Conflict: The Pythan War, Invasion

by DK Williamson

  The hair on the back of Gabby’s neck stood up. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Beemer.”

  “Hah,” he said with a slap on the table. “You do that.”

  Archcolonel Ordan Tadashi was the Pythan administration security chief. Gabby once overheard him say, “Beemer is dishonorable scum, but scum that is a proven asset in finding heresy and disloyalty. One must use the tools Pyth provides.” Tadashi relied on Beemer and those like him to ferret out those the Pythans felt were a threat to their rule.

  The Pythans began several large construction projects around and within Laurel. The largest were four sites on the outskirts of the city, one each to the north, south, east, and west. A five-story building went up just behind the administration center as well.

  At first, no one knew what these projects were, but like most things that involved large numbers of people, it proved impossible to keep the knowledge secret. The sites in the outskirts were defensive beam installations and the new building next to the administration center was the control point for these. While the general knowledge of what the installations were came out, the details were more closely guarded. Gabby’s cell went to work trying to find more information.

  Elspeth’s military commander, General Paol Pitrushkin, kept an office in the admin center. He split his time between the Pythan military encampment just outside of Laurel to the southeast, touring military units on Elspeth, and the administration center.

  His office had a safe with an electronic lock, which Levine was confident he could crack, but there was a problem: the electronic lock kept a log of access that recorded when the safe was opened and for how long. Suzuki would have to find a way to circumvent that feature.

  After studying the system for some time, she came to the conclusion that it was impossible to hide access to the safe. No matter how one approached the problem, there was no way around the logging system. Carla had an idea though, “We might make your access look like an error. I can adjust the time on the computer to overlap a previous and authentic authorized access. It will look like the computer is double or triple logging access, albeit with different lengths of time getting recorded.”

  General Pitrushkin did not leave anything in the safe when he was not using the office, so gaining access to it when it contained useful data was a risk because he or members of his staff were nearly always around.

  An opportunity presented itself late one afternoon, a promotion ceremony for some members of the military units assigned to the administration building. Pitrushkin planned on attending. According to the schedule, the ceremony was to take approximately thirty minutes.

  Levine and Gabby went into the office shortly after everyone else left. Levine carried a vent filter in case he needed to explain his presence in the office, Gabby a carrier with cleaning supplies.

  Levine went to work trying to extract the keycode for the safe. It proved to be a difficult task and consumed far more time than they originally thought.

  Once he accessed the safe, Gabby attached a data pod to the electronic storage data block kept inside.

  “Neil, you should go. There’s no need for both of us to risk getting caught.”

  Levine opened his mouth to protest, but said nothing. He grimaced and nodded. “Don’t hesitate to cut it short, Gabby. We can always do this again.”

  Neil picked up his gear and left.

  Gabby waited for the data pod to complete its task of duplicating the data. She could hear voices coming up the hallway. She walked to the doorway and listened. Wait, let them pass by.

  The group stopped somewhere up the hallway to the right. Gabby checked on the data. Almost finished. She went back to the doorway. The talking suddenly quieted.

  “Good afternoon, general,” said a voice.

  “Yes, yes,” Pitrushkin said offhandedly.

  Gabby’s eyes grew big and she let out a deep breath.

  She hurried back to the safe and looked at the data pod. Just a few more seconds. She watched as the last few bytes passed onto the pod. She pulled the connector loose and made sure the data block was back in its original position, grabbed the data pod, and closed the safe. She could hear footsteps from the hall.

  She threw the data pod into the trash bag in her carrier and stepped to the table next to the safe. She pulled the whiskbroom from the carrier and knocked the small potted plant on the table over onto its side, spilling dirt across the surface. As she started to sweep, Pitrushkin walked into the office. Gabby turned to face him.

  “I am sorry, General Pitrushkin. I had hoped to have this cleaned up before you returned.”

  He scowled. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  “I am in charge of housekeeping here. This plant was knocked over and—”

  “Yes, the plants,” he said flatly.

  “I can have them removed from your office if you would prefer.”

  “Take them, leave them. I don’t care.” He picked up a file folder from his desk. “You work here. You are not married?”

  “I am a widow.”

  “Mmm,” he grunted. “You are still young. You should marry and have children. That is the most important role a woman can play.”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Continue the fine work,” he said. He turned and tucked the folder under his arm walked from his office.

  Gabby breathed a sigh of relief and finished sweeping up the dirt. When she returned to her workstation, she removed the data pod from the trash bag and brushed the dirt from the device, then connected it to a viewing screen. She scanned the contents briefly and stopped when she saw an interesting entry: Beam Defense Array.

  A quick scan of the data showed her details she and her cell had been unable to find through any other means. The four sites outside of the city each housed a powerful beam generator. Dozens of conduits radiated out from the generator to reflectors that would allow the beams to be aimed at targets across the sky. With multiple reflectors, the system possessed a robustness that made it very difficult to kill. Take down one reflector and the Pythans could simply reroute the beam to another conduit and continue operations. Unless an attacker could locate the generator, the beam could continue to function for a long while. If Gabby could get this data to the Coalition, the reclaiming of Elspeth would be much easier if Space Forces knew where to target. The beam array and its control center were about thirty to sixty days from completion.

