The heavy laser beam appeared through the smoky air, hitting one of the arms and staying there for the fraction of a second the weapon needed to cut through. The Tortantula screeched as its arm fell away. Avgust hung from the other for a moment before that one also released, and he fell to the ground.
“Everyone, take cover!” the Ukrainian yelled as he scrambled to his feet and took off at a run.
Jonah zoomed in on the Tortantula and saw the two objects that were now sticking to the armor over the front of its body.
Before Avgust could get under cover, the two devices went off with thunderous roars. Large balls of fire rose and blotted out the view of the Tortantula. It let out a loud, abrupt screech that cut off with a deathly suddenness. When the fire balls rose away, Jonah could see the creature staggering on its thin, armored legs. The armor had been blown away from two areas over a foot across. The real damage was underneath the armor, where jets of explosive plasma had driven into the body. With a staggering step the creature moved forward, then fell.
Avgust had been lifted into the air and fortunately deposited outside the shadow of the creature. He picked himself up off the ground as the Tortantula slammed to the ground.
“That takes care of that,” the Ukrainian said, getting back under cover while he could.
There was a moment of quiet as both sides gathered themselves for the final act. The compound was a complete wreck. Buildings that had been made of prefab components and corrugated metals were either flattened or standing upright with holes large and small blasted through them. Every vehicle was damaged, many in pieces of scrap scattered along with molten ingots. It seemed that everything that was flammable was burning, adding oily smoke to the air.
The worst part, as far as the colonel was concerned, were the bodies. A dozen species lay about, almost none of them whole. An arm here, a head there, a couple of torsos missing all the limbs by a building. He didn’t see many Human bodies, both because there hadn’t been that many to start with, and the tendency of the stealth clothing to continue functioning even when pierced or shredded. The odor of the dead was overwhelmed by the smells of materials, but it was still there. Alien though they might be, the contents of digestive organs were still familiar enough.
“Everyone keep to cover. Let the bastards come to you, and take them out.”
“I’m almost out of ammo, Colonel,” Charley’s voice came over the comm. “Less than half a mag.”
And we’re down to nine effectives, the colonel thought, checking his own loadout and grunting as he saw less than sixty rounds registering in the weapon, with no reloads. If Kevin was still active, they still had his heavy laser, but he had no way of knowing the gunner’s condition. His telemetry was down, so there was no way of knowing, but Jonah wouldn’t have been surprised if he were seriously injured, if not dead.
“Grab what enemy equipment you can. As long as we’re on our feet, we’ll fight.”
There were weapons scattered about, many destroyed or damaged beyond use, though there were some in working condition. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been made for Human anatomy—the weapons of the Xlatan had longer stocks and pistol grips that wouldn’t fit Human hands. Still, they could be triggered, which made them better than weapons without ammo.
The noise of battle rose around Jonah. The cracks of hypersonic rounds that had missed a target and carried on. The hum of lasers. Even a few explosions, none of Human origin.
“I’m out,” Joey said from a couple of yards away. “I guess it’s time to see how good these Xlatan lasers are.”
The fight continued. More of the Xlatan and other aliens went down. Achilles Antonopolis and Cheung Xou were overrun, both letting out last cries as their lives were taken. Finally, only Sandra still had ammo, and very little at that.
Jonah tried to aim with a captured laser, but was unable to get a good sight picture so he settled for aiming from the hip and sweeping. The weapon buzzed as it sent a beam through the smoky air, missing his target. The colonel swept the beam back into the small alien, slicing deeply enough into its body to drop it. Before he finished the sweep, the weapon’s buzz died, and the beam winked out.
“Shit,” he cried, tossing the useless weapon to the ground and looking for something else. There was nothing within reach, so he pulled his carbon nanotube weapon from its sheath and crouched behind cover, looking for an enemy he might be able to sneak up on.
“I’m down to my kukri,” Charley said over the comm.
“Surrender, Humans,” a familiar voice said over the Human comm system. The system translated but tried to retain all of the tone of the original voice.
Well, crap, Jonah thought, looking around, trying to spot the Xlatan transmitting. It was difficult to break into the comm network, but not impossible. He thought for a moment about switching to another algorithm, then decided not to. What was the use? It was maybe time to talk, while he still had any people alive. At least he could find out what the enemy had to offer, while he thought about whether he could trust them or not.
“Lrator,” the colonel replied. “Glad to see you made it.”
“And because of that I’m offering you your lives,” the Xlatan said.
“What are you doing, Lieutenant?” another voice asked.
“Commander, I’m trying to save lives here. Ours as well as the Humans.”
“You’re disobeying orders, Lrator. Consider yourself under arrest. After we finish these Humans, I’ll deal with you.”
“But, sir. They have to be almost out of ammo. If we can settle this thing without losing more of our people, why don’t we?”
“The soldiers nearest to Lrator are to place that traitor under arrest. If he resists, shoot him.”
Lrator didn’t return to the comm, and the colonel was worried the Xlatan with him might have shot him. His only crime, as far as Jonah could tell, was offering mercy to an opponent who’d already lost.
