by Rod Carstens
“Let me see their trajectories, please,” Usiche said.
The battle captain switched the view. The troopships were definitely heading for the Cube in orbit.
“I need more proof.”
A battle tech stood up and said, “I just heard over the conscripts’ net that the hybrids are leaving and heading back to Central Park.”
Another tech said, “Ma’am, I have a report from a Raider platoon that the Xotoli are returning to the subways.”
Somebody yelled, “They’re retreating!”
The room erupted into cheers as it finally became clear that killing Askars had worked. Usiche glanced over at Netis, then at Monnetal. Neither was celebrating. They knew there was much to do.
“Quiet!” Usiche snapped.
The room went silent.
“There is nothing to celebrate and a lot of work to do. Send out a flash message to all units to follow and kill as many of the hybrids and Xotoli as possible. Do not try to stop the retreat. I want them gone. But if any hesitate or turn to fight, kill them. This will not be an easy operation. I want this staff to stay on top of all the units.”
Usiche turned to Monnetal and said, “I don’t want to have to chase down left-behinds. We have hurt them, but if we try and stop the retreat we will be asking for more casualties, and we’ve had enough.”
Monnetal looked at her and said, “Agreed, Admiral. We may have just won this part of the war by the skin of our teeth. The next time we meet the Xotoli, we will be better prepared, and you will have everything you need to fight them on an even battleground. I guarantee you that. Never again will we have to fight the way we have these last years.”
Chapter 63
City-State of New York
Times Square
Secretary General Anddan Fallen Monnetal stood in the CIC fifty stories below Times Square surrounded by his admirals, generals, and political appointees. He was about to give the speech of his life, and unless he could bring it off, he doubted the Confederation would last.
The Xotoli had come close to winning for the third time. If the Confederation was going to survive, it would have to change fundamentally—change policy, laws, and even its basic structure. He knew as the secretary general he had the bully pulpit, and he intended to use it tonight. Every news outlet was here. His speech would eventually reach even the farthest planets and systems of the widespread Confederation. He had to pull the Confederation together if they were ever to defeat the Xotoli. He had to overcome the breed prejudices, economic inequality, and other issues that had always caused rifts between humans.
He took a deep breath and said, “Okay, let’s get this done.”
A phalanx of Marines and conscripts in their battle-scarred armor waited outside the door to escort him to the elevator that would take them to the surface. Only Admiral Raurk accompanied him with the gurards. Raurk wore her dress-white uniform with all her medals. He would have had General Sand at his side, but he was a long way from being able to attend an event. In fact, the doctors said it was still touch and go. He needed that man alive and had told the doctors the same. It was up to Sand to fight as hard to live as he had on the battlefield.
The elevator reached the surface, and the Marines and conscripts led him out of it and into Times Square. Monnetal had ordered that the Times Square Museum be restored as closely as it could be to its past glory. He needed the backdrop to reinforce his message.
The technicians had done an almost impossible job of returning it to its previous condition. It was a short walk to the podium. Times Square was lit up with thousands of multicolored lights, as it had been in its heyday. The lights gave an almost festive feel to what he hoped would be a history-changing speech. The surviving Marines, conscripts, and even a few of the Von Fleet troops stretched for blocks before him. They came to rigid attention as he emerged from the elevator. Besides the military, thousands of offworlders were there, mixed with Sols who had returned to their city to fill the Times Square Museum as far as the eye could see.
A roar from the civilians went up as he climbed onto the platform. Admiral Raurk stood to his left and Meir Fohlm stood to his right. When he stepped up to the podium, the roar only increased. He stood there, waiting for it to fade. But instead of quieting down, they began to chant his name.
“Monnetal! Monnetal!”
He held up his arms to ask for silence. The crowd’s roar slowly died down. He cleared his throat and said, “Citizens of the Confederation, we are gathered here for a solemn reason. The ground on which we stand is soaked with the blood of the men and women who fought to protect us all against the Xotoli. Who sacrificed everything so we could stand free and not under the boots of alien invaders. The men and women of the Marines, the conscripts, and Von Fleet who fought that battle are around and in front of me. They are the ones who should be cheered, because they are the ones who made the sacrifices.”
A roar went up for the troops. Monnetal let it go on for some time before he raised his hands for quiet.
“Yes, the men and women of the Marines, conscripts, and Von Fleet fought, bled, and died for you, so you could stand here free of the aliens. But there is something about these men and women you need to know. Most of the Marines are former Legionnaires and have been serving the Confederation for decades. Yet they were looked down upon and derided for their service. Some families disowned those who joined, yet they did not hesitate to stand between the aliens and us time and again. The conscripts were conscripted by their systems, which used everything from poverty to criminal activity as an excuse to send them in place of those who deemed themselves too important to serve the Confederation. But the conscripts did not feel that way. In spite of being forced into service, they fought with tenacity few can understand. The Von Fleet units that were allowed to fight stood tall with the Marines and conscripts. Yes, there were traitors in Von Fleet. But there were also heroes.”
