by Lucas Marcum
“Lima Charlie, Daka Five-Two.” Elizabeth paused a moment, and then said, “Be advised, there’s heavy rebel presence to our west. We’ve negotiated a temporary ceasefire but cannot guarantee your safe passage. We also have reports of uniformed police officers being executed by one or more of the rebel groups.”
The voice came back as calm as before, “Thanks for the heads up, Valkyrie. We’re in civilian clothing and are acting as the reconnaissance element for the inbound relief force.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief before answering, “Five-Two, that’s the best news I’ve heard all week. Who’s coming?”
Daka Five-Two responded, sounding amused, “Number Six Para, leading the way for First Battalion, Royal Scots.” There was a pause, then the man said again, “Sit tight, Valkyrie. Help is on the way. Daka Five-Two, out.”
“Understood. Valkyrie Actual, out.” Elizabeth took off the headset, looked at the two enlisted men, and said, “Well, you heard the man. Help is on the way. Make sure the teams on the walls know what to look for, and we’ll see what the plan for relief is after they make contact.” The two enlisted men nodded and left the room.
The sailor on the radio said, “Colonel, the front gate is reporting increased amounts of foot traffic passing us. They say some of them appear to be rebels, and they’re well within the three-block radius.”
Elizabeth nodded, frowned, and thanked the young man, then turned and moved out of the low building. Once outside, she could hear a low crackling sound from the west of the compound, interspersed with occasional muffled explosions. Picking up her pace, she moved to the gate and, seeing the lanky Spaceborne trooper crouched on the makeshift rampart, called out, “Sergeant Gagarin, what do you see?”
The man glanced down momentarily, then replied, “There’s a hell of a firefight going on to our west, Colonel. Here.” He tapped the sailor next to him and pointed over the wall, then set down his rifle and reached an arm down to Elizabeth. Grabbing his hand, she scrambled up and crouched next to him. She peered cautiously over the edge of the thick wall.
Gagarin moved up next to her, pointed out into the dim city to their west, and said, “See there? Watch for a second.” Elizabeth squinted her eyes and started, then saw what he was pointing at. There were flickers of blue flashing off the plassteel underside of the dome a hundred feet over their heads. Occasionally there were white flickers, and intermittently the low, distinctive barking of automatic lascannons could be heard firing off bursts. As they watched, there was a bright flash extending above the rooftops, forming into an orange yellow explosion. A split second later the deep, bass rumble of the explosion could be felt, shaking the platform they stood on.
Gagarin shook his head and commented, “The rebels are getting desperate.” He continued to stare into the dark.
Elizabeth asked, “How do you know that?” The fireball faded, leaving afterimages flashing in her vision.
Pointing out into the dark, the soldier responded, “Because that ain’t a standard issue UEA weapon, and there’s no one in the UEA military dumb enough to set something that size off inside a dome. The plassteel of the dome is damn tough, but it ain’t indestructible.” He squinted in the dark for a moment, then added, “They’re also losing. Look.” He pointed at a group of shadows about two hundred meters down the street. They were running down the middle of the street, not stopping or trying to seek cover.
The NCO shook his head and remarked, “That’s not an organized retreat. That’s the withdrawal of people getting their asses kicked.” He glanced at Elizabeth and said, “I think we need to be very careful, ma’am. No more people in or out. We’re coming to a conclusion here.”
The sailor next to them suddenly said, “Sergeant Gagarin! Look! There it is!” The young woman pointed out into the dim light. Directly across from the compound, Elizabeth could see a flashing green light. The sailor said, “Dot, dot, dash. That’s them! ‘V’ for Valkyrie!” She picked up a handheld spotlight and pointed it over the edge.
The Spaceborne NCO ordered, “Do it.” The young sailor responded with the same series of flashes, then nodded as two rapid flashes came in return. Gagarin leaned over and said to the sailors on the gate, “Open it.”
Watching the street, Elizabeth could see figures appearing out of the darkness beyond their floodlights and beginning to casually stroll across the street. They were big men with beards, dressed in thawbs. Some of them wore headcovers, others were wearing hooded garments, but all seemed like natives of the city itself. They carried all sorts of mismatched bags and bundles of what looked like merchant goods.
