“Agreed,” Cantrell replied. “What's the alternative?”
“Go for semi-automatic, and run like hell,” he said, a smile on his face. Without warning, he sprinted forward, keeping low, bullets firing in all directions around him, giving his men a plentiful supply of targets on the edges of the wood. Beyond, he could see a dozen men setting up mortars, preparing to smoke them out, all excellent target practice as he ran his rifle across the position, the first squad falling in position, the others running for cover, leaving their weapons unattended.
He dodged back into the wood, then felt himself falling, his foot trapped in a root, slamming to the ground and knocking all of the wind from his lungs. Pushing away, he started to crawl back into cover, the troops inside trying to give him supporting fire, but the Xandari forces were moving in too quickly, and he saw one of them with a smirk on his face, raising a plasma pistol to fire.
Just as he pulled the trigger, a burst of machine gun fire ripped into his back, sending the warrior sprawling forward, the pistol waving into the air, sending a bolt of green flame ripping into the trees, a column of smoke rising into the air. Cooper turned, twisting around, and saw his wife charging forward, surrounded by troopers, swooping in to catch the enemy forces in the rear. It was over, and they knew it, and with their Xandari commander dead, the soldiers raised their hands in surrender, a mutual agreement that they had lost.
“Good timing,” Cooper said, as Molpa raced forward, tugging him to his feet.
“Just remember that the cavalry doesn't always ride over the hill in time,” Bradley said, snatching him in a bear hug. “Welcome to Copernicus, Major. Or should I say, welcome back.”
Cantrell moved over, saying, “Corporal Walpis is rounding up the prisoners. What do you want to do with them?”
“Lock them up,” Molpa said.
Frowning, Cooper replied, “We don't have the resources to hold this many people for a long time, Major. We've been sending them back. Disarmed, naturally.”
“You've got thirty, thirty-five people here, Lieutenant, and you're not going to want them on the other side when the big battle begins.”
“Big battle?” Bradley asked.
A smile on his face, Molpa replied, “Lieutenant Harper sent me. She and Lieutenant Salazar have put a strike force together, large enough to smash the Xandari in orbit and send them running for home.” He glanced at his watch, and said, “And the attack is scheduled to begin in a little under five days from now. Two squadrons operating in tandem.”
Frowning, Cooper said, “How many ships?”
“Eight to ten, depending on the Neander contribution.”
“Capital ships?” Cantrell asked.
“None.”
Her eyes widened, and Bradley replied, “You've got to be joking, Major. The Xandari have three battlecruisers in orbit, and Alamo as well. There's no way ten, even twenty small ships could fight them off.” Shaking her head, she added, “If this is just the remnants of the last fleet, most of them don't even have combat fabricators.”
“Quite right,” Molpa said. “That's why I'm here. My orders, with your help, are to take the Orbital Defense Headquarters. We're going to turn those missile satellites back on those bastards.”
Chapter 14
“Your Lieutenant Harper is insane, Captain.”
“Madam Mayor,” Orlova said, “I know that there are risks inherent in the battle plan, but it's the best chance we've got to overthrow the Xandari and restore civilian government to this planet.” She looked at her counterpart, sitting opposite her. It had taken more than a week for the civilian leader of the Underground to agree to meet with her, wise caution that the Xandari might have prepared a trap.
Taking a deep breath, Mayor Dietrich replied, “You are aware what will happen if we fail, of course. Everyone on the planet could die. Hundreds of thousands of people. That is what is at stake here.” Folding her arms, she added, “I think we've all had ample proof that the Xandari are more than willing to commit any atrocity necessary to achieve victory.”
Orlova leaned forward, holding her hands on the table. This was the only ranking politician who had not sided with the Xandari, the only hope they had of establishing a stable civilian government after the enemy had been defeated. More than that. Her voice would carry weight with the people, enough to sway at least some of the government troops to remain in their barracks, rather than risk a confrontation with the enemy.
“This attack is going to take place, Madam Mayor,” she said. “I can't influence it now. Lieutenants Harper and Salazar are the ranking space-side officers, and the decision rests with them.” Raising a hand, she added, “Even if I wanted to, I haven't got the ability to call it off. In a little over twenty-four hours, a combined space fleet, Triplanetary, Koltoc, Neander, will be appearing up in orbit, ready to attack the Xandari.”
Nodding, Father Flannery said, “They're willing to risk their lives to free us, Liz. The least we can do is move in support of their actions.” Shaking his head, he added, “Captain, if we do not rise, if we fail to provide the diversion your fleet needs, then the mission fails. Is that correct?”
“Almost certainly,” she replied.
“Then in all good conscience we have no alternative but to take up arms once again.”
The others looked around, waiting for someone to take the lead. Half a dozen senior figures in the Underground had gathered together, but Dietrich was definitely their leader, and that she had been the most reluctant to work with Orlova was not lost on her. She looked at the Mayor, at the steely determination in her eyes, and knew that she had failed to win her over.
