“Keep at it,” Sansar said. “The bottom line is it could be them; however, that leads us to what has to be the most obvious choice, the Veetanho destroyer. What’s the story with them?”
“They are here ostensibly to try to get some of their people into either the governmental military academies or into the merc training programs.”
“That’s stupid!” Sansar exclaimed. “Why would we want to train them to be any better than they already are? They’re our chief competition as it is; if we teach them all our secrets, they’ll be unbeatable.”
“The merc companies have all pretty much told them to piss off,” Medvedev said. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I mean the merc companies have declined—”
“I know what it means,” Sansar said with a smile. “I would have told them the same thing if any of their representatives had asked me for a meeting.” She pursed her lips. “So, if everyone’s told them to go away, why are they still here?”
“Not everyone has,” Major Good replied. “Some of the governments have agreed to host them, for about a tenth of what the merc companies turned down. The Veetanho are scampering around signing contracts in a number of places.”
“Which gives them access to the same number of places,” Sansar noted.
“Yes, ma’am,” Good said with a nod. “They are coming and going all the time; it’s an excellent cover to surveil us or anyone else.”
“So, the likely choices are the Veetanho and the Cochkala,” Sansar said.
“That’s correct,” Good replied.
“Sounds like we need some eyes on them.”
“I’ll get some there as soon as possible.”
“Until we find out what they’re up to, raise our defensive status. I want more patrols out, and I want them on the lookout for any plant or animal that looks out of place or is paying too much attention to something going on. Everyone needs to be on the lookout at all times. If they’re watching us, they’re probably watching all our personnel when they can. With what’s happened recently to the Cavaliers and Asbaran, we’ve got to be ready for when they come after us.”
“You think they will?” Medvedev asked.
“I don’t know…but I think it would be foolish to think that just because we’re in a well-defended base they won’t try to do something to us. It looks like someone is trying to corner the market on mercenaries. Some of the smaller Human outfits have gone missing, and now two of the Horsemen have been hit by outside forces. We need to be prepared in case they come after us.” She nodded to the mechanical snake Good had set on a nearby console. “Someone’s trying to surveil the camp, and that may mean we’re next.”
“I’ll let everyone know, ma’am,” Major Good said.
“Thanks,” Sansar said. “Let me know if you come up with anything else.” She turned to go, but then she turned back.
“Is there something else, ma’am?” Major Good asked.
“I had one more question,” Sansar said. “You mentioned a Human ship. What was it doing?”
“That one was posing as a merchant ship,” Sergeant Medvedev reported. “It was here a couple of weeks. It offloaded and onloaded supplies, but usually did both after dark.”
“Posing as a merchant ship?” Sansar asked. “What was it?”
“It may actually do some trading, but we’ve already nailed that one. The ship is the Tsarina Catherine the Great. It may pose as a free trader, but it’s really used by a black market smuggling operation.”
“Is it one of the Gray Wolves’ ships?” Sansar asked.
“No, it isn’t. I’m told that it is a new organization called Nicholas Imports that’s trying to move into the area.”
“Who’s that?”
“We don’t know,” Good said. “The Wolves said it’s a group trying to push their way in from Russia.”
“Is it something we need to take action on?”
“No ma’am...well, not yet, anyway. I suspect if they keep pushing, we will have to do something about them, as the Gray Wolves don’t think they can handle them on their own. The new group is well funded and very well armed. It’s in our best interest to help them if they need it; the Wolves may be black marketers, but they’re our black marketers.”
“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t,” Sansar agreed. “We can trust the Wolves. What are the Russians smuggling in on that ship?”
“The Wolves don’t know.”
“Seriously? They have people on the customs staff. How can they not know what’s coming in.”
“They can’t figure it out. The last load looked like spray paint cans.”
“Spray paint? That hasn’t existed in years. Why would they be importing spray paint?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. They had an inspector on the team, though, and he pulled out one of the spray paint cans and triggered it, and it actually sprayed paint.”
“Where did it come from?” Sansar asked.
“Chitaa…the home world of the MinSha.”
“Well, the bugs aren’t sending us anything good, that’s for sure. There must have been other cans they were using to smuggle in whatever they’re smuggling in, or maybe the cans only had a small amount of paint, just in case someone tested them. Could they be bringing in Sparkle or some other drug?”
“The inspector didn’t think so. He sprayed the can all the way until it ran out, and the can seemed empty; it also sprayed as much as if it had been full. The Wolves don’t know what these guys are up to…it sounds stupid, but it looks like they’re importing paint.”
“They can’t be,” Sansar said. “There’s no profit in it. They’re either bringing in something else, or they’re setting up another shipment.” She shook her head. “Put someone on it, Major. Let’s find out what they’re bringing in, and where it’s going.”
Main Conference Room, Golden Horde HQ, Uzbekistan, Earth
“Thank you all for coming,” Sansar said, kicking off the meeting. “I wanted you all to know I have decided to accept the contract from the Cartars.” She looked around the conference table, around which sat the company’s senior officers and enlisted. To a person, they looked shocked; their mouths hung open, and all the background conversation ceased.