Monnetal paused. The buildup had worked so far.
“But they are not the only ones who sacrificed to defeat the Xotoli. When we were clearing the subways, we found the body of Ciao Bach of Procyon. He had been sold into the service of a Sol family when he was just a child, but he ran away from that service and survived in the subways until he had his own train. He rammed his train into the Xotoli who were in the subways, and by our count his sacrifice killed close to twenty. He was not from Sol. In fact he had been treated as someone beneath contempt because he did not come from a recognized human breed. But he knew what so many of our citizens have forgotten. He knew what our Marines know, what our conscripts know, and what thousands of Von Fleet sailors and soldiers know. That under our differences we are all human, and we face an alien race that wants to kill each and every one of us because we are human and for no other reason. We are in this together. Or the Xotoli will surely one day defeat us.
“The Xotoli religion tells them that they own all the resources in the universe and we are defiling our own planets simply by living on them. So while we defeated them this time, they will be back, and the only way to stop them is to hunt down every Xotoli in the universe and destroy them. We will fight them anywhere we can find them. We kill them on Ceti so we can free the billions who were captured. We will return to Chika and rescue the Marines we left there. There will not be a place they can hide from our wrath. They killed billions in our cities across Earth for no reason other than that they lived.”
Monnetal paused again. Now for the meat of the speech.
“If we are going to win this war, then a fundamental change is going to have to take place. There cannot be a few who protect the many. Every human man and woman will be needed if we are going to defeat the Xotoli, and we don’t need them years from now, we need them now. I am signing into law under the War Powers Act a universal service requirement for every man and woman of legal age. They will serve the Confederation for five years. Not all will be in the military. There are too many other jobs that need to be done. But serve they will. Since I have nationali
zed Von Fleet, its thousands of facilities will be the core of the infrastructure for the billions who will serve the Confederation. I have also instructed my staff to draft a law that declares all laws passed by systems and planets which let someone avoid service by buying their way out null and void. And in addition, I am instructing my staff to draft a law that says anyone who paid their way out of service will immediately be drafted.
“The human race, if it is to survive, must put aside our differences and for once in our long history come together. Ask a Marine or a conscript if they cared who stood beside them. It made no difference. It only mattered that they were there for each other. There is an ancient saying from the military about ethnicity. It goes, ‘There is no black, white, brown, oriental, or other race. Everyone is green.’ It means all differences are gone when you face a common foe. You don’t have to like the man or woman next to you. You only have to know that they are with you and will need you. From this day forward, that is what I expect from every citizen in the Confederation, because the threat we face is to every one of us.”
Monnetal paused again. There was no thunderous roar. It was muted. He looked out and saw it was the offworlders who were cheering while the Sols stood in stunned silence. This was not going to be easy, but unless he pulled it off, the Xotoli would be back, and this time they would win.
“This celebration is not because the war has ended. No. It is a celebration of the end of the beginning, and the changes that will come to meet this new challenge. Now, we all have work to do.”
Monnetal turned and walked away from the podium. As he did he passed by one of his marine guards. His armor was worn and gouged by Xotoli fire. He had left his suit’s outside speakers on, and he said,
“Fuck, he just pissed off a lot of people.”
Monnetal stopped in front of the Marine. “You think so?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. We got a lot of work to do, Marine, and you’re going to need all the help I can get you.”
“Battalion dismissed.”
Nani turned to the platoon in formation behind her and said, “Platoon dismissed.”
Nani and the rest of the surviving Raiders had been brought in to hear Monnetal’s speech live in Times Square. Standing there in simple clean utilities felt very strange given the last time she had been there. She had sized it up for the Alamo, the place to make the last stand, and now it was filled with Sols and citizens from almost every other Confederation planet. She’d known the losses her platoon had suffered, but seeing who was left in formation it struck her again as if she were reading the casualty list for the first time. The multicolored flashing lights, so bright and cheerful, were in stark contrast to how she felt. She felt hollow, as if she was used up and if you shook her she would rattle she was so empty. Being a survivor was almost as bad as the alternative.
“Nice speech,” Hu said as he walked up.
“Yeah, now all he has to do is pull it off.”
“You don’t think he can?”
Nani paused before she answered. She wanted to believe in him. She wanted him to be able to break down all the walls between the breeds and the economic barriers. But everything in her said he was pissing in the wind. Yet she knew if he didn’t pull it off, they didn’t have a chance against the Xotoli. He was right about that. All she had to do to know it was start counting the friends who were no longer around since Rift. The list was too long. They could not keep fighting like this, or there would be nobody left to fight. The Confederation needed every man and woman on deck if they were ever going to beat the Xotoli.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. We’ve been fighting these fucks since Rift, and every fight has been guerre à mort.”
“No mercy,” Hu said.
“I don’t see them quitting unless we kill every one of them, and it’s gonna take everybody to do it. That means a long time to ramp up. In the meantime it’s the conscripts and us. The salarymen aren’t up for this yet.”
“Tiny was,” Hu said.
“But he was the only one.”
