by Chris Hechtl
Unfortunately, it was in short supply.
“Danvers,” he said as he came into the temporary radio room. The young man looked up shivering. The general didn't bother to smile in sympathy. It was damn cold in the room he knew; it didn't have a fireplace or stove. But they couldn't set up their equipment near a source of heat. Danvers would just have to cope he knew.
“Yes, sir,” the private said, teeth chattering as he blew into his hands and rubbed them against his arms.
“You warming up with your equipment?” the general asked.
“Trying to, sir,” Danvers stuttered.
“Good enough. Pass on an order for our people to start looking for a place to fort up for the winter. They are to gather supplies and hunker down if need be. Raid only in heavily armed squad-sized units. Set up a perimeter, clear fire lanes if they can. If possible, go to ground where they can remain hidden. Cache all equipment and supplies.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man said as he wrote the order out on a scrap of paper. “Are we staying here then?”
“For a little bit longer. You said Captain Goddard's astronomers reported a hyperjump sighting?” he asked.
The young man nodded. “Yes sir. A bright flash near where the jump point is. She thinks they are gone,” he said.
“Okay. We'll give it another day or so and then see where that leads us. For the moment, just hunker down and wait it out,” the general ordered.
“Aye aye, sir.”
“Good man,” the general said, clapping the man on the shoulder. He sniffed, then turned away. “Danvers, when you are off duty, look into a bath,” he said.
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” the private said miserably.
The general nodded as he left the room and wiped his hand on his pant leg. If the young man was like that, then morale was lowering and that was an issue he needed to deal with. The young man had let his beard grow out … should he call him on it? He frowned thoughtfully. No, he decided after a long moment. It would help him blend in and would help keep his face warm he thought.
<)>^<)>/
“Well damn, now things are looking the way they should,” Corporal Nasuko Edinger said as he oversaw his fire team's work on expanding the platoon's active perimeter. “Nice and challenging,” he said with a rictus grin.
“The ancient Chinese curse. May you live in interesting times,” Corporal Jing Xu Ni said with a shake of his head. He didn't like being out of his custom samurai armor, but he followed orders like Edinger did.
Edinger eyed him and then snorted. “Come on, don't try to snow me. You and I both know we're glad this happened. I was fracking bored to tears,” he said.
Jing Xu eyed him for a long moment. “Are you seriously trying to tell me I'm glad two-thirds of Division Nineteen was just wiped off the face of the map? That is seriously fracked up even for you. That we've got …,” he threw his hands up helplessly. “Who knows how many bastards coming?” he demanded as he watched PFC Cardones finish programming the spider bot. The spider was a class IV known as a widow-maker for its design. It was painted in camo colors to match the ground. They'd touched it up a bit with some paint from Sergeant Scorlan's supplies to make it blend in a bit better.
They only had a handful of the spider bots in inventory. Each would be a nice nasty surprise to anyone who passed into the inner defensive perimeter. He personally hoped it was a deer or edible animal instead of an intruder though.
“Sure,” Cadrones answered as he hit the enter key then unplugged the unit. The bot went over to a dirt patch and then dug in. It had a tough go of it, but it had selected a low spot. It used its eight legs to move the snow and hard dirt aside, then it burrowed in, burying itself as it went until only the mortar turret was showing. The mortar was stubby and painted to look like a tree trunk that had been broken in half.
The neat thing about the 2-meter-sized robot was that it could fashion its own ammo. It would use the legs to pull in dirt and rocks and then pack them into its ass. The ass had a compressor that would compress the soil and heat it into a hard package. The mortar was electromagnetic. It had a sling that would throw the ammunition at the target. Since the shot was electromagnetic and the payload was nonexplosive and inert and not made of metal, it was hard to see coming.
Edinger snorted as he pulled a white camo net out of his bag. He and Jing Xu draped it over the mortar and then attached a line so the thing could be drawn off when the robot fired.
