Gray Panthers: Dixie (4 page)

“We pride ourselves on our reputation for excellence and timeliness. Repairing the damage to our door will be the first item on your account ledger. Is there anything else you need today?” Roots asked.

“We will be leaving shortly but wish to inspect the facility first to ensure it will meet our requirements,” Young stated as he watched his men continue to search through the facility.

“That will not be a problem. Let me know when you wish to leave and I will escort you out myself,” Roots replied before doing a partial bow and disappearing.

“Major Rogers, how did you convince Roots to work for us?” Young commed to the shuttle.

“Roots is only a level-two AI, so it was easy for me to convince him that it is within his directives to support you as a customer. He was also impressed that I am a level-one AI, and he assumed there is an alliance between Earth and Flem, but since he has not been officially updated with that information he will support everything you ask for within his directives and will keep a tally in case the Flem demand payment.”

Unclaimed lands, planet Dixie

26 October 2128

Scotty awoke with a start as Sam moved her head on his lap. It was dark, and the anticipated rain had not come after all. The smell of smoke was in the air and he could see flames in the distance. The clouds softly reflected the light from the fire as smoke rose.

“Wake up, Sam. You fell asleep on guard duty!” Scotty gently shook Sam until she finally opened her eyes.

“What time is it?” was the only reply she could come up with in her lethargic state.

“I’m guessing it’s a couple hours until dawn,” Scotty replied, stifling a yawn. “Looks like they lost interest in us and went back and burned the barn and your transport.”

“Those bastards! We almost had the transport paid off.” Sam rose and kicked at a stone while muttering unintelligibly.

“That’s what insurance is for, in case aliens land and destroy your transport. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get into some dry clothes and make some breakfast. Then, when the sun comes up, we can be on our way.” As Scotty reached to untie his boot, Sam just looked at him, and then she felt the chill of her wet clothes for the first time since waking.

Scotty reached into his backpack, took out a large fuzzy white towel, and threw it to Sam once she was down to only her panties. “You might want to dry yourself before you put on dry clothes.”

Catching the towel, Sam looked at Scotty. “You stole a towel from me? You just can’t trust a damn Yankee.” Wiping the towel across her face, she was shocked to see all the mud and blood from crossing the river and moving through the brush of the forest. She found even more mud as she removed the last of her clothing and finished drying herself. Then she threw the wet, dirty towel back to Scotty and dressed quickly.

“You’re welcome,” Scotty said sarcastically as he tried to find a clean part of the towel to use. Giving up, he wiped himself with the exterior of the clean shirt he was about to put on.

“See the outline of the hills? If we reach the base of the highest one we’ll almost be back to the plantation,” Sam said as she finished tying her boot.

“Here. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Scotty said with a smile as he threw a meal bar to her. “It must be nice and nutritious, because it tastes like crap.”

“Those are some of my father’s military rations. I’m so hungry I’m not even disgusted at the thought of eating this.” Sam smiled back at Scotty as she tore the wrapper from the bar. “Dang, I don’t remember them being this gritty.”

“That’s probably the dirt in your mouth, sweetie,” Scotty scoffed as he looked down at the carbine in his lap, debating whether he should try tearing it apart to clean it. He pulled a sock out of his pack and wiped down the exterior, then removed the magazine and opened the breach, catching the chambered round as it flew out. He proceeded to wipe out the breach and as much of the interior as he could reach. He then inserted a clean, dry magazine and chambered a round. Taking the old magazine, he quickly removed all of the cartridges and wiped them down, wishing he had oil for the magazine’s spring. Turning to Sam, he saw that she was following suit with her shotgun. He reached into his pack and removed a case of cartridges before wiping down and reloading his empty magazines from the day before. He was amazed to see that he had gone through eight of the twenty-round magazines.

Taking a healthy swig of water, Sam swished it around in her mouth and spit it into a bush, glad to be rid of the grit in her mouth. She looked over at Scotty as she loaded the last cartridge into her revolver. Pulling out a case of shotgun shells from her pack, she refilled the loops on her belt and then stuck a handful into her front pocket. “You ready to go yet, old man?” she asked as she stood and donned her backpack, tightening a loose shoulder strap.

“I’ll let you lead the way from here,” Scotty answered. Rising, he checked to make sure there were no telltale signs of them having spent the night on the hillside.

Sam walked over to him and appeared to put her arms around him, then pulled the sword from his belt. “This will come in useful to break trail,” she said, checking the blade with her thumb. Then she headed toward the brush and began attacking it with the sword.

