by C. R. Daems
"We all agree in principal, Sapir. It’s the implementation that concerns us. We concede you have been able to succeed in doing that, but will the other dragons? And what about other team leaders?" Geller asked. I didn’t know the answer so I stayed quiet. "Never mind. You’ve persuaded us to accept the contract. It will provide us with another data-point."
Wexler and I worked well into the night helping the committee write the proposal.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
North Song: The Warlord Shin
Well Sapir, do you think all of you dragons would act the same or at least similarly, in a given situation?" Wexler asked. He had been quiet during most of the shuttle ride back to Sasser Mountain.
"No, I don’t. We’re unique individuals and are unlikely to react the same way to any given situation."
"But, dragons have clarity of thought. The ability to grasp the ramifications of the situation."
"Yes, but understanding the situation does not mean seeing the same solution. That would depend upon our perception of tradition, duty, risk, client, and team. Those assessments will vary by individual. So while we may all see the same problem, we are unlikely to see the same solution."
"That’s what has the Committee and me concerned," Wexler mumbled, and was silent for the rest of the trip.
* * *
The next day, I assembled my new team. Senior Sergeant Solow was back with me but now as a newly appointed Lieutenant, and Sergeants Judt and Cerff as newly promoted Senior Sergeants heading two of the three reconfigured teams of four members each. The new teams were composed of the same people I had in Halo, except for the addition of Corporal Rong, a woman, giving me two on each team.
"Good morning. You have all been on teams with me and, therefore, know me and what to expect," I said after they settled down on the ground. I had decided to hold the meeting outside as the weather was chilly but sunny and the mountain air refreshing. "This contract is to protect the wife and two young children of a warlord on the planet North Song. The Warlord Shin is having a dispute with his neighbor, a warlord named Daiki, and is concerned about their safety."
"Sir, what about him and his son’s safety?" Sergeant Catz asked, looking at the briefing notes I had distributed via their Mfis.
"We will know more when we get there, but I assume he is active in the fight with his father against Daiki. That would be the domain of the army rather than the Guard."
"And our duty?" Catz asked, smiling. She had been with me from the beginning and knew me well.
"The safety of the wife and her two children. If we try to do more, we run the risk of jeopardizing our lives and those we are contracted to guard." Nodding heads of agreement greeted me. "The shuttles will be here tomorrow at eight for those interested in seeing North Song."
* * *
The shuttles delivered my team and me to the Black Leopard. When I exited, a Lieutenant braced to attention and saluted.
"Welcome aboard, Captain Sapir. I’m Lieutenant Froman. I’ll show you to your assigned quarters and when you are ready, to Colonel Helon. He would like to see you when you’ve gotten settled."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." I nodded and followed him to the commando area and a private room. "Give me an hour to get settled. After that you can reach me on my Mfi when the Colonel is available." I unpacked my few articles of clothing and toiletries, showered, and spent the remaining time reviewing the background information on North Song. The planet was mountainous and divided up between low tech regions run by self-claimed warlords. The main city, Rasun, had a population of several million and acted as a distribution center between off-planet merchants and the warlords. The merchants had long ago stopped flying upcountry as it wasn’t safe. The warlords were unpredictable and without scruples.
After an exchange of messages, Lieutenant Froman came and escorted me to Colonel Helon’s office. The private on duty opened his door and bowed as I approached. I entered and gave a shallow bow, which Helon returned.
"What would you like to drink, Captain?" He waved me to sit.
"Tea, if you have it, otherwise, water," I said, settling into the all-to-familiar plain steel armchair with its commando-blue padding prevalent in senior officer’s offices. I had no sooner sat than the private set down a tray with tea, sugar, and milk.
"I hear your name a lot since New Kief. You have had some rather unusual assignments for the Black Guard. Is the Black Guard expanding its role?" he asked, watching me as he sipped his tea.
"An evolution, I think."
"A dangerous one. I don’t envy you, Sapir. The good news is that Captain Litwin informs me he has been ordered to stop back regularly to check on you. Of course, the bad is that there will be gaps when you have no support, and the tribes are unpredictable. Although low tech, they have rifles, lasers, RPGs, and are very good shots."
"Sounds like it fits with Guard rule number one—trust no one, ever," I said, and he laughed.
"Good rule for the Jax. They hire us, but they don’t like us. We are a necessary evil. It frees them from doing the dirty work and keeps their hands clean."
* * *
Captain Litwin dispatched two combat shuttles to ferry us to the Sabana region and dropped us less than a klick outside the city of Haeju, where Warlord Shin lived. A city with a population of twenty thousand. Fifteen minutes later, several small trucks equipped with large caliber machine guns appeared, and we were driven into the city. In the center, we entered a compound enclosed by an eight foot high stone wall and stopped next to a two-story white-washed brick building.
As I exited the truck, a tall, muscular man exited the doorway with two equally tall but much heavier-set men. His clothes were similar in style to the others, except better quality: long sleeved, hip-length shirt; baggy pants tight at the ankles; and a short leather jacket. An automatic weapon hung from his back and a belt with ammo clips circled his waist. His narrow face contained a frown as his eyes scanned us and finally came to rest on me. His brown eyes held mine.
