Audacity (Warner's World Book 5)

by Dave O'Connor

  They were challenged in rogan from up ahead. Art couldn’t see anyone with his thermals but knew that they could easily be behind the rubble ahead. With what little rogan he knew he answered back “Don’t shoot. We are looking for Colonel Kaant. My name is Simons.”

  The rogan challenger stood up, his rifle covering Art. “Hands over your head. No false moves. Advance.”

  Art slung his rifle and checked to ensure Kali did the same. Together they came forward with their hands over their head. The challenger waved them to pass through. From a metre away, he stared at Art’s face as he passed by and looked fascinatingly at Kali.

  The last time Kali had been this close to a rogan the rogan’s head had exploded. It sent a shiver down her spine and she had to try really hard not to lose it.

  Another rogan warrior led them on while the original challenger slotted in behind them. They had to be careful where they stepped. It was slow going in the dark. There was still burning embers and these kept flaring with his thermals, so Art turned them off and found it easier once his eyes adjusted.

  After ten minutes they came out of what was once a building onto a street. The guard in front picked up the pace. He was walking quite fast now but Art at 1.9m tall found the pace just a little too slow and short for his long legs. They made their way through several turns to another building where they were again challenged. The guard up front handled it and they were led through a large factory with a few low lights only to guide them. At the bottom of some stairs they were again challenged and this time when the door opened the room was well lit.

  Through an area crammed with terminals and screens they passed as surprised eyes stared at them. Art’s training as a spy cut in and he was taking in as much as he could without looking obvious. Kali was feeling very uncomfortable so she kept looking straight ahead till she reminded herself that she was supposed to be Art’s bodyguard.

  But she didn’t have time to change her behaviour for they were ushered into another room where they met Col Rentra Kaant.

  Rentra had thought she had seen it all but she was gobbed smacked as this giant walked in. She stood to greet him. He was a good 35cm taller, looked twice as wide and way, way heavier. She had seen footage of the sleth but they were reptilian. This human was a hominid like her. She welcomed them in rogan as she had done in her video with their captain. He spoke enough rogan to offer a translation protocol. She passed it to her assistant who scanned the memory stick, nodded that it was OK and updated their protocols with it.

  “Shall we try?” she said to Art.

  “Let me know if you need me to slow down” said Art.

  A smile came across Rentra’s face. “No that’s fine thank you.”

  “This is Cpl Kali Chada, my assistant. Captain Warner has asked me to liaise with you on how we can best cooperate. Our forces have secured the spaceport, but we are thin on the ground. How many soldiers do you have and can you take over the defence of some of the perimeter.”

  “What you have secured it already?”

  “Yes.”

  “And no opposition in the north between our lines and your?”

  “No just rubble.”

  “I see. Here” and she directed their attention to the screen on the wall. “Your bombardment hit here. The fires it caused have split my force. I have three hundred warriors to the south and 200 here in the north. There are two other groups not under my command and they have about 500 warriors between them. They are east of here.”

  “May I?” asked Art indicating her laser pointer. She handed it to him noting the sheer size of his hand. “We have 100 marines deployed in the main terminal facing northwest and west. We have 400 droids deployed on the north east and eastern side. Our intel indicates an enemy force deployed here” and Art pointed to the built up area east of the wetlands.

  “That’s the 3rd Coy 41st Independent Bn. Tough troops. Perhaps if my warriors took over the western sector, then that would free your marines?”

  “Agreed” said Art “but first can you tell us what other forces can the Imperialists bring to bear?”

  “I believe you have secured the battery here?”

  “Yes and captured the garrison.”

  Rentra smiled. “Good because they would not hesitate to use them against us. There are other Imperialist garrisons here” and she indicated several locations that meant nothing to Art. “But you need not worry. Without their ships they cannot redeploy these. We have forces besieging each of them.”

  “Do you know if the Imperialists will send more ships and when these could arrive?”

  “This system is a backwater…” she paused and then corrected “Was a backwater. It’s now doomed. Their recent security ops were designed to prevent the true story from getting out. But that’s happened anyway. I think they may cut their losses and leave us to our fate. But I could be wrong.”

  “So what will your people do?”

  Rentra sat down on a chair and sighed. “It’s pretty bleak isn’t it? Four billion in a year - many will die. Even if this were given top priority I doubt that there would be enough transport within rogan space to evacuate everyone.” Something within Rentra cut in and cut off this brief indulgence. “But we will make a start” she said emphatically and even managed a smile.

  “Where will you go?”

  “The nearest star system is Tchasta. Its habitable planet, Margvon, would be the obvious first option. We don’t even know if they would accept us. The resistance there hasn’t had the success that we have had. And look what that success has brought us. Last I heard before the comms lock down a month ago was that the Imperialist were still very much in control.”

  “Do you have contacts there?”

  “Yes. Once we have dealt with these remnants here I will contact them.”

  “Do you really think this 3rd Coy will continue to fight? They are essentially on their own – no ships and little prospect of relief. Perhaps you could try and negotiate for their surrender.”

  “Hah!” she laughed. “Even if we did, they won’t. You’ll see. My money is on them bunkering down in the city. They will be tough to remove.”

