The general snapped her fingers. “Like that. Now the entire Euro line is in complete collapse. Whole units are surrendering. We’ve broken their spirit. Charlemagne is even sending signals that they’re ready to negotiate a withdrawal of all their forces on New Calcutta.”
“I...I don’t know what to say, sir.” Stephanie stammered. “That’s great news but it wasn’t just me, sir. There were Stan...”
“Don’t be so modest, lieutenant,” Young cut her off. “You’ve yet again proven that a BattleMaster at the right place and time can accomplish herculean tasks. I’ve already put you in for immediate promotion and a decoration in front of your regiment and the media. You’ll be a war hero back home. A household name.”
“Oh, wow … I mean, thank you, sir. That’s incredible, but it wouldn’t be right if I’m the only one who gets recognized. Corporal Stanner and Sergeant Veech were...”
“Yes, yes of course. I’m sure they protected you valiantly and they will be rewarded for doing such.”
Stanner’s fists clenched. Screw you, you ignorant, ungrateful bitch!
“With respect, sir, they did a lot more than that. In fact, it was Stan...”
“Don’t worry yourself about these minor details, captain. They have a way of working themselves out. You need to focus on getting healthy for the cameras. The folks back on Liberty need a boost, and your story and face will be the core of that. I must be off now, still a lot to do to mop up the Euro front. My office will be in touch.”
“Yes, sir.” Stephanie’s voice was flat.
The clack of hard heels on the floor warned of their exit. Stanner flattened his back against the wall and stared at the floor while the general and her aides marched by.
Their hammering steps faded around the corner before he dared look up. Moving to Stephanie’s door, he poked his head in. She was sitting on the bed, her head held low.
He rapped his knuckles on the doorframe. “Hello, stranger.”
Her head popped up and eyes widened at sight of him “Hello, yourself.” Her smile receded. “Did you just hear what the general said?”
He came in, waving off her concern. “Yes, and I heard you trying to stick up for the sarge and me.”
She sighed. “They want to decorate me like I’m a hero or something.”
“Well, you are.” Stanner half sat on the edge of her bed.
“No more than you and Veech.” Stephanie threw her hands up. “I would’ve died out there without you, and if I’d found that camp alone, I never would have tried infiltrating it. And even if I had, I never would have come up with the ideas you had to use their drones against them, let alone take the land-train over all by myself.
“It’s not fair, Michael.” The use of his first name sent a jolt of energy through him. Her face turned red. “I’m tired of this bullshit prejudice against infantry. I’m not doing it without you two. They can decorate all of us or none of us.” She crossed her arms and huffed.
Stephanie’s attempt at a moral stand on his behalf touched him, but he knew the likely result. It was easy to plead your righteous case in the company of supporters, proclaiming defiant deeds you intended to make. It was another thing entirely to tell a general to go fuck himself, or herself, in person.
No, Stephanie was strong, but not that strong. She’d put up a fuss and in the end she’d do as she was told, feeling awful about herself for caving. He wanted to spare her some of that self-inflicted torture.
Stanner placed his hand on her knee. She stared at it for a second, then looked at him and grinned. “Stephanie, I appreciate that, but I don’t want you getting in trouble on my account.”
She went to speak but he held up a hand to stop her. “No argument. It’s not worth it. Getting left out of a dog and pony show for the camera is a long way from the worst thing to happen to me since I joined the Army.”
His thoughts drifted to Captain Reba Chandler and his “visits” to her office. The memory chilled his soul and he pulled his hand back from Stephanie’s knee. He cleared his throat, fighting a suddenly dry mouth to talk. “Do what they want. In the end, they usually get it anyway.”
She took hold of the hand he’d removed from her and exhaled. “I suppose you’re right. But I will still insist, or strongly recommend, that you and the sarge are given something.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
A knock at the door forced their attention toward it. An older, balding gray-haired man in a lab coat stood in the doorway. Stanner hopped to his feet, immediately regretting the rash movement that caused a stab of pain.
The man grimaced at seeing Stanner’s expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Doctor Bach. Major Lowen sent me to conduct an initial examination.”
“That was fast.” Stephanie cocked her head. “I only agreed to his program a few minutes ago.”
Bach shrugged. “I imagine he’d anticipated you’d volunteer for his pet project.”
Stanner looked at her and the doctor. “What project?”
“Top secret, I’m afraid.” Bach strolled into the room as he pulled a med scanner from a bag. “Though between you and me, I don’t think it will work. But I’m just a technician here and my opinion matters little.” He regarded Stanner. “You can stay. I’m just taking a few readings. You won’t be able to learn anything you aren’t supposed to.”
Stanner nodded and moved to the other side of her bed.
Stephanie took his hand while looking at the doctor. “I think you gave me a tune-up before the attack. Huh. So the project won’t tie me up too long?”
“Hard to say. Sometimes people accept a bad idea quickly and...” Bach paused, his eyes staring into nothing as if in deep thought. “And sometimes people hold onto them.”
Bach sighed and ran the scanner over her. “I’ve only heard rumors, but if half of them are true, what you did is quite impressive.”
