Polk shook his head; that men went so willingly to what they must have known was certain death amazed him. "What about Yamaichi?"
"Not so good, sir. We don't know how or why, but there was a firefight with the marines securing the senior officers' compound. The entire DocSec arrest squad was killed, and matters got out of hand despite all attempts by MARFOR 8's commanders to regain control. A hard core of maybe a thousand marines went on a rampage. Some have disappeared, probably deserted to the NRA, and the rest pulled back to the airfield."
"Tell me the situation is contained, Admiral."
"Not yet, but it will be, sir. The rest of MARFOR 8 are standing back waiting to see what happens. I'm unwilling to rely on them to take back control, so marines from Amokran are on their way. They will secure the base and put a cordon around the airfield. If they cannot persuade the men to surrender, they will have to be taken by force."
Polk's fingers tapped out his concern. "You think marines will attack marines, Admiral?"
Belasz blinked. "I hope it won't come to that, sir."
"Answer the damn question!" Polk snapped.
"I'm afraid they may not, sir," Belasz said, "especially if they believe they are doing DocSec's dirty work, if they believe the men will be shot out of hand. The punitive action taken against the commanders of the Branxton operation has created a great deal of resentment among ordinary marines. Perhaps…"
"Perhaps what?" Polk said, glaring at Belasz from eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger.
"Perhaps… perhaps the decision to hand the senior commanders responsible for that operation over to DocSec should be rethought, sir."
Polk sat back in his chair, visibly angry, eyes locked on Belasz's face. The admiral refused to back down, returning Polk's stare. The chief councillor backed down first; looking away, he pushed the chair back and stood up. He walked over to the window. "You're questioning me now, Admiral?" he said, spinning on his heel to look directly at Belasz. "I've had men shot for less, and believe me when I say that I'll have you shot if necessary."
Belasz straightened up in his seat. "I know that, Chief Councillor. Frankly, I cannot worry about that anymore," he said with a dismissive wave of a hand. "So yes, I think I am questioning not you but the decision. In my opinion, it's a bad decision. I'm sorry I cannot agree with you, but a bad decision is a bad decision even if it's made by you… sir."
Polk stared, eyes narrowed in fury. "A bad decision?" he snarled.
"Yes, sir," Belasz said with a firmness belied by a tongue flickering restlessly across dry lips. "It is a bad decision. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but we cannot continue to execute or imprison our best officers every time there is a military setback. I am the third chief of defense in what? Less than two years? In that time, Space Fleet has seen DocSec rip the guts out of its officer corps not once but twice. First after the Battle of Hell's Moons and then after the loss of our antimatter plant. Planetary defense has been purged by DocSec after the attacks on Yallan, Gwalia, and Perkins. Now it's the marines' turn, Kraa help them." Belasz paused, shaking his head. "It takes DocSec only a few hours to tear down and destroy what it takes the military years and billions of k-dollars to build: an effective cadre of officers capable of leading the Hammer Worlds to victory," he continued, face flushed and voice rising as anger began to take hold. "And what have we ended up with? Officers who spend more time worrying about staying alive than they do about defeating our enemies. It's a bad decision, sir, because it costs us a lot more than the lives of a few officers. And why do we do what we do? Because that's the way we've always done business. It's bullshit, Chief Councilor, and it's time you were told that."
Belasz's outburst had triggered a wave of raw fury that threatened to overwhelm Polk; the last man to talk to him so bluntly was long dead. He regained his self-control with an enormous effort, a tiny grain of common sense telling him that Belasz was not all wrong. "By Kraa, Admiral," he hissed through still-clenched teeth, "you take some chances."
"Some things have to be said, sir," Balasz said, eyes still blazing anger and defiance, "whatever the consequences."
Suddenly the fight went out of Polk. He slumped back into his seat. Belasz had a point, but the problem with the Yamaichi marines was much bigger than the admiral allowed.
Much bigger, so big that it threatened his hold on power.
The fact was that ordinary marines had refused to cooperate with DocSec; the Hammer system had a linchpin, and it was the people's unquestioning acceptance of DocSec's authority. If well-trained and disciplined marines started standing up to DocSec, the foundation on which the entire apparatus of state terror rested was at risk.
