The Gates of Hell

by Chris Kennedy

  “Uh huh,” Shirazi said. “So, basically, you couldn’t afford anyone else, and you’re hoping we’ll give you a good deal because we’re new and don’t know any better?”

  “Well, actually, we heard most of your first contracts didn’t go so well, and no one’s going to want to hire you. You’ll have to drop your rates.”

  “Unfortunately, the anteater probably has a point,” Kazemi said in Farsi, which the alien’s translators probably wouldn’t understand.

  “That doesn’t mean we have to let them know that,” Shirazi replied, also in Farsi. He looked back to the first alien and said in English, which the translators understood, “Thanks, but we’re busy.” He looked back at Kazemi. “Let’s go.”

  He’d only taken two steps when the second alien said, “Open skies! Now you’ve offended them. We’ll never get them to take the contract now!”

  “Wait!” the first alien called. “I didn’t mean to offend you! Can we talk a moment?”

  Shirazi stopped and indicated a café nearby. “Buy us a drink, and we’ll talk for as long as the drink lasts.”

  * * *

  Kefjack’s Kafe, Karma Station, Karma Orbit

  “That’s why we need you,” the alien—a Caroon—said ten minutes later as Shirazi picked up his glass to take his final drink.

  He swirled the amber liquid in the glass, looking at it critically. He’d almost finished it, and he still had no idea what it was, or what it was made out of. It tasted good, though, and didn’t make him lose all his senses. His eyes came back up to meet the Caroon’s. “So let me get this straight. You have a uranium mine, and you think this group—”

  “The Besquith Alliance.”

  “—is going to swoop in and take it from you.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because the price of uranium has risen on the galactic exchange, and they want to control more of it.”

  Shirazi raised an eyebrow. “But the mine is yours?”

  “Absolutely,” the Caroon said. “My partner’s family has had the claim filed with the Cartography Guild for many years. Now they’re trying to pressure us into letting them have it for a fraction of what it’s worth.”

  “And you think they might come and try to take it if you don’t sell?”

  “Exactly. We’ve seen them do this in the past. When they didn’t get what they wanted through negotiation, they sent in mercenaries to take it.”

  “I don’t know,” Kazemi said in Farsi. “Have you seen those Besquith creatures? If they wanted something of mine, I’d be awfully tempted to just let them have it.”

  Shirazi nodded. “I think we’ll pass,” he said to the Caroon.

  “But it will be really easy!” the Caroon exclaimed. “That’s the thing—the Alliance is a new company that’s still trying to carve its niche in the business world. They don’t have the funds to pay mercenaries to attack something that’s being defended by other mercenaries; instead, they just go looking for easier targets. Also, they’re still small enough that they’re worried about being reported to the Merchant Guild. Just by being there, you’ll ensure they don’t come. This is the easiest garrison contract ever; I can guarantee you there’ll be no combat. Your presence alone will deter them.”

  “What do you think?” Shirazi asked Kazemi.

  “I think it’s too easy. My mom always warned me about Iraqis bearing gifts.”

  “Mine, too.” He paused, then added, “Still, if it’s true, this could help fund that powered armor project Cartwright is looking into.” He looked back at the lead Caroon. “Let me think about it. I’ll see you back here tomorrow at the same time, and I’ll have your answer.”

  * * *

  Kefjack’s Kafe, Karma Station, Karma Orbit

  “You returned,” the Caroon said the next night. “I was afraid you wouldn’t.”

  “And I was afraid you’d lied to me about the Besquith Alliance hitting fortified positions for economic gain. But we did some searches of the GalNet and can’t find where they hit an opposed mining operation. We’re in, but for twice what you offered us.”

  “What? We can’t afford that! Then there would be no profit in it!”

  “There’ll be more profit than if the Besquith capture your mine and take it for themselves.”

  “And you’ll have the good fortune of still being alive to enjoy it,” Kazemi added.

