“Big warning sound,” Boa said. “Know/you question,” he asked Cobra.
“Know/me not,” Cobra replied. “Know/me assemble. Know/me protect/she mate. Know/me protect/they hatchlings.”
Cobra and his Sidewinder Squad comrades all waved their free hands in agreement and continued up the tunnel. They exited to find most of the split-tails moving quickly around the colony. Cobra tapped his helmet. “Sidewinder Squad. Phalanx make,” he ordered. The twenty-one members of Sidewinder Squad took up position at the border of the burrow.
The speaker for the Alsoo joined the Alsoo centurions. “Split-tails/they worried/they,” commented the speaker.
“Truth/oath,” agreed Cobra. “Stand/we with split-tails/they. Pledge/oath.” He slapped his chest.
“Protector question,” the speaker asked.
“Protector/he here not,” Cobra responded. “Protector/he Spirit Speaker watch/he.”
“Cabin question,” the speaker asked.
“Cabin/not,” Cobra said. “Far/far big/big split-tail burrow all/be.” His expression was grim but determined. “Sidewinder Squad/we protect/we burrow. Sidewinder Squad die/we protect.” He slapped his chest, and the gesture was echoed by the entire Alsoo squad.
“Protect pledge/oath,” they warbled in unison.
“Hendriks reports that Ape, Bird, and Sidewinder are all ready, Commander,” Meadow Flower reported. “High Flyer Squadron has launched. DefSat One green. DefSat Two green. DefSat Three yellow. DefSat Four green. DefSat Five yellow.” Her crest flattened slightly. “Commander, DefSat Three just went red.” Her crest flattened completely. “Spirits!” she exclaimed. “DefSat Three and DefSat Five are both red. I am getting Torque emergency broadcasts from DefSat Three and Five.”
With a visible effort, she forced her voice to remain calm. “Commander, DefSat Three and Five are broadcasting,” she chirped.
“… peat. Earth defense satellites have been liberated from the godless heathens who have dared to rebel against God,” came the broadcast. “We are the Hands of God, and we call upon our brethren to rise up …”
“Someone block those broadcasts immediately,” Kasumi shouted.
“Rise up and take back our countries, our world, our God. Rise up …” The broadcast suddenly stopped.
“Morning Mist, Meadow Flower, someone tell me what’s happening,” Kasumi demanded.
“Best guess?” reported Morning Mist. “Outside or co-opted agents have taken command of DefSat Three and Five.”
“Moles,” rumbled Eisenstadt. “Sleeper agents. People placed in position with this takeover as their sole purpose.”
“Analysis agrees with the commander,” Meadow Flower interjected. “Analyzing recruitment records now.”
“Keep us informed, Meadow Flower,” the commander replied.
“Not everyone on those satellites are moles,” Morning Mist said. She chittered suddenly. “A friend of yours is coordinating a response,” she said almost cheerfully. “Relaying.”
“Commander?” came a familiar voice.
“Daniels? Is that you?” the commander asked urgently.
“Yes sir,” replied now-Colonel William Robert Daniels. “Up until fifteen minutes ago, I was CO of DefSat Five,” he said in tones that sounded more annoyed than worried, “when one General Alton Bridgestone came up for a ‘surprise inspection.’” You could hear the implied quotes in Daniels’ voice.
“Aw shit,” the commander exclaimed.
“Sorry, sir,” replied Daniels. “I was careless.”
“We can discuss that later, Daniels,” growled Eisenstadt. “What are your plans?”
“I’d rather not say, sir,” Daniels replied. “The wrong people may be listening in.”
“You’re secure, Colonel,” Meadow Flower said. “The only Torques you are now communicating with are here in this room. And if anyone tries relaying what you say, I will know.”
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Daniels said in an accusatory voice. “Never mind,” he said crisply. “Bridgestone only controls the bridge and weapons. I control everything else,” he said. “And my people think they can detach him from weapons in about an hour. Once weapons are under my control, we will move against the bridge.”
“Make it ten minutes, Daniels,” barked the commander. “Keep Morning Mist updated.”
