Hell Fighters From Earth Book 2

by William C. Seigler

  By the time he dismounted from the monorail, he had his first answer. There was nothing to gain and everything to lose. The realization stunned him.

  His mind would not allow him to make the next logical deductive leap. He knew who stood to gain with Pinky out of the way. He cleared his mind. He chose not to think about it.

  * * * *

  After his old friend had left, Wolfgang Schiller poured himself just one more drink. Let people speculate; they have nothing to go on.

  Some people in Parliament were already talking about holding a special election to replace Pinky Boynton. Schiller had been especially careful not to entertain such talk, at least not in public. Besides, he already had someone who promised to bring up his name at the appropriate time.

  Pinky was an idiot. Now the idiocy had been removed. It was time for a strong PM, a man who could discipline society and win this war.

  He had better keep an eye on his old friend though. Detrick was a good friend and a fine officer, but a bit too much of a straight shooter. It was a good thing he had stayed out of politics. People like that do not make it.

  Chapter 19 - All War is Deception

  Admiral La Force and newly appointed navy Commander Blackstone, along with Lieutenant Commander Appleton were busy looking over known planets that match the atmosphere and gravity of the unknown world where the Legion had been left to die. While there were quite a few planets to choose from, there were certain known values.

  “You say the planet’s star appeared much like Sol?” asked La Force.

  “Looked it to me,” answered Blackstone.

  “Me too,” added Appleton.

  “Gravity about 0.8 of Earth’s 1g with an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide, not quite enough oxygen,” thought La Force aloud. “Let’s see what the database can come up with.”

  Blackstone finished typing in what information they had. It was not much, but there were only so many star systems that met these requirements in their little arm of the galaxy.

  La Force had given his new officers space in a mostly unused building off behind some warehouses and if anyone asked, they were working on some esoteric problem no one ever heard of, nor cared about. The Admiral was keeping them out of sight as much as possible. Their orders were to talk to no one about what they were doing, nor where they worked, nor for whom they worked.

  Unexpectedly the door opened behind them. They turned to see Lieutenant Commander Fitzpatrick enter. His expression looked like he had just walked in on something he was not supposed to see, and he knew it.

  “Have any trouble finding us, Commander?” asked La Force, mockingly.

  “Yes sir, as a matter of fact, I did.”

  “Good, that’s the way I want it.” La Force looked over at the others. “From now on, keep that door locked. I don’t want somebody just stumbling in here. I’ll get you a safe. Everything is to be locked away when you leave, understood?”

  “Yes sir,” answered Blackstone and Appleton.

  “Now for introductions,” began La Force. “Gentlemen, this is Lieutenant Commander Fitzpatrick. Commander, this is Commander Blackstone and Lieutenant Commander Appleton, both until recently of Star Legion.”

  Once the formalities were out of the way, he brought Fitz up to speed on what he had his officers doing. “Gentlemen, as soon as we get relief to the Legion, I will need to have you assist Commander Fitzpatrick in solving the assassination. Commander, you have something for me?”

  “Yes sir, I do.”

  “We can talk as we walk. I’ll come back when I get a signal from the two of you.” With that, he led Fitz outside.

  When they were away from the building, La Force began, “Commander, I see no reason to tell the others about our operatives.”

  “Yes sir, I agree, and I have some news on that front. I have managed to talk Juliette into writing her father and asking for forgiveness. She also promised to return to the Moon.”

  “I imagine that wasn’t easy.”

  “No sir, but only half as hard as getting Mei Ling to return as well.”

  “I’m sure that’s difficult for both of you, and I may need to move you to the Moon as well. That way they can communicate clandestinely with you and you forward what you have to me. No wait, don’t forward it; hand deliver any news you have. I can’t overemphasize how delicate our situation is.”

  “Probably a good idea, sir.”

  “Did you get in touch with your Grey?”

  Fitz thought it odd that the Admiral would think Cee was “his Grey”.

  “I’ve tried sir, but so far, I’ve heard nothing. The setup for communicating with them is ponderous on a good day. It might take a while.”

  “We don’t have much time.” Then he added, “The Legion doesn’t have much time.”

  “I know sir, but that’s all I can do,” objected Fitz.

  “Have you tried direct contact with him?”

  “No sir, that’s against half a dozen regulations,” protested Fitz.

  The Admiral stopped and turned to him. “Forget the blasted regulations, Commander. We are talking about the lives of thousands of people who trusted us, many of them you recruited yourself. That includes Captain Smith,” he added.

  “Yes sir, I know. I am painfully aware of that fact.”

  “Go back and try again,” ordered La Force.

  “Yes sir, I’ll stay on it.”

  “Good, when can our operatives leave?”

  “That depends on how quickly Juliette’s father responds.”

  “Very well, make sure all of you are ready to go as soon as possible.”

  “Yes sir, I will.”

  * * * *

  That evening Fitz and Mei Ling sat close together his arm around her and her holding his free hand with both of hers, her head resting against his chest. They sat for a long time, neither speaking. She could feel the rising and falling of his chest with each breath.