“With all due respect, ma’am,” Lieutenant Colonel Laverno said, the first to get his voice back, “surely you’re not serious about that. Don’t you want to keep everyone as close as possible? Something is going on, that much we know, and if we keep everyone close by, we can be ready to react to it once we see how it breaks.”
“That’s the problem, Jim; all we’re currently doing is reacting to what the enemy is doing, the same as Cartwright’s Cavaliers and Asbaran Solutions. The enemy got to take their best shots at them, and they had to react to them. What’s to say we survive it when the enemy takes its shot at us? It’s hard to react if we’re dead. Something needs to be done to draw them out. We need to be the ones calling the shots, not the enemy.”
“But ma’am, we don’t even know who ‘they’ are,” replied Major Good. “How are we going to call the shots when we don’t know what we’re supposed to be shooting at, or where? How do we know this job isn’t a trap…the same kind of trap that chewed up Asbaran?”
“It’s certainly possible this is a trap,” Sansar said, “but I know exactly where I’m going to be—I’m going to be on the second planet of the Trigar system. Well, one of them anyway. We’re going to take this contract, and we’re going to go find out…but we’re going to go with our eyes open. We’re not going to get blindsided like the others. Major Good, you have someone to brief the operation?”
The major sighed, still obviously not a believer in the plan. “Yes, ma’am. Staff Sergeant Karimov will brief the mission.”
A female staff sergeant took the podium, and a picture of two planets in close orbit with each other appeared on the Tri-V screen. One planet was predominantly blue while the other was predominantly sand-colored. “Our mission is on Trigar 2-A, which is the water world of a t
errestrial binary planetary system. We will be defending a Cartar mine on the ocean world; our primary enemy is a force of MinSha soldiers who are defending a Caroon mine on the desert world of Trigar 2-B. Although a rare element most other places, the Cartars and Caroons are both mining the iridium which can be found in relative abundance on both planets. It is one of the more valuable elements in the galaxy and would be worth guarding even if the MinSha were not just several planetary radii away.
“A quick note on the planetary system, since this world is very different from any world we’ve ever served on. The two planets are tidally locked, which means the same side of the planet always faces the other planet. The day and night cycles occur as the two planets orbit each other, which happens over the course of about 47 hours. That means both the ‘day’ and ‘night’ on Trigar 2-A are each going to be about 23.5 hours long; however, it isn’t that simple. As the planets orbit each other generally along the plane of the ecliptic, there will be midday eclipses each day for about 30 minutes, and the star’s reflection from 2-B is going to make the nights much brighter than you would normally expect. In fact, it will be darker at midday than it will for most of the night. You will never see the star directly overhead, because 2-B will be blocking it, and there will be periods at night where 2-B is bright enough to read by.” She looked up. “Your circadian rhythms are going to be really messed up.”
She looked back down to her notes and continued, “When the system was formed, there must have been a collision between the two planets, and 2-A scraped off most of the water from 2-B. This has resulted in 2-A having a super Pacific Ocean while 2-B is mostly a desert world with a few small lakes and rivers facing its twin. The planets are relatively young and geologically active, and most of the heavier elements have worked their way to the side of the planet exposed to the greater gravitational force; that is, the side facing the twin planet. There are large concentrations of iridium on both planets relatively close to the surface and fairly easy to mine.” She looked up again. “Actually, since you will be on the side of the planet facing the Caroons and MinSha, you’ll be able to keep an eye on them with a decent-size telescope.”
“Make sure we bring several,” Sansar said. “I want to make sure we keep a good eye on them. Alternately, we need to make sure anything we have of value is covered, so they can’t do the same to us.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lieutenant Sommerkorn, the logistics officer said. “Telescopes and tarps.”
“Do we know anything about the enemy order of battle?” Lieutenant Colonel Laverno asked.
“Yes, sir,” Staff Sergeant Karimov replied, “although it isn’t a whole lot. The Cartars took some pictures of the MinSha base, which they have shared with us. We haven’t been able to independently confirm any of this, but it looks like they have about two companies of troops on 2-B, as well as an anti-aircraft battery and a couple of fighters at a small runway.”
She pushed a button, and an image of the MinSha base appeared on the Tri-V. “Here’s the anti-aircraft battery, the mine, the runway, and the barracks,” she said, pointing them out on the image.
“What’s that in the lower left corner by the runway?” Sansar asked. “The picture looks distorted.”
“We’re not sure,” the staff sergeant replied. “We think there’s a problem with the image the Cartars gave us.”
“Or that’s some sort of camouflage netting or a tarp they’re using to hide something,” Walker said. “That’s what it looks like to me.”
“Good point,” Sansar replied, nodding her approval. “That’s what it looks like to me, too.” She turned back to the briefer. “Take a look at that corner and try to get some measurements on the area affected, then give me an idea of what they may be hiding there.”
“What do you think it is?” Lieutenant Colonel Laverno asked.
