THE IRON SHIELD

Chapter XVI

XVI

Eckhart hopped into the X9 which sat in the cargo bay of the carrier. The more he used the X9 the more he grew accustomed to it. He enjoyed using it more. He got better and better at it. When the war was over he had the slim hope that he wanted to take it home with him, but he knew better. There was no way that Phoenix would let him take home that piece of equipment. He could only hope.

He turned the vehicle on and listened to the engine roar. He switched the boosters on allowing the X9 to hover higher and higher out of the bay onto the main deck of the carrier. If this mission succeeds then the war could end within the next week or two. After all, it was the middle of December. A new year was coming, and soon.

Jennifer, who was standing on the deck of the carrier, waved at Eckhart as he floated away over the ice. Eckhart waved back. Eckhart hovered over the ice towards the fortress while the other Knights traveled in four M1 Abram tanks. Each tank carried extra fuel for the long trip ahead. It would take a couple hours to reach the fortress. Each vehicle contained a radar jammer in case the fortress had radar and could see them coming. However, when they got closer to the fortress, the noise of their vehicles would alert them, but not as much as radar would.

The rear tank which only held two crewmen—Kruger and Scheider—also carried extra weapons, ammunition, and explosives. The tanks were disguised with winter camouflage. Eckhart led the way hovering over the ice while the tanks rolled behind him. The ride would seem slow and boring, but they had a mission to do and must keep their minds set on the mission. Eckhart wondered what else Holmes meant when he said that if they were successful here that only a few things needed to be done before the war could end. Perhaps it was terminating the four heads of Nightfall. He was sure that Kwan and Zaman were dead. He was surer Kwan was dead than Zaman. He found it hard to believe that he could survive that gun shot.

Most of the ground where they were at was flat and covered with ice. The snow helped with the traction for the tanks. It did not matter with Eckhart because he was not driving with wheels, but rather hovering. He did not believe the tires on the X9 would work on this terrain. He had not tried it, but did not wish too. At least, just not yet.

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The George W. Bush had submerged after the Knights had left. In case a ship was sailing by, they did not want to be seen. It was only a few minutes after they had submerged that they caught something on their radar and sonar. The more seconds that passed the more blips appeared on the screens. When the blips stopped the horror was revealed to the current submarine and her crew. There were eleven submarines and twenty-three vessels coming straight for them.

Patterson quickly ordered that the submarine be submerged deeper. The submarine nearly sat on the bottom of the ocean. The submarines and vessels could neither see nor hear them at the time. While they were not yet moving, the Phoenix remained silent and unheard. With their radar and sonar jammers, they were invisible to both.

Patterson gazed at Holmes, who gazed at Dempsey, who gazed at Frazier who nodded. All four knew what needed to be done. There was one thing they could do in order to survive. The vessels above them could deploy thousands of soldiers to go after the Knights. The Knights would be no more if the vessels topside succeeded. Their mission would be over and the war would be hopelessly lost. It seemed impossible at the thought of what Phoenix was going to do next, but it was indeed possible for them. It would be one ship against many. The odds were not in their favor. It would be their last stand. If they failed, they failed. There was no turning back. They had no choice, but to go ahead with it.