by Sam Schall
She held her breath, waiting for their responses. Hopefully they’d understand that she hadn’t wanted to wait to come for them. But what choice had there been?
“Callusians?” O’Malley asked.
“That’s our best guess.”
“Cap, don’t look so worried,” Harston told her. “You couldn’t get here any sooner. We know that. Hell, we know you’d probably have stolen a ship if you could have to come back for us. But you’re here now.”
“Breaker’s right, ma’am.” Baldwin nodded in agreement. “All I want to know is if any action is going to be taken against the bastards here.” His voice turned hard, harder than Ash could ever remember it being.
Well, that was one thing she could answer and, hopefully, make them feel better.
Without a word, she pulled out her datapad and typed in a set of commands. A moment later, the video feed from Coreal’s office came online. She adjusted the angle slightly and then handed the datapad to O’Malley. Seeing the satisfaction light his expression before he handed the datapad to Harston was enough.
“I assume it was your idea to take that bastard to his own office in chains, Cap,” Baldwin said as she studied the video.
“And hooded.” She gave them an almost feral grin, knowing they’d understand and approve. She took the datapad back and typed in a new command before handing it back to Baldwin. Unless she missed her guess, the sergeant needed to see Haritos chained and helpless even more than she had needed to see Coreal that way.
“Captain, they need to get some rest now,” the medic said as she helped Baldwin to one of the flight couches. “You can talk with them again in a couple of hours.”
“But—” O’Malley protested.
“He’s right, Mick.” She carefully stood. “I’ll have some fresh uniforms for you when you wake. We’ll talk more then.”
“Cap, just one more question.” Baldwin waved back the medic and sat up. “What about Sorkowski and that rat bastard O’Brien?”
Now Ashlyn could smile, especially at the thought of their former Marine CO.
“Sorkowski has been forcibly retired and, before you ask, General Okafor has assured me that she wants him brought up on any and all charges they can find. Same for O’Brien with one difference. They didn’t let him retire. Our beloved Corps Commandant has an evil sense of justice. She had him assigned to escort duty around the capital – escort duty for the children and relatives of VIPs.”
For a moment, no one said anything. Ash had no doubt they were too stunned to. Then O’Malley threw his head back and laughed. Soon Harston and Baldwin joined him. Relieved, Ash smiled and turned her attention to the medic.
“Take good care of them and make sure I have a copy of your report as well as Major Pawlak.”
“The Old Man’s here?” Baldwin’s humor turned to surprise.
“He is. He’ll be in to see you soon.” She smiled again, relieved to know that these three, at least, would soon be going home. “Now do as the medic does before she decides to sedate all of us. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
“Well?” Talbot asked as she emerged from the shuttle.
“I think they’re going to be all right.” At least she hoped so. “The medic wants them to rest for a bit before anything else.”
“That’s probably for the best, ma’am. I know you want to be with them. Hell, Cap, we all want to be with them. But they need time to adjust to what is going on.”
She nodded, remembering her own suspicions and doubts. At least she knew what they were going through and could, hopefully, help ease some of their concerns.
“Gunny, we need to secure fresh uniforms for them and, if possible, their dog tags,” she said as they moved across the landing area in the direction of a second shuttle.
“I’ll see to the uniforms, ma’am. As for their dog tags, the Major said to tell you they are with your kit in the shuttle. He thought you’d like to be able to return them to our people.”
Ashlyn nodded and made a mental note to thank the Major.
“He also left orders for you to get some rest. You’re to take a solid four down. I’m to make sure of it. To quote the Major, I’m to sit on you if I have to and, if that doesn’t work, I’m to have the medic sedate you.”
For a moment, she just looked at him, eyes narrowed. Then she nodded. She had no doubt Pawlak had left orders for her to take some down time. Nor did she doubt Talbot had added the part about sitting on her. So she’d agree, at least to “resting”. She doubted she’d be able to sleep but the downtime would give her a chance to review the JAG’s report of his interrogation of Coreal as well as check the prison records for her people. Hopefully, by the time the prescribed four hours were up, Pawlak would have news from the strike teams about the others sent there with her.
Lucinda Ortega groaned in pain. Rolling onto her side, she drew a shuddering breath. Then she cursed long and hard. Damn it! Ash had warned her not to take any chances. She’d even listened. But she hadn’t expected Coreal’s people at the Residence to put up any real resistance. She certainly hadn’t expected any of them to choose to act as the man who greeted them at the main door had. Fortunately, something warned her not to trust him. Perhaps it had been hearing some of what her former roommate had suffered while on this hellhole of a planet. Perhaps it was seeing the conditions of Malloy and the others. Whatever it was, she knew things could have been much worse.
She slowly climbed to her feet and scanned the area. As she did, the sensors in her battle armor read out her vital signs. Her helmet’s visor shifted through various filters until she could see through the dust and debris filling the air. Pain registered for a moment but it was incidental, too small to worry about. Besides, her armor would soon dispense any analgesics needed so she could continue carrying out her orders.
