As General Akari looked around the room, taking into consideration what he saw, he found himself relieved as he found familiar faces in critical spots. The station closest to the center aisle served as the lead position in that group, so that the person operating that station would have the easiest visual access to a superior if needed. Of the five clusters that were currently manned, four of the lead positions were occupied by men and women who had served under him for many years. Not only did they bring a wealth of valuable experience to the incredibly complicated campaign currently underway, they were loyal to him and would look to him first during critical moments.
Technically, the operation to attack and destroy the Lazarus faction outpost of Kerrak was not under his command, but that of the six plutocrat generals. General Akari was still barred from leading any major campaign, or having too obvious a hand in the operation of one after the Tegra campaign. The only reason he was even able to enter the situation room, was due to his friend General Baknon’s influence. General Baknon worked behind the scenes, assigning him as commander of the Armored Corp surrounding Hellas, which was typically considered a figurehead post due to the severely outdated forces under its command. No one except General Baknon had assumed he would actually wield the considerable power of the post.
As soon as General Akari entered the situation room, a pair of Party representatives began monitoring his every move, silently evaluating him for his compliance with the Party’s orders to avoid direct command opportunities. In spirit, he was here simply as an advisor to the other Generals’, answering their summons requesting his advice. The reality was much different however. The other Generals in the room were all political appointees. More likely than not, they would be family members of the wealthy industrial class of families that formed the backbone of Mars industries, meaning that they were increasingly relying on his ‘advice’ for day-to-day operations as each day the campaign became intricately more complicated. Before the other Generals made a decision, they called upon their aids to ‘advise’ them, greatly increasing the time needed for them to create results. It was only a matter of time until critical decisions needed to be made, and everyone in the room knew the Generals would not be up to the task. General Akari knew he would have to find a way to become more directly involved in the command process without tipping off the Party monitors.
General Akari never asked, or made any attempt, to learn the backgrounds of the plutocrats. In the same way those Generals looked down on him for his nearly lifelong service in the military, he looked down on them for their reliance on aides to interpret events occurring on the ground. Not for the first time, he wondered about approaching the aides directly, or through his proxy, SGM. Anderson. Unprompted, as he looked them over, disgust clearly present on his face, he fondly remembered SGM. Anderson asking him if the plutocrats required the help of their aides to wipe their asses for them.
To the veterans, the plutocrats were simply one more complication to work around, nothing more, nothing less. They needed General Akari because the majority of the forces being fielded for the operation were from the Armored Corp around Hellas. That did not mean they were going to be any more polite or helpful than minimally required though, and he needed them in order to appear paying lip service to the mandates of the Party.
General Akari had been out visiting one of the bases under his new command and upon his arrival, SGM. Anderson immediately approached him in order to brief him with any updates. The SGM. started with the best news he had, attempting to set the tone of the impromptu meeting. “Welcome back General. The Commander of FOB Alpha has reported that construction of their dome was finished overnight. His engineers will spend the next week preparing the maintenance bays for the siege equipment and heavy weapons we’ve been sending, and then they should be ready for the attack.”
Checking his slate quickly to confirm the date, General Akari quickly retorted. “Yes, two days later then the already generous timeframe had allowed.”
SGM. Anderson did not blush in embarrassment at the rebuke; he was more than comfortable around the brusque General and not about to be embarrassed for someone else’s mistake. “The Commander felt the need to prioritize defensive emplacements outside and around the FOB over general dome construction. The appearance of the four highly capable terrorist units in the area of operations has him-and most of the other men in the region-scared.”
The comment made General Akari remember back to a month ago when the fourth terrorist unit had suddenly appeared, disrupting the trap he had set in place for what had appeared to be the largest supply convoys going to Kerrak. Only the bungling interference from the plutocrats had defeated that plan. They were responsible for the timing of releasing the battalion of reinforcements sent to finish the job the ambushing force had started. He was not sure whose responsibility it had been, but the battalion had left their base almost an hour and a half later than they were supposed to, and then once they arrived, the commander on scene failed to aggressively pursue the terrorists and the supply convoy, ruining the entire plan. General Akari remained certain that if the fourth terrorist had not suddenly appeared when it had, the supply convoy would have likely been destroyed and the terrorists would have been sent fleeing. He had modest expectations that these older units being fielded could destroy one of the vastly technologically superior units, or that the terrorists would allow themselves to be defeated in such a resounding manner. Instead, he was focusing on more obtainable targets; such as the destruction of Kerrak and the army of defenders gathering there.
“Have there been any more appearances by the four units?” General Akari asked.
“Not in the last three days, Sir. They escorted a large team of reinforcements to the outpost recently, but we chose not to engage and they retreated afterwards, no damage on either side. They seem to require significant downtime in between operations, and appear to be unwilling to commit themselves without clear intelligence, just as you suspected. They are far more timid then their predecessor, and appear to only act in defense of their allies, or when attacked, unwilling to target our forces as their main objective, just as you believed. Your decision to have our hackers target their information gathering abilities appears to have been spot on.” SGM. Anderson answered.