“I’m betting they’ve got some sort of space vehicle or vehicles there, although it’s even odds on whether it’s a fighter or two or a dropship. A dropship with some bombs could be just as devastating to an undefended mine.”
“Especially an underwater one,” Mun added.
“That would explain how the Cartars’ first base was destroyed, anyway,” Major Good said. “If they didn’t have any monitoring equipment above water, it would be pretty easy to drop a few bombs into the mining operation and wipe everything out.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Sansar said. “We’ll want to be prepared for fighters, or whatever else they might have there.”
“Colonel, this is yet another unknown in a mission that just screams for us to take a pass on it,” Lieutenant Colonel Laverno noted. “With all due respect, this mission just doesn’t make any sense. Why are you so sure we need to go off planet, right when everything indicates we should stay here?”
“My mother had a vision, right before she died,” Sansar said. “She said we needed to go off-planet in order to save the Earth. If we stayed here, we, ourselves, might live longer, but the Earth will surely fall.”
The room let out a collective sigh, and several people swore softly, but without any anger.
“What did I just miss?” Walker asked Mun, who was sitting next to him. “What just happened?”
“The Horde leader is always a gypsy woman, and they often have the gift of foresight before they die. It is something passed down from one leader to another.”
“But I thought they were all adopted. How do they pass it down if they’re adopted?”
“I don’t know; they just do.” Mun sighed, then continued. “Regardless, if her mother said we need to go off-planet, then go off-planet we will.”
“Surely you don’t believe all that witchcraft stuff, do you?”
“It doesn’t matter whether I do or don’t,” Mun replied. “It’s in our company’s culture to believe it, so we will be going. If there was one thing she could have said to change everyone’s minds, that was it.”
“Well…shit. I guess we’ll go kill some MinSha, then,” Walker said. He shrugged. “Fine. I always hated those bastards, anyway.”
“Okay, so we’re going,” Lieutenant Colonel Laverno said. “Please tell me that we’re at least waiting for our cruisers to return so we have high cover while we’re on this mission.”
“I wish I could,” Sansar replied; “unfortunately, they won’t be back from their current mission in time.”
“Where exactly is that?” Laverno asked.
“I’m sorry, but I am not at liberty to say,” Sansar replied. She raised a hand to forestall the protest she knew was coming. “I’m sorry, I was sworn to secrecy, one Horseman to another. I will be able to tell you soon, but not right now.”
“I take it that is where the other transports, dropships, and troops are, as well?” Laverno asked. “I knew they had gone on a mission, but hadn’t heard where.”
“Yes,” Sansar replied. “They are all together…there. Honestly, though, even I don’t know where ‘there’ is. We will find out in due time…if we need to.”
The meeting broke up shortly thereafter so the departure planning could commence. Walker stood and turned to go, but Mun put a hand on his shoulder. He stopped and turned back to the first sergeant.
“I never answered your question,” Mun said. “You asked if I believed in ‘all that witchcraft stuff.’ The answer is yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s been correct too many times to doubt it.”
* * * * *
Chapter 10
25 Miles East of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Earth
Walker looked up the valley, and a cold sweat trickled down his back. Seeing the mass of Tortantulas in the real-life simulation was worse than it had been in the trainer. Much worse. It was more life-like when placed in terrain he knew existed…and therefore far more appalling. He could see where the Tortantulas’ ships had landed on the plateaus behind the spiders—they were really the only places the enormous ships could land—which put the Tortantulas close enough for him to see th
em moving and massing; the giant stain of their presence undulated with movement. It was beyond scary; it was horrific…something that hit you at a primal level. It was the wolves howling just outside the light of the fire at the edge of the cave, and knowing they were hungry enough to jump the fire. You knew the enemy was coming…it was only a matter of when.
He shivered as the black mass undulated once more, then seemed to leap forward as one. He armed all of his weapons, knowing that, once again, they wouldn’t be enough.
Tashkent Starport, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Earth
Major James Good surveyed the Tashkent starport and sighed as the Bugitar ship landed, blocking his view of the ships already there. In addition to the big trading vessel settling onto its struts, two additional ships had landed while he made the journey in from the Horde’s headquarters. He had hoped to get there before the three ships landed, but an ox cart—who still uses ox carts?—had flipped over on a single-lane bridge, causing a chain of events that had turned the 45-minute drive into a 4-hour nightmare. In addition to the Bugitar vessel, he’d also have to deal with the Lotar and the Jakota ships, as well.
The new ships had landed between his normal entry point at the starport and the vessels he had targeted for surveillance. Dressed as a longshoreman for the port, additional access wasn’t an issue; he simply had to walk around the perimeter of the field. Judging by the geometry of the ships’ positions, it looked like he had about a half-mile walk.
He sighed again, threw his bag over his shoulder, and began walking to where he could see all of the ships at once. The entire way, it felt like someone was watching him, and he kept spinning around, looking for whoever was tracking him. After about the 15th time, he finally decided there wasn’t anyone there…it was just a bad case of nerves.
The Golden Horde (The Revelations Cycle Book 4) Page 13
