Knights of the Chosen soe-2

by Lawrence P White

  Reba and Colonel Waverly huddled together to come up with a plan. They had made plans, but those plans had fallen apart with the first shot. Their main concerns were primary locations, the government headquarters buildings around the mansion and the spaceport, half of it civilian and half of it military. Waverly detailed two full squads to remain behind to search and clear the mansion, to include taking the governor and his staff into custody, then detailed four squads to each nearby building to root out any Chessori hiding there. The rest of his teams went to the military spaceport. They had to secure ships with heavy guns before the Chessori got their act together.

  “How long can your men keep this up?” she asked Waverly as they raced for the spaceport, Reba limping along as fast as she could.

  “You just point us in the right direction, Ma’am,” he replied with a reassuring tone.

  “It could take days.”

  “Then it will take days.”

  Waverly’s men had suffered only minor losses so far, but the most dangerous type of fighting potentially still lay before them, that of clearing ships and buildings. They were, to a man, very, very good at this particular form of fighting, and they set to with great care. When she and Waverly reached the spaceport, he called his officers into a meeting, a plan was set, and assignments handed out. The officers returned to their men, assigning individual companies, platoons, and squads as necessary.

  Lieutenant Stephens and his platoon of four squads was assigned one of four heavy gun emplacements on the perimeter of the spaceport. He approached warily with his men, not having a clue how to get into the building or how the insides of the building were laid out. He ran a hand over the stubble of a beard as he conferred with Sergeant Walters, his most experienced sergeant.

  “It’s armored, that’s for sure, and probably shielded, as well,” Walters said, staring at the massive structure. It appeared as if a square block of obsidian, several stories high and some 50 meters on a side, had been planted in the ground. There were no windows and only one door that they could see.

  “We won’t be able to blow our way in.”

  “Maybe the door is unlocked,” Walters replied. “Let’s find out.”

  Stephens placed his squads, one each at the back corners of the building, one at the nearest corner, and Sergeant Walters on the door. Walters was squad one. Squad two would follow if Walters could get in. The rest would remain outside for security. Stephens started to go with Walters and his men to the door, but Walters placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “You know my guys are better at this,” he said. “This is a tough one. We don’t have a clue what we’ll run into, and we don’t know our way around. Why don’t you come in with squad two?”

  Stephens looked at his grizzled sergeant in surprise. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right, Sergeant. I can’t compete with your years of experience. Go to it.”

  Stephens received a call from squad three behind the building. “There’s a rear entrance, sir.”

  “You know the drill, sergeant. No one that comes out of that door lives.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Walters and his nine men rushed up to the side of the building and lined up to the right side of the door. If the door opened, everything would move very fast from that point on. Teams of four would work together, though the individual team members would change in a fluid and complex pattern of movement and covering movement, a ballet they had conducted many, many times. Fields of fire were fundamental: each man had a specific field of fire, and his weapon would never cross the body of another team member.

  Sergeant Inoue was first in line. He touched the door-open pad, and to his surprise, the door rumbled slowly aside. Walters was amazed. The soldiers responsible for security here must have succumbed to the scree, as well. Inoue took a quick look across the opening to clear the far side of the room and moved in, angling around the door and turning to his right, his weapon pointed slightly down but ready for instant use. Immediately behind him, the second man, Sergeant Hodgson, slid in behind him, his weapon traversing from the center of the room to the left side of the room, and he moved left. The third man in moved right, focusing center and right, to follow Inoue. Walters came in fourth, focusing center and left, to follow number two. This took about three seconds.

  The room wasn’t a room, it was a foyer that opened into two wide corridors, each going in opposite directions around the inside of the facility. Two soldiers thrashed about on the floor, clearly under the effect of the scree. No words were spoken as Inoue and number three continued to the right, and number two and Walters continued down the corridor to the left. The rest of the squad followed, each peeling off to the right or left. Walters team of four had two new members, and his own position, number four, had moved up to number two. His field of fire had changed, as had his movement, but the new number three and four men knew their jobs.

  Several doors opened off the corridor before Walters. His number one, Sergeant Hodgson, stopped at the first door, which was open. Walters and the number three and four men immediately lined up behind Hodgson as he cleared what he could see of the room with his eyes, still close to the wall. It only took an instant, then he moved as before, into the room and right. Walters, as number two, went left, followed by numbers three and four. The room was empty. They moved back into the corridor, the last man in line breaking open a fluorescent tube and tossing it to the floor at the doorway. Anyone else coming this way would know the room was secure. Eight seconds had passed since entering the facility.

