Carinae Sector: 01 - Traders' Scourge - Part 1 - Alien Flight (7 page)

                                                            ***

Lieutenant Samantha Edwards led her medical team along the goat track that passed as a road in this remote Malaysian village. She further calculated her options as one of the Malaysian guides turned back to her from further up the path. Three days previously Samantha had led her team from the refugee camp, and then along a mountain scarp. This occurred just as reports came in of a large force of militants attacking the refugee camp were her medical team had been providing humanitarian aid.

Fortunately the selfless efforts of her team had ensured that they had been warned in advance. She knew that dozens of lightly armed refugees had attacked the militants in an effort to ensure that the Australian aid team could escape. Samantha was heading for the coast and then to Kerteh, a small city were her team had provided emergency medical aid three years earlier. The city was home to an influential Chinese Malaysian family that was exceedingly grateful for the efforts of the medical team during their last deployment.

Samantha wondered if Steve and HMAS Perth were still nearby in Indonesian waters. During their last conversation a few months ago, Steve had mentioned he was leading a goodwill visit to assist the Indonesian navy that was only now getting back to full capability. Samantha then chided herself about staying focused on getting her team to safety as she went forward to talk to the Malaysian guide.

                                                            ***

Commander Steve Greene quietly spoke to his assembled officers in the boardroom about the contents of the second message they had received this morning. As he looked around the ward room he noted the tired and care worn look of his officers, even if they did look spotless in their camouflaged operational uniforms. As the commander finished, Lieutenant Peterson, lifted a sheath of maps to the wardroom table and unfurled a detailed map of the central Malaysian coast. Steve expressed his thanks and pointed to the small coastal city as his officers crowded around to listen.

‘Now Kerteh is the nearest deep water port to the medical team’s last known location. Also we have friends here from our last visit two years ago….’

The watch changed at midday as HMAS Perth steamed at flank speed for the Malaysian coast, and all business, the commander continued his briefing. Steve would pause frequently and the junior officers added their bits of additional information to the briefing. The operational status of the ship, especially the missiles, was a prime concern. As the officers left the briefing they each privately considered that after many months of routine aid work, they were now facing hostile action. They knew that they needed to go the urgent aid of fellow Australians that they both like and respected, including the possible future wife of their captain.

                                                            ***

Gyuan Lee calmly watched the ragtag collection of westerners, as they nervously approached his convoy about fifty kilometers from the city in the stifling midday heat. From the range of hills several kilometers west further short bursts of machine gun fire could be heard. The blonde woman leading the other team members tiredly smiled at him as she pocketed her GPS, and he responded with a wide grin of his own.

‘Miss Edwards, please hurry and get your team aboard our mini buses, we know that you are being followed by militants…’

Wasting no time, the exhausted team members quickly piled into the four mini buses. The buses and an escort of several four wheel drive vehicles filled with armed men then quickly fled the scene in a cloud of diesel smoke. Samantha settled into the bench seat of the lead mini bus and allowed herself a quick sense of relief.  The Australian team started to relax and passed around cold bottles of distilled water supplied by the beaming young Malaysian.

‘Miss Edwards, father sends his respects and we are to take you directly to the docks. An Australian frigate is waiting offshore from this morning and we are organizing small boats to take your team to the ship.’

Samantha confirmed the details with Gyuan, before she turned to one of her team members, who quickly fetched a satellite phone from her back pack. Another satellite phone made an appearance, and both were checked for battery charge and signal strength, before being placed back in the back packs.

‘Gyuan.’ As the young Malaysian turned back to Samantha she continued again.

‘Gyuan, please make sure that none of your people communicate with or approach the frigate until I tell you to do so.’

Gyuan quietly smiled his understanding as the convoy sped towards the dock area. Samantha quietly spoke to one of her older team members, who had previously served in earlier peace-keeping missions to the Middle East.

                                                            ***

Steve reviewed the latest intelligence reports, as it appeared that militants in several boats had fired rocket propelled grenades, or RPGs, at shipping during piracy attacks only eighty kilometers away north. The Malaysian navy was sweeping up from the south with three frigates, engaging and sinking several militant boats, so there was no doubt that the militants would be eventually defeated.

Straight after the morning’s briefing, Steve had been in a friendly chat with the Malaysian task force captain, who he knew through a military exercise in now what seemed another life.  The captain had politely urged that Steve exercise caution along the coast, and to officially remind him that he was in Malaysian territorial waters. Unofficially the captain invited Steve to visit when next possible, and joked that if several militant boats were made to go away he would not be overly concerned. Before Steve signed off, he voiced his concerns back to the Malaysian captain that with the attacks to his north, he had the view that the militants had used powerful tracking and jamming equipment. As Steve considered his options further, there was a knock and the communications officer strode into the cabin and saluted.

‘Sir, the medical team has made it to the city docks; they have a couple of satellite phones with them and dialed into the bridge directly. We acknowledged their brief status and told them to go off air and await our call.’

Steve gave a quick smile of relief, and thanked the lieutenant for his quick thinking as he now strode off for the bridge. The XO and two other lieutenants appeared as he was reaching the bridge.

‘XO we need to find several small boats to the north of us armed with RPG’s. So get Lieutenant White to fly a sweep of the nearest northern island first. He is to work north to fifty kilometers, but let him know about the electronic jamming and the RPG’s on those boats.’

The frigate turned to the north and quietly closed with the nearest islands, as the fourth generation Seahawk helicopter was launched by the ever efficient hangar deck crew. As the alarm sounded for surface action, several ratings fitted four .50 caliber heavy machine guns to their pedestals on either side of the ship. Steve knew that it could come down to a brutal close range fight and he wanted to give his ship all the edges he could.

