The Black Guard

by C. R. Daems

  Yarden went to the table, found a stopwatch, and went to stand behind Adam and me as we took positions on the firing line. When Adam indicated he was ready, Yarden shouted, "Start." And pressed the stopwatch button. Adam drew the weapon, pointed at the twenty-five meter target, fired, then at the fifty, fired—missing them both—and was checking the screen to change to shards when Yarden shouted, "Stop." He looked to me and when I nodded, shouted, "Start"

  Reflexively, I slapped the handle of the Mfw—which released the push-and-release mechanism, swiveled the weapon ninety degrees on its middle hinge—which freed it, and fired twice. I thumbed the switch to engage the shards, fired once, widened the range with my index finger and fired again, thumbed for the explosive projectiles, and had fired the second round as Yarden shouted, "Stop."

  "If you would have someone collect the targets, Lieutenant, and if you wouldn’t mind reviewing them, Colonel, I’d appreciate it." I waited as they were retrieved and the Colonel and Yarden looked at them. Yarden was shaking his head in disbelief; the Colonel just smiled.

  "Every shot in the center of the bull’s-eye, Captain Sapir."

  "I only need one shot to determine the accuracy of a weapon. The shorter barrel affects the accuracy. The switching mechanism is totally unacceptable as it requires you to take your eyes off the target, and the increased shard width and rounds per minute are not features that would benefit the Guard. This Mfw is unacceptable to the Guard." I held up my hand before anyone could speak. "However, it may be acceptable to the army or commandos. There, the increased shard width and rounds per minute would be beneficial and the small decrease in accuracy of little importance to troops who aren’t expert shots."

  As Abram and Adam walked back to the table to gather their equipment, heads together, Alvah approached me.

  "That was an impressive demonstration, Captain Sapir. One I doubt I’ll ever forget."

  "Standard Guard performance. I’ll give you some advice. Before you design a weapon for someone, check out their present weapon and then find out how it is used by them. The army, commandos, and Guard all work in different environments and have unique needs. The Guard’s need is speed and precision. How fast you can get your weapon is as important as how good a weapon it is."

  "Thank you, Rivka," He smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you. If you are ever in town, I’d love to talk with you." He bowed and walked back to Abram and Adam.

  "Why the emphasis on accuracy? Just keep shooting until you kill him," Yarden said as we walked back to the vehicle.

  "In a building, a man peeks out from a doorway or darts across a hallway, you only get one shot. Any more are a waste of ammo. And if you miss, he gets a turn."

  Yarden laughed. "Makes sense."

  CHAPTER TEN

  New Keif: The Siege at Brasilla

  When Commander Wexler approached, Dragon Tzadok and I stood and bowed low. We had been resting after several hours of practicing Wuji.

  "Mr. Sapir didn’t like your evaluation. He claims you misrepresented the capabilities of the Sapir Mfw in order to get revenge for him being forced to send you to the Jax military because of the Conscript Law. He claims his weapon is in fact superior to our present one. Any comment?"

  "No, sir."

  "He even sent the gun as proof. And it was proof," he said, pausing for my reaction. When I said nothing he continued. "I think you were right, it might be acceptable to the army or commandos but not the Guard. A well written report and evaluation, and good advice someone seeking revenge wouldn’t have given." His eyes turned towards Tzadok. "How is she doing, Dragon?"

  "Since I’ve determined she doesn’t care if she makes dragon rank, I can tell you she will. Dragon Dobrin and I will test her next time we’re all together."

  "I thought so. She makes me nervous like you and Dobrin," he said, and walked away laughing.

  "He’s right. Dragons tend to be at peace with themselves and when it rains doss, we tend to forget about tradition and do what we feel is right. That makes us somewhat unpredictable—like you at Lanzhou. Don’t worry about it. The Commander compensates by giving us untraditional assignments, knowing we love the Guard as much as he does and will do our best to protect it and our people."

  * * *

  Two weeks later, a corporal banged on my door shortly after midnight. My days were full and active, and consequently I usually retired early. Tzadok worked with me for a few hours in the morning and afternoon. After dinner, I spent an hour with my whip practicing, showered, and then spent a few hours relaxing, reading works by the ancient philosophers and various theses on war, like Sun Tzu’s "The Art of War."

  "Captain Sapir, Commander Wexler wants to see you immediately in his office."

  "Tell the Commander I’m on my way," I said, jumping out of bed and dressing as fast as I could. Fortunately, our dress and work uniforms were the same and not elaborate so I was finished and out the door in a few minutes. The door was open when I arrived and the corporal waved for me to enter. When I did, I heard the door close behind me. I bowed low. He stared at me in silence for several minutes.

