by George Olney
//"Left clear."//
//"Right clear."//
//"Aye. Further in, all."// Shana replied without breaking stride and they continued into the building, running down the blank corridor hidden by the hatch. The corridor made several abrupt turns as they penetrated, and Shana was grimly certain those turns were to give defenders firing positions against a conventional assault. Well, this assault was anything but conventional. Her teams took fire several times, but the Guards were disorganized and killing them didn't slow down the attack. Shana finally called a halt when they came up against another hatch at the end. //"5,6. Set perimeter security and get the rest in here. There's another damned big hatch. We're going to have to do this again."//
//"6, 5. Aye. On the way."//
Smythe from her team took only a few moments to place his demo charge on the hatch. //" 'Ware demo! Blowing now."//
When the door went inward in fragments, Shana and her teams dashed inside, leaving Sergeant Stauer and the rest of the platoon to watch their backs. A control room containing several more Guards was immediately to the left of the hatch. The fight was brisk but short, with the advantage totally on the side of the Strike dogs.
Shana found herself facing various empty rooms and a lit staircase leading downward. She sent the halt and secure command, stopping the platoon advance. She had no desire to head down that staircase until she knew what she was going to be hitting.
One of her men was operating a life signs detector. "Lieutenant, I'm getting a lot of life signals down there, but they're funny. Could be a bunch of people in stasis. Don't detect any movement or other active signs."
Shana thought heavily. Guard troops in stasis. That fit the pattern of Cauldwell. No way did she want to wake those people up, but they were no threat right now.
Another Strike dog was scanning the security monitors in the control room. "Lieutenant, you need to see this."
Shana strode swiftly into the control room and looked at the monitor screens. Oh, Lord Above! she thought. There were around a dozen screens and all but one of them showed the same thing. There weren't Guardsmen in stasis down there, not grown ones at any rate. Those were embryo storage banks. Labels on the monitors said there were three floors beneath her. That meant there were hundreds – thousands - of embryo storage banks! This was where the Guard kept the embryos for the Emperor's breeding program!
One of the screens had a radically different picture, the interior of some kind of vault. There was a stasis cabinet in the middle of it, looking like a sarcophagus with the Imperial crest blazoned on its lid. Surrounding it were two men and two women of the Guard, each now in an alert posture with their weapons in their hand. It was clear they were in communication with the control room, and just as clear the four knew it was under new management.
It was the crest that was important to Shana. Somewhere down there was a vault with the Emperor's body. "People," Shana breathed, "we've hit pay dirt."
She spun to face Sergeant Stauer. "Sergeant, take three teams and sweep the lower floors. Two teams will act as perimeter security of the building. Last one will stay here with my team as a reserve if you need it. Try to locate that vault as soon as you can. Once you locate it, render the door lock inoperable. I don't want those four getting out. I also don't want to try to get inside until I've got orders from higher. Move!"
Shana's next task was to call the captain. She changed to the Century command band. //"Strike 1-9-6, Strike 2-1-6. We have a situation."//
//"2-1-6, 1-9-6. Say your situation."//
In quick, concise phrases, she brought Captain Gldblum up to date on her mission. //"... and that's where we are, Captain. What do we do with the Emperor, not to mention thousands of embryos? I expect visitors soon enough. This place is too important not to be under surveillance by Guard higher somewhere. We've got to have tripped an alarm."//
Captain Gldblum was thinking fast. This hot potato was way above his pay grade, too. //"Wait. I'll call higher."//
He called the Legate, who, after hearing the story and the sensational find, immediately called Corps Legate Khev Garua. Khev, in turn, got into a three way with Admiral Mackinnie and Shyranne. The discussion was short, but profound. The decision that came out of it wasn't one that made them happy, but the only one they could make under the circumstances.
