Steel Walls and Dirt Drops

by Black, Alan

  Misha nodded. It was obvious to Vark that the Third dreaded asking about her own squad. Misha managed to squeeze out a strained question, "Able Squad?"

  Takki-Homi shook his head, "We just don't know at this point. We haven't been in contact with all of them. We know Peace DeLaPax took your five rookies under her wing. She’s a good trooper and we can count on her to do the right thing. Hell, all the DeLaPaxes are like that. There are more of them in the APES than Ottiamigs and we all know there is a ton and a half of those. Still, we don't have a clue about Singletary, Park, Juarez or Slezak. Those four plus a smattering of others seemed to disappear. They haven't answered any comms. Not that Vark or I tried too hard. We’ve been keeping a low profile, but we’ve heard DeLaPax tried repeatedly to reach them over open comms. But, they didn't answer her or Second Moraft's calls when she tried to comm them."

  "I imagine those four are following their own agenda," Misha said. "What about the other squads?"

  "Well," Takki-Homi said. "Both Golf and India took a page out of the spacer's playbook and locked themselves in their squad bays. They say they aren't coming out until they have a clear legitimate chain of command to follow. Truthfully, they’re both new seconds and I don't blame them one bit. I was tempted myself to hunker down until the air cleared. But…" He let the conjunction hang.

  Misha nodded. She could understand how a second would not want to take sides in a jumbled mess like this. However, the APES manual and the resident AMSF contract stated clearly the APES must support Britaine. Inaction was obviously not support. She was sure any review or court-martial would view the situation in the same way.

  "Who do we have, Taks?" she asked.

  "As I said: DeLaPax and your five rookies, Vark and six of her squad, plus we have Charlie intact. Not good odds, but I think the majority of APES following Moraft and Jackson are doing so just because they are following their seconds and they haven't thought the situation through. I can't believe that their hearts are into mutiny."

  Misha frowned. "We must believe they’ve whole heartedly given over to mutiny. Otherwise, if the time comes we might pull our punches. We can't take any chances. Everyone understands? Good. Where are our loyal APES?"

  Takki-Homi shrugged. "We have more bad news, sir. Race Jackson and Theda Moraft locked them down in the training bay. The five of us, well six counting our marshal friend, are all we have to start with. Then again, forest fires often start with small kindling."

  Misha smiled, “Ok people. Who’s got a match?”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Aardmricksdottir looked back down the corridor they had just walked. Forrester was standing next to her, their backs to the bulkhead. He smiled at her. Gaineretti was down the length of the corridor at the closest hallway junction. He hooked a thumbs-up in her direction. She would have rather had Gaineretti taking point on this operation, but she understood McPherson's point about where they needed his history of close quarters' fighting. Someone had to cover her back.

  She stretched out on the deck. Keeping her face as close to the deck plates as she could, Vark scrunched forward until she could see around the corner. Two APES from Kranitchovich's Hotel Squad flanked the side hatchway to the training base. She recognized Trooper Three Bailey, but didn't know the name of the other trooper. Vark slithered back around the corner. She was sure the two guards hadn't seen her.

  She wouldn't have much to do besides detain the two APES if things worked out right. If not, well, this time she was ready to break some heads. Vark gritted her teeth. She would just as soon start with Bailey as anyone else if she had to start a fight. The man always seemed to be watching her wherever she went. No, she corrected herself, not just watching, but full on leering and even a little ogling. Still, he never did or said anything that constituted harassment.

  She steeled her resolve. It didn't matter. She wasn't going to take it personally. Bailey was standing guard as a mutineer. He was stopping good honest APES from doing their duty. She wished she had their sub-vocal communications headsets, but the locked weapons lockers held all of that equipment. Third McPherson didn't deem getting them worth the effort at this point.

  Vark tapped her comm unit "dot-dot-dot-dash." Then she tapped, "dot-dot-dash-dash-dash". She had used the old earth style Morse code for "V" and then for the number "2"; V for Vark and two for the number of guards at the side hatch.

  She wondered who Morse was and why he needed a special code. She didn't know why anyone would come up with a code so irrational and without any discernible pattern. The system of dots and dashes required memorization or as was her case, reading off the list on her glass-pack data files. None-the-less, it was what Third McPherson told her to use. It kept the signals to a minimum and kept voice commands off the net. That way, any intercepted signals required analysis before anyone could react. Hopefully, any reaction would be too late.