“Sound off!” she snapped. As she did, she kicked aside what looked to have been the man’s hand. Not that she could tell for sure without looking closer. Strapping a bomb to your chest tended to leave little recognizable behind.
Which was for the best. Otherwise, her squad would want to tear him apart. Hell, she wanted to do so. If he killed any of her people. . . .
As she listened to various members of her squad reporting in, she checked her weapons to make sure they had not been damaged in the explosion. Then, as the count ended, she cursed again. Three had not responded. Before she could order a search of the area, others were there, pulling the injured out of the debris and to safety.
“Status?” she asked as she stalked to where the squad’s medic checked the one of the injured.
“Bad but they should recover, Sorceress. That bastard from inside wasn’t so lucky.”
She nodded. She’d shed no tears over the man. Fortunately, she’d ordered most of the squad to remain under cover instead of following him inside as he wanted. Private Schapper went with him. More accurately, Schapper had started to follow him. Then an explosion ripped through the air and Lucinda watched as Coreal’s man disintegrated into nothing but bits of bone and flesh and blood. Schapper flew through the air, landing with a sickening thud on the stone walkway. Windows shattered and then everything had gone silent. Now, looking at the damage, Lucinda shook her head. They had been lucky. She planned on making sure that luck did not run out.
Opening comms to not only her squad but to the second squad stationed at the rear of the building called the Residence, Lucinda knew what she had to do. “This is Sorceress. We have hostiles. I repeat. We have hostiles. Three down after encounter with a suicide bomber. Front entry compromised. Delta Squad, you are to breach the rear of the building. Make a door!”
“Making a door, Sorceress,” Lieutenant Travis Houston replied.
“Alpha Squad, let’s make our own entry and then teach these sons-of-bitches how foolish it is to play games with the Devil Dogs.”
With that, she signaled Tank to take point. The heavy armored Marine shouldered his battle rifle and moved forward. The rest of the squad fell in behi
nd him. As they did, Ashlyn opened a secure line to the attack force’s comms specialist.
“Singer, Sorceress.”
“Sorceress, go.”
“No comms traffic to Angel until either Hammer or I approve it. Understood?”
The last thing they needed was for Ashlyn to find out what happened. Lucinda had no doubt Ash would waste no time getting to the Residence if she did. She knew her friend well enough to realize Ash was holding on by sheer force of will just then. It wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge and she wasn’t going to risk the captain doing anything that might find her brought up on charges once again.
“Understood, Sorceress. Hammer already issued the same order.”
That didn’t surprise her. Pawlak, almost as much as she, wanted to do whatever he could to protect their XO – whether Ash wanted them to or not.
Lucinda switched back to the battle-net. “Singer, once inside, get me comms that will carry throughout the building. I don’t care if we have to send up smoke signals. It’s time they understood who they’re dealing with.”
“Understood, Sorceress.”
“Tank, once we’re inside, find yourself a spot to watch our backs. Anyone not in armor – our battle armor – is to be stopped. If they refuse, open fire at your discretion.”
“Roger that, Sorceress.”
Alpha Squad, Delta Squad, you have a fire order. I repeat, you have a fire order. If they want to make this a fight, we will, by God, show them what a real fight is.”
“Ooh-rah!”
Leaving the medic and a guard with the injured, Lucinda nodded at Tank. The man nodded in return. Then he turned to study the building before them. A few moments later, he shouldered his RPG. His voice came over the battle-net, warning them to take cover. An all too brief moment of silence exploded in sound and debris as he fired. By the time her armor once again adjusted helmet filters to let her see through the debris, Tank was moving inside through his newly created “door”.
The moment she stepped inside, Lucinda ordered the squad to secure the room. As she did, she looked around. Tank’s impromptu door brought them inside what looked to be a formal sitting room of some sort. From expensive wall hangings and art to furniture down to crystal decanters and glasses, nothing about the room said penal colony. Instead, she had a feeling they had discovered where some of Coreal’s funding had gone. Her upper lip curled back in distaste as she glanced around, looking for her comms specialist.
“Singer, get me an open channel. These people get one chance to surrender.”
The comms specialist nodded and, with another member of the squad joining her, left in search of a working comm-unit. Not wanting to waste any time, Lucinda knew what she needed to do next.
“Boomer, Falcon, make sure there aren’t any other surprises waiting for us. Toad, Storm, take two others and start searching the front of this place, first floor only. We’ll clear room-by-room, floor-by-floor. If you come across anyone, give them one chance to surrender. If they refuse, do whatever it takes to keep you and your people safe and to make sure no prisoners are injured. Understood?”
“Understood, Sorceress.”
“Delta, Sorceress. Report.”
“No surprises so far, Sorceress. No people either,” Lieutenant Houston replied. “We have found access to what looks to be the basement.”
“Secure the passage and send eyes down. We’re securing this floor, front of the building. Singer is trying to find building-wide comms. I’d prefer to do this the easy way but, after what we’ve already seen and after what happened at the entrance, we will do it any way we have to. Sorceress out.”
