The Feeding of Sorrows

by Rob Howell

  “No weapons from over ten miles up.”

  “Yeah, I know, but we’ve got no idea what they’ve got up there. Wouldn’t surprise me if they have a drop-capable reaction unit. They could also use dropships in pure CAS roles.”

  “Still, it’d be better to have them free than stuck in there.”

  “Maybe.” She mused. “We’d have a better shot if we timed whatever we do for when they’re focused on something else. Gonna be hard with just the two of us.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Jackson.

  “Especially with nothing but a couple of GP-90s.”

  “That too.” He grimaced. “If we’re wrong, we’ll get killed in a hot minute.”

  They continued to stare out over the base for a while.

  “Let me have the binocs, sir.”

  Jackson handed them over.

  Steele looked around the valley. “Sir, we should find some other hiding spots. We’re not that far away from the base, and if I was them, I’d be looking for spots like this.”

  “Makes sense. I’m thinking we should stay on this side of the base. Away from Jeriasker.”

  “Yeah.” She stared at the city. “They’ll be worried about that most, and they’ll keep patrols on the roads there.”

  “Especially if they’re getting anything from the city.”

  “Bet they aren’t, but even so.” As she looked through the glasses, she suddenly took a deep breath. “Damn!”

  “What?”

  She handed him the binocs. “Looks like they’ve got some atmospheric CAS birds.”

  He looked out and saw a slim aircraft with a bunch of missiles on its wings flying low and slow over the opposite side of the base. “Let’s get out of here. Find a cave or something.”

  “Makes sense.”

  They retreated to the ridge. Eventually, they stumbled on a shallow cave, a deep cut in the hill where tectonic forces had opened a gap.

  “Now what, sir?”

  “I think we need to get farther away. Find us a new spot where we can still see the base.”

  “Okay.” She glanced out the entrance. “The bird is still flying over the lower parts of the valley. My bet is they’re going to scour the area from the inside out.”

  Jackson nodded. “Then we best start walking.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The next afternoon, Jackson crawled through some brush and realized he had a great view of the base. “Steele, what do you think?”

  She came up next to him. “Nice view.”

  “About three klicks, you think?”

  “A little more, I’d guess.” She held her hand out, and he put the binocs in them. “I think we’re out of the main patrol area. See those ridges there and there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “They sorta form a bit of a wall. We went up and over them.”

  “They could do that, too.”

  “Yeah, but that’s a huge area to patrol for a battalion-sized unit that has to defend a perimeter.”

  “And guard prisoners.”

  “And that.” She focused the binocs. “Hmmm.”

  “What?”

  She handed him the glasses. “Look at that building.”

  “The low one?”

  “Yeah. It’s the armory.”

  He studied it. “What am I looking for?”

  “Look at the front door.”

  “It’s a door.” He glanced back. “What am I missing?”

  “The door is the door. The one that’s been there. It hasn’t been breached.”

  “The doggies aren’t dumb enough not to take it.”

  “Right. They got in before anyone could get a bunch of stuff from it.”

  “So, if there’s any other Forester out here, they ain’t got much more than we do.”

  “Exactly.”

  Jackson pursed his lips. “Any heavy weapons would’ve had to come from elsewhere on Maquon.”

  “Yeah, Jeriasker most likely. That’s where I’d watch.”

  “Like the CAS bird the other day.”

  “Yeah.” She thought for a moment. “And they’ll be more worried about sniping and small arms attacks.”

  “Which would be closer in to the base.”

  “Yeah.” She glanced around. “We got water about thirty meters that way. And I think I saw some maqapple trees we can get fruit from.”

  “Maqapples?”

  “Yeah. A local fruit. There are some bitterberries around, too.”

  “Bitterberries?”

  “Bitter as heck, but we can eat them.”

  “Any local animals we can eat?”

  “Not really any local animals at all. Not like what you’re thinking.”

  “I’d been wondering. So, we’re probably good out here unless them CAS birds see us.”

  “There’s an overhang over there.” She pointed.

  “Check it out.”

  “Will do, el-tee.” She walked away, and after a few minutes, came back. “It’ll do. It’s even got a trickle of water.”

  “Okay. We’ll stay here for a while.”

  “Yeah.”

  They both sighed with a bit of relief.

  “Get some rest, Corp. I’ll take the watch.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The next days blurred for Jackson. Watch. Sleep. Watch. Sleep. The fruit tasted okay. It was good enough to help extend Jackson’s dwindling stock of food bars. But it seemed to rain every couple of hours. The overhang had a drier patch, but everything got wet. The temperature remained constantly warm, though, never falling below twenty.

  “I’m bored as hell,” Jackson muttered one morning after Steele came back from puking. “I’m wet, and we don’t have many food bars left.”

  “How many days do we have?”

  “Seven? Eight? With enough maqapples and bitterberries to supplement them.”

  “I found another berry patch yesterday.” She sighed. “But we don’t have that many days left out here. Not without more food.”

  “How far to your sergeant’s farm?”

  “Forty klicks or so. Two days.”

  “Say three, just in case.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed.

