by JR Handley
“Sir, we’ve located an icer cache,” said Wires, “and we’re tearing down the wall that hides them. Spartika didn’t find them, and my AI assures me that the energy reading means it’s a full load.”
Shouting jubilantly, Lance informed her that he was on his way, and put aside his childhood memories. There’s work to be done. Guess we’ll rest later, thought Lance. Getting back into combat mode, he followed the green icon on his helmet directing him to where the 6907th was deconstructing the wall hiding the icers. When he got there, Lance hooked his carbine onto its place on his back and began lending a hand to the deconstruction.
When they were clear, the assault team pushed into the space, but it was obvious to everyone that nobody had been in here for a very long time. With the hidden chamber cleared, Lance and Basil stepped in while several fire teams stood guard. Squatting in front of the access terminal, Lance sent the monofilament worms from the tip of his armored finger into the universal docking port. Within seconds of penetration, Xena had access to the entire system and fed that information back to Lance.
I’ve scanned through the records of every one of these humans. They’re not yet Marines. These humans are straight out of a crèche, none of them even old enough for Novice School. There are also Jotun young and some officers and NCOs who were assigned to the créche.
Lance was dumbfounded. Millions of kids, babies who weren’t even old enough to leave their mothers’ sides and yet had somehow been frozen for a long time.
“How in the frakk will we use them?” Lance asked Xena.
I would think it was simple, even for one as small-minded as you. You train the babies: T-R-A-I-N, train. That is where you teach them new things.
Cursing softly to himself, Lance turned and gave Basil access to the data and a summary of what Xena had found. After he passed the information to Basil, the two of them prepared a quick report and forwarded it up the chain of command.
— Chapter 44 —
Early Morning, Post-Revival Day 213
Kalino City, Cardamine Island
Commander, TF Justice, Human Legion
The Kalino City command bunker was a stingy place, offering little in the way of creature comforts to the officers of the Human Legion. Austere gray walls and minimalist furniture declared the place to be, without a doubt, a war room. It was apparently built with function as its primary focus. Field Marshal Tirunesh Nhlappo preferred it this way; the spartan surroundings reminded her that better facilities were waiting for her in New Detroit City. When one too many staff officers mentioned missing the comforts of the recently finished Akoni City, Nhlappo had had enough.
“Shut it!” she roared. “We’re Marines! Officers! We have a war to plan, a mutiny to quell, and this won’t stand. Clear the room. Task force commanders only.”
When Colonel Basil Terloar and the technical specialists also started to leave, she snapped at them to stay. She emphasized her intent, pointing her hand in their direction, wielding it like a knife.
“Not you – you brain-heads stay put.”
When the room had cleared, Nhlappo turned back to the remaining officers.
“Field Marshal Marchewka is out of the fight for the foreseeable future. He will honor his mother and celebrate her return by searching for intelligence vital to our maneuvers once we secure the system. That is as it should be. The war isn’t over when we defeat the insurgency. As the senior officer remaining, I’m assuming command.”
Stopping to scan the room, Nhlappo was pleased when nobody objected. Turning to Colonel Scipio, she began her inquiry into the best strategy going forward.
“Colonel, the enemy has revived Marines with the same training as you. You’re no longer the force multiplier you once were, so we need options.”
She watched as Lance stood at attention, his face an unreadable mask.
“Field Marshal, having people with the tactical training I learned as a crècheling was always a short-term bonus. The insurgent Spartika has been watching us bleed ourselves dry as we clear out the New Order. She even started a mutiny under your nose, so she clearly isn’t an idiot.”
Lance paused as he tried to read her face. She knew she’d been at this longer than he had, and didn’t let her face give him anything. Nhlappo was willing to bet her grok ration that he was trying to see if he’d gone too far. She kept her face expressionless, not ready to tell him anything. With no answer forthcoming, he appeared to give up and continued his response.
“What she doesn’t have are AIs with advanced access features. She doesn’t have Xena and her brood of super AIs. She likely has only limited air power and gravtanks to support her ground troops. There hasn’t been enough time for her to conquer the factories on Baylshore and get them cranking out resources. This is just speculation, but based on what she left behind to fight us on Cardamine. If she had better gear for her troops, would she resort to these cowardly insurgent tactics? And how would she find out about the factories on Baylshore? We only found out through the Hardit defectors. She’d likely make the assumption we did, that the only factories were on Serendine.”
“Spartika is cunning. She’d do what she thought was necessary and wouldn’t worry about anything but the end result. And she’s had spies in our midst from day one, so she didn’t need to figure out anything on her own. She’d just wait and have access to all of our data. Assume nothing, but continue,” responded Nhlappo.
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Lance. “In addition to limited resources, Spartika doesn’t have Colonel Basil Terloar and Commander Tizer to advance technology in her favor. Nor do the insurgents have officers and senior NCOs from my era, with all of that intelligence they possess. She has to know the risk involved in awakening officers. Their loyalty isn’t assured, and they could challenge her supremacy.”