That he could not allow. Not now, not ever, not if he wanted the Hammer of Kraa to endure. No matter what Belasz might say. He straightened up in his seat the better to look Belasz right in the face. "I'll forget your insubordination, Admiral… this time. Do not ever presume on my tolerance again. Is that understood?"
"But sir," Belasz protested, "how am-"
"Enough, Admiral, enough!" Polk's voice slashed across Belasz. "Enough or by Kraa…" Polk drew in a huge breath, letting it out in a long, slow sigh. "I take note of your comments concerning the effect of what I think you called DocSec purges."
"Thank you, sir."
"But," Polk continued, "this Yamaichi business is another matter. The arrests of the marine officers responsible for the Branxton debacle must stand, and that includes General Baxter. The old fool stood in front of the entire Defense Council and assured every last one of us that Medusa could not fail, and it did. In any case, I will not compromise DocSec's authority."
Belasz's mouth started to open, then snapped shut. Wise move, Polk said to himself, wise move. "As for the rabble at Yamaichi, there will be no deals with the mutineers, and since you are obviously not convinced that the marines of MARFOR 8 can do the job, I want them replaced by a combined planetary defense and DocSec task force. I expect a detailed briefing on how you plan to retake control of Yamaichi inside twenty-four hours. That is all. You may go."
Belasz sat, his mouth tight in a thin, bloodless line. For a moment, Polk thought he was going to take him on. Just try me, Admiral, he thought, and you'll be joining the commanding general of marines in front of a DocSec firing squad before the day is over. But Belasz's survival instincts must have kicked in; without another word, he stood up and left.
Polk watched him go. Something told him he might be looking for a new man to run the Hammer defense forces rather sooner than he had planned. Saturday, January 26, 2402, UD FLTDETCOMM, Branxton Base, Commitment
"… so there you have it, sir. It's a bit risky, but with a bit of work it's doable."
Captain Adrissa's eyes had long since opened wide in shock and disbelief. "A bit risky?" she sputtered. "A bit risky? You cannot be serious, Michael. What you are suggesting is, is… insane! I cannot order anyone to execute a mission as dangerous as this. I cannot, and I will not."
"You don't have to, sir."
Adrissa snorted. "Volunteers? Is that the answer?" She shook her head. "I don't think so. Nobody will volunteer for this mission unless I ask for volunteers, and I won't. Since I cannot order anyone to carry it out, it's a nonstarter. Sorry, Michael, but that's the way it is. We need to find another way."
"Sorry, sir, but that's not right. You just need one volunteer, and that's me. I dragged everyone into this mess, so I think it's up to me get everyone out."
Adrissa sat back and steepled her fingers. She stared at Michael for a long time. "You're a stubborn little bastard, Helfort; that much is a gold-plated fact," she said at last. "And yes, you did drag everyone into this mess. So tell me. If I don't give this crazy plan of yours the green light, you'll harass and hound me until I do. Am I right?"
"Pretty much, sir, pretty much, but to be serious, I know what I've suggested is risky, but so's being stuck here on Commitment while the Hammers kick the crap out of us for the next ten years. I've only had two days to think the mission through
, and I agree with you. As it stands, it's too risky. Give me a week and let me see if I can get the risk down to something you can live with."
"One week."
"I'll also need access to ENCOMM's intelligence knowledge base. I need to know everything they know about the Hammer's ballistic missile and nearspace defenses, and when I say everything, I mean-"
"Everything, got it." Adrissa frowned. "Mmm, that might be a problem. They keep their intel very close to the chest. Leave it to me; I'll see if I can persuade General Vaas to make an exception in your case."
"He'll want to know why, sir."
"He will, but since your plan…" Adrissa paused. Shaking her head, she continued. "Plan? Not even close to being a plan, not yet, anyway. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Since your deranged scheme involves the NRA, I suppose we might as well bite the bullet and tell him what we're thinking. The sooner we get Vaas onside, the better."
"Then I guess I'd better get started, sir. The general will want to see something a bit less, er… adventurous."
Adrissa laughed. "He will, he sure will. Right. You'd better get started. Make sure you don't discuss this with anybody, not even with the lovely Sergeant Helfort, and that's an order."