  Jackson glanced out over the valley. “Okay. We give it four more days, then we get outta here. Think your sergeant has hot showers?”

  “I bet, but I’m going first.”

  Two days later, Jackson looked at their food bars. “Screw this. I ain’t seen shit for days. No new emplacements. No shuttle loads from orbit. We might as well go.”

  “Sir, I think the Zuul are ready. Just waiting on Edmonds.”

  “We’ll leave tomorrow. Maybe your sergeant has a way to get our data to Edmonds.”

  “Maybe.” She held her stomach. “But I really just want some hot food.”

  “Me too, Corp.” He sighed. “Let’s get some rest.”

  “No watch?”

  “No. We’re both gonna need our rest. We have a long walk ahead of us.”

  They settled under their overhang. It was the first time they had slept at the same time, and it proved awkward. In the middle of the night, Jackson heard Steele quietly crying. He snorted as though he had just woken up and turned over. With indrawn breath, she stopped.

  My momma’s boy is tired of this tenacious and versatile crap.

  The next dawn, they started around the main ridge. About two hours later, Steele rushed to a tree and began heaving.

  Jackson glanced at his chronometer. Yeah, it’s about that time. He turned away to watch the path behind them.

  Steele retched loudly. He glanced at her, then turned back to the trail just in time to see something move about forty meters away.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 22 – Rick Blaine

  ECS African Queen

  Maquon System

  Ten minutes after we exited hyperspace at Maquon’s L4 point, my comm buzzed. “Mr. Blaine? Would you come up to the EW suite, please?”

  “Be right there, Captain.”

&n
bsp; Allnut and a petty officer were examining a screen when I entered.

  “What’s up?”

  “You’ve got a message,” she answered.

  “A message?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Let me see it.”

  “We can’t open it.”

  I smiled. “May I, PO?” I slid into his chair and looked at the screen. I blinked when I saw the header codes, but said nothing, then I downloaded the message from the queue to my sweeper.

  The PO glanced at me when I got up.

  “You know the boss and security. Sometimes he’s a pain.”

  He snorted.

  I thanked them, then went as quickly as I could back to my stateroom.

  A message from Tlanit? What was wrong?

  When I entered my stateroom, I activated my security systems, just in case. I opened the message, and Tlanit’s face appeared on the Tri-V.

  “Mr. Blaine, since you found the Barracks Reports I made available, I’m certain you understand what they are. You’ll find the most recent one attached to this message. The relevant portion is near the bottom. There’s little there, so I’ll summarize, but I know you’ll want to see the raw data for yourself.”

  He moved his paws over the system he was working on.

  “One of our sources discovered that something is going to happen on Maquon. Unfortunately, the report doesn’t specify what or when. It could have already happened. All the source reported was that someone is planning something that might result in a Peacemaker case.”

  His face turned grim.

  “My nephew has been, or will be, sent to the Maquon base for future assignment as is the norm for the Foresters. If you’re reading this, you have either entered the Maquon or Earth system. If on Earth, please inform Colonel Edmonds of this report, though I also sent it to him by a different, slower route. If on Maquon, I ask that you investigate to see if whatever is going on will put my nephew in danger. I’m making my way to that system as quickly as I can, given the constraints of my position, but you’re likely to get there before I do. If you discover something pertaining to my nephew, I hope you have found my haunting ghosts.”

  Bingo! It couldn’t have been a coincidence that those ghost characters Heidi had found in Tlanit’s directory included letters from three human alphabets and three Cochkala ones. They had to form a security code.

  “Mr. Blaine, I don’t regret sending Kiial to the Foresters. I needed to do something following Cimaron 283133-6A. However, I don’t find the prospect that he might die uselessly tolerable. In combat? Absolutely. it’s the price of the task. But not in a trap. Find out what you can, and I’ll be indebted. Save him, and my debt will be greater. I have a reputation for paying my debts, and the payments of a Peacemaker to someone in your profession aren’t without value.”

  No, they’re not.

  I opened my comm. “Captain Allnut, have you sent any messages to Maquon about our job or cargo?”

  “No. We generally don’t do that until we’re within ten light seconds, because we don’t like the lag time. All we’ve sent so far are our name and registry.”

  “Good. Keep it that way.”

  “Did the message tell you something?”

  “Yes.”

  “We have a number of business options, if you have need.”

  “I might.”

  “Why don’t you join me in my ready room?”

  “Be right there.”

  “What’s the problem?” the captain asked when I entered.

  “I’m not sure. However, I have a source that suggests something extraordinary has happened on Maquon. It may not involve the Foresters, but given what’s occurred so far…” I shrugged.

  “Makes sense. What do you want to do?”

  “I want to set foot on the planet and muck about. And I want you to monitor and record everything you can for us to analyze later.”

  “How long do you need to muck about?”

  “Not sure.”

  “Days?”

  “A week or two, minimum.”

  “Over a month?”

  I pondered that. “I hope not. If so, things have all gone wrong.”

  “More wrong.” Her lips twisted into a wry smile.

  “Yeah.”