  "Mill-Hooman," Vark suddenly thought. "Yes, that's the name. The two troopers standing guard are Bailey and Mill-Hooman." She remembered now, Cantha Mill-Hooman was a transfer from some other outfit. The woman didn't seem to fit into Hotel Squad or any other group for that matter. She was not attractive in any physical sense with her squat compact body. She seemed to try to match her fleshy unattractiveness with a personality to match.

  Some other second obviously passed a problem trooper to Second Stanley Kranitchovich's Hotel Squad. Now that she thought of it, it looked like a lot of units had dumped their problems into the 1392nd. Third Can's could have stopped it, she was sure, but apparently he hadn't either noticed or cared. That must be what Third McPherson was talking about when she said that they would be taking care of their own problems.

  Vark brought her thoughts back to the situation at hand. Her small three-man team had to hold the side hatch position. They were to block any of the guards from leaving the side hatch and block any reinforcements coming to strengthen the guard. She wasn't sure how many reinforcements Gaineretti could hold off behind her, but she was more than ready to take on Bailey and Mill-Hooman, with or without Forrester to back her up.

  Vark felt, more than heard her comm unit bip "dot-dash space dot-dash-dot". That would be Amossitta Riffler's "AR" signal that she was in place. Riffler had wormed her way through an airflow conduit. She should be able to view inside the training room. She was the only one of their group with AMSF environmental experience. Plus she was the smallest, so she was the logical one to work through the maze of conduits.

  Riffler would not be able to enter through the hard-sealed air duct grates, but the Third needed to know what was going on inside the training bay before making an assault to free her people. Riffler wasn’t happy with the task and had expressed her desires to be at the sharp edge of the knife. As it was, once she made her forward observations she would have to crawl backwards to get out of the ductwork and miss all of the head busting activities.

  Riffler commed, "dot-dot-dot-dot (H for hostiles) dot-dot-dot-dot-dash (4) dot-dash (A) dot-dash-dot (R) dash-dash (M) dot-dot-dot (S) ARMS.

  Aardmricksdottir cursed herself for forgetting to use the ‘H for hostile’ code when she had commed. However, the news that the guards inside the training bay had weapons was not surprising. How else could anyone suppress even a small group of APES!

  Takki-Homi signaled, "Dash (T for Takki-Homi) dot-dot-dot-dot (H for hostiles) dot-dot-dot-dash-dash (3)."

  "Dammit," Aardmricksdottir thought. "I’d hate to have to use this stupid code for full sentences." Still, to someone outside their group, it might sound like static, unless they were listening specifically for the code. McPherson's rescue unit would need the element of surprise.

  "Dash-dash (M for McPherson) dash-dash-dot (G for go)."

  Vark let out a whoof of air and stood up. She saw Gaineretti scuttle backwards towards her position as he watched their six. Forrester stood up beside her. She nodded to him, grabbed his arm and thrust him around the corner.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Misha did not wait to see if
Takki-Homi was behind her. She just barreled around the corner, her legs churning as she rushed full tilt toward the main hatchway of the training bay. Misha wanted to roar a battle cry. It was the primal human urge to bellow her defiance in the face of the enemy or to shriek a victory cry as she pounced onto her prey. But, she held her tongue. Her jump-sneaks whisked quietly as she blasted full speed down the corridor.

  "Three and a half seconds to go twenty-five feet," she thought. She knew she didn't have much time. A lot could happen in three and a half seconds, but she had to get to the guards outside the hatchway before they could cry out or signal for help.

  The three guards were clustered near the closed hatchway. Two of them had their backs to her. The man facing her saw her racing toward them. He threw up his arms and pointed his palms at her in a signal to stop. His name came to Misha unbidden. She preferred her enemy to be nameless and unknown, but her time studying the unit roster was rushing back to her. It was YellowHorse from Hotel Squad. The two other guards began to turn toward her. She recognized Amma Ammok and Sven Tingler, both from Hotel Squad.

  Misha left her feet in a driving leap directly at YellowHorse. Her broad shoulders stuck glancing blows as she slammed between Ammok and Tingler. Ammok spun wildly away, struggling vainly to keep her balance. Tingler was heaved aside into the bulkhead.

