“I’m not sure if you’ve heard anything yet, but your parents have been arrested, and your home’s been razed,” she told Michi, her voice not quite indicating sympathy.
Michi thought it might have been somewhat of an “I told you so,” statement that Cheri should not have been kept out of the loop.
Michi was shocked at the revelation, though. Her parents? Her home? She knew coming out would have ramifications, but she didn’t know her family would be affected like that. What was the probable cause? They were First Family, and the company could not run roughshod over any of them, at least according to the charter. But then again, the company had shown before that it was willing to break the charter to suit its needs.
She had been essentially disowned by her family, but still, blood ran thick. Their arrest was just one more thing on the list for which Michi planned on getting revenge.
“Michi, let me introduce you to Mike.”
Just “Mike?” No last name? Michi wondered.
“Mike is an officer in the NIP, and he wanted to meet you.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the other two?” Michi asked, speaking of Tamara and Doug.
“They won’t be coming,” Mike said. “They’ve been taken somewhere else.” He held up a hand as Michi started to protest. “They will not be harmed. We just wanted to meet you privately, and when you insisted on your friends coming too, this was just easier.”
Michi didn’t like that. The other two were part of her conditions, and if this was the NIP, that didn’t bode well for potential cooperation.
That was the crux, though. Were Mike and his unnamed companion really NIP? Each of the old board members knew that Michi had used the NIP as bait to identify the traitor, and Hokkam had brought the company in on the supposed meeting, too, so it was not any secret. They could have turned around and used the exact same tactic to capture Michi. But Cheri had insisted this was the real deal, so Michi had agreed.
“Can we see the real you?” Mike asked, pointing to Michi’s face.
Michi had forgotten her spoofer. With a flip of the switch, she was back to being Michiko.
“That’s better. Ms. Baliles here has already explained your disguise generator. It’s an interesting application, perhaps a little dated, but that might have been to your advantage given surveillance technology,” Mike went on.
Michi bristled at that. “Dated?” Who was he to criticize? The NIP had been organized almost 20 years before, and what had they accomplished during that time? Nothing!
“Ms. MacCailín, what now?” he asked.
What now? What now what? she wondered, confused by the question.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You’ve killed a Federation Marine and essentially called out the planet to go to war. So what are you going to do now?”
“Uh, well, I haven’t discussed that with Cheri and the board yet, so I don’t know of any concrete plans.”
“But you are not actually a member of the Workers’ Rights Party, if I understand correctly. So why are you waiting for them?” he asked.
“No. I mean yes. I am not a member. But we’ve been working together,” Michi said.
“Have you thought about coming to us? We are the more, shall we say, active group in opposition to the company and Federation. We’re not in it only for company employees—we are fighting for everyone on the planet, even including the First Families like your father and mother who are now in company holding cells.”
“And why do you want me?” she asked him.
“To be blunt, because you’ve managed to incite a spark in the people, something we haven’t been able to do. We’ve got weapons. We’ve got trained fighters. We’ve got plans upon plans. But we’ve not been able to draw the masses to the cause. We think you can.”
Michi sat staring at him before looking to the other man. “And does your quiet friend think that, too?”
The two men looked at each other, and with a shrug, the second man reached up and pulled on his chin. A sheet of bioflesh lifted off, revealing the familiar face of the Right Reverend Duncan, the spiritual leader of The Kirk and the same man who had sat in her living room to grill her those months back.
“Yes, lass, I do,” he said.
Michi stared at the man in shock. The NIP had a reputation of being obsessed crazies running around in the forest while playing militia. How could the Right Reverend be involved?
“You’ve probably got many questions, and if you want, you and I can sit and talk, but the question now is if you want to help.”
“But you’re the—”
“I’m this year’s Right Reverend, aye. But righteousness is righteousness, and the Kirk has always protected the oppressed.”
“But with guns?” she asked, still surprised.
“The sword of the Lord is wielded by mortal man, lass,” he said gently.
She looked from the Right Reverend to Mike to Cheri.
“What do you think?” she asked Cheri.
“I wouldn’t have agreed to the meeting if I were against it. Maybe, if the time is right, you can do more good with the NIP.”
“And is the time right, Mike?” she asked.
“Well, to be honest, we had planned on something later, but that was before you took it upon yourself to take out a Marine and issue a call to arms. We have to be flexible if we are going to persevere, and you sort of kicked it all off. We want to take advantage of that,” he said, all traces of self-importance gone from his voice.
Michi stood for a moment. The thought of striking back, really striking back, excited her. This was a moment where she could seize the momentum, seize the opportunity.
“And you are ready to strike?” she asked.
“Within a week, maybe two at the longest, yes,” Mike told her.
“I’m in, but under some conditions.”
“And what conditions?” Mike asked, his voice suddenly wary.
“First, I am not a figurehead. When it comes to a fight, I will be at the forefront.”
“And second?”
“Second, I am not some comic book figure. The costume goes. No more bare midriff, no low cut bammers. Whatever uniform you have, that’s what I’ll wear.”
