Tarizon, The Liberator, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 1

by William Manchee

38

  Glacier Dome

  Luckily their new orders came around midday. They were to sail southeast to Glacier Dome. This news surprised Peter because Glacier Dome was a cold and barren place. How could they muster an Army in such an inhospitable location? But who was he to question command? He figured they must know what they were doing so he made no protest. Perhaps the isolation of the location made it the perfect hiding place.

  They waited until nightfall before setting off for Glacier Dome. They sailed without running lights and on radio silence. They didn't want to make it easy for any submarines to spot them. Hopefully the subs had moved on and they'd have clear sailing to their new destination. It was a good day's journey to Glacier Dome so they used the extra time to catch up on their sleep. It was likely the moment they reached their new base that command would have them off on another assignment.

  Peter wondered if Luci would be waiting for him when they arrived. In his heart he doubted he'd be so lucky. It was more likely she had been shipped to Shini where she'd be safe—or would she be safe anywhere now that she was the Liberator’s mate? Suddenly a great fear overwhelmed Peter. Would Luci now be another target for Videl's assassins? He felt like breaking radio silence and demanding to know where she was but, of course, he couldn't do that and jeopardize the crew and his squad. All Peter could do was pray and hope that God or Sandee heard him.

  When Peter awoke the next morning and went out on deck, it was very cold. Even with a heavy jacket on he was freezing. The sea was half frozen and they were cruising through some sort of channel where the ice had been cleared. He asked the captain how much longer it would be and he said they'd be there before nightfall. As they continued on he marveled at the beauty of the glaciers and the ice-covered mountains in the distance. As he was taking in the scenery he noticed a flash of light from behind them. He watched it for awhile until he realized it was a submarine periscope. They were being followed!

  The captain didn't flinch when Peter told him what he'd seen. He said he'd spotted them several hours earlier. When Peter suggested he may not want to lead them to their new base, he laughed. "There's no base out here. Do you really think command would move us to a place like this?"

  Peter shrugged. "Well, I did think it a little odd."

  "No," the captain said, "command knew you were being followed so they sent us down here to mislead the TGA."

  Peter frowned. "Aren't you worried when they discover your deception that they'll sink us with a torpedo?"

  "No, they don't care about this piece of scrap iron. Besides, it will be a long time before they discover the truth. We're going to make them think we are setting up a base down here."

  "How are we going to do that?"

  "Well, we've got several transport planes and a couple of fighters down here. You and your squad are going to be doing a lot of flying."

  "Where to?"

  "Ledium is about three hundred kylods from here. You'll be flying back and forth from there. Each time you land we'll change the call numbers on your planes so that the observers from the submarine will think a lot of different planes are flying in supplies and personnel. Or course, the planes will be empty."

  Peter chuckled at the brilliance of the strategist at Loyalist command. While the TGA was mounting a force to attack a non-existent enemy base, the Loyalists were thousands of kylods away getting ready for their next offensive. He wondered where that would be. If word had gotten out about the Loyalist victory on Lortec by now there were bound to have been a lot more defections to the Loyalists’ cause.

  Flying a transport back and forth several times a day wasn't Peter’s idea of excitement, but he understood the need to do it. During their layovers they'd often watch the flocks of leaprohds along the coastline. They were a fascinating breed scurrying along the ice at breakneck speed. He wondered where they were going and why they traveled so fast. He wished he had the time to follow them and find out.

  When Peter wasn't watching leaprohds, he was longing to find out what had happened to Luci. It was pure torture to have seen her so briefly and then been forced to leave her once again. Their communication with Loyalist command was minimal at best, so they had no idea what was happening in the war with TGA. Peter was overcome with a deep depression as the hours dragged on. He prayed for a new assignment that would get him back in the war where we could actually fight and do some good.

  Fortunately, that day finally came five days later, although to Peter it had seemed like fifty. The captain brought orders and handed Peter his. He ripped open the envelope and glanced over them. He was to report to Shini, the capital of Rigimol, in a few days for the investiture of Councillor Robert Garcia as Chancellor of the Loyalist provisional government. He knew this was the first step in creating a new government to rule the territories controlled by the Loyalist military and eventually to replace Videl's government once it was defeated. Red and Tam's orders were identical. Lotis and Curillo were ordered to remain on duty at Glacier Dome.

  Peter was glad to be leaving Glacier Dome. It was a beautiful place but far too cold and remote for his taste. Being from Texas he was used to hot weather most of the year and hated the cold. They flew out of Glacier Dome that afternoon in one of their transport planes. Their first stop was Lortec. After the devastating attack on the base there, the TGA had apparently decided they couldn't defend it anymore and had evacuated the Island. They moved what was left of their troops and aircraft to Ock Mezan and Muhl. This left Lortec for the taking and gave the Loyalist command a base of operations in the Southern Sea. Peter also learned that soon after the Battle of Lortec, the TGA had launched all out assaults on the Loyalist bases in Tributon but were unable to destroy them. Because of these two successive TGA defeats there had been massive defections to the Loyalist cause and now two of the biggest countries on the continent of Lamaine Shane, Rigimol and Tributon, were loosely controlled by the Loyalists.