Shaking her head, Dietrich said, “The Underground has been committed to passive resistance up till now. A slowdown in the factories, sabotage of information control systems, withdrawal of labor from key facilities. I'm not sure that we're set up to provide the sort of assistance you're talking about.” Frowning, she added, “More than that, we don't have the communications network to pass the message on, not in time. We've kept our organization decentralized. Too many people died in the first days of resistance, betrayed by people they thought they could trust.”
“You don't need to worry about that,” Orlova replied. “As it happens, I have a way we can broadcast to the people right now. A little surprise I left behind when we attacked Broadcasting House last week.” Raising her datapad, she said, “I checked the system this morning, and everything seems to be working perfectly.”
“What exactly is the plan?” Duvall asked.
“Lieutenant Cooper's army is positioned to launch an attack on the Orbital Defense Headquarters. Left to themselves, I don't think they have the force to pull it off, so we're going to have to start our uprising right here, in the city itself. The first step is an attack on the prison, liberate both the political prisoners and my crew. That will give us fifty, sixty trained soldiers to throw into the fight.” Looking around the room, she added, “Then we attack Council House, Madam Mayor, and install you as Acting President pending emergency elections.”
“As simple as that?”
“I very much doubt that anything about this plan will be exactly simple,” Orlova replied, “but in my experience, the greater the complexity of the plan, the smaller the possibility of success. Timing will be the most critical factor. We've got to provide a distraction at the critical moment, to throw off the enemy and allow the fleet to launch its attack. Once they've obtained orbital superiority, the war down here will be over.”
“Estimated casualties?”
General Kelot frowned, and said, “It's impossible to say. Dozens, hundreds, more than likely. I don't see how we avoid sustaining considerable collateral damage.”
“And at any time, the Xandari might decide to destroy our city.”
Shaking her head, Orlova replied, “They won't. Not until it's too late. They don't think that way.” She l
ooked around the room, and said, “If there is any chance of holding this world and its industrial base intact, they'll take it. They're overconfident, and if this battle plan works, that will be our greatest advantage.”
With a sigh, Dietrich said, “I don't agree, and based on that...”
“I don't think you understand,” Kelot said. “We're not asking permission. Technically, given that you are wanted on charges of treason by the local government, you're just an ordinary citizen.”
“If that's the case, General, then I don't see why we're even bothering to have this meeting.”
Glaring at the Neander, Orlova replied, “This battle is going to be fought, Madam Mayor, and we're going to free this planet from the Xandari. The question is over what happens next. We're not out to annex this world, and you have the best claim of all the civilian leaders who refused to collaborate with the Xandari, even after everyone else did.” Looking her in the eyes, she added, “We need you. If you help us, the odds of success rise considerably. Without your assistance, it could all go wrong.”
“Thousands of people,” Dietrich said. “Thousands of people will die because of a decision two of your junior officers made, without consultation, without any thought to seeking approval from the Underground, and you claim that you have no intention of annexing us.” Shaking her head, she said, “It would appear as though I have no choice but to co-operate.”
“Thank you,” Orlova said.
“Don't thank me,” she replied. “I think you're taking a risk, and I think that a lot of people on this planet are going to suffer as a result of the consequences of your actions. We'll fight for our freedom, lay down our lives to overthrow the Xandari. That isn't at question here. What is far more important is that you've committed us to a battle plan with odds I find marginal at best.” Shaking her head, she added, “I'll arrange for a contact to help you with Council House. We don't have many operatives there, but I should be able to manage something.”
“Thank you, Madam Mayor.” Orlova paused, then corrected. “Madam President. I'm afraid that sometimes you've got to ride the long odds if you want to win. If it consoles you at all, the battle being fought here will determine the fate not only of this planet, but of every inhabited world for a dozen light-years. They'll be talking about the Second Battle of Copernicus for generations.”
“I just hope there are people left to tell that story, Captain,” Dietrich replied. Her voice seemed to soften, and she added, “Don't for a moment think that I am not grateful for everything you have done for us, all the sacrifices that you and your crew have made on our behalf.” Shaking her head, she continued, “I have a responsibility to the people of this planet.”
“Then what happens now?” one of the other leaders asked. “We've got twenty-five hours to get ready to mobilize more than a thousand people, scattered all across the city and beyond.” A frown spread across his face, and he continued, “We don't have anything like a cohesive communications network. Almost everything has been run with dead-letter-drops and word-of-mouth. I don't see how we make the required preparations.”
Flannery said, “That won't be needed, Dick, and you know it. As soon as the fighting starts, they'll come flooding out onto the streets as a body. I don't see any of them standing back and waiting while the battle rages all around them.” Looking around the room, he added, “I'm more worried that too many people are going to respond to the call. A lot of people are getting mad about Xandari rule...”
“Which is a good thing, surely,” Kelot said.
“Not if it means people running into the streets with lacrosse sticks, ready to be killed by the first man with a gun they stumble across, it isn't.” With a sigh, he added, “I know we're going to have to accept some civilian casualties, but we've got to do everything we can to keep them to a minimum.”
Orlova was about to respond, but a sound caught her ear, over to the rear of the room, something that sounded suspiciously like approaching footsteps, multiple pairs, heading in their direction. Boots marching on concrete. She looked across at Kelot, who nodded. The Neander had heard it as well. She reached for her pistol, hidden in her shoulder holster, and rose to her feet.