“I’m here,” Charley said, his indistinct form and one other climbing over the barrier of rubble Jonah and Joey were sheltering behind, “and I brought another of our ducklings with me.”
“We’re trying to get there, Colonel,” Sandra said over the comm, switching to a frequency and encryption the Xlatan hadn’t tapped into yet.
“I want you and Ahmed to stay where you are. It won’t help to have you get killed along with us. See if you can find Ivan and Kevin, then move out into the jungle.”
“Colonel…”
“That’s an order, Ahmed. We’ve lost. Me and Charley and the others are doomed, but we’re not going to become prisoners.”
“Kill all the Humans,” came the command Jonah had been waiting for.
He accepted a power pack that Charley handed over, clumsily reloading the alien weapon.
“You heard me!” the Xlatan commander yelled, voice rising when no one moved to charge and overrun their opponents. “Kill them, you cowards. Kill…”
The commander’s voice broke for a second, followed by a gurgling cry. There were two more quick cries, along with the buzz of a laser, then silence.
“You’re back in charge, Lrator,” Hotaru came over the comm. “Your commander has been retired with honors.”
Jonah knew the woman was talking about an instant kill. That settled having to deal with Mmrash, the commander, but the problem remained. Much as he’d have liked to trust Lrator, there was no way he would put his life, and the lives of his people, into the hands of the Syndicate.
“Throw down your weapons, Human, and I’ll ensure that you’re well treated,” Lrator said.
“And when the Syndicate gets another boss in here? What then, Lrator? Will you make sure we’re safe when those bastards have returned?”
There was silence in response. Jonah felt for the Xlatan officer. Lrator was a being of honor, but how far would honor take him with the criminals he worked for?
“All I can tell you is I’ll do my best to protect you.”
“Not good enough. Either you let us w
alk out of here, or you’ll have to spend more of your blood taking us down.”
“Then that’s how it’ll have to be. I give you one minute to consider your choice. After that we’ll be firing on your positions with as many weapons as we can bring to bear. I hate to order your death, Colonel, but if you don’t surrender, you leave me no other choice.”
“Thoughts?” Jonah asked the mercenaries sheltering with him.
“I don’t want to die,” Joey said.
Jonah nodded. It wasn’t unexpected that some of his people might prefer to take their chances with surrender. That choice left some possibilities. Getting burned down here and now left nothing but certain death.
“But I don’t trust those people either. I’d rather die fighting back, not on my knees.”
“I agree,” Charley said, “and I’d be surprised if this big bastard didn’t agree.”
“No argument here, Colonel. If I’m going to go down, I want the screams of dying enemies in my ears.”
“I have your answer, Lrator. And it’s no go. We will die as warriors.”
“Very well. All Xlatan who can, target the Humans. On my command, fire.”
Suddenly there were explosions all over the compound, with Xlatan and other aliens crying out in the background.
“To all of those opposing Colonel White Eagle and his people,” a Human voice called out over the comm, echoing as speakers sounded through the compound, “you are surrounded and outgunned. Drop your weapons and come out into the open with your manipulation organs empty. Failure to obey will result in your destruction. You have one minute.”
“A trick,” one of the Xlatan called out.
More of the Xlatan cried out in surprise, many of the other aliens echoing that with calls of terror. A half-dozen CASPers stepped into view, laser shields open on their arms, heavy cannon on both shoulders rotating to follow the gaze of the pilots.
A couple of lasers struck out of the smoke, splashing off the laser shields of the CASPers. The rotating cannon immediately spoke, sending streams of explosive shells into Xlatan positions. Abrupt cries came over the comm as those positions were turned into abattoirs of flame and flying debris. A couple of Xlatan tried to leave their positions, attracting the attention of the CASPers. A couple of short bursts, and those aliens were turned into shredded husks with heavy mists of blood hovering over them as they fell to the ground.
“Thirty seconds,” Alexander Ramos said over the comm, his voice sounding like the thunderous voice of a god over his speakers.
“Xlatan Warriors, throw down your weapons and come out into the open, slowly,” Lrator said, his voice low with dejection now that he was to become a prisoner again.
“But, sir.”
“We can’t fight against what these newcomers have. So unless you want to die for no reason, do as they say.”
A half-dozen Xlatan, including one figure Jonah thought had to be Lrator, got up from where they’d been under cover, all with four hands empty. More CASPer showed themselves as well, stomping from the concealment they’d been using.
Jonah thought the Ravagers could have taken the compound by themselves, but not without losses, possibly heavy. The enemy at full strength, with their tank and shuttles, could have taken out some of the heavy powered armored suits. With what they had on hand now, they could only die bravely, and Jonah was happy to see there weren’t many of them that stupid. Especially when the power of the CASPers had been demonstrated to them so emphatically.
“Glad to see you, Colonel,” Jonah said as one of the CASPers headed toward him. “I wasn’t sure you were coming.”
“We’re here,” Ramos said after a short laugh. “Though I guess we’re not going to be making much of a profit on this operation.”
