Low murmurs and shuffling filled the gym.
“I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s essential that you understand what you’re up against. Follow that rule and you’ll have a much better chance of staying alive. But that doesn’t mean we can’t stand up for ourselves.” The murmurs began to die down.
“First of all, I don’t believe the people who are holding Sykesville have enough professionals to mount a significant widespread attack. They want to focus on the control points: the cities and larger towns. Even that will spread them thin. Farmland will be their lowest priority, and as long as more or less normal commerce takes place, it’ll probably stay that way.”
Someone in the audience spoke up, and the AI focused a pickup on him. “You mean we should just sit back and ignore this mess?”
Colt looked at the man. “That may well be all you have to do. I certainly hope so, but we don’t want to completely ignore the issue and be unprepared. The question is, what can we do and how do we go about it?”
Colt looked over the audience and could see his message was sinking in. He continued, “Back on Earth before The Event, a type of fighting called guerilla warfare was developed. Small groups of men and women working independently of other groups would attack and harass enemy forces in quick raids and then blend back into the countryside. Some groups would set traps for the enemy forces. Others would attack and destroy their supplies and communications. The basic idea was that using hit and run tactics to strike the enemy made it difficult or impossible for them to effectively strike back.”
He paused again. “Here, though, we have to consider two things. First, the separatists, for the most part, aren’t our enemy. When this thing is over, we’re going to want to go back to being friends with many of them. In other words, we want to avoid injuring or killing unless they threaten us. Second, guerilla warfare was developed when sensors were much less sophisticated. From my observations, some of these militia units have the most up-to-date equipment. That means that it will be much harder to simply fade into the countryside or even to set a trap. In fact, unless we have similar sensor capability, we won’t even be able to tell when we’re being watched.”
He held up his hand to ease the rumblings from the crowd. “It’s not quite as dire as that. For one thing, they don’t have enough sensors to watch everyone all the time or to even watch a few people all the time. For another, most of the sensors we have to worry about can be spotted easily once you know what to look for. Your chances of actually being observed are pretty remote.
“That said, there are a lot of things that keep us from outright guerilla warfare. Being concerned about our friends is just one of them. Another is the question of what kind of attacks can we expect, if any?
“Since the militia is stretched pretty thin, I think it would be hard for them to simply march into the lower half of the province. The most likely attack would be more along the lines of house-to-house searches for weapons accompanied by webcasts pointing out how useless resistance is. That sounds pretty harmless, but once they take control of your homes, they’re not likely to give them back unless you agree to their terms. In the end they have control of the province. If we’re going to keep them out, it will help if we can keep them occupied in their own half of the province.”
“You mean take the battle to them?” someone asked.
“Something like that, but I’m thinking more along the lines of tossing apple wasps into the middle of a bivouac or broadcasting static on their operating frequencies or sending nonsense-encrypted messages using their comm channels. Things to disrupt their operations. Let’s do some brainstorming to come up with effective, nonviolent ideas.”
The meeting broke up an hour and a half later. Most of the ideas had been impractical, but teams were assigned to work on some of the ones that seemed most feasible, and other teams were put together to get the information that would be needed to put them into operation. The demand for a marksmanship class was overwhelming, so Colt finally gave in to teaching it. “Use it only for self-defense and then only as a last resort,” he said as he stepped off the platform.
###
A voice from the crowd was familiar. Colt and Lindsay both turned to see Jeff Lippmann and his wife, Rebecca, working their way through the crowd toward them.
Colt extended his hand. “Jeff, Rebecca. It’s good to see you. I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“You know I belong to the militia,” Jeff said. “And I have to report this.”
“No, actually you don’t,” Colt replied. “Let’s find a place to talk.”
A moment later they were seated in the teacher’s lounge. Colt wasted no time. “Everyone who came here tonight is concerned about protecting their own homes and personal freedom. I assume the same is true for you. In fact, the other night I got the distinct impression that you weren’t totally committed to the separatists.”
Jeff hesitated and then nodded.
Colt continued, “I’ve seen something in military history books like what’s going on here. People who had genuine concerns started a rebellion, and others took over the movement for their own purposes. Ever hear of the Takahara Revolution?”
“No.”
“About two hundred years ago the royal family had a dimwit son who kept getting into trouble on Earth, so they had the Colonization Board send him to Takahara as the governor. It was supposed to be a sinecure position, but he decided it gave him absolute power and became a repressive dictator. The citizens revolted, but a local politician subverted the revolt and took over the planet. The citizens ended up worse off than with the royal as governor.”
“What’s that got to do with this situation?”
Colt paused. “I think that’s happening here. I keep seeing things that just don’t add up. Hargety and his separatists aren’t that well organized, but the militia is. I believe someone else is pulling the strings, and like the woman who took over Takahara, they plan to take over ‘for the duration.’”
“I don’t see it.”