She saw the Right Reverend smile at that. No matter his willingness to fight, it seemed as if the First Family inherent cultural conservatism still held sway with him.
“Anything else?” Mike asked.
“Yes. When we win, I want my parent’s house to be rebuilt. That’s all.”
Mike held out his hand, which Michi took. “Done and done,” he said, his face breaking out into a smile.
Michi was elated. She was going to war!
Chapter 30
“We can fire 15 of these 25mm shells per minute, and they pack a pretty good punch,” the man said with evident pride in his voice.
Michi tried to look attentive as she listened to the man extol the virtues of their three Donaldson field guns, small mobile artillery that could be employed by a two man team. The NIP had three of them, and these were the heaviest guns in their inventory. Or was it those rockets she’d seen only 20 minutes before?
Michi was having a hard time keeping everything straight. She pulled down her fatigue blouse where it kept riding up under her pistol belt and over her butt. The uniform was better than her super-hero costume, but despite her words, she was sure it had been tailored taking her figure into consideration. There were other women in the NIP army, and their fatigues were the same shapeless ones given to the men. Michi’s, however, gathered at the waist and had slightly tapered legs. The difference was not so great, though, that Michi felt she had to protest. She was pragmatic enough to realize that even if she insisted she was not a figurehead, still, as one of the leaders of the small army, appearances mattered.
Most of her first four days with the NIP army had been spent pressing the flesh and getting her bearings on the underground complex that served as the NIP headquarters and training area. It was l
ocated in an abandoned salt mine, and coupled with the best shielding they could buy, had been enough so far to keep the company, and now the Marines, off of them.
Michi would not turn 20 years old for another two weeks, but they had given her a general’s star to wear on her collar. She wasn’t in command but had been given the title of Assault Leader. Michi got the feeling that the position had been created just to appease her demand to be in on any coming action.
Michi thanked the ordinance technical two[12] and tried to cubbyhole in her mind his position in the army. A “two” was the same as a sergeant, right? All of the unique structures to the 2,000 man force were confusing her, but she had to just smile and radiate an aura of confidence.
At least the rank-and-file seemed to embrace her. Even men and women in their 60’s and 70’s seemed to truly like her and expressed their willingness to follow her. The fact that she had killed a Marine, and that is how the soldiers considered it, gave her immediate credibility and warrior status.
The leadership, on the other hand, seemed to merely tolerate her presence. They were slightly condescending as if they found it amusing that the little girl wanted to play with the grown-ups.
Her “assistant” was Colonel Perseverance Hannrahan, but Michi had come to the conclusion that he was more of a baby-sitter than assistant. When she asked about the coming battle, he told her not to worry, he was on top of it, and he would tell her when things firmed up. Michi got the feeling that even if she were nominally in command of the assault, it would be Hannrahan giving the commands.
That pissed off Michi at first. But she had to admit that she knew next to nothing about military tactics, so it was probably better that the colonel issue orders. But Michi would observe and learn. The next time, Michi would be better prepared to command in her own right.
“You’re supposed to go give a pep talk to the cooks,” the colonel told her, “but I’ve just been told that Jessep wants to see you. Let’s head on back, OK?”
He phrased that as a suggestion, but Michi knew she really didn’t have much say in the matter. Jessep was General Jessep Alvarez, the man in charge of the army and one of the highest-ranking members within the NIP.
At first, Michi had been surprised at the way people were addressed, usually by their first names. She had envisioned people marching about, shouting “Yes, sir!” and “No, sir!” Instead, despite the rank insignia people wore, things were rather casual. Michi didn’t know if that disappointed or enthused her just yet.
Michi had to stop several times on the way to the conference room as people came up to welcome her or congratulate her on the attack on the Marines. An older lady pulled Michi’s hand to her forehead, where she held it as she recited what sounded like a prayer in a language Michi didn’t recognize. When she was finished, she lowered Michi’s hand to kiss it before letting her go, a beatific smile on her face. Michi knew the woman meant well, but that creeped her out. Why would a woman, obviously in her 70’s or more, seem to almost worship a mere 19-year-old girl? Michi tried not to let her unease show and instead reached out to hug the woman.
As with any group, crowd dynamics were such that when anything big was up, there was an undercurrent of intensity that could be sensed. It could have been something as simple as the army leadership suddenly heading for the command center, or it could be some deep tribal perception that couldn’t be explained. Whatever the reason, people started gathering close to the command center entrance. The number of people surprised Michi. She had been told that NIP had 2,000 soldiers, and they had been stepping up training since the Marines had landed. Michi didn’t know if that meant actual combat soldiers or if that number included support personnel, leadership, or other members scattered across the planet.
As far as she knew, except for some of the leaders, and now Michi, most of the people who lived in the complex were indentureds who had run away. The free citizens came and went as they pleased. Michi had even recognized a few First Family members there, including one of her cousins. Michi thought that the constant comings and goings would be a security risk, but Hannrahan had laughed when she brought that up saying they “had that covered.”
