He looked from face to face. “If any of you believe that you can survive on this planet, you may leave now,” he added. “But if you understand the real situation, you will stay here with me and wait for them.”
The sound of more shuttles echoed through the air as Wolfbane’s reinforcements arrived. An eerie quiet had fallen over the city, despite the noise of the shuttles, as if the entire planet was holding its breath. Thomas suspected that most of the civilians were praying that Wolfbane would bring an end to the war, if only by providing a common enemy. Or simply by putting the leadership of both sides down. Thule might not have been hopeless, but the actions of both parties to the conflict had made it beyond redemption.
It was a sad end, he told himself, to an inglorious deployment. But they’d been played, right down the line. And maybe, in the end, they would learn from the experience. Maybe the next conflict would be left to burn itself out.
In the distance, he heard the sound of approaching troops. It wouldn't be long now.
***
Jasmine still felt numb as she watched the two armoured cars and a handful of trucks making their way towards the spaceport’s gates. Wolfbane’s soldiers didn't look that different from her own, she noted, although there were definite hints that they hadn't fought a major engagement before landing on Thule. It wasn't something she could put into words, just a sense that they were ... less aware of their surroundings than they should have been. But in the end, it didn't matter.
“Open the gates,” she ordered, quietly.
The armoured cars passed through the gate and came to a halt, while the trucks stopped outside and began to disgorge troops. They fanned out, holding their weapons with an easy professionalism that would have been impressive under other circumstances, but was downright worrying now. Not, she thought with a flicker of humour, that it was likely to matter. She probably wouldn't see Avalon again.
She’d been conditioned, in Boot Camp and then the Slaughterhouse, never to give up. She was psychologically incapable of it. No matter what they did to her, she would retain her grim determination to keep going, but she couldn't think of a way out. And yet there would be one, of that she was sure. Sooner or later, there would be an opportunity to escape.
A man, wearing a combat uniform without any rank badges, strode over to face her. Jasmine was mildly surprised to discover that she didn't recognise him, although she wasn't sure quite why she should have expected differently. They’d gone through the files of officers who might joined Governor Brown, but there had been literally billions of officers and men in the Empire’s military. At least it wasn't a known sadist, Jasmine considered, as the man came to a halt in front of her. There were officers she would never have surrendered to, no matter the situation. But would she have preferred an unknown sadist?
“Brigadier Yamane,” the newcomer said. “I am General Haverford.”
Jasmine nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“On behalf of Wolfbane, I accept your surrender,” the General continued. Behind him, his men kept spreading through the spaceport. “You have my word that you and your subordinates will be treated well.”
“Thank you,” Jasmine said, tightly.
She’d failed, she knew. If she’d realised the trap in time, she might have encouraged Colonel Stalker not to deploy the CEF. Or if she’d taken a firmer hand with the local government, she might have been able to talk them into making concessions that would have prevented the civil war from spiralling out of control. Or if she’d prevented the assault on the Zone. Or if ...
It wouldn't have mattered, she thought, dully. The war would have begun with or without our presence on Wolfbane.
She offered no resistance as the newcomers bound her hands behind her with a plastic tie, then searched her quickly and efficiently. One by one, her men were given the same treatment and then herded into a corner of the spaceport to wait, squatting on the ground. No one objected, at least not out loud. Jasmine was proud of their discipline; they held together, even when they were forced to surrender. But she knew it might be the end of the line for all of them.
It was nearly an hour before they were escorted onto a shuttle and launched into space. Jasmine wasn't too surprised. Thule was hardly a safe place for POWs, particularly POWs who might be lynched by the planet’s population. They’d probably be shipped to an isolated world and left there. Or, perhaps, dropped onto a penal world. Or would that be too rough a prison for POWs?
It doesn't matter, she told herself. We are not going to give up. We’re going to make it home.
***
“The cloudscoops have been destroyed,” the tactical officer said.
Mandy nodded. The cloudscoops were fragile and almost completely undefended. A handful of kinetic projectiles had obliterated them, once their crews had boarded shuttles to escape the incoming missiles. She’d invited them to join her fleet, but a third of the crews had refused her offer.
“Take us back towards the Phase Limit,” she ordered. They’d been picking up other shuttles, crammed with technicians who refused to work for Wolfbane, but there was no longer any time to delay. “And then set course for Avalon.”
She wondered, absently, if she would still be in command of the squadron after they got home. Her father had once pointed out that the Empire had a nasty tendency to blame the messenger for the message, which was at least partly why it had collapsed. Colonel Stalker wasn't like that, Mandy thought, but he wasn't the one making the decisions. God alone knew what the Council would say about the disaster. There was no way the Battle of Wolfbane could be spun as anything other than a defeat.
Wars generally don’t start well for the defender, she told herself, firmly. But we can counterattack – and we will. All we need is time to get back on our feet.
***
“They took out the cloudscoops,” Rani said.
“Yes, Admiral,” the communications officer said. He looked hesitant to say anything else, but kept on anyway. “And they picked up at least three dozen shuttles from the various asteroid facilities.”