  “A month or so, we can do, no sweat.” She clicked her comm. “XO, commence Op Plan Key Largo.”

  “Confirm Key Largo.”

  “Confirmed.”

  “Aye, aye.”

  “I should warn you that we’re going to have some bumps along the way, and you can expect some G fluctuation. Do you get spacesick?”

  “I haven’t before, but you never know.”

  “You’ve got a few hours to prepare. We like to raise our velocity to a useful speed before doing anything interesting.”

  “I’ll see your medic about some pills.”

  “Wise choice.” She grinned. “This mucking about on the planet, what are you trying to do?”

  “I want to go to the Foresters’ base, see what’s there, then get out.”

  “Makes sense. May I make a suggestion?”

  “Please.”

  “According to our charts, if we’re not sending a shuttle directly to the base, the most likely spaceport to use is Maqasker. It’s on the same continent as Jeriasker, but about a thousand klicks away. There is no way we can shuttle you straight to Jeriasker without someone noticing.”

  “I can manage.”

  “I’m sure, but I can make it easier. Op Plan Key Largo will keep us in orbit around the planet for at least a month. It would seem odd if we didn’t allow our spacers shore leave. I’m sure we have a uniform in your size on board.”

  I smiled. “Excellent idea.”

  “There’ll be a hotel or some other establishment spacers frequent. There always is. You can land and register with a group. It’ll be easy for you to disappear from that group. Then you can make your way across Maquon with less chance of someone tracking you.”

  “That would certainly help.”

  “I’ll make the arrangements. I suggest you make yours.” Again, the evil smile.

  Op Plan Key Largo involved simulating engine problems on the flight from the stargate to orbit. It was a good thing Captain Allnut warned me. Despite their skill in managing the process, the trip wasn’t pleasant.

  She came to my stateroom to check in after settling into orbit. “We’ll start releasing shore parties tomorrow at 0700, Mr. Blaine. Will you be ready to disembark at that time?” Her eyes twinkled with the remains of her malicious humor.

  “That’ll be fine, Captain. I don’t have anything left to puke up.”

  She laughed. “Don’t forget to download the satellite maps to your pinplant before leaving. Can’t have you getting lost.”

  I blinked. “Has that happened?”

  “Spooks don’t always remember the easy things.”

  “That’s true.”

  Twenty spacers accompanied me on the trip down. Several taxis deposited us in front of a plain, but sturdy, hotel. A chief petty officer checked us in and handed keys to everyone.

  It was my first time seeing Maquons, so I gawked with the rest of the spacers. The natives were significantly taller than Humans, most well above seven feet, but their slender forms looked fragile. The line between animal and plant seemed much thinner here. They resembled winter saplings, bare of leaves, with thin branches for arms and fingers.

  The CPO suggested we visit the nearby market area after settling in at the hotel. She glanced at me after the announcement, and I nodded. Fortunately, most of the spacers carried some sort of bag, so my messenger bag didn’t stand out.

  We dawdled in a store full of Maquonese trinkets, then moved on to a vendor hawking colorful scarves. The Maquonese fabric was covered in some sort of oil that irritated my fingers, but the merchant didn’t seem surprised. He pointed at a small jar of lotion which he apparently kept for lesser species.

  I looked to see if anyone was tailing me, but saw no one
.

  After visiting a couple more vendors, I looked at the CPO. She nodded.

  “Head call!” she announced.

  We found a Maquonese washroom, and many of the spacers took their turns. I claimed a stall where I threw a black shirt over the uniform and put on a hat.

  By the time I left, the CPO had hustled her people out of sight. Probably into a bar, knowing spacers.

  No one seemed to pay special attention to me when I boarded an elevated train headed to the airport. The Foresters had been part of Maquon for decades, so they were probably used to Humans.

  At the airport station I wandered until I found a decent hotel. I kept looking behind me, but never saw anyone trailing me. I debated staying in my room until morning, but decided I needed to get a head start on collecting all the intel I could.

  I went to dinner at a nearby restaurant that catered to several races. This one proclaimed it melded Maquonese traditions with off-world influences. The melding proved better than I expected, despite the fact that Maquonese cuisine tended toward soups.

  After dinner, I returned to the hotel bar and discovered the Maquonese love Human beer. I had already planned to stay late, but having good ale made it much more enjoyable.

  I set my sweeper to pull every scrap of data it could without tripping any alarms. The data scrolled across my pinplant while I drank my beer. My sweeper also picked up conversations in the room, and translations scrolled next to the data.

  As the night went on, I became increasingly convinced that Tlanit’s “something” involved the Foresters. One Maquonese businessman spent the evening bitching to another about some sort of interruption in sales in the Jeriasker region. Another group glanced at me, wondering if Human trade would fall off. A third group discussed short creatures that walked funny and were covered in some sort of long, strange, soft needles.

  I might describe fur that way if I grew up on a planet without animals of that sort. And Zuul do walk funny, compared to the Maquonese.

  If I had taken the base, I’d watch everyone who came to Jeriasker like a hawk. I needed to get into the jungle around the base without stopping in the city.