Solomon Family Warriors II

by Robert H. Cherny

  “Eight hours in flight without a bathroom, what do you think?” Rachel asked.

  Isaac laughed. “Got it. You’re wanted on the bridge.”

  When Rachel arrived at the bridge, Wendy and Faye Anne had coffee and cinnamon rolls ready for her. Charts and maps covered the monitors around the room.

  “Wendy, what’s our status?” Rachel asked.

  “We lost all our picket ships. The convoy escorts say that now that the space battle is over they want to go home. That was the deal,” Wendy said. “Timothy will be expecting them soon.”

  “I know that was the deal,” Rachel said. “Reuben, can we disconnect the cargo modules and tether them to the convoy escorts so the escorts can take them home?”

  “I think so,” Reuben replied. “Why”

  “Wendy, how far can we go with this load of refugees before we all starve to death?” Rachel asked.

  “Homestead,” Wendy said with a tone that said she had given the matter due thought.

  “See if the convoy escorts will be willing to take the three cargo modules to Homestead with the refugees and we’ll retrieve them from there. If we send the refugees ahead how long can we remain on station?”

  “A month before we need to get supplies,” Wendy replied. “Maybe longer if we can get stores from the planet.”

  “What other damage have we suffered?” Rachel asked.

  “The cargo holds are mess. That’s why we are short on provisions. We lost some laser batteries and a dozen personnel. We would have lost many more if they had not been properly suited,” Wendy said.

  “How is Wren’s group?”

  “He lost six ships and crew. One of the remaining ships has a hull breach and will need to come in soon for repairs,” Wendy reported. “Another has damage to its external weapons racks.”

  “How badly was the tender damaged? Can they handle the repairs?”

  “Sensor arrays and empty cargo containers took the brunt of the hits. I don’t think he lost any real functionality. They should be able to make the repairs. They have spares for the sensor arrays and the cargo containers can be jettisoned. They did lose one container with dry goods so they may have a provisions shortage if they stay on station too long.”

  “Thank you. See if you can convince the escorts to take our charges to Homestead.”

  After Wendy had left, Rachel turned to Faye Anne. “What is the status of the dome?”

  “As we guessed, the dome was the residence for the families of the people stationed in the headquarters areas. Commander Erickson reports that his people have entered the dome and met no resistance. In fact, the dome has been abandoned except for the hospitals and homes for the elderly who were believed to be too ill or infirm to depart with the others. The houses are immaculate as if waiting for guests to arrive. The beds are made. The dishes have been put away. The laundry has been folded and put away. Toys are stacked neatly. It’s hard to believe that they don’t expect to return except that all of the clothing belonging to the women and girls is gone. Clothing belonging to the boys and the men is still there neatly hung up, or folded and stacked. We still have not located the boys although we know they must be around somewhere.”

  “How have the people we have met reacted to the soldiers?”

  “When they see the soldiers, they prostrate themselves with their hands toward the soldier in a sign of submission. One of the soldiers who knows the Swordsman language taught the others to say, ‘Please go about your business. I will not harm you.’ That has been quite effective and the hospitals are beginning to treat our wounded.”

  “Has Commander Erickson reported on his losses?”

  “No, but based on the radio chatter, we believe them to be significant.”

  “How is the conquest of the underground complex proceeding?”

  “It’s been brutal. The reports are gruesome,” Faye Anne said with a shudder. “The machines are crushing not only the dead, but the wounded who are too slow to get out of the way. The floors are slick with blood. There are fires raging out of control all over the complex. There have been no prisoners taken. The mercenaries hate the Swordsmen and it shows.”

  “Well, we know who trained the mercenaries, so I am not surprised,” Rachel said.

  “But this is little better than murder,” Faye Anne said.

  “How do the Swordsmen treat their prisoners? We are being more merciful to them than they would be to us,” Rachel said. “At least they die quickly. Now, enough of this. What’s left?”

