Princess Rescue Inc

by Chris Hechtl

  Perry nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine. Our recon said they had about ten or fifteen thousand.”

  The guard captain paled. “Surely not so much!” He sat heavily on a stool. “To bring that many they would have had to strip their regnum bare!”

  “Every able bodied man and even women apparently,” Perry said shaking his head. “It looks that way. We've got video you can see later,” Perry said waving. “Now these regulars, I take it you've never had a larger garrison?”

  The guard captain picked up a horn with a strap on it and uncapped it. He took a swig of something inside and then offered it to the gaijin. They each demurred so he put it back down. “No my Dominus. We are laying in stock now. In truth it has been that way since the last war twenty years ago,” he sighed. “The former King...” He looked around. “The former rex, King disbanded most of the regular Centurions after the last war due to lack of need.”

  “Ah,” Perry glanced at the others. The Gunny shrugged. “Well, that sucks. Okay, so we've got to draft the people we need. I saw some others in the castle.”

  “The country knights, lords, and their guards and retainers,” the guard captain said with a sniff. He apparently wasn't very impressed with them. “Each Dominus is entitled to six men in the capital to act as guards and servants while they are here or traveling between here and their demise.”

  “Okay, can they be counted on to help?”

  The captain nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! That is their purpose.”

  “Okay, and there are what? About forty of them?” Waters asked getting to the point.

  “Yes, about that. Some are poor country lords or lower knights. I was one such until his majesty tapped me for this post,” he said, lips twisting in a smile. Ryans realized the man was proud of it, and was extremely loyal to the royal house. That might be why he was chosen, his loyalty enhanced by being chosen over others.

  “Okay, so that's another two to three hundred there. Great.” Waters tried not to roll his eyes. “Outnumbered twenty to one. This is going to be a pain.”

  “Yeah well, think of them as a core group. We've got Max and the others working on force multipliers,” Ryans answered looking at the master sergeant.

  “Force multipliers?” the Gunny asked, eyebrow raised.

  “Our kind,” Ryans patted his sidearm. He'd talked to Max about it on the way over a few times but only recently taken the man off the leash and let him have his head to get the ball rolling.

  The noncoms blanched. “You are not seriously thinking of giving them our weapons?” the Gunny said slowly. They looked to Perry.

  “No, we're talking about making more. A lot more,” Perry said nodding to Ryans. “The boss man has it worked out. Let’s focus on getting the ball rolling and let’s handle logistics later.”

  “Aye sir,” the Gunny said, working his jaw. Then he looked thoughtful. Waters glanced at him and they suddenly broke out into small smiles of approval.

  “I for one don't want to try going up against those creatures they ride with a bow or a sword,” Ryans said shaking his head. The others looked to him. “Seriously, even a Browning is going to have trouble denting the armor. It's... Think of a charging rhino, then super size it and make the armor over the vitals about twice as thick with layers of ceramic.”

  “A fifty cal...”

  Ryans pulled a photo from his back pocket, unfolded it and tossed it onto the table top. They could see a giant animal there. Waters picked it up, looked at it, blanched then passed it on to Perry. “Which is what a Browning shoots. Trust me, it'll take a much heaver round to make something like that drop. Think of hunting elephants. And we've got what? Four? Five? Not enough against the ten or fifteen grand people and these critters. Not by a long shot. Which means we...”

  “I get it sir. We need more weapons,” the Gunny said nodding firmly as he set the photo down.

  “Bows.”

  “Bows take too long. To do them right you have to shape a piece of wood into a stave, in our case a long bow stave. Then age it just right, and then carve it down by hand to the final shape. It took about a month or two to do a good bow. One that will last a campaign I mean.”

  “But some people do have bows already right?”

  Ryans frowned. He'd noted the tech but hadn't really put his thoughts to words until now. “Most do if the classic yeoman standards translated over here. We'd have to check that. Hopefully so, and if it held true then they've trained regularly. But...” he paused and grimaced. “But they will be recovering from a long hard winter and busy planting so we're not going to get the best.”

