Starfist - 14 - Double Jeopardy

by Dan Cragg

  Dawn was breaking over Bronnoysund. “I better get back to base. Lots of things doing today. You know how it is when we get ready to deploy.” He nodded at Katie.

  “How well I do,” she said sourly. She turned to Comfort. “You will stay with me. As long as you wish.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t—I have money. I should find my own place—”

  “What, go cabin crazy in some fancy hotel? Yes, you stay with me. Soon’s we get rid of this big ape”—she nudged Bass in the ribs—“and the town wakes up, you and I will go shopping and then have lunch at Big Barb’s, introduce you to the girls.” Bass winced at that but kept quiet.

  “I do need some winter clothes. Is it always this cold here on Thorsfinni’s World?”

  “Honey,” Katie said with a grin, “it’s summer weather here right now.” She put an arm around Bass’s waist. “Come on, I’ll see you out.”

  “Before you go—” Comfort reached into a pocket, “I found this on the floor over there.” She handed Katie her ring. “It’s beautiful. It must’ve fallen off your finger and you didn’t notice.” She smiled but she knew instinctively how the ring had wound up on the floor. Certainly the way Bass’s face flushed was proof positive of that.

  “Why—thank you. I—I wonder how—?” She grinned up at Bass and blushed. He took the ring and slipped it on the right finger.

  “It looks beautiful on your finger,” Comfort whispered. The two women embraced warmly.

  The street outside had not yet awakened. They stood in the dim sunlight. Katie kissed Bass full on the lips and held him tightly. She began to cry, not hysterically, but rather gently, the tears of departure. “Is there any way you can get out of the deployment?” She sniffled and then shook her head. “It was a dumb question, Charlie. Forgive me, you lying bastard, I know you gave the platoon to someone else this morning. Ah.” She shook the tears away. Every girl at Big Barb’s knew what was necessary to get ready for deployment.

  “Forgive you?” Bass was astonished but delighted at how things were turning out.

  Katie rested her head on Bass’s shoulder, her breath warm against his cheek in the still, frigid air. “Charlie, promise me one thing?”

  “Anything.”

  “Come back!” Her breath came in gasps for a moment. Then she said, “The picture of that kid of yours? If he’s like that really, he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t already, give me one of those babies when you get back!”

  CHAPTER NINE

  On the morning of the fifth day, the last of the supplies and equipment were trundled onto Essays and launched into orbit to load into the holds of the CNSS Grandar Bay. Two mornings later, the Marines of Thirty-fourth FIST boarded the buses and trucks belonging to Camp Ellis, as well as their own Dragons for the short ride to Boynton Field, Camp Ellis’s landing field. There the Marines dismounted and formed up while the Dragons drove directly onto waiting Essays. More Dragons, these belonging to the Grandar Bay, were waiting in a line in front of the Essays. On command, the Marines moved from their formation and boarded those Dragons, which entered the remaining Essays. Beginning at one end of their line, the Essays turned to the side and launched one at a time.

  There were no speeches, no pomp and ceremony. Simply arrive at the waiting Dragons and Essays, board them, and take off. That was to the disappointment of the larger than usual crowd of dependents and friends present to see the Marines off. The crowd included what looked like most of the women from Big Barb’s, including the chef, Einna Orafem. A farm woman from Brystholde and a widow from Hryggurandlit stood with them. Many of those women were quietly crying. Katie Katanya wasn’t there; neither was Comfort Brattle. They’d said their good-byes to Charlie Bass the night before and neither could bear to see him leave her again so soon.

  The women and the visitors watched as the long line of Essays gained altitude, gradually shrinking until they were too small for the naked eye to see. Only when the last Essay had vanished from view did they disperse, some quickly, some reluctant to leave the place where they’d seen their men depart.

  Within two hours of the launch of the Essays, the last of the Marines had boarded the CNSS Grandar Bay. Each twenty-man complement from the Dragons was met by a petty officer and a rating, who escorted them to the compartments in which they were to be billeted during the voyage to their destination—a destination whose location none of them knew, and none had even heard of before getting the deployment orders.