As she waited on the comms-specialist, Lucinda monitored the progress of the rest of the squad. Room after room was searched and sealed. So far, no one had been found. That should have reassured her but it did not. Their greeting at the main entrance proved those inside were not going to give up without a fight. It also meant they were more than likely willing to sacrifice any prisoners they might have – if they hadn’t already. So where were they and what were they planning?
Frowning, she keyed her comm and waited for the shuttle pilot to respond.
“Talon. Go ahead, Sorceress.”
“Talon, run new scans on the building. Where are they?”
Several moments passed before he answered. “I have heat signature almost directly above you, Sorceress. Three, maybe four. There is a larger cluster below. Be advised, there is now a dead zone in the center of the building, looks to be on the second and third levels. It was not there before you dropped.”
“Tank, your thoughts?” Next to herself, Tank had the most experience in the squad.
“That’s their hide-a-hole, Sorceress. The other two locations are either false readings or are meant ot keep us distracted while the others prepare a breakout or worse.”
“Agreed.” She switched over to Pawlak’s channel. Before she did anything else, she wanted to confer with him. “Sorceress, Hammer.”
“Hammer. Go, Sorceress.”
She quickly filled him in. He listened closely without interrupting. Only when she finished did he say anything.
“Do you have a plan?” he asked.
“Hit the three targets at the same time. I think Tank has the right of it but I don’t want to risk one of the smaller groups being able to activate a self-destruct. They’ve had one try at blowing the squad to Hell and back again. I’d prefer not giving them another.”
“Make sure you blind them first. Don’t let them see you coming.”
“Understood. Sorceress out.”
With Tank on her heels, she left in search of the comms specialist. The young woman’s assignment had just changed.
“Where are they?”
An unmistakable note of panic laced the man’s voice as he glanced from one monitor to another. He’d been so sure they would be able to hold out against the Marines. After all, the Residence had been built not only as a retreat for Coreal and those he favored but it had also been the one place the commandant made sure would be safe if the prisoners on Tarsus managed to seize control of the prison.
Two squads of Marines, even Fuerconese Marines, hadn’t bothered him. With the penal colony no longer answer his hails, he knew what to do. He, along with those with him, would hold out until the Marines were either dead or gave up. Then they, and any of their companions who still lived, would use the shuttles secured at the rear of the building to get off-planet.
But now they were blind. Somehow, the Marines had cut the security monitors. That meant they had taken the secondary control center. If that was the case, how long before they closed in on this part of the building?
“Jaegger, bring the prisoners. We’ll use them as cover.”
The burly man nodded once.
“I want the girl. Let’s see if those bastards are as determined when they see my knife to her throat.”
He’d make them beg just as he had her.
“Get me eyes in there, Singer.”
Alpha Squad ranged down the corridor and around the corner from their target. Lucinda had to give it to whoever designed the building, the doorway into the safe area was almost invisible to the naked eye. If she had not been looking for it, she would have missed it. Now she needed to figure out the best way to make entry. After the fighting they had seen at the other two targets, she had no doubt, those inside were ready to die before surrendering.
Worse, she now knew they had at least a dozen prisoners, including Corporal Navarro, with them. Their search of the building had found others, killed by their captors before the Marines arrived. Each of them showed signs of torture and worse. Anger and fear about what they had done to Navarro pushed at her. She fought it down. She had to maintain control, for Navarro’s sake as well as for the well-being of the squad.
A few minutes later, Singer gave her a nod. Lucinda’s faceplate darkened for a moment and then she found herself looking at the inside of the room. Her lips pulled back and she ground her
teeth in anger at what she saw.
A dozen men and women stood in the center of the room. They formed a tight-knit group. Standing so they each faced out, watching for anything that might warn them the Marines might be about to make entry. Weapons held at the ready, they waited. Even without sound, Lucinda knew they were scared and desperate and that made them dangerous.
Worse was the sight of almost as many others who were very clearly prisoners. Most were women. None were clothed. They all appeared to be bound. Some knelt in front of one or their captors. Others were held against a captor, a gun or knife keeping them from struggling. All showed signs of being beaten and quite possibly drugged.
“Sorceress.”
Tank’s anger came through loud and clear and she realized he, too, had recognized their squadmate. A few of the others had as well. They shifted restlessly and she felt their anger as surely as if it were her own. Switching once again to a private channel, she inhaled deeply. She was about to violate her own order.
“Sorceress, Angel,” she radioed. As she did, she had no doubt Ashlyn would quickly reply. Singer had reported their XO had made more than request for an update already.
“Angel. Go ahead, Sorceress.”
“Angel, I’m going to send you a feed. It’s bad but I need to know what you can tell me about those you see.” She waited, praying her friend didn’t do anything foolish like hijack a shuttle to join them.
“Understood.”
Something in the XO’s voice reassured her. With a nod, she signaled Singer to transmit the feed to Ashlyn.
“Anything you know that will help us diffuse this situation?”
For several long moments, Ash didn’t reply. Lucinda waited, wishing she hadn’t needed to bring her in on this. If anything happened to Navarro, Ash would blame herself and that was the last thing any of them needed. Lucinda knew it was also the last thing Navarro would want.