Rani scowled at the display. The further they were from the Commonwealth ships, the longer it took to track their activities. It was simple enough to imagine her ships being forced to give chase, then outflanked as the Commonwealth ships raced around her fleet and then slip into bombardment range of the planet. They wouldn't have time to recover their people – half of them were already being shipped to the transports that would take them to the POW camps – but they could still inflict colossal damage. And there would be nothing she could do.
“Dispatch two cruisers to track their passage, but hold the rest of the fleet,” she ordered, bitterly. They might have captured the planet itself, yet losing the cloudscoops and technicians would hurt. “And then start deploying the automated weapons platforms.”
She couldn't keep the fleet at Thule indefinitely, she knew. Wolfbane did have an advantage in hull numbers, but the Commonwealth’s technology might well even the balance. They’d have to leave soon, within days, just to strike deeper into the Commonwealth before Governor Brown tried to order them to consolidate their gains. And yet ... she didn't dare leave the planet completely uncovered. After the assassination attempt, it was unlikely that a Commonwealth officer would hesitate to bombard their positions on the planet’s surface.
But it didn't matter, she told herself. Thule was hers. She'd won.
And, she added in the privacy of her own mind, it was only the beginning.
***
The safehouse was right on the edge of Asgard, the perfect position – once upon a time – for meetings between the urban and rural divisions of the movement. Now, Pete decided, it might well have turned into a trap. Wolfbane’s forces had landed on the outskirts of the city and sealed the roads, preventing the population from fleeing out into the countryside. He was trapped too, at least until darkness fell completely.
He glowered at the radio. There had been nothing, but Wolfbane broadcasts since their
troops had started to land, each one warning the civilian population to stay in their homes, no matter the situation. It wouldn't be long, Pete suspected, before Wolfbane started registering the civilian population, exercising a degree of control that even the previous government had been unable to mount. And then ... somehow, he had a feeling that his former captor had been right. Instead of calling the movement out to take the reins of power, Wolfbane seemed to be securing the city for themselves.
“It's almost dark,” Gudrun said, from where she was seated on the couch. She’d barely spoken a word since he’d saved her life, just stared at him. Pete couldn't help wondering if she thought he’d saved her purely to take advantage of her himself. Her voice was very soft when she spoke. “Are we going to make a run for it?”
“Yes,” Pete said, shortly.
It was easy to see her apprehension. She was a city girl, born and bred; she’d probably never seen the countryside, even when she’d been in school. It was just another reason to dislike the local government, Pete considered; they’d never given the children room to grow. But then, the population was really too large for the ideal balance between urban and rural environments. If it had been up to him, the children would all be brought up in the countryside, where they would learn to take care of themselves. But it was probably logistically impossible.
“Don’t worry,” he said, finding it in himself to reassure her. There was no point in letting her worry if he could make her feel better. “The countryside isn't full of dangerous animals who want to eat you.”
But the most dangerous animal walks on two legs, he thought. Law and order had broken down completely, save where Wolfbane held sway. Parts of the city, even the fairly civilised parts, had collapsed into anarchy. Shops would be looted, women would be raped, men would be killed ... all hell was breaking loose. Even where Wolfbane had a strong presence, he suspected, their troops would have real problems keeping order. Soldiers weren't police, after all. The units that had been trained to play peacekeeper had never been very good at serving as the tip of the spear.
He sighed. His wife and children were dead and his planet was occupied. And he had played a role in making that possible, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. In hindsight, it was clear that Wolfbane had done a lot more than just supply weapons. If the reports were true, they’d inserted commando teams who had shattered the chain of command, just as their fleet was entering the system. And they’d taken his planet.
Not for much longer, he told himself. Whatever it takes, we will evict these people from our world. We will be free.
Chapter Forty
Unsurprisingly, the entire operation rapidly dissolved into chaos. With the Imperial News Media looking over their shoulder, the operation’s commanders were forced to pretend to be in control, which resulted in colossal embarrassment when it was proven, time and time again, that they were nothing of the sort. In the end, the outcome was inevitable. The Empire abandoned Morningstar, unfortunately evacuating the social scientists along with their military personnel.
It was these failures that played a role in the slow collapse of the Empire. Pointless military operations, long-distance command and control, the baleful influence of the unenlightened upon the uncomprehending ... all problems that our Commonwealth must attempt to avoid. But can we avoid such problems as we expand further towards what were, once, the Core Worlds?
- Professor Leo Caesius. War in a time of ‘Peace:’ The Empire’s Forgotten Military History.
Ed Stalker gazed down at the report, half-wishing he could smash the terminal against the wall and forget what it had said. Disaster. Thule occupied, five other systems believed to be occupied ... and the CEF either prisoner or destroyed. Compared to some of the losses suffered during the Unification Wars, it was tiny, but it was the greatest disaster in the Commonwealth’s short history. And it was far from over.
In hindsight, it was clear the enemy’s timing hadn't worked out perfectly. At a guess, they'd intended to kill Gaby at the same time as launching their offensive, relying on her death to throw the Commonwealth’s political leadership into chaos. But it had worked out well enough, he saw; their invasion of Commonwealth space had begun, forcing the Commonwealth to go on the defensive. It would be very hard to recover their balance, let alone take the offensive themselves. But there was no alternative.