“What is this?” Dietrich asked.
“We're about to be raided,” Orlova replied. “Everyone get out of here, right now. That includes you, Madam President. I'll stay behind and hold them off.”
“I'm with you,” Kelot added.
“No,” Flannery said. “Without you...”
“If you people can't free yourselves, then none of this means a damned thing! Get out of here, Father, and get the rest of these people on the move!”
As the resistance fighters raced out of the hidden exit, Orlova kicked over the table, smiling at the irony, and ducked behind it, pistol in hand, Kelot by her side. Flannery waited for a moment, looking back as though ready to join them, then shook his head with a sigh and followed the others. The door led to a hidden ladder that would bring them to the sewers after a smelly descent, but they'd need a head-start to ensure their safety.
“Any second,” Kelot said, pistol at the ready. “I've got exactly seven shots in this thing.”
“Seven?”
“Always like to test a gun when someone gives it to me. You can't be too careful.”
Shaking her head, Orlova waited as the footsteps reached the door, stopping outside, muttered argument as the guards decided who would be taking the first step. She waited, taking deep breaths to steady her nerves. If she was going down, and the odds against her survival seemed insurmountable, then she was going to take as many of the guards with her as she could.
The first guard smashed through the door, catching a bullet in his chest for his trouble, the armor-piercing round ripping through the toughened fabric he was wearing. As the man on the corpse breathed his last, his comrades surged after him, Orlova and Kelot expending their rounds on the invading horde, three of them slumping into a blood-splattered pile on the ground. For a second, she thought that they had beaten them back, but a cylinder soared into the room, bouncing on the floor, and Kelot raced out of cover in an attempt to toss it through the door, return it from whence it came.
That was the opportunity the guards had been waiting for, and as a trickle of smoke erupted from the device, one of them caught Kelot in the leg, throwing the grizzled veteran off-balance, sending him sprawling by the men he had killed seconds before. Orlova hung back, waiting behind cover, three rounds left in her pistol. She glanced at the hatch, a smile on her face. At least she'd given the others enough time to get away.
“You're throwing your life away for a gaggle of politicians?” an all-too-familiar voice said. “Give up, tell us where they went, and I'll only return you to your cell.”
“That'll be a short stay,” Orlova replied. “In a few hours, all of this will be over.”
“How right you are,” Commander Ryan, second-in-command of the government since the Xandari takeover. “How right you are. The only question is whether I kill you now, or whether you give yourself up. How many people do you want to take with you to the next life, Captain? By my count you have three rounds left.”
She paused, then replied, “Tell you what. I'll cut that down to one as long as that one is you.”
“No deal,” he said, and a second grenade flew through the air, this time spilling viscous green gas as it bounced from the floor. Her head began to swim as the gas took its effect, eyes blurring as she struggled to breath, peering out at the door as ghostly figures seemed to dance through it. She fired, expending the rest of the clip, the bullets smashing into the wall, then felt a hand reaching down to her, pulling her weapon from her hand and tossing it to the floor.
“You won't be needing that, Captain,” Ryan said. Looking down at Kelot, he added, “Better take that savage along as well. We'll be wanting to interrogate all of them.” As Orlova struggled to remain conscious, he adde
d, “And don't worry, Captain. We know all about your little planned uprising, and I don't think we'll have any trouble stopping it. You can relax.” Turning back to a white-suited figure, he said, “Knock her out.”
“Wait,” she gasped, but the darkness reached for her, and she fell limp to the floor, her last sight Ryan's sneering face before her heavy eyes slid shut.
Chapter 15
Cooper tossed the communicator to the floor, then stepped over to the flickering fire, looking up at the stars overhead. Everything was so simple up there, so much easier. He longed to step into a shuttle and go for a ride, to sail through cold, clean space and leave all of this dirt behind, the muck and mire of battle crushed under his boots.
“What is it?” Bradley asked, stepping over to him, pulling her jacket around her.
“Captain Orlova's been captured. General Kelot as well.” Shaking his head, he added, “I guess that settles the command structure down here.” He sighed, and said, “I get the hot seat, one more time. Not that this changes anything.”
“What about the revolt in the city?”
“We'll just have to hope that Father Flannery and whatever is left of the resistance leadership can pull it off without her. Ultimately, we've got the biggest job, anyway. Take and hold Orbital Defense Headquarters.” He looked around the camp, forty-five people preparing for the battle to come in the morning, checking their weapons under the supervision of their all-too-few non-coms, going over what passed for the battle plan once again.
“They're a good outfit, Gabe,” she said. “Besides, this time I'll be with you, instead of hovering out in space waiting for the news.” Hefting her rifle in her hands, she added, “I'd like to get some real use out of that small arms training.”
“This has to be your tenth battle, darling,” he replied, a smile curling on his lips. “We've had more firefights than some couples have had dates.” Glancing back at the troops, he added, “They are good, but they shouldn't be here. Most of them are civilians, people I swore to protect. Throwing them into the firing line doesn't seem fair.”
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