Koban 4: Shattered Worlds (48 page)

“Yes Mam. It didn’t go quite as smooth as we expected, and we had to improvise.”

As he spoke, Crager also cycled through the shuttle’s air lock, the hold still being in vacuum.

Revealing that the Bridge was indeed observing them, Danforth asked incredulously, “You left only one man watching that Krall? It has air to breath now, and it’ll revive.”

“Uh…,” Longstreet paused to see the nod from Crager, who was monitoring the same frequency. “She’s been pulled out of her armor, and something that knocks them out was administered.”

“Really? I didn’t know there was such a drug. That was a female you said? They all look the same I thought.” Longstreet had let the gender slip.

“The drug’s classified Mam. Please don’t spread that around. And yes, we can tell by the odor it was a female when we removed the armor.” At least a Kobani, with a ripper’s sense of smell could tell the difference, and he assumed navy personnel had never even had a chance to compare smells between Krall genders. They obviously didn’t know anyone could sense a Krall’s thoughts.

“I understand captain. I had wondered how you and your men were going to get back to the ship when you didn’t use any retractable lines, or have jet packs. Clever to use the Krall’s own weapon and ammunition to improvise your push back to the ship. I suppose our initial report told you she had a pistol and ammunition. But if that wasn’t your primary return method when you started up here, what did you intend to use?”

“Ah…,” Longstreet temporized for moment, to think of a safe reply. “We had a slower magnetic means we wanted to use that was taking too long.” He wasn’t going to reveal their suit’s tachyon power systems. Besides, today’s live thrusting technique had not exactly worked as well as had the tame controlled tests in space.

Danforth complimented them. “Well it worked, and that’s a tribute to your training, fast thinking, and mission preplanning. I confess if you had taken any longer to start moving back, I’d have had my navigator drift the ship over to meet you.”

The dumbfounded look shared between Longstreet and Crager merely implied the forehead slaps they mentally applied, after hearing that obvious
swabbie
solution.

****

Mirikami sent Longstreet back to talk to General Nabarone, to relay his proposal to the navy. He asked to hold onto the prisoner, seeking more details of Krall defenses. He wanted to know how the war material was distributed between clan domes on K1. He already knew, for example, that many of Pendor’s invasion clanships would be returning to K1 after his force had landed. He might use that return as cover for his scouting mission.

He could have used encrypted radio messages to talk directly to Henry, but that signal, coming from a moving empty location in space would draw attention. Even from the Krall, who wouldn’t be able to see the ship where the signal originated. The Mark of Koban, their other commandeered clanships, and Chief Haveram’s Falcon now had the improved Raspani and Torki designed quantum stealth coating. It was essentially the same as that on their body armor and the Shadows fighters. This made the large ships electromagnetically invisible even to a clanship’s sensors, at least at this range, and hard to detect in the visual spectrum as well. It couldn’t be a perfect cloak, even if the technology allowed, because then they couldn’t see out either.

He promised to share information from his upcoming scouting mission to K1 with the navy, if they would at least consider mounting a preemptive strike there if his report and visual evidence proved credible. Rather than try to drive off an invasion force already landed on a planet, the navy could for once prevent the launch of an invasion fleet.

In a bold and risky move, Mirikami offered to meet with Admirals Bledso and Foxworthy. To show them the live captive Krall, and try to convince Bledso that this new Krall intelligence source is believable, even before he left to scout K1.

“Joe, tell Henry that I will be the face of the Rimmers that the Hub government believes are responsible for the raids on Krall worlds. That it’s my people that flew the Shadows that were so effective on Poldark.”

The only deception was that Mirikami wasn’t technically a Rimmer, although Koban was certainly outside the sphere of New Colonies.

Acceptance was almost immediate, arriving within an hour of the shuttle’s landing. Since Longstreet had taken the captive Krall back with him, its existence as an intelligence source would wait until Mirikami made his way down to Poldark, to present his story to Bledso and Foxworthy. 

“Dillon, as we discussed, I’ll leave you in charge after I move us behind Poldark’s moon. I can launch the shuttle from there because Henry says the navy doesn’t maintain automatic defenses tied to detections systems on the backside, because the Krall have never used the moon as a shield to sneak in close.”

