Chapter 21. Spectre over Istridium 2205, 29 September
They had warped in ten minutes ago. It had taken them that long just to catalogue all the entities of interest over and on the surface. The holo had so many icons on it that Sheldon had asked for them to filter out non-military ships. Even so there were still 12 caps and 21 lights plus a space station.
“So that space station thing is similar to the one over Cheklin” queried Sheldon.
“Similar signature” replied 2nd Lt Michael Thurbar his CI officer.
“So we should definitely avoid going down under its gaze.”
“It looks like it’s focussed over a place called Orina, but it has a huge scan zone.”
“That’s where I need to get to” chimed in Angina.
Sheldon rolled his eyes. “It would be, wouldn’t it?”
“Dawn is at 0550” advised 2nd Lt Addo Omabe, the OPS officer. “If we have to go in, then sooner would be better.”
Angina was looking sternly at Sheldon trying to firm up his resolve.
“Well that’s what we have come here to do. Are you ready Maam?” asked Sheldon.
“Most definitely” said Angina. She maintained her eye contact on Sheldon who glanced over to Evie. Evie nodded.
“OK let’s do it.”
Chapter 22. Orina 0110, 30 September
Angina arrived exhausted at what was now the Istridium Resistance HQ. Milus had been roused out of bed an hour earlier when he received her call. It had come as a complete surprise to him. When they met physically inside what appeared to be a university they hugged. Angina had worked with Milus almost her entire career. For the last fifteen of which he had been her Communications Manager. But his talents were broader than the title might suggest and his skills had been broadened further since the overrunning of the ‘complex’.
“You look exhausted Angina” he said once they retreated inside under the lights. “Best to rest first and we can talk in the morning.”
Angina nodded. “But first I need to acknowledge to our friends overhead that we’ve arrived safely. Can you send a signal on this frequency from a proxy that won’t trace back to here?”
Milus looked disappointed but replied “Of course Angina. Just because we’ve been booted out of our premises doesn’t mean we have lost such rudimentary capabilities.”
“Good to hear Milus. I just wasn’t sure.”
“That’s all right. Leave it with me. Come, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”
Chapter 23. Whiskey 1 to Pesminitar 1130, 30 September
Finally they were on their way to their leave destination. Rihan had pulled off the organisation required to shuttle over 500 personnel to eight different locations using a plethora of shuttles from different ships.
The local Government was providing the accommodation and facilities as part of their contribution to the hosting and security arrangements. Rihan had chosen a mix of location types from what she was advised by the local authorities as being the best the planet had to offer.
“So where is this Pesminitar and what’s there?” asked Dave.
“It’s in the sub-tropical north of the main continent. It boasts the biggest waterfall on the planet” responded Rihan.
“Oh really. Well that I would like to see.”
“It also boasts me, for the duration” said Rihan with a smile.
“I never tire of seeing you darling.”
“That’s as well. By the way, if we feel up to it, there are walking tours up to the top of the falls. Supposedly, the views from there are spectacular.”
“That would be nice” said Dave.
“What would be nice?” asked Art who was sitting with Sue just down from them.
“You guys interested in a hiking trip up to the top of some falls?”
“Depends how tired we are” chipped in Sue.
Art chuckled. “How high is the climb?” he asked.
“Don’t know but we can ask when we get there” suggested Rihan.
“And if it’s too much we can always request a warthog, right?” proffered Sue. Rihan raised one of her eyebrows. “I think we deserve it” said Sue.
“Yeah of course we do” said Dave and with a smile added “I’m a rear admiral after all.”
Sue cocked her head to Rihan with an expression that said ‘see I’m right.’
“Oh the delusions of grandeur” retorted Rihan.
They came into land through a huge cloud of vapour created at the bottom of the falls as they spilled into a sizeable lake. They were at a small spaceport built specifically to handle tourists. The facilities were not designed to hook up to the warthogs. So they disembarked onto the hardened landing bay. It was warm and humid. The sun was burning off the moisture in the air. Dave took a big deep breath in and smelt the fresh air – his first in a week. It felt terrific, like he was inhaling goodness.
There was a sweet fragrance wafting in on a gentle breeze from the surrounding vegetation. Dave did a 360 scan and realised that in fact the jungle was all around them, save for the lake. But he could see green on the far side of the lake. It was then that he saw the mountain through a break in the vapour cloud. “My god that is one tall hill!” he exclaimed.
Art wacked Dave on the back. “That my friend qualifies as a mountain in my classification system.”
“And you want us to climb that?” Sue asked Rihan.
“Tall isn’t it” said Rihan.
A rogan approached asking for a Commodore Kabel. Rihan conferred with him for a moment and then announced “this way folks.”
They were unpacking their gear into their cabins at a resort called Konisius. Dave looked at the bed. “I thought you said they would have big beds.”
“Darling this is their biggest bed” said Rihan. She promptly lay down on the bed and stretched out. She fitted OK though her feet were at the very bottom. “See!” she exclaimed.
“Hmm…” said Dave. He did the same knowing full well his feet would extend over the edge.
Rihan grabbed his legs and pulled them toward her own. At the angle he was now, he could just fit. “See!” said Rihan.