Karl got Captain Gldblum on com. //"Strike 1-9-6, 9-6. Captain, bring up Lieutenant Ettranty. I'll be briefing you both at the same time."//
//"9-6, Strike 1-9-6. Strike 2-1-6 is up, this net. Send."//
//"2-1-6, 9-6. Say current situation. Strike 1-9-6 monitors."//
//"9-6, 2-1-6. We've swept building. Building clear of active Guard except for vault guards. No other threats. Suspect that Guard higher has already been notified of our activities, but no evidence shown yet. Perimeter guards report all quiet. Be advised of two key points. First, rough count of embryos indicates total of over 250,000. Say again 2-5-0 thousand. Second, vault containing possible Emperor's body has been sealed off without penetration. Be advised there appears to be no way to open the hatch from the inside. Anyone in secure area has to be let out by control room or controls exterior to chamber. Vault door controls disabled. Door controls are one way, say again, one way. Guards were locked in to guard the body and left until next shift came and got them out. Cannot leave on their own. Update complete."//
There was no hint of any personal relationship between Shana and Karl. It was simply a Legate getting an important report from one of his platoon leaders.
//"2-1-6, 9-6. Good report. Situation is as follows: Your situation reported to higher and guidance received. Be aware detectable reduction in Guard resistance throughout battle area. Reason unknown as yet. Some forces have started heading back into the City. Those may be coming after you. If so, option exists to simply blow building and get the hell out of area before the mob arrives. Comment?"//
Shana took a deep breath and looked around. All the rest of her people in the control room were doing their assigned jobs, confident in her ability to get it right. Sergeant Stauer was standing, watching her, waiting for his lieutenant to make her decision. They could blow the building and vanish into the city. Get out alive.
But there were a quarter of a million innocent babies in this same building. The Emperor didn't count as far as Shana was concerned. Oh, having his body under control would greatly help reconstruction. They would have the Emperor under Cluster control and there would be no confusion about who won this thing. Without the Emperor, there would always be questions, impersonators trying to raise rebellions, or other sham claimants.
Right now, that wasn't an issue to Shana. A quarter of a million babies were an issue, a gut issue to any Gladius. Those children were an invaluable addition to the human gene pool, uncorrupted by Shangnaman's conditioning. There was no telling what would happen if the Guard arrived, but the possibilities for those embryos were numerous and scary. Guard control of a quarter million long term reinforcements meant that there was going to be another bloodbath in a couple of decades. All the Guard had to do was recapture the Emperor and the embryos then escape. They would build their strength for a while as some kind of government in exile then come back. This time with real experience in major combat. The Guard was good enough already that giving them battlefield experience and greater numbers meant they might win the next round, especially since the Cluster wouldn't have the advantage it now enjoyed of preparing in the shadows. The Guard would already know what it was facing and they were deadly competent. A Guard strength of 300,000 or better meant they were going to win. It was as simple as that.
Stopping the next round before it happened was vitally important, but there was something else, something unspoken but present in the mind of any Gladius A Gladius existed to protect the innocent. Right in this building were a quarter million innocents and she was their only protection. Without her, the Guard would take them and warp them into their own mold. To Shana, that was the same as ordering their destruction. The Guar
d was the Predator as much as the Emperor. The Predator would try to take them. No Gladius, man or woman, would let that happen while blood still ran in their body.
Shana made her decision. The logic of future consequences guided her thoughts, but the real decision was based on all that was Gladius in her. She had a quarter million innocents under her protection and the Predator was coming.
To stay here, to mount a static defense, was the worst thing that could happen to a Gladius in combat. Mobility and a fluid situation were what a Gladius exploited. Without them, he lost half of his effectiveness. To stay was to commit herself and her men to a fixed situation and Strike units weren't designed for it. A static defense against the Guard would kill all of them if the Victrix couldn't get to them soon enough. Even if they were relieved in time, most of her men could die. Including her.
Go - live. Stay - die. Stay - protect a quarter million innocents from the Predator.
Shana looked in the calm waiting eyes of Sergeant Stauer. She looked around the room and felt the presence of the rest of her men through her Link. She could feel Those Gone Before, especially the dead women of the original Victrix, killed by order of the Emperor in the vault down those stairs. They were with her now.