Elizabeth said, “If that’s them…that’s…that’s a damn good disguise.”
Gagarin muttered, “No shit.” He turned to Elizabeth and said quickly, “You ought to get back. This is probably them, but just in case…” He checked his rifle and indicated that she should move. Elizabeth scooted off the platform and headed back toward the command center. McCormick slid down, stood in front of the heavy mesh gate, and nodded at the sailor on the controls. The heavy mesh gate slid aside. A moment later several men appeared, speaking loudly and jovially in Arabic as they entered, six in total. After the last had entered, the sailor on the gate clicked the controls, and the gate closed. Suddenly the men stopped speaking, and the one in front stepped up and pulled his hood back, revealing a young man with a dark complexion and thick beard.
He nodded in a comradely way to Gagarin and said in a precise, accented tone, “Havildar Prakash Singh, Number 6 Para.” He smiled and held out a hand to shake. The Spaceborne could see the compact rifle snugged in alongside the man’s body under the robes.
Mike laughed and reached out, shaking the man’s offered hand. “Sergeant Michael Gagarin, First Battalion, Seventeenth Spaceborne.” He shook the man’s hand with feeling. “Goddamn, are we glad to see you.”
The special forces soldier grinned broadly and replied, “We’re happy to assist. Leftenant Kirupa will need to speak to the Valkyrie, and the men will get additional security set up. I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time.”
Puzzled, Gagarin asked, “Time for what?”
Singh laughed. “Why the Black Watch, of course. They’re merrily smashing their way through the enemy positions and should be along shortly.” He frowned and continued, “The rebels are putting up a surprisingly stiff fight, given their relative lack of equipment.” He looked around at the compound and commented, “It looks like you chaps managed to account for yourselves well.”
With a grunt, Gagarin motioned toward the compound, and the two walked around the metal barrier. As they walked, he asked, “How is it out there?”
The young Indian sergeant replied, “It’s a bit of a mess, I’m afraid. The sharkies hit multiple major cities. Couple hundred thousand dead each, and the ones they didn’t hit, this rabble jumped up and started causing trouble.” He gestured toward the walls.
Gagarin asked, “So these guys aren’t just making trouble here in Hellas City?”
With a dark laugh, Singh replied, “I’m afraid not. There’s been versions of this across Mars, some more intense than others.” He looked across the compound, eyeing the hospital and the curious looks of the soldiers and sailors there. Somberly, he added, “Many of the UEA garrisons weren’t as fortunate as you lot.”
He turned and gestured to the rest of his team and spoke rapidly in a dialect Gagarin didn’t recognize. The men knelt and started removing equipment and assembling it. The soldier recognized multiple hunter-killer drones, as well as other unfamiliar equipment.
Turning to a nearby sailor, Gagarin ordered, “Pearson, get the Colonel.” The young sailor nodded and hustled toward the building. Gagarin turned back to the special forces sergeant, who was drinking from a canteen, and asked, “Those H-K drones are pretty nasty. You expecting a fight here?”
The man shrugged and replied, “Sergeant, we’re always expecting a fight.” He paused to watch a H-K drone pop to life, hover a moment, t
hen zip over the wall.
As the other drones lifted off, Gagarin commented, “We have a truce with them. It seems to be holding.”
One of the commandos kneeling nearby replied, “We know. We also know when people get desperate, they do daft things.”
“What do you mean?” Gagarin asked, curiously.
Singh answered for him, “He means other holdouts have made similar arrangements, and they weren’t honored.”
The commando assembling the drone spoke without looking up from his task, “‘Not bloody honored’ is an understatement. They executed seventeen members of a quartermaster unit that had been holed up in the post office in Arabia Terra.” The man’s face was grim. “Broadcast it on the local nets to keep the locals in line.”
“Shit.” Gagarin looked out at the still dark city and thought about it.
The commando added in a tight voice, “Those poor lads in the Q-M unit surrendered because they were scared, cut off, and surrounded. They’d been promised humane treatment, and these rebel bastards hung them.”
Gagarin silently shook his head, at a loss for words.