"You’re a woman," he said after a long silence. His angular face was covered with a nicely trimmed beard and mustache and curly black hair protruded from his white, round skull-cap.
"You’re a man," I said, keeping my amusement from reaching my face. He stood glaring at me in silence for a long time.
"I’m paying a lot of money. I expected—"
"Men," I interrupted. "But what you got instead is much better. You got the Black Guard." I couldn’t help a smile at the shifting emotions on his face: shock, anger, and finally a sneer. Other men were approaching as we stood talking. "Before you decide you want a demonstration or contest, the Black Guard has nothing to prove. You hired the Jax Black Guard because of our reputation, which has been built over hundreds of years. If you don’t want us, we will leave."
"Show Lord Shin respect, woman," the big man on Shin’s left said loudly, and took two steps towards me, his snarling face thrust towards mine. I snapped my Mfw loose and jammed it into his solar plexus. Garlic breath exploded in my direction as he doubled over and stumbled backward. My weapon swiveled towards the man on Shin’s right whose hands sought his weapon. Instinctively, I knew every Guard’s weapon was now showing by the look on Shin’s face.
"We don’t do demonstrations, but we do give examples. The first one to draw a weapon dies with a bullet through his right eye." I smiled at Shin. "Game’s over, Warlord Shin. Everyone here has earned the uniform they are wearing. I’d rather not have to kill your men to prove it." My gun swiveled back to the man I had struck, who had his hand on his weapon.
"Enough," Shin said, shaking his hand while scanning his men. "We need to talk… Captain Sapir."
I followed him into the building, down a hallway and into a small room with a table and an assortment of chairs, some wood, some steel, and some benches.
"Marie, some coffee," he said to a young woman who stuck her head in the doorway. "How do you work?"
"I have three teams with me. One team will be assigned to your
wife and to each of your children. Two members on each team will be with each member of your family from now until you no longer need us. I’d like a tour of the compound for my team and me. We need to understand all the possible entrances and exits. In the event of trouble, we will need to know our options," I said. "And it would help if you would give me an overview of the situation and what you believe are the potential dangers."
"All day and night?" he asked, eyes narrowed. I nodded. "Good. The province of Semuc is next to mine. We have for generations argued… and fought over strips of grassland and rivers bordering the two. But the old warlord of Semuc died last month and the new one, Daiki, is insane. He’s claiming the entire valley separating our lands belongs to him. His fighters are well armed, and I fear he may be crazy enough to start a war. If he does, I doubt he will give notice, and may begin with an attack on Haeju when I’m not here." He looked up as Marie placed a glass container on the table along with glasses. Shin filled each glass and slid one towards me. "Tea with honey."
I took a sip. "Very good. You understand our contract covers your family only. While we may protect others by killing those we feel a threat to your family, our only concern is your family." I wanted to be clear we weren’t an extension of his army. He stroked his beard as he watched me.
"That seems heartless. You would let innocent people die waiting for the attackers to threaten you… my family."
"Lord Shin, we are mercenaries, very reliable and honorable but mercenaries. We don’t know whether you or Daiki are in the right, and we don’t care. Our total concern will be your family’s safety per our agreement. If we got involved in other people’s safety that would distract us from doing our job and could result in them being saved and your family being killed." I paused for Shin’s reaction. When he said nothing, I continued. "Lastly, the Guard has command of your family’s security. Everyone around them needs to understand that."
"If they don’t?"
"Remember? Our only concern is your family. Anyone hindering us will be considered supporting the people trying to hurt them. That could give us cause to kill them, and we would."
"Including me?" he asked. I nodded. He laughed. "The rumors appear true. The Black Guard has a reputation of being without feelings. When I saw women, I thought the rumors wrong, but I see they were right. I will inform my men that in an emergency you are in charge."
"Thank you, Lord Shin. Although we will not go out of our way to help anyone unless it helps your family, we will not intentionally put anyone in harm’s way." The idea that people thought us heartless killers without feelings sickened me. I could understand how it could look to an observer, adversaries, and how rumors tend to take on a life of their own, but I hoped we never liked seeing people killed or failed to consider innocent bystanders when we contemplated our options.
"Come." He rose, and I followed him out into the courtyard where Shin’s men stood on edge like sixteen rattlesnakes were loose. "Men, I have agreed with Captain Sapir that the Black Guard is in charge of my family’s security whether I’m here or not. If they tell you to do something, do it."
He led us on our tour of the compound. He crossed an open field with two men practicing and a third watching as we headed towards three one-story buildings.
"We use this field for general training, hand-to-hand fighting, knives, familiarization with weapons, etcetera. These three buildings are used to house men here for training and single men who for one reason or another don’t have a place to stay. Usually, it is temporary," he said, opening the door only part way. I pushed it open and walked past him with my team following. It looked like a typical barrack with bunks, showers, and toilet facilities. Only two men were there as we passed through to the back door. They glared at us but said nothing. I entered the second one without asking and again walked through to the back door. Only one man was in the building, in bed. He pulled the covers up to his neck as we passed. The third building was empty. "You don’t have much respect for people’s privacy."