“We do have all that, and it’s paid strong dividends. Together, we’ve been able to find the location of the Rakasa System. Okay, Captain Grimgerde has confirmed the location and used the chbits link to verify that there’s a fleet there. We’ll have to fight for it, but I think the Legion can pull it off. We can discuss that once the mutiny is subdued. Needless to say, her gift for tactics only matters insomuch as she is willing to use them.”
Colonel Scipio seemed surprised when Nhlappo only nodded and asked to see the plans he’d devised.
“The assault plan is simple. Complexity rarely works, and the insurgents win by dragging this out. Speed and violence of action are our friends – always have been, always will be. I’ve randomly assigned the task force roles securing outposts and factories, but the larger idea stands regardless. We’ve gotten more precise maps from Captain Grimgerde, and are taking advantage of that precise intelligence.”
“How do you know that the insurgents will be there?” she asked him.
“We don’t, ma’am, but we know that the facilities are there, so we need to secure them. If it’s abandoned, even better. If the insurgents are there, we assault through them. With that in mind, Task Force Justice will take the Baylshore Multi-Use Factory on the northern part of the continent. Task Force Vengeance will seize the Baylshore Ship Factory, which is also on the northern continent. Finally, Task Force Retribution will capture the Baylshore New Order Incubation Station. Our most recent defectors tell us that the New Order left a small detachment to harass the insurgents. If any of them survive, they’ll be here. We cannot let those frakkers continue to spawn. The Janissary menace must end in this system.”
Before he finished, Nhlappo held up her hand to cut him off.
“Solid start. Now what are your plans for the command of Task Force Retribution?” she asked with an edge to her voice.
“I didn’t make any decision on that, ma’am. I believe that Field Marshal Marchewka intended for Colonel Gaarjar to assume command. Regardless, who commands an individual unit isn’t as important as a cohesive overarching plan. For your information, before this meeting, there was an incoming transmission from Akoni City. Colonel Gaarjar was sent to r
eplace Field Marshal Marchewka. If you would prefer something else, you can decide, but she is one of the senior officers with experience commanding combat field units.”
Nodding, Nhlappo decided she’d sufficiently put him in his place. Mentally dismissing him, she turned to Colonel Gaarjar.
“Congratulations, GG, I’ve officially made you a brevet field marshal. We can see what happens after this campaign concludes.”
Looking back to Colonel Scipio, she continued.
“Continue, now that I’ve settled the command of the final task force command.”
Nhlappo smiled inside as she watched him take a sip of water to clear his mind. She’d gotten into his head, where she needed to be if she was going to rein in his impetuousness.
“Where was I? Right, we need to save the incubation station for the Legion. Especially after what happened on Serendine. I want Colonel Terloar there to secure the tech once the Marines capture the facility. We–”
Field Marshal Nhlappo cut him off again, objecting to the minutia of his assault plans.
“Send Ledatic on that mission. He’s become the de facto Hardit leader since Thann died. He knows the New Order better than the rest and will be an asset to Brevet Field Marshal Gaarjar. For now, we have too much that we need Colonel Terloar to attend to. We have a navy to build, White Knight research to incorporate into our new tech, and we need to find a way to use the older Makoni tech, as well. Now continue with your overall plan.”
“Right,” said Lance. “Each task force will seize and hold their objective. They will regroup, leave a regiment to hold the facility, and continue to their secondary objective. The Storks will supply us with replacement Marines as we transition between objectives. After seizing each, they will again leave a regiment to hold what we’ve captured, and continue to their third objective, hopping closer and closer to New Detroit City. They will then capture their fourth objective, where all units will hold. We’ll attack New Detroit together, and the campaign will be over. We can then root out any stragglers, but the planet will be ours. The coordination for the final push will be key.”
Nhlappo watched him take another moment to pause and drink, smiling to herself.
“Finally, our throttle jockeys will maintain supremacy in the air and provide overwatch for our ground forces. I’ve cancelled plans to use the maglevs, due to the risk of unnecessary losses from Spartika’s nefarious traps. We can’t afford to unnecessarily bleed Marines, so I recommend against utilizing the maglevs.”
“Make the opening salvo the air campaign,” said Nhlappo. “Otherwise, I like where you’re going. Have you considered how you’re going to leave a regiment at the first three objectives? As it stands, there are only three regiments in each task force.”
Nodding, Lance continued outlining the logistics behind it, with the Stork pilots flying non-stop runs, dropping in reinforcements at every step of the way.
“I like it. Make it so,” said Field Marshal Nhlappo, ending the meeting.
— Chapter 45 —
Noon, Post-Revival Day 213
Makoni Library, Cardamine Island
R&D, Marine Engineering Corps, Human Legion
The building had been abustle with activity ever since it was captured by the Human Legion. Even several days later, there was a lot of work for the Marines to do. They had wasted no time in bringing loads of Storks full of repair teams and reinforcements. Regiment after regiment crossed the skies above Cardamine Island. Lieutenant Commander Chase Arbor was one of the troops dropped off at the new facility, though he led a team with a more specific purpose. He was in charge of a group from the newly formed Research and Development branch of the Engineering Corps.