The commando on the ground stood up and said, “Other holdouts the rebels wiped out as the UEA moved forces back in.” He gestured around them. “Obviously we couldn’t let that happen here. We were just glad you held out as long as you did.” He looked around and added, “Looks like a near thing.”
Gagarin nodded and muttered, “Too damn near for my taste.”
After a moment, the commando said in a cheery tone, “Alright, then. Singh, I’d best speak to this Colonel Suarez we’ve heard so much about. We’ve got a lot to do and a long night ahead of us.” There was another rolling boom of an explosion in the distance, and the three men regarded the wall for a moment before the officer turned to Singh and Gagarin, and said in a friendly but firm tone, “Chop, chop, gents.”
Singh nodded and replied, “Yes, sir.” Gagarin silently indicated the command building, and the three began to walk.
****
Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and regarded the Special Forces officer sitting in front of her. In the room with them were the special forces sergeant and Major Carson. After a moment Elizabeth said, “How many of these uprisings again?”
The young officer shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Dozens, at least. It was likely planned to go off anyway, and the Elai having a go at Mars gave them the opportunity.” He shook his head. “We’re bloody lucky they couldn’t talk to each other with all the muck in the atmosphere, either. They’d have organized a lot faster.”
“Shit.” She looked down at the desk for a moment, then back up. “What do we do now?”
Lieutenant Kirupa grinned and replied, “Nothing for the moment. We wait for the troops. They’ll be along presently.” There were several bursts of lascannon fire from the streets outside, followed by a series of individual shots.
After a moment listening to the fighting, Elizabeth asked, “How bad is the rest of the system?” She hesitated, then asked, “Are we…” Her voice trailed off.
Puzzled, Kirupa raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry?”
Major Carson said bluntly, “Are we losing the war? What’s going on out there? Last we heard, the Elai were outside the Belt, and the fleet was going out to smash them.”
”Ah, right!” The special forces officer nodded. “I forget you’ve been completely cut off for quite a while now.” He shook his head and continued, “No, we aren’t losing. The Elai fleet here in Sol has been destroyed, but several cruisers broke through and…well. I guess I don’t need to tell you what they did.”
Elizabeth leaned forward. “Did they hit Earth?”
”No. Earth is safe, purchased at a terrible price by the System Guard.” Kirupa shook his head and added sadly, “Those poor, brave bastards. There’s many a pint to be had in their honor.”
The room fell silent again for a moment, then a knock sounded on the door. Chief Yamashita stuck his head in and reported, “Colonel, there’s a hell of a firefight going on to the west. We can see them now. Seems like it’ll pass by us, but the SF guys are watching. We’ll keep you posted.”
”Thanks, Chief.” The man disappeared.
Kirupa’s comm unit chirped, and he looked at it and grinned. “Colonel, the lads are here. You’ll want to see this.”
Elizabeth stood up and, with the soldiers in the room, exited the command building. As she stepped into the compound, she could hear something in the distance, almost obscured by the sounds of fighting, which was very close. She cocked her head and listened. There was a rhythmic thumping and a wailing, which rose above and cut through the gunfire. The wailing suddenly cut off, leaving only the thumping. Kirupa grinned and motioned to the wall. Elizabeth scrambled up and cautiously peered over the edge. The intensity of fire from the west had died off, and she could see bulky shapes in the shadows dashing from cover to cover. Quickly turning her head, she could see similar shapes to the east, also moving rapidly and cautiously. Catching a brief silhouette of one of the shadows, she recognized the familiar shape of infantry power armor and breathed a sigh of relief. The rhythmic thumping had been drawing closer, and suddenly the wailing started again. It sounded familiar…
Elizabeth looked at the grinning special forces officer next to her, and asked, “Bagpipes? Seriously? In a firefight?”
Kirupa shrugged and replied, “The Scots do things their own way, Colonel, and the Black Watch are the most Scottish of the Scots.”
Shaking her head, Elizabeth watched a column of soldiers appear in the dim light down the street. She said, “Seems nuts to make so much noise with the bad guys around.”
The special forces officer shrugged. “Not if you don’t mind being found.”