  Lortec was in shambles from the previous air assault, forcing Peter and his men to land on a makeshift landing strip. Peter inquired around as to what had happened to the personnel at LB1 but nobody knew or, if they did, they weren't talking. He even got on his GC and tried to raise Lorin at her direct number, but she didn't answer his call. Peter thought that strange because she’d always had her GC with her and had never yet failed to respond to his call.

  Peter and his unit were assigned for the night at one of the few barracks still standing after the battle. They were well fed and got a good night’s sleep. The next day they were scheduled to fly to Rigimol. It would be a long dangerous flight over enemy territory. Fortunately, there were three T47s for them to transport up there, so they would be able to fly in stealth mode undetected. Just as they were about to go to their planes, they were summoned to the base commander's office. They were greeted by the officer in charge, Colonel Brazzel.

  "Lieutenant Lanzia, before you go there is something you should know," Colonel Brazzel said. "Some of our command personnel traveling up to Shini for the investiture are missing. They were last reported near the coast of Allso!"

  "Do you have any idea what happened to them, sir?"

  "No, we knew something was wrong when they failed to make a scheduled stop in Tributon to meet with General Threebeard and his staff. They should have been there eight days ago. Usually they show up on radar about a kyloon before landing, but control tower personnel have advised us that they never made contact with them."

  "How many in the party?"

  "Seventeen. General Zitor, Lorin Boskie, a few aides, the flight crew and . . . ah, well . . . I'm sorry to say, but your mate was on board too."

  "My mate? Luci? My Luci was on the plane!"

  "Yes, I'm afraid so," Colonel Brazzel replied softly.

  "Oh, Jesus. No!, " Peter winced. "What kind of plane were they in?"

  "A Lukon PT22."

  "What's that?"

  "It's a small troop transport plane. It carries up to twenty-five passengers. Very fast and it can fly at altitude
s up to 75,000 feet."

  "I can’t believe this! What gave them the idea they could fly twenty-five hundred kylods through enemy airspace? That's suicide."

  "It's done all the time. At that altitude it's rare that anyone would detect them."

  "When there's no war, sure. But now the TGA is keeping a close eye on the sky. I hope they weren't alone."

  "No. There were two T47s escorting them."

  "Two? Is that all," Peter asked shaking his head. "And you haven't heard from any of them either?"

  "No. I'm sorry."

  "Oh, God!" he said. He was sick inside. If they were alive he figured they could be anywhere in radius of 500 kylods from Allso. That was a lot of territory to search. Peter paced back and forth trying to think. He was so upset he could hardly breathe. "

  Tam said, "We'll have to search for them."

  "Yes, that's what we want you to do on your way to Shini," Colonel Brazzel said, "but you only have one day. You must be at the investiture on time."

  "One day?" Peter protested. “Give me a break. You're asking us to search an area the size of Quori in one day? Can't they do the investiture without us?"

  "Actually no. You're the Liberator, don’t forget. You're the hope of the Loyalist movement. You've got to be there."

  Peter just stared at the Colonel in disbelief. Loyalist command apparently thought his presence at a ceremonial political event was more important than rescuing three of their top military strategists. Of course they didn't care about Luci, but certainly General Zitor, his staff, and Lorin were far more important to the Loyalist cause than he was. Peter took a deep breath. There was no use arguing. Colonel Brazzel was just following orders and there wasn't time to try to get them changed.

  "Doesn't the plane have a tracking device for emergencies like this?"

  "Yes, an E-box, but it hasn't been generating a signal."

  "How is that? Don't they make those things indestructible?"

  "Yes and they have a backup system too. The antenna may have been damaged on the primary unit. If so, the backup system should be operational but it only has a range of fifty kylods or so."

  "50 kylods. So, we'll have to make a 50 kylod grid and fly each line. If the tracking device is working then we'll eventually pick up the signal."

  "What about fuel?" Red asked. "That's a lot of flying."

  "There's a refueling drone on a low orbit between Pogo and Allso,” the base commander replied. “It belongs to the TGA but I've got the access codes."

  "It's unmanned?" Tam asked.

  "Yes, no one will bother you unless—"

  "Unless what?" Peter asked.

  "Unless, you just accidentally get there when a TGA aircraft is refueling."

  "Great," Red said. "That will be our luck."

  "How did you get the access codes?"

  "Before Videl seized power the drone was under my command. So that's why I have the codes."

  "You don't think they changed the codes when people started defecting?"

  "I doubt it. It's mainly used for aircraft that ferry passengers between our two moons. The civil war hasn't got into outer space yet and that's not likely to happen any time soon."

  Red didn't seem convinced the codes would still work and Peter felt the same way. They’d be taking a big chance flying all that way and then not being able to refuel. Yet, the colonel knew the TGA inside and out and he seemed convinced this was a loose end nobody would have fixed. They had no choice but to trust his gut instinct. Besides, Lorin meant a lot to Peter and he couldn't live without Luci. He couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

  "So, when do we leave?" Peter finally asked.