  They moved down the corridor, clearing two more rooms before reaching the end of the corridor, which turned right. Twenty-five seconds had elapsed since entering the building. At the corner, Hodgson, hugging the outer wall, quickly made the turn, clearing the corridor with his eyes as his field of view increased, his weapon traversing with his eyes. Walters was immediately behind him, and he stayed to the right side of the corridor. Numbers three and four followed, concentrating center and left, but also concentrating high and low in case they encountered a threat from above, such as a catwalk. Hodgson saw movement half way down the corridor, but it was fleeting. He did not take a shot.

  They continued down the corridor at a fast, practiced gate that kept the weapons steady, all four men now on the right side of the corridor, each with an assigned field of fire. More men came up behind them, half of squad two and Lieutenant Stephens. They reached a wide descending stairway opening off the right side of the corridor toward the inside of the building.

  The team of four lined up on the approach to the stairway, then Hodgson turned the corner hugging the wall to his right and started down. Walters followed, crossing over to hug the wall to his left. They quickly reached a landing and made the left turn. Hodgson hugged the outer wall of the turn, his weapon clearing the lower stairway as it came into view. He saw movement and fired as two white heads peered around the entrance of a room at the bottom. He missed, but he kept moving down and firing. Walters made the turn right behind him, though he stayed on the left wall. He saw the same movement and fired, then instantly went into a crouch to improve his aim. He might have hit his target with the first shot but wasn’t sure. He fired three quick shots at the Chessori, then three shots at the other Chessori who disappeared. The other two men followed number one, remaining to the right side of the stairway and out of Walters field of fire.

  They reached the bottom and were joined by Walters. One minute had elapsed since the first man entered the building, and some five seconds had elapsed since starting down the stairwell. One Chessori lay dead at their feet.

  The stairway ended in a landing. Centered on the wall across the landing was a heavy blast door, wide open, leading into a large room filled with control stations. Three men were lined up on the right side of the doorway hugging the wall beside the door, and Walters lined up by himself to the left.

  Hodgson tossed a stun grenade into the room, shouted “Light,” and they each counted two seconds. On the count of two, Hodgson
entered, his weapon sweeping from left to right as he moved right. He fired two shots as his weapon traversed a Chessori head sticking up behind a console. He didn’t wait to see if he hit his target. His weapon continued traversing to the right as he moved right. He fired two more shots at another piece of Chessori visible to the side of a console, but again, he did not wait to see if he had hit his target. His flow continued to the right, and he moved along the wall to the right.

  Immediately behind him, Sergeant Walters went left, his weapon also firing at the Chessori in the center, but he, too, continued his flow to the left, and he moved along the wall to the left. Immediately behind him, number three moved right but focused more on the center of the room. His weapon, too, fired at the first Chessori, though it was already dead. The body just hadn’t had time to fall yet. Number four followed Walters. The second Chessori was not dead. Number three moved right, following Hodgson. The Chessori raised a weapon toward Hodgson who was focused to his right and did not see the creature, but number three did. The upper part of the Chessori disappeared as three blaster shots hit it in quick succession.

  Three seconds had elapsed since the four men started into the room.

  Each two-man team continued right and left around the room. Walters, still number two, focused ahead and left while number three followed some three feet behind, focused toward the center and left side of the room. Number three also focused high and low, but there were no balconies.

  The center of the room held a circle of workstations, and numbers three and four broadened their focus to include the far side of the room, the oblique angles, where they had a better angle on anyone hiding. Number four, just behind Walters, spotted the top of a white head on the floor behind a work station across the room, just ahead of number one, Hodgson. He took three shots and didn’t miss. The same happened on his side of the room: number three took out that Chessori. Hodgson fired at a head peering out from behind a console six feet in front of him, and he didn’t miss either.

  More men from the second squad entered and moved to the sides, clearing the center of the room as they did so. “Clear,” Sergeant Walters called as he reached the far side of the room. Lieutenant Stephens, the last one in, broke a fluorescent light and threw it to the floor at the entrance to the room.

  Walters and his three men lined up on each side of the rear exit from the room. They did their dance again, moving up the stairway as Stephens called the men outside to let them know they might have friendlies coming out. Walters reached the rear exit without further incident, and he tossed a fluorescent marker at the door to indicate the exit was secure. He turned around and went back into the control room.

  His gaze met Stephens.’ “How long?”

  Stephens’ eyes lowered. “You know, I was so worried about you that I forgot to time us.”

  A tight grin flitted across Walters’ face as his adrenalin high started abating. “Any casualties?”

  “None. The building is secure. We’ll make another sweep just to be certain, but it’s clear. There were quite a few Empire soldiers, most of them in a break room. They’re all secure.”

  Stephens reported in to his captain, then turned to Walters. “We’re needed elsewhere. You stay here with squad one to secure the building. I’m taking squads two, three, and four with me.”

  Walters’ eyes roamed the control room in thought. “Mind if we try to figure out how this stuff works?” he asked.

