Colonel Flowers keyed the holotank to life and lowered the lights. A diagram of the Shan solar system appeared, complete with all the planets and both asteroid fields.
“Gentlemen, as you can see, this system boasts two habitable planets. One here,” Flowers said and the fourth planet flashed red. “And one here,” the third planet also started flashing. “The fourth planet is Harmony, and the other is known as Child of Harmony.” He pause to let the information settle before continuing.
“Our mission is to neutralise all Merkiaari in this system in preparation for the arrival of Fifth Fleet, which will hold the system after its liberation. Admiral Meyers has made a good start on that as you can see.”
The holotank display changed to show a wire frame diagram of Child of Harmony, and the ships in its immediate vicinity. In geosynchronous orbit was a blue icon representing Grafton. Surveillance satellites seeded around the planet yesterday by the navy glowed a reassuring green. They were extremely important to the regiment. No matter the cost, the admiral had not stinted in her use of them. A little further out, a large formation of blue icons representing TF19 stooged about awaiting further orders, keeping a wary eye on the wreckage of the Merki ships.
A stupendous Marauder class transport broke in two as Gina watched, and the holo tank updated itself by painting each section with new data. The blinking vectors indicated the ship would burn up in atmosphere, and indeed, the forward section was already beginning its final journey. It hit atmosphere, broke apart, and its red icon faded from the tank’s display.
The battle that had destroyed those ships had been costly in men as well as ships. Victorious had been damaged, and would need extensive repairs at the yard. She was still combat capable, but the same couldn’t be said for other ships of the task force. Admiral Meyers had lost two of her four Excalibur class heavy cruisers with all hands: Intrepid and Coventry. In addition, Voyager, an ageing light cruiser, had to be abandoned when repeated attempts to stabilise her fusion reactors failed. Her crew had been taken aboard Victorious. Voyager was a lonely icon all alone in the holotank’s display. She would probably be scuttled at some point, but not just yet. Her captain had requested that they wait for the arrival of Fifth Fleet in case his ship could be salvaged.
“We estimate the enemy’s strength at over three hundred thousand troopers on Child of Harmony, with a further two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand on Harmony. As previously mentioned, this is a small incursion.”
There was a smattering of laughter at that, but not from the veterans. They were grim and silent. Repeated scans of the surface of both planets made it clear that although the native population outnumbered the Merkiaari by many thousands to one, their weapons were simply not up to the job of defeating their enemy. They were losing, and losing badly. They had nothing to match the Merki interceptors, which meant the Merki had air superiority almost everywhere on both planets. Not only that, the Shan had not developed shielding adequate to withstand Merki weapon’s fire. They were being slaughtered in almost every battle they fought.
Burgton took over the briefing. “In consultation with Admiral Meyers and my senior staff, I have decided Child of Harmony needs our immediate attention. Although there are fewer Merkiaari on Harmony, they have met with greater success there. They are now conducting what can only be described as mopping up operations. Very few people remain alive above ground. On Child of Harmony however, they are meeting stiff opposition. A number of regular military units have been sighted conducting operations against the enemy, and there appear to be strong resistance movements working independently against the enemy in the larger cities. Coordination between the resistance and the remnants of the Shan military is limited, but it’s encouraging nonetheless.
“Our immediate task will be to establish a base of operations.” Burgton nodded to Colonel Flowers. An aerial view of a spaceport appeared in the holotank. “This is Zuleika Spaceport. It’s located on the northernmost continent of Child of Harmony, roughly equidistant between the Kachina Mountain range and the eastern ocean. This spaceport represents the only one still functional on the planet. The others were smashed by the first wave of enemy attacks. Zuleika is therefore vital to our operations. These buildings here…”
Gina listened intently as Burgton laid out his plans to take and hold the spaceport in preparation for full scale operations against the Merkiaari in the nearby city of Zuleika. From there, and with air cover provided by Sutherland, they would move on the next concentration of Merki troops and the next until they either liberated Child of Harmony, or Fifth Fleet’s arrival necessitated revising the plan.