“It’s as well I like rubbing my legs over you” said Dave as he rubbed his top leg over hers.
She held his leg in place and said “I certainly don’t mind but I reckon you need some food in your belly first. Lunch?”
Dave nodded. “Hopefully I’ll put in a better performance tonight.”
“I’m hopeful. But I can be patient.”
Dave’s eyes were a pool of appreciation. “I love you” he said and pecked Rihan on the lips. He got up and extended a helping hand to Rihan. “We’ve got a fair bit of catching up to do, haven’t we?”
“Sure have!”
Chapter 24. Karabaltus, Istridium 1940, 30 September
Angina was starting to get nervous. Torine was late for their meeting. She checked with her two bodyguards that she had brought with her from Checklin. They shook their heads to indicate no sign of any movement and no passive detections. Angina resolved to wait another five minutes.
Her hopper was at the edge of the clearing. The purple beacon that emitted a weak light was next to it. She was 50 metres away in the tree line in the shadow cast by the full moon with one of her bodyguards. The other was near the beacon. They were scanning for the arrival of a hopper with their thermals.
A minute later a figure walked out of the tree line towards the beacon. It was tall and slender.
The bodyguard near Angina called out “Halt.” He kept his pulse rifle trained on her while the other bodyguard ran over to them.
The figure raised its arms and responded “It’s all right. It’s just me, Torine.”
Angina knew that she had probably been there for some time, checking them out before she came forward. She recognised Torine was wearing one of the new disperser body suits. It disperses the heat signature emanating from the body so that it blends into the surrounding heat signatures, effectively neutralising thermal visioning.
W
hile one guard kept his rifle on her the other ran a scanner over and removed her pistol. Angina knew that Torine would not need a pistol to kill her. But she was relying on self-interest here and so she came forward to meet her. There was no attempt at a handshake or any salutations for that matter.
“So you liked my demonstration?” asked Torine.
“I am here” replied Angina.
“Best to cut to the chase.”
“Proceed.”
“I can eliminate the First Consul for you in exchange for amnesty and the following funds to be transferred to a nominated account.” She tapped the glove on her hand and the amount was displayed on it.
Angina noted the amount, giving no reaction to its quantum. “When can you do this?” she asked matter of factly.
Torine smiled, tapped the glove to turn off the display and asked “When would you like?”
“We need a little time to coordinate arrangements.”
Torine knew that was code for lining up the other hits on his supporters. “Naturally. Are you talking next week, the week after? I will need two days’ notice.”
“OK you have yourself a deal. I need a number to call you and advise the date.”
Torine tapped the glove again and the number appeared. Angina entered it into her communicator and called it straight away to determine if it was a valid number. The signal indicated it was. Angina nodded.
“Good” said Torine “I will wait for your call. Best not to undertake any other terminations in the meantime” counselled Torine. “But of course you knew that anyway.” Angina didn’t bother to respond. Instead she just waved for her bodyguard, who handed Torine’s pistol back to her.
Torine walked back the way she came, disappearing into the woods.
Chapter 25. Pesminitar (Q2) 0710, 1 October
Dave woke early and found himself lying almost diagonally on the rogan bed. Rihan had adjusted her angle to accommodate him, so she too was almost on the diagonal. She was still asleep. He remembered how he had fallen asleep feeling guilty about his inability to perform sexually.
But he would not feed that guilt. So he rose and after washing his face sat down on the cushion he had removed from the lounge. He crossed his legs and was soon repeating his mantra. A thought flittered across his mind that it was only in meditation that he was feeling relaxed these days. He came to the realisation that during the day when he was awake his body was tense. He consciously took a deep breath in and rolled his shoulders and tried to relax his spine and neck.
He dropped into what he referred to as the higher meditative state, where his inner vision was dominated by the dark greys and brown hues of the void. He yearned for the deeper state where the deep velvety colours of what he referred to as the blue garden supported and caressed his spirit. But he was not to attain that state this morning. He didn’t fight it. He accepted it and was soon unaware of anything other than the void.
A good fifteen minutes passed. The image of the Casement entrance deep below Lewista seemed to be heading towards him, first at a very slow pace. But now it was rushing towards him and he could see Ginty’s stocky form jogging out from the entrance. Her rifle was carried in one hand and she was hailing Bel Rickets as she turned into the tunnel.
Dave was witnessing this and like a director on a film he zoomed the camera lens in to focus on the back of her head. But he recoiled when he saw her turn her head around to look straight into his eyes. Her big brown eyes looked as though they were asking him ‘Why?’ But the sounds of the battle beckoned her attention and a steely determined look came across her face just before she turned her head back around and pumped her legs towards the source of the firing.
“Don’t Ginty….don’t” yelled Dave at the top of his lungs. But now the camera lens was pulling back and Ginty’s image was getting smaller and smaller. “No Ginty…no!” he yelled again. He felt this wave of panic tear at him from his inside. His heart was racing and a feeling of helplessness and then guilt overwhelmed him. The tears turned into sobbing.
