“Advance and be recognized.”
“Permission to come aboard?” For some reason, tankers referred to their vehicles the same way sailors referred to their ships. They also used similar terms such as cupolas, sponson boxes, turrets, hulls, and who knew what else. They loved the permission to come aboard thing, too.
“Granted.”
Jessica climbed aboard, approached the turret and found the business end of a large caliber pistol in the hands of Tara Mason. The young woman smiled and pulled the weapon back, holstering it quickly. “Hex said you’d come looking for coffee.”
“He’s already awake, too?”
“Yep,” Tara said. She ducked into the turret and the smell of strong, freshly brewed coffee came up from the open hatch, making Jessica’s mouth water. “I hope you don’t take cream or sugar. We’re fresh out.”
“It’s fine, thanks.” Tara passed her a large steaming cup. “That’s all I have left. If you’d like more, I can brew it.”
Jessica shook her head. “This is great. Any more than this, and I’ll either vibrate or spend the morning in the latrine.”
Tara laughed. “I think we’ll be busier than that, Peacemaker.”
Her tone was all business and confident, any trace of doubt or cowardice either buried or non-existent. Jessica hoped for the second. “You’ve done your morning procedures?”
“We had stand-to 30 minutes ago.” Tara sipped coffee of her own. “All vehicles are manned at 100 percent and security is active around the colony. The Altar have established their own security. I have Angels Eight and Nine manning a listening post to the west at the ridgelines. Surveillance radars are quiet, but I’m expecting the enemy to come rolling around by daybreak.”
Jessica chewed the inside of her bottom lip. “We can’t expect anything specific. I’m not sure they’ll attack today, much less at daybreak. These are alien mercenary forces we’re dealing with—not human ones. Their application of surprise differs a lot from ours.”
Tara didn’t say anything.
Jessica blushed. “I’m not trying to lecture you, Tara. I’m just stating that though we’re prepared to fight, they won’t come when we want or expect them to. That’s all. I’m sorry if I came across badly.”
“Like I’m a coward?”
Jessica flinched. “I didn’t say that.”
“Hex said you told him all about what you think happened to Death On Tracks. You were misinformed, Peacemaker. The official report clears my troopers and me of any wrongdoing.”
“But you’re guilty in the word of public opinion, aren’t you?” Jessica asked. “Is that why you’re here? You signed on to this mission thinking you’d find a way to clear your names in the eyes of the Guild?”
“Hak-Chet promised us an official recommendation upon completion of this mission. He told us you were his most promising student and, with your situation here, you would need particular assistance. That’s why we’re here, Peacemaker. We’re going to support you or die trying.”
Jessica took a lingering sip of the hot drink. Tara was telling the truth, she believed. “Okay, then. I’m glad to have you and your troopers. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to dying today or any other day.”
Tara nodded. “Hex is up with Klatk discussing another trip into the tunnels. He’s worried the Selroth will use the aquifer. He thinks their first bombs were supposed to open it enough that they could get through and attack us from underground. He wants to take a CASPer down there to check it out.”
“It would take one hell of a pilot to maneuver one of those things down there,” she said and sucked in a breath of realization. “That means him, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll command the defense while he checks it out. He wants to go as soon as Klatk can muster a team,” Tara said. “You want me to tell him you’re on your way?”
Jessica looked at the horizon now clearly visible in the distance. Before Morning Nautical Twilight was the first time the horizon was visible and was a harbinger of dawn, usually 30 to 40 minutes later. “I have to get back into the Raknar. My system scanner hit a snag. Once I’m done with that, I’ll go to the command center. Tell Hex to go if Klatk is ready before then.”
“Copy that,” Tara said. She met Jessica’s eyes for a long moment. “We’re a long way from buying you that drink, huh?”
“I did finish it before I left.”
Tara smiled. Her teeth were visible in the waxing light. “Maybe when we’re done I’ll get another chance?”
Jessica nodded. “Deal. I’m going to get going. Keep your eyes peeled.”