"Aye, aye, sir. By the way, she's been promoted. It's Lieutenant Helfort now."
Adrissa rolled her eyes. "Oh, for chrissakes, two Lieutenant Helforts! One was bad enough. Go!"
"Sir." Monday, February 11, 2402, UD Sector Juliet, Branxton Base, Commitment
"Hello, spacer. Why so glum?"
"Oh, hi, Kat." Michael pushed his coffee mug around the tabletop. "Oh, the usual. Just got a vidcomm from Anna."
"And let me guess," Sedova said, her face a sympathetic frown. "Your plans for some time together have just been trashed?"
Michael sighed. "Yup. The 120th is going back into the line sooner than she expected."
"I'd heard. Seems General Vaas thinks we've all had enough time to recover, so it's back on the offensive we go."
"So it seems," Michael said. "Must say, I'm surprised. The NRA might have kicked the Hammers back where they came from, but it cost them."
"Yeah, it did, and it shows. We've just been briefed on ENCOMM's plans for the next three months. All small-scale stuff."
"Which begs the question, how-"
"Are they ever going to win this fucking war?" Sedova said with a scowl. "That's the only question that matters to me."
Michael tried not to wince; every time the question was asked-and it was asked a lot-it reminded him that he and he alone was responsible for Sedova's predicament. "That is the question," he said, "and I wish I knew the answer."
"What the hell," Sedova said with a smile. "Did I tell you I'm going to get hitched?"
"You're kidding. No, you didn't."
"Yeah. Next month, hopefully, though the way ENCOMM pushes its units around, it may be the month after."
"Ah, that'd be Trooper Zhu?"
"That's the man. He's with one of the combat engineering regiments."
"Don't know him," Michael said. "But I'm glad, Kat. Very glad." He meant it; if people like Sedova were prepared to make that sort of commitment, then maybe life might not be so bad, after all; maybe he should not feel so guilty. "I hope he makes you happy."
"Thanks." Sedova smacked her coffee mug down with an emphatic bang. "Coffee's the one good thing-no, it's the only good thing to come out of a Hammer canteen," she said, pushing back in her battered chair.
"So what brings you here, Kat?"
"Handing Acharya's effects over to FLTDETCOMM. Not that there was much to hand over," she added, mouth turning down into a tight-lipped, bitter scowl. "Poor bastard never had a chance."
"He did well, though."
"He did," Sedova said. "Hell Bent was worth fighting for, and I'm glad they saved her. Pity the NRA didn't turn up five minutes sooner. Dev would still be alive. Not that I blame them. They had a lot going on."
"They did. How's the salvage work on Alley Kat going?"
"The engineers will have removed the last of the rockfall today. We'll start stripping her down as soon us they give us the okay. I'll be sorry to see her turned into a useless hulk, though. She was a good ship."
"She was," Michael said. "Always thought heavy landers were indestructible, though I'm damn sure they were never designed to survive thousands of tons of rock crashing down. You keeping the salvage work tight?"
"Yes. Only our people will get to see the pinchspace generators. We'll break them down and split up the parts. If the Hammers ever find the bits-"
"Don't go there," Michael said. "I like to think we might be forgiven one day, but we won't if we ever let the Hammers get their hands on a Block 6's pinchspace generator."
"No," Sedova said, sipping her coffee. "What are you up to? Going to join the NRA?"
"Hell, no," Michael said. "My last excursion was more than enough. It's beyond me why Anna's decided it's the life for her. I think she's nuts, but that's Anna. Just hope she comes through."
"She will. She's tough and smart. So what are you doing?"
"Project for Adrissa. Strategic options, you know the sort of thing."
"Well, no, I don't, and since you obviously aren't going to tell me, I'll stop asking."
"Sorry, Kat. Can't talk about it."
"That's okay," Sedova said with a cheerful smile. "I'll be taking over Hell Bent."
"How long before she's back operational?"
"A week, maybe. Can't wait. I have a few accounts to settle." The look of hungry anticipation on Sedova's face was hard to miss.
"We all do. Look, I'd better go. Captain Adrissa gets grumpy if I'm not working twenty hours a day. Catch you sometime."
"Yup."