“Yes sir,” replied Daniels.
“That takes care of DefSat Five,” the commander said. “Who’s the CO on Three?”
“Commander Al-Sadhi,” reported Meadow Flower. “He’s been with us for almost two years.” Her crest suddenly flattened. “It isn’t Al-Sadhi, sir,” she said. “His Torque just reported his death.”
“No!” exclaimed Colonel Bloom in horror. He and his squadron were assigned to DefSat Three, and he had just watched his CO and friend, Commander Sharrif Al-Sadhi, gunned down by supposedly his own men. “What the fuck is wrong with you, you sons of bitches?”
The men in the uniform of Earth Defense turned toward Captain Bloom. “This satellite and all who serve here are under the command of the Hands of God,” he said sternly. “Commander Al-Sadhi resisted the lawful order to relinquish command and provide the launch codes.” He raised his weapon. “Don’t make me shoot you, Colonel.”
Colonel Bloom stared at the weapon then raised his eyes to look at his opponent. He made a chirping sound. “Too late,” he said.
“Colonel?” replied the man. Suddenly, the man’s body jerked and then fell to the ground.
“I said, too late,” replied Bloom. His hand held a weapon. He smiled coldly. “About a thousand years too late.” His smile got colder and wider. “My name is Alexander Bloom. You killed my friend. Prepare to die.” He started walking forward.
A man aimed his weapon and fired at Colonel Bloom. The high-velocity slug should have punched the same baseball-sized hole in Colonel Bloom as it had in Commander Al-Sadhi, but something deflected it.
“My name is Alexander Bloom. You killed my friend. Prepare to die,” repeated Colonel Bloom. “Bet you dumb fucks don’t even know where that’s from, do you?” He aimed his weapon at a second stunned man. He fired, and the man’s body jerked and fell to the ground.
“My name is Alexander Bloom. You killed my friend. Prepare to die!” he screamed, and his weapon fired again and again. The rest of his squadron added their own weapons’ fire.
Colonel Bloom lowered his weapon when the last of the enemy squad was either dead or dying. He tapped his Torque. “This is Colonel Bloom to Command. Commander Al-Sadhi is dead, and DefSat Three is in enemy hands. I will attempt to make contact and link up with our people and see what we can do about taking back the satellite. Out.”
Captain Bloom turned to his squadron. “Okay, boys and girls, let’s make some noise.”
“Anyone ever tell you, you are a sick fuck, Bloom?” asked his wingman, Lieutenant DuBois, a young-looking light-skinned black woman. “Fuck!” she exclaimed. “Only a sick fuck would quote from The Princess Bride and kill someone,” she complained. “Normal people quote Tarantino.” She checked her weapon and headed for the hatchway.
Colonel Bloom stopped by the dead body of Commander Al-Sadhi. “They’re dead, buddy,” he said to the corpse. “You can rest easy.” He knelt down and covered the man’s head with his jacket. Then Colonel Bloom stood. “ROE is as follows: kill them all and let God sort it out,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“Sorry for the delay, Mr. President,” David Eisenstadt said to the image floating in front of him. “We had a few situations to handle.”
“No doubt,” President Newgate replied dryly. “I assume those situations have been handled?” he asked in the same dry tones.
“Not completely, sir,” replied the commander. “But they are contained.”
“Thanks the spirits for that,” muttered the president. “It’s a madhouse down her
e. The only good news is that hardly any of those countries prone to launching weapons have rebuilt even a fraction of their nuclear capabilities. So all the fighting is conventional.”
“Fighting?” Eisenstadt asked in dark tones. He looked at Morning Mist.
“Mostly minor skirmishes,” she replied to his unasked question. “Closer to police actions,” she added.
“Those police actions are causing casualties,” President Newgate snapped. “If I had known that Mr. Blunt’s appearance would have caused this, I would have stopped him.”
“Would you have really, sir?” asked Eisenstadt. “To be fair, I doubt he expected this either.” He rubbed his close-cropped scalp. “Sir, my priorities at this moment are regaining control of all of Earth Defense satellites and maintaining control of everything else up here,” he said almost apologetically. “The only ground forces I can spare are Ape, Bird, and … Sidewinder Squads.”
