Hunter, Warrior, Commander

by Andrew Maclure

  Brog was sitting in a guest chair when she walked in to her office. He sprung to his feet and stood to attention. Sah Lee looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He relaxed and sat again. Her office was bigger than her quarters, with a desk, two guest chairs and a small conference table with six chairs round it. There was no synthesizer or bathroom, she had to share the communal officer’s facilities further down the corridor. There was enough room on the floor behind the desk for her to sleep and she thought she would be comfortable enough living there.

  “Your only task for today is to teach me the perfect salute, who I should use it on and who I should expect to salute me. Then I’ll have my AI organize the officer training. I’ll call on you from time to time to discuss things I’m not clear on. Is that OK?”

  “Of course. For the next five days my time is yours. Now stand up and I’ll teach you how to salute.”

  Ninety Four

  Battle Orders

  Sah Lee sat at her desk while her AI talked her through her responsibilities and duties as a Major. Battlefield deployments, formations, armaments and munitions, strategy, tactics, use of geology, topography, air support, specialist platoons, covert operations - the list went on and on and half-learnt lessons merged into each other. Her head ached, and she wanted nothing more than to spend a few hours running through the corridors of Betzel Base.

  For the umpteenth time she asked her AI, “Isn’t that enough? You can tell me what I need to know when I need to know it.”

  It gave the same answer as before: “I can help you with the details when the time comes, but you need to know all of this instinctively, so you can understand the overall situation and evaluate your options. This is the best use of your time while you are not on a mission.”

  She stood up, stretched and yawned. “I must go for a run. My legs will seize up and I’ll become permanently attached to the chair.”

  She left her office and ran to the nearest gravity tube. She dropped down to the lower levels of the habitat. She had discovered that these were unused, and the corridors were empty, so she could run for as long as she wanted without meeting anyone.

  She had run for one and a half hours and felt barely warmed up when her AI told her she had a message to report to Colonel Ssar Bess Dassur immediately.

  “Shit.” she thought and made for the nearest gravity tube.

  It took her nearly an hour to get to the Colonel. However much she despised him, she ran as quickly as she could to get to his office. As she approached the door opened. “Enter.” he shouted. She walked in and saluted with military precision, now she had been coached by Lieutenant Brog Dant

  “You took your time. You’re sweating. You need a shower, you fucking savage. Go and get yourself cleaned up. I can’t be bothered to talk to you. I’ll send you your orders. You’ve got,” he paused, “just under a day to get yourself and your troops ready to go. Now get out.”

  He turned to a screen on his desk and ignored her as she saluted, spun on her heel and marched out, muttering “Asshole.”

  As she ran back to her new quarters her AI received the mission overview and her orders. She told it to give her a summary.

  “This is an unusual mission for the Galactic Savior Army. You are to take command of a battalion of two hundred and ten infantry to act in support of a ground attack by Ants against an outcast settlement on Forness Two. They will provide the battle plan, you’ll need to meet the Ant Liaison to discuss that. There is a full description of the planet in an appendix, would you like it now?”

  “Just the bare details. Is there anything interesting about it?”

  “Nothing, which is why no one has laid claim to it. Its gravity is ninety percent of standard, it has a thin breathable atmosphere but for combat you and your troops will need additional oxygen.”

  “Pressure suits?”

  “Not required. There isn’t much indigenous life, nothing dangerous. There is some background which you need to know. The army already made an attack here which ended up with the entire mission team ground troops being wiped out. Ker Din Ser Forn…”

  “By the Makers,” she interrupted, “how does he get involved in all of these things? I thought the People didn’t intervene in what we did.”

  “The People don’t, but sometimes individual People will help things along. The target is an individual called Tk'ng Dach Rm. He is an outcast with ambition. He has organized outcasts into larger groups than they usually form and targeted specific objectives. It is believed that he was behind the attack on Aarn with the objective of setting up his base of operations there, and he may have been behind the attack and attempt to hijack Celestial Heaven. That would explain why some outcasts were trying to take over the control core.”

  Sah Lee stopped running. “He caused the attack on Aarn? Why do you think that? Where did you get your information? Is it in the mission briefing?”

  “I have already demonstrated that I can access to a great deal more information than is generally available. I can query any non-sensitive information available to the People. It is not in the mission briefing; the evidence is circumstantial in that it fits with his previous pattern of behavior where the evidence was clear.”

  Sah Lee resumed running. “If he’s there why don’t the Ants bomb it from orbit?”

  “Tk'ng Dach Rm has escaped many attacks on his life, if he isn’t taken alive or there isn’t at least clear DNA evidence of his death, his followers will continue his 'work' and he will become a mythical figure which will encourage even more outcasts. His malign presence will live on long after he dies."

  “That’s fine with me. I want to kill him!”

  “That would be harder than you may think.”

  “A knife in the throat will kill anyone.”

  “That is true, but you would need to get to him first. So far it has not been possible to kill him although many have tried.”

  “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “Indeed, there is.”