“You set it to shoot and scoot, right?” Jing Xu asked. He didn't like that the boss wanted the robot to be wireless. That meant there was a betraying Wi-Fi signal. Cardones had set up a couple repeater boxes for each robot, but they were like ringing the doorbell to a sharp-eared listener.
It would have been better to use whisker thin ODN cable … but then the robot would have yanked it out if it moved around … and they'd have to bury it. Besides, the ODN cable was in rather short supply at the moment.
No matter, they'd make do with what they had available.
“Yeah, of course,” Cardones said, not looking up from what he was doing.
“Hope the net doesn't trip the stupid thing up. When do we have to charge it?” Edinger asked.
“Five days unless it has to fire. Two days if it fires. Unless we put it in sleep mode or hook up an external battery or solar panel … which I'm tempted to do since I'm freezing my nuts off and don't want to have to come out and service this thing every damn week. But the cold might affect the motors and joints, so we gotta come and check it anyway,” Cardones replied.
“Frack,” Edinger muttered as they packed up. “You didn't answer my question,” he said, looking over to Jing Xu.
“I was thinking. And you know what? I admit, you are right, I love it,” Jing Xu said slowly. PFC Cardones looked up at him in surprise. Edinger snorted in disbelief. “No, seriously. It sucks we lost people, but that's war. I love the idea of a good fight. I was bored to tears before like you said. I am a modern day samurai. A nice stiff fight.” he asked with a wolfish grin.
“What about if we lose?” Cardones asked, eying the duo dubiously.
“Hell man, we're the Death's Head Brigade! We'll mop the floor with them! I want my Viking guard!” Edinger roared.
“Right,” Cardones drawled, shaking his head. “You are some piece of work; you know that?”
“Yeah,” Jing Xu said, eying the PFC. “Don't tell me you aren't looking forward to cleaning their clocks,” he accused. “Getting it really stuck into a good opponent,” he growled.
Cardones snorted as he tucked his kit under his arm. Edinger elbowed him. “Okay, okay, maybe,” he admitted grudgingly. Edinger chuckled. “But if you two death-happy idiots don't mind, I'd rather fight someone who doesn't shoot back. It's not as much fun, but you live longer and can rack up a bigger total,” Cardones said.
“Right,” Edinger said. “But hey, if you don't get shot at occasionally, it gets boring!” he said as Jing Xu shook his head.
Chapter 25
Lil White arrived in Kathy's World without any fanfare. The passengers were delayed getting off due to problems with the Horathians passing through plus a shuttle issue; by the time they had gotten everything sorted out, she was heartily sick of the ship and ready to get out and walk if she had to. Her experience on the ship told her she didn't want to endure more, so she chose to stay in the star system rather than go on to Agnosta.
When she got down to the planet, she didn't play tourist like some of her fellow former passengers; she instantly applied for work. Unfortunately, she had little or no skills nor a place to stay or a means for the businesses to get in contact with her. She was in a catch-22; she needed income to survive … but couldn't get income because she was new to the planet and had no place to stay … nor money to pay for it.
She realized she couldn't sleep outside after the first bitter cold evening of the fall season. The planet was pretty, no smog from smoke stacks and the buildings were new. There were a lot of Neos, which was gratifyin
g to see. She swallowed her pride and scavenged for insects and rats for her first meals on the planet. She even took a few handouts, which helped her get information about the capital city.
The little she had scraped up plus the promise of a triple deposit at the end of the month allowed her to finally get a post office box and a cell phone. That address and small phone gave her a chance at a temp agency job. The otter at the front desk sublet her apartment to her for the next two months since she couldn't get out of her lease.
She gratefully took the small crummy apartment the otter had occupied previously. It was smelly and the train was depressingly loud and frequent, the domestic disturbances were hourly … but it beat being out in the weather.
She worked odd jobs at the temp agency, taking anything they threw at her, even if it was just for half a day. By the end of the week though, she'd finally settled into graveyard waitressing and doing messenger service in the mornings to make ends meet.
