“Yes, ma’am. You certainly showed me,” Scotty teased as he held out his hand to her. Together they entered the shack. The dust-covered floor was scattered with animal prints and spoor. The back wall of the shack had collapsed, and weeds were snaking into the back area. After retracing their steps to explore outside, they found a barn that was entirely overgrown with weeds. As they advanced into the barn, it was apparent that they were the first in a long time to visit.
“Well, it’s dry, and we’re the only ones here,” Scotty said. “There’s room for us and the transport. Let’s pull it in now, before it’s discovered out there.” Together, they were able to muscle open the barn door and Sam drove the transport in. Scotty used a rake to un-flatten the weeds where the transport's wheels had crushed them.
“So what do you think this place was?” Scotty asked as he unloaded the transport.
“Most likely it belonged to one of the early settlers. The first few years there was a plague that killed many. We found out later that some folks were just allergic to something growing here. Usually, out of respect, we left their homes alone, especially if they lived on the fringe. I think if we look around more in the daylight tomorrow, we’ll find more buildings,” Sam said sadly.
“Let’s check the news, see if any of it is good,” Scotty said, turning on his wrist computer.
“We repeat, the invaders from the Libra Alliance have breached the capital, and all citizens have fallen back to the shelters. Military units have been able to contain the invaders at the entrance of the shelters. If you are outside the city, do not approach. Estimates of the enemy numbers range from ten thousand to fifty thousand, and we have been told they are using Jacka mercenaries. So far, New Richmond is the only city that has been attacked. Residents in smaller cities are advised to use their community shelters or evacuate to the countryside. The enemy has gone out of its way to avoid civilian casualties, and reported casualties have been few. Dixie Command has let us know they have some options on the table, but we can’t say anything more at this time. We will report again at the top of the hour. We return to our regular show.”
“Do you think there will be any type of counterattack to relieve the city? Do you have any way to get in touch with the military?” Scotty asked. “I don’t like the thought of being on the sidelines.”
“Sorry, sweetie, I’m a flyer, not a ground pounder. I’m not aware of any contingency plans for other districts. There are a dozen major cities with armories. They may try something, but none of them are easy to get to from here,” Sam replied as she climbed into her hammock.
Gray Panthers headquarters, Arizona
25 October 2128
Dan looked at his old friend Abby, his comrade from the Iran War and partner in building the Gray Panthers. Both men were going over the casualty reports from the Libra Alliance’s attack on Earth.
“Damn it!” Dan swore softly. “It’s only a matter of time before the Alliance comes back and kicks our ass and we see even worse casualties. The only way we can get the Alliance off our ass is to find an ally. I don’t want Dixie involved. If they keep their fleet at home, they should be safe. I think it’s time we look at the League of Planets. That bunch aren’t fighters. They’ll all stay on their home planets praying the Libra don’t invade, hoping they don’t do anything to offend them. They have just the weapon, and they don’t even realize it.”
“What weapon’s that?” Abby asked, realizing his old friend was putting a plan together.
“We convince the League of Planets that they need to expel the Libra from their charter. They authorize the creation of a unified military and fleet under the charter of the League of Planets, then assign responsibilities to each planet. Some would pay taxes, and others would provide materials and manufacturing support. The Jacka would be assigned the responsibility of providing the manpower. Our people who have spoken with our Jacka prisoners all agree that the Jacka would be willing to stop being mercenaries if they could instead be their own military force.
“We can work a trade deal, where we will supply them with ships and training for the fleet. We’ll have the ships equipped with level-one AIs to make the ships easier to manage and ensure that they can never attack us. The Jacka will get the respect they’ve wanted by becoming legitimate warriors.”
“What happens if they decide they don’t want the Jacka to have that much power?” Abby asked. “It could be a hard sell.”
“We explain that the alternative is we hire the entire Jacka home world and arm them with their own fleet, and then we destroy the Libra Alliance. After that, we go after every planet in the League of Planets. I think that would scare the royal hell out of them,” Dan said as he started jotting down notes.
Arizona Space Ship Beater, in League of Planets space
25 October 2128
Captain Kyle Johnson sat in the ship’s mess, savoring a cup of coffee. He had big plans and was looking for good input from Captain James Young, the detachment commander of the Gray Panther Marines, who sat across the table.
“We need to find a good base of operations. I want to be able to give the Libra a good bloody nose before we head for home. Every suitable place is either in space that’s too congested with traffic or too far away from suitable targets. You’ve looked over the maps. Any ideas, Captain Young?”
“Sir, I thought we would just hit the targets and then use the FTL to disappear. I don’t understand why we need a base.”
“I want to capture as many ships as possible with their cargos, so the members of the Libra Alliance really feel the pain. When we destroy ships, they get mad. If we take the ships away from them, that’ll really piss them off. We’re going to operate as a commercial raider. I just need to figure out a place where we can take the captured ships. It would be nice to just operate along the border with the Republic and take the ships across the border, but that area is too built up on both sides.”
“Captain Johnson, may I make a suggestion?” the ship’s AI asked, projecting itself into the mess. It appeared as a naval officer of the Confederate Navy from the ancient American War Between the States.