  Finally, Mei Ling broke the silence. “How long before you join us?”

  “I don’t know exactly.”

  “Well, at least you may be coming as well. That’s something.”

  “Yes, but it will not make my contacting the Grey any easier.”

  “That’s the key, isn’t it? Without that contact, there will be no relief mission.”

  “I’m afraid you are correct,” Fitz replied. “I’m also worried about you.”

  “Don’t start again about the danger Juliette and I are in. We are all in danger. If we lose this war, there might not be a human race.”

  “They might just pass the down-earthers by.”

  She laughed. “Fat chance, but conquering them might just prove too costly.”

  “You may be correct. Just confining them to Earth might be easier and just as useful to the Reptilians. They are hideous monsters.”

  Mei Ling thought for a bit before she spoke. “I wonder if they think us hideous monsters.”

  Fitz’s eyelids shot up. He had never thought of that, seeing his people thought their enemy’s eyes. He initially rejected the idea. “They are huge and ugly. They kill with wild abandon.”

  Mei Ling pulled away enough to look up at him. “Our ancestors left the Earth for a number of reasons, and all the ‘killing with wild abandon’ was one of them.”

  He looked into those eyes he loved so much, then away at some distant horizon. His brow furrowed. “Have we been as blind and prejudiced toward the Reptilians as we are toward the down-earthers? Is that what you are suggesting?”

  “That possibility exists, doesn’t it?”

  Fitz could not resist leaning over and kissing her. She offered no resistance; in fact, she reveled in it.

  At that most inopportune moment, they heard Juliette at the door. They both stood and welcomed their friend and confederate.

  “Hi, you g
uys, hope I’m interrupting something,” she sang out.

  “Not at all,” said Fitz as he reached to kiss her on the cheek. Mei Ling put one arm around her and kissed her other cheek.

  “Well kids, I’ve got some news.”

  “Good news, I hope,” responded Mei Ling pulling away.

  “Yes, it is. I just received a message from my father. All is forgiven. He even sent me a ticket home and has already spoken to a friend concerning a position working in Parliament.”

  “That’s wonderful,” responded Mei Ling.

  “Yes, I suppose it is, but I shall have to get used to my new life as an actress,” she said and struck a theatrical pose.

  “We both shall,” said Mei Ling.

  “Then you’re going?” asked Juliette.

  “Yes, I must. There really is no choice.”

  Fitz was surprised; yesterday she had been vehemently against it.

  She looked over at Fitz and saw his expression. “I thought it over, last night. There is no other choice given our circumstances. We’re all in this thing up to our eyeballs. We have to see it through.”

  How could I not love such a woman, thought Fitz. She caught his expression and gave him the strangest, little smile.

  Mei Ling turned quickly to Juliette. “How long till the next transport?”

  “Two days.”

  “We’ve got a million things to do.”

  * * * *

  “Mei Ling, over here,” Juliette sang out as she saw her friend across the expanse of the New Moon Restaurant.

  Juliette had rather drink bile than do what she did. She contacted her father and asked forgiveness, like a good little, only child. A deception he gladly accepted. In her communication, she also offered him a compromise.

  She would come home, but she had to stand on her own two feet, she had told her father. She had asked him to get her a job in Parliament. While this is not what he would have wanted, it was far better than what he had. Besides, she might meet an up-and-coming future MP and marry him, thereby becoming her husband’s problem, not her father’s.

  Otherwise, she might stand for Parliament. That might not be so bad. She was strong willed, a chip off the old block, might make a good MP.

  She then was able to get Mei Ling on with another Parliamentarian’s staff. Both were secretly enjoying being modern day Moon Mata Hari’s.

  Mei Ling saw her and headed over to her table. As she neared, she called out, “Hi Juliette.”

  “So how was your first day at work?” Juliette asked.

  “Not too bad, lots of phone calls, and people, who thought themselves important, coming and going, that’s all. The hardest part is getting accustomed to the Moon’s 1/6th g again. It’s going to make going back to New Earth difficult,” she said all in one breath.

  “Take time to breathe, dearie,” laughed Juliette.

  Mei Ling dropped down into a chair, “But I have to confess, it’s good to be back, but I think I’m going to miss New Earth the first time I get a chance to slow down.”

  “Yes, it grows on you, doesn’t it,” agreed Juliette.

  Mei Ling inhaled deeply and glanced at the menu. “It’s the idea of going outside with naked arms and legs that took some getting used to, other than the gravity.”

  “Yes, and we’ve both bulked up,” Juliette added as she looked around the restaurant at the pale, bony patrons.

  “Yeah, some guy accused me of trying to break his hand today.”

  “Bet that was funny.”

  “Not to him,” laughed Mei Ling.

  “I suppose not,” agreed Juliette.

  The waiter came over and took her drink order promising to return presently for their dinner orders.

  Mei Ling put down the menu. “Anything interesting today?”

  “Well, I attended a big meeting as a backbencher today and was sent out a couple of times to fetch this or that. They are in a hubbub over the Legion. I thought they were going to come to blows a couple of times.”