Captain Hendriks and Captain Cool Evening Breeze walked deliberately to the Alsoo colony. They stopped at the border of Alsoo territory. Usually if someone came near the border, a guard would approach and both warn them off and ask why they were there. Depending on the circumstances, either more Alsoo would arrive or the visitor would be escorted to a specified location. This time, neither of those things occurred, as Sidewinder Squad was already waiting and in full gear.
The two captains slapped their chests. “Pledge/oath,” they chorused.
“Pledge/oath,” responded the Alsoo. Cobra, Boa, and Mamba side-winded forward. “Eaters question,” asked Cobra.
“Not Eaters, centurion. Something far worse,” replied Hendriks.
The Alsoo squad leader tilted his feathered head. “Split-tail fight split-tail question,” he warbled.
Hendriks smiled wryly. “You weren’t supposed to get it in one, Cobra,” he complained. “I had a whole bunch of ominous-sounding things I was gonna say.”
The Alsoo leader warbled in amusement. “Crazy/think split-tail,” he replied. “Think/me split-tail crazy/think this time Alsoo crazy/think.” The rest of Sidewinder Squad warbled their own amused responses.
“I think he just said we’re rubbing off on them.” Hendriks smiled. “But then again, all warriors are crazy.” He stopped smiling, and his posture became more rigid, more official. He pointed to the Alsoo citadel. “The women and hatchlings will be safe inside the colony. Pledge/oath,” he said. “You don’t have to come with us, but we really need every warrior possible.”
“Sidewinder/we fight/we bad split-tail/they question,” asked Cobra.
“They’re not bad split-tails, but we do not think the same way about some things,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. She waited for the translation to complete. “We must fight them, but not as enemies but as … help me out here, Hendriks.” Cool Evening Breeze struggled to find a way to explain.
“Brothers time time fight/they,” said Cobra. “Time time want/they same female/they, same burrow/they. Split-tails brothers/they,” Cobra warbled.
“Exactly,” Cool Evening Breeze exclaimed. “These split-tails are our brothers, and we must treat them that way even though we are fighting.”
Cobra turned to the two Alsoo flanking him, and they warbled at each other. Occasionally, one of the other Alsoo warbled a comment from the still-maintained phalanxes. The discussion didn’t last too long, but it felt as if the matter was being discussed in great detail. The translators didn’t try translating what it considered a private conversation.
Finally, the Alsoo waggled their arms at each other and turned to Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze. “Bad time brothers fight/they. Tribe/we make peace brother/they. Big split-tail, little split-tail, Alsoo/tribe be/we. Tribe we make peace.” He slapped his chest. “Pledge/oath.”
Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze braced to attention and slapped their chests. “Pledge/oath.”
56
AND IN THE END
Jeremy Blunt gazed pensively out of the window of the limousine that was taking him and his three students to a local airfield and the Rynn shuttle that was waiting for them.
“Teacher,” Morning Stars Fade said urgently. “We are still being followed.”
Jeremy nodded. “And what does that tell you, Disciple?” he asked.
“That someone we trust has broken that trust,” Morning Stars Fade replied. “I cannot believe it would be the oligarch.”
“It isn’t,” Jeremy replied. “A pawn can take a king just as easily as a queen.” Jeremy pointed his chin at the driver. “Isn’t that so, Mr. Owens?”
The driver looked at his passengers via his rearview mirror. “When did you catch on?” he asked. “Just out of curiosity.”
“You did quite well hiding what you were doing,” Jeremy said calmly. “But you should have been able to shake the car tailing us when my student first alerted you.” He smiled slightly. “What was it: money, position, power?”
“God,” replied the driver.
“Ah, of course,” Jeremy replied.
“I hope you aren’t going to do something foolish,” the driver said somberly.
“Foolish?” Jeremy laughed. “No, I don’t think we’ll do something foolish,” he said. “However, what we will do will be very violent,” he said. “Disciples.”