  Misha arrowed into YellowHorse, using her head as the point of a spear, ramming into his chest. YellowHorse had turned slightly and braced himself almost by instinct just before she hit him. She felt the jar as her head made contact. The man was as tough as they come. He stiffened enough to stay on his feet. Still, she heard bones crunch. She grabbed the front of YellowHorse's uniform keeping the man close. Her feet dropped to the deck. Bracing her flexed knees she straightened quickly, mashing the back of her head into YellowHorse's face. She felt blood splatter across the back of her neck. She threw the man's body on top of Ammok just as the woman's body crashed to the deck.

  Spinning on her left leg, Misha turned to Tingler. The man was just rebounding off the bulkhead. She drove her right leg shin high into his crotch. Tingler dropped to his knees, but he struggled to get up. Misha grabbed a handful of hair and clanged the back of the man's head against the metal bulkhead of the corridor. He dropped unconscious to the deck.

  Misha turned to find Takki-Homi towering over Ammok. The woman was pinned beneath YellowHorse's unmoving body. Takki-Homi was standing on her right hand. He held up one finger of warning. Ammok froze with a grimace of pain.

  Takki-Homi bent down and ripped the woman's comm unit off her uniform's velcro tabs. He flipped it over and manually turned it off, disconnecting it from her glass-pack. He repeated the process with YellowHorse. Misha turned and pulled Tingler's comm unit free and shut it down.

  Misha tapped on her own comm unit. "Dash-dash" (M for McPherson) "dot-dot-dot" (S) "dot-dot-dash" (U) "dash-dot-dash-dot" (C) "dash-dot-dot-dash" (X). Success!

  She heard a respondent "dot-dot-dot-dash" (V). She knew that Vark didn't have to send any more message than that. If Vark hadn’t been successful in her own mission, she would not have been able to send any message at all.

  Misha sent "Dash-dash-dot" (G for go.) Without waiting for any answer, she spun the locks on the main hatch cover and pushed it open. As soon as she stepped into the training bay, she could see her loyal APES scattered about the deck in small clusters. All of them faced one or the other of the hatches with alert eyes. Three guards stood with their backs to Misha and one other guard stood by the side hatch. All four guards had needlers in their hands. The noise coming from her loyal APES was loud enough to drown out the noise of the hatch opening behind the guards.

  The nearest guard was Second Stanley Kranitchovich. Misha grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her. She latched onto his flailing gun hand, wrapping a hand around his wrist. With a quick turn, she locked his arm at the elbow. She grunted slightly and pulled. She felt his forearm give with a sickening snap. She twisted the needler from his hand as he fell screaming to the deck.

  The guard on her right turned to face her. It was Trooper One Suzuki. Misha kicked with the sole of her foot planted deeply into the Suzuki's chest. The woman was thrown backwards into a clot of APES who quickly subdued and disarmed the woman.

  Misha saw Takki-Homi drag Ammok with him from the corridor. He stood facing a Hotel Squad trooper using the Ammok as a shield. The Hotel trooper shifted his needler from his prisoners to Takki-Homi and back again. Misha twisted around Takki-Homi and put two needler shots in the trooper's chest. The man dropped to the deck with a surprised look on his face.

  The last guard was facing the side hatchway. A rush of APES was starting to close in on him, regardless of the needler in his hand. Misha couldn't tell if he was trying to escape from the rush of APES or if he was trying to keep the hatch closed on Vark's team.

  Misha shouted, "Down." APES dove for the deck all across the training bay. The guard didn't turn. He continued to claw at the hatch controls, his needler still in his hand. She put three shots in the center of the man's back. She turned to Takki-Homi before the guard dropped to the deck. "Taks, take this needler. Collect the other three. I want four good shooters outside the hatches. Not inside, like these idiots, but outside where they can do some good. Get someone to drag YellowHorse and Tingler in here. Who’s that down by the side hatch?"

  Takki-Homi said without looking at the fallen man, "Trooper Theress, sir."

  She nodded without taking her eyes off Takki-Homi and said, "Get that side hatch open. I want Vark's team in here. Get Theress over there with the others from Hotel, plus the two hostiles from the hallway. Do it now, Second."

