Hunter, Warrior, Commander

by Andrew Maclure

  “I am sorry for your move Colonel. You have been fair and helpful.”

  “If you get stuck, let me know. There may not be much I can do, but I’ll do what I can. I like you Sah Lee and I can see what Ker Din Ser Forn saw in you. If you survive and don’t get yourself thrown out of the army, you will become a great warrior and a great leader. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have a lot to do before I take on my new role.”

  “Just one thing Colonel, who is taking over as the Peoples liaison?”

  “The Council of Generals is going to handle that. They said they are going to get the People under control. Good luck to them trying to do that. You should stay connected with Ker Din Ser Forn. I know you don’t like him, but just remember that he can be helpful to you in achieving your objectives.”

  Sah Lee nodded but had absolutely no intention of ever seeing or speaking to him again. She stood, gave her best salute, which wasn’t very good, and returned to the prison section. Tor greeted her. “No more waitress service. You’ll have to get your own meals now Corporal.” she grinned.

  “You’ve heard?”

  “All of us in security got a message from Colonel B’Erren Tek. Congratulations! All of your jumpsuit uniforms will have a silver insignia in future, showing your rank. If I may, I have one here that I can put on you now.”

  “Thank you Tir, that is very kind of you. We don’t really know each other well, but this seems to be the sort of thing a close friend would do.”

  Tor pressed the Corporal insignia to Sah Lee’s uniform shoulder, where it bonded to the material. Then she gave Sah Lee a hug. “I’ve grown fond of you Sah Lee. You are one of the toughest and least complaining soldiers I have met, but you aren’t as emotionally hard and bitter as the others are. You are sweet, polite and kind. I think you are unique. I meant what I said about staying connected. I think you would be a good friend to have.”

  Sah Lee hugged her back. “Thank you Tir. I would like to be your friend. We’ll stay connected and meet when we can when you leave the army, but not on Betzel Base! I must go now, I need to get back to my quarters.”

  “I’ll see you on base Sah Lee, I’m not going for a while. Let me know when you’re next going for a night out, but not if you’re planning any more ‘accidents’ involving three reptiles.”

  “I’ve no more of those planned.” Sah Lee said with a grin as she left.

  Chapter Seventy Four

  Return To Quarters

  Sah Lee walked into her quarters and found Touren, Bekkreshan and Robbie sitting at the table. As soon as they saw her, Touren and Bekkreshan jumped to their feet and saluted. Bekkreshan gave Robbie a light punch on the shoulder and he got up, with less enthusiasm than the other two and saluted.

  “At ease soldiers.” Sah Lee grinned.

  “You didn’t take long to get your insignia.” Touren said.

  “Tir, the Security Officer got it for me.”

  “You made friends with a Security Officer?” Bekkreshan asked.

  “She’s OK.” Robbie hissed, in a sibilant voice. “I fought in her zero-gravity unit in the Bellapharon campaign. She was a Major, leading from the front. We lost a lot of soldiers there. She was badly wounded, lost pressure in her suit but wouldn’t leave the front line. By the time we got her into a med unit her lungs were wrecked, her left shoulder and arm were frozen solid, shrapnel had taken off her lower right leg and the rest of it was frozen right up to her pelvis. She was still conscious and demanding to stay with her troops. I have a lot of respect for her.”

  “You were in a zero-gravity unit in Bellapharon? I heard that everyone who survived that was awarded a Galactic Savior Star for bravery?”

  “Yes, I tossed mine. I was lucky. Most of our unit weren’t. The Generals should have sent in twice as many of us. Nothing those bastards give me has any value.”

  “Why do you stay in the army if you feel like that about them?” Sah Lee asked.

  Robbie looked straight into her eyes. The silence stretched out for moments, which seemed like hours. “We all have our reasons for being here Sah Lee. You are not alone in wanting revenge against outcast scum.” He blinked slowly, then left the table and walked out of the quarters.

