Iron Gray Sea d-7

by Taylor Anderson

“We have achieved a great victory!” General of the Sea Hisashi Kurokawa loudly proclaimed as he met generals Niwa, Halik, and Muriname in the heavily guarded field north of Madras. The sky was utterly black and only the fires of the burning city hinted at the huge bulk of the black-painted airship that had brought the other leaders, besides Niwa, to him there. He knew it must have been a harrowing flight, because even Muriname’s personal craft, heavily armed as it was, required only a spark to roast them all alive as they plummeted to the earth. Kurokawa felt a chill. He would never ride one of the terrifying things. There were already reports that many of the enemy aircraft had escaped to a lake west of there. Surely some of them would be on the prowl?

  The two Japanese generals saluted him, followed a moment later by Halik, who mimicked the gesture. “Come, my friends,” Kurokawa boomed, still for the benefit of the many onlookers. “I have a large tent, captured from the enemy, that we may relax within while we discuss our ultimate reconquest of my regency!”

  Halik and Niwa looked at each other. Kurokawa ’s regency? It occurred to both of them then that N’galsh was nowhere to be seen, nor had Niwa seen the vice regent since Muriname arrived in the south. Niwa didn’t know Muriname well. The scrawny former NAP 1/c seemed older than his years and was already losing his hair. Niwa barely recognized him. Together, they moved toward the tent. Once inside, Kurokawa’s temper took a profound turn. Never did he raise his voice to a level that might be overheard by the guards some distance away, but Niwa recognized an old, almost fanatical intensity.

  “Why, General Halik, was the enemy not destroyed in the pass? With the numbers at your disposal and the new warriors you were sent, it should have been simple enough!” Kurokawa demanded.

  “The enemy is not a stone that one may overturn at will,” Halik replied evenly. His words were carefully enunciated to be clearly understood, and Kurokawa almost recoiled in surprise. Halik had been “just another elevated Grik” when Kurokawa saw him last. He’d been talented, certainly, and clearly had great potential, but that potential had not yet been realized. “His discipline is better than all our warriors but the hatchling host, and his tactics more flexible. They have better weapons-I understand you have seen the examples we captured? — and he uses them well.” Halik continued, his crest rising. “Ultimately, we could not force the Gap because our air power was taken from us-and we had not enough artillery when we needed it most.”

  Niwa was proud of his Grik friend. Never had an underling stood so straight and spoken so forcefully to Kurokawa before. He hoped it wouldn’t cost Halik his life. He prepared for Kurokawa’s explosion. Instead, to his amazement, the general of the sea merely stared. Eventually, he nodded.

  “You make sense, General Halik. The enemy has better weapons than even I believed possible,” he admitted. He glared at Muriname. “As the travails of my own Grand Fleet can attest. I suppose you did well, under the circumstances. You did not take the pass from the enemy, but you denied him the open plain beyond where I fear his flexibility would have been far more difficult to counter-and where he might have interrupted your only secure line of supply.” He fumed, looking around. “We have no other as yet, and will not until we control the sea and sky!” He glared at Muriname again.

  “In all honesty, my Grand Fleet was savaged,” he confessed. “We have more ships on the way, but nothing faster than theirs, so the matter of supply and reinforcement remains. If the new bombs had been used sooner, I would not have lost so many ships-including my own flagship!” The rage threatened to spill over again, and Muriname shifted uncomfortably.

  “General of the Sea,” Muriname said, “I ordered the attack as soon as I received word-and it did succeed in the likely destruction of one of their carriers…”

  “For the loss of nearly every airship under your command!” Kurokawa snapped. “And you would not even know what they accomplished if I had not seen it myself! All that attacked were lost!” A troubling thought resurfaced in Kurokawa’s mind. He’d been too distant to see what did it, but something destroyed the last of Muriname’s airships before they could finish the big enemy carrier, and something else wiped out the second force with equal ease. Or could it have been the same thing that destroyed both? he wondered.

  “More airships are on the way,” Muriname soothed. “But they remain at a disadvantage in speed and maneuverability-not to mention other inherent risks.” He straightened and looked strangely at Kurokawa. “Ultimately, they are all we have for now. We must make do, and devise better tactics for their use.”