  Out of the corner of her eye Misha saw a couple of troopers leap to open the side hatch without waiting for further orders. She saw Takki-Homi point at two of his Charlie Squad troopers. He didn't say anything to them, as it was obvious to anyone within the range of Misha's voice what she needed and wanted to be done. Takki-Homi hooked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the corridor.

  As the troopers trotted past, Takki-Homi tossed two needlers at them. He pointed at Trooper Ortiz. She was holding the needler she had wrestled out of Suzuki’s grasp. He waggled his finger at the side hatchway. Ortiz took off like a hungry panther after a wounded gazelle.

  Takki-Homi then pointed at Trooper Beaudry from Vark's Joker Squad and gestured towards Ortiz's back. Beaudry looked surprised, but he sprinted after Ortiz without a word. He scooped up the fourth needler from the deck next to Theress just as a cluster of APES undogged the side hatch.

  Hotel Squad's Bailey and Mill-Hooman fairly flew through the now open side hatch and sprawled out on the deck. They appeared completely unharmed except Mill-Hooman was sporting a bloody nose. Two pair of APES quickly sat on them. Vark and Forrester stepped into the training bay at a much more sedate pace.

  Misha glanced at the APES beginning to crowd around her. There weren't very many of them. She hoped it was enough to take back a whole spacecraft from mutineers.

  She nodded at DeLaPax. "Peace, drag this scum over into a corner. Put all of Hotel where we can watch them. Keep an eye on Marshal Forrester, please. Furthermore, we need to de-comm the lot of them." She held up and waggled the comm unit she took from Tingler. "But, I want all of their glass-packs set on full record mode, got me? For that matter, I want everyone to stay off voice comms without direct orders from me."

  Kranitchovich holding his shattered shoulder started to speak.

  Misha waved a hand in his direction, "Shut up, Second. I suggest you save it for your lawyer."

  DeLaPax had gathered up all five of the Able Squad rookies, plus Forrester and started moving Hotel Squad into a far corner. She grabbed Suzuki by the hair and dragged the woman to her feet.

  Misha called after DeLaPax, "Peace, I don't want them talking, not even among themselves. And we treat them with extreme civility. That goes for everyone in here. Hold them, but no further injuries if we can avoid it. Got it, Peace?"

/>   DeLaPax nodded. "Yes, sir, it won't be easy, but we can do that, right kids?"

  Ottiamig smiled at Misha and then back at DeLaPax, "Yes, Mother, I think we can behave ourselves." He looked pointedly at the knot of Hotel Squad troopers. "That is, if they can behave themselves."

  Misha looked at her Able Squad APES now guarding their ex-captors. "Trooper Cutler, you’re a med-tech. Grab what help you need and do what you can for the injured."

  She turned around to find Aardmricksdottir and Takki-Homi standing quietly next to her. "Seconds, that was good work, you two. Who are your medical technicians? Cutler is going to need some help with some of Hotel's people."

  Takki-Homi said, "That would be Riffler in Charlie. Sorry sir, but we haven't heard from her since she called in her forward observations."

  Misha frowned. "Find out about her. Keep comms to a minimum. Stay with the code if you can, but go to voice if you have to and get Gaineretti in here. We shouldn't need him watching our six with Ortiz and Beaudry armed and watching the secondary hatch. She watched his receding back, then turned to her other Second, "Vark, who is your med-tech?"

  "That is Greggoria Putinova, but it seems she is no longer under my command. I don't know where she is. Sorry."

  "Don't apologize for that, Second. It looks like you held more of your squad together than I did. Find someone out of this bunch to give Cutler a hand with the injured. No mistakes on this Vark. I want those people held without any mistreatment that could backfire on us at their courts-martial." Or mine for that matter, she thought to herself.

  Two troopers raised their hands. Without specific orders, they jogged over to give first aid to Hotel Squad's wounds. Misha spotted a young woman in the shrinking cluster of APES without assigned tasks. The woman was sporting a rapidly discoloring eye and bleeding from a cut across one cheek.

  Misha turned to Aardmricksdottir. "Okay, Deuce. Let's get a handle on these people. All of Charlie Squad: go hunt down Deuce Taks. Trooper Trammler, tell him that I want to strengthen our perimeter defenses. I've got Charlie Squad doing guard duty and medical, plus it looks like two of your squad went to help Cutler with medical, right?"