“Are you taking Ethan with you, or any of the others? I don’t like you going alone.”

“I’ll have Kobani with me, even if the admirals won’t know it. Joe and his men, and even Henry himself. Although we don’t want Henry to give himself away. Joe has some of the Heavyside Kobani with him. They can help if I need to duck out of sight. I’ll leave all our TG1’s here with you for the K1 mission.”

“OK. I’ll move the Mark out of the moon’s shadow to where we are now after you leave, so I can receive you by radio when you call.”

Ethan had been over to the side, and heard what was said, “Captain, why hide behind the moon to launch? You brought one of our shuttles from home, and it has a stealth coating and a Trap field for power now.”

“It may not be a Krall shuttle, but having it suddenly appear to the planetary defenses might draw curious attention. I’ll launch behind that moon, cut stealth and call the base to give Nabarone’s security code, and when I pull around to the front side, I’ll show up on planetary radar like any non-stealthed craft. No need to let them see it has the new technology yet. If they were suspicious and checked it out too close, they’d find it was registered to a passenger ship that vanished even before the start of the war. I want the navy on our side, not suspicious of who we really are.”

The Mark moved closer behind Poldark’s moon, and Mirikami launched alone in his shuttle. Two hours later, he settled down at the shuttle port closest to Nabarone’s buried command center. He was met by Sergeant Crager, who introduced himself to the man everyone considered the leader of all of the Kobani. Even those he’d never met.

“Captain Mirikami, I’m sure Joe and some of your kids have mentioned me. I’m Sergeant First Class William Crager, from Heavyside. I was the First Sergeant at SOB-1 when your three young men came through. Welcome back to Poldark Sir.”

Mirikami extended his hand, since there would be no salute for Crager to return. He was just a man in civilian clothes. “Please call me Tet. Good to meet you at last sergeant. Noreen and those boys told me about you when they first returned. She has filled me in on how well your program is going on Heavyside. So, you plan to return home with me for your first visit there, and to get your final upgrades.”

“Shoot. You got that just from my handshake. I guess I’ll learn how to block my thoughts after I can Mind Tap.”

Mirikami laughed. “Nope, I got that from Joe. He told me. I didn’t get squat from you as we shook hands. You probably can block just fine. No leaky head for you, my friend. Besides, I didn’t try to sense you. It’s a habit developed after being around other Mind Tappers. We automatically give each other privacy. Just like not leaning in on someone making a private phone conversation, to try to hear what’s said. You
can
do that, but you don’t do it out of politeness, or without a good reason.”

“OK. You got me. Please call me Bill. From Joe’s comments I know how you folks stay as civilian as possible most of the time. I hope you don’t mind when I slip back into a career’s worth of military protocol. Particularly when other military are around, brass especially.”

“I do that myself sometimes Bill, but it’s mostly concerning Spacer ranks, since my last contact with the navy was so long ago.”

“I have a car at the edge of the tarmac. General Nabarone and the two admirals are waiting to see you. The general has told them he’s met you previously, to discuss the deployment of our Shadows, and selling the PU the use of stealth technology. That’s a bit of background he wanted you to have. They don’t know anything else about you, as far as we know, and with Nabarone having Mind Tap, I’ll bet he’s sure of that by now.”

Mirikami talked as they walked. “I’m torn over how much I’m going to have to show them of our physical capability, to convince them I can safely lead a scouting mission to K1, get intelligence they can act on, and not stir up the Krall so they suspect the attack.”

“Tet, I personally believe they already have some idea of our capability. The Shadow fighters clearly outperformed Krall single ships, and our Kobani spec ops troops kicked a lot of Krall ass in the mountains, at that former resort. Finally, I know they have the detailed recordings of our rush mission to capture the lovely and charming Hothdat, before she could blaze a trail through Poldark’s atmosphere.

“They surely could see she wasn’t nearly as dead as we suggested, and we easily kept her under control. That recovery was made by three men in strange new armor, and they never actually saw any of our faces. We could have been anybody. We claimed to be three speck ops troops, but obviously the suits of armor aren’t PU issue, since only your Torki, Raspani, and Prada friends design and make them, and you delivered some here and to Heavyside, via trips by the Falcon. Captain Longstreet was the only one of us that spoke to them, and he gave his real name, an uncommon name in a relatively small elite force, and as far as they know that name belonged to a speck ops captain reported missing on a secret mission, over a year ago. Anyone can use a false name so there is no proof he was who he said he was. We spoke to one another only on an encrypted frequency, so mine and Condor’s names are unknown to them. I’m the only one that’s still active duty, and they don’t know I was there.”