Chase knew that the fledgling Human Legion needed every advantage if they were to survive the inevitable battles that were still left unfought in the current war. The White Knights were a formidable foe. With war looming on the horizon for the Marines of the Tranquility System, their understrength force needed every technical advantage. It was his job to find it for them. He knew the craft he’d invented during the campaign to capture the continent of Serendine would help, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to raid the abandoned clandestine research facility; it could have the very information they needed to improve their chances. Despite what the ground troops said, every spacer knew that this war would be won in the void, by spacers and capital ships.
His small command had only recently arrived, and already their AIs had made some significant headway. They’d been able to determine that Spartika’s forces hadn’t made it past the research facility’s security features. Only the combined power of all the AIs from Chase’s team would allow them to crack the code. It didn’t hurt that they had “Wires,” who’d already broken the White Knight Master Code. With her direction, the combined intellectual might of their department had gotten into the secure compartments of the mainframe.
While the platoon of technicians sifted through hundreds of half-finished plans and technical schematics, Chase began creating algorithms to see which projects were close enough to completion that they could be of use to the Legion. Those pieces of tech that were too early in their development cycle would be cataloged for later study, and those which could be used were prioritized and forwarded to Colonel Basil Terloar and Commander Tizer.
Chase knew he’d be in attendance at the upcoming meeting, and his fighter craft proved that you could merge the tech. What he didn’t yet know was how much creative freedom he’d be given, or whether he’d end up as some glorified scribe. Wanting a seat at the table, Chase strove to prove his worth with the current project. He pressed his troops hard and didn’t allowed them a single break. The Marines, knowing that the improved tech could save their lives, were more than happy to bring them food and field cots. Their assistance allowed Chase to rotate his people, ensuring everyone was operating on all cylinders. And the engineers had been more than happy to set up everything they needed after he prioritized a few toys for them in the opening hours of the work.
“Commander Arbor, sir,” said one of the junior members of the R&D team.
“What is it, shipmate?” asked Chase.
“Sir, we’ve got plans for an interstellar void ship. Bigger and better engines. More gees and a design with stealth in mind. The engines appear to be significantly better than what the White Knights use. And the same can be said for their weapons. I don’t understand them, sir, but if the readouts are correct, we’ve just found the edge our navy was looking for.”
“If this is legitimate, why isn’t it on every White Knight vessel?” asked Wires.
“Logistics,” replied Chase. “It’s too drastically different. You’d be cutting yourself off from resupply until their supply chain can retool for these new parts. I’d bet that’s why they didn’t use the ancient tech. It wasn’t compatible.”
Excited by the idea of this new yet ancient tech, Chase strove to maintain his bearing. Not only had his team made the discovery, but his naval training was paying off – he understood what an engine like the one on the schematics he was now looking at could do. His musings were interrupted by the young spacer.
“Sir, this tech was developed hundreds of years ago. I worry that this old tech might not hold up to the modern White Knight capital ships. The tech is different, but is it better? Will they hold against modern warships? Will they hold?”
“The ship designs are good. The issue will be adapting our strategies. Will our officers be able to adjust fire?”
— Chapter 46 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 213
Akoni City, Serendine
Commander, 1st TAW, Human Legion
Commander Mawr Bryn was tired. Sitting in her briefing room, in her flight suit, she tried not to think as she rested at the table while she waited to start her watch rotation. She was the Jotun commander of the remaining air units of the Human Legion. The 1st Tactical Air Wing, or the 1st TAW, was undermanned and under-equipped, but the war continued. The surviving m
embers struggled to get their planes back into combat readiness, sacrificing sleep in the push to conquer the rest of the Tranquility. All the pilots were working with their ground crews to prepare them to capture the remaining continent on Tranquility. Baylshore wasn’t firmly in the Human Legion hands, but Mawr was confident that the issue would be resolved in their favor.
She was exhausted, and she was running her Marines and spacers ragged. The supplies needed for fabricating parts dwindled, and her technicians’ creative solutions could only carry the Legion so far. In addition to requiring spare parts, they were still waiting on replacement fighters from the ship factory. Deep in thought, Mawr was mindlessly eating a quick snack in the officers’ mess of the flight line when the Digi-Sheet buzzed in her leg pocket.
Your helmet was off, and I needed to get your attention, said her AI through the speaker next to her. This device isn’t secure, so I’ve forwarded an urgent communique via your Aimee.
Slapping the table with two of her four hands, Mawr set her food down and looked at the Aimee on her arm. Scanning through the private messages, while deleting the junk messages from her various subordinate AIs informing her of maintenance performed, Mawr got to the new orders from the senior command structure. She was to organize her surviving command and conduct an organized strike on any target of opportunity on the continent of Baylshore. After cursing out loud, Mawr sent out an emergency meeting and started herding all the pilots and ground crew senior petty officers that she found to the briefing room.
It took another thirty minutes to get all her pilots to the briefing, with mess cranks bringing food for the flight crew and pilots. While Mawr’s forces ate, she stood up and addressed the assembled personnel.
“Listen up!” she roared over the intercom system. “We’ve got an incoming priority mission. We’ll be bombing several insurgent outposts. They’ve got limited air power, we think. Should you run into any trouble, withdraw, and we shall return and engage them in force.”