Several of the other leaders were already in the conference room, eating doughnuts and sipping coffee, when Michi and Hannrahan came in. Jessep saw her and smiled, motioning her to come up to him.
“Michiko! I trust Perseverance has been getting you acclimated?” he asked, then going on before Michi could respond. “Before we begin, I thought you might want to see this,” he said, holding out his PA.
It was a reward notice with a copy of her university id holo. The Federation was offering a 300,000 credit reward for any information leading to her capture.
“300,000? For ‘sedition?’” she asked, strangely disappointed.
She had known this was coming, but given the fact that she and Doug had taken out a Marine, she had expected something bigger, maybe even the max reward ever offered on Kakurega—a cool million. Although 300, 000 was not chump change, still, other rewards often exceeded that.
“Yes, I thought you would find that funny.”
“But why sedition?” she asked, confused.
“Because officially, the dead Marine never happened. Remember, they said the recording was fake. So they gave you a high-enough reward to interest the bounty hunters, but not enough to give credence that some uni girl managed to take out a Federation Marine.”
“But it’s not fake, and they know that,” Michi protested.
“They know that, and we know that, but they don’t want the public to know that. And if a reporter had some balls, he or she would have tramped out to the Ledges and looked for the evidence like we did,” Jessep told her.
“You went out there?” Michi asked, surprised.
“Of course we did, Michiko. Due diligence. We had to make sure before we approached you. And now, almost everyone is here, so why don’t you take your seat.”
Michi went to her seat and sat down. It was near the head of the table, but not at it. Hannrahan sat immediately behind her and up against the wall. Michi looked around at the other leaders of the NIP, nodding at both Mike and the Right Reverend. She had met some of the others, but really was not yet on chatting terms with any of them.
Jessep called the meeting to order, then jumped right into the reason he had called them together. “Friends, the time has come for us to finally level the first strike against those who oppress us. We have planned, trained, and given our all for the last 20 years, and other than a few small actions, some small acts of sabotage, we have merely been a gadfly to the company. That changes tomorrow.
“At 8:15 AM, we will launch a military attack on the Marines. Our target? None other than their hero, Captain Lysander, the scourge who attacked legal protestors on Soreau, the same Marine who tried to enforce illegal tariffs on Greater France, the same one who perpetuated the aggression on the trinoculars.”
A holo of the captain appeared in the center of the table. He was standing in Prosperity Square, scowling at something out of holo range.
It was only a holo, and Michi had never met the man, but despite Seth’s half-defense of him, Michi felt the bile rise in her throat. She would love to be part of the attack to take the man down.
“Captain Lysander’s company is located at the old refining complex, as many of you know. He has 180 Marines with him, but we’ve got over 2,000 righteous soldiers who are anxious to defend our home.
“I’m going to turn this over to Dwantifor now for some of the details. Get comfortable, because you know how he is once he gets started,” he said, just injecting the right amount of humor to break the tension, Michi thought.
The group chuckled, and then Jessep went on, “You can put away your PAs. We are now officially in lock-down. No one leaves and no communications. Dwantifor, you’ve got it.”
There was a buzzing as the operations chief walked to the front.
“Pay attention,” Hannrahan whispered, leaning in to h
er shoulder. “Not all of it will make sense to you, but pick up what you can. We’re going to have a lot to go over tonight.”
Michi nodded, too excited to speak. She watched the holo base, waiting for the holo itself to appear and eager to see what she would be doing. At last, no more little ticky-tack efforts. This was the real thing, and she was going to be part of it!
Chapter 31
Charlie Company, First Battalion, 11th Marines, commanded by Captain Ryck Lysander, was based at the old refinery where the first settlers cracked organics from oil and natural gas. It was located downstream from the city at a bow in the River Tay, where pollutants would have less of an impact, but close enough for easy logistics. With the arrival of Propitious Interstellar and their more advanced power generation emplaced, the old refinery grounds turned into an algae farm. The company’s patented Blue-99 was their top organic base, used in everything from food products to plastics to cosmetics to liquid fuel for aircraft.
The Marine company’s location was probably more due to protecting the algae farm than anything else, but it also provided a good base of operations for actions in the southern part of the city. Michi hadn’t realized it when she and Doug had taken out the Marine, but the Ledges was in the company’s “AO,” or area of operations, as she learned it was termed.
With the river on three sides, that left only the eastern approach accessible over land. This was a concern, but both Generals Kyne Fuller and Loski Sonutta-Lyon, who had served with various mercenary companies in the past, seemed to think that with their huge advantage in manpower, and with the plan they had devised, the NIP could simply overwhelm the relatively small force inside the refinery.
The large force that would assault the entrance over the land, which Michi was nominally leading, was not the real breaching force, however. The assault force would initiate an attack to pin down the Marines, and then the real breaching force would emerge from the River Tay itself to hit the Marines from the rear. With that confusion, Michi’s assault force could charge the refinery and roll right in.
Rebel (The United Federation Marine Corps) Page 15