  A long series of negotiations followed, and in the end, Shirazi got the Caroons to come up 25%, with a combat bonus that would triple the contract’s value if combat actually occurred. If Shirazi was going to fight Besquith, he was damn well getting paid for it.

  * * *

  Deployment Site, Roget’s World, Kak’L’Kak System

  Shirazi led the company of troops off the dropship and watched as they quickly unloaded it. As soon as it was empty, the dropship lifted to go back up to the transport for the next load of equipment.

  Sergeant Major Kazemi walked over to him and made a sweeping motion that took in the local terrain. “Reminds me of Zahedan,” he said.

  Shirazi nodded. They’d done a lot of training in the high plateaus along the Pakistani and Afghan borders prior to first contact, and the arid, desert-like terrain was very similar. A holy site for Zoroastrians, Shirazi had spent a lot of his personal time there, as well. Low mountains ringed the plateau, too, just like back home.

  He pointed to one of the mountains, about a mile away, that had a large building near its base. “That’s where we’re headed once our transport comes down with the next load.”

  “Aside from the refinery, I don’t see any signs of civilization,” Kazemi said.

  “There aren’t any. The Caroons all live underground. We’ll be setting up our own civilization here. That or moving in with the Caroons underground.”

  “No thanks. They smell badly. I can’t imagine living underground with them for six months. I’d probably never get the stench out of all my stuff.”

  “It’s not something I want to do, either, but it’ll be pretty cold here in a few months.”

  Kazemi smiled. “It’ll have to be damn cold.”

  “It will be.”

  * * *

  Besquith Alliance Headquarters, Bestald

  “So they hired…Humans?” the CEO asked. “What exactly is a Human?”

  The CEO’s secretary tapped his slate. “I put together a briefing for you.” He tapped it one last time. “You have it.”

  The CEO picked up his slate and brought up the file. After a couple of minutes, he set it down again. “They’re unimpressive, to say the least. They look soft…and tasty.”

  The secretary nodded. “The lowest completion percentage for the first round of contracts ever. Among races still in the mercenary business, that is.”

  “Of course,” the CEO said. Mercenary races came and went. The Besquith had consumed a couple of races who hadn’t measured up. Literally. While they weren’t as good at planning as the Veetanho, there were few who wanted to meet the Besquith on the battlefield. Especially at close range.

  “I know we typically don’t hit defended mines,” the operations officer said, “but with Humans guarding it, is it really defended? We can roll through them as if they never existed, capture the mine, and erase all signs of their existence, like what happened to them on most of their contracts. The Humans don’t have a presence in the galaxy yet, and they’re still only probationary members, so no one will notice—or care—if one of their detachments on a far-flung planet is no longer heard from again.

  “Additionally, we have experience taking over Caroon mines, and we know they’re good workers. They adjust well to having us as overseers.” The operations officer smiled. “And they taste good, too, when examples have to be made. The bottom line is, the mine is producing well, it’s undefended for all intents and purposes, and the price for uranium just went up 5% on the galactic exchange, which will boost our profit margins even further.”


  The CEO considered for a few moments and then nodded. “Send two companies, wipe out the Humans, and capture the mine.”

  “Two companies? We could do it with a lot fewer troops. There’s only a company of Humans. That will unnecessarily lower our profits.”

  The CEO nodded. “There’s no kill like overkill. Paying death benefits—even a few—will lower profits even more. Send a company and bring this mine into the fold.”

  * * *

  Base Perimeter, Roget’s World, Kak’L’Kak System

  “Colonel Shirazi! Colonel Shirazi!” a trooper yelled as he ran up. His breath puffed in the cold air, and his voice was somewhat muffled by the falling snow.

  Shirazi and Kazemi stopped their inspection to wait for the runner, pulling their overcoats tighter around them. “Yes?” Shirazi asked after returning the trooper’s salute.

  “Sir! The transport just called. A ship has arrived in the emergence area.”