  “So the Legion does have a few friends in high places?”

  “Yes,” assured Juliette, “but I don’t know if there are enough. They also have enemies, particularly among the Schiller-von Karlstad crowd.”

  “What did they say?” asked Mei Ling.

  “No matter what someone says, their answer seems to be that the Legion killed the Prime Minister and we need to replace him with a strong Prime Minister with real power in order to win this war. You know, it just hit me, it might be useful to catalog who in Parliament is on which side,” she said looking at Mei Ling conspiratorially.

  “Yes,” agreed Mei Ling. “Yes, that might prove useful to our commander.”

  “Our commander?” asked Juliette with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, I’m reluctant to use our real employer’s name.”

  “You are probably right.”

  The waiter returned with Mei Ling’s drink and waited for the dinner order. “I miss the octopus. That’s what I’ll have, with some of that hot sauce you’re famous for.”

  “Oh yes, our chef has his own special sauce. And you Miss?”

  “I think I’ll have the breaded flounder.”

  “I’ll have it right out,” he said as he hurried away.

  Juliette exhaled sharply, “Change of subject, when is Fitz getting in?”

  “Tomorrow, I’m going to meet him. It will be good to see him again,” she beamed. Then she saw the look on Juliette’s face.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be, I just can’t help but worry. You know, is he all right; how are they surviving?”

  “You got it bad, girl,” teased Mei Ling.

  “Yeah, I suppose I do, but the swarthy little bugger grows on you.”

  “Oh yes,” agreed Mei Ling. “I know perfectly well how that happens.” She paused and added, “Only yours is off in some unknown location, and possibly in danger.”

  They locked eyes, and for long moments, neither spoke.

  “Don’t worry,” assured Mei Ling. “With us on the case, the bad guys don’t have a chance.”

  Juliette forced a smile, and they clinked glasses.

  Chapter 20 - The Trap is Sprung

  Denver sat where he had collapsed, sitting on a box with his back against the cave wall, sound asleep. Argie looked down at him and could not help but notice how much he had changed, how much older he looked. He had aged in a matter of days.

  In a short time, he had taken command of the entire Legion and its former Auxiliary. He put an end to that auxiliary business. Now the unofficial name the troops had been given became a badge of honor, and the Legion of the Damned, would not go down without a fight.

  She hated to wake him, but wake him she did. “Hey boss, wake up,” she said, shaking him.

  He sat up straight and stiff, yawned and stretched. “I thought I told you not to call me that.”

  “That’s what everybody calls you, that or the ‘old man’, which I take umbrage to.”

  “Why?” he asked sleepily.

  “I’m the only one who can call you that.” She turned serious. “No time for small talk, radar has something.”

  His eyelids shot up, “What?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s probably not friendly.”

  He got clumsily to his feet. His feet felt hot and swollen in his boots as he clumped unsteadily forward. When he got to the radar control room, the place was in pandemonium.

  “What do you have?” he asked the senior controller.

  “Sir, there are targets dropping into normal space, but I don’t understand it. They seem to be coming in randomly, some are being dropped off a ways out, and some awfully close. Some are even close to each other, too close for safety.”

  Another legionnaire sang out, “I’ve got signals which the computer think
s indicates nuclear engines.”

  He looked over at Smith. “These are not like the navy’s ships.” His eyes were like saucers, and his face held a mixture of excitement and fear.

  “No, they’re not.” Smith switched on his helmet com and sounded the alert. Everyone was to move quickly to his assigned battle position.

  “All unit commanders report in when your people are in position. Nobody fire until I give the signal, acknowledge.”

  Acknowledgments began pouring in, slowly at first, but the pace quickened as the units dropped all noncombat tasks, grabbed their weapons, and went to stations.

  “If they loop around the planet, it’ll be thirty to forty-five minutes before they drop down on us,” observed Smith.

  Everyone had been briefed on what to do. Combat equipment was kept at the ready, all unnecessary power was chopped, and all lights were put out. No reason to give away their position.

  The minutes ticked by. The mess section had shut down, and all mess personnel had taken up their assigned positions, low on the side of the second ridge where they had a clear view of the valley south of the first ridge.

  The tracks were dug in and camouflaged at the military crest of the hill where they could command the plain leading back to the abandoned tents. Only now did it dawn on Smith that the fortifications they set up might actually give their position away if any of the enemies were half-competent. Too late to worry about that.

  “Sir, they’ve entered the atmosphere.”

  “What, already?” How could that have happened, and why? We should have at least another ten minutes.

  “Sir some of them … it’s hard to say sir, but I think some of them are beginning to break up.”

  “Break up?”

  “Yes sir, they’re coming in at different angles and must be enduring some incredible g’s. Some targets are becoming two or even three targets.”

  “What the devil are they doing?” asked Smith of no one in particular.

  “Can you plot a trajectory? Where are they headed?” he asked the NCO in charge.

  “Stand by sir; the computer will give us an answer momentarily.”