victim, sending exploration drones inside]
Soon after that, a cloud of small drones was flying to the nest inside.
After a few hours of exploration and material retrieval, they pack up and get back to the Summer Field base.
🔱
In the second sun sunset after the first and bigger blue has ste hours ago, in the desert side, 350 kilometers from Summer Field complex, a hive of airships, drones, warrior robots, and medical assistance robots are working above other ships in the sands, all aground and few turned to the sides, here and there, even 3 airplanes forced landing remains can be seen, inside one of the warships, part of a battle group, a representative group of people talks with a Summer Field complex delegate guarded by 4 impressive warriors, all hominids, but 2 are four-handed.
Mitch McKeland has been over 30 years in the US Navy, this group was on their way back to home port in the US. On the way back, they joined a fleet from EUNAVFOR in anti-piracy efforts, but to be honest, their weapons and ammunition stocks are almost depleted. 80% of their combat wings flew back first to the USA, and the situation is not better in his counterparts from Europe. Their recent mission was heavy taxing to them. From the almost 10,000 souls he has in charge, this disaster has claimed over 1500. Many are hurt or suffering poisoning symptoms, including him.
He was in bed, trying to keep the rescue efforts coordinate, many people got stranded in this desert, the radio frequencies are working. From the airplane crash, they brought survivors, but their condition is getting worse at a fast pace, not mentioning supplies. But yesterday, an intense battle was heard in the east. In the night, a radio call was received, and soon after flying UFOs were everywhere. From there, something like a Seahawk helicopter without rotors and more boxy landed close. The aircraft carrier got sided when the landing aground fell on one side of a huge dune.
The representative and bodyguards from the other side arrived and is wearing full armor; the faceplate of the representative have no visor, just 3 pairs of small green small lenses, the armor looks feminine.
The 5 of them have pieces of clothing and cape in the sides, I do recognize this type of clothing as something like horse rider raincoats, but the materials they using is different, it looks more elegant.
She stood in front of them and her faceplate and helmet opened silently leaving a beautiful sculpted face with green eyes and vivid red short hair.
Tā moko?, She or their people are Polynesian or Maori?
[Admiral McKeland, these should be the group leaders you talked about?]
[Yes Representative Selena, this should be all, I fear the health conditions of many are making it difficult to get more assistance]
[Don't worry, we understand, can We proceed?]
[Yes, please]
[Ok, there's almost 29,000 survivors from the Earth disaster, according to your testimonials, almost 8,700 come from US Military Battle group and Merchant Marines that's assist your fleet, also EUNAVFOR fleet of 9 accounts for almost 1800 survivors; and the British Navy accounts for 2 ships with almost 400 survivors.
2,500 survivors from the 12 planes crashes.
Almost 18,000 from passenger ships like Cruise Lines, RORO ferries, fishermen's, and others.
It is alright?]
Mitch: [that's right, right?]
He turned and looked the others, they all nod.
[Representative Selena if I can ask: how do you will proceed from here?, Our people are in dire need of medical assistance, including myself and how the costs?]
Selena: [Don't worry, the High Council has given the approval for your people refugee petition, as We already offered to all of you, everyone will be provided with medical assistance and 30 days lodge and food after treatment, after the period ends you can go in your way or search for join Us, this means you need to full accept our ways, I promise is nothing dark here, We just want to be clear.
We don't want to tarnish Alexander's name, few thousand shouldn't be a problem for us, but be aware our good faith is limitless with friends, as you behave inside that concept, you will find everything more than accommodating.
Our forces are right now starting the triage to your people and to the most urgent in need they are ready to take measures.]
Some other complete armored people from Summer Field Medics get inside the room.
[Excuse us, we came to do the preliminary medical evaluation and triage.]
Mitch: [please come in]
Who's this Alexander?, a King?, Emperor?, Mitch and others asked, but no conclusive answer came in and they said Alexander was in a more urgent issue.
They claim comes from Earth too, but ...
He notice something like foldable stretchers appear in the hands of Summer Field medical personnel, 2 of them point Mitch and sign the stretcher, he understood and he laid inside, as he put his head on the support, he fell asleep.
Selena looks at the stretchers being occupied with people and the Summer Field personnel starting to transport outside, A curious line of white cocoons went to the parked the A380 looks like VTOL's and accommodated inside the planes, Hundreds of them, some cocoons go to the smaller VTOL's, this was reserved for the second most urgent triage patients, the most urgent is moved to a special APC-T, inside there a teleportation device platform.
