"It sounds like we need at least a regiment to land in a perimeter around him and close in." Admiral Nichols observed.
"Yes, that's my thinking, too. But, I was thinking of a Brigade in a five-kilometer radius. That way we can close in with enough coverage to keep him from slipping through our lines. But, we're short. Most of my Epsilon ground forces are back on Eta Pegasus."
"Let me provide the troops. You can still lead the operation. I have no illusions as to who should lead the mission." Nichols replied.
"Sounds good. We'll have Valhalla relay the combined sensor readings to all Company, Battalion, Regimental, and Brigade Commands so everyone can coordinate their movements."
"...seems like a lot of soldiers to catch one man." Savign injected.
"It is. But, I think it'll be necessary. The island's a hundred miles long and sixty wide. That's over fifteen thousand square kilometers. It'll be night down there soon. And, if I were him, I'd find a cave for each evening. We won't be able to locate him. Dawn will come in about twenty-two hours. I think we should start our search then. In the meantime, we can meet with your Brigadier and his subordinate Commanders, if that's okay with you, Steven."
"Absolutely. I'll send for them. I can have them here in an hour."
"That's great.' I said as Nichols began tapping on his pad. 'Let's have lunch together." I added when he'd finished. We rose, left the room, and I led them to our Pub.
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"This is General Mitchell." Steven introduced the Brigadier an hour later in the boardroom.
"And these people are Colonels Thad, Shomack, and Shant. And, then we have Lieutenant Colonels Davis, Aktutk, Simnon, Melbourne, Sclotty, Ki, Vingora, Slew, and Danog." General Mitchell said as we moved along the line shaking each Officer's hand.
"And, this is Fleet Admiral Kurt Brubacher C&C, the leader of Epsilon Command and OFSA Tactical Chief of Staff.' Admiral Nichols announced as he held an open hand in my direction. 'He is in command of this mission. You and your operations are temporarily attached to Epsilon and will take your orders from him until the job is done."
"It's my pleasure. I have always had the utmost respect for our Marine Armies. So, I'll tell you now that I'll lay out the general parameters of the mission. But, you will run your Commands without interference. Our goal is to remain coordinated, though. So, everything will run through Brigadier General Mitchell, when we're on the surface.
HD-44 11909b is a planet much larger than our respective home worlds. It has a surface gravity force nearly twice that of Earth. So, you will find it rough going. For sure, you'll need your assist armor. It will take the load off your legs as you march and will aid in lifting. It's warm down there, so you'll be uncomfortable in these suits. Make sure your people pack enough water, and you keep supplies running to them always.
Our mission is to capture Kil Kos. He was the leader of the Isesinis forces that invaded our territory. He arbitrarily destroyed an entire inhabited planet and butchered prisoners of war, so we consider him a war criminal. He escaped just as his trial was starting. Our job is to recapture him. If that becomes impossible, we are authorized to bring him back dead.
The planet has no indigenous humanoid life. It has plenty of vegetation, fresh water, fish, and game. Most of it is dominated by large predators. But, Kos chose this island because it lacks those hunters while still offering lots of wild food and plenty of fresh water.
The island is big. It's over fifteen thousand square kilometers. There are dense forests and plenty of caves to hide in.' I paused to switch on the video projector.
'This is our sensor imaging. Kos and his two bodyguards are the red starbursts in the field. You can see how quickly they're moving. These images are recorded in high resolution. So, you can zoom in and enhance to get topographical information. And, they're in real time. So, you see things change as they do.
The plan is to land on the island in a ten-kilometer circle surrounding their position at that time. Then, we'll close in as quickly as possible and as synchronized as we can. The object is to always maintain the circle and never let any portion of its perimeter open to permit an exit. As we get closer to the target, our lines will become denser restricting his escape even more. We'll position our landing relative to his location at the time. He will not be the center of the circle. It will be based on the direction he's moving away from. We hit the surface with our force anchored opposite the direction he's traveling. In other words, he'll be closest to the troops, he's heading away from and farthest from those he's approaching. That way, by the time we reach him, we should all be together. You'll be able to advance rapidly, at first. But, as you close in, you'll have to slow to ensure he can't slip through your line.
A day on the planet is forty-six hours. So, we'll have twenty-four hours of daylight when we arrive at dawn. I suggest we travel for six hours, rest for two and repeat the process until nightfall. Then, we stop and sleep. But, night's twenty-two hours. So sleep in shifts of four hours, so each man gets at least eight hours over the entire evening. We should reach Kos about midway through the second day.
General, what about your logistical capabilities?" I asked.
"I have two heavy-shuttles at my disposal with crews of ten to fly, load, and deliver. And, they're supported by nearly three hundred aboard our base ship. We can also use transport shuttles to do supply duty while we're on the ground. We'll have fifty-two with us. It'll take three trips to land all our forces. So, I think we should start six hours before the target area's dawn. We'll set up our main headquarters at the portion of the perimeter most distant to our quarry. We'll keep all parked vessels there. Regimental Commands have adequate storage and handling capabilities. So we'll send continuous supply missions to those three operational centers, and they'll distribute locally." The General explained.