  “Arrange a meeting as soon as possible with the Ant. Where is it? And tell Si’ir Monn I want him in my quarters now.”

  “The Ant liaison is called Ti’rrk. She is on board Ker Din Ser Forn’s craft.”

  “At least it’s a female. That should help.”

  “All Ants are female. They only have males for breeding.”

  “Like the Aarnth. We've got something in common.”

  “Not really. Your segregation is cultural. Theirs is biological. The Ant has responded already. She will see you at any time you like, she is ready to receive you now. There will be a lander in Dock One in a few minutes.”

  Back in her new quarters, Sah Lee stripped off and showered. She had just finished pulling on a new jump suit and boots when Si’ir Monn approached the door. Her AI opened it and he entered.

  “What do you know about Forness Two?” she asked, gesturing him to sit at the small table.

  As he sat, he said: “Thanks, I’ve ordered myself a drink. Bring it over when you get yours.”

  “Hold on Sergeant. I am your superior officer now. You can’t give me orders!”

  “Fuck that. I’m still me and you’re still Sah Lee. Now would you get my drink. Please?”

  “Protocol was never your strong point. Don’t think this is going to become a habit.” she said as she turned to get their drinks from the synthesizer. “Forness Two?” she asked again.

  “It’s a shithole of a planet at the ass end of the galaxy that no one wants. We just lost three hundred and sixty-four people there. Rumor has it we are going to have another go in a joint operation with Ants.”

  “That’s good, you know a bit about it, because we’re going there. I’m leading the ground attack battalion alongside the Ants.”

  “When you say ‘we,’ are you including me in that?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of going without you.”

  “OK, we’ve all got to die one day. Who are your other officers going to be?”

  “I need your adv
ice on that. Do I get to choose?”

  “Yeah, unless you’re told otherwise. What do your orders say?”

  Sah Lee consulted with her AI. “They say nothing about personnel. Just that the Ants will provide the battle plan.”

  “Well that’s good in that the Ants are great strategists and tacticians, so the attack should be successful, but bad in that they don’t care about casualties so most of us could get killed.”

  “I’m not planning to die there, and I don’t want my troops to either.”

  “You’d better talk to the Ants about that. Ti’rrk will be the Ant liaison, will you get to meet her?”

  “It’s next on my agenda, but I need to sort out who’s going first. I want Lieutenant Dant to come along as my adviser. I need a Captain, two Sergeants, four Corporals and one hundred good troops to act as the backbone of the battalion, the rest can just be competent, but no passengers. Who do I take?”

  “If they’re available, Captain Auross Trowd Arben and Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg. The three of us can select Corporals and troops, though we haven’t got too many to choose from now. How long have we got?”

  “We leave at mid-day tomorrow. What do you mean, ‘we haven’t got too many to choose from?’ We’ve got the whole army available.”

  “Do you know how many active combat troops we have in the army?”

  “Not really. Two, three thousand?”

  “We did have one thousand and twenty four. With the losses on Forness Two that leaves us with six hundred and sixty. There are eighteen injured in hospital, one hundred and eighty two on leave, forty eight on training exercises and ninety six on various missions. That leaves a total of three hundred and sixteen to select your battalion from.

  “I thought this was an army? One thousand soldiers? That’s not enough to fight a war!”

  “We don’t fight wars. We tackle small problems, like the missions you have been on recently. The biggest action we’ve had for a long time was on Forness Two and look at how that went. When it comes to a war, the Ants sort them out, though there aren’t many all-out wars. If they’re between civilizations, the People try to mediate a resolution before it comes to fighting, but if that fails and they’re of an equivalent technology level, then they are left to get on with it. The only time the Ants get involved in a war is if a powerful civilization starts bullying a weak one. The trouble with the Ants is that although they always achieve their objective, the cost to both sides is always pretty devastating. The galaxy could do with a powerful independent army. But for now, how many soldiers do you need?”

  “Two hundred and ten, including officers.”

  “Right, you need just over two thirds of available troops. Fortunately, there are some good people still on station. My AI checked while we were talking, Auross and Dorsh are available, I’ll get together with them straight away. You’ll need to talk to Colonel B’Erren Tek about getting everyone kitted out and in the right place.”

  “I’ll do that. But right now, I’m going to meet the Ant. You can use my office to meet in. Get together as soon as you can and report to me when I return.”

  Chapter Ninety Five

  Encounter With An Ant

  The journey to Ker Din Ser Forn’s ship didn’t take long. Sah Lee spent the time trying to imagine what communicating with an Ant would be like. Her AI had shown her what they looked like and created a virtual image in her visual cortex so that she could walk round it and inspect it in the space at the front of the lander, but how alien would it be to talk to a warrior species?

  As soon as the lander touched down in Ker Din Ser Forn’s ship’s dock, Sah Lee jumped out of her seat and stood at the top of the ramp for a moment, looking at the Ant below. It looked exactly as she expected, except that its antenna were gently moving as it stood looking up, waiting for her to come down. She pulled her shoulders back and strode down to meet it.