“Couldn’t’ve done it without lots of help.” She squeezed Stanner’s hand and smiled at him. “It was this guy’s idea to use their drones against ‘em and to see if we could find something to affect them on a large scale. I just assumed it was impossible.”
“Well, to be honest.” Stanner coughed. “I suggested we look for their Magic Box, and then we found a way to jam their signal. It was a team effort all around. Not like I have ECP or something.”
Stephanie twisted her lips. “ECP?”
“Oh.” Stanner grow red-faced. “I meant ESP. It’s not like I have ESP. I get my c’s and s’s mixed up for some reason.”
Bach had been paying half his attention to the exchange, keeping his eyes glued to the scanner. Something Stanner said fired a spark in the doctor’s mind because his gaze rose and focused on him. “What did you say?”
“Huh?”
“Just now, you said something about switching letters, did you not?”
“Ummm, yeah.” Stanner looked at Stephanie who shrugged. “I did I guess. I sometimes say c when I mean s and vice versa.”
“Have you always done this?”
“Oh, I guess so. Can’t think of a time when I didn’t.”
Bach set down the scanner on the bed. His eyes drilled into Stanner. “How well do you read? Is it hard for you? Did you have trouble in school when taking written exams but excelled at oral ones? Do you also transpose numbers? Did you...”
“Wow, doc.” Stephanie raised a hand between them. “What’s with the interrogation about his academic record?”
Bach froze for two seconds. A coy smile curled up his cheeks. “My apologies. Sometimes the oddest things pique my curiosity.” He studied the scanner. “Yes, I think I have all I need for now. We’ll need you to come in for additional tests once you’re discharged.”
“Sure thing, doc. I shouldn’t be here more than a day.” Stephanie shrugged. “I’m not even sure why I’m still here now.”
“Till then.” Bach did a head bow while shifting his eyes to stare at Stanner.
The doctor turned and left, leaving Stan
ner with the feeling he’d been inspected by a serial killer.
“That was awkward.” Stephanie let out a laugh. “I can’t wait for my tests.”
“Better you than me. That guy gave me the creeps.” A full body shiver passed over him.
***
Xavier Bach strolled into his lab with the blank expression of a man lost in his own mind. Greetings from coworkers would’ve gone unnoticed, but they’d determined days ago that trying to engage the self-absorbed man held no benefit.
He sat at his desk and tossed aside the scanner with Captain Butler’s data as if it were a nuisance. The plastic shell flopped down and slid into the cubicle’s wall. He stared at the device.
What a waste of my time. He scuffed. Duel aerial and land BattleMasters. Pointless. Her friend, though? What was his name?
Bach mentally kicked himself for not getting his name. “Damn.” He sighed. “Computer, I need the files for all the infantrymen associated with the preliminary Stephanie Butler after-action assessment.” It chimed its acknowledgment. “And bring up my brain models concerning the Swarm Project. Rank the disorders most likely to prove compatible.”
A stream of information appeared. He leaned in, the light reflecting off his irises. “I’m close. I can feel it in my gut.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kyle sucked in a breath as he waited for security to clear him before entering Samantha’s lair. He didn’t know what to expect on the other side. He’d disobeyed her orders in the most extreme sense, and not just by lying to her in the process but by actively seeking to deceive her with false information and half-truths.
Sure, it all worked out in the end, but not because of him, really. The battle was lost, hundreds dead for nothing other than his pride, before the miracle of an amazing surprise attack in the enemy rear that he had absolutely nothing to do with.
The doors parted. He exhaled and stepped in, standing at attention once inside.
The wires running out of Samantha’s skull waved from side to side as she swung around to face him. Her blank expression betrayed no clue as to her thoughts. Crossing her arms, she nodded once. “The great General Mendez, as I live and breathe.”
He took minor comfort in the fact she spoke to him in her own voice and looked at him with her eyes instead of with speakers and cameras.
“Kyle, do you have any idea how many charges I could bring against you? Disobeying orders and filing false reports are just where they start.”
Blood rushed to his face. The temperature of the room seemed to increase. He wasn’t worried about punishment so much as disappointing her. “More than enough to put me in a dark hole for a long time, sir.”
“Indeed.” Samantha sighed and let her arms drop. “You must be the luckiest son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever met.” She flipped her wrist at him. “At ease, damn it. I feel like you’re mocking me or something. You know I can’t court-martial you. Hell, the Colonial President herself wants to pin a fucking medal on your chest.”
Kyle couldn’t stop a slight smile from appearing on his face. “Fortune favors the bold, I guess.”
Samantha put her hands out and walked toward him. “You got lucky and you know it. You should be dead right now, along with most of your army. Who the hell could’ve predicted what happened? And if you’d followed my orders to the letter, we’d be surrendering soon.”
She came to within inches of him, staring directly into his eyes and wrapping her arms around him. Her body was unnaturally cold. “Thank you. You were right in the end. My models didn’t account for all of the variables.”
The embrace felt alien, but he pushed that aside. This was still Samantha, his Samantha, despite all of the upgrades installed in her. Returning the hug, he melted into her. “There was no way you could’ve known.”
