"Get me imagery, Lily," Megan demanded.
A second later, a heliograph of an aerial photograph of the area appeared in front of Megan. Smoke billowed from a skyscraper a half dozen blocks away. She turned in that direction as dark black smoke began to rise in the air.
Something really nasty just blew.
"Longknife 1 to Longknife 2. What's going on down there?"
"We've got a fire in the area that lost its power about five or ten minutes ago. I've cut off the water to that area so I can seal the breach. Pardon me, Admiral, but I'm going to need a whole lot more Smart Metal that I can turn into firefighting equipment. Can Admirals Tong and Kitano rustle up some Iteeche who might have firefighting skills? This situation is rapidly getting out of hand."
"Do you know what just exploded?"
"No, ma'am, but I'm getting suspicious that the Iteeche Empire not only doesn't have any building codes to speak of, but also any hazardous material laws. I'm pretty sure the first fire was caused by improper storage of hazmat. I'm willing to bet my tiny pension that this next one is also stowage of something that needed electrical power without a backup power supply. Why don't you ask the Planetary Overlord while I speak to the governor and the mayor?"
"It's a deal. The admirals are launching a call for volunteers. We're holding the next ferry for our gear. We'll get a small invasion fleet flowing in your direction."
"Thank you, Admiral."
"And Commander Longknife, I'm making you On-Scene Commander. You pulled my sorry ass from under a pile of rocks. There is nobody better qualified for this. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Megan said. She didn't add on a reminder to Kris that the Santa Maria side of the family wasn't part of the Longknife legend. Her people did not pull elephants out of hats like the Wardhaven side of the family did.
With a shrug, Megan set about her business. After hanging around Kris, maybe enough of the legend had rubbed off on her that she could pull a cow out of a hat.
An Iteeche colonel rolled in at the head of a brigade. He headed straight for the headquarters, or maybe Meg. She was still standing in the shade of the awning above the headquarters' door.
"Commander Longknife, I was told to report to you for assignment," the colonel said. He held his voice steady, giving nothing away concerning his attitude to his orders.
Megan doubted the Iteeche colonel was very happy reporting to a Human commander for his orders. Still, she'd saluted him first, and let him return a much sloppier honor.
"Thank you, Colonel, we're desperate for any help we can get. All of our troubles stem from too much water in the wrong place and not enough in the right place. If you would, please, join the Human major of engineers who has been working on closing off the water. He needs magic metal to close the pipes as close to the break as possible. Then we'll need to address why the power went down. If you have any spare men and magic metal left, we'd appreciate it if you could start fighting the fire over there. That will involve drawing water from outside the area where we turned it off."
"You seem to have quite a few problems, Commander," the colonel said.
"And more keep coming." Megan glanced off to where the billowing black smoke was still rising high in the sky.
She added, "A couple of minutes ago, we didn't have that particular problem."
"Should I hold some reserves to address the next problem?" the colonel asked.
"I'd love it if you could, but I would strongly suggest that you put everything you have on the line. I'm told a major force is flowing our way on the next two ferries."
"A very good idea," the colonel said. He saluted and returned to his convoy. Megan had to hurry to respond to his honor, he was so quick to take his leave.
With all her resources committed to at least one of her many problems, Megan took a moment before she returned to the Iteeche lordlings of the capital.
"Lily, could you get me that mustang who was checking for forensic evidence?"
"Yes, Commander," came a moment later.
"Lieutenant, we seem to have two buildings that spontaneously combusted. You mentioned that chemicals were involved in the first one. Have you examined the smoke from the second?"
"Yes, Commander, we ran several drones through it to get air samples of what was burning. We lost one drone that we took in too low, but the ones we got back show evidence of a powder that needed to be refrigerated. I'm guessing that it was already too warm before it lost cooling."
"So that's what happened," Megan said.
"That's what started things happening, ma'am. There's a lot of crap in that smoke. I won't bore you with the long list I've got. Suffice it to say, the explosion started a fire that spread quickly to several other things that should not have been stowed anywhere close to each other. Ma'am, I'm looking at so many stupid mistakes I don't know where to start. On any Human planet, we'd have laws against letting these things be in the same building."
"No hazmat rules?" Megan asked.
"From where I'm standing, I see no evidence of either building codes or hazmat control, Commander."
"Thanks for your opinion. Now I've got to go beard the lion in my HQ."
"I'd kick their asses halfway back to the Imperial Capital if I could, Commander."
"Yes, Lieutenant, I'd enjoy doing it if it was only a private that did the stupid. I've got to talk to the governor of the capital region and the mayor of this town."
"Better thee than me," the Marine officer said.
"Thanks for those words of encouragement."
Choosing between a frown and a scowl, Megan chose the frown. Her face frozen Navy hard, she turned to enter her HQ. As she entered, her guards snapped to attention. Marines at their terminals stayed in their seats but sat up a bit straighter.
The Iteeche lordlings didn't even stop their conversation to take notice of her. Megan sighed; her bad day was about to get worse.