"That sounds good. Make sure you have night-vision capabilities. Each Company will need perimeter guards at night, and we may end up traveling during some darkness. I'll be at your headquarters with Admirals Nichols and Savign if they want to come along. We'll bring our Marine Guard Squads down. So, you won't need to concern yourself with additional security. They'll take their lead from your Protective Services people."
"That sounds good, Admiral."
"Send me your detailed mission plans as quickly as possible. Copy Admiral Nichols, too. But, you'll receive final authorizations from me." I said as I rose from my seat at the head of the boardroom table. The ten Officers stood, saluted, and exited the room."
"That went well," Nichols observed when they were gone.
"Your man Mitchell seems good," I commented as we walked towards the docking bay.
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Saturday, August 17, 2272, I landed in the first wave of shuttles that went to the island. People scurried about as General Mitchell fired off orders to get his Headquarters up and running. Within four hours, we were housed and working out of a mobile all-terrain vehicle with all communications in place and a pot of hot coffee at the ready. It was fully capable of traversing most landscapes and could unblock its own path through even densely forested areas. For those regions with tall hills or squat mountains, it could leap them by employing its limited flight capabilities.
Meanwhile, the three Regimental Commanders were conducting the same exercise as their Battalion Commanders were doing likewise. All the while, Companies were being positioned along the circular line. The fifty-two shuttles repeated the entire process two more times. By sunup, we were set to begin operations as supply vessels continued to drop necessities we'd use during the mission. Mitchell had kept to his approved plan.
The HQ was abuzz with activity. There were constant reports from each of the thirty-seven field Companies, the logistic's Battalion, Intelligence, security, and the Company of Engineers that was continually moved to needed locations. In
addition to that and our real-time sensor data, we received hourly weather reports from the Valhalla. In response, Mitchell sent out a constant stream of orders to his Regimental Commanders who would modify and forward them down the chain of command. Each and every Company position was continuously "tweaked" to keep the formation in line and on target.
Though we were traveling in vehicles unlike our footsoldiers, we felt the drain of our additional weight. Every move took extra effort in the heightened gravity field. And, through the early part of the day, we made steady progress as we accompanied the ground troops. Six hours into our journey, we stopped for the first two-hour break. Sitting in the HQ for the trip, I was tired. So, I could only imagine the condition of our people. They were probably exhausted.
The routine continued as planned through the remaining daylight. Then, we broke for sleep and reassessment during the long night.
The next day saw the resumption of the hunt. I watched the screen as the circle began to center itself around the highlighted targets. Ten hours into that daytime period, we were all within two kilometers of our quarry. It was time to stop and plan our assault.
After analysis and consideration, we realized our part of the perimeter was about a half kilometer closer to Kos that the other side was. And, Kil Kos was steadily moving toward us. So we decided to order the forces along three hundred degrees of the circle to advance, while troops in our area held steady. Hopefully, Kos would just walk into our waiting trap.
Mitchell, Nichols, and I donned assist-armor and headed out into the field to join nearby Marines. We watched both sensor imagery and through field glasses.
I was astonished at the vista the scenery of our outside panoramic view provided. The magnificence of the muted malachite colored vegetation and chestnut tree bark contrasted by fluorescent-yellow, electric-purple, and neon-green flora drew an audible gasp from me.
"What's wrong?" Mitchell asked.
"Nothing. The scenery is astonishing."
"I agree," Nichols mumbled almost imperceptibly.
I could feel my anxiety building. But, I wasn't sure if Kos spotted us or just had a gut feeling because just as he came into view about half a kilometer ahead, he stopped and silently signaled his guards who drew weapons and crouched noiselessly in the underbrush. I was aware of the magnification he could gain with the visor of his faceplate, so I indicated that all should stay low. Meanwhile, I was receiving General Mitchell's feed in my headset and knew our troops on the other side of the ring were closing in quickly. He advised them we had the Kil in sight and cautioned them to slow down and allow Kos to come to us.
After a few minutes, the enemy General seemed satisfied and motioned his people to move on. They holstered their weapons. It seemed like forever as they took a circuitous route around dense stands of trees and brush. Finally, General Mitchell felt confident enough to order his men to stand.
"Kil Kos, you are completely surrounded by over five thousand heavily armed Marines. Drop your weapons and stand down!" He ordered.
Though I didn't want to see any of our forces injured, Kos did what I expected and wanted. He paused as if considering the situation, then, drew his gun as he raised his ceremonial dagger. Three soldiers hit him in non-vital areas spewing blood through new openings in his shell and beating him to the ground. The two guards dropped their weapons and raised their hands just as the rearguard action came upon them. Though Mitchell had referred to the number of troops on the ground, they were stunned at the force sent to apprehend them.