  “Greetings Major Sah Lee.” the Ant said in a low and languid female voice with a slow and precise delivery. It was the kind of voice that you couldn't help liking.

  “Are you giving her that voice?” Sah Lee asked her AI.

  “No, it’s coming to me with rendering parameters to make it sound that way. I can suppress them if you find it troubling.”

  “No, that’s OK. Keep it as it is.”

  “Greetings Ti’rrk. How should I address you formally?”

  “I hold no rank other than species or organization liaison, please just call me Ti’rrk, Major. Stand next to me, I will take us to a room where we can talk more comfortably.”

  Ti’rrk blinked them into a spacious room furnished with a table, a chair and a raised platform which Ti’rrk climbed onto and settled herself down on.

  “There is a synthesizer if you require refreshments.” she told Sah Lee.

  “Thank you, I’m fine. I was told you have developed the battle plan for Forness Two.”

  “That is correct. Are you familiar with the planetary conditions, battlefield terrain and objectives?”

  “Yes, and I have studied the record of the mission led by Major Brax Alted, which failed.”

  “The surveillance data your army acquired before planning the mission indicated a minimum force of four hundred and ninety-eight would be required, with air support providing initial degradation of the outcasts defense positions. Major Alted had three hundred and fifty nine ground troops and a corvette whose only role was to eliminate the outcasts transports. It was highly unlikely that the battle plan would succeed.”

  “Why did Major Alted take too few troops and not plan for any air support?”

  “You are new to the Galactic Savior Army Major, so you may not know that the army has little air power to call on. If Major Alted had all the available intelligence made available to him, he would undoubtedly have requested more troops and battlefield support from the corvette allocated to him, but our understanding is that Colonel Ssar Bess Dassur set the battle plan. He has a history of under-resourcing your army’s missions.”

  “You know him? Do you know why he does that?”

  “I have not met him. I have formed my opinion from reports of missions he has commanded and from his records. He has built his career from completing successful missions with fewer troops than enemy combatants, though as all of his missions until now were against outcasts who were poorly armed, mostly un-armored, disorganized and inexperienced, he would have had to be wildly incompetent not to have succeeded. He now sees it as a badge of honor to pitch as few of his soldiers against outcasts as possible. However, he has failed to recognize that the situation has changed since Tk’ng Dach Rm came on the scene. He has set up his own private army and uses outcasts to bolster his soldier’s numbers and act as a buffer against any resistance they meet.

  “Has Tk’ng Dach Rm made that much of a difference?”

  “Yes, that is why we wish to remove him. He is a malign influence in the galaxy, his presence and exploits are encouraging more discontents to join the ranks of the outcasts and they are becoming bolder and more extreme in their outrages. Our joint mission will destroy the outpost on Forness Two and our intelligence is that he is present.”

  “How reliable is your intelligence?”

  “The information comes from a third party, I cannot guarantee its veracity.”

  “You mean it might be wrong?”

  “We can only plan on the basis of the information we have. At worst case, we will remove this base and reduce his fighting assets. Do these conditions diminish your commitment to the mission?”

  “Not at all. I joined the army to kill outcasts - any outcasts.”

  “I understand Sah Lee. I was present at our relief of Aarn. The loss of life and devastation of the planetary ecosphere was deeply distressing. The Ants mourn for your loss.”

  “Thank you Ti’rrk. We, the Aarnth, will always be in your debt.”

  “No debt is owed Sah Lee. We were only doing what is right.”

  “Enough of the past. We are here to discuss the battle
plan. I will not put my troops into harm’s way unnecessarily. You can send me the detailed battle plan, but can you summarize it for me now please?”

  “The outpost settlement is positioned against the southern edge of a large rock outcrop. There is a small landing area to the west of it. To the south is a defensive area in an arc extending six hundred meters from the settlement. It is heavily mined, and booby trapped, with extensive defensive positions embedded in it. A conventional assault is unlikely to succeed - as is evidenced by the failed attack by your Major Brax Alted. That is why Ker Din Ser Forn requested a joint operation.”

  “How do you propose we get through the defensive area without all getting killed?”

  “Our assessment is that it is not possible to traverse the defensive area without heavy casualties, if at all, so we will undertake a limited orbital bombardment to neutralize the area. We will then lead a sweep over the targeted area to eliminate any surviving hostiles while your battalion follows in support. The Ant troops will halt at the edge of the settlement where your battalion will enter and clear the buildings, giving a priority to identifying Tk’ng Dach Rm using DNA scanners working with a sample from his species we provided. He is the only surviving member of his species, so if the genotype is a match it will confirm his identity. You will attempt to capture him alive or, retrieve his remains. That is the strategy, your tactics inside the settlement buildings will be dictated by circumstances. We calculated that your battalion strength of four hundred and twenty will ensure the successful completion of your task.”

  “Four hundred and twenty?”

  “That is the size of your battalion. Why do you query it?”