Michael made his way back to FLTDETCOMM; Adrissa was waiting for him.
"We leave in ten minutes," she said. "General Vaas wants to see us."
"Long Shot, sir?"
Adrissa smiled a tight half smile. "Getting him to back this lunatic plan of yours? Yes, it's a long shot. I'll meet you at the maglev."
"Sir."
Setting off, Michael tried to keep his mind focused on the upcoming meeting with Vaas but soon gave up. His frame of mind had been bad enough before Anna's latest vidcomm had trashed their plans for a two-day break. Now it was worse, and not just because Vaas's insistence that the NRA go back on the offensive meant Anna's regiment would be in action any day now.
The thought of Anna back in combat was hard to bear; coming on top of the unremitting pressure he was under to whip Operation Long Shot-Adrissa's feeble attempt at gallows humor-into something that might work made it even harder to bear. Not that he was not making progress; he was. The problem was the cost of failure. Michael had taken some terrible risks in his time but never anything on the scale of Long Shot.
It had to work.
If it did not, he would be dead, Anna's death was inevitable, another casualty of the NRA meat grinder, and when the Hammer's antimatter manufacturing plant started production, the Federated Worlds would follow. He had learned a lot about Hammers, and everything told him that this time they would not settle for anything less than absolute victory, even if they had to destroy a home planet or two to get it.
Arriving at the maglev station, he showed his pass and travel authority to the security detail. Waved through without a word, he found a seat on a makeshift bench bolted to the raw limestone walls and collapsed onto it to wait for Adrissa, happy to get the weight off his left leg.
Putting his head back, he tried to put Anna out of his mind while he waited for Adrissa to turn up.
"The general will see you now, Captain. Follow me, please."
"Thank you, Major Hok," Adrissa said.
Michael followed Hok and Adrissa into one of ENCOMM's small conference rooms; Vaas and his chief of staff were waiting. Vaas had changed, aging a good ten years since Michael had last seen him. Vaas waved the two Feds to take a seat, gazing at them from bloodshot eyes set deep in sockets puffy from lack of sleep.
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"Captain, Lieutenant, welcome," Vaas said. "Good to see you both."
"Likewise. General Cortez."
Vaas's chief of staff, never one for small talk, acknowledged Adrissa with a nod of his bullnecked head.
After the obligatory coffee had arrived, Adrissa opened proceedings. "You've read my briefing note, sir?"
"I have. Remarkable is how I'd describe it. Something tells me your man had a lot to do with it." Vaas waved a hand at Michael. "By the way, Lieutenant," he said, "you and Mrs. Helfort did well. Colonel Mokhine was most complimentary. Quite a team."
Michael squirmed in embarrassment. "Uh, Anna more than me, sir. She's good at that sort of thing. I just did what I was told."
Vaas laughed. "Yes, well. Thanks, anyway. Give my regards to your wife. She deserves her promotion."
"I'll pass that on. Thank you, sir."
Vaas took a sip of coffee before continuing. "Now, Captain Adrissa, I've had a couple of my people look at your analysis. Put simply, they do not share your view that the NRA cannot win this war."
"Typical Fed arrogance is the consensus view," Cortez growled.
"Sir!" Adrissa protested, red anger spots coloring her cheeks. "I don't th-"
"Hold on, hold on," Vaas said. "That's what they think. Now, General Cortez, tell the captain what we think."
"We agree," Cortez said.
Adrissa's mouth sagged open. "You agree?"
"That's what I just said, Captain. After all we've been through, after all we've achieved, it hurts to say so, but facts are facts. As the last week has proved, we can hold Branxton Base until hell freezes over. What we can't do is cross the floodplain of the Oxus River and still have enough assets left to take McNair. We can't build fliers, so we can't win air superiority. We can't manufacture rocket motors and missile warheads, so we can't deploy an air-defense shield. Those are the facts. Ergo, we cannot take McNair. That is the inescapable conclusion."
"Thank you, General," Vaas said, nodding his agreement. "As you say, the facts are the facts. The important thing is what we do about them. Allowing Chief Councillor Polk to stalemate us while he pursues his insane war against the Feds is not an option, and don't think he'll stop when he has dealt with the Federated Worlds."
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