Gray Panthers headquarters, Arizona

26 October 2128

Dan looked at General Black and gave the order he’d been dreading. “Black Jack, prepare a movement order. When we send the repaired Dixie destroyer Georgia back to Dixie, I want as many shuttles and men with her as possible. If the Libra have taken any ground on Dixie, the only way it’s going to be taken back is with boots on the ground. God help us all.”

General Black looked at Dan and realized this was the first time his old friend had needed to send a large number of men to war—and possibly to their deaths. “I’ll go get things moving, sir.”

The general commed his chief of staff and said, “We have an immediate ‘go’ for offensive operations. Base the plan on not having any resupply or support for a minimum of two weeks. We need to go loaded for bear. Go ahead and task the First Battalion. I also want you to coordinate with the army liaison and request their Space Operations Battalion from Special Operations Command for the joint operation. Looks like Dixie may need a hand.”

Gray Panthers headquarters, Arizona

26 October 2128

Commander Caleb “Red” Erickson, acting admiral of the fleet, received word from his aide that the Dixie destroyer Georgia was to have the highest priority for repairs to be made spaceworthy, even if repairs on the sole remaining Gray Panther ship Bia needed to be put aside. For the umpteenth time Red cursed Admiral Bad for leaving him behind with his ship, the Bia, to protect Earth as Bad led the fleet on an attack against the Libra Alliance.

After the fleet was deployed, the Arizona Space Ship Bia with only the support of Earth-based shuttles had remained to defend the home world, until the Bia was nearly destroyed. The arrival of the fleet from the planet Dixie had saved the day. Now, after the main Dixie fleet had returned to defend their world, there was only a squadron of Dixie ships protecting Earth until the Gray Panther fleet returned.

Red could feel his face burning as he headed for Dan Daniels’s office to object in person. The insult of relegating his ship to second-class status infuriated him. He stopped to take a breath before knocking on Dan’s office door. He was caught off guard as Dan exited the office and almost ran him down.

“What can I do for you, Red?” Dan put his arm on Red’s shoulder so he would follow.

The gesture took some of the wind from Red’s sails. “Why are we repairing the Dixie ship when we need the Bia repaired?”

“Sorry, Red. Guess you didn’t get the memo. We’re sending ground forces to Dixie in case they are needed to repel the attackers. We can get the Georgia spaceworthy faster than we can the Bia. Georgia is going to carry the troops.”

“Why can’t the Dixie squadron commander release another ship instead? He has enough ships available.”

“He was given specific orders not to return any of his command to Dixie until our fleet returned. The orders given to the captain of the Georgia were to return as soon as our repair facilities declared his ship combat ready. I’m actually on my way to see him now, to let him know our plans. If he declines our plans, I will turn all resources over to getting the Bia online as soon as possible instead. I’ll tell him that, too.”

“Sir, I’ll get back to work then. I’ll make sure every asset and effort is dedicated to getting the Georgia ready until I hear different,” Red said as he turned to go.

“Thank you, Red. I wish we had more assets. God willing, Admiral Bad will be back with the fleet soon.”

Dan decided to have the captain of the Georgia report to him instead of chasing him down and was surprised to find that he was in the headquarters building.

Juanita poked her head into Dan’s office. “The captain of the Georgia is in my office. Will you see him now?”

“Please show the captain in.” Dan decided for a change to stand on formality, since the captain would be within his rights to deny the request to transport troops on his ship to Dixie.

Juanita opened the door to let the captain in. Dan ignored his entrance for a moment longer as he closed a sheaf of papers.

“Sir, Senior Lieutenant John Taylor Woods reporting as ordered,” the officer exclaimed as he held out his arm in a salute similar to the British.

“Thank you, Captain Woods, for reporting back to me as soon as you did.” Dan returned the salute and looked at the thin young officer standing in front of him. “I have some news you won’t like, Captain. It seems by the time we get your ship combat ready, there’s a good chance the war will be over.” Dan held up his hand to silence the officer as he continued. “We will need to combine all our repair crews and material to get our ship Bia ready to deploy to Dixie. It’s a vital mission to provide troops to assist Dixie.”

“Sir, those bastards killed a good number of my crew, and we have to get back to avenge our dead.”

“I really am sorry, Captain, but who knows what’s going on even now on Dixie. Your desire for blood can’t take precedence over our delivering two thousand troops.”

“Sir, please. We have to get back into the fight.” Woods stopped for a minute, then said, “Sir, I know for a fact that the Georgia needs fewer repairs to be made combat ready. If you can get my ship done first, I will deliver the troops to Dixie and provide fire support.”

“Captain Woods, are you trying to haggle with me like a merchant on the street?”

“I apologize, sir. It’s the best option for both of us. Please consider my suggestion, sir.”