32
Lieutenant Commander Megan Longknife, aide de camp to Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife, strode up and down the aisle of her command center, ignoring the Iteeche lordlings as they ignored her.
A check of the screens showed no major changes. The two fires around Lake 2 were still spreading. Now, more apartment buildings were involved. Someone had organized slides. As Iteeche from the higher stories found themselves trapped, the slide gave them a way out. It was frightening to go into. Even as Megan watched, more Smart Metal™ was added to them so that the top was enclosed fully for safety.
The number of Iteeche appearing at the bottom increased after that.
"Commander," the sergeant working the station said, "there are Iteeche soldiers searching the buildings, hunting for kids, elderly, and anyone trapped. We've created fire retardant coats and boots, breathers, helmets, and face masks. They're as protected as any firefighter in Human space."
"Very good. No Humans in the buildings?"
"The major fighting those fires strongly suggested that the folks in those buildings would prefer to see four legs rather than two."
"Probably a good call."
The next station was centered on the new fire. "Commander, the colonel turned his engineering battalion over to the folks working at the explosion,” a staff sergeant reported. "He took his two leg infantry battalions over to fight this fire. We detached two sergeants over to him. They're turning any Smart Metal he has into what he needs. He appreciates the help."
"Maybe the Iteeche will finally decide they need more people who can turn magic metal from a block of nothing into a fire hose and pumper," Megan muttered.
She'd dodged her next meeting for as long as she could. She turned to where the five lordlings huddled together ignoring everything going on around them as beneath their dignity.
Careful to keep her feelings of helplessness and rage under control, Megan strode quickly for the exit. Outside, she glanced around and then told Lily.
"Get Kris."
"Longknife 1 here. What's up Longknife 2?"
; "Are you in a private place where we can have a talk that could involve me screaming nasty things about the procedures and policies of the Iteeche clans, ma'am?"
"Wait one," Kris said.
"Pardon me, a call of nature cannot be ignored," Kris told others.
Less than a minute later, Kris said, "How bad is it?"
"Unbelievable."
33
"As a quick executive summary," Megan said, beginning her report to Kris, "the Iteeche lords have no idea what a hazardous material is and none of them know of any Imperial policy for the caring, handling, or storage of the stuff. It's a clan prerogative to stow anything anywhere and no one likely knows what is in any of these buildings."
"Good Lord," Kris said. "Don't they have any idea of the risk they are taking?"
"The answer I got was if an Iteeche dies, it was just their fate. That seems to be the answer to all their unsafe conditions. ‘Oh, the building fell down. It was just their fate to die today’."
"I wonder if they take the same attitude toward their palaces," Kris muttered.
"You do recall the palace that blew sky high when a bomb you had aimed at it hit their magazine?"
"Yeah, I was wondering what a magazine full of explosives was doing in a palace. I guess I know now. They dump stuff anyplace they can find the vacant space."
"Kris, they can't be this stupid," Megan did her best not to scream at her boss and cousin.
"As we have said all along, they have a population problem. If a mass of Iteeche die, that gives those in power more opportunity for patronage. 'Oh, we had a thousand people die. Good, now I can give my loyal followers a chance to be Choosers,' or something like that."
"They're crazy," Megan cried.
"They are alien," Kris said, softly correcting her aide de camp. They are alien and they have had at least five thousand years to perfect a social structure that bind all of them to their alien ways."
"Yes, Admiral," Megan said, calming herself.
"The first time I heard someone say there is a right way, a wrong way, and the Navy way, I thought it was stupid. I've been Navy long enough to accept that there are just rules that govern the way a large body of people operates. Now we know of the Iteeche way," Kris said with a shrug. "You don't change five thousand years of social norms in an afternoon."
Kris paused, then went on. "Enough of this. What do you need to concentrate on next?"
"Ending the flow of water, then getting the water pressure up where we need it to fight fires. The latest explosion needs water. As soon as we can put a cap on the aqueduct, we can turn the water back on."
"Then that, I would say, are your orders."
"Aye, aye, Admiral."
"Longknife 1 off."
"Longknife 2 off."
Lieutenant Commander Megan Longknife squared her shoulders and turned her back on her own HQ with its pack of unhelpful Iteeche clan lordlings. She marched for the big hole in the ground made by the first explosion.
Megan's first stop was with the forensics team.
"Lieutenant, do you have anything new for me?"
The LT looked up from where she was overseeing the processing of more explosive test strips. A staff sergeant was eyeing one of those samples through a microscope.
"We may have found chunks of the bomb embedded in the surrounding buildings. It's hard to tell because there are a lot of chunks of concrete, steel rebar and road along with the few tiny bits of metal we found."
"Any better chance you can tell me where that bomb came from?" Megan asked.
"Maybe. We've run a batch of explosive samples up the beanstalk for the P. Royal's mass spectrometer to analyze. It's the best one within several hundred light years, so it may be able to detect a surprise or two, but it's too soon to have an answer."
"Keep at it. We need to know if this job was home grown or if it can be led to someone that just arrived."
"Yes, Commander, all of us figured that one out. We'll have something for you as soon as we can, but not now."