  "Sapir, I have an emergency request from General Issak on the planet New Keif requesting help from the Guard. Rebels have taken control of the capital buildings. The Jax have a contract to clear the building, but the army’s attempts have repeatedly failed. Commandos have joined the army, but even together they have only managed to gain control of ten percent of one building. It’s unclear if he wants the Guard as advisors or to perform some kind of miracle." Wexler paused for a drink of his wine and stared at me. "This is not our traditional role, but I’m afraid your performance on Lanzhou has made us officially the Black—as in death—Guard and invincible. I liked our traditional role, Sapir. Since you are at least partially responsible, I’m sending you and your Molova team plus an additional ten Guard. Distribute them any way you want. Your team is being assembled as we speak, and three shuttles will arrive within the hour to deliver you to the space station where the Black Leopard awaits you. Any questions?"

  "No, sir."

  "Good, I don’t have any answers." He gave a snort. "Take no prisoners… We need a new saying, Sapir," he said, concern in his eyes.

  "Yes, sir," I said, bowed low, and left the office. I agreed with Wexler. The Guard’s traditional "Take no prisoners" meaning to die fighting separated tradition from duty as I did, but it put the emphasis on tradition rather than on duty.

  * * *

  When I arrived at the shuttle landing pad, the team had already assembled. Ceder shouted, "Attention" when he saw me, and he and a female Lieutenant with him bowed low.

  "At ease," I said, examining the thirty individuals gathered behind them. "Lieutenant?" I asked, standing in front of the tall red headed female.

  "Elijah, sir. The ten new troops assigned to you were my detail at Paradise. We arrived back last month, but were on leave until a few days ago."

  "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Elijah," I said, and walked in front of the troops. "This is a high priority assignment, and like you, I was only notified a few hours ago. We are going to the planet New Keif where the government buildings at Brasilla, the capital, have been taken over by non-government personnel. The army doesn’t appear to know how to clear the building, so we’ve been invited." I paused, surveying expressionless faces. "No, this isn’t a typical assignment, and no, I don’t know what will be expected of us. It’s a two day cruise to New Keif so the situation may change by the time we arrive. For now, get to know every member of this team you don’t know. It may be helpful if we have to serve eviction notices to the current tenants." That elicited a few smiles. This situation felt a lot like Lanzhou except on New Keif the rebels were already in the buildings, and we weren’t, so we weren’t going to be a surprise. The sound of approaching combat shuttles broke into my musing.

  Lost in thought as I was, the flight to the Jax spaceport, Adamah, seemed to be over in minutes. After I cleared security, a stocky, craggy-faced commando lieutenant met me at
the entrance to the Black Leopard.

  He saluted. "Captain Sapir, I’m Lieutenant Froman. If you will follow me, I’ll take you to your quarters. Afterward, Colonel Helon has requested you meet with him at your convenience but as soon as possible. My sergeant will see to your detail."

  When I nodded, he led me to the commando area and a single person room. At my request, he was back in fifteen minutes and escorted me to the colonel’s office. The corporal on duty opened his door and bowed as I approached. The colonel stood when I entered, and I gave a shallow bow which he returned.

  "What would you like to drink, Captain?" He waved me to one of his two armchairs.

  "Water, thank you, Colonel Helon," I said. As I sat, I felt the slight shudder I associated with the cruiser powering away from the spaceport.

  "We’re in a hurry." He snorted. "I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Guard being requested to join the army for a civil disturbance." He took a drink from his glass of wine while the corporal placed a glass of water on a small table next to me.

  "Commander Wexler also thought it unusual. Do you know what the situation is at Brasilla? All I know is that General Issak made the request to Commander Wexler, and I and thirty Guard were told to get our butts to New Keif." I shrugged, and he laughed.

  "Ours is not to reason why, but to do or die." He lapsed into silence.

  "I think the Commander mentioned that to me," I said, reflecting on the emphasis on dying when related to duty.

  "The army was contracted to put down a group of dissidents, but by the time the army arrived, the opposition had overrun the capital, Brasilla, and were in control of the government’s buildings. General Issak ordered an additional fifty commandos deployed and together with the approximate one hundred sixty-five army that remained of the two hundred contracted, they managed to reclaim ten percent of one of the three buildings. But the casualties were heavy, since the contract prohibits using explosives to attack the buildings—or grenades and missiles inside the building. Colonel Feber had lost eighteen and had twenty-six wounded as of the last information I received. This is not the kind of fight the army or commandos train for." He nodded as if agreeing with himself. "I presume the General thought it was more a job for the Black Guard, especially after Lanzhou."

  "I seem to remember we were on the inside like the dissidents are at Brasilla, rather than the outside like the army. And we had the element of surprise then but not now."

  "But you know Generals, they don’t get confused with minor details. He’s ordered the Leopard to drop an additional fifty commandos to support you and Colonel Feber, if that helps."

  "Greater force is more of an army strategy, not the Guard. I doubt Commander Wexler sent the Guard to supplement the army assault."