Nodding, Mirikami said, “Then I’m free to suggest all three men worked for me, and just happened to be where Nabarone could find them for that rush mission. I don’t want to tie any of our spec ops Kobani to these mysterious Rimmer forces yet, just to keep the PU government from breathing down your necks on Heavyside.”

“Good idea, Sir. We’re turning out new Kobani graduates at the same rate as standard graduates, but at different camps of course. We have to have some of those standard graduates and a third of the unsuspecting prospects don’t even make it through the Mind Tap vetting process, at least enough for us to be comfortable letting them know about the gene changes.

“We revisit them after they’ve fought the Krall a few times. Nothing like having your ass kicked to force a change in viewpoint. We’re helping fight the war more effectively, and having a positive impact. Except, if the public found out we were gene modified, I can’t predict which way President Medford and parliament would go.”

“You might be surprised. Lady Medford ran on a platform to boost ground forces and provide every technological advantage they could devise. Through Nabarone’s urging, she pushed the house to pay us so-called Rimmer militia for the new stealth systems. She indirectly pays for your new armor, through the Special Operations Black Ops budget. I doubt if she knows
that
, however. How far up the line does Kobani knowledge go in spec ops?”

“Colonel Michel Dearborn, now running our Heavyside Kobani training camp, is as high as I know personally. By the way, he also needs to get away to receive his Mind Tap upgrade.”

“We’re ready for him when he can explain his absence for a month.”

Crager then finished his answer to the original question. “The Colonel has a contact in headquarters, a General Steven Marchaunt, who knows we were exploring unorthodox methods on Heavyside, to improve our troopers, and doing it off the record. He keeps us funded and helped refer biological and medical scientific staff to us for interviews. I doubt if he knows every detail of what we’re doing there now, or how far along we really are. Mike is confident he would still support us if he did know. However, he has maintained plausible deniability if questioned by the politicians under a Verification scanner.”

They reached the staff car and Mirikami automatically climbed in front to sit next to the driver. Crager was flustered for a moment, as his hand reached to open a back door. He’d expected his VIP to sit in the rear. Tet was a more egalitarian commander than the career soldier was accustomed to meeting.

Crager drove several miles to a checkpoint at the entrance to a below ground parking area, where he was passed through based on his retinal scan, palm print, and a current password. This was to keep unauthorized humans out, and obviously not the Krall. Crager parked the car, and they boarded an automated tram which went deep under what the sergeant said was a massive granite ridge. They passed through another checkpoint, and then they rode an elevator down more levels than Mirikami tried to count.

On the elevator, Mirikami satisfied his curiosity. “They checked you three ways from Sunday Bill, but didn’t even ask me a single question.” He noted.

“My clearance is to escort anyone that I bring with me to meet Nabarone. If I’m who I say I am, then you’re passed without challenge if I check out OK. This is the first time I’ve done this, by the way. It was easier for me to get in here this time than for my first visit. Spec ops didn’t always have as good a relation with Nabarone as we have now. We’ve become rather cozy, despite still having a separate command structure.”

When the doors slid open, a booming voice greeted them. “Tet, welcome to my lair. Good to see you again.” The brass hat had come to greet the man that had given them hope that they might stop the Krall, if not actually defeat them.

Hand shaking and back slaps made Mirikami grateful for his own gene mods. It was good he’d had decades living on Koban, what with the enthusiastic man’s greeting. The formerly hefty man had slimmed down greatly, and wasn’t quite as large as either Thad or Dillon, but made up for it with his boisterous personality.

He led the two men to a small office for a pre-briefing, before meeting with the waiting Admirals. “Tet, I have told them that you are a leader among the supposed Rimmer militia, but I didn’t say you are the top man, or how many people you have at your disposal. I haven’t even given them your name. I wanted to let you decide how much you choose to tell them. I do have to ask, since you surprised me when you offered to meet them personally, if you intend to reveal any of your Kobani capability. I’d assume not Mind Tap, which would scare the hell out of them. I remember mine and Trakenburg’s initial reactions.”