  Kurokawa nodded thoughtfully, oddly quick to halt his attack against Muriname, Niwa thought. What is that look? Is there something better than dirigibles taking shape at the Japanese enclave on Zanzibar? Suddenly, Niwa was sure of it. But why keep it secret? Then it was clear. For the same reason they kept communications secret-from the Grik. He remembered Kurokawa’s ways well enough to know the madman doubtless still plotted and schemed.

  Finally, Kurokawa turned to Niwa. “I have missed you, General, more than you know. You have accomplished much and made me proud.”

  For a moment, Niwa could only stand in shock. “Uh, thank you, General of the Sea,” he managed at last.

  Kurokawa smiled for an instant, then a frown creased his face as quickly as if a switch had been thrown. “Your exemplary actions to this point leave me particularly surprised that you did not seize the opportunity to destroy the forces that retreated from Madras. They were strung out, drawing supplies, helpless. Now they have established a strong defensive position that cannot be ignored.”

  “I…” Niwa stalled. How could he describe how difficult it was to launch any kind of coordinated attack through that dense jungle south of the road the enemy took? He had attacked, and the fighting had been fierce-it was still going on-but most of the enemy had reached its new defensive perimeter. He simply hadn’t been able to bring sufficient force to bear at any one place to scatter the column. “I have no acceptable excuse, General of the Sea,” Niwa finally replied. “I tried, but was not successful.” He glanced at the others. The same could be said of all of them.

  Amazingly, Kurokawa’s expression softened. “Never mind,” he said. “You and General Halik will have a chance to redeem yourselves. You have the enemy surrounded now, do you not? It should be a simple matter to coordinate your forces now and utterly destroy these… refugees. I leave the planning and execution to the two of you.” He held up a hand. “I will require some thousands of your warriors to assist in the refitting of my ships. Also, some of the local civilian population, including many artificers, that fled the enemy are with you, General Niwa? I need them back. See that they are sent here immediately.”

  “Of course, General of the Sea.”

  “Very well. Then if you have no further questions, I shall leave you to your task.” He turned to Muriname. “You remain a while longer before you fly away. I have other things to discuss with you.”

  Niwa turned to leave, but noticed Halik hadn’t moved.

  “You refer to your regency, General of the Sea, but what of Regent-Consort Tsalka and his vice regent, N’galsh?” Halik asked.

  Kurokawa swiveled his head and rested his eyes on the Grik general. An odd smile twisted his lips. “Lord Regent Tsalka was given the traitor’s death,” he said bluntly, watching Halik’s crest flatten with horror and disbelief. “Vice Regent N’galsh died leading the airship attack against the enemy fleet, and I will have to replace him. But by the express wish of the Celestial Mother herself, I am Regent-Consort of Ceylon and All India now, by conquest!” Kurokawa paused, and actually giggled. “Perhaps not Consort,” he said, “but Lord Regent? Oh yes! I have reconquered the bulk of the lost regency; Ceylon will come in time. This land is mine, by promise of the Giver of Life!”

  Niwa’s head spun. N’galsh lead an attack? Impossible! Kurokawa, a Grik noble? The man is utterly mad.

  “Does First General Esshk support that?” Halik demanded, and Kurokawa’s face reddened.

&n
bsp; “Why on earth would that matter?” he roared, forgetting himself at last. “It is the will of the Celestial Mother, supported by the Chooser. And as Lord Regent, I am no longer bound by the whims of such as General Esshk!” Kurokawa’s smile twisted further. “This land belongs to me now, as do all the warriors upon it. As do you, General Halik!”

  CHAPTER 30

  Baalkpan, Borno

  The mood was grim in Adar’s Great Hall. It wasn’t an open meeting, and with a few exceptions, only the high command and senior Allied representatives were present for this first consultation. But there were too many for the privacy of the War Room. Adar sat rigidly on the stiff cushion he preferred, while frantic jabbering filled the lamp-lit chamber. He tried to calm himself by staring at a charred tapestry on the far wall, reminding himself that things had been much worse before. The tapestry was one of the few that had survived the destruction of the previous hall presided over by the great Nakja-Mur. Rising, angry voices brought him back to the present.