  Opal and Ishtar? Where and what were Opal and Ishtar? The Marines, especially those in the infantry battalion, set about finding out, often even before stowing the weapons, field gear, and the few other possessions they’d brought on their persons. All of them had sailed on the Grandar Bay before, going to and returning from Haulover; most of them had made the voyage to and from Kingdom, with a side trip to Quagmire. So they all, or at least the infantrymen, knew how to access the starship’s library from their compartments.

  The compartments were long, narrow rooms, lined with three stacks of narrow racks three high. An aisle along one side was just long enough and wide enough for Marines in full combat gear to line up front to back to exit the compartment. Each stack of racks had a shared jack that anyone with a comp, comm, or personal reader could plug into and use to punch up the library’s index, and through it access the library’s contents. Nearly everything in the library was electronic, so storage space was of little concern; a starship’s library had as much up-to-date human knowledge as possible, along with a collection of entertainment books and vids that would have been the envy of the largest library on Earth back before humanity broke the natal bonds and began colonizing other worlds.

  “I found it.” Corporal Doyle put up the locator code for the data the Grandar Bay’s library had on Opal and Ishtar.

  Sergeant Kerr entered the compartment while his men were studying the data and joined them in reading it.

  Even though Opal was near the outer fringes of Human Space, it had been colonized long enough for the first generation born there to have grown to maturity, aged, and died. Only its oldest current inhabitants had grandparents who were the original colonists from Earth; most were fourth and fifth generation. Because of that, there was a fair amount of data on the geology, weather, native life forms, population, culture, infrastructure, industry, and trade of Opal. Ishtar, on the other hand, was near the extreme inner limit of the liquid water zone, so it had barely been explored except for a cursory orbital survey and an even briefer land exploration.

  Nobody in second squad gave the Opal data more than a quick skim, and none paid any attention to the fact that the planet had never joined the Confederation of Human Worlds, but they all dug eagerly into the scant information on Ishtar. Unlike Earth and most other human-settled worlds, more than two-thirds of Ishtar was dry land, divided into three continents separated by a meandering ocean that was not much more than a thousand kilometers wide anywhere, and in some places narrow enough that someone on the shore of one continent could see the shore of another.

  Dry was the operative word to describe Ishtar. Dry and hot. Using Earth’s system for comparison, Ishtar’s orbit was midway between those of Earth and Venus, leaning slightly toward Venus. Similarly, Opal’s orbit leaned toward the orbit of Mars. The smallness of Ishtar’s oceans and the planet’s closeness to its sun caused high evaporation. The resulting water vapor clouds rained heavily on the continents, but only on their edges; the rain rarely reached the interiors of the landmasses. The vastness of the lithosphere limited continental drift, so that tectonic activity rumpled the continents more than it shifted them about, resulting in lengthy ranges of volcanic mountains and numerous Valles Marineris–type rifts; many of the ranges were coastal, which caused most of the rain to fall before it could get inland. There were few permanent rivers more than a couple of hundred kilometers inland from the coasts. There were no polar ice caps. Dry winds blew constantly, ranging in strength from mild breezes to gale force. The atmosphere, wh
ile breathable, had an unhealthily high sulfur content from the volcanic activity. There were basically two worldwide seasons: hot and dry; and dryer and hotter.

  Although free of ice and snow, the polar areas were cool enough for only marginal human habitation. But why bother developing dry-climate agriculture and limited manufacturing when there was a much more hospitable world right next door?

  The oceans, despite a high salinity that resulted from the high evaporation, teemed with life. So did the relatively wet, steamy coastal areas. Inland, there was also considerable life well adapted to the arid environment.

  Most plant life grew deep roots to find what water was available, and grew aboveground mostly as scrub, little of which even reached double the height of an average man. Animal life also went underground: burrowing insectoids, reptiloids, and some smallish creatures analogous to mammals. Some lived their lives completely underground, and many such species lost whatever ocular organs their remote ancestors may have had. The animals that hadn’t completely abandoned the open air were thick-skinned or armored, to reduce or even prevent evaporation of bodily fluids. The limited study of the planet had revealed no species larger than a midsize dog. The explorers had discovered, however, that many of the insectoids and reptiloids had venom that was highly toxic to human beings and their livestock.

