Earth Song: Etude to War (38 page)

We will continue to monitor for any signs of an opportunity to send relief, but at this point we have to consider the possibility that the 1
st
Division is a complete loss.

First among the Chosen Jacob Bentley

Minu felt dizzy and had to sit down suddenly. Aaron looked over from where he was keeping an eye through the portal (standard procedure). He was next to her in a heartbeat. The Rasa soldiers suddenly alert for attack. “What's wrong?” She shook her head and handed him her tablet, unable to speak. He quickly read the message and looked back up at her. “Oh no.”

“That son of a bitch,” she finally managed to speak. “We drilled for this kind of op. Gregg and I trained special teams of Rangers to assault through a contested portal.”

“It's high risk, though.”

“No shit, but better than just abandoning our men on the other damn side!”

“Okay sweetheart, I was just saying.”

“I know,” she said and stood back up. She took her computer back and checked the date of the message. Jacob had written the message on May 1
st
, the network on the other side tagged the date as May 5
th
. They'd lost seven days in subjective time while traveling faster than light. Gregg and a thousand of her Rangers had been stranded, probably under fire, possibly dying, on an alien world for over two weeks. She tried to imagine how they felt. Abandoned? Lost? Betrayed? “That son of a bitch.”

“What can we do?”

“We don't need a damn portal. We have a starship.”

Chapter 37

May 5th, 534 AE

Planet Richter, Geosynchronous Orbit, Galactic Frontier

“Minu, this is a difficult development.”

“Pip, you really think?” Minu rode in the copilot seat as her husband piloted the shuttle back towards orbit. To be precise, Lilith piloted from inside the Kaatan while Aaron watched to see if he was needed. The squad of Rasa were in the rear, chatting busily in their hissing language. Minu couldn't figure out Pip's unusual response.

“Yes, very difficult. There have been developments… I am trying…”

“Pip, what the hell is going on with you?”

“I… I… Minu… damn—” and the transmission ended.

“Lilith, what’s up with Pip?”

“He has overloaded his implants,” her daughter explained. “He should have down timed more than twelve hours ago.”

Minu shrugged. Pip usually dealt with such matters without anyone else being aware of them. “Why does he have these issues? Don’t the two of you share similar… modifications?”

“I was born with mine, the medical intelligence improvised his as a work-around to his brain damage. It is possible over time he will adapt the means to handle such overloads. However given his propensity to use the implants as handy data storage and processing facilities—”

“I get the point. Send Cherise down there to make sure he didn’t collapse and give himself another brain injury?”

The shuttle rocketed from the atmosphere and soon was being guided aboard the Kaatan by carefully controlled beams. Minu and Aaron were hoping down from the craft even as it was settling to the deck, the Rasa soldiers close behind. Cherise met them in the hall outside the shuttle bay.

“He’s fine,” she told them, “I found him out like a light on the floor of the tactical drive room.”

“He must have been talking to the space spiders,” Aaron guessed.

Minu nodded, she often felt like passing out whenever she talked to the strange beings.

“We need a meeting to discuss our plans,” she told them.

A few minutes later she was with Aaron, Cherise, and Kal’at in their version of the CIC. Lilith hovered in a holographic form from her own main CIC two decks down. Her virtual presence was so common no-one really took notice of it any more. Just for everyone’s sake, Minu detailed the situation on Planet K.

“And he’s just abandoning them there?” Cherise barked when Minu had finished.

“You can’t honestly say you’re surprised,” Aaron grumbled.

“It is an act we would more have expected from the old leaders of our species,” Kal’at said, “but not from Var’at. He has learned much from you, Minu Groves.”

Minu nodded to acknowledge the compliment.

“What is your intention, mother?” She glanced at the hologram. “Besides rescue, of course. How do you propose we go about this?”

“We could just fly there and shoot the shit out of the little reptile bastards,” Aaron suggested, then glanced self-consciously at Kal’at. “Nothing personal.”

Kal’at gave a very human shrug.

“The Leesa must have help,” Minu pointed out, “otherwise they wouldn’t be able to pin down an entire division of Rangers and take out the portal.”

“A reasonable tactical analysis,” Lilith concurred. “The offensive/defensive capabilities of the Rangers are far in excess of anything a minor species is capable of employing. This is a principal reason they have proven so popular in these sorts of mercenary contracts.”

“So we can assume they’re facing something more,” Minu continued, “either an alliance of more than one minor species…”

“Or a higher order big-bad-guy,” Cherise finished for her.

Minu just looked down and nodded.