Jamal pulled his weapon and shot the driver in the back of the head while Emily expanded her personal shield to cover Jeremy, Jamal, and Morning Stars Fade. The car started to sway now that no one was steering the vehicle. Jamal tapped his Torque. “Emergency pickup requested,” he said. He leaned across the front seat, pushed the body of the driver away, and grabbed the wheel. It was fortunate that they were on a more isolated stretch of road—though it was quite likely that fortune had nothing to do with that. Jamal scrambled into the driver’s seat.
“They’re firing at us,” reported Emily calmly.
“We need to get out of this car,” Jeremy ordered. “There’s a good chance that our actions were anticipated.”
“Maybe not, Teacher,” Morning Stars Fade replied. “There does not appear to be a bomb or any other devices that could affect the car.”
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “I think I’m disappointed,” he said. “No. I’m insulted,” he corrected himself.
“Most think you are just an old man, Teacher,” Morning Stars Fade chittered. “They have a reason to believe you are harmless. But it bothers me that they would think the same about us,” he noted. “As you humans say, I have half a mind to complain.”
“Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake,” Jeremy said. “Nor let them know that they are making a mistake.”
Morning Stars Fade and Emily briefly covered their eyes. Jamal just laughed.
“If this is supposed to be either a kidnapping or an assassination,” Jeremy said in the tones of a professional lecturer, “there should be at least one more vehicle. Preferably at a blind intersection,” he added. “And the number and nature of the other vehicle will inform us as to their intentions.”
“Don’t you ever stop teaching, old man?” complained Jamal.
“Teachable moments like this are few and far between,” Jeremy said cheerfully. “We should seize the opportunity that presents itself.”
“Teacher,” Emily said urgently. “A second SUV and a panel truck have joined the one that’s been following.”
“A kidnapping then,” Jeremy nodded. “Jamal, expect them to try cutting you off.”
“ETA on shuttle is five minutes, twenty seconds,” Emily reported.
“Well done, Emily,” Jeremy praised. “That was going to be my next question.”
“Both SUVs are speeding up, sir,” Jamal reported. “We’re coming to an off-ramp,” he said. “Town of Mountaindale. Population 32.” He chuckled. “Looks like they got at least one thing right,” he said derisively.
“Let’s play along for now,” Jeremy sai
d. “Maybe if we let them kidnap us, we’ll learn who our mastermind is.”
‘Teacher, you may think this is fun, but your granddaughter will skin me alive if anything happens to you,” growled Morning Stars Fade.
“Which one?” Jeremy asked in curious tones.
“Does it matter, Teacher?” replied Morning Stars Fade.
Jeremy chuckled. “I suppose not,” he said. “Oh well, if there’s going to be gunplay, we should do it someplace like Mountaindale.” He leaned back in the seat. “Remind me to tell you the story of when Mei Lin and I were in a similar situation.”
Two pairs of eyes swiveled to look at Jeremy, and three pairs of ears pricked up. In the case of Morning Stars Fade, the pricking was literal. “Was Mei Lin a part of your … previous life, Teacher?” Morning Stars Fade asked cautiously.
“She giggled the entire time,” Jeremy replied. “She later told me it was the best date she had ever been on.”
“Yes, Teacher,” Morning Stars Fade replied with a smile. “I wonder if Emily will think this was the best date she has ever been on,” he teased.
“Depends on if we get out of this alive or not,” Emily replied. “Three minutes before shuttle arrives.”
“SUV is going to try cutting me off, sir,” reported Jamal. “Big house nearby,” he said in interested tones. “Mr. Big?”
“Probably not so big,” Emily countered “Two and a half minutes.”
“Hang on,” Jamal ordered as he applied the car’s brakes to avoid the car that suddenly cut them off. He spun the wheel, hit the gas, and shot around the car. “Here comes number two,” he warned and hit the brakes again. He stopped the car, quickly put it into reverse, and backed away. He spun the wheel and hit the brakes again to spin the car around. He jammed down on the accelerator.
“Forty-five seconds,” Emily reported. “Well hello, Dr. Franklin,” she said.
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