“Has there been any further confirmation about our little question?” General Akari quietly asked, looking away from the SGM. as he searched for the Party representatives, ensuring they were out of earshot.
SGM. Anderson conspiratorially lowered his voice, “Every indication appears that the white terrorist unit currently taking the field is different than Starkindler. Our analysts are positive it is being piloted by someone else as well.”
“Who else has caught on?” General Akari asked quietly.
“As far as I can tell, no one has. High Command references the new white unit as Starkindler in their official communiques, and the few unofficial inquiries I’ve made only confirm that.” SGM. Answered.
General Akari acknowledged the admission with a harrumph, not at all surprised. “Has our spy in Mount Olympus confirmed the existence of any other units? I would like to avoid being taken by surprise during this next phase like the operation against the supply convoy.”
“The spy’s last message vaguely referenced that the StormCrows were building another model of Mech armor, but other than that, the spy has not mentioned anything more specific. All communications from Mount Olympus and the surrounding region are still being jammed, by both our side and theirs. It is strange to say the least.” SGM. Anderson remarked.
General Akari looked down at his slate, pretending to read what he saw aloud to the SGM. as a Party representative passed just in earshot. “The StormCrows know we have a mole in their base, and with the four new units in their possession, they are holding their cards particularly close to the chest-that is all. I am surprised they’ve waited as long as they have to limit their outside communications, although that was how they managed to screw up the entire pla
nets’ Interweb and communication networks; which was a hell of a feat we never saw coming and are still working to fix. Speaking of which, how is our communication grid in the operation area coming along, as well as the construction of the other two FOB’s?”
Finally, a question that he could answer without being arrested, SGM. Anderson perked up. “The construction of the other two domes is proceeding apace, and they should both be completed in less than two weeks. Surprisingly, the anti-grav trains have been able to make all of their supply runs without any interference, keeping us ahead of schedule. Also, the primary and back-up cables between the FOB’s, for our independent communication network, have been laid and are operating at full capacity. The laser based relay links have been fixed in place, but the report by the engineers says they expect to only have minimal communication ability due to all the dust once combat begins in earnest.”
General Akari nodded in affirmation. “No one wants to test the trains because the Reaper drones flying overhead are powerful deterrents. As soon as someone realizes we actually are not allowed to use them, things will get interesting though. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened yet.” Pausing for a moment as he read a report on his slate, General Akari looked back up, his eyes shining eagerly. “Three weeks left. Do everything you can to ensure the attack goes off in three weeks as planned.”
* * * * *
“They will attack soon.” Kiryl stated matter-of-factly, breaking the silence as the four Omnos squad members sat around the table eating. Ever since joining them in the defense of the supply convoy, even Kurtis made a habit of spending more time with the group, as well as joining them in their daily simulator and exercise routines. In the lower gravity of Mars, they not only imbibed inordinate amounts of supplements with every meal, but everyone made sure to exercise for several hours each day in order to avoid muscle deterioration. Typically, they ate most of their meals around whatever they were working on at the time, but since that last fight, the Omnos squad members made it a point to have at least one meal a day together, around a table, where they could spend some time relaxing and catching up with one another’s projects.
“Will we be ready by then?” Vera asked, as she finished off the contents of her tray. The StormCrows had a continent sized mountain to themselves, allowing them to grow and maintain a far better food supply then many other locations on the planet. Compared to the fare they were used to having while living on Earth though, everything seemed bland and tasteless, and standard procedure meant that it was best not to pay too much attention to what one was eating if they wanted to continue eating it.
“Ready is subjective,” Alyona retorted. “With what’s coming, I don’t think we could ever be ‘ready’.”
Her brutal assessment deflated the pleasant atmosphere. Surprisingly, it was Kiryl who took up the challenge of refocusing them. He looked at Vera, ensuring he made eye contact before answering her original question. “The repairs on our units are completed. I have already given Alyona my opinion. I don’t want us fighting much between now and then. The odds are already against us with so many enemies in the area, and we are going to be needed to help defend Kerrak. I don’t want us getting mired down in another big battle, and then miss out when we’ll be needed most. That, and the fabricators are being used for so many different projects, we have only so many spare parts and munitions to expend right now.” He said, feeling a guilty pang at the fact that the others remained unaware he was re-directing a large portion of their fabricating ability to building out parts for the Salvatore model.
No one noticed his guilty conscience. Kiryl idly wondered when, and how, to tell his friends about what was happening down in the R&D division. Chief Thorsten was doing his best to get the Salvatore units ready in time to assist with defending the Lazarus faction outpost of Kerrak, but revealing an ace such as the heavily upgraded MARS units, was best done when its impact would be greatest, and there was little guarantee they would finish enough of the new units in time to make the deciding difference in the upcoming fight. There was also the point to consider that the PDF simply becoming aware of the Salvatore model would greatly reduce its shock value, and therefore overall effectiveness. Together, the two mechanics were certain that the best time to reveal the new model was when they could finish enough of them, and not a second before. The latest update he had was that the R&D division needed another month, if not longer, to finish their target number of units. Kiryl sincerely doubted they had that kind of time.