  Faye Ann pointed to one of the displays. “Commander Erickson’s troops are moving in this direction. We definitely need to go there, but I am not convinced that the headquarters is where he thinks it is. I think what he thinks is headquarters is an ag complex with hydroponics and such. I believe that is where we will find the boys. I believe they will fight as fiercely as their fathers have. It remains to be seen whether the mercenaries will have the will to kill them. There is another dome, here, that I think is also an ag center and should be staffed with boys and men too young to go to battle.”

  “If that’s not headquarters, what is?”

  “Twenty kilometers north of the current battle site, we see a heat signature that would indicate a facility of some kind. We have spotted many filled in trenches radiating out from it that would indicate communications pathways. There is a large mountain sticking out alone on a flat plain on top of the heat source and we almost missed it, but I think that’s where the headquarters is. I believe, based on the gravitational measurements we have taken in the area, that the top of the mountain is hollow and hides communications equipment. I would like permission to hit it here and here with the ground penetrating bombs.”

  “How many do we have left?”

  “Three and the escorts have them.”

  Rachel pondered the situation.

  “Send two of the glass recon drones to investigate and bring back detailed models of the topography. I want to know what we are hitting. Set seismographs and detonate a sounding charge. Find out what is under that mountain.”

  Rachel called Wendy after Faye Anne had left. “When Matilda arrives, send her to my office. I am recalling her to this ship.”

  “You’ll have to fight Huntress for her.”

  “Perhaps,” Rachel said.

  Matilda reported to Rachel’s office. “Hello, Matilda, coffee? Cinnamon roll?”

  “Coffee, please, Ma’am.”

  “Matilda, I have a problem to which I believe you have the solution.”

  “Ma’am?”

  “You and Rashi work well together, but he’s getting old and he can’t keep up the pace he used to. He’s doing his best, but his body is not keeping up with his mind. I would like you to work with him permanently. He needs a mind that keep up with him and a body that can keep up with both. I can’t order you to do this, but I can order Wren to order you. I would rather you did it of your own accord.”

  “I would be honored, Ma’am, but Huntress worked hard to get me to fly with her. I would feel like I abandoned her.”

  “I completely understand. I believe that when I show you and Huntress the projects I want you and Rashi to work on, I think she will agree with my decision. For starters, we need more of the ground penetrating bombs and only you and Rashi know how to build them from the materials at hand. Do you think Huntress will see the wisdom of reassigning you?”

  “I believe so, Ma’am but she can be real stubborn sometimes.”

  “No more than Peter and I grew up with him.” Rachel smiled. “Go, Rashi needs your help.”

  “Aye, Captain and thank you for the faith you have in me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Rachel opened a secure comm link to Huntress. “Kim, may I talk to Huntress privately?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Greetings, Huntress.”

  “Greetings, Captain, how may I be of service?”

  “Huntress, I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “It is not
like a captain to ask favors. A captain should give orders and expect to be obeyed.”

  “Very astute, but I will ask it as a favor and you may judge it as you see fit. I would like to take Matilda and transfer her to Rashi’s group in weapons development.”

  Huntress’s answer surprised Rachel. “I think you should take Dustin and reassign him as well.”

  “Okay, why do you think that? And do I take that to mean you do not object?”

  “I do not object. Captain, I am aware of the simulations you and Wendy ran at Homestead where you determined that two people were the optimum crew for a PI ship. I have reviewed the original data and would agree with your conclusions were it not for the fact that in transit here I repeated your experiment with Wren and Kim. I have come to the conclusion that Tracker, Wren, Kim and I are better off by ourselves.”

  “Fascinating.”

  “Even with a preponderance of data from the most recent run of simulations, I doubted my own conclusions because during the early battles, Dustin and Matilda were efficient members of the team, but when they left us to take the shuttles, and we attacked the convoys I realized how much better we were just the four of us.”

  “You were very good, no doubt about it.”