  “True, but some is better than none.”

  “True. But remember, arrows are also hard to make and cost a lot. You have to form the blanks, shave them down... forge the heads, feathers and bones for the rear...” he shook his head. The guard captain was staring at him. “Trust me, with all that work you become very careful about firing the damn things. You have to make every shot count.”

  Waters held up his hands in surrender. “I get it I get it. But what about crossbows?”

  “Similar problem but we might be able to help there. We'd be back at the same problem though; a bolt won’t penetrate that thick hide. Maybe at close quarters, but not enough to hit a vital point. Usually they use a ballista.” Ryans shook his head. “Usually due to the cost you held your fire until you were sure you could hit a target in medieval times. I... well...”

  “Where did you get all that?” Perry asked, wrinkling his nose.

  Ryans grinned. “History channel thing on Robin Hood a while back.”

  Perry and the other Terrans snorted. “Oh.”

  “Damn. So we're back to guns,” Waters admitted, working his jaw. He knew it'd be a miracle if they could get them done in time, making rifles too was precision work, and under these conditions...

  “Essentially, yes,” Ryans said with a head shake. “Iron isn't a problem; they have a glut right now of that as well as lead, carbon, and copper. Sulfur...”

  The lieutenant nodded. “Talk about the details later.”

  “Better yet, tour the stables they have and ask for a demo of their war mounts, then come to me about any contamination complaints,” Ryans said shaking his head. He'd had a quick look in passing and it was enough to give him nightmares.

  Waters met his eyes and then he looked at the photo again. He remembered the basilisk thing. That had been alone and it had shrugged off small arms fire like gnat flies. “Yeah, force multipliers are suddenly appealing,” Waters said after a moment more of thought.

  “I think an hour or two of Napoleon style shock and awe should even the odds in our favor,” Ryans said, eyes gleaming as he grinned wickedly. The noncoms chuckled.

  The guard captain looked from one to the other in growing exasperation. “Would you please...?”

  “Clue you in?” the Gunny finished. “Sure thing sir. We'll take you and some of your men out to the courtyard.” Ryans frowned and shook his head at that. “What?”

  “Not the courtyard. There are animals there and people you’re liable to spook. I for one don't want to be around one of those packs of critters if they stampede.”

  Waters nodded thoughtfully. “Good point. Okay, ah...” Waters gave the Gunny a look. “Out of town?”

  “Good for me. On the other side of that hill? It'll create a noise barrier,” Paris suggested. The guard captain looked wary.

  Ryans turned to the captain. “Okay, what we're talking about is showing you our weapons. These,” Ryans said in explanation. The guard captain looked at the pistol Ryans was tapping with his finger.

  Carefully Ryans drew the pistol checked the safety then removed the clip and jacked the slide back. The round in the chamber popped out. The guard captain watched as Ryans caught it with his free hand. “This is a pistol.” He held up the round. “This is what it shoots. This is lead wrapped in a copper jacket. It flies so fast it can tear a person apart. Or at least make a big hole in them.”

&
nbsp; The guard captain's eyes went round. He paled once more. “In veritas?” he asked, looking from one to another. Perry nodded.

  “It will go through your armor too. Like a hot knife through butter,” Waters said smiling nastily. The guard captain gave him a look. “Seriously, no shitting you. It'll rip through most armor like it's not even there, from a distance too.” He got up.

  “We'll show you in say an hour?” he asked. The captain nodded. “Meet us in the courtyard, and bring some spare armor. Something you won’t mind turning into Swiss cheese. We'll take your men to the hill. Ryans is right, we can't fire them here, the noise is bad. It'll echo like hell off these tall walls. It can spook your animals...”

  “Not to mention the people. One round sounds like a crash of thunder. Dozens...” Perry shrugged.

  “There are more?” the captain asked. His eyes widened as Waters hefted his MP-9.

  “Yup. And these are just the close up weapons we carry. The longer range stuff can knock you on your ass and blow people apart from miles away.”