“My what?”
Jessica chuckled. “Something my father always said. Keep your eyes open? Your head on a swivel? Same thing, but older. He was a character like that.”
“You’ll have to tell me more about him.”
“I might,” Jessica said. “We have to get that drink first.”
“I’m holding you to that, Peacemaker.”
Jessica reached over to the open hatch and extended a hand, which Tara shook. “Jessica. My name is Jessica.”
“Well met, then.”
A piece of memory flickered to life and Jessica laughed. “That’s funny.”
“What?”
“Something I haven’t thought about since high school. The play Julius Caesar—something about meeting again and smiling, and if not, then the parting was well made.”
“Brutus and Cassius before battle,” Tara grinned. “We must have had the same teachers.”
“At least ones that appreciated Shakespeare,” Jessica said.
“I’ll take that,” Tara said with a laugh. “All things considered.”
Jessica looked, again, at the first tinges of sunlight touching the horizon. The high, thin clouds glowed red. If she believed in omens, it would have been a bad sign. Still, it wasn’t something she wanted to see, much less acknowledge as anything symbolic. But she had to. The young woman sitting with her and her soldiers, along with the Altar colony and Hex, were counting on her best effort. That meant understanding every possible piece of information and taking it at face value. Even bad omens.
“Going to be a long day, I think,” she said and stood up on the tank’s upper deck, stretching her back as she did. The rifle’s strap cut into her neck, and she straightened it out, her hand lingering on the cold barrel. “A very long day.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-One
Hex stomped up the slope to the mine entrance in his CASPer. All systems green and cannons loaded, he made his way across the loose gravel, dodging Altar soldiers as they readied the colony’s defenses. He glanced down at the Tri-V displays and saw that ground surveillance radars in the GenSha area were picking up too much movement to be simple morning chores. He punched up the radio. “Angel Seven, Boss. Wake up out there.”
“Not sleeping, boss. Too much going on.”
“What’re you hearing, Kirkland?” Hex replied and kept moving up the slope.
“Vehicles, mainly. Some armor and a few lighter skiffs. No flyers or ducted fans that we can break out,” Kirkland replied. “Things are busy to the west, too. No visuals, but plenty of noise.”
Hex smirked. Well, we knew they had to be there.
“Relay that to Demon One, Angel Seven. Will try to get eyes on. You two be ready to un-ass that position, copy?”
“Loud and clear, Boss.” The connection terminated, and Hex looked again at the mine entrance to see Klatk standing there on her hind legs waiting for him.
He stopped the CASPer a few meters away and opened the cockpit, but made no effort to disconnect any of the haptic connections or to leave the vehicle. He took off his earpiece and looked eye-to-eye at the two-meter-tall alien. “Honored Klatk.”
“Where do you think you are going, Hex?”
Hex pointed at the mine entrance. “The Selroth are going to come through the aquifer on Level Six or Seven, Klatk. We have to seal it off.”
Klatk’s mandibles twitched. “Doing so will t
hreaten both the brood and the aquifer. If we breach the aquifer, it will contaminate the mines and the river, itself.”
“We don’t have much choice.” Hex shook his head. “They’ve already attempted it once. We have to get down there and plug the breach before they get through. What’s the water going to contaminate if it gets through? What’s down there, Klatk?”
Her antennae stiffened for a moment, and she leaned forward. “The water will be contaminated, Hex. Level Seven has a natural vent for raw crude oil. We sealed it off six months ago, but the wall structure is weak in many places.” The aquifer would be contaminated and that would threaten the lower river and the Selroth colony, not to mention the bay and all the life there.
“Wait, do the Selroth want the oil?” Hex blinked. An aquatic species wouldn’t want anything that would hurt them. He glanced up at Klatk. “There’s more, isn’t there? This isn’t about oil. What’s down there?”