  “Oh shit. I have offended him.” Sah Lee said.

  “You didn’t mean to Sah Lee. He’s right though, no one is here just because they want to be a soldier. I guess it’s a kind of therapy, though sometimes the pain never goes away, which is why people leave and then in a few years or hundreds of years, sometimes tens of thousands of years, they come back. The problem of outcasts never goes away either.” Touren said.

  “I’m going to do my best to wipe them out.” Sah Lee said grimly.

  “We all want that, but more follow on. They are something we have to live with. The best we can do is to keep them in check and stamp them out whenever they appear.”

  “I want to seek them out before they do any harm. Anyway, now I’m no longer a prisoner, I’m going for a run in the corridors, then I’m going to turn in. The Colonel said there’s a good chance I’ll get a mission tomorrow. You know we’re going to get a new Colonel?”

  "Yeah, we heard." Bekkreshan said. "Have you heard who?"

  "Colonel B'Erren Tek said it will probably be Colonel Ssar Bess Dassur, and that his style is different from hers."

  "Different! That's an understatement." Touren said. "He's been in overall command of most of the larger operations. He is well known for under resourcing his missions and having a high body count among his troops. If his missions go well he takes the credit, if they go badly he blames the Lieutenant Colonel on the ground. He's a nasty bastard but the Generals like him. We've avoided him so far, but if he's taking overall charge of field operations, there will be no getting away from him."

  "So, not a good thing then?" Sah Lee asked.

  "No, and especially for you. He's a reptile and doesn't like mammals, he has contempt for pre-emergent and newly emergent civilizations - he says they are no better than animals, he hates the People - and like it or not, you are associated with them, and he treats rookies like dirt. You need to keep well out of his sight."

  "Thanks, but I don't think a newly promoted corporal will be noticed by a colonel."

  "You don't seem capable of keeping a low profile, Sah Lee. Just try not to piss him off. It won't end well if you do,"

  "I'll do my best, but right now, I'm going for a run."

  When Sah Lee returned, she found Bekkreshan and Ranesh sitting at the table, each with a mug in front of them. Sah Lee stood by Ranesh and put her hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for training with me Ranesh. Perhaps we can spar together when we both have downtime.”

  “Fuck off.” Ranesh said as she stood. “I’m going for a shit.”

  Sah Lee sighed. “I thought as she took the time to train with me I was making progress with her, but she still doesn’t like me.”

  “You’re kidding!” Bekkreshan said. “I cringed when you put your hand on her. She must really like you otherwise she would have picked you up and thrown you against a wall. She doesn’t like being touched.”

  “But she doesn’t talk to you like that.”

  “Yes, she does, and you haven’t seen her with people she doesn’t care for. Now, if you’re going to have a problem sleeping after that run, tell your AI to order up something from the synthesizer.”

  Chapter Seventy Five

  Early Call

  “Wake up Sah Lee. You’ve got a mission. Get out of bed now and take your backpack to the synthesizer, I’ve ordered extra equipment for you to take. Make it quick, others will need it soon.”

  She half fell out of her bunk and pulling her backpack from her locker, stumbled to the synthesizer. “Where am I going?” she asked as she pulled unfamiliar objects from it and stuffed them into her backpack.

  "Your orders are to report to Landing Bay Two where Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak will brief you. You’ll collect your weapon there, I’ve requested a GSA20 particle beam weapon. You w
ill also get an extreme environment suit."

  “What’s all the rush for anyway? It takes ages to get anywhere.”

  “This is an emergency, or crash deployment. The landers will take you to the craft belonging to Tahl Rek Aff Bren, one of the People. His craft is four kilometers off Betzel base. He will take you to within a few kilometers of the surface of Barden Three Four, it hasn’t got an atmosphere. It’s the fourth moon from the third planet, which is a gas giant, of the star called Barden, hence the designation, Barden Three Four. It’s the location of a research station on its surface studying exotic materials. It’s operated by the Tranossion Coalition, a group of nations from the planet Tranoss.”