Nani saw the sadness in Hu's eyes Tiny had become one of them very quickly.
“It’s not the end, only the end of the beginning,” Nani said, almost to herself. “How many more can we survive?”
No one said a word. Nani had said something that was on all their minds.
“Yeah. We’re at the shitty end of the stick. It will be us holding the line while they try and pull this off,” Hu said.
Nani and Hu, with the rest of the platoon, were a silent island in a sea of civilians celebrating the victory over the Xotoli. Nani saw a big, blond Sol male kiss a small, dark, obviously offworld female, and they walked off together arm in arm. Easy to kiss some offworlder. A lot harder to slip into armor and go face the hybrids and Xotoli.
“Nani!”
Nani turned and saw Fenes and Minga walking up to them with a big blonde woman with them. They were in the new conscript uniforms. A big smile spread across her face.
“Look who’s alive. Good to see you guys.”
“It’s good to be seen. How are you?”
“Alive.”
Fenes exchanged looks with Nani and Hu. They were all part of the survivors’ club, with all the pluses and minuses that brought with it.
“Where’s Striker? I want to give that old son of a bitch a hard time.”
Fenes’s face changed, and he just shook his head.
“Ardan?” Hu asked.
“No.”
“Shit. I liked that big old son of a bitch, and Ardan was one of the best.”
“Where’s the rest of the platoon? Did they get pulled out for Monnetal’s escort?”
Nani shook her head. Fenes’s and Minga’s faces paled.
“Look who’s a lieutenant,” Nani said.
“Yeah, I got it like you did. Tag, you’re it. By the way, this is Holman. She’s all right.”
Nani and Hu looked at the big blonde and nodded. If Fenes said she was okay, then that was enough for them.
“Hey, what’s the word on Sand? Anybody got any scoop?” Fenes asked.
“Yeah, he got chopped up pretty good, but Borges thinks he’s going to make it.”
“I trust her judgment as much as Zhao’s,” Hu added.
“Fenes, are you guys coming back with us or staying with the conscripts?” Nani asked.
“We’re staying with the conscripts. They need all the old hands they can get.”
“Look who’s an old hand,” Hu said with a smile.
“Yeah. Funny, isn’t it?”
“You got liberty?” Nani asked.
“Yeah, how about you guys?”
“They gave us three weeks before we ship out for our next mission.”
“Same. It sounds like it's going to be drunk out for a long time. I’m buying the first round.”
“Okay, but not only drunk out. This calls for getting drunk, stoned, and laid, so let’s find the most expensive bar open and get started. We have a lot of partying to do,” Nani said.
“Sounds like a plan. Lead on, Lieutenant.”
The small group had just begun to make their way through the crowd when a young voice said, “Mala, Mala wait!”
Nani and the others turned to see the girls they had taken to the shelter working their way through the crowd toward them. Kat Von Fleet, flanked by several Marine guards, was right behind them. Micha broke through the crowd, ran up to Nani, and threw her arms around her. Nani was surprised at just how much it meant to her for the little girl to remember her. She hugged her tightly. Astrid walked up to Hu and looked closely at him, then said, “You look so different.”
“The armor makes us look like monsters, doesn’t it? How did you know it was me?”
She touched her face where Hu’s scar ran down his. She then jumped into his arms.
“I see the girls found their heroes,” Kat Von Fleet said as she walked up. “When they heard you were here, they insisted on finding you so they could thank you
.”
Nani’s and Kat’s gazes met, and Nani said, “Thanks for arranging it, Kat.” It was hard for her to get out a thanks to any Von Fleet, but Kat deserved this one.
“It pays to be an administrative assistant to the secretary general.”
Nani slowly put Micha down while holding her hand. “What happens to them now?”
“I’m going to make sure they are taken care of,” Kat said. “They’ll either go home or I’ll find them a new one.”
“I didn’t have to push the button,” Astrid said to Hu.”
Hu smiled at her outburst.
“What’s the word on General Sand?” Nani asked.
“First, Zhao says his injuries would have killed another man. The difference was his field treatment and how quickly you got him back to the Casualty Collection Point.”
Kat paused and looked directly into Nani’s eyes before she said, “Thank you. Borges told us what happened down there in the tunnel. She said it was your platoon that saved him.”
“No, Borges did a hell of a job.”
“And she was protected by a hell of a platoon led by a hell of a lieutenant.”
Nani realized that she meant every word, something she had not expected from a Von Fleet. “You’re welcome.”
“If there is anything I can ever do for you or anyone in your platoon, please let me know,” Kat said.
Nani looked down at Micha and over at Astrid still clinging to Hu. “Yes, there is something.”
“Okay, anything.”
“You and Monnetal pull this off. He’s right, but...”
“I know. If anybody can, Monnetal can. He is something special,” Kat said.
“Good enough.”
Nani and Hu spent a few more minutes with the girls then watched as Kat and their Marine guards pushed their way through the celebrating throngs.
“Boys and girls, it’s time we continued the tradition of Marines and soldiers on leave and proceed to get drunk.”