The cocoons arrive directly to an special platform in the hospital's urgency ward.
🔱
In the High Council area, an emergency session was called with Matt, Serena, Mark from Industry and Production, Joe from Agricultural and Husbandry, Johannes from Military Joint Command and Lidia as Maira representative due to her absence because of Alex treatment.
Matt: [Johannes, Lidia: how serious is the shortage of personnel?]
Johannes nods to Lidia indicate she goes first.
Lidia: [We urgently need at least 40,000 new personnel in clinics and hospitals and 20,000 in the Combat Paramedic Corps, Our previous estimates seem totally wrong, We are now in the process rescuing and give medical treatment to over 32,000 survivors]
Johannes: [Our predictions suffered a big blow when the area to cover is greatly larger than we planned in the first place, Usually armies have standing personnel plus reserves, We don't have reserves and the standing was planned to be expanded after one month.
We just can turn out eyes in another direction, but I am afraid that is not an option here?]
Johannes looks at Matt, Serena and the others.
Matt: [No, I don't think is an option, Alex's way and behavior couldn't ignore someone suffering if he had that chance to reduce or eliminate that suffering and certainly We do have capacity to help, Maybe if We were still in the desert those worries could even be on the list, but...
If in that hipotetical shroedinger cat scenario, We probably would have lost Alex too, you know, the ethera increase and poisoning, not mentioning the increasing activity of monsters...
Selena: [I agree and vote for increasing the resources in all areas, We need to consider food production to be increased too, We took an estimate of 20,000 maximum survivors, Joe can answer better but I think the numbers could increase more if We expand our search range, We can expand our numbers. It is not like We have limitations like before, right Mark? and in the worst case We can keep them as reserve forces inside a PDM or a virtual world with their bodies recycled and new ones ready in few hours]
Mark: [I think We can manage max around 800,000 and in 3 weeks expand again to 1,400,000; I am talking global numbers, not just military, but the heavy burden comes to production, food, medical and military, at least during the searching for survivors, once it ends, We have reached a figure in demographics, still: how many households We we construct?]
Matt: [Ok, Johannes, 350,000 sounds good?, Lidia 60,000?, Joe how about 150,000 and Mark how about 200,000, the rest will be in other support or research areas?]
Selena: [I would like to ask 20,000 in the Inner areas, support and special services]
In Selena's case she's being considered as Alex right hand, Serena, her sister, and others are considered Combat Maids, bodyguards and Matt knows that humans will be living here they need to assemble Police and Judiciary.
Mark: [I can give from my quota, I think We can build 1 million houses in 6 weeks, for temporary like hospitals We can use PDM, We just keep synchronized with the time speed here]
Joe: [I think 150,000 should be more than enough.]
Johannes: [I think 350,000 should stabilize our actual situation; once we end the search, We can retract to a defensive safe line]
Matt: [How far you want to reach?]
Johannes: [5,000 kilometers should be fine, We ready to reach 1100 kilometers, We need 4 days, the quota approved will be great help.
In the current ethera increasing rate We think we have around 3 weeks, but the poisoning rate should kill any survivors before that.]
Matt: [Mark what about the energy supply problem you mentioned yesterday?]
Mark smile: [Well, between the ethera absorbing panels and using to generate electricity, we solved most of the problems. We have been replacing the crystals to a new version that holds 1000x more, the usual consumption doesn't need ethera, the installation of network has halted too. Using the high density crystals we began to install microgrid "islanding" option, that gives a breath and time to better planning. In the city we plan to install every block or every few, this was originally part of the emergency backing, but the systems and generators are more easy to deploy and install than building kilometers of service tunnels.]
Matt: [Ok, with factories in the PDM and 98% automated production lines We shouldn't worry about activating 800,000 robots and operating costs, how long could it take the activation?]
Mark: [20 hours?, Our ethera reserves is 40%, I calculate that by the time We reach 20% we will reach peak consumption and with the addition of sources from microgrid and others, the reserves will start to increase again, but by the time the storage capacity should increase 1000 times, so filling will be slower, at least until our extraction capacity becomes more than the spending, maybe 2 weeks]
The meeting ends, but the incoming mails, updates and a stream of new information keep increasing in their virtual spaces.