But then he felt being embraced. Rihan was saying something to him. He couldn’t make it out but the tone was soothing and the touch of her hand on his head was tender.
Chapter 26. Orina 1000, 1 October
They had let Angina sleep in, something she rarely did. But when she heard some movement in the corridor outside her room at 0730, she rolled back over and closed her eyes and said ‘I think I need to.’
When she next woke it was after nine. Evie’s bed on the other side of the room was empty and she said out loud “Oh no!” and swung her body up into a sitting positon with her feet on the floor. She gathered her thoughts and then said “There’s so much to do.”
After showering and dressing she stepped out into the corridor of what she realised must once have been student accommodation. But she was disoriented. In the daylight it looked nothing like what she remembered when she came here in the middle of the night.
There was no-one around, so she headed off in one direction before encountering someone who directed her to the HQs. It was in an adjacent building. As she exited she saw the first armed ISS troopers. That reassured her.
She finally found Milus, whose first words were “Have you eaten?” to whit she shook her head. He led her up several levels to a dining hall. Ten minutes later she took her first mouthful and realised just how hungry she was. She was not normally a hot breakfast person but the stew smelt and tasted delicious. While she ate, Milus briefed her on the overall situation.
“So at the moment we have this sort of standoff. We were not the only ones to suffer heavily in the fighting in Slidwon. The 1st Imperial Guards are still in Slidwon, rebuilding we believe. The 11th Div split. Their 33rd Bde as you know fought with us. The 31st and the Divisional assets stayed loyal to the Imperialists but the 32nd finally came over to our side.”
“It’s the 31st Bde who currently have a screen between Orina and Slidwon. They are not pushing things and we are not either. We are still in contact with their commander, Brigadier Pemsle Riltonium, and we may be able to convince him to swap sides.”
“We are getting a steady stream of volunteers coming in each day. The noise you’ll probably hear today won’t be real fighting but a training exercise. Miokin (Brigadier Fabil Miokin, commander of 33rd Bde) reckons he’ll soon be back to full strength though many will be poorly trained recruits.”
“Orina’s the normal base for the 33rd. So they have access to a fair stock of supplies, though Miokin says that if the fighting intensity increases to anything like what it was in Slidwon then it won’t last more than ten days.”
“Gee that’s not much” muttered Angina between mouthfuls. “What’s he doing about it?”
“He has his staff trying to secure more supplies. So far they have secured additional food, fuel and energy packs for small arms weapons but no missiles or heavy stuff. It’s not good.”
Angina nodded while still chewing. She swallowed and then asked “And our troops?” Milus remained silent long enough to cause Angina to add “Well?”
“We were savaged in Slidwon. Right now we have just over 1400 left.”
“Damm” said Angina. She knew that meant they had lost over 1600. “What about Ursoola?”
“She made it, she’s in charge of them here.”
“Thank the gods for that.”
“So who have we got in the way of agents?”
“We’ve still got quite a few. Some have gone over to the Imperialists.”
“Understood. OK let me have a chat with Ursoola and then Miokin. After that we need to go through your list of agents. I have some work for them.”
An hour later Angina caught up with Evie at lunch. Evie explained how she had called her mother and had arranged to meet her parents tomorrow.
“Not at you parents’ home. That’s too risky” warned Angina. “And not alone. I’ll have one of my agents accompany you. Better still I’ll get two.”
“I won’t need them” countered Evie.
>
“Oh yes you most certainly will. You’re a public figure now. Your image will be on a watch list. Show yourself in a public place in Slidwon and you will be detected. Trust me I should know.”
“All right. So if my parent’s home and a public place are out of the question where do you suggest.”
“We have various safe locations within the city.”
“My father will be immediately suspicious if I suggest some random location.”
“You’re probably right” and Angina went deep in thought. “Is there a relative or common friend who you can trust?”
Evie thought for a moment then replied “My aunty is probably the best. She’s in the Mektonad.”
‘Of course she is’ thought Angina. The Mektonad was probably the most salubrious apartment complex in downtown Slidwon. Built around the Hesbona gardens it boasted the very best in prestigious accommodation. Almost all its tenants were first or second tier aristocrats. As such it warranted its own security team from the ISS, though now these were most likely provided by the FIA.
“I should be able to get you in undetected.” She immediately hailed Milus and a couple of minutes later turned to Evie and said “Go and see Milus in an hour. He’ll introduce you to the agents that will accompany you and brief you on the arrangements.”
Chapter 27. Mt Pesminitar 1600, 1 October
Dave had used his rank to secure the services of one of the Enterprise warthogs. He justified its use on the grounds that it was two days’ trek to the summit plus another two days back and he couldn’t afford the time. But really the main reason for him was he didn’t know if his injured foot could handle the walk.
The warthog had dropped them off at a spur about 40 minutes’ walk from the summit. That was forty minutes ago and Art was leading the gang of four up the last steep incline.
Art knew the summit was just ahead because the signage put there for the tourists told him so. But the canopy was still thick all this way up and it wasn’t for another twenty paces before he came out onto a relatively clear patch at the summit. A little further the track began to descend to a viewing platform.
Resilience (Warner's World Book 6) Page 30