And the losses were grievous. Avalon was proud of the CEF, despite Councillor Travis ... hell, he’d concentrated his attacks on the leadership, rather than the CEF itself. But now the CEF was gone, along with its commanding officer. Four more Marines were dead or captured too, losses he could ill-afford. And Thule – and its priceless industrial nodes – had fallen behind enemy lines. The cloudscoops might have been destroyed, but Ed had few illusions. It would be months, at most, before they were replaced and Thule started churning out war material for Wolfbane. Absolute disaster was looming over the entire Commonwealth.
He stood, thinking hard. Gaby and the Council would have to be informed; hell, they would already have heard rumours. He’d put a block on the information as soon as he’d realised the sheer magnitude of the disaster, but something would have leaked out. It always did, he knew, no matter the security. The return of Mandy’s squadron and the absence of much of the CEF had made sure of that. A formal announcement would have to be made soon, no matter what else happened. Or the rumours would grow completely out of control.
“Get me a flight to the mainland,” he ordered, as he stepped out of his office. “And inform all senior officers that I wish to meet with them at Churchill Base, after I meet the Council.”
It was going to be brutal, he knew. The attack on Gaby showed just how ruthless Wolfbane was prepared to be ... and the attack had caused widespread anger across Avalon and the Commonwealth. Gaby was popular; she’d been the person who’d forged a lasting peace and started building the Commonwealth. No one, even her enemies, had taken the attack on her lightly. Her name would be used in cries for revenge that would echo over the entire world.
And there was no longer the guarantee of overwhelming force.
The Trade Federation will support us, he thought, as he followed Gwen over to the helicopter. Using a military aircraft as a personal taxi wasn't his preferred choice at all, but there was little alternative for a hasty trip. And we have support from the RockRats.
And there were the improvements in technology. The irony was chilling; even if the most pessimistic projections were accurate, Avalon would have a staggering advantage within five years. If the more optimistic projections were closer to the truth, the old Imperial Navy wouldn't have been able to stand up to a squadron of Commonwealth ships. But there was hardly any time to get the new innovations into play. They’d have to make do with what they had. They still had some advantages ...
But would they be enough? All their information on Wolfbane was little more than educated guesswork, at best. How many ships did Governor Brown have at his disposal? What work had he done to improve his tech base? How many trained technicians did he have working for him? How many ... there were just too many questions and too few answers.
And Admiral Singh had returned, out for revenge.
And there was a spy ring on Avalon, still undiscovered. Who knew what it was sending to its off-world masters?
No, Ed told himself. It will be hell.
***
Rumours had raced through the city at the speed of light, each one wilder than the last. The Commonwealth had suffered a great defeat; no, the Commonwealth had been victorious, but at a terrifying cost. Wolfbane had been attacked by the Empire; no, Wolfbane was the Empire and the Commonwealth was facing overwhelming force. By the time he joined the crowds outside the Council Chambers, Emmanuel Alves had heard so many rumours that he couldn't have said which one was most likely to be the truth.
The crowds looked angry, he noted, as he found a place to watch. They’d already seen their President attacked – anger against Wolfbane had been terrifying to watch, after
Gaby Cracker had been shot – but now it was worse. If the rumours were true ...
He heard silence fall as Gaby Cracker stepped out of the Council Chamber. They’d been meeting in urgent – and confidential – session, according to the rumours, a meeting that had been called just after the squadron returned to Avalon. Emmanuel leaned forward, hoping to see Jasmine, but there was no sign of her. Had she returned to Avalon or ... or what? Was she dead?
“We have been attacked,” Gaby said. Her voice was quieter than Emmanuel remembered; he shivered as he realised the woman who had once been able to master a crowd could no longer speak with full force. “Two weeks ago, Wolfbane’s forces rolled across the border and attacked seven Commonwealth star systems. Six of them – including Thule – have fallen to the enemy. There have been very heavy losses.”
The crowd seemed to shiver, rage and fear warring for supremacy. Emmanuel felt cold ice running down his back. Jasmine had been deployed to Thule, along with the CEF. Was she one of those losses? Somehow, he couldn't imagine her abandoning Thule and her people if there was a hope of saving them. Or, for that matter, abandoning her men to captivity.
“Wolfbane wishes us to surrender our independence to their Consortium,” Gaby continued. “They want to turn us into their slaves, to enforce a servitude on us that will be far worse than anything we experienced under the Empire. Everything we have built over the last five years will be forced to work for Wolfbane. It will not be tolerated.”
There was a long pause. “Today, the Commonwealth Council formally declared war on Wolfbane,” Gaby said. “We will not surrender, we will not submit ourselves to them; instead, we will fight like free men and women, fight until we are safe once again.
“It will not be easy. There will be many battles to come and there will be serious losses. But we have powerful allies, an important cause and justice on our side. We will defeat the advancing enemy fleet, we will send them back across the border and we will take the war to Wolfbane itself.
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