“No, there wasn’t.” She released him. “But that’s no excuse for quitting when the army still had fight left. You were right to push for a last stand, if for no other reason than to hope for a miracle, and a miracle is exactly what we got.”
Samantha activated a 3D display at her station behind her with a thought. It was the continent that served as their grand arena. Icons painted the latest strategic alignment of the three players. Red for Chinese, green for Euros and white for Americans.
Kyle looked over her shoulder. “What’s the latest?” Green icons were shattered and isolated with white in pursuit. Red and white were bunched up together in a static clump.
She turned and waved at the floating display. “You can see for yourself. The Euros had committed everything to the counterattack. It seems they were desperate for a major victory. Like on Liberty, the folks on Charlemagne are tired of this war.
“Their forces could’ve made a stand even without their BattleMasters, but they lost heart with the sudden reversal of their fortunes. The triple shocks of being attacked in the rear, losing their commander, and most of their armor were too much. We’ve kept the pressure on, running down units before they can regroup.
“The other part of our offensive strategy worked as planned.” She ran her index finger along the army’s path of retreat. “We met the Chinese attack with a fighting withdrawal and managed to stay a step ahead of them, bleeding them as they rushed to take prepared defensive position after position in the hopes of trapping us. The line is stable now. The Chinese don’t appear to have the strength to continue further and we don’t have the strength to drive them back.” She rubbed her chin. “I didn’t expect it to be so easy. I calculated they’d hit us with far more strength.”
“I can’t believe we did it.” Kyle half-smiled and shrugged. “Sure, our plan didn’t survive contact, but whose does? There it is. We’re mopping up the Euros and holding the line against the Chinese.”
She paced, the cables connected to her skull swaying with each step. “I now project the surrender or extermination of all Euros on-planet in two weeks with minimal losses on our part, though we believe Charlemagne will agree to pull out all of their forces before then.”
“A one-front war?” He smiled. The concept felt like a dream come true after years of waging war against two enemies.
“For some time, at least.” Samantha shut off the display. “We won’t violate the naval ceasefire to blockade New Calcutta, but it will still take the Euros a couple of years to build up enough force to be a major threat on-planet, and they won’t be able to land them on the main landmass.”
“That’s assuming their people and government still have the will to continue the war after such a setback. Charlemagne isn’t any bigger than Liberty. Raising a new expeditionary force will be a tall order.”
“My analysis agrees with yours. It’s unlikely the Euros will be a player on-planet for several years at the earliest, if ever. Nonetheless, we should move soon to finish them this year, once and for all. That is also the signal I’m getting from Colonial Gov. They seem to be in a bigger hurry than we are. They’re already talking about fortifying the surface and where to place settlements.”
He twisted his lips. “Yeah...”
“What?” She cocked her head.
“Do you really believe that’s all we’re after? Securing the colony for our settlement? I mean, it’ll take generations for each of us to fill up our own worlds, let alone here. I know there’s bad blood between us going all the way back to Earth, but it still feels like there’s something deeper at play.”
“Perhaps. I’ll admit the cost-benefit ratio of this war does seem illogical, but we’re soldiers. It isn’t a question for us to ask, and besides, if there’s something deeper at play, we won’t know until we win.”
He put his hands on his hips. “So how do we do that?”
***
Stanner was all smiles as he marched down the hall of his regiment’s housing complex. His strides were long and his heels hammered onto the hard floor as if to announce his presence with pride.
He’d made it back from almost certain death. Even more, his actions were critical in turning defeat for the
American Army into a stunning victory. The top brass might not recognize the full scale of his achievements, but that meant little to the common soldiers who whispered to one another as he boomed past.
Rumors are the fastest form of military communication, and the mill had churned out a steady stream regarding his recent exploits. Olsen made it his mission to feed the ones he heard back to Stanner during his hospital stay via text message, for confirmation of their validity.
Most were fairly accurate — with a few exceptions. Stanner’s favorite was one where he had seduced a Euro BattleMaster as a means to gaining access to the enemy network. He neither confirmed nor denied that one. Let ‘em wonder.
A thunderous noise down the hall snapped him out of his self-absorbed thoughts. He looked up to see a solid line of soldiers in full battle-rattle stumping toward him. Back against the wall, he got out of their way. A quick scan of their faces didn’t trigger a sense of familiarity. Their uniforms and gear were also spotless.
He turned to the man next to him. “Who are those guys and where they going?”
“New arrivals fresh off the boat, heading straight for the Chinese front. Hear we held on there by the skin of our teeth. Anything not beat to shit is being moved there. I bet it won’t be long before we are, too.”
The reminder that the war still waged on hooked a lead weight to his spirit. It made his achievements seem insignificant. Battles would still be fought and men would still die. At least they were down to one enemy army.
Stanner pushed the doubt aside to allow the good vibe to return. He entered the platoon’s barracks with a smile running ear to ear.
A dozen or so troopers were lounging around. No one noticed his arrival. Olsen was laying on his bunk, face buried in a tablet. Walking over, Stanner tossed his bag onto his mattress. It landed with a thud to disturb the relaxed atmosphere. Heads snapped in his direction.
“Stanner!” someone shouted.
BattleMaster (The BattleMaster Corps Book 1) Page 19