  Sah Lee opened the synthesizer and took out a mug of the hot herbal tea she liked. “Tea? Is that part of my emergency equipment?”

  “You don’t have time to eat now, you may not get anything to eat on the lander. Logistics are still being worked out, weapons and armor have a priority over food. I’ve added some supplements that will help wake you up and keep you going. Don’t bother taking a shower, not that personal hygiene is ever far up your agenda. Put a fresh jumpsuit and boots on and get down to Landing Bay Two. You should get there just after Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak and before any of the Privates. Now you’re a Corporal you have to be early for everything.”

  Sah Lee sipped her tea while waiting for the synthesizer to finish making the extra equipment her AI had ordered. It seemed rather excessive, her backpack was half full and quite heavy. “Do I really need all of this stuff? It’s going to wear me out carrying all of this!”

  “Barden Three Four is seventeen percent smaller than Orn with a correspondingly lower gravity, about forty percent of Galactic Standard Gravity. To put that in context, Aarn has ninety seven prevent of Galactic Standard Gravity. The backpack will feel light to you there, although you’ll need to be conscious of the fact that it has the same mass. That’s it now, just a jumpsuit and boots to come, then you can get going.”

  Sah Lee took the new jump suit and boots from the synthesizer and quickly pulled them on. She noticed that the jumpsuit already had her Corporal’s insignia on the shoulder. Finishing her drink, she shrugged on her backpack and ran towards Landing Bay Two.

  Si’ir Monn stood next to a lander with its ramp down, watching an automated trailer unloading its crates. “Hi. What’s all the rush for?” Sah Lee asked.

  “Orders direct from the Council of Generals. They’ve taken over People’s liaison, which apparently means everything to do with them is now an emergency. Good to see you here early. You’re taking your promotion seriously.”

  “My AI is. If it had feet, it would have kicked me out of my bunk.”

  “That’s the same thing. There’s a crate in there somewhere for you. Should have all the stuff you’ll need, get the extreme environment suit on now. You’ve not worn one of those before in action. Has your AI told you where we’re going?”

  “Yes, Barden Three Four.”

  “Good. Did it tell you what the conditions are there?”

  “Only that it’s got low gravity and no atmosphere.”

  “Did it mention the reason it has no atmosphere is because it is frozen solid and makes up the surface of the moon?”

  “Uh, no it didn’t. Is that why we need extreme environment suit?”

  “Yeah. It’s armored and has a field armor generator too. You don’t have to worry about body armor underneath it, if the environment suit gets holed and it can’t repair itself quickly enough you’ll be out of action pretty damn soon. We have to assume the outcasts are wearing them too, if they are, your knife will be no use. You’ve got a GSA20 in your crate, make sure you’re with at least one soldier with a KE weapon and if they collapse a hostiles field armor, put as many holes as possible in it and spread them out. It makes it harder for the suit to repair itself quickly.”

  “If they are knife proof, why don’t we wear them all the time?”

  “Because they are bulky and hamper your movements, and they aren’t invulnerable. The mission is to eliminate approximately two hundred hostiles who are attempting to take over the research station. The occupants are Trannossian scientists studying exotic materials in the Barden solar system and attempting to make stable versions of them. They are insectoids, none of them are trained fighters.”

  “How many will be in our mission unit?”

  “Including officers, fifty five, plus a guard unit of six for the field hospital.”

  “What! Why so few?”

  “Because the Generals are arseholes. They like to boast that their army can take on outcasts four to one, which we can, but we lose a lot of people that way.”

  “The Generals sacrifice the lives of soldiers to boost their egos?”

  “Yeah. That’s about it.”

  “By the Makers, that’s insane! Why do soldiers stay in this army?”

  “Because our commanders are arrogant bastards, out of touch with life on the front line, but at least they are sane, which is more than can be said of the leadership of most, if not all the other armies.”

  “In Satan’s name, I’ll have my own army one day, if I survive that long!”