  “Why are you so sure?”

  “This whole affair here has been a brutal business – many atrocities…both sides” she said shaking her head. “Not our group but others in the resistance. There’s been no quarter given for a long time now.”

  “What if we offered terms and promised them safe passage?”

  “To where?”

  “I don’t know yet. But I do know that eventually you will have to come to terms if this war is to end. Why not begin here the way you want to end?”

  “You sound more like a politician than a warrior, commander?”

  “No I’m just a soldier looking for a solution that doesn’t involve a lot of people dying.”

  She studied Art’s face for some time and came to the conclusion that he was sincere. “Perhaps I need to get our political leaders involved. I will do so once I get my force on the move. We’ll talk later tomorrow.” She paused. “You look tired commander, when did you last sleep?”

  “A while ago, but I’m good to move now.”

  “All right then, let’s go out to the operations centre and sort out the details.”

  Forty minutes later Art hailed Ivan, who didn’t respond. He hailed Tammy at the HQ and she went and woke Ivan up. Even with Art sending Ivan the data for the proposed deployments it took them the best part of half an hour to work up a proper plan. While he was talking to Art, Tammy was waking others up, including a very unhappy Jim.

  At 0400 Jim was clutching his rifle and being driven from one position to the next in a liberated buggy. Passage of lines and relief operations by friendly forces are notoriously testing times. With a third force that also looks like the enemy and in the dark, with very tired troops it was a potential nightmare that Jim wanted to avoid. He ended up at the north-west sector with 2nd Lt Argha Kahn, where the northern elements of the Kaant Group would make c
ontact.

  The embers from the fire had mostly gone out but every now and then one would flare causing a flash of pain to tired eyes looking through thermal sights from behind the rubble. Trooper Gregor Mashir definitely had tired eyes but he wasn’t sure whether that was an ember flaring or the expected signal. He hailed his team leader Sgt Sidney Felks and asked him to come forward.

  Sidney was on edge. He’s been on edge ever since he was briefed about this relief op. He’s been recalling the stories his dad had told him about relief ops going tits-up. His dad had been a marine as had his dad before him. In his mind he mimicked his dad’s voice ‘hell there’s been a Felks bearing arms since Lincoln freed us colours and don’t you forget it.’ Right now though, Sidney was regretting the family tradition.

  He winced every time his foot came down on some bit of loose stone or debris. ‘Fuck’n hard not to make a noise’ he cursed under his breath. Finally he came up behind Gregor and his buddy Trooper Pippa Lomack. Pippa had her weapon trained ahead. She did not turn around to see him. ‘Good marine’ thought Sidney. The jury was still out on Gregor though, who definitely turned to face him. Sidney used his left hand to turn his face back toward what could be the enemy. He propped himself behind and just to his right.

  “See Sarg” said Gregor “50 ahead left 10 mil.”

  Sidney looked straight down Gregor’s rifle and sure enough he made out the light. It was definitely a regular flash – too regular not to be manmade. ‘Or rogan made for that matter’ he said to himself.

  “Sir” he hailed Argha “We see the signal.”

  Argha hailed “I’m coming.” He left Jim at his buggy and made his way forward. His platoon was spread terribly thin with each pair having to cover about a hundred metres. Finding his way was not a problem, though. He easily made out the markings he had applied with his reflector pen earlier.

  “Where is it” whispered Argha once he propped next to Sidney. Sidney moved aside and let Argha look down and over Gregor’s rifle. “Right. Signal back.” Sidney did so. They all saw the confirmation signal.

  “Listen up folks” hailed Argha in a low voice. “They are coming through. No one opens fire unless I order you to.” He then patted Sidney on the shoulder and Sidney gave the confirmation signal.

  “I think its Simons” said Sidney. “No rogan is that tall.”

  “Didn’t wake you Argha?” joked Art as he came up to them. “I have 183 rogan in tow plus three light vehicles. They’re good guys. I’ll stay here to count them in. Pass them onto your guides.”

  “Got it” said Argha.

  Art started counting off the warriors as they came through. He was assisted by one of Rentra’s staff. It was a slow process. The staff officer grabbed the officer commanding each group and together they verified each warrior as they came through, just to make sure no enemy had slipped into the line during the process.

  Another of Rentra’s staff officers was with Jim further back and together they directed each group that came through to their new deployment area. On arrival they would liaise with the local marine leader and deploy forward onto the line post by post. As each marine post was relieved the pair of marines would pull back to their local leader and then eventually back to Jim who would direct them to fall back to their new allotted area in reserve near the main terminal.

  It was a much relieved Argha who arrived back at the main terminal. He did a quick check to ensure his troops were down and resting. He knew that 2nd Pl were yet to be relieved and felt sorry for 2nd Lt Omar Hadley. Omar was a brand new platoon commander sent out as a replacement for Ken Shinto who was invalided out due to injuries sustained on Beta Phi. Argha missed Ken’s humour. The new boy was too petrified to be funny. ‘But he’ll either come good or go out in a bag’ thought Argha.