  Some slight effort had been made to introduce Earth plants and animals at the poles, but the conditions were too harsh for edible flora, and the fauna was quickly killed off by animal venoms and the toxins ingested from both animal and plant life.

  There was more in the ship’s library about Ishtar, but it was mostly details of geography, geology, naming conventions, and sketchy descriptions of the flora and fauna. Much of that detail was in the form of charts, most of which the Marines didn’t have the right education to fully interpret.

  There was no information in the library about the situation Thirty-fourth FIST was heading into.

  “Skinks?” Lance Corporal Schultz asked, once second squad’s Marines had reviewed everything in the library.

  Kerr looked at his other junior men. There wasn’t anybody in the squad who hadn’t gone up against the Skinks, and half of them had been with the platoon the first time the Skinks were encountered, on Waygone.

  “What does anybody else think?” he asked. “Juniors first.” He looked pointedly at PFC Summers, the most junior of his men, who had only encountered the Skinks on Haulover.

  Summers hesitated, hoping that his squad leader didn’t really expect him to speak first, but Kerr kept staring at him: Have the most junior speak first so he’s not intimidated by what his seniors have to say.

  “Ahh,” Summers finally managed to say, “I don’t know much about the Skinks, Sergeant Kerr. All I really know is they’re tough, and they explode when they get hit by a plasma bolt.” He looked to the side and added softly, “Makes me glad I’m carrying a blaster.”

  Kerr looked at Summers for a few seconds longer, then said, “Fisher, Shoup, what about you?” Fisher and Shoup had first encountered the Skinks on Kingdom, and Shoup had been wounded there.

  PFC Shoup elbowed PFC Fisher, who cleared his throat before saying, “I think the Skinks like it wet. We’ve gone after them in swamps and marshes, but not in deserts. After looking at the Ishtar data, I have to ask myself, what are the Skinks doing there?” He elbowed Shoup.

  “Well,” Shoup said hesitantly, “we know they like caves and tunnels. It seems that all the animal life on Ishtar burrows, so I guess there are lots of caves and tunnels.” He glanced at Fisher. “We’ve gone underground to get them, too.”

  Kerr nodded. “Wolfman, Little, how about you?”

  Lance Corporal MacIlargie spoke up first, even though he should have let Lance Corporal Little go before him, as he was senior to the other Marine. “I’m with Fisher. What are the Skinks doing on a desert planet?”

  Kerr motioned for him to keep going.

  “Like the others said, the Skinks like it wet. Nearly everyplace we’ve fought them has been wet or underground. Even though we slaughtered a bunch of them in grasslands on Kingdom, there were plenty of little streams in those grasslands.” He paused to visualize what the coastal areas might be like. “I got a feeling that the shorelines are wet enough for the Skinks, but,” he said, shaking his head, “I also have a feeling that the water there’s too salty for them.” He looked at Little. “Sorry, I think it was your turn.”

  Little shrugged it off. “You said what I was going to. Now I don’t have to wear out my voice saying it.”

  “Are you sure you don’t have anything to add?” Kerr asked.

  Little nodded. “I’m sure.”

  Kerr looked at Doyle, his most junior fire team leader; but Doyle had time in grade over the other corporals, so he decided to hold him for last. “Claypoole, what do you think?”

  “I don’t think it’s Skinks. I think it’s somebody else.”

  “Somebody else, as in other aliens?”

  Claypoole nodded. “Look, President Chang-Sturdevant said there are at least half a dozen other alien sentiences we know about. Hell, we’ve met two of the other ones. I don’t think it matters that the aliens we know about—except for the Skinks—are way behind us in technology. That doesn’t mean there isn’t another alien species that isn’t developed.” He looked at Corporal Chan, passing the discussion to him.

  “Some of the weapons described in the intelligence briefings sound like the Skink acid shooters,” Chan said. “It doesn’t bother me that Ishtar is a dry world. It’s got tunnels and caves, and the Skinks like them. The part that bothers me is the business about them being used as slave labor. Who the hell is tough enough to turn the Skinks into slaves?” He sat back, indicating that he was through.