  “So, based on the surprise I hear in your voice, I take it you expected a fight from me and you did not get one.”

  “You are correct.”

  “With your permission, I will inform Wren and Kim of our discussion.”

  “Huntress, it is an honor to serve with you.”

  “The feeling is mutual. Dustin is on final approach and should be docking momentarily.”

  As soon as Dustin’s ship was unloaded, a co-pilot was assigned to him and he returned to the surface with the shuttle. Except for sporadic gunfire which was quickly silenced by the mercenaries, the evacuation proceeded as smoothly as could be expected under the circumstances.

  Wren, Kim and Tracker had independently come to the same conclusion as Huntress and accepted the change of staffing without further comment.

  GENERATIONS - CHAPTER TEN

  WITH THE COMING OF DAYLIGHT the mercenaries moved on the area that Faye Anne felt was an agricultural area and Commander Erickson thought was the headquarters complex. The agricultural area was staffed by young men and boys. Some of the older boys attacked the soldiers with farm implements, but after the soldiers made examples of some of the more belligerent youngsters, the rest surrendered quietly. They were unaware that all their female relatives had escaped.

  The second dome housed the livestock and there again, after making examples of a few of the more aggressive youngsters, the remainder surrendered.

  That left only the mountain.

  Rachel and Faye Anne flew to the surface to consult with Commander Erickson on the best approach to take the mountain. The glass drones had determined that there was a shaft drilled straight through the center of the mountain to the caverns below. This was assumed to be the path for the communications cables. There were two ground level entrances to the caverns. The mountain was relatively soft rock since it was sedimentary and not volcanic like some of the other mountains in the area. It sat in the center of what once had been a lake bed and the ground around it was even softer than the mountain.

  Rachel, Faye Anne and Commander Erickson sat around a table in what had been the departure terminal’s food court.

  “Commander, how severe are your losses?” Rachel asked.

  “Twenty percent dead, twenty percent wounded, five percent missing,” Commander Erickson said as if he was reading a list of equipment from a shipping manifest.

  “How many of your people will be returning with us? We may be short of space due to the refugees.”

  “Maybe a hundred or so wounded might go with you, but I doubt even that,” Commander Erickson replied. “The hospitals here are pretty good. We’ll probably all stay.”

  “I would have thought you would return,” Faye Anne said.

  “If we return, we go back into training or to prison. If we stay here, we can legally colonize the planet as our own. We can sign a non-aggression treaty with the Federation as an independent state and all we have to worry about is the Swordsmen coming back. We can handle them. Everything else is covered in our contract to the service you hired us though.”

  “As you wish,” Rachel said.

  They discussed the potential vulnerabilities of the mountain and the installation underneath it. They determined that a ground assault would not work due to the gun emplacements ringing the mountain’s top that provided clear targeting against any advancing ground force. An air assault would likely face the same kind of resistance. They stared at the projected hologram of the local topography on the table while they attempted to develop a plan.

  One of Commander Erickson’s aides brought coffee and stood off to one side. After studying the projection, the aide said, “Excuse me sir, but what is off this side of the area we can see?”

  Faye Anne adjusted the projection to show the area in question.

  “Sir, this looks like a lake above the flood plain where the mountain is,” the aide said. “This looks like a natural dam. If we can break this dam, maybe we can flood them out or just drown them all, sir.”

  Faye Anne called for one of the recon drones to make a pass over the lake for more detail. When the data arrived they looked at the dam again.

  The aide said, “We’d probably have to hit the dam from this side and that means flying over the mountain. Sorry sir, it looked like a good idea.”

  “I think it can work,” Rachel said. “The PI ships have rear facing tubes. They can fly in from over the lake and put missiles into the dam as they fly by. Properly escorted, they should be able to make the drop and get out again. Let’s send in the recon drones to find the defensive positions in the lake area above the dam. We can determine if an attack is feasible and we will proceed.”