  “Miles?” the captain asked in confusion.

  “Leagues. Several leagues,” Ryans interpreted for him.

  “This I must see,” the captain said getting to his feet and going to the door. “I'll inform his majesty and select some men to join me,” he said walking out.

  “He's kinda wary,” Perry said looking out the door.

  “Wouldn't you be?” Ryans answered with a snort. “We're unknowns, and we just asked him to leave the safety of the capital to see a wonder weapon he's having trouble wrapping his head around, I don't blame him if he thinks it's a trap. A possible coup attempt.”

  “Crap, I forgot that,” Perry muttered.

  “Yeah well, I didn't,” Ryans said shaking his head. “Welcome to politics 101. A den of snakes, or whatever native critter you want to throw in,” he grimaced. He thought Washington politics were bad. At least there if someone put a knife in your back it was metaphorical not in reality. Here... “We're going to have to build trust fast if this is going to work. Once you've shown them the basics I want you to give them a quick safety course then let a couple of them pop a few rounds off.”

  Waters grimaced then nodded. “Get them hooked?”

  Ryans smiled. “Right. And one more thing. Save your brass.” The military crew gave him a dirty look. “What? We're going to need it. We've got reload kits remember?” he reminded them, spreading his hands apart.

  Perry looked at the two senior noncoms. “He's right. It's not like we can make a phone call and get more, so police your brass. Carry on gentlemen.” They shrugged and left.

  <==={}------------>

  Four hours later they came back to the keep. Ryans looked out a window to see the hummers and LAV's crunching up the road. He shook his head as they paused to let a six legged dog like critter pass.

  He met them in the courtyard, watching as they piled out. A few like the guard captain nodded politely and then went to check on things holding a plate of armor. The older folks looked dazed and confused. The Terran soldiers looked amused and bored.

  The younger guards were enthused, some rushed off to tell their fellows, others lingered to examine the Terran's vehicles and strike up conversations with their drivers. A few looked a little dazed as Scooter described the motors then popped the hood of a hummer to show them.

  “How'd it go?” Ryans asked. He had heard the distant echoing shots from the capital, but apparently no one in the castle had realized what it was.

  “It was a learning experience,” Waters said nodding. The guard captain came back holding a breast plate. The shiny metal plate was looking suspiciously like a dented colander. Another guard had on roman legion style armor. He tried to carry it but it fell apart. The rounds had torn it apart.

  Perry turned at the clatter then turned back with a smile. “He brought that and the other to see if we were telling the truth. I think one of the grunts pissed himself when they went through the first time. Had to smell it all the way home too,” he said. He wrinkled his nose and waved a hand in front of his face.

  “Oh lovely, I bet Scooter will be thrilled about that,” Ryans sighed. “So they aren't house broken, what else did you learn?”

  “That fire discipline is in serious trouble?” Waters sighed. “Had one joker set a Glock off and damn near shot my foot off.”

  “Oh great,” Ryans grimaced, instinctively looking down at Waters's feet.

  “I'm fine. Just pissed at the moron,” Waters growled. He shook his head. “I told him and told him to have the safety on and keep his finger off the trigger. At least it was on single shot.” He shook his head. “We told them to check the chamber each time someone handed them a weapon. I got cute and slipped a round in to ram the point home but it damn near backfired on me.”

  Ryans had to smile slightly at that. Of course the smile died when the master sergeant glared. “For some people, the only way they learn is the hard way. Unfortunately,” Ryans grimaced. “Chew his ass?”

  “Yeah, think?”

  “Good. Getting through to some people is going to be a bitch and a half though.”

  “Better not be all that hard or I'll dent his damn skull,” Waters muttered. “Gunny is going to do a martial arts expo after dinner. We've got a skull session with the guard captain tonight to set up a plan to train. Unfortunately we can't get them all at once though.” He jerked his thumb to the captain.

