The Ace of Spades Campaign - Raid on Sterling part 13

Safe Return
Within two minutes of Julia ending her radio call to Kimberley, she heard the sound of the space shuttle, The Jack of Spades, approaching. Kimberley landed right next to the main gates of the supposedly abandoned mining camp that the bandits were using as a forward base. Kimberley's four crew members, Celeste, Danica, Julia and Katja, who had rescued the six hostages captured by the bandits, ushered the colonists on board. As soon as everyone was settled in, Kimberley took off.
The flight from the mining camp to the Sterling Agricultural Colony was a very short one as they were only fifteen miles away from the colony. Kimberley radioed ahead to inform the colony that they were returning and that all six hostages were safe. The news was met with much jubilation.
It was late at night when they touched down at the colony's landing strip. News of the successful rescue mission had spread throughout the colony and a large crowd had gathered next to the landing strip to welcome them all home. The first two people to greet them were the colony's leader, Alfred Sterling and his son, Mearc. Alfred's wife, Radula and daughter, Danielle, were two of the hostages taken.

They hugged, kissed and cried tears of joy. Alfred warmly smiled at Kimberley and said, "Thank you so much. You have done my family a great service. I am forever in your debt."
Radula, Mearc and Danielle added their thanks and appreciation.
"All part of the service," Kimberley replied modestly, "I'm glad it all worked out so well. It's been a long day and if it's okay with you my crew and I would like to get some rest."
"But of course," Alfred acknowledged, "By all means, go and rest. We'll meet up tomorrow morning and have a chat then. Once again, thank you for everything."
"Good night, sir. We will speak tomorrow morning," Kimberley said as she stifled a yawn. "Come on, crew. It's time for bed."

The crew were cheered and congratulated by the colonists as they made their way to the two-storey apartment that had been assigned to them at the northern end of the village. Once inside, Kimberley assembled all nine of her colleagues in the dining room, where they congregated around the large table. Kimberley's feigned pretence of tiredness was replaced with a steely determination and alertness.
"Okay, I want a full account of what happened in that mining camp," she said with authority. "I want to know everything that happened. Tell me what you found out."

Celeste, Danica and Katja gave their accounts of the rescue mission. They were brief, concise and tallied with one another. But it was Julia who had the most to say.
"It all went exactly as the others have said and after I took out the sentry in the watch tower I raided the officer's quarters," she began. "I killed the corporal with my first shot. The sergeant returned fire with a laser pistol, which just grazed my arm. I shot him in the stomach with my Fireflash rifle and that effectively ended the fight. We then had a little chat and he was quite forthcoming. Erik Finn is their leader and they're all mercenaries working for him. His main base is 150 miles north-west of here. It is well hidden in caves in the side of a mountain, making it safe from all but a frontal assault. His force consists of 50 men. We took out ten at the mining camp."
"Did he tell you who had hired Finn?" Kimberley asked.
"I asked him but he didn't know. He suspects it's some large cartel but he was not privy to such information."
"Hmm, Finn will not happy about losing one fifth of his force," Kimberley said, thinking out loud.
"Should we launch a raid on his base or wait for him to come to us?" she asked.
"Hitting his base won't be easy," Julia replied. "He has numbers on his side and his men are far more experienced in combat than our colonists. He also has good defensive measures against an aerial assault. Missile launchers and flak guns. Taking the shuttle in would be risky."
"So we wait?"
"That would be my recommendation, Kimberley" Julia answered. "Anyone else got an opinion?"

The general consensus was to wait and not risk an assault on Finn's main base.
"So, in the meantime, we have to train the colonists how to defend themselves," Kimberley reminded them.
"Good luck with that," Rebecca said sounding downbeat. "From what I've seen they seem down-trodden and unwilling to fight... although there are a few exceptions. Mearc, Royce and Sheas, in particular, are looking for vengeance against the raiders."
"Perhaps the rescue of the hostages will bring more of them on our side," Katja mused.
"It might give them renewed hope," Danica added.
"I suspect it will," Kimberley agreed. "Julia, as our best combat teacher, I'm afraid you'll be the one doing the most teaching, but we'll all help as much as we can. Katja, Danica and Jeanette, I want you to assist Julia in her weapon training."
"We can help build up the colony's defences," Kyran spoke, typically thinking like an engineer. "Stick up a few barricades in strategic places, border up windows, that kind of thing."
"I like your thinking," Kimberley beamed at her close friend. "I'm placing you in charge of the colony's defences, Kyran."
By the time the meeting came to a close, the crew had a good idea of what they'd be doing in the next few days. It was a few hours after midnight when they wrapped up the meeting and went to bed.

Teacher, teacher

Next day, Kyran began the task of fortifying the colony. Simple barricades in the street and the reinforcement of buildings was an easy task, requiring very little skill. The colonists set about their assigned tasks with great enthusiasm. The whole mood of the colony had visibly lifted. James Akira and his few followers remained out of sight for the most part but of the colonists who were undecided on what course of action was for the best interest of the colony, all had decided to side with Alfred's pro-defence group.

Julia's task of teaching the colonists how to use the laser pistols and laser rifles brought in was much harder and took a lot longer. There were 25 colonists who were willing to learn how to shoot and fight. Of these, Mearc Sterling, Royce Tavahi, Sheas Danelish and two other males, Blayne Culver and Yuri Katona were the most skilled. Royce, in particular stood out for his marksmanship expertise. Julia figured it was as if he had a point to prove, which he had. When Julia had first met Royce, it had not gone well for him, as he pointed a gun at the bounty hunter. She disarmed him in the blink of an eye and almost broke his arm. Now, he wanted to prove that he was a valued member of the defence force and that he could be relied upon in a fight.

Day after day, the 25 colonists were pushed hard by Julia, along with help from Danica, Katja and Jeanette. They worked eight hours per day, four in the morning and four in the afternoon. After five days of basic training, Julia began to teach Mearc, Royce, Sheas, Blayne and Yuri in the use of the laser sniper rifles they had bought. They only had five laser sniper rifles, and these five were the obvious candidates to use them.
They all knew that Finn would return and he would not be happy at losing ten of his men. The only problem was, no-one knew when he would come. Each day that the raiders stayed away was a bonus for the defenders. The days stretched into week. Still there was no sign of Finn or his men.
It was on the eighth day since the rescue of the hostages that a lookout on the perimeter of the colony alerted them to bandits approaching from the north-west. The defenders of the colony had about five minutes to prepare for the arrival of the bandits. What happened next would decide the fate of the Sterling Agricultural Colony.