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So the general had done at least some of the hoas exposure on the battlefield It prevented death and radation of essential bodily functions, but it didn’t counteract the loss of ht on by the chemical weapon, which could leave the soldiers vulnerable to attack for a significant length of time

“Of course, we’ll analyze the pigs by necropsy after exposure to determine the full effects,” Polten said, “but we shouldn’t see any overt symptoms on camera”

A Huet and pulled up next to the command post Charles Davis, Polten’s chief chemist on the project, jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran inside A heavyset, baldingas he launched hih the door

“Everything is set,” he said and plopped himself into a chair “I double-checked all the injectors on the pigs and they’re ready to go” Davis tapped on his laptop keyboard, and Polten could see that the status of each injector had a no With one press of a button, the Panaxis simultaneously

Polten looked at Jefferson “General, you can tell the pilots to begin their attack run”

The general nodded to his aide, who told the coo One and Two, this is Sierra Base You have a green light

Cleared to start the attack sequence”

“Acknowledged, Sierra Base Tango One and Two beginning our run”

Polten picked up a pair of binoculars and focused theed down to a thousand feet and rocketed over the desert floor When they ithin a thousand yards of the pigpen, the jets released two bombs each Then the pilots yanked their sticks up, and the A-10s shot skyward

The boround without the usual fireball, which would have consuas encased inside the shells Instead, they blew apart in a cloud of ss, now cli over each other in a frenzy because of the explosions

The chemical warheads had been seeded with red powder so that the cloud could be tracked more easily The scarlet mist lazily drifted toward the pen When it reached the first pig, Polten instructed Davis to activate the injectors

Davis tapped a key “Injectors firing” After a pause, he said, “All eleven injections have succeeded”

Now all they could do ait Polten felt a bead of perspiration trickle down his brow as he watched the screen while keeping an eye on the clock He had Davis turn up the audio feed, and the squeals of the pigs filled the room

The pig marked with the A collapsed within seconds It shuddered on the ground before going still None of the other pigs exhibited any signs of distress beyond their fright from the jets and bombs They shuffled around the pen as they nor in the dirt for food

The tily slow When it reached two lance with Davis He looked at General Jefferson, who nodded at the screen in appreciation before turning to Polten