Watching the approaching soldiers, Elizabeth remarked, “I guess.” After a moment, she added, “It’s quite a sight.”
“That it is, Colonel. When the Watch relieves you, they want you to know you’re being relieved.”
With a laugh, Elizabeth replied, “At this point in the game, they could come in the gates in their underpants, and I’d be glad as hell to see them!”
The young man laughed cheerily. “I can imagine! Let’s get down there and greet them, shall we?”
Elizabeth slid down from the wall and walked to the center of the clear area between the improvised hospital and the gates.
As she slid off the wall, Sergeant Delgado came up out of the darkness and said in a low tone, “Ma’am, before things get nuts, and higher up sweeps you off for the inevitable series of debriefings, I just wanted to say, you did a damn fine job.” The Spaceborne sergeant held out his hand and said simply, “Thank you, Colonel.”
Taking the offered hand, Elizabeth shook it and replied in a relieved tone, “Thank you, Sergeant. I couldn’t have done it without you.” She put a hand on his shoulder and looked the man in the eyes. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
The Spaceborne sergeant nodded and squeezed her hand. After a moment, he said, “Paddy was a good guy. It’s gonna be a long time before I stop looking for him in formation. Or seeing him around my house on the weekend drinking all my beer, playing with my daughter, and flirting with my wife.” He shook his head and fell silent. After a moment he looked up. “At least he died for something that mattered. Lotta our guys out there didn’t.” He looked up with a weary, sad smile, “Not that it makes it any better.”
Quietly Elizabeth replied, “I know. It never gets easier, does it?”
“No. It doesn’t.” There was a moment of silence, broken only by the thumping in the distance and the muted sounds of the hospital behind them. Suddenly shaking his head, Delgado declared, “Next time we do this, Colonel, we’re bringing our goddamn power armor.” He grinned a lopsided grin at Elizabeth.
“You ain’t kiddin’ there, Sergeant!” Elizabeth grinned back at him. There came a rattling from outside the compound, and they turned to watch the gates slide aside and the column of power armored soldiers enter. The lead soldier
s’ pipes were tucked smartly under their arms, and each member of the formation had a broad sash of dark green and blue plaid running diagonally across their armored chests. The precise formation of hulking armored suits came to a stop, there was a final flourish of the drums, then the column fell silent.
The man at the front took two steps forward and saluted smartly, his helmet visor sliding up as he did so. Elizabeth returned the salute. The man precisely lowered the salute, held out an armored hand to shake, and said in a crisp, accented voice, “Major Duncan Ferguson, 42nd Regiment of Foot, Number Three Scots.”
Elizabeth grasped the armored hand and shook it firmly. “Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Suarez, interim commander of Task Force Mercy.” Releasing the man’s hand, she said fervently, “We are damn glad to see you, Major.”
The man grinned. “Glad to be of assistance. If you’ll detail an officer to assist in the relief of your troops, we have trucks on the way to take your people to the rear.”
Elizabeth motioned to Chief Yamashita and Major Carson, who nodded and moved forward to speak to the armored troops. In moments, the soldiers began fanning out, heading for the walls of the compound.
Turning back to Major Ferguson, Elizabeth said, “Join me in the operations center, and I’ll get you up to speed. I don’t think we can be relieved just yet.”
The infantryman cocked his head and fell into step with her. Elizabeth said as they walked the dozen meters to the low building, “We’re relatively secure here, but there’s bigger problems out in the city. There’s no hospital anymore here in Hellas City, nor much of a functional local government.” Elizbeth could see the soldier looking thoughtfully at the trucks, which were parked in a row nearby, their sides riddled with bullet holes, scorch marks, and soot stains.
The man looked thoughtfully at the trucks, then said, “I’m sorry. I thought there was a hospital to the north of here. That’s one of our next objectives.”
Elizabeth opened the door, motioned the man inside, and continued, “Yeah. It was damaged in the shaking from the hits, and then fires and looters finished it off.” They stepped up to the holodisplay of the city. Elizabeth pointed at the position of the hospital and added, “Our scouts are telling us most of the building has burned at this point.” She grimaced and continued, “We managed to push a couple of convoys through, but it wasn’t easy.”