“No, I won’t do that. However, to convince them that we have the ability to conduct a secret scouting mission on K1, and get out without stirring up a hornet’s nest, I may try a bit of subterfuge that I think may work.” He tugged at his lower lip.

“Sergeant Crager here told me the navy didn’t see any of the three on the Krall capture team out of their armor. Are any other non-PU military Kobani here at the bunker or close by, someone I don't have to worry about revealing to the navy? I want the person in armor initially, but when they see their face, I don't want to force that person to have to give up whatever spec ops slot they fill now. Not just to show them off to the navy. I don't know if we can sell them what I have planned anyway.”

“How about a young lady?” Nabarone had an odd smirk.

Mirikami jumped to a conclusion. The wrong one. “There are female speck ops now?”

Crager laughed, knowing whom the general had in mind. “We wish, but we haven’t managed to get any female Normals through the initial screening process on Heavyside. They would be great after selected for the Kobani camp, since they are modified after passing through SOB-1, assuming they pass the Mind Tap interview. You know her. She came with you originally, and was at the crater with Joe’s team for training.”

Nabarone didn’t keep him in suspense. “Carol Slobovic came with Chief Haveram on the Falcon a couple of weeks ago. Not only will they never find a record of her in Human Space, she’s female. Guaranteed to sit favorably with them, no matter what you decide to have her do.”

Carol was one of the TGs that had traveled to Poldark on their first foray into Human Space. She had become a full Kobani as soon as they had returned home, when the value of the Mind Tap mod had proven itself, and the even later mods were available. Mirikami didn’t know where many of those youngsters were right now. They variously served on different ships or teams, wherever they happened to volunteer, or were asked to go.

“Excellent! I’ll brief her on what I plan when she arrives, and I’ll Tap you both to fill you in while we wait for her.”

Using a group hand-on-hand link, Mirikami explained what he wanted to try, just after Nabarone used his personal com set to have someone locate Slobovic and guide her here ASAP, and to bring her armor. They didn’t want to keep the navy waiting longer than necessary.

The usual transfer of images and information was over in seconds, leaving plenty of time for questions and answers in the five minutes it took for the young woman to arrive.

She was startled when she entered the room, “Captain, they didn’t tell me you were on Poldark. I’m not going home am I?” She sounded dismayed at that prospect.

She rushed to explain. “I’m having fun here as a liaison officer between speck ops and the PU Army, pushing the Krall back towards their old lines before the assaults and their withdrawal. I actually get to fight the Krall!” She made it sound as if that were an intramural sport at school. She certainly looked young enough to be in school.

Mirikami gave her a non-military hug, and laughed at her definition of a liaison officer, where she somehow found a way to engage in the fighting against the Krall. “How does sharing information and coordinating Army actions with Special Operations put you into the fighting?” He paused at her distressed expression.

“Never mind. Let me show you what I have in mind for you today. You’ll demonstrate first, without speaking, and when finished you get to impress the hell out of two Lady Admirals.”

He took her hand, and in seconds, she knew what was expected. Her disassembled lightweight armor was packed in a duffel bag she’d picked up in her quarters, located in the large underground bunker complex.

With an impish grin, she slipped into her suit, and as soon as her helmet sealed, she effectively vanished for a moment. The disembodied voice from her external speaker said, “Ready, Sir.” Then she rippled back into view.

Nabarone led them to an observation room, outside the interrogation room where Hothdat was kept, secured upright to a metal framework. There were tubes for nutrients and fluids down her throat to keep her fed and healthy, tubes to collect waste, and a slow drip of diluted Death Lime extract, to keep her immobile and unable to control her organs well enough to force her own death.

They left Carol behind, with two plasma rifle armed attendants that were always on watch. Nabarone issued the men some instructions, and then they proceeded to a conference room to meet the waiting admirals.

As they entered, Nabarone said, “Admirals, this Gentle Man is the Rimmer leader I’ve been telling you about.” As decided on the way, he let Mirikami step forward to introduce himself. Mirikami studiously avoided the male bow and hand kiss a civilian male might have been expected to offer two important Ladies, in uniforms or not.