  The aide said, “There appears to be another dam at the other end of this plain. The area may stay flooded and if it does, there will be nothing for us to do.”

  Commander Erickson said, “We’ll establish positions around the perimeter of the plain and prepare for surprises.”

  * * * * *

  The ground penetrating bombs were transferred to Wren’s tender. The convoy escorts departed with the three cargo modules full of refugees for Homestead. The last of the mercenary equipment and supplies was unloaded from the cargo ship that had accompanied the battle group and the cargo ship left with the convoy escorts and refugees. The remaining battle group consisted of the Queen Elizabeth minus the parts that made her a colony ship, Wren’s tender and ten PI ships.

  * * * * *

  After reviewing the images of the anti-aircraft emplacements above and below the natural dam, Rachel and Commander Erickson agreed that attacking the dam with the mercenary aircraft was too dangerous and not likely to succeed. There were installations above the rim of the plain and around the lake that the mercenaries could attack after the dam had been broken, but going after them sooner was not prudent. However there was another option.

  Wren’s ships took positions over the valley just beyond the atmosphere. Using some of the same math Saul had used when he backed two fully loaded PI ships into the atmosphere, they balanced on their thrusters holding stationary positions over the valley that allowed them to extend their laser pods. If they entered the atmosphere with the pods extended, the pods would have ripped off. Even Saul did not attempt that.

  Wren and Kim flew down the length of the river that ended at the dam. Flying as low and as fast as the aerodynamics of the PI ships would allow, they approached the dam at Mach 1. Anti-aircraft batteries opened up on them as soon as they reached the lake. As quickly as the batteries opened fire, they were silenced by the combined lasers of the eight PI ships overhead sitting on their thrusters. Seconds apart, Wren and Kim cleared the dam and fired the missiles out of their rear firing tubes. The ground penetrating bomb had been intended to be used by dropping
it straight down. Since it was entering the dam at an almost flat trajectory, there was some doubt as to whether it could do the job.

  Wren pulled up hard left and Kim pulled up hard right to avoid the mountain and its defenses. The heat shields on the bottom of the PI ships were designed to take the impact of a laser or small missile without damage. The anti-aircraft batteries were not able to land a single hit on the ships. Wren’s bomb landed near the base of the dam. The concern had been that if the bomb hit too close to the bottom, the thickness of the accumulated sediment would absorb the explosion without damage. Kim’s bomb hit much closer to the top of the dam. Mercenary observers stationed on far hills saw the bomb’s impact and felt the explosions after the time delays were exhausted. For several long minutes nothing happened. It was as if the dam had absorbed the energy and dissipated it.

  One of the observers spotted a trickle of water where Kim’s bomb had gone into the dam. A leak showed further down and then another. While the observers watched, the flows increased. A solitary rock rolled off the top of the dam near the water line and then another. Another rock fell only this one was below the waterline. The gap in the dam was only a few centimeters below the water line, but water seeks the lowest level and a single centimeter of depth below the surface of a lake twenty kilometers long is a lot of water. Water began to flow over the top of the dam opening the gap. More water began to flow from the hole Kim’s bomb had created. A torrent of water broke through where Wren’s bomb had gone and the dam collapsed.

  The soft sand of the plain gave way quickly in the face of the force of the water as it cleared everything in its race to the ocean a hundred kilometers away. A wall of water ten meters high slammed into the mountain where the Swordsmen had built their command center. Water flowed into the hidden tunnels and swirled around the base of the mountain tearing out buried cables and natural gas pipelines. The dam at the other end of the plain held for a few hours before it collapsed. The water stabilized at about a meter of depth before draining out. That guaranteed that anything not in a sealed bunker would drown. As soon as the water had subsided, Hawk Three dropped the last of the ground penetrating bombs into the center of the mountain. Observers on the surrounding hills heard and felt secondary explosions for over an hour after the bomb was dropped. Smoke poured out of the hole for another week.