  “General Alden and three corps-nearly forty thousand troops-are all alone out there!” Alan Letts shouted. “Surrounded and cut off! We have to get him some relief! Figure out a way to resupply, reinforce-”

  “I doubt he has nearly that many troops now, Mr. Letts. He has lost! We should concentrate on getting his remaining troops out!” Commander Herring shouted in return. He paused in the silence that ensued. “I agree about relief, however. General Alden should be relieved of his command at once!”

  “Under these circumstances? Are you insane?” Alan yelled, stunned. “And pull out? You are insane! We must have India, to keep it from the enemy, if for no other reason. Ceylon can’t hold without it nor can Andaman, eventually. After all the blood we’ve spilled, you’d have us right back where we started!”

  “I guess it’s a damn good thing you ain’t in charge, Mr. Herring.” Dennis Silva rumbled. He was one of the exceptions, and he’d just “come along” with Bernie again. Now he towered beside Letts, his mighty arms crossed. “Or is that what you’re anglin’ for, Mr. Herring?”

  “Don’t be absurd!” Herring snapped. “And just who the devil are you to make such an accusation?”

  Silva leaned forward. “You might just be amazed how ‘absurd’ I can work myself up into bein’,” he said in a tone too many people recognized. Herring took a step back, but Sister Audry-another exception-reached up and put a restraining hand on Silva’s bicep.

  “You might indeed be amazed, Commander Herring,” Sister Audry said, just as angry, but controlled. “Very briefly. Pray do not bait the beast. You are new here, so perhaps you do not understand. General Alden and his command are family to most of us here. In some cases, quite literally. God alone knows how many cousins our Lord Adar himself has in the field! General Alden has faced the Grik many times before, and you have never done so. It is easy for you to decry his ‘incompetence’ while safely away from the fight!” She glared around. “It would seem General Alden made some mistakes, but so did Admiral Keje-so did everyone! The enemy is changing somehow, and most dramatically.” She looked back at Herring. “But once those mistakes were made, can you think of anyone else who could have salvaged anything of the situation, as it appears General Alden has done? Could you?”

  Adar began to realize that perhaps things had never been this bad after all. Before, they’d always been united, and now he saw… factions… developing. Far too many of his own people seemed to support Herring’s proposition. He reached over and struck the bronze pipe gong insistently. “Gentlemen! My dear Sister Audry!” he said into the dissolving roar. “My people, my friends,” he continued more quietly. “As you know, the situation is this: The government of the Empire of the New Britain Isles remains in disarray after the cowardly assassination of the Governor-Emperor and his mate. Our dear Princess Rebecca Anne McDonald, whom many of you know so well, has ascended to the throne with the aid of loyal elements and our ambassador, Mr. Braad-furd. I am hopeful that stability there will soon be restored.” He blinked determination. “I said the new Governor-Empress is ours, and I meant it. She has won greater love from Baalkpan, Saan-Kakja, and doubtless the Amer-i-caan clan than I ever will. She and Saan-Kakja are as sisters. If nothing else, her ascension will likely garner even greater support from Maa-ni-la than had been forthcoming thus far.

  “Otherwise, in the east, Second Fleet has succeeded in driving the Dominion from Aal-ber-maarl, the most important of the Enchanted Isles, thereby securing a forward base for eventual operations against the evil Dominion itself.” He sighed. “That is the good news, such as it is.

  “In the west, Generaal Aalden has encountered a more vigorous and much more advanced and cunning Grik force than we have ever seen. He was unprepared for this, as anyone would be, and his campaign is faced with stalemate.”

  “Disaster, you mean!” someone shouted in Lemurian.

  “ Not disaster!” Adar retorted. “He has quickly-and I must say, masterfully-consolidated his continental force into what he calls a ‘satisfactory’ defensive posture. He needs supplies to maintain it, of course, and with the reverse suffered by First Fleet, those will be difficult to deliver for a time. We still hold all of Saa-lon, and should be able to keep it. The enemy has no means of delivering troops there at present except across the low-tide crossing, and it is well defended. Saa-lon will become our forward supply base for the Expeditionary Force. We will sustain it until it can be relieved!”

  He stared hard at Herring. “And as long as I am chairman of the Grand Alliance, there will be no more talk of retreat, or relinquishing one single tail of territory we have conquered from the enemy! Most of you know there is no negotiation with the Grik, and with every backward step we take, the Grik will try to take two steps forward. We grow stronger each day, but so does the enemy. We must not- will not — abandon our gains. As the hu-maans put it, this war is for all the marbles, and always has been. If we retreat now, where will we stop? There will be no second Battle of Baalkpan!”