The messenger job let her see a lot of the growing capital city. She was fast; she could only take small parcels or letters due to her small size so she disdained a bicycle. The more she ran the city, the more she learned the back alleys and shortcuts that let her shave her time.
As her speed picked up, she got better and better routes and jobs. On the six-week anniversary of her arrival on the planet, she had to run a packet to the capital building.
The capital building was imposing. She flashed her credentials; they had cost her nearly half a week's pay and then went to the directory. It took her a minute to memorize it.
“Madam President, I do wish you wouldn't cut it so close,” a Neochimp said in an annoyed and exasperated tone of voice, making Lil White's ears twitch and then orient on the chimp. She turned, noted the white wolf, and then looked at the addressee again. She nodded and went over to the wolf.
“You need to get into that meeting before they tear each other apart, ma'am,” the chimp said.
“They aren't that bad,” Moira drawled.
“Bad enough, ma'am,” the chimp drawled as he eyed the intruder. “Yes?”
“I have a package for the president,” the Neocat said. She took the tube off her back and then held it out to the wolf. “I need you to sign for it, ma'am,” she said.
“I've got this George,” the Wolf said. She bent over then thought better of it and knelt as she took the tube and then the clipboard Lil White held out for her. “New here?” she asked.
“Yes, ma'am,” Lil White said. “I know you. I wanted to thank you for what you did on Protodon,” she said.
“Protodon?” the president asked, looking up in surprise.
“Yes, ma'am. I … it's my homeworld,” Lil White said with an ear flick as the wolf finished signing for the package. The wolf looked up sharply.
“How did you get here then?” the wolf asked as she handed the small clipboard back.
“Well, my sister and I were rescued by a big black cat. We helped him with information and he sort of took us in. Well, he got us to Zelma's at any rate,” Lil White said as she put her clipboard away.
“Wait, black cat … you are Lil White?” the White Wolf asked, flicking her ears as she straightened up.
Lil White blinked up at her. “You've heard of me?” she asked stupidly, eyes wide in surprise.
“Ma'am,” the Neochimp said in exasperation. The wolf waved the back of her hand to him for him to desist.
“I know Jethro,” White Wolf said with a slow nod. “He talked highly favorably of you and your sister. I saw you in the refugee camp,” the wolf replied. She was taken aback by the coincidence of running into the cat. “Walk with me,” Moira ordered, motioning the cat to walk beside her.
White walked beside her, looking up to the wolf. Slowly Moira drew out more of her story. She had known about the tickets but that she and her sister had taken advantage of them … and that she'd gotten her that far.
“So, are you going to visit Shanti? She hasn't mentioned you,” Moira said, eying the cat as they neared their destination.
Lil White squirmed uncomfortably and then looked down. “Oh, I don't want to impose.”
“Jethro obviously saw something in you and your sister to get you this far. So, why not look her up? At the least, you can visit and say hi. You might even help her with the kittens … What?” she asked as Lil White looked aggrieved.
“Sorry, I'm missing my kittens,” White said.
Moira blinked at her and then her eyes narrowed. “You are? You left them?”
Lil White looked down to her mammaries and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I dried up. They were going to die. My mother and Aunt Zelma took over. They practically threw me on the ship after Red left. They wanted Red and I to get off world. I heard a few things … the tsunami. I don't even know if they are still alive,” she said, ears back in distress. She'd heard about the attack on her home star system through the news and from an old paper she'd found and read.
“I can look into it for you. Give me their address,” Moira said firmly as they stopped at a conference door. White blinked. “Come on, I don't have all day,” the wolf growled.
Startled, White rattled it off. Moira nodded. “I've got it in my implants,” she explained, tapping the side of her head. “Now look, Shanti is a ranger. Go to the ranger station in town. She's an Arctic Neoleopard. Tell them I sent you, and you want to talk with her.”
“Understood, ma'am,” White said as the Neochimp aide opened the door for the president. She nodded. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem. See you around,” Moira said with a slight smile and ear flick.