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Monday, August 19, 2272, saw Mitchell, Nichols, Colonels Thad, Shomack, Shant, and I in the Valhalla's JAG Circuit Court as new charges were laid against all but the man I'd slapped around in the interrogation room. It seemed likely a competent defense attorney would get him off because of the abuse, so the prosecutor felt we shouldn't press it. Kos sat in a wheelchair at the defense table. We were all asked to give testimony on his escape and recapture, and I presented a summary video record of it all as part of my statement. The Kil's lawyer objected on the grounds it was condensed and failed to show all the detail. The local prosecutor countered by advising we'd be happy to run it all, but there would be nearly three days of video evidence to present. Then, he introduced a sworn affidavit from the video editor attesting to the fact that he attempted to capture the gist of all the events in the two-hour presentation. The judge ruled that though the entire video may be needed for a trial, the abstract was satisfactory for the pre-trial hearing. Then, he ordered Kos held in isolation in a facility the Judge Advocate General's Office deemed secure enough for a criminal of his notoriety and capacity. In the meantime, I was tasked with ensuring his safe imprisonment aboard the FSS Bryant until we returned him to Earth. Shackled hand-to-foot, the fallen General was handed to my personal guard and me. I took him to my office.
"Have a seat, Kil.' I offered but continued regardless of his choice of action. I knew he might find it impossible to move from the wheelchair to a more comfortable perch. 'I want you to know, I have a certain amount of hostility towards you. In fact, I'd have been happy if we'd have killed you back on that planet. But, I also know you're most likely going to spend the rest of your life imprisoned in isolation. Death would be a relief, but my people do not like executing prisoners - even if they're the kind of scum who'd destroy millions of non-combatants without compassion. So, I wish to show just a little mercy. I will keep you under heavy guard in quarters designed for people of my rank. With certain restrictions, you may use all its facilities. We will need three days to reach Earth, so I suggest you enjoy the interval and the time you spend incarcerated during your trials. Those jails will not be too harsh either because in our system you are innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial and must be treated accordingly until that happens."
"I thank you for the courtesy. But, I believe your fair trial is just a farce. And, I don't think for one minute I won't be executed." He spat with contempt in his voice.
"You shouldn't be so sure. Your Emperor already faced a court. The evidence indicated he did not order or approve the actions you executed, aside from the war itself. So, he was found innocent and is back on your home world, right now. He is in charge again.
"I don't believe it!" Kos shot back, though his face gave away his surprise and uncertainty.
"You will be able to speak with some of your people who were there. Ask them. In the meantime, enjoy your stay aboard the Valhalla.
"I sense your disdain is more than just what you call war crimes." The statement was more of a question.
"You're responsible for the death of my best friend during your attempt to resist your first capture. I would personally like to kill you where you stand. But, that is not our way."
"Was he a Kil?" Kos queried.
"Yes. But, in our service, he held the rank of Fleet Admiral and was one of Ten people who control our Force of nearly four thousand vessels. I was and am one too. We were equals. I have assumed his Command since his death. He was my friend and teacher for twenty years. And, for much of that time, I worked for him."
"I'm sorry for that, then. Because good military leaders are hard to find. Especially if, they're proficient at coaching. The fact you are now a General proves he was a great one."
"You are so arrogant. And, you think in only military terms. The man was my friend!"
"I cannot understand that. I am not made that way. I have loyalties to some people. But, I do not have friends. I don't feel anything when those close to me die. It's their duty, after all."
"We'd call you a sociopath in our world. A person that hasn't the capacity to feel what is normal in his society and can kill without remorse. Sociopaths do not have empathy for anyone else and must satisfy their own needs first."
"That doesn't make sense. You are an Admiral and are responsible for thousands or even millions of deaths."
"That's true. But, it doesn't mean I am not bot
hered by it. It just means I do what I have to - to defend our way of life. I don't commit atrocities or senseless murders. I kill to protect my people and don't enjoy it like you do."
"I'm sorry. But, I can't understand that perspective."
"I know,' I said and repeated. "I know." as I waved a hand to the guards to remove the man from my office.
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On Tuesday, December 3, 2272, Kil Kos was found guilty of genocide, the murder of prisoners of war, and escape from lawful custody involving loss of life, as I expected. But, to my surprise, the Judge sentenced him to death by lethal injection. The execution was set for Tuesday, July 1, 2273. Though the presiding Justice said the date was to give adequate time to hear the mandatory appeals, I couldn't help but wonder if she'd intentionally planned it for the Orion Federation Founding Day celebrations. It seemed a little morbid, but Orions all over the Federation sought revenge and wished to celebrate it.
Marie discovered my mistreatment of the enemy soldier but didn't offer the reproach I'd expected. Instead, she thanked me for doing what was needed to bring George's killer to justice.
"I know that kind of behavior is usually repugnant to you. So, if you begin to feel you can't live with the guilt, come and talk with me. I'll try to help you through it. You did what was right." She offered.
"Thank you, Marie. I know you're probably correct. But, for the moment, it's not bothering me. I'm sleeping soundly each night. But, I will seek you out if a problem develops."
On Tuesday, January 7, 2273, I was again in orbit around Eta Pegusus aboard the Valhalla. This time, I was there to wind down all operations and resume negotiations with the Kire. It took nearly ten days to get all aboard their home vessels and send them on their way. Tom Stevens remained with one Tier 2 operation to ensure my safety. And two Fleets of subs and a dozen covert Frigates stayed hidden - just in case.
Righteous Reign The Series: E-version Boxed Set Edition Page 152