  “All right,” Kerr said. “Corporal Doyle, I saved you for last.”

  Doyle nodded thoughtfully before saying, “The con-consensus seems to be that these are a-aliens other than the S-Skinks. The consensus may well be right. But whatever we do, we can’t make p-planetfall thinking Skinks aren’t waiting for us.”

  Kerr waited for Doyle to say more. When he didn’t, he asked, “Does anybody have anything else they want to add?” When nobody did, he said, “Your preparation for this mission just doubled. You have to get ready to fight the Skinks again, and you have to get ready to fight some alien force that we know nothing about.” He turned and left, heading for the squad leaders’ compartment.

  For the next two days, while the CNSS Grandar Bay moved far enough away from Thorsfinni’s World’s gravity well to jump into Beam Space, the primary topic of discussion among the Marines—particularly the infantrymen and the Raptor pilots—was just who was really waiting for them on Ishtar. Not that there was a lot of spare time for discussion. The commanders kept their Marines busy with weapons, equipment, and gear maintenance and inspections, orientation on the Grandar Bay’s facilities—not that any of them needed to be oriented, it wasn’t all that long since they’d last sailed on her—and, of course, physical fitness training.

  The jump went off without incident worth mentioning, just a few bruises caused by people or gear not being properly secured. The training regimen increased once the Grandar Bay transited into Beam Space; weapons and flight training in recently installed virtual reality chambers was added. That didn’t, however, cut down on the speculation about who was really on Ishtar, and just what dangers might meet Thirty-fourth FIST on planetfall.

  The day before the jump out of Beam Space, Captain Conorado called a company formation. The Marines didn’t line up in ranks by platoon; as on the parade ground, that was impossible aboard a starship. Instead they crowded into one of the messes. The tables had been collapsed for the occasion, and enough chairs lined up in rows for everyone to be able to sit. A low platform was set up in front of one short wall of the room. Gunnery Sergeant Thatcher stood, arms akimbo, on the platform, watching as the Marines filed into the mess and took their seats, sitting together by squad and platoon. The plato
on sergeants sat in the rear row, closest to the entrance. Staff Sergeant Hyakowa, the last man in, secured the door behind himself. A second entrance, near the platform, stood open. When the company was assembled, Thatcher looked to that entrance and nodded, then stepped off the platform and stood by its side.

  First Sergeant Myer marched through the open door and onto the platform, faced the company, and bellowed, “Comp-nee, a-ten-hut!” There was a clatter of chairs as the Marines jumped to their feet.

  Captain Conorado briskly stepped into the room and mounted the platform. The company’s other officers filed in behind him and stood in front of empty chairs in the front row.

  “Sir,” Myer said in a booming voice, “Company L all present or accounted for!”

  “Thank you, First Sergeant. Take your place.”

  “Aye aye, sir!” Myer joined Thatcher at the side of the platform, where the two senior noncommissioned officers stood glaring out over the company.

  “Seats!” Conorado commanded. Again there was a brief clatter of chairs, and then the Marines were looking attentively at their company commander.

  “I’m sure you are all aware that tomorrow we jump out of Beam Space into Space-3 in the Opal-Ishtar system,” Conorado said. “You probably expect that we will make the jump as close as possible to Ishtar so we can make a quick planetfall and you can quit the training you’ve been undergoing since the Grandar Bay broke orbit around Thorsfinni’s World and start doing your job, which is to fight and defeat whatever enemy we encounter planetside.

  “I’m sorry to have to disappoint you.” He paused to let that sink in, before continuing.

  “We have entirely too little intelligence on the situation on Ishtar. Therefore, the Grandar Bay will return to Space-3 closer to Opal. Brigadier Sturgeon and Commodore Borland will lead a party planet-side to meet with Opal’s governmental heads to get everything they know about what’s happening on Ishtar. Then, and only then, will we maneuver into orbit around Ishtar. We won’t make planetfall until plans based on the latest intelligence are drawn up. In the meantime, we will continue with the same training regimen we’ve been under.