“Think about the militia. It’s clear that some of the militia are professionals, your sergeant for instance. Where’d they come from? They sure aren’t settlers.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, there are a lot of officers and several NCOs who seem too professional,” Jeff agreed.
“Then of course, why cut off subspace communication unless you want to keep the Republic out of the fight until it’s too late to matter?” Colt added. “I could go down a long list of things I’ve found out since I started looking into it, but it all points to someone who is in a hurry to take control.”
Lippmann simply nodded, looking grim.
Colt regarded him for a moment before he said, “I have to admit I don’t know what the Colonization Board will do with this situation. If we do have to move, there is a fund that’s supposed to cover all the expenses.”
“But the whole point is that we don’t want to move. This is our home.”
“I know. It would be a tragedy to have to leave here. Perhaps we won’t. When we have subspace communication again, I know several people who are good at finding loopholes in the law. Maybe they can help. If they can’t, well my loyalty goes with the Republic. I’ll bet that despite being a separatist yours does too.”
After a brief hesitation Lippmann nodded. So did Rebecca. Lippmann finally spoke, “Making noises about seceding was supposed to give us better bargaining power, but you’re right, it looks more and more like a serious attempt to secede. That isn’t what I signed up for. Trouble is when I start talking about getting out, people keep telling me we’ll all be tried for treason if we don’t succeed.” He stood up and started pacing.
“Fortunately, that isn’t true. Ever since the Expansion started, the Republic has had an official policy that citizens’ first loyalty is to their home world. Planets can secede from the Republic. Of course, if the separation is by force, the Republic can decide to restore colonial government unilaterally, like t
hey did on Takahara. All it takes is a valid complaint from a citizen, but even then they don’t punish anyone. They leave that to the local government.”
“In other words, the militia is setting us up to fail?” Jeff questioned.
“That I can’t say,” Colt answered. “We’re far enough out that the Republic may not believe we’re worth the bother. Even if it does and uses force to take the planet back, only a handful of individuals will be prosecuted. Personally, I’m more concerned with what will happen if whoever is behind this pulls it off.”
Lippmann stopped pacing and stared at Colt for a moment. “You’re sure that only a handful will be prosecuted?”
“Yes. The Takahara Revolt established the precedent. The only people who were prosecuted were the ones who diverted the revolution. The rest were given blanket pardons.” Again Colt paused. “So you see why I said you don’t have to report this.”
Lippmann looked relieved. “As soon as I get out of here I’m going to call Grainger and tell him to stuff it.”
“Before you do that, I have a request.” Colt stood up. “You know what we’re planning. We need to find out what’s going on before it’s too late. Maybe these professionals really are in it to keep us from having to give up the planet, but I don’t buy it. I believe we need to keep tabs on what they’re doing, so we could use someone on the inside.”
“Me?” Lippmann shook his head. “I’m no spy.”
“No, and I won’t ask you to be. I have something else in mind, which should be much safer.”
###
“Some of those ideas were really interesting,” Lindsay said. They were walking arm in arm across the school parking lot to the van. “Will we really be able to do any of that?”
“That’s the beauty of this approach, all of these proposed attacks are just pranks that many of us did in school, but these will be carried to the extreme. We may really be able to keep the militia off balance enough that they can’t get organized for a serious move into this part of the province – at least for a while.”
They reached the van and the doors slid open as they approached. Colt escorted Lindsay to the passenger side to help her in. “You realize that what you just did is absolutely archaic,” Lindsay noted.
Colt laughed. He walked around the front of the van and climbed into the driver’s seat. “I still can’t believe that stunt Robby and Jean signed up for. What are those critters, again? Skunk caterpillars?”
“That’s what we call them. School kids play tricks with them all the time. Of course, they’re only in season at this time of the year.”
Colt pulled up the thrust lever and eased the van forward as he lifted it out of its parking space. As soon as they were above twenty meters, he said, “Doctor Strauss, Amelia.”
Amelia responded, “Very good, sir,” and took control of the van.
Five minutes later they reached Doctor Strauss’s house, and Colt landed the flyer. Lois came out with an eager Brady who ran up to them.
“How come you guys took so long?” Brady demanded.
Colt dropped into a crouch so he could look Brady in the eye. “We did take a while, didn’t we? Sorry, partner. It was important.”
“How’d it go?” Lois asked.
“Gus gave them something to focus on,” Lindsay replied. “I think it’ll help make them less anxious.”
“That sounds mysterious,” Lois said. “Come on in and tell me about it.”
“It wasn’t that complicated. I just gave them some things to do that will make it harder for the organized forces up north to pay attention to us. If our people can pull off half the missions they signed up for, the northern forces will be too busy to do anything but clean up messes. I figure most normal citizens aren’t enthusiastic about fighting battles, but they do worry about protecting their homes. If they’re thinking about how to cause mischief, they won’t have as much time to fret.”
“Now there’s an interesting concept,” Lois remarked. “So what did they sign up for?”
###
On their way out Lois stopped at the door. “I like the sound of this. It will tie Billy and his goons in knots.”