                                                            ***

On the fly bridge of a large pleasure cruiser in the Kerteh city docks, Samantha watched through binoculars as HMAS Perth turned north and steamed away with no real concern. Obviously they could not pick the medical team up at that moment, and the Seahawk helicopter flying away to prowl the northern islands indicated some sort of problem. The medical team had each had the opportunity for a shower, a change of clothes and a decent meal supplied by their ever hospitable Malaysian hosts.

During the afternoon Mr. Lee senior had profusely apologized about the actions of the militants.

‘They are opportunistic brigands that had got to ahead of themselves with the collapse of order following the epidemic.’

As Samantha reassured Mr. Lee that his country was not alone with problems in maintaining public order after the pandemic, she gave the departing frigate a final wistful look. She changed the subject by asking about the numerous sea pens she could see closer in towards the shoreline. The urban older man looked relieved as he spoke again.

‘You would like to know about our new sea pens? Well Miss Samantha they are a recent development with the losses to our traditional fishing fleet of both skilled crews and suitable markets.’

Samantha listened politely and with real interest, as the older businessman explained with considerable enthusiasm his visionary approach to feeding the remaining population of his country via aquaculture.

                                                            ***

At the approach of dusk the Seahawk helicopter had flown back to HMAS Perth to refuel. Lieutenant White was concerned that the target imaging and control system on the helicopter was being jammed intermittently on multiple frequencies. Steve read the pilot’s report, and immediately pointed out dryly to his officers that the missile systems on the frigate could not be deployed reliably against the small boats.

‘The launch problem still remains before we even allow for any enemy counter-measures. We will have to deal with those boats with our main gun and the machine guns. Lieutenant White, please ensure your chopper is fully armed and prepared.’

Steve again reviewed his plans with his officers before Lieutenant White returned to the hangar deck. He was also concerned because preliminary radar contacts had the boats withdrawing away to the north after being detected. Steve thought about the dense jungle several kilometers to the west, then again perused the local navigation charts. The electronics detection team had detected at least one shore-based radio and jamming station in the jungle, possibly on the ridge overlooking the coast. In the increasing darkness the Seahawk had flown off after refueling, and the pilot verified the powerful searchlight on the helicopter was working correctly by switching it off and on twice.

As the Seahawk flew north and left on the searchlight, the order was given to kill all the lights on the frigate, and the ship immediately altered course to starboard to increase the distance from the coast. With the course change HMAS Perth had increased speed and was soon heading east at thirty knots. By previous arrangement, the Seahawk had turned off the searchlight and all the navigation lights, and headed back south towards its previous refueling point. Both helicopter and frigate began jamming on commercial radar frequencies. After ten minutes the Seahawk flown down to twenty meters above the waves in the evening darkness, and after switching on only the navigational lights had slowly flown due north.

Later, on the darkened HMAS Perth some fifteen kilometers east, the radar operator on the bridge of the frigate stiffened at his station before calmly announcing.

‘Captain, there are eight unlit contacts at nineteen kilometers moving due south from one of the northern islands towards the Seahawk at forty knots.’

Steve considered the attacking boats, ‘Well they had made the choice to attack’ he reflected as gave his orders.

‘Lieutenant, get the latest data to the Seahawk, he is to get to the agreed altitude before starting that searchlight again. Also I want to know if the missile targeting system can indentify the targets.’

Steve that the electronics data indicated the high levels of electronic interference as he continued to place orders.

‘Weapons, take out the two boats closest to the coast first if you please. They will be in contact with that radio transmitter. We will then take out the adjacent boats, as I don’t want them too interested in the Seahawk.’

The forward mounted 125mm rapid fire gun spat a series of sharp reports every ten seconds as the auto loader fed the high explosive shells in the gun. After eight shots in less than a minute and a half, the naval gun momentarily stopped firing as it altered targets. Within a minute, it again lashed out with continuous shots, as it attempted to hit the remaining boats that were now zigzagging randomly as they closed to engage the frigate.

On the bridge of HMAS Perth, the weapons officer reported the outcome.

‘Sir, we destroyed those two shoreward boats with our first eight shots, and I think two of the remaining six boats are damaged. We still cannot target the boats with our missiles.’

As the muffled gun reports continued, Steve again turned to the communications officer.

‘Advise Lieutenant White to attack that southernmost boat. That should keep them on the boil.’

The Seahawk angled across to the closest militant boat from the south. Once it reached altitude several hundred meters from the boat the helicopter again lit the powerful searchlight. The militant boat now turned to engage the new threat from the Seahawk, but the Gatling gun in the front of the helicopter quickly found the range of the boat, and riddled it with 32mm armor piecing rounds in two short ten second bursts. The boat slowed before a large explosion lit the night sky, as the RPG rounds onboard exploded and ignited the boat’s fuel. Steve was aware of a brief flash to the south even as the gunnery officer confirmed that the main gun had taken down another boat. ‘That leaves four boats to worry about.’ he considered, as he did the tactical calculations in his head and gave further orders.

‘Navigation, take us to a course due north, thirty degrees starboard should do it, and take us down to 20 knots.’

‘Weapons, you have five minutes to take down additional targets then we extend range, as I will not let them get too close.’

The attacking boats were stuck badly from a tactical standpoint as the frigate was now crossing their escape route, as the Seahawk helicopter strafed another boat from extreme range. An attempt by the boat crew to fire RPG’s at the helicopter proved futile, as it easily evaded the incoming grenades and light machine gun fire by circling out to a kilometer from the militant boat. The remaining boats closed to within two kilometers of the frigate, and the big forward gun again hit and destroyed another boat as the frigate changed course. The forty foot former pleasure cruiser was hit solidly amidships and disintegrated as the naval round exploded.