Dan looked over at the young officer and decided to put on his best fatherly face. “Son, when you leave my office, I suggest you go directly to your ship to see how you are going to accommodate two thousand troops and their shuttles. Feel free to seek out the advice of the repair staff. I’ll go out on a limb here and give the orders for Georgia to have priority for all repairs. If you can’t make it work, let me know as soon as possible. I’ll trust your judgment and integrity. I owe your planet for saving our world, so this will be part of the payment by hopefully getting there that much sooner.”

“Sir, I will do my best. Thank you for allowing me this chance to get back at the enemy that much faster.” Woods looked like he had won the lottery with the news Dan had given him.

“You can thank me if you survive the battle. Our new beamers are about the same size as your main lasers. It will add no time to your repairs to upgrade your weapons to give you a bigger punch against the bastards.”

Woods took a moment to realize that not only had he won the battle, but he was also going to have a deadlier ship to take back into the fight. “Thank you, sir. Request permission to exit?”

Dan walked over and shook the young officer’s hand. “Good luck, Captain Woods.”

Woods saluted and then retired from the office after receiving Dan’s salute in return. Once out the door he asked Juanita to connect him to the repair dock that was working on his ship. His operations officer and maintenance officer were already there talking with the repair staff.

“This is Captain Woods. I need both of you to figure out how we can carry two thousand troops and their shuttles with us. We will be getting top priority for all repairs and new main weapons, as well. Start working it out with the repair staff. I’m on my way there now.” Woods ran from the office without acknowledging Juanita’s assistance.

Juanita opened the door to Dan’s office and stared at him for a minute until she got his attention. “You sure lit a fire under that young man.”

“I know I did. I just hope he doesn’t get burned,”

Arizona Space Ship Beater, in League of Planets space

27 October 2128

“The plan from here is to take every ship we can. If we can’t take a ship, we want to take part of its cargo or find some other way to hurt them,” Captain Johnson instructed. “We’re going to try to physically harm as few as possible. We want the crews to know we’re doing this because we’re at war with the Libra Alliance. We’ll try to put the crews either on the nearest planet or in escape pods. Merchants need to know their profits are not safe. We will avoid engaging enemy combat ships unless we have a clear superiority over them. We don’t have friendly repair facilities. When there are no ships to attack, we will consider orbital stations or other soft targets.

“Any ships we capture that can land on a planet and fit inside our facility on Flem will be taken there. Any ship too large we will consider taking to Republic space for auction as war booty.

“If everything goes as we plan, the Alliance will be forced to use its warships for convoy duty. Civilian morale should also be eroded when the word gets out that no one is safe from us. We have fuel and supplies to support operations for three months. Unless we are forced to return to Earth due to battle damage, we shall return in January,” he continued.

“There’s a gas giant that has a major refinery and civilian space dock in orbit around it. The refinery ships fly through the outer areas of the gas giant’s atmosphere and scoop material into their cargo containers. They are then deposited at the refinery, and a new cargo container is attached to the ship. The procedure is then repeated.

“We will go in and take any ships we want from the space docks, then marshal all civilians from the refinery to the space dock before destroying the refinery. Any questions?”

“Sir, with only an eleven-man team, including myself, how do you plan for us to control hundreds or possibly thousands of civilians? Especially since they must have some type of armed security?” Young asked skeptically.

“We will establish contact with the facility’s supervision and announce to them that we are going to destroy the facility section by section. We’ll have them evacuate each section until we’ve herded everyone to where we want them. We’ll use the Darts to ensure that no one escapes. Any ships we decide to take, we’ll put a prize crew of droids on board that Beater can instruct. It’s strictly last resort to risk any lives. Does anyone else have any questions?” Johnson asked smugly.

“Sir, if we get an enemy reaction force that’s stronger than us, what’s the plan for my Darts?” Lieutenant Matt Andrews, Dart Flight commander, asked.

“If we need to leave in a hurry, the Beater will provide covering fire while the Darts return hot through the force field of the landing bay. Then we will immediately engage the FTL drive. If a Dart is damaged or destroyed, we will not risk the entire ship for one pilot.”

“Sir, can we have a shuttle deployed during operations so that if a Dart is damaged, the pilot can be picked up immediately?” Andrews pressed.

“Matt, I will give that idea consideration and let you know before the Darts deploy for the mission. We will engage the FTL drive in thirty minutes. Once it’s in use, we’ll be five hours away from our target by FTL. Chief Short Blade will have the bridge. Anyone that wants to go to their berth and engage their stasis field to avoid the side effects may do so. When we disengage the FTL, we expect to be five minutes from the target, so everyone be sure you’re mission-ready by the time we drop back into normal space. Dismissed.” Johnson quickly left the room, leaving the rest of the crew surprised at his swift departure.