Sensing that a subject change was overdue, Alyona turned to the others. “The priority during our downtime is Starkindler. I want everyone spending as much time as they can, assisting Thorsten and Kiryl with the rebuild. We need everything we can throw at the PDF for the upcoming fight, and we’ve spent more than enough time getting adjusted. It’s time to do what we came here for, and that is help Mikkhael.”
They broke off from dinner, cleaned off the table, and headed off to find out where they could be most useful.
* * * * *
Three days later, Kurtis was at his workstation working at understanding Aurora’s code, attempting to get her ready for deployment as fast as possible. In the background, Argos directed the technicians working on Starkindler, as well as Soren and his crews working on their units. Kurtis was interrupted by Drogdyn hitting the buzzer, requesting permission to enter. In his short time on Mars, Kurtis had found himself growing comfortable with Drogdyn, seeing in him a kindred spirit. If they were not so busy trying to end a planetary civil war, and in the process free millions of enslaved people, he might have even found himself referring to Drogdyn as ‘friend’. He keyed the door release and then closed what he was working on-it paid to always play it safe.
Drogdyn passed through the doorway and then stopped a bit too far away for speaking comfortably with one another at normal volume, his nervousness more than apparent. Recognizing his mistake only after it became awkward for them both, he compounded it by approaching too closely. “I’ve been asked to find out if you had spare computing power we could utilize around the base. The number of people in Mount Olympus is growing rapidly, and the environmental technicians have been tasked with doubling our food and oxygen supply. We could really benefit from using some of your super computing power and the help of an AI if that is at all possible to create and work with some models. I tried working with Aurora’s shell, but without her core consciousness, the corruption in the shell is growing quickly,” he paused, “another couple of weeks and I suspect that her shell consciousness will be practically useless.”
Kurtis waved his concern off, “We are fairly in between projects when we aren’t being called upon to fight. That shouldn’t be an issue at all. Send me the data over by interlink, and I’ll take a look at it. A logic challenge would be a great test for my AI, Argos.” He said excitedly, as he was genuinely interested in testing whether or not Argos was ready to replace Aurora yet. The third AI, Athena, served the other members of the Omnos squad more as a personal assistant then a true AI like Argos. Even if they finished rebuilding Starkindler tomorrow, Aurora was not ready to serve Mikkhael, and the use of the highly advanced Mech armor required the assistance of an AI. He knew Drogdyn’s problem would be a fantastic opportunity to put Argos through the paces and see what results the AI could produce.
“Great!” Drogdyn said, explaining what he needed “We use the food supply for two purposes. The first is obviously to feed us and help us be as self-sustaining as possible. The second is to refresh all of our oxygen. The environmental technicians have said the oxygen levels in the mountain are getting a little low, and we need to boost the output. Most of our oxygen actually comes from mining. The rock we mine to expand the underground farms is full of oxygen and Co2, and after being processed, normally keeps up with demand because of the amount we mine on a regular basis. We also use large numbers of algae farms, specifically engineered to provide us with everything from food to fuel. The Commander is worried that if we’re eventually attacked, we m
ay need a reserve of oxygen and food to draw on that we don’t currently possess. We want help crunching the data for where the best rock for obtaining oxygen is, as well as where stable places in the mountain are for us to mine for more farms. Our processing power can crunch the data from the sensors in a few weeks, but the Commander wants answers in two days if possible, and that leaves you as the best option for getting what he needs.”
“Got it. I’ll get on it right now actually.” Kurtis said.
Drogdyn thanked him and then left, and minutes later a connection request appeared on his computer rig. Opening up the data, Kurtis set to work. “Argos, you heard the man. Begin evaluation of the current food supply process for Mount Olympus, and determine a rough value for the caloric and oxygen intake needs for everyone in the mountain. Then begin crunching the sensor data for Drogdyn.”
Before Kurtis could pull Aurora’s code back up to begin working on it again, his workstation chimed oddly. “Well, that’s odd.” Argos stated over the workstation speakers.
Kurtis barely paid any attention to the comment. “What is?” He said, already dismissing the commentary until Argos had time to achieve some results.
“The data Drogdyn provided you is flawed. The number of personnel in the mountain does not match the number of humans needed to consume the amount of calories and oxygen being consumed on a daily basis. The data suggests the number of humans needing food and oxygen is actually double what is listed.” Argos stated.
Kurtis dismissed the observation. “Sounds right. We have to double what the StormCrows need. Drogdyn said that already. Just ignore the numbers and crunch the data Argos.” He said, growing a bit irritated at the continued interruptions.
Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2) Page 28