"Privacy is a luxury in war. But now that we’ve seen the buildings and their layout, I doubt we will ever enter the first two again, without knocking." I smiled. "We will take over the third." In a way, being arrogant established us as no nonsense mercenaries and hopefully minimized the men from getting familiar or testing one of us. The next building was small with no windows and a heavily barred door, which Shin unlocked.
"This is where we store our weapons." He waved me in. The room was filled with crates of ammunition and what looked like weapons carried by twentieth century marines, including flak jackets, and a few heavy machine guns like those mounted on the trucks that delivered us to the compound. I waited as each member looked inside. The larger building, which stood in front of this one and faced the gate, was a dining hall for the troops in the compound. Another two-story building stood next to the weapons building.
"Several of my senior officers live here with their families." He hesitated. "Do you need to see this one?"
"Yes, but you may give them notice that we need to see the layout. I imagine your wife and children visit this building," I said, softening my approach now that I hoped I had made my point. After a few minutes he waved for me to enter. Three women and six children ranging in age from toddlers to early teens stood against the far wall. Two men stood with Shin. A stocky man with a full beard and a scowl looked me up and down.
"You’re in charge?" he snarled. I nodded and understood the shock, resentment, and temptation to beat on his chest and didn’t take it personally. "What gives you the right to march through our home?"
"Warlord Shin," I said, holding eye contact. "His family will be visiting this building and possibly others. If trouble happens, whoever is with them needs to know the entrances and exits the intruders and they can use. A few seconds’ delay could be the difference between life and death."
"You think you are better than us," a man taller than Shin but thinner said with a sneer.
"I don’t know you so I don’t have an opinion. But even if I did, it has no meaning since we aren’t competing against each other. Your job is to protect your people. Mine is to protect Warlord Shin’s family. The better you are at your job the less danger your families will encounter." I walked past them with my team following and examined each room and door. When I finished, I gave a small bow in their direction. "Thank you for your patience."
Shin was quiet as he led me back to his house. Inside, a tall woman with a mature figure, a teen aged girl, a preteen girl, and a three-or-four-year-old boy sat at the kitchen table obviously waiting on us.
"Captain Sapir, this is my wife, Iseul, daughter, Soon, and youngest son, Hyun." I gave a small bow. "The other girl is my lieutenant’s oldest daughter, Aika."
"It’s my pleasure to meet you. Iseul. I will be assigning a team of five Guards to you and to each of your children. They will be with you night and day until your husband considers it safe for us to leave."
"Is that necessary?" She looked towards Shin, but I answered.
"Who knows? Your husband’s men may defeat the Warlord Daiki and you might never be in jeopardy. He may make peace with Semuc Province and you might never be in jeopardy. Or he may give us notice when he is coming so you might seek safety elsewhere."
"I get your point, Captain. My husband is very generous paying for guards for us, so I and my children will cooperate."
"Yes, very generous. Iseul, this is Lieutenant Solow, my second in command, and this is Senior Sergeant Catz. She and her team will be assigned to you…" After Catz introduced her team, I went on to introduce Senior Sergeant Cerff to Soon and Senior Sergeant Judt to Hyun. Then we took a tour of the house. The second floor had four bedrooms: a master for Shin and his wife, one each for Soon and Hyun and a fourth for their eldest son, Tahm who was part of the Sabana army and out on patrol. It had two bathrooms and an office. Downstairs were a large kitchen, bathroom, family room, another office, and front and rear doors. By the end of the day, my off duty personnel were
settled into the third barrack and the Shin family under Black Guard protection.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
North Song: The Warlord Daiki
Later that day, I called a meeting with Lieutenant Solow and my senior sergeants.
"I want each of you and each of your teams over the next two days to tour the compound and the town. Because on the third day, I want each of you to tell me how you would attack this compound, it’s weaknesses, and when would be the best time to attack Shin’s family members. Based on that we will make adjustments. For now, shift change every six hours."
"We will need to know about the other warlord," Solow said. "That could be crucial information."
"Not for this exercise. I’m looking for how someone clever would go about an attack here at Haeju. But for your information, Shin claims that warlord Daiki’s army is twenty percent larger, weapons are newer, and has more equipment—vehicles, ammo, explosives, and heavy machine guns—and he’s crazy and unpredictable," I said.
"You’re worried that crazy and unpredictable might be aggressive and shrewd." Catz smiled knowingly. When I nodded, she continued. "And this compound appears an easy target for such a man."
"Yes. Consider this a training exercise. Although there will be no grades assigned, your insights my save the life of a friend, comrade-in-arms, or your beloved Captain."
* * *
Three days later, I gathered those off duty. "Well, who would like to start?"
"From what I could learn, it would be an eight hour drive, or twelve hours on horseback, or eighteen hours walking to Haeju from the border with Daiki. I would send in a small team of three or four persons partway by horseback to attack the weapons storage building. I’d use a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and time my attack for around three a.m.," Sergeant Judt said to nodding heads.