Colt stopped and looked back at her, “You know, I’m not sure Hargety has anything to do with Sykesville. He may be arrogant, but I don’t think he meant to get into any kind of real conflict. Yes, he’s taking credit for militia action, but it’s mostly bluster.”
“Well, whoever is leading it, the rebel militia around Sykesville is going to have their hands full. I wish I could be there tomorrow night. You will be recording it, won’t you?”
“Of course, that’s it!” Colt brightened. “We can stream it live and put the recording on the web as soon as it’s over. Great idea, Lois. See you later.” He turned and followed Lindsay and Brady down the front steps.
As Colt slid into the driver’s seat of the van, Amelia announced. “I have a voice message for Mister August.”
“No visual?”
“No, sir.”
“Strange. Okay, play it back.”
“Interesting town meeting, Gus,” an electronically altered voice said. “You don’t really think it will have an impact, do you? Say hi to Lindsay and Brady for me.” The message ended.
“What was that all about?” Lindsay asked.
“It was a threat. They mentioned you and Brady so I’d know that. They didn’t say what they wanted, so we’ll probably hear from them again.”
“What are we going to do?” she said, concern showing on her face.
“We need to be extra careful getting Brady to school and back until we get the next message, and we need to keep our eyes open. That’s all we can do.”
Chapter 26
A crowd had congregated outside the small bivouac area where the Sykesville militia trained. Many of the citizens of Sykesville and the surrounding countryside had turned out and were milling around, waiting for something to happen. The rumor campaign had worked. Colt could see one of the militia members standing on the steps of the headquarters trailer, bewildered by the growing number of people assembling in the gathering darkness. After a moment of what looked like puzzled contemplation, he went inside.
As soon as the door shut behind him, floating lights came on over the crowd and one of the local bands struck up a popular song. Couples near the band began dancing to the music. In another area a comedienne began telling jokes using a portable amplifier. Several resourceful vendors worked their way through the clusters of people, selling everything from lemonade to sandwiches. The throng took on a decidedly festive atmosphere.
“You’re sure Jeff isn’t in there?” Lindsay asked.
Colt unrolled his computer display, switching it to map mode. “If the locator code we got from him is right, he’s out on patrol.” He pointed to a red dot on the map of Sykesville. “That patrol doesn’t get back here until 11:30. That’s well after this show is supposed to be over.”
“I’m surprised the folks inside the compound haven’t tried to shoo us off,” Lindsay said.
“I’ll guarantee the commanders are convinced something is going to happen. They probably saw all the rumors on the web,” replied Colt. “Ah, here we go.”
Two squads of militiamen came stumbling out of the community tent, many of them still stuffing their shirts into their trousers. The squad leaders hustled their squads into two ground troop carriers, and they immediately headed for the gate nearest town. The citizens in front of the gate slowly gave way as the carriers pulled out of the compound. Then they closed in behind the carriers as they moved through the crowd. There were a few catcalls but mostly friendly waves.
“Drop off!” Jean’s voice signaled in Colt’s ear piece that the caterpillars had been dropped. He looked up knowing he couldn’t see the two sailplanes and hoped that the patrolling flyers couldn’t detect them either. He started his timer, “This should be interesting.”
Then he spoke to the display AI, “Flash the lights, twice.” The AI obediently complied, and th
e floating lights flashed briefly. The crowd immediately went quiet and turned to look at the headquarters trailer. The troop carriers halted, and the militiamen piled out, still a bit bewildered.
When the timer hit forty-five seconds, Colt whispered to the AI, “Start the drill.”
A siren went off, and the compound loud speakers began blaring, “Attack drill! Attack drill! All hands to your battle stations!” Immediately the troops began pouring out of their tents. In less than thirty seconds every militia member in the compound was out and on the ground, weapons ready for an attack.
The speakers were still blaring when a rain of small objects began falling out of the sky landing all over the compound. The militiamen immediately started brushing at their clothes. The siren and loud speakers abruptly cut off, and militiamen could be heard swearing loudly.
In the next second several voices began shouting, “Skunk caterpillars!” and the whole crowd erupted in laughter.
“Our job here is done. Nice work,” Colt said to the display. “Film at eleven.” He and Lindsay began walking away from the compound as he rolled up the display and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
###
A babble of voices filled Lindsay’s common room. The video of the caterpillar drop was playing for the fourth time on the big screen. People were standing and sitting around the room, still laughing at the militia frantically brushing off the evil smelling creatures. Robby and Jean stood arm in arm, beaming. Everyone congratulated them.
Colt walked over, “Great job, kids.” He glanced at his watch. “It looks like it’s time to hold the debriefing.” He turned to the group and said, “Everybody get comfortable and let’s get started. First of all, I want to congratulate you all for making this mission successful. I have a few improvements for future operations, but I’ll start by asking for your feedback. Toby?”
Peacemaker: The Corona Rebellion 2564 AD Page 20