  Satisfied that all was well he went back to where he had slung his pack, just inside the main concourse. He pulled out his sleeping bag, which was always unzipped, and threw it over himself like a blanket. He left all his gear on save for his helmet and webbing which he made sure was right next to him with his rifle on top. He had thought about cleaning his teeth but was too tired. He was snoring within five minutes.

  Chapter 15. Lewista 0530, 15 August

  Evie knew she wasn’t going to get any more sleep. She had had a fitful night. She had woken at one stage with a disturbing dream full of high emotion. Her breath had been short and fast and she was overwhelmed by guilt and foreboding. She was still trying to shake off those feeling now.

  She decided to go for a swim. ‘No bathers’ she said to herself annoyed. ‘At this hour I should be right.’ She got dressed, grabbed a towel and exited the apartment quietly. The elevator responded to her hand print and took her to the top floor where the sign said ‘atrium and pool’.

  It was all under dome. Being the very top of a slender crescent it was broader where the elevator was but tapered to a point about 100m ahead. There was a low half height wall right around save for the area at the point which was glass to the floor.

  The area closest comprised a park like theme with synthetic grass but real trees. There was one that seemed to rise to the very top of the dome, a good 30m above. As she walked to the lagoon the theme changed to a more tropical one with ferns aplenty.

  The pool like the whole space was wider at this end and tapered at the far end. It meandered around with various nooks off each side. The ferns provided a measure of privacy. Several of these little bays also had large rocks arrayed around them. One even had an artificial waterfall.

  She opted for one of the rocky nooks minus the waterfall. She scanned the area to ensure she was truly alone. Satisfied, she threw off her clothes and slipped into the water. It was a little cool but refreshing nonetheless. After several minutes of just being buoyed by the water, she breast stroked her way into deeper water. It felt so good she dove under the water and swam to the far side of the lagoon under water.

  When she came up she shook her hair clear of her eyes, turned to head back and was stunned to see Felis standing on the far side looking straight at her.

  “You need to be more careful” he said. He didn’t wait for a reply. He turned and walked away. She could see the pistol in his hand as he put it in his trouser pocket. “I’ll wait for you over here” he said and disappeared from her view.

  Evie swam back to her nook, pulled herself out, dried and dressed in a hurry. She found Felis sitting on a seat in the park with a view of the elevator. He saw her and began to rise.

  “Please, let’s just sit here. We need to talk” she said.

  “Didn’t we do enough of that last night?” he asked with a chip on his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry for putting you through that. I just had to be sure” she said with eyes pleading. They were large pools of dark green and the first light of the day was just piercing the dome and refracting into them. Apart from their natural beauty they conveyed sincerity.

  Felis found himself being affected. It was like a crack had appeared in his emotional armour and the more he looked into those green pools the wider it became. He was overcome by a sense of relief, a feeling that a burden he had been carrying for a long, long time was being lifted from him. “It’s all right. I understand” he said. After a short pause he added “I’m just sick of all this mistrust. I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my life living in a world where no one trusts each other.”

  Evie moved her hand to his setting off a sensation in Felis that he hadn’t experienced for so, so long. She leaned a little closer and said “together we can try.” Felis nodded. She pecked him on the cheek, withdrew and added “We better get back.”

  Felis nodded. As they stood up a smile came over his face.

  Chapter 16. Rollinium 0610, 15 August

  The first shell missed the main terminal building, landing about 100m north east. By the time the next adjusted shot fell, just about everyone there was awake and clambering for shelter. Argha didn’t curse that his sleep had been interrupted. His sole focus
was on ensuring his platoon was standing to. At the top of his voice he yelled “stand to”. He then threw off his cover rolled over and slipped on the webbing and grabbed his rifle and helmet.

  His ears had already attuned to the sound of the registration rounds. It landed not more than 50m from the main concourse. ‘Mortars…150s’ he thought to himself. They had not had time to dig in. He put his helmet on and hailed his platoon. “Everyone inside the terminal, NOW!”

  As Argha’s troops scurried inside, Art was still with Rentra and Jim. The last of the warriors had come through. Art knew all too well the sound of mortars. They were landing a good three kms south east by his estimate. ‘Probably right on the terminal building’ he thought. His natural inclination was to try and get over there but he knew his role was here. He hoped Sue would be safe.

  Ivan, who had relieved Tammy at the HQ, was getting a report from Sue. She had already told him that the fire was coming from the commercial area to their east.

  “We need eyes from on high” hailed Sue.

  “OK I’ll ask. Standby” hailed Ivan. As he switched channels to hail the Resolute the enemy’s fire-for-effect struck the main terminal roof directly overhead. While on the third floor there were thankfully another three above. Even so Ivan felt the building shake as six rounds impacted. “Shit” said Ivan. He wasn’t sure how much more this structure would take.

  “Resolute this is Golf Sunray, need loc on enemy battery asap.”

  Val was on the watch. She already had orders to cover this contingency. “Deactivating cloak. Initiating active scanning. Hang on” she replied. She switched channels and sent a wake up and report signal to Jasmin and John. She knew they would take a couple of minutes, so she then began scrutinising the scanned data herself.

  “Got it. Looks like mortar or arty fire from this loc – coming to you now. Do you want fighter support. We have two on standby.”