“Go ahead, Beater. I’d like to hear your idea,” Johnson answered.
“Sir, the old home world of the Flem has been thought to be picked clean, and no one has any interest in occupying it. There may be undamaged areas that are large enough to hide ships. With the Flem being underground dwellers, there is a good chance that some of the old entrances to their caverns still exist. Those would be perfect.”
“That’s an excellent idea, Beater. Instruct Lieutenant Horton to plot a course, without assisting him. Then check his work and let me know when it has been done, please.”
Ten minutes later, Johnson received the message. “Captain Johnson, this is Lieutenant Horton.”
“Go ahead, Lieutenant Horton.”
“Sir, I have plotted a course for planet Flem. Estimate eight hours by FTL.”
“Stand by, Lieutenant.” Johnson opened a new channel. “Beater, have you reviewed the course set by Horton?”
“Sir, Lieutenant Horton’s estimates put him inside of a hundred miles of what I would have plotted. He seems to be a natural, as humans would say,” Beater answered.
“Okay, Horton. You can instruct Commander Poland to set course for the Flem home world. Johnson out.”
“Well, Captain Young, in eight hours you’ll have a planet to explore. We’re looking for a place to dump as many ships as possible, out of view from space. Right now, I’d suggest going to your berth before the FTL is engaged.”
“Captain to all hands. We will soon engage the FTL drive for eight hours. Recommend everyone head for their berths and engage stasis fields. Chief Short Blade, report to the bridge for duty. Captain out.”
Unclaimed lands, planet Dixie
25 October 2128
Scotty sat up from a dead sleep and almost fell out of his hammock. “Damn!” he muttered louder than he intended.
Samantha rolled out of
her hammock, drew her revolver and ran went to the window before she was even fully awake. Scotty watched her in amazement, resisting the urge to laugh.
“Disregard. There’s nobody out there,” he said as he rolled out of his hammock and began to get dressed. “You told me before that when the scientists realized the AI was going to break down, they did their best to download as much information as possible, including how to repair it. I have what they need back at the plantation. We need to get the part to the city. If they can reactivate the AI, it can figure out how to bore more tunnels for the ships that are caught underground, so they can get out and attack the Libra ships in orbit,”
“Not exactly the best timing on your part, is it? How did you come by the part, if I can ask?” Sam inquired testily as she pulled up her pants.
“Back on Earth, we have the ability to build AIs, but there’s a component we have to get from another planet. It’s made using a substance from a rat that exists only on that planet. The inhabitants make their living producing the substance for export to the Flem. Business has been slow for a while, I guess, since the Flem disappeared. Anyway, while we were there on a run, I just happened to grab the part you need as kind of a souvenir.” Scotty stopped talking as the floor began to shake and the sound of engines deafened him.
“Time to go!” He shouted, yanking on his boots without lacing them and grabbing his gear and weapons. He glanced at Sam to make sure she was ready to keep up with him.
“Let’s head for the bush and see what they do.” He checked to make sure it was clear to the tree line. Looking back at Sam, he shook his head yes and then took off for the tree line. Sam ran slightly behind him, keeping in step. Scotty dove behind a tree and popped back up with his weapon, covering the approach they had just come from. He could see a pair of huge hovercraft trucks landing on the other side of the hut’s remains.
The first to emerge was a huge Jacka mercenary. Scotty figured the warrior was ten feet tall. He was dressed in a uniform that closely resembled one from ancient America’s War Between the States, except it was bright red.
The warrior’s face was that of a lion, with a huge mane tucked into the uniform’s tunic top. He had two sets of arms; the higher set cradled a huge rifle of some type, and each of the lower arms held a huge sword. He stood in the doorway of the hovercraft, slowly looking around and sniffing the air. Scotty was tempted to laugh, since all he could smell was the obnoxious exhaust from the vehicle, which stank like sulphur. The urge to laugh was quickly replaced by the feeling of his heart leaping into his throat. The warrior jumped down and headed down the slight trail Scotty and Sam had made with their own transport the day before.
Nine more mercenaries followed. Scotty ducked down further in the grass and tried to back up and turn around to run. Sam was already ten feet away and increasing her distance from him as she low crawled until she was out of sight in the tall grass. Scotty followed and tried to tangle the long grass behind him so there wasn’t such an obvious trail, but he soon gave up. When he caught up with Sam fifteen minutes later, she was furiously whittling wood into small twelve-inch stakes.
“We should have a few minutes before they pick up our trail,” she whispered without stopping her whittling. “Find some wood and make some spears, quick, same size as mine.” Yet again, Scotty started to laugh, not sure what Sam had in mind. Looking around, he realized they were at the end of the forest with an open field before them. The field was filled with bushes ranging from two feet to seven feet high.
“Okay, sweetie, we plant the stakes in the ground around the edge of the field where our trail is, keeping only six inches above ground,” Sam explained without looking up. “When we hear them discover the spears, we’ll be on the other side of this field. We won’t be able to see them, nor will they see us. Just remember where we plant the spikes. We’ll fire through the bushes from the other side, and hopefully we can get a few of them and encourage them to slow down. That should teach them to be a little cautious,”
Sam began planting her spears on the trail. Scotty went to the trees near the trail and quietly started planting the spears he had made there instead of planting them on the trail itself. Remembering back when he was a cadet, he had tried to find any cover at all when he was being shot at.