<)>^<)>/
As Moira sat in listening to the droning on in the transportation meeting, she used her implants to send an email to Shanti about the cat. She wanted to give her a head's up … and maybe get Shanti to go looking for her if Lil White didn't come around on her own initiative.
<)>^<)>/
Lil White was reluctant to visit Shanti, so when she didn't come around after several days, Shanti tracked her down to her apartment. One sniff and look around made her shake her head in sympathy and disgust. That was no place for a cat to live. “Come on,” Shanti said gruffly. She didn't even want to enter the hovel. She stood outside the door. “Get your things.”
“Am I going somewhere, ma'am?” Lil White asked nervously, eyes wide at the towering cat.
“Yeah. You are moving in with me. I've got a small room you can take, Ellen's old room actually. The kittens prefer to be together, even though they wake each other up half the time.” she paused and rolled her eyes. “I tried to stick the boys in it, but it didn't work out. Lisami and her two oldest and two youngest have their own wing, and our new nanny decided to live in her own little studio home we built for her near the edge of the property, most likely to preserve her sanity.” That earned a tail flick and smirk. “Rah is hardly around since she's a deputy like me, so I know she won't mind.”
“But …”
“No buts. Jethro mentioned you, and he mentioned he felt horrible about leaving you behind. I'll put you up; you can help out for room and board. Deal?”
Lil White nodded slowly.
“And you can maybe drop one of the jobs you've got so you can go to school. I know you are proud of doing this and I'm proud of you, but you're still young. Now is the time to seize an education,” she said firmly. “It gets harder the older you get, believe me,” she said with a tail flick.
“Yes, ma'am,” Lil White said meekly as she started to bundle up her meager belongings.
<)>^<)>/
Shanti fought a laugh when Lil White first met the kittens. It was hard; the kittens were the same size as the small domestic female. They adored her though, and after a few minutes of getting to know one another, it became apparent that White had thawed and had started to adore them too—though their rambunctiousness took a little getting used to. When the quartet knocked her on her butt and then purred themselves in a tangle of arms and legs, Shanti had a tho
rough laugh.
“You poor thing,” she said mockingly as she saw White's arm go up as a flag of surrender. She helped disengage a few of the kittens, and then watched in amusement as White panted. “They are a bit much,” she drawled.
“A bit?” White said. She picked up little Sabu by the armpits, which was comical enough to get Shanti chuffing again. White flicked her ears at the absurdity of someone her size manhandling a kitten the same size as her, but she managed to rest the purring kitten into her lap. “Easy there, don't squish me. I like to breathe too you know,” she gasped out.
“Just be glad you've just got my four to deal with for the moment. When Lisami's two newborns wake-up …,” she shook her head evilly.
“You … I'm starting to remember the whole line about doing someone a favor,” White said as the kitten started to rub and purr, then give her an awkward but enthusiastic bath. Small hands grabbed her to get her to hold still.
“I so need to get some images and video for the photo album and to send to Jethro,” Shanti said, doubling over with laughter.
“So not … gah!” White said as the kitten stuck his tongue in her ear. “Okay,” she started to tickle the little imp's ear until that caused an uncontrolled back leg scratching fit that had both White and Shanti chuffing in amusement.
Chapter 26
Caroline returned to Pyrax, surprising everyone. The news of the light cruiser's return and her mission was dispatched through the ansible to all commands shortly ahead of the official public announcement. The impact on the local news channels when the news was released to the media in Pyrax and then made its way through the ansible network to Agnosta and the other worlds was like a bomb going off in each location. All local news coverage ceased as stunned “experts” weighed in on Bek and Nuevo and the impact they would have on the Federation and its future.
General Forth got the brief about the return but had held off on reading it since it was the weekend and he wanted time off to himself. That lasted right up until the news hit the media and then the general public. When questions from his officers and the Marine Public Affairs Department started to pour in, he cursed and stopped his fishing trip to read up on the event. When he finished he paused, sat back, and then thought about the consequences and what the future was going to bring to the Navy and to the Marines in particular.