  Shirazi smiled. “Calm down. If the ship just emerged, it will take days to get here. We have time. Take a breath, start at the beginning, and give me the whole message like a professional soldier.”

  The soldier took a couple of deep breaths, squared his shoulders, and said, “Sir, I have a message from the transport. A ship just arrived in the emergence area and is heading toward the planet. The transport says it’s a Besquith merc cruiser.”

  Shirazi shook his head once as he looked over to Kazemi. “It appears our friends the Caroons were wrong about whether the Besquith would attack.”

  “How do you know this is an attack?”

  “There’s no reason they’d have come here, except to get the uranium. Having come this far, I doubt they’ll take ‘no’ for an answer.” He shrugged. “I guess we can go talk to them and find out for sure.”

  “Sure thing, Colonel,” Kazemi replied. “It’s better than standing around in the cold, too; that’s for sure.”

  The two men jogged back to the comm center with the runner in tow. “It’s almost worth getting invaded just to come in here and get warm,” Kazemi muttered as he shucked his overwear in the warmth of the building.

  “Almost,” Shirazi said. “Up until they get here, anyway.”

  The tech set him up with a circuit relayed through the transport. As the Besquith ship was still a long way out, there was a lag in the conversation.

  “The ship is the BMS Mauler, sir,” the tech said.

  “Mauler, this is Colonel Shirazi of Asbaran Solutions, the merc company guarding the mine. Please state your intentions.”

  “This is Colonel Cahl-An of the Besquith Alliance. Our intentions are simple. We’ll take your transport as our own, and we’ll use it to transport all the uranium that’s been mined back to Bestald. If you vacate the mine, we’ll consider not chasing after and eating most of you.”

  “Sorry, Cahl-An, but we’ve given our word to defend the mine, and that’s what we intend to do.”

  “Then you’ll die screaming before my troops.”

  “If you come down to the planet, someone will certainly die; however, I believe it’s far more likely to be you.”

  “We shall see.”

  The tech shook his head. “That’s it, sir. He cut the connection.”

  Kazemi sighed. “That could have gone better.”

  Shirazi shrugged. “It wasn’t any different than I expected, but I had to try.”

  “So, sir, what now?”

  “Now we’re going to fight the Besquith and become the first Human company to withstand a Besquith assault.”

  “I like the way that sounds,” Kazemi said. “One question, though. How exactly are we going to do that?”

  “Well, we’ve got the refinery and two days. I’m going to see what kind of shapes the refinery can make.”

  “Like walls and doors?”

  “No, like defensive positions we can take cover behind. Uranium is one of the densest elements found naturally; that’s why they use it for tank armor. It offers both resistance against shaped charges like HEAT rounds and shatters kinetic energy penetrators. Put enough of it between us and the Besquith, and they’re going to have a hard time shooting at us. Maybe they’ll get bored and go home.”

  “But uranium is radioactive. We’ll be irradiating ourselves while we’re covering behind it.”

  “Uranium-238 constitutes the majority of the uranium they mine, and it isn’t radioactive, so there’s probably less radioactivity than you would expect. Uranium is a toxic metal, but I’ll bet they can put some sort of sheathing on it to protect us. Failing that, we have the medical nanites that can clean the radiation from our bodies after the fight. And besides, we only have to worry about the radiation if we win.”

  “True,” Kazemi said with a nod.

  “I’ll go talk to the foreman and see what sort of molds they have,” Shirazi said. “Why don’t you start organizing everyone for the move into the mines?”

  “Ugh. I didn’t think about that. Maybe we can use some of our chemical warfare gear to protect us from the smell of the Caroons.”

  “Maybe,” Shirazi said with a smile. “I know one thing about their smell, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s less deadly than the Besquith are going to be to anyone who isn’t in the mines in a couple of days.”

  “Good point. I’ll go see about moving everyone inside.”

  “Thanks.”