"So, buzz off and quit joggling your elbow, Longknife, huh?"
"I couldn't have put it better myself," the LT said, while holding back a grin.
"Thanks. Let me know when you're sure. It will go straight from my ears to the admiral's."
"I figured as much. No review of my work, just turn it into an action item. No pressure here."
"Of course not. You're working for a Longknife," Megan said, not even trying to hide her grin.
"I'll be very careful to get it right the first time."
"I'll see you when you're ready," Megan said and marched off to micromanage another part of this mess.
At the hole, water was down to a dribble. However, Megan didn't need some expert in measurements to know that the hole was a whole lot bigger than it had been when she first saw it.
It would take a lot of gravel to fill in all that water-logged space. Until then, there was no way to repair the shattered aqueduct, aside from capping the pipe.
An Iteeche colonel of engineers was the senior officer present, and Megan reported to him. He showed no interest when she presented herself as a lieutenant commander. That attitude took a radical change when she finished with Longknife, then added, "I'm the aide de camp to the Grand Admiral."
"What can I do for you?" was much less arrogant than the first look she got.
"How is the work going at capping the shattered pipes? We need to get water back up to fight the fires." Megan ran a glance around the limited horizon. In addition to the three fires she expected to see, two more had sprouted.
Apparently, they had sparked off without a boom to gain everyone's attention.
"If we aren't careful, we're going to burn out this end of town," Megan said.
"Yes," the Iteeche colonel agreed. "Your Human engineers are handling the job of capping the aqueducts. They have the best magic metal spinners."
"Thank you, Colonel. Do you mind if I talk to them?"
"No, feel free to. I am using most of my men to fight the fires. Your major loaned me two spinners to help us convert gun trucks to fire engines and lots of hose."
"Lily, could I see an aerial view of this area?"
A holograph appeared in the air in front of Megan and the Iteeche colonel. He looked surprised by the sudden image in the air before him, but he made no superstitious sign against unknown evil.
"I have been told some of you Humans can do that."
"Yes, sir. Lily, zoom in close on the outskirts, where the outer white blends into black."
In a moment, it was clear that the black blur was Iteeche fleeing on foot from the area that was without power and water. The mob looked dangerous as it hastened away. That was a situation where children got lost and people got trampled.
"Colonel, if I helped you convert some of your gun trucks into buses, you could you help those people get away."
"I would hate to be without my gun trucks if we come under attack."
"Yes, Colonel, but it seems much more likely that hundreds or thousands of Iteeche may die if that mob panics and stampedes. We have had no evidence of hostilities from the locals."
The Iteeche officer pointed all four of his eyes at the big hole in the ground.
"If you wish," Megan said, "I can call the Grand Admiral and get you an order to spin out the buses to pull people away."
Left unsaid was that the order would cover his ass.
"I believe that I can give that order, Longknife."
"I can begin spinning out the buses," Megan said.
"You?"
"Yes."
All four eyebrows went up, "Please do."
In a moment, most of the gun trucks began to morph into buses. Those made from gun trucks with anti-matter reactors became double-decker buses with two articulated cars trailing behind the powered bus. Other buses were also double-deckers, but with only one car attached to the first. These operated on batteries that were quickly charged from the bigger buses.
"We can provide the dri
ver of each bus with a screen that shows him the safest way to get around the damaged area so he can begin to pick up passengers. One bus to a street."
"How will the driver know where to go?"
"Colonel, if you don't mind, my computer Lily will coordinate this rescue."
"A computer can do this?"
"My computer will do this in her spare time," Megan said.
"I have heard of such things, but never expected to see such a mythical marvel."
"I am not a myth," Lily said from Megan's neck. "I will have no problem helping your drivers be where the need is greatest."
"Thank you, I think."
"You are welcome, I think," Lily said, with a laughing lilt to her voice. "Now, if you could have your drivers organize their gun trucks into a single file line with at least a hundred meters between each one, we can begin."
"Thank you, Colonel, I'll leave Lily to work with you."
"How?"
"Lily, you want to set aside a net channel for you and the colonel so he can talk to you?"
"Can you dial your commlink to channel 1313?" Lily asked.
A radio tech quickly appeared at his colonel's elbow, unloaded his pack radios, and adjusted the net status. He handed his headphones to the colonel who, of course, blew in the mic, then said, "Testing, one two."
"I read you fine," came from his headphones.
Megan started walking for the hole even as the colonel dispatched runners to carry his orders to the mounted troops to reorganize their rigs. She shook her head. He had a radio; yet he sent runners to carry his orders to his subordinates.
Then she rethought herself. That radio looked mighty heavy. Maybe they didn't want to have too many of those lugged around the battlefield. Or maybe it was the Iteeche Way to transmit information and orders by word of mouth. The saints only know what kind of job these poor runners could get if they lost this work.
She found the Human major of engineers at the edge of the big hole in the ground. He had his head in his battle board.
"How's it going?" Megan asked.
The poor man jumped. "Sorry, ma'am, I was just so intent on what's going on down there I didn't notice you."
Kris Longknife Stalwart Page 23