  “Why... oh yeah, right, they've got to stand post and patrols. Forgot that,” Ryans grimaced again, running a hand through his hair. “That's probably a good thing; we can't bite off more than we can chew. Keeping them busy instead of ripping up the town is probably a good idea too. Idle hands and all that.”

  “True,” Waters said nodding. Ryans waved. “Are you going to be there for the meeting?”

  “Yes, no, I don't know. It's all up in the air. I've got to get Wanda, Charlie, Sue, and Max settled in fast. Wanda's got to get the formula for black powder sorted out and maybe cordite or some other smokeless off and into production ASAP if we're going to make this work. I'm trying to land with both feet on the logistics side.”

  “Are you sure...”

  “Yes,” Ryans answered giving the noncom a look.

  “Just...”

  Ryans nodded. He knew it could all blow up in their face. He knew the stakes, knew he was flying blind but also knew he had little choice but to trust at this point. “I know. But what choice do we have? I for one have no intention of fighting them on a level playing field. Not when they've trained with swords and crap all their lives.”

  “True. But once we're out of ammo...”

  “Which is why we're setting Wanda and the others up. We're going to have to keep a bit back as an edge. Burn it into them that we may be opening our toy sack and handing out goodies but we can still kick ass.”

  “Oh,” Waters grimaced. “I... see...” He nodded after a moment of thought. “You’re planning that far ahead are you?”

  Ryans smiled darkly. “Of course sergeant. Since we're going to do this, we might as well do it right the first time and make sure the weapons are bore standardized. Our bore standardized of course.”

  “Of course,” the noncom nodded suddenly feeling a sense of relief. “So that should take care of our supply issues down the road.”

  “One of them,” Ryans sighed. “We've got to break this army if we're going to go home. They are squatting between us and home, and I'm not going to let a bunch of ...” He looked over to a group of people sitting near. “Um... natives get in my way. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” the noncom nodded. Perry waved to him. “I've got to...”

  “Go, go. Dismissed with my compliments Master Sergeant. Have fun.”

  Waters smirked. “That won’t be till boot camp. Training the DI's we're selecting is just an appetizer,” he said, the smirk turning positively evil.

  “Yeah right,” Ryans laughed waving him on with a shooing motion. He was glad that they only had a few
hundred veterans in the castle. They would be much harder to train in the new tech and disciplines. He'd have to make a note to talk to Perry and the others about focusing their efforts on younger suppler minds.

  <==={}------------>

  Max grunted as the artisans came into the room. They looked around, sizing each of their own number up before taking an interest in the newcomers. He wasn't impressed. Most were dressed in rich clothes but they had an attitude of superiority. That always annoyed him. “What's this? Dear me, what's this? Something new from the fabled lands?” an older man cackled, rushing over to examine the Glock on the table.

  “Easy there. It's loaded,” Max said, covering the pistol with a meaty hand. “Hang on a sec,” he ordered. He picked it up, checked the safety, and then flicked the button to release the cartridge. He slid the bolt back and jacked out the round and then handed the weapon to the old man. “There you go. I want it back,” he said, putting the round back in the magazine.

  The old man carefully took the weapon and looked it over. His compatriots looked it over as well. “This is one of the new thunder weapons you have brought?” one asked looking up.

  Max nodded, not sure where this was going to lead. “A pistol, a Glock by the way, standard personal side arm for each of us. Well, one of them anyway, some of us have Berrettas. It's a little too complex for you to make right away though so we've got something else in mind.” He reached over to his left side and pulled out a laptop out of the tote bag hanging from the back of his chair. He turned and set the laptop up on the table and turned it on.

  The others were examining the gun in the light of the fires. One had what looked like a magnifying glass attached to a headband. Max snorted as he waited for the computer to boot.

  “What is that?” the young man asked, waving to the laptop as it beeped then the standard boot song played. Max grimaced.

  “Laptop a’ course. Also standard issue. We each have one, a phone and a tablet.” He grimaced when the network booted but said he was out of range. “Damn. Oh well.” He typed for a moment.