Roughly an hour went by with Burgton explaining each step of the plan and answering queries. Colonel Flowers fielded questions regarding resupply, while Lieutenant Hymas concerned herself solely with medical matters, including the temporary repair of viper units in the field. Finally, the holotank shut down and the lights came up.
Gina sighed and rolled her head from side to side, in an effort to ease her tight shoulders. She had been watching the General so intently that her neck muscles felt knotted.
Burgton gestured toward four of the veterans standing with him at the head of the room. “Captains Hames, Elliot, Greenwood, and Penleigh are in command of Companies Alpha through Delta respectively, but that still leaves quite a few slots to fill. Let us take care of that now,” he said, smiling at the anticipation he read on some of his men’s faces. He turned and nodded to Stone. “Master Sergeant Stone, call the roll.”
“Yes, sir.” Stone turned to address the battalion. “When you hear your name called, stand and approach the General. Higgins John J, Roberts Christine, Hiller Ian G, Takeri Selinia, Singh…”
Burgton returned Higgins’ salute and shook his hand. Colonel Flowers stepped forward holding a wooden case containing the rank insignia to be bestowed. Burgton unerringly chose the three stripes and a single rocker of a Staff Sergeant, and handed them to Higgins.
“Congratulations, Staff.”
“Thank you, sir,” Staff Sergeant Higgins said, and went back to his seat, beaming. He was clutching his stripes as if they were more important to him than a fistful of jewels.
Next was Christine Roberts.
“Congratulations, Corporal.”
“Thank you, sir,” Roberts said, and left to find her seat.
The next one was particularly pleasing. Ian Hiller was a Bethanite and as such had been thought of as an unlikely prospect to graduate. Ian had proven himself not only able to disregard his upbringing, with its cultural prejudices and hatred for the technology used to create vipers, he had done so in a manner that had seen him thrive.
“Congratulations, Sergeant.”
“Thank you, sir,” Hiller said, with a smile and returned to his seat.
“Well done, Takeri.”
“Thank you, sir,” Takeri said, and saluted before returning to her seat.
Burgton shook hands with one unit after another handing them their insignia, and the responsibilities that went with them. Gina didn’t keep count, but when no more came forward, she knew the battalion had its full complement of non-coms at last.
“From this point on,” Burgton announced. “Those just elevated not only have the rank and privileges, they also have the responsibilities that come with the stripes. We, your instructors and I, have thought long and hard on those who will fill the position of lieutenant for each platoon. Sixteen men and women have been chosen from the entire battalion as possessing the skills and outlook necessary for the position. Using the results and observations taken over a year of testing and training, I have chosen to promote the following units to lieutenant: Erma Dengler, Kamarl Dolinski, Gina Fuentez, Katherine Richmond…”
Gina grinned in delight when her name was called. She jumped to her feet and followed her friends as they marched to collect their insignia. She almost laughed aloud when she heard Richmond cussing under her breath behind her. Dengler took her promotion in stride, but Dolinski looked unhap
py. It had to be the thing with Callendri. There was nothing anyone could do about what had happened, but perhaps a word from her would help in some way. She made a note to get Kamarl alone later.
“Congratulations, Kamarl,” Burgton said. “I know you feel responsible for Roberto, and you are in a way, but it’s a responsibility we all share. I know what it is to kill a friend.”
“Does it get better, sir?”
“No, but it does get easier to live with.”
“Thank you, sir,” Dolinski said, saluted, and took the case containing his bars.
Gina stepped forward and saluted.
“Well done, Gina, especially with the rocky start.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, and took the small case containing the two silver bars of a first lieutenant. She shook his hand before saluting again.
Richmond stepped forward, wide eyed with shock.
“Congratulations, Katherine. Surprised?”