The Oath said it:
Nothing will pass and harm
those I am sworn to protect.
My life is nothing.
My duty and purpose are everything.
If my life is called for,
it will be given gladly.
Time to live up to the Oath.
Shana watched Sergeant Stauer as she answered Khev. //"9-6, 2-1-6. Negative on bug out. Intend to conduct defense of position if so ordered."//
Her platoon sergeant simply nodded as she gave her recommendation. She was doing the right thing, a Gladius thing.
//"Understood and concur, Lieutenant,"// Karl replied. He knew perfectly well he was just about to order his future wife into a near suicidal situation, but they were both Gladii. //"So ordered. Strike 9-1-6 will send more platoons to help secure perimeter. Your platoon to protect building entrance. Blow entrance if it looks like you're going to be overrun, but do not abandon position. Delay Guard forces until I can get major elements to you. Be advised Fifth Cohort plus anything I can scrounge will be enroute as fast as I can get them to you, but not before Guard arrives. Your mission to hold in place as long as possible. Understood?"//
//"9-6, 2-1-6. Understand and concur."//
//"9-6, 2-1-6, Strike 1-9-6."//
//"1-9-6, 9-6. Send it."//
//"Aye. I'm putting 4-1 on 2-1 location. They aren't too far away at the moment. No other platoons currently available. 2-1-6 will command. Projected arrival 2-0 mikes."//
//"9-6 concurs."//
Captain Gldblum was sending his 4th Strike platoon to reinforce her. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Even one more platoon, twenty one more Strike troopers, would be a big weight off her. //"1-9-6, 2-1-6. Aye. Understand, and they'll be very welcome.
//"Break, break. 9-6, 2-1-6, request."//
//"State request."//
//"Have not yet gone to Advanced Officers' School. Do not know how to conduct Die-In-Place mission. Request DIP not be made a requirement of operation. Scheduled to be at wedding in two months. Groom will be highly pissed if not present. Suggest avoidance, pissed groom."//
Karl grinned. //"Aye. Will avoid pissed groom. Reaching for sledgehammer now. 9-6 out."//
#####
On the legion major command band, Karl quickly briefed Al Lumis, his sledgehammer. //"Al, how fast can you get unstuck and start towards the warehouse?"//
//"I'm reorienting my cohort now, Karl. We ought to be able to start kicking them out of the way in about ten minutes. I'd like a little extra punch, though. Can you get me the Faire battalion? We've worked with those guys and they're good. I can use them. They can kick open a hole and we'll just keep widening the breach from that point."//
//"You'll get them if I have to personally boot Khev Garua's ass to do it."//
//"Good enough. Karl, I've already told my boys about the embryos and the Emperor. I've also told them it's Shana holding the position. That last part means something and they'll get there and get her out if there's any way."//
//"Thanks, Al."//
//"Not for you, Karl, fiancee or not. Shana means more to the guys than you do, actually."//
//"Thanks for that one, too, Al. Now get busy and stop blowing hot air out your ass. I expect you on station at the warehouse soonest or you're not invited to the wedding. Camille will be really pissed at you if that happens."//
Al laughed. This was the kind of mission he liked. Bull forward and right up the middle, taking the head of any enemy stupid enough to rear it. //"Evil, Karl. You've invoked the only force in the Universe I fear. On the way. Out."//
Legate Karl Athan momentarily allowed himself the luxury of a personal thought. Hang on, Shana; we're coming to get you.
#####
Ground CIC was busy, but Khev was watching the schematic of the Corps battle around Imperial City with quiet intensity. Something was happening, something important, but he wasn't sure what. Then he got the call from Karl Athan and things fell into place.
The Guard appeared to be doing two unrelated things. Small units were breaking contact from all over the battlefield and heading deeper into the city. Meanwhile, a much bigger portion was pulling out behind a fierce rearguard and joining a large column that looked like it was heading towards a location out of the city, probably the Guard's hidden base.