“Okay, your stakes hopefully will make them stop, and then when we open up, my stakes should get a couple as they take cover,” Scotty said as he tried to camouflage his stakes. Getting up, he gave one last look around and noticed that they were under the only red tree in the tree line.
“That makes it easy. From the other side, this is the only tree we need to aim at,” Scotty said as they began to cross the field of bushes to the opposite tree line. Once on the other side and a few yards into the tree line, they looked for a good spot to shoot from. As Scotty got comfortable, he took a swig of water from his vest and said, “I wish I had my beamer now. One shot could take out that entire crew.”
“Why stop there? Let’s wish we had the Dixie army here with us!” Sam said between gulps of water.
A distant shout from the other side of the tree line brought them to alertness. They grabbed their weapons and let loose. Scotty was amazed at the light recoil from the carbine as he quickly went through twenty rounds. He stuffed the empty magazine from the carbine into his pocket, inserted a new one, and continued to fire into the area around the red tree.
The ‘wis wis wis’ of incoming fire perplexed him until he saw the tree next to Sam get hit by five darts. “I think it’s time to go!” he whispered as he pointed to the darts imbedded in the tree. Sam’s face lost all color when she saw how close they had come to hitting her.
“I’ll empty one more magazine at them as you start breaking trail for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if those guys are already in the bushes trying to close in on us from a dozen directions. I don’t want to be here to meet them, so go!” Scotty shouted.
He adjusted his aim from the red tree into the bushes in front of him and took rapid shots in bursts of three. He got on one knee, ready to follow Sam, just as a huge Jacka broke through the bushes and headed for him like a football lineman after a quarterback. Scotty turned his carbine and let loose the remaining rounds as the Jacka flew toward him, knocking the Jacka down just as he brushed past Scotty and collapsed on the ground, dead.
Scotty turned and ran as fast as he could toward where Sam had disappeared into the forest. A few minutes later, he caught up with her and breathlessly yelled, “Faster!” as he continued without slowing down. She watched him for a split second until a distant loud roar from behind them sent her racing to catch up.
Gray Panthers headquarters, Arizona
25 October 2128
Dan waited for the clock to hit 0900 hours, which is when he was supposed to call the president and bring him up to speed on his plans. As the minutes ticked by, he thought of how he would present the argument for his ideas.
Throughout the years, he and the president had been the best of friends, especially when Sigmund “Siggy” Goldstein had been the army lawyer who saved Dan from a death sentence during a court martial in the Iranian War, and later, when Siggy helped Dan set up the corporations that constituted the civilian side of the Gray Panthers. In return, Dan had helped Siggy become president of the United States, and his son, governor of Arizona. The stresses of their positions at times had driven a wedge between the pair, and Dan knew this would be another of those times.
He pressed the dot behind his right ear and said, “Comm Siggy.” The command allowed him to be projected virtually to the president at the White House.
“Right on time, Danny. What can I do for you today?” Siggy asked, trying to appear happy to see his old acquaintance.
“Mr. President, I know you’re pissed with me for spreading the fleet among so many nations, without that many going to the U.S. I have a plan to rectify that and keep the body count down for Earth. But, I need your old law firm to make it happen.”
Siggy couldn’t supp
ress the shocked look on his face as he pondered what his old friend would need lawyers for, especially since he had many of his own already.
“Going to sue the Libra for peace, Dan?” Siggy asked.
“I want the attorneys to learn galactic law from the point of view of the League of Planets. My artificial intelligence Grub has all the information they need. I want them to be able to set up a contract so that the League of Planets will hire the Jacka to be their combined military. We will sell them the ships they need, and train as needed. They can then go to war with the Libra Alliance, and we can get out of the war before we really get hurt. We plan to use our artificial intelligence units to run the ships so we can be guaranteed they won’t be used against us.
“If the League of Planets refuses to go along with our plan, we’ll tell them we will hire the Jacka as our mercenaries to fight the Libra Alliance, and then attack every member planet of the League and use the Jacka as administrators for their planets after each one is captured. That’s only a threat, but I think it will work,” Dan explained.
“I think we need to use our more reliable allies from Dixie, who have already shown they’ll come to our defense if we need them,” the president countered. “Good God, man, why trust aliens when we have our own kind willing to help? Dixie has the technology and the willingness to assist us, and they’re humans!”
“Sir, I’ve come to find that species doesn’t matter. Our most decorated warrior is a chief petty officer from the planet Glory! I don’t want Dixie to be vulnerable because of us. They’re already under attack by the Libra Alliance. Who knows how many have already been killed because of us,” Dan stated emphatically.
“All right, Dan. I will tell my partners to make themselves available to the Gray Panthers and learn all they can about galactic law. I’m only doing this because we need more than one option.”
“You mean if Dixie is destroyed or unable to help us? That would be too large a price for them to pay.
Gray Panthers: Dixie Page 2