“Oh Lord, here we go again,” Cherise said.

“The good news is,” Aaron said, “we’re running out of higher order species that have military power.”

“You are not helping, husband.” He smirked and she continued. “We have to go and help them, we can all agree on that?”

Everyone nodded, including Lilith.

“Good. So the question we’re left with, is how to accomplish that with a minimum of random destruction.”

“I doubt any planet-bound force would present a real problem for me,” Lilith said casually.

“Remember the minimum of random destruction clause?”

Lilith managed to look offended in her hologram. “Mother, I am capable of surgical precision, even from orbit.”

“Against dug in enemy units inside facilities such as the portal spire?”

She shrugged slightly and glanced off screen. “There would be some collateral damage. It is impossible for there not to be some in any military engagement.”

“I believe it would be more efficient to engage from the ground with orbital support.” Lilith just observed while everyone else considered.

“The problem would be sufficient force to make a difference,” Aaron pointed out. “One squad of Rasa soldiers and ourselves is not exactly a force to strike fear into the hearts of most Concordian militaries.”

“We could evacuate your soldiers to this ship,” Kal’at suggested.

“I lack the capacity for that many passengers,” Lilith quickly replied. “Perhaps a hundred for a short FTL jump, no more.”

Ten trips
, Minu thought silently. From a screen next to her chair she called up the star charts around Planet K. Nearest world the ship knew to be inhabitable was eleven light-years away, and did not hold a portal.

Six hours each way, plus extraction time with the ship’s four shuttles. Call that two hours. Maybe one and a half if they used the Phoenix shuttle as well. A conservative estimate was 160 hours. Even if they could hold off the enemy that long, it meant abandoning all the Rangers’ hardware on planet, and probably spending a lot of their lives to buy the time. Then of course they’d have to make a second jump to a planet with a portal. No, this wasn’t really an option.

“No,” she said solemnly, “we need another option.” And then, it came to her. But it wasn’t a great option.

* * *

“Here they come again.”

Gregg looked up from his tablet. It was his second and last one he’d brought on the deployment. The previous one had stopped a grazing beamcaster round.

He tapped an icon on the tablet and the projector next to his right eye sent images from the virtual battlefield right into the eye. Beta, C/3 was heavily engaged by a company of heavy tanks. There were using their heavy beamcasters to hold them at bay, but only barely. It fit the profile that a major attack would follow.

“Noted,” he replied to his assistant. “Move up Beta, D company to stand by to reinforce the left flank. Bump Kappa BatCom, tell him to get the crews to their lancers.”

The man nodded and began keying in the orders to his tablet. Gregg gritted his teeth at the thought of committing the Lancers again. He’d lost one three days ago, bringing them down to only eight left. But they were the only effective counter for the cursed Mok-Tok heavy tanks. Even concentrated shock rifle fire was ineffectual.

Energy weapon artillery tore at the building a few hundred meters from his command post. The building, once a warehouse, was obliterated and scattered for hundreds of meters in every direction. Gregg cursed and watched as two squads of Rangers flashed off his virtual battlefield. “Have the scouts found those damned artillery yet?”

“They keep moving them, sir,” the assistant replied.

Gregg knew the shambling mounds only possessed three of them. They’d started with six, but the Rangers had taken out three in a lighting raid that had cost him an entire company. He wanted to believe it was worth the sacrifice.

Only problem was the enemy controlled the portal, and thus access to reinforcements. Gregg could neither reinforce, retreat, nor reequip. His troops were running low on everything. Especially time.

He still had an ace in the hole. What he was saving it for, he didn’t know. He lacked the support he’d need to begin a proper assault against the portal spire. The Leesa and their surprise allies the Mok-Tok were heavily fortified there with tanks and heavy beamcasters far up the spire. He was sure they could force entry, and possibly then evacuate. He was also sure he’d lose a battalion or more in the attempt. He’d already lost half a battalion. His options were quickly diminishing.

“Have Alpha C fall back to location Tango-Delta two. They need a few hours of downtime. Have recon verify all LOS from damned portal spire so we can avoid direct fire and clear those lines.”

Another acknowledgement came and he turned back to his tablet. How long could he continue to hold out? Two hours? Two days? Two weeks? He didn’t know, only that he would as long as he could. Something would turn up. A chance, an error by the enemy he could exploit. He still had over two thousand well trained soldiers at his command.

Another building exploded a kilometer away and more icons winked out on his virtual battlefield.