  “How can we supply Gen-er-aal Aalden, or even Saa-lon? The fleet is destroyed!” blared a former Aryaalan noble, and Adar wondered again how the creature-and others like him with little interest beyond themselves-had been acclaimed as representative for anyone.

  “The fleet is not destroyed!” Letts countered. “Sure, we got licked,” he admitted, “and we lost some ships. A good chunk of Commodore Ellis’s DDs were lost or damaged. But Jim’s alive and sorting things out at Andaman-still working with a busted jaw!” Letts looked hard at the Aryaalan. “Other than that, we came off pretty light, considering what they threw at us. Ironclads, zeppelins, suicider Grik! Damn!”

  “What of Salissa and the Ahd-mi-raal?” Adar asked softly, still concerned for his younglinghood friend. “They also reached Andamaan?”

  “Yes, sir. I got the word on the way here.” He paused. “Keje’s okay,” he said to the anxious faces. “Singed his fur a little, I hear. It was touch-and-go for Big Sal for a while, though. Most of her boilers were blown out by some kind of hit amidships, and she was burning bad. If those Grik battleships hadn’t been so focused on Madras, she’d be a goner. As it was, the rest of the fleet helped put out her fires, and she got a lot of her boilers relit. She averaged ten knots to Andaman, even with a hole in her guts near the waterline hangar. She won’t be carrying planes for a while,” he admitted. “Nearly her whole flight and hangar decks were gutted by the fire. If Keje hadn’t turned her downwind when he did, she probably would’ve burned to the waterline. Damn good damage control.”

  “Will she have to come here for the dry dock?” Bernie asked.

  “Hopefully not,” Alan replied.

  “But what of the rest of the fleet?” the obstinate Aryaalan asked.

  “Colonel Mallory tore up the zeps that were headed for it. Arracca didn’t get a scratch. One of those crazy suiciders got one of the new fleet oilers, but that was it. The rest of the fleet got out before those damn Grik battleships could cut ’em off. Captain Tikker and some other �
��Nancys’ were up and down; saw the whole thing. He said the battleships didn’t act like they much cared about anything but steaming into Madras and blasting hell out of everything.” Alan smiled. “Of course, our people were already out of there. Either on the ships or back at Alden’s perimeter.”

  “So… if Alden’s backed up against the mountains, with no sea access, how are we gonna supply him?” Silva blurted uncomfortably.

  “By air, mostly,” Adar said firmly, “any way we can. And there might still be sea access,” he added cryptically. “In the meantime, the ‘Clipper’ program will get whatever resources it needs to double-triple-production of long-range aircraft. Col-nol Maallory is on Saa-lon, and will coordinate the air supply-and air offensive! Generaal Aalden may be isolated, but we will continue killing Grik!”

  There was stomping and cheering, but it was subdued. Adar blinked at Sister Audry. He’d discussed his next subject with her and Alan, as well as with Saan-Kakja, Ambassador Forester, and Courtney Bradford, over wireless. There was currently no communication with Walker and Captain Reddy; nothing since her announcement that she’d engaged the Japanese destroyer. Only a few people were aware of that, and he wasn’t going to bring it up now. He didn’t even want to think about what a disaster Walker ’s loss could prove to be. Captain Reddy was too important to the Alliance, and Walker was disproportionately important to its people. He tapped the gong again lightly, then stood.

  “We have faced desperate times before, but always we prevailed. I think we did so, in greater part, because of our unity. After a long succession of victories, we have been dealt a setback. Was this not to be expected? I hate the Grik more than anyone, but I have learned to… respect their capabilities like I never did before.” He nodded at Herring. “This is in large part due to the efforts of Commander Herring and his studies of the prisoners. With his… different focus, he has made discoveries that might have eluded even our eminent Courtney Braad-furd. He prepares other projects, other missions, to learn even more. These are things we need to do-should have been doing already-but our focus was narrower, of necessity. I believe, with his experience and training, he brings a greater grasp of the big picture, as Cap-i-taan Reddy would say, to the table than perhaps even Cap-i-taan Reddy has been able to do-despite his own long-ago recognition of the need.”