“Yes, sir,” Richmond said with feeling. “With respect, sir, I don’t like officers.”
Burgton laughed at that. “You’ll find the best officers are the ones who least like ordering others to do the work. I need people who not only know the job, but ones willing to get down in the dirt and do it. A soldier who likes to order others to do what he should have done, has no place in the regiment let alone filling a command slot.”
“Yes, sir, I agree. Maybe my problem is that all the officers I knew came from Bethany.”
Burgton pursed his lips. “It wouldn’t be politic for me to agree with you, but there might indeed be something to that. Congratulations,” he said again, and handed her the case containing her bars.
“Thank you, sir,” Richmond said and saluted.
Burgton shook hands with each of his new lieutenants and handed them their insignia. Sixteen handshakes later, First Battalion was ready for war.
Richmond still looked stunned. She was clutching the case containing her bars as if afraid to open it.
Gina grinned. “You okay?”
Richmond nodded jerkily. “I will be.”
“…duties as well as the privileges that rank confers,” General Burgton said. “Platoon leaders will remain behind, the rest of you are dismissed to quarters. I suggest you take time for an early dinner because we have a lot to get done later today. Dismissed.”
“Attennnnnn-Hut!” Stone ordered, and everyone briefly stood to attention before leaving the hold.
Gina automatically fell in with Alpha Company’s newly promoted lieutenants as they moved on mass to join the senior staff standing around the holotank. Captain Hames was CO of Alpha Company. As such, he was her immediate superior. He gestured for them to join him and they did so.
“Fuentez, I want you to take First Platoon,” Hames said and handed her a compad. “Study that. If you have any questions come to me and we’ll go over it together. The drop has been scheduled for zero-five-hundred tomorrow. That’s just before dawn at Zuleika.”
“Yes, sir.” Gina quickly scanned the contents of the compad. It was a mission overview, but before she could ask for a more detailed ops plan, she found it. “The terminal building?”
Hames pointed to the holotank that was again displaying the spaceport. The General was studying it, while the Colonel pointed to this or that detail.
“The General has designated the northernmost building as a terminal. It’s an arbitrary decision and for reference only. We don’t actually know what the natives use it for, but we had to call it something. The buildings to the east look very much like hangars, so as far as we’re concerned that’s what they are until the natives tell us different.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Good,” Hames said and handed each of the other platoon leaders a compad. “Dengler, you take…”
* * *
Zuleika, Child of Harmony, Shan System
James Wilder, professor of history turned resistance fighter, ducked as the Merki death squad opened fire on his position. He huddled behind the wrecked ground car, waiting for a chance to fire back, and prayed. He hadn’t been one to rely upon prayer before visiting Child of Harmony, but he’d been doing a lot of it lately. He figured it couldn’t hurt. He could use all the help he could get.
He hoped his friends had got away alright. They had been searching for survivors, as they had done many times before, but this time James had become separated from the rest of his group when the Merki death squad appeared out of nowhere. Tei’Adeladja, their raid leader, had ordered them to scatter. By splitting into smaller groups, he had hoped to lead at least some of the people they had found to safety. He understood Adeladja’s reasoning, but if James had been in command he would never have given that order.
James crawled along the ground, trying to find a better view of the enemy, but he had to duck back into cover when a crater was blasted into the road’s surface. With his back to the wreck, he looked around for inspiration; an escape route, a clever attack plan, someone to help him… anything! There was no sign of the others, and he couldn’t think of anything clever to defeat the Merki troops or escape. He hugged his knees, trying to make himself smaller as the wrecked car slowly disintegrated, gradually reducing his hiding place to nothing. This was it then, he thought, gripping his beamer tighter.
He wished he could tell Brenda he loved her one last time.
James surged to his feet, firing his beamer at anything that moved. The Merkiaari continued their methodical advance toward him laying down a barrage that would have made the Fleet proud. James ran in a crouch across the road, firing without aiming and expecting to die, but determined to go out fighting. One of his shots burned through a Merki female’s arm, but it didn’t faze her. The sudden flurry of shots from further up the street was another matter. She went down in a charred heap, and the other aliens scattered into hiding.