  “Have at it, as long as you keep the place secure. I’ll be busy elsewhere. Report anything to Captain Jordan.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Walters set security at both entrances, then he huddled together with Hodgson in conversation. While they had no clue what the various workstations were for, each station had a helmet just like what they’d used aboard ships to enter the net. He looked a question at Hodgson, who waved his hand nonchalantly.

  “Be my guest, Walters.”

  Walters pulled the helmet over his head. Nothing happened for a while, but then he felt the net coming alive, just as he had on ships. He experimented for a while, then found a mental switch and talked to his men.

  “Hey, this is pretty cool. Hodgson, get in here with me.”

  He and Hodgson met on the net and carefully waded their way through various channels. They eventually located targeting computers, shield controls, and firing commands, then they figured out how to open the firing ports.

  “I need two more of you in here with me,” he called to his men.

  It took a while to get the newcomers up to speed, but he soon had them aboard. Then he sent a thought to the AI. “We need some training.”

  The AI responded instantly. The scene outside changed to simulation, then targets appeared. The AI carefully led them through the necessary processes to control shields, identify targets, track them, and fire when ready. After three hours, Walters felt ready. The AI wanted to tie him into the rest of the net guarding the spaceport, but Walters hesitated. He didn’t know if those guns were secure yet. He assigned two men to keep an eye out for real targets, then he and Hodgson exited the net.

  “Captain Jordan,” he said into his communicator, “we’re secure here, and we think we know how to work the guns. How are things out there?”

  “One building at a time. You know how it is. We haven’t found many Chessori, and the scree is still sounding, so they’re out here somewhere. We’ve taken two more gun positions, but we can’t get into the last one. The door is locked, and no one’s available with the codes to open it. Stay where you are, and I’ll pass the word that your cannons are manned. We might be able to do the same with the others. Good job, Walters.”

  “Can you send some back-up? I’d like to get all my men into the net here.”

  “I’ll detail squad two back to you. I might need them back later.”

  Waverly was advised of the situation, and he smiled. “Pretty sharp guys, huh?” he said to Reba.

  “I didn’t know they were so creative,” she said. “I’m worried about that last gun emplacement. If there are Chessori in there, they might shoot me down if I have to use a ship. I wonder if we can take it out with Walters’ gun?”

  Waverly’s lips pursed. “You might lose Walters and his men in the process. The guns are probably evenly matched.”

  “Then maybe we need to tilt the scales a little. See if your men can get up to speed on the other two guns. I’m going to talk to Walters. Which one is he in?”

  “That one,” Waverly said, pointing. The fighting had been going on for hours, and Reba was exhausted, but she left in a hurry, limping as fast as she could. Val was never far from her thoughts, and she knew he was suffering from the scree, but the only thing she could do to help him was try to end it.

  Then she had a thought. She spoke into her communicator to Waverly. “Do you think you could send someone to find Val and stun him?”

  Waverly understood instantly. “He’s at headquarters. I’ll see it gets taken care of. We might do the same for Korban and his men.”

  When she reached the gun emplacement, she had no idea how to get in. Waverly, though, had anticipated her need and called ahead. The door opened, and she stared into the muzzles of two blasters.

  “Sergeant Walters at your service, Ma’am.”

  “Walters, you deserve a medal,” she announced. “I expect I’ll be taking a ship up soon, and I don’t want the last gun emplacement shooting me down. Think you can take it out?”

  His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I don’t know!” He considered, then said, “We’ll have to see if this thing can fire that low. The AI is probably programmed to prevent shooting its own facilities.”

  “Let’s find out,” she invited.

  The gun could angle itself low enough, but the AI was programmed to prevent shooting its own guns on the space port. Reba went into the net with Walters and worked with the AI. It was not in the same class as the AI’s on ships, but the job was not nearly as complex, so it didn’t have to be. Nevertheless, it was s
till a computer, and it could not overcome its programming. Reba tried another tack.

  “Computer, it’s time for maintenance. You’re going to shut yourself down. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can we use the gun while you’re shut down?”

  “Yes, but only under manual control.”

  “Okay, I want you to aim at the gun emplacement we’ve been talking about. You are not going to fire.”

  “Done.”

  “Okay, you’re going to shut down, but bring yourself back in five minutes. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Execute,” she commanded.

  The AI’s presence evaporated, but the shields, targeting, and firing controls still functioned. It would be much more difficult to hit a moving target under these conditions, but their target was not moving.

  Reba and Walters left the net. He was pretty concerned. “You know, that gun will be an even match for me.”

  “I know. You’re going to give me two hours, then open up on it. I’ll be in a ship somewhere out there, and I’ll open up on the gun as soon as I see your first shot. See if you can get the two other gun emplacements to join you.”

  “You’re going to fire a ship’s weapons from the ground?” he asked in surprise.

  “If I can. If I can’t, I’ll get word back to you before your first shot.”