  “If you retain your sanity, you’ll probably get some volunteers. Meantime, in the real world, get suited up and your gear together. I’ve sent you a list of your squad members. Your squad is designated Team Three, Por Aruf has Team Four. Make sure your troops all know what team they’re in and that they’re ready to leave when I say go.”

  “What do we do when we land?”

  “You know as much about the situation as I do now. I’ve got two Corporals, you and Por Aruf. You’ve each got a squad of twelve troopers under your command. There’s another unit of a Sergeant, two Corporals and twenty-four troopers, plus Major Erret San Mer. It’s probably going to be one of those ops where we make it up as we go along. You seemed to be good at that on Betzel. Get to it Corporal! Get yourself ready then check those crates and make sure there’s one for each of your squad!”

  Chapter Seventy Six

  Barden Three Four

  With all of Si’ir Monn’s unit on the lander, he stood at the front and addressed the troops.

  “As you know, we’re being taken direct to Barden Three Four by Tahl Rek Aff Bren. His ship is standing off a couple of kilometers away, so when we lift off we’ll be there in a few minutes. We have a corvette on board already, so as soon as the landers are on board he’ll leave, which means we’ll be at our destination instantly. Our landers will disembark approximately six kilometers from the surface and drop straight down to the target. So - you need to be action ready now! If you need a shit before your boots hit the ground, go now. You’ll get your orders when we land. Any questions? No, there had better not be. Strap in.”

  The landers took only a few minutes to travel to Tahl Rek Aff Bren’s ship, or craft as the People preferred to call them. The landers, two troop carriers and one lander fitted out as a mobile field hospital, settled into the landing bay alongside the corvette, and the huge doors slid shut. Almost immediately they slid open again revealing the cracked surface of Barden Three Four. A great ice volcano, dormant at present, was in the view afforded by the opening doors. The research station stood a few kilometers away, a long rectangular building with a domed roof and several outbuildings attached to the main building by tunnels. At the end of the building two white landers sat parked parallel to each other with eight civilian landers of assorted designs and sizes scattered around them. The corvette left the landing bay first. Going down fast and hard it launched eight small missiles which took out the untidily parked civilian landers, then it swooped up to get into a low equatorial orbit in case it was needed again.

  The troop carriers left next followed by the field hospital. The landers made a fast landing and as they thudded to the ground, landing ramps crashed down, and the troops ran out. Major Erret San Mer was first out and stopped fifty meters from the landers, with both hands out at forty-five degrees. The two Sergea
nts stopped a couple of meters away from him in the positions indicated, with the corporals just behind and their squads behind them.

  The Major addressed them all via the mission comms: “This attack was detected by the People and they asked us to intervene. They told the Tranossian Alliance at the same time but unless the People bring them here too, which is unlikely, it will take them seven or eight days to arrive from their nearest star system. They don’t have a standing army, just a lightly armed militia. If it was left to them to resolve this all the personnel here would be dead, and the outcasts would be so well dug in that they would have a hell of a job to get them out again. I’ve had a message from their Supreme Council relayed by Tahl Rek Aff Bren that says they don’t care how much damage we do to the installation as long as we protect their personnel.

  Now you know why we are here. The People’s analysis is that this group of outcasts planned to set up a temporary base here for bragging rights among the other outcast groups. Instead, we’re going to kill them all. They've cut all comms from the research unit, so we don’t know what’s going on in there. I have got this image,” A picture of a large beetle like creature wearing white protective gear flashed into Sah Lees vision, “which is what the research personnel look like. Anything that doesn’t look like that is a hostile and should be dealt with appropriately. You’ve all been picked for this mission as you have a track record for using your initiative and getting the job done. Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak, you make an entry half way along the building, blow a hole in the wall if you have to. You know what you have to do in there. I’ll go with Sergeant Blan, we’ll make an entry at this end of the building. Good luck soldiers. May your gods be with you.”