“Fall back, James,” Shima yelled. “I’ll cover you.”
Shima had come back for him. Thank god!
James ran to her, dodging left and right. Shots sizzled passed him, but none were close. He managed to duck around the corner where Shima stood tall, firing back the way he had come. The Merkiaari stayed down, acting more like Human soldiers than the Merkiaari of old. It made perfect sense to him to take cover, but they weren’t supposed to react this way. In the last war, they had been ferocious killing machines, deadly but seemingly stupid without a leader to tell them what to do.
Something had changed, and it scared James to imagine what it could be. Two hundred years was quite a long while. Even with nano technology increasing life spans, the last war was a distant memory in the Alliance. James suspected the Merkiaari had used the time to analyse how humans had defeated them and then adapted. He feared what other things they may have learned.
“Let us pull back, James. They are moving through the buildings to trap us.”
Although Shima’s eyes were weak, the Harmonies were strong in her. In Human terms, she was an empath. Her talent made her an excellent hunter; her tracking ability bordered on the miraculous. No one and nothing could hide from her.
“I hear,” James said, and ran as fast as he could, trying not to hold Shima up.
Shan were fast runners on two legs. If they dropped to all four, they were blindingly fast. Shima stayed on two, and kept pace with him until they put more buildings between themselves and the Merkiaari advance.
“Are… we… clear?” James panted. He was much fitter than he had been, but fifty years of easy living wasn’t overcome so quickly.
“I think so. We will meet with the others and plan what to do next. Tei’Adeladja has led us well.”
“He… has, but I still think we should… contact the other fighters, and try to kill the Merki’s First Claw.”
“But you have seen that it will do no good. Kill him and another will take his place. And besides, he will be heavily guarded. Many of us will fall just to reach him.”
“It’s true that another will take his place, but will the replacement be
as good a warrior as this one? If we kill enough of their leaders, we might have a real chance of taking back the city.”
“But to what purpose? The city is nothing, James. Let them have it. My people are all that matters.”
“I know how you feel, Shima, but if you let them have their way here, they will spread out and take the countryside from you. Before you know it, they will be breaking into the Keeps. We have to contain them in the cities.”
James’ breathing settled after a few minutes, and he paced himself to reach the rendezvous without completely exhausting himself. The city was eerily silent one moment, and then shattered by the sound of battle the next. The elders had ordered every city evacuated as soon as it became obvious the Fleet was doomed, but as always, some were either unwilling or unable to leave in time. Most of the city’s population had escaped and were hidden deep underground in the keeps. Some, like Shima, routinely left safety to fight and save those left behind. Most did not return from the raids, but there was no end to those volunteering to fight. This was James’ eleventh raid. He was becoming used to the constant fear now.
All Shan were trained to fight at an early age. It dated back to the time called the Breaking of Harmony or simply The Breaking. The survivors of that time had stumbled forth from hiding to find their cities devastated, and their race close to extinction. They had vowed to build the Great Harmony anew, but they failed in that. What they created however, was admirable for many reasons. A law introduced in those first years required everyone to learn how to fight, it changed their culture from a carefree and peaceful one into one based on the need to fight and survive another Merki incursion. Until now, they had believed themselves well prepared.
Shima ducked into the residential block designated as the emergency rendezvous for their group. James quickly followed his friend inside and learned their group had been badly mauled. Grief clogged his suddenly tight chest. These people were his friends and comrades; most knew him from his first day in the keep. He looked around hoping to see the familiar kinked ear and spotted fur of Adeladja. The leader of their group had been a crewman on a light fang before it was destroyed. Somehow against all the odds he had managed to pilot his escape pod down safely. He was a good leader.
Merkiaari Wars: 02 - What Price Honour Page 35