  * * *

  Command Center, Roget’s World, Kak’L’Kak System

  “There they are, sir,” Sergeant Will McClain said, pointing to the monitor. “Right on time. Unfortunately they’re landing too far away.”

  Shirazi nodded. While there were flashes of the troops landing, it was impossible to see the dropships clearly through the blowing snow. They’d mined the best landing sites close to the mine, but the Besquith had landed further away. He shrugged internally. It would have been nice to get an early win by blowing up some of the dropships as they touched down. “How many, do you think?”

  “Hard to tell, sir,” the technician said. “I think there were at least four dropships, so maybe a company? Looks like the dropships are lifting off again, but there’s no way to know if they’re going back up to get more troops or just to get out of the way.”

  “Think they’ll rush us?” asked Corporal Paul Sparks, the tech’s assistant.

  “Hard to know what they’ll do, but I wouldn’t,” Shirazi said. “I’d get everybody down and organized. The weather sucks, which is going to complicate things for them.” For us, too. I’d love to hit them now, but trying to rush the monsters in the snow would make it a free-for-all that was greatly in the Besquiths’ favor.

  “What’s that?” Sparks asked.

  “Looks like a tent going up,” Kazemi said.

  “I agree,” Shirazi said. “Looks like they’re here to stay. Stand down to the normal rotation of forces. It doesn’t look like there’s going to be an assault today.”

  * * *

  Command Center, Roget’s World, Kak’L’Kak System

  “Looks like they’re coming,” McClain said two days later. The snowstorm had finally stopped, having left three feet of snow in its wake.

  “What do you make that?” Shirazi asked, nodding to the screens that showed the Besquith marching through the snow toward the mine. McClain panned the camera around.

  “Looks like about two companies,” Kazemi said.

  “That’s what I make it, too,” Shirazi agreed.

  “Want me to thin them out some?” McClain asked.

  “Go ahead. Don’t want them getting too brave too soon.”

  “The snow is going to deaden the blasts some,” he cautioned. “It may also make them less sensitive if there’s ice.”

  “I know,” Shirazi said. “Arm them.”

  McClain entered a command into the system, and the entire field detonated at once, filling the cameras with smoke and snow.

  McClain winced. “It may also be possible that the mines were too se
nsitive, and the weight of the snow could set them off.”

  After about 20 seconds, the picture had cleared enough to see that the majority of the Besquith were unharmed. Although some of the shapes in the snow didn’t get up, most did; the mines had gone off before the majority of the aliens had entered the field. The Besquith retreated back toward the tents.

  “Well, that’ll at least make them think about it next time,” Shirazi said.

  * * *

  Command Center, Roget’s World, Kak’L’Kak System

  “Do we have anything else to make them think about this time?” McClain asked three days later.

  Each day the Besquith had pushed forward, ever closer. Although the uranium walls had held, the constant impacts were wearing them away, and Shirazi knew it wouldn’t be long before they failed. Although they’d set up second- and third-level defensive positions in the mine, they were nowhere as strong as the ones at the entrance to the mine.

  He’d seen the Besquith rush forward several times before, and the Humans had been unprepared for their speed and ferocity. If they got into the mines, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to hold.

  “No,” Shirazi said. “We’re out of options.” The drone attack had worked well and killed several Besquith before they’d destroyed the fleet of drones. Hidden in the snow, the booby traps had killed several others. By their best count, though, there was still a company of the aliens left, and, based on their proximity to the mine, Shirazi figured they would rush the mine the next day. He would have if their positions were reversed.

  “What do you think?” Kazemi asked, coming to stand next to him.

  “I think the wall is going to be breached,” Shirazi said. “Probably tomorrow. We’re down to about a platoon. We’re outnumbered and outgunned. It’s inevitable. You know it; I know it. Hells, even the dogs probably know it. When they rush us, they’re probably going to get in.” He shrugged. “There’s only one thing left to do.”

  Kazemi looked up in surprise. “We’re surrendering? You think they’d actually honor a surrender?”