Chapter 38

May 8th, 534 AE

Planet K, Contested Territory, Galactic Frontier

Gregg watched the technician work frantically trying to bring the heavily damaged craft back to life. The Lancer had been raked by beamcaster fire, shorting out a dozen key systems as the shields imploded. Somehow, the pilot had managed to limp the craft back and save the two squads of Rangers he’d flown in to rescue. Now down to only five of the versatile fighter/transports, the cost had been dizzying.

“Any chance?” he asked the tech, a young woman from the Summit tribe.

Her emerald-green eyes regarded him and squinted as she thought. “I can get you fighter or transport,” she told him. “No way both. And only two of the four shields will ever work again.”

“Fighter then,” he said without hesitation.

Two hours ago the scouts had located another set of portals. They were in an industrial complex five kilometers distant, and the leader was certain they were active. Two problems.

One; he didn’t know where they went. They were under observation, but light observation. Should he eliminate the outpost, the shambling mounds would know what the Rangers were up to.

Two; he would have to disengage and move his surviving forces five kilometers to evacuate offworld. During a normal orderly deployment, he could move his division through a single portal in three hours. In this situation, it would take twice that. Unless they dropped everything and ran.

Gregg scowled at the virtual battlefield one more time and tried to consider another option. There simply weren’t any. “Inform all battalion commanders,” he told his assistant, “to begin preparing plans for a final offensive. In one day, we're getting out of here.”

* * *

Pip sat up with a jerk, shaking his head and trying to force his consciousness up through a thick layer of mental flotsam. It was the first time in years that he'd had a full-out mental crash because of overloaded implants. In the early days after being returned to wakefulness, it had happened often, though admittedly only for moments. None of his friends had even noticed. This incident was embarrassing to him.

He felt his head where it was sore on one side. Had he actually collapsed in the tactical drive bay? So much for that effort to cultivate an image of infallibility. He didn't think it was working anyway.

His implants finished initializing and he checked for elapsed time. Seven hours, the longest he'd ever been out against his will. And then he saw what had changed on the ship.

“Lilith,” he called out, knowing she would hear him in his stateroom.

“Yes Pip, I'm glad you are awake.”

“We've made a tactical jump,” he stated.

“Two,” she confirmed. “Mother wants you to join us in the CIC.”

Pip changed his uniform and quickly made his way to the small secondary CIC. When he arrived the door opened for him and he floated out. He was both surprised and unsurprised at the image of what space lay beyond the hull of the Kaatan.

Minu, Pip, Aaron and, Cherise and Kal'at all waited for him. Lilith was in presence as her remote self. “I have to tell you something important I figured out.”

“It can wait,” Minu said and gestured to the wall.

Pip looked for a second to realize what he was looking at. “What are we doing back here?”

“Gregg is trapped on Planet K and under siege,” Minu began and quickly brought him up to speed.

“You already have a plan,” he said, “don't you?”

“I do,” she admitted and pointed at something that floated in the foreground of the display.

“And how are we going to manage that?”

“Not us…” Minu said.

“You,” Lilith spoke up.

Pip snorted and gave a deep laugh. “You honestly think I can do that?”

“Lilith does,” Minu said. “We all agree it's the most logical approach.”

“Everyone except me.”

“So you won't do it?” Aaron accused.

Pip narrowed his eyes and almost said no.

“Gregg is your friend too.”

“You don't know what you are asking me to do,” Pip said, looking at Minu and ignoring her husband.

“I know perfectly well what I'm asking. I'm asking you to put the life of your friend, and thousands of Rangers above your personal comfort zone.”

Against his will, Pip felt his face getting hot. She'd hit on that one.

“It's within my authority to make it an order,” Minu stated.

“But you won't,” Pip chided, “you're all about personal choice and greater sacrifice.” He'd been trying to hurt her back with that one. It didn't quite work as he'd planned.

“I've given plenty of flesh and bone,” she reminded him with a hard edge to her voice.

She didn't have to hold up the cybernetic arm, or show off the lines of deep scars on her legs, or remind him of the circumstances behind Lilith's birth. If there was any Chosen who came close to the level of sacrifice she'd given, it was him.

But maybe that was his problem with the situation. Didn't many consider what she'd given up to be greater that what he'd offered to the service? After all, what did he do except take a nap for years? Pip clenched his teeth at that thought. No-one, especially Minu, would ever say something like that. I really am a selfish asshole. And it was that selfish part that decided to keep a secret for a while longer.

“I don't know if it's even possible,” he finally said.

“Lilith says it is.”

“Okay. Then I'll try.”