Klatk’s antennae swayed side to side. “When we dug the mine, we uncovered an enormous vein of gold running from Level Six to a much greater depth. We believe it’s the largest vein ever found on a Dream World. Given the instability of the ground, mining it is nearly impossible. Having the Selroth detonating a bunch of explosives carelessly risks breaching the aquifer and opening the oil vent, as well as collapsing the whole mine.”
For a moment, Hex thought that driving the Selroth away with the oil might be a good solution, but he understood. “Can we close that off, too? Say we close off both levels? Maybe everything below the brood?”
Another Altar scrambled up. “Yes. It’s possible, but we’ll have to plant a significant number of charges, and I’m not sure we have the time to haul them all down there.”
Klatk nodded at the other Altar. “You’ve met my chief engineer?”
Hex waved. “Load me up, Plec. We can get down there now, seal off the mine below your brood and keep the Selroth out.”
“It’s not without significant risk, Hex,” the engineer said.
“Then it’s worth doing.” Hex grinned. The Altar’s mandibles vibrated in an equal response. “Can I fit down there?”
Plec studied the CASPer for a moment. “Can you walk with the legs bent more?”
Hex maneuvered the hips and knees of the CASPer to a more bent position. “Will this do? It won’t be fast, but I can manage it.”
“Our explosives are on Level Three. We should get them before we head down,” Plec said, looking at Klatk.
“I’ll send two squads of soldiers with you,” Klatk said. “They can defend the aquifer and assist in laying the devices before you collapse the mine. I wish there were another way to do this.”
Hex stared at her for a moment. “All we can do now is save your brood and cut off the Selroth’s avenue of approach. If we can force them onto land, we stand a better chance of defeating them.”
Klatk nodded. “I understand. I think you humans have a saying...good luck?”
Hex grinned. “We’ll take it, but we need time and explosives first. Right, Plec?”
The engineer’s antennae shook as he turned around and headed toward the entrance of the mine with Hex in tow. Either he was scared or ridiculously excited, Hex could not tell. He pushed the transmitter. “Bulldog, Hex. Over.”
“Morning. What’s your plan?”
“We’re going to collapse the mine below Level Three. I’m taking their chief engineer and a couple of squads,” Hex said. “Going to private Kilo One.”
Hex flipped over to a scrambled standard frequency he knew Jessica would still have loaded on her slate. “What is it, Hex?”
“Level Seven is gold, Jess. The largest vein of gold ever discovered on a Dream World and maybe any other planet. There’s a shit ton of it. But there’s a significant risk of oil contamination, too.”
He heard Jessica sigh. “Well, now we know why they’re hiding it. Earth’s economy, and more than a few other worlds’, would spiral out of control with that discovery. Kenos and his asshole company must know about it, too.”
“Or they strongly suspect there is something of value and are willing to kill for it,” Hex said.
“This whole thing stinks,” Jessica said. “They brought me out here to negotiate something they had no intent of negotiating, in order to make me look like an idiot and undermine the Guild, too.”
“Well, let’s stop them,” Hex said. “I mean, Kenos has to come and verify what’s in the mine, right? If he gets here, and I’ve collapsed the lower levels, he can’t verify anything.”
Jessica paused. “It opens up the Altar for lawsuits, Hex.”
“Isn’t that better than killing their brood and all of Klatk’s colonists?”
“You have a point there.” Jessica realized that settling a serious dispute in a Union courtroom, in this particular case, was a much better idea than all-out war.
Hex paused at the mine entrance and lowered the CASPer to its duckwalking position. “I’m going in, Bulldog. You’ll feel it when we bring the mine down.”
“Don’t be in there when it comes down, Hex. I don’t want to bury another Alison.”
Hex chuckled with gallows humor. “If this doesn’t go well, I’ll have spared you the effort by burying myself, Jess.”
“Be careful, Hex. I’m heading to the Raknar. By the way, you were right about Tara. Thank you.”