The situation at the Emperor's bunker made everything click together. The Guard realized the battle was lost and were trying to save as much as they could. They were pulling out as much fighting force as possible, but tasking units to take the bunker and recover the stasis tubes along with the Emperor's body. The second mission was the most important one. They might save enough fighting strength to come back and retake Central, but none of it would mean anything if they lost those children and the Emperor. That was one fight they had to win.
It was also one fight the Cluster had to win, too.
He waved Shyranne over. "Listen as I talk to Lane. You both need to know this."
//"Fleet, Corps. We've got something happening on the ground, Lane."//
//"Corps, Fleet. What do you mean, Khev?"//
// "Lane, one of our Strike platoons from the Victrix captured a major bunker disguised as a warehouse. It contained a quarter of a million Guard embryos and the Emperor's body. Holding the Emperor's body will be a big plus for us when things settle down, but the embryos are a major concern right now. As long as we have the embryos, they will simply become future citizens. If the Guard gets them back and escapes, we're going to be looking at a war twenty or so years down the road that will make this one look like a school yard game. We stand a good chance of losing that one, too. We have to keep the embryos.
//"My gut feeling is that the Guard is reacting to the capture of the Emperor and the embryos. I also get the feeling someone's not thinking too straight. We're still in heavy contact, but more Guard units are breaking away throughout the battle area. We've pretty well tagged the bulk of withdrawn units as evacuating, but a heavy contingent of mixed small units is heading back for the City."//
//"Trying for an urban terrain battle to tie you up while the rest escape?"//
//"Negative on Urban Terrain Operations - UTO. The rearguard is making things difficult enough on their own. I don't think the Guard is trying to put depth behind that rearguard. For one thing, I think they've already decided a UTO battle wouldn't give them much more time, not using the force I've seen heading back into the City. They've already figured out they can't stop us here in the suburbs and they won't be able to do it in the City itself. We're better at UTO and they know it. Once we've finished the rearguard, all the Guard can do is minor harassment, not any real delay. I think those small units are reinforcing the group attacking the warehouse. The Guard knows we're winning. They want to tak
e the warehouse, then bug out once they get the Emperor's body and the embryos."//
//"They intend to overwhelm the platoon at the warehouse, get Shangnaman and as many embryos as possible and join with the rest. Then the Guard cuts out for parts unknown, only to come back one day much stronger this time. Is that what you're thinking?"//
Khev gave Shyranne a grim look. //"Exactly, Lane. If they come back in the kind of strength those embryos could give them, our military establishment could be twice its current size and not be enough.
//"There are only two Strike platoons at the warehouse at the moment. The Victrix has a reinforced cohort headed to pull them out of trouble, but that may not be enough, depending on how long they can hold out. We may have to put in the rest of the legion, but we need a lot more air support as well. I want everything we can throw on the bunker's attackers once we get good intelligence. Looking at the Guard situation, someone's activated a Go To Hell plan."//
Lane studied the information Khev had sent him on data link. //"I agree. Right now, there's a lot more than a couple of legions worth of Guard troops in that column heading for their base in the Momart Hills, but we can't hit them yet. We can't use kinetics while those Guard units are around Imperial City without a lot of civilian casualties. We're preparing to put a high speed mass right into that base, as soon as the retreating column gets to it. That group's bought and paid for."//
Lane was silent for a few seconds while he thought. //"Tell your people holding the Emperor's body to hang on. They've suddenly become the key to winning this triple-damned war."//
//"We'll take care of that, Lane. Just get our support. Ground out."// He looked at his wife and commander. "The Guard just made a major rookie mistake."
She knew what he meant. "They have their priorities wrong. That warehouse is the real center of gravity of this fight. The Guard should have sent a full legion. A legion could take that warehouse, soak up the casualties, and do the job in much less time. Instead they're evacuating what legions they can and sending an ad-hoc force of small units they can cut loose to attack the warehouse. Someone got it completely backward."