  -(o)-

  Archcolonel Tadashi’s locked cabinet was easier to access, requiring only a key or someone who could pick the lock, but the information kept there was of little use to the Coalition except for two things: How the Pythan security forces functioned, and what members of various factions among the Pythans thought about the war. These were insights the Coalition would find useful in gauging the Pythan’s aims and strategies.

  Acquiring this data was far less dramatic than the efforts in Pitrushkin’s office. Levine was able to go into Tadashi’s unoccupied office under a similar cover he had used before, he was simply there to do some routine job. Lubricate a chair, change a filter, or any of a myriad other similar ploys.

  Levine picked the lock and copied the data held within while Gabby kept watch outside. Once the data was copied, he replaced everything as it was when he found it, relocked the cabinet, and the two of them walked away.

  Gabby read a few of the hundreds of reports from Pythans in a wide array of fields. She was surprised to find that the Pythans were not nearly as unified as they appeared on Elspeth.

  . . .

  Intelligence gathering mission 34T - Coalition Planet Creech.

  Infiltrator Ulam Balci, Pythan State Security, aspect Vargosh.

  The heretics are strange. In many ways they are so very much like us, but in so very many more ways they are alien. We flow from the same wellspring, but these people have fallen far into heresy. May Turog show mercy upon them that they might be redeemed lest they are forever shuttered by Shyga to burn and suffer from within themselves in the depths of th
e Abyss.

  Is widespread conversion possible, or will a wholesale cleansing be necessary? That is why we are here, to find answers to such questions. I still think Archleader Shodoso is correct, cleansing is safer. Cleansing allows these heretics a chance to pass into the afterlife after their thousand years of agony. If they die in heresy without the cleansing, it will be eternal. By Vargosh, how many ways have these people offended Pyth. A few hundred years is not too long to wait until the planets are ready for colonization.

  Status: Unknown, but thought to have been caught by Coalition forces and martyred.

  . . .

  Intelligence gathering mission 34T - Coalition Planet Creech

  Infiltrator Saburo Tashdan, Pythan State Security, aspect Washdon.

  The people of the Coalition are heretics, of this there is no doubt. They know of Pyth, but there are no temples, no worshipers. They know little of Pyth or his aspects, but names. The longer I observe these people, the longer I walk and talk with them, the more I am convinced they are not evil or corrupt, certainly no more or no less than we are.

  They are different from us to be sure. They worship many gods in many ways. Some worship no god. This was a shock to see, but it works for them. For each of the differences I see, I see ten things we have in common. They love, they hate. They have friends and enemies. They work, they play, they raise children, they care for their elders. They build and create, they hope.

  We were sent to find evidence of an impending invasion. There is none. I was asked by my superior to fabricate testimony and reports. I will not.

  I will not dishonor myself, my service, or my god, by lying. Let these people live their lives and let us live ours. I will not be a party to harm these people.

  Status: Tried in absentia and sentenced to a heretic’s death. Whereabouts unknown.

  . . .

  Individual assessment by military member in combat operations against heretic Coalition forces. Individual was part of invasion force on Coalition planet Horton. Unit redeployed to Coalition planet Beaumont. Assessment collected while individual was hospitalized due to wounds received in combat.

  Soldier Ortan Lasso, Pythan Army, aspect Tydosh.

  We were told their heresy would make them weak while our faith would make us strong. Those words were lies.

  The Coalition soldiers are little different from us. They have discipline. They fight with honor. They may not fight for Pyth or the Tridentate, or follow our way of war, but they fight like us. We have seen no evidence of an imminent attack upon our worlds, only the contrary. These people were not planning to attack us. The truth is, they were unprepared for our attack. Archleader Barliss warned of the perils of conquest before the last war with these people. The gods left us to our fate three hundred years ago because we wandered from the true path, and I fear the same will occur again.

  These people were no threat to us. The only threat we Pythans face is from within our own faith, and the rising ire of people we attacked unjustly.

  Status: Returned to unit because of prior exemplary service. Deemed to be a dangerous influence on fellow soldiers after surveillance period. Was scheduled for removal, but ground units on Coalition planet Beaumont are cut off and beyond contact. Will reevaluate following Pythan victory.

  . . .

  Sentinel Icktiro Nard, State Police Service, Elspeth(Heretical designation, pending official Pythan name), aspect Mersha

  My duties as a sentinel on one of our newly acquired worlds have afforded me the opportunity to observe a wide cross section of Coalition citizens. I call them this because I do not believe it possible to convert the bulk of these heretics via proselytizing. These people were born into heresy and lack the tutelage in the wisdom of Pyth and His way. The children might convert through coercion, but I believe the adults require subjugation via sanctioned holy genocide. This would allow their souls to exalt in agony within the Halls of Shyga and possibly avoid damnation.

  Status: Serving as police officer, SPS, Elspeth.

  . . .