Hex released a deep breath. “I’m glad you talked it out, Bulldog. She’s almost as tough as you are. Hex, out.” Hex opened up the CASPer’s arms and accepted two crates of explosives from Plec and the gathered soldiers. At the entrance, he flipped on the rear camera and looked at the intense red sunrise along the horizon, imagining he could feel this planet’s sun on his skin. He’d watched a sunrise with his father once, atop a craggy peak in New Mexico when he was barely a teenager. If he weren’t meant to survive the day, his last memory of life on the surface was as poignant as his father’s arm around his shoulders so many years and light-years distant.
“Let’s go, Plec. Lead the way.”
* * *
Qamm woke to urgent knocking on the door of her private quarters. “What is it?”
“Leader Qamm, there is a suborbital transport leaving D’Nart matching the description of Tchrt One. It’s turning on a course that will bring it to the Altar Colony.”
Her brain spun off the webs of sleep in an instant. “Estimated time of arrival?”
“Seventeen minutes,” her aide said from the other side of the door.
“Wake the unit and have them ready to move in five minutes.”
There was no reply, but she could hear the young Cochkala running away through the loose gravel outside her door. She leaned over to her slate and tapped in an access code. The communications application opened. She augmented it for security and pressed the last transmission button to re-engage in voice mode only.
“What is it, Qamm?”
“Kenos is enroute, Leeto. Are your forces ready?”
The Sidar chuckled. “My forces are ready. Unfortunately, the Selroth are not. I hope they can attack when we are ready to commit forces into the Altar zone.”
Liar.
“Roust them, Leeto. Kenos will be on the ground in 17 minutes, and I want to push our forces forward the moment he sets down and starts raining confusion on the colony and its forces.”
“You have too much faith in his abilities, Qamm,” Leeto snickered.
She smiled in return. “He is a buffoon, incapable of handling a crisis with tact or focus. Our window will open within an hour, and we must be ready to strike.”
“My forces are ready to move now. I will engage the Selroth and have them ready as soon as I am able.”
Qamm fought the urge to roll her eyes, like a human, in disgust. “You do that, Leeto. The Darkness, out.”
She disabled the connection and quickly donned her battle armor. The Veetanho prided themselves on near constant readiness for combat. She eschewed food or water and let her body chemistry warm up to the idea of combat
. The “blood lust” effect of her pheromones would doubly affect those of her species in her employ. Their rage would be the crashing wave she and the rest of her forces would ride through the Altar defenses. Weapons in their holsters at her muscular hip joints, Qamm pushed through the door and found her vehicle moving towards her. Fully manned with four external laser gunners, the rolling platform could hold an entire battalion of forces at bay for a few minutes on its own. The twin 80mm recoilless rifles and quad laser cannons fired from the central gunner’s position were overkill. She stepped aboard and clambered to her position atop the platform behind a dual mounted machine-gun. Despite her disdain of humans, their weapons of war, particularly the older, more lethal ones, had a special attraction for her. She charged the .50 caliber machine guns and tugged her combat helmet on.
“Darkness, this is Leader Qamm. Combat readiness check. Go.”
One by one, her small hemispherical displays filled with vehicle icons that snapped to life as red boxes and transitioned to green diamonds as they readied for combat. In one minute, all her vehicles were prepared and ready to move. She tapped her console with a clawed hand. “Combat drones, prepare for launch on planned tracks.”
Four icons flickered, and smaller icons that looked like a mixture of arrows and crosses hovered over the GenSha colony and moved out to create a forward position at 500 meters. The drones would look for obstacles and disrupt communications of anything in their path.
Qamm’s radio crackled to life. “Qamm? What is happening?”
The GenSha leader’s wavering voice made her smile. Fear was an incredible motivator, and the worthless politician was scared shitless. “Get your forces ready to attack as described in the plan, T’Genn. Move them north on my command by regiments. They are to continue the attack until I tell them to stop. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Qamm. But, I am concerned that—”
Qamm had just terminated the connection and changed her radio back to the command frequency when her fingers froze. A secure message on the agreed frequency blinked to life. Do not target the Raknar. Acknowledge.
Peacemaker (The Revelations Cycle Book 6) Page 24