“Glad to see you, Alex. I have a couple of ideas about making a profit.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-One
One Year Later
“I’ll get right to the point, Colonel White Eagle,” said Walther Model, the Special Representative of the United Nations for Extrasolar Affairs. “There are a lot of people back home concerned about this little plantation you’ve established out here.”
Jonah nodded, looking into the eyes of the UN Official. He had a feeling this man had already made up his mind, and there was nothing he could say that would change his opinion. Well, too bad. Earth has no jurisdiction here.
He and Ramos had already dealt with the Trade Guild representative. That had gone better than he’d thought it would. Presenting the evidence that a criminal organization had been in charge of the fate of an entire sentient species while the Union had been paid off to stay away had gone a long way to smoothing over the representative’s concerns. Interviews with the natives, who were still living in their traditional societies, though with some technology they now had the money to buy, smoothed over others. There was still concern about lifting up the Kalagarta before they were ready, but as long as they didn’t try to push it too far too fast, there wasn’t enough pressure to hold back. And of course, greasing some palms had gone a long way toward reducing the scrutiny.
The Syndicate was still a problem, but not on Kalagart itself. Sure, there were contracts let, and some of the more recognizable of the mercenary companies’ leadership had to take precautions while traveling. Since they’d moved their headquarters to this world, there was little need for any of the possible targets to travel. The criminals hadn’t been foolish enough to try and land troops on the planet, not after a pair of failures. Both the Ravagers and the Fierce Eagles kept full company-strength forces on the surface, rotating with the other units of their companies for active contracts. There were two frigates in the system and a naval mercenary company, with a third to be in place within a month.
“Plantation, Mr. Model?” Alexander Ramos asked, taking the controls of the shuttle and lifting it from the expanded landing field. “It sounds like you’re accusing us of using slave labor.”
And why in the hell are you even bothering, Jonah thought, looking over at his fellow colonel and shrugging his shoulders. Earth was getting their cut. Millions of credits of interstellar currency each month, much needed by the planet.
“Maybe not slavery,” the official said, shaking his head. “Exploitation, now, that’s another question altogether.”
The land stretched out below them as the shuttle rose. The fifty-mile zone around the old compound was now farmland. The formerly dead land had been reborn, planted with fast-growing shrubs that concentrated Invigorate four times more efficiently than any naturally occurring vegetation. It had cost a bundle to get the geneticists of the Science Guild to build the genome of the plant. Over two thousand square miles of farmland, stretching to the horizon in any direction.
The compound, rebuilt, refurbished, and enlarged, sat in the center. The processing plants were still there, running at full efficiency on the softer vegetation they had to work with. There were still barracks and facilities for workers, hired from a number of species. And new facilities, for research on the planet and its wildlife.
Another planting area was in the process of being tilled out on the grasslands, but it wasn’t a large area. The plan was careful to maintain the environment of the planet while still reaping a large profit. A dozen villages dotted the current planting area, and another dozen sat within the jungle around the circumference of the open area. Kalagarta worked the fields, laboring in the hot sun to tend and weed, water and feed.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Model said, pointing out at one of the fields. “Those poor people are working themselves for your gain.”
“And theirs,” Ramos said with a frown. “Seventy percent of the profit goes directly to the Kalagarta. They volunteer to work the plantation so their families can get some advanced technology and education.”
“And destroy their culture!” the UN man exclaimed.
This SOB is just looking for something, Jonah thought, shaking his head.
“You can�
��t have it both ways,” Ramos said, turning the shuttle and heading for the edge of the planting zone. “Either we’re exploiting the natives, or we’re destroying their culture. Do you know that the Kalagarta can now afford medical personnel in their villages to study their physiology and work on curing every disease that strikes on a hot world? We’ve already cured most of their traditional diseases. The doctors estimate we’ve almost doubled their average life expectancy, and that’ll only go up.”
“We’re here,” Jonah said as the other officer brought the shuttle down in a small clearing that was just large enough for it.
“Why are we here?”
“So you can talk with some of the people you’re so concerned about, Representative,” Ramos said, unbuckling his straps and gesturing toward the hatch.
It was hot outside the shuttle, as always. The large village was alive with people coming down to greet the shuttle, and with it their saviors. There were hundreds of children, with enough adults to look after them while the others either worked the plantations or hunted in the jungle. The Kalagarta had insisted on retaining much of their traditional life, but they had jumped at the chance of getting long-range comms, off-world entertainment, and, of course, some modern luxuries.
“Welcome, Colonels,” said a wizened Kalagarta male, walking through the children, shooing some away. The children croaked out laughs, enjoying the attention of their elder. “We are happy to see you.”
“I think you’ll enjoy the meal they have planned for us, Representative,” Jonah said after shaking the hand of Chief Allaman.
“Where are the older children?” Model asked, a frown on his face. “Working in the fields?”
“They’re in class,” Ramos said, gesturing toward one of the huts. “Shall we look in?”
Almost forty children were seated on the floor of the hut, a Xlatan standing at the front of the room speaking Kalagarta while gesturing with four hands at a Tri-V presentation.
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