  Among the data collected from Tadashi’s safe were the records of Coalition citizens imprisoned or executed since the Pythans occupied Elspeth.

  -(o)-

  Months after most citizens on Elspeth had come to grips with the Pythan occupation, something happened that shook everyone—including the Pythans—out of the new routine.

  It started in midmorning. Pythan authorities put extra police and security forces at numerous locations. The military presence in Laurel increased noticeably as the day went on. Drills was the reason given when anyone asked, but few believed that.

  Something was going on, Gabby could tell. Vashnik and Pitrushkin were both visibly agitated. She wanted to know more. She found Levine and asked him to keep his ears open, then did the same with Carla. On her way back to the administrator’s office Beemer stopped her in the hall. “You’ve been giving me the runaround for months. I’m tired of it. I’ll make a deal with you. You play nice with me, and I don’t go to Tadashi and tell him you’ve been a bad girl.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “You think that matters? They trust me. Tadashi or me, you choose. You’ll have more fun with me.”

  “Mr. Beemer, I find this very—”

  “An answer, now.”

  “I suppose I have little choice. I’ll—”

  Loud alarms sounded throughout the building. Klaxons and loudspeakers outside added to the noise.

  “What the hell is that?” Beemer yelled.

  “All personnel report to shelters. All personnel report to shelters,” blared from the speakers.

  People ran by in the hall. “It’s the Coalition! They have some vehicles orbiting overhead in space,” one of them said in passing.

  “Word is the Coalition will be landing troops,” said another.

  “I must go and make sure my people are seeking cover,” Gabby said. She turned to leave.

  Beemer grabbed her arm. “An answer. Give me an answer.”

  Gabby pulled at Beemer’s hand. “This is not the time.”

  Beemer glared at her, red-faced and angry. “An answer.”

  Gabby’s eyes narrowed. She drew back her hand and drove a sharp punch into Beemer’s solar plexus. He grunted and released Gabby as he fell to his knees.

  “There’s you answer, Mr. Beemer. Get to a shelter.” She turned and walked away. Beemer glared and wished he had the breath to yell at her.

  Gabby went straight for the locker where she kept her communicator and the data her spy cell had collected. She pulled them from their hiding place and went to a stairwell that would take her to the roof. Carla Suzuki caught up to her on the way.

  “Are you sure you want to broadcast from here? Your signal is encrypted, but the Pythans will know someone is sending, and if they come looking….”

  “I know, Carla, but we can’t leave. It would look suspicious if one of us did. Besides, we don’t know how long Space Forces may stay.”

  “True, but if the Pythans pin the broadcast source to here… things may get a little hot around this place when they start hunting.”

  Gabby nodded. “I know. At least we’ll have the opportunity to remain unknown. I think this is our best option.”

  “Go. Just be sure to watch your back, Gabrielle.”

  Gabby ran up the stairs and quietly opened the door. The flat roof was crowded with access risers, climate control equipment, and communications gear. A quick scan of the roof revealed no one. She made her way to a gap between a pair of climate control monitors that would conceal her and flipped open the communicator. She set the frequency, put the attached earbud in her left ear, and turned on the device.

  “—ing by to authenticate.” A short pause followed. “Unfortunate Orchard, this is Bristling Flame. Standing by to authenticate.”

  Somewhere in space above, teams of communications specialists aboard a Coalition Space Forces vehicle were sending similar broadcasts down to Laurel and other locations on Elspeth
, trying to make contact with the various spy cells left behind months before.

  Gabby keyed the communicator. “Bristling Flame, this is Unfortunate Orchard. Sending authentication code now.” She punched in the memorized code and waited.

  “Orchard, this is Flame. Code authentication verified. Voice authentication checks verified. Final authentication, answer me this: what is the most popular sport in Coalition space?”

  “Flame, this is Orchard. Knitting is the answer.”

  “Correct, Orchard. Be advised, our presence here is short term. Do you have traffic?”

  “Roger, Flame. Stand by.” Gabby plugged in the data pod where all of the information Gabby and her cell had gathered over the months was stored. She broadcast it.

  “Orchard, data received. Are you in a secure location? Can you stand by?”

  “Roger, Flame. Standing by.”

  A few minutes later, a hiss sounded in her ear. “Orchard, that’s quite a haul you gathered. Command has opted for a strike on the beam defense system and the large Pythan military base outside of Laurel. We are concerned about the beam defense control building though. It is in the midst of numerous other buildings and collateral damage must be considered. Do you have any input?”

  “Flame, most of the people in this area have sought shelter. The control building is nearly completed. It’s not my call, but it seems like an opportunity you cannot pass up, unless you don’t plan on returning any time soon.”

  “Orchard, we do have plans in the works. This operation is part of one that is liberating another system as we speak. You are very near the control building. Can you reach shelter before we attack?”

  Gabby smiled. “Flame, give me three minutes notice and I’ll be fine.”

  “We can do that, Orchard. Tell your cell you’ve done a tremendous job.”

  “Will do, Flame. I’ll head for the shelter on your call.”

  “Good luck, Orchard. Hope to see you soon. Command says you have five minutes, then get your head down.”