  "Ah, but what does General Issak think?" He laughed. Yes, I’d wager all the players—Wexler, Issak, and Feber—had different expectations. I had none.

  * * *

  When I walked into the conference room, Ceder called "Guard" and everyone braced to attention. The conference room was small and since the lieutenants had elected to remain standing so had everyone else.

  "At ease. Get comfortable, sit or lean against something. Here is what I’ve learned from Colonel Helon…" I went on to tell them what he knew, which didn’t resolve the basic question—why the Guard. "Since the situation is not a normal Guard assignment, Commander Wexler gave me no specific orders except to go to New Keif. I believe he is relying on us to determine how we can best support the Jax units on the ground to liberate the buildings. And we can’t do that until we get there and assess the situation. Lieutenant Elijah, get with Lieutenant Ceder and identify four of your least experienced men. Lieutenant Ceder will assign them to fill in his existing two teams. That will give us four teams of six members each. You will command the teams headed by Senior Sergeant Mintz and Senior Sergeant Solow." I looked to her. She bowed acknowledgement. "That keeps the women fairly distributed and your least experienced members with experienced teams. By the time we leave the Black Leopard, I expect everyone to not only know who they report to and their teammates, but to know everyone on this detail. You are not to rely on identifying them by their uniform. I want face recognition. It’s your individual responsibility, the sergeants, and the Lieutenants to make sure that happens. Clear?" Hearing no questions, I left my lieutenants to get the ball rolling.

  For the next two days, I walked around talking to every man and woman. It was also my responsibility.

  * * *

  The Black Leopard arrived in New Keif shortly after midnight, Brasilla time. For the next three hours, shuttles delivered the fifty commando to the ground. We were transported last. We landed on what appeared to be an active landing field. When I exited, I was met by a Lieutenant Hersh and escorted to Colonel Feber’s field office in Brasilla, which looked like it might have been a clothing store at one time. Today, the central part of the room had been cleared to make room for tables full of maps and communications equipment. Feber was a short stocky man with black hair turning grey at the temples and a square face. He looked up as Hersh and I approached.

  "Captain Sapir?" he queried. I nodded acknowledgement, stopped within a couple of steps of him, and gave a shallow bow. "This is Captain Latner." He nodded toward a stern looking man standing next to him. His soiled dark blue uniform looked to have seen action recently. "I’d like you to join him and his commandos on his assault of the capitol building."

  "I don’t believe that would be advisable," I said, aware that the room had become very quiet.

  "I don’t really care what you think, Captain. You will do as I say. Is that clear?" He shouted the last words.

  "Colonel, I don’t report to you and, therefore, don’t acknowledge your right to give orders to the Black Guard. After I assess the situation here I will discuss my conclusions with you and consider any options you see."

  "I out rank you, Captain. Under contract conditions, you can be imprisoned for disobeying an order by a superior officer."

  "Colonel, the only Jax officer superior to me is Commander Wexler, besides the JAX Defense Director, and they’re not here. So, as the senior Guard officer on station, I will determine where and when my detail is deployed." I held up my hand before Feber could reply. He shut his mouth, but his eyes narrowed and his face twisted in anger. "I’m here to help and will. I have to assume General Issak sought Commander Wexler’s help because of the Black Guard’s expertise in close quarters fighting. If we joined Captain Latner in an assault, we wouldn’t fight as a coordinated unit because we haven’t trained together, and our styles are different. It might even increase the number of fatalities."

  Latner nodded agreement.

  Feber stared as me for a long time. "What do you want?" he asked, reluctantly.

  "To review your current troop deployment and plans over the next few hours, so I can get a feel for the situation," I said. Feber nodded and went to stand next to Latner who was at a long table with maps. When I joined them, Feber spoke.

  "There are three government buildings which the opposing forces now occupy: the Administration Building, the General Assembly Hall, and the Presidential Offices," he said, while pointing to three buildings: a long rectangular two-story, a round three-story, and a square two-story. "We currently occupy about twenty percent of the lower half of the Administration Building, and seventy percent of the area surrounding those buildings. They still maintain control of the areas adjoining the buildings and a corridor behind the Administration Building leading into the low-income residential district. Captain Latner will be leading a force of fifty commandos, with army cover support, against the presidential offices in about three hours."

  "That will be approximately two hours before daylight and the time when they should be the least alert. The army will fake a ground attack while we drop onto the roof of the general assembly hall, which is flat around the central dome," Latner added. I wondered why they expected the rebels to be relaxing with an army surrounding them, or
not concerned that army wouldn’t try to land troops on the roof and enter via the dome. Surprise either works for or against you. If the rebels have considered the dome, the commandos are going to pay dearly.

  "Thank you, gentlemen. Now that I know the area and the current situation, I’m going to have a look around for where the Guard can best help. If you will tell me what channel to use, I will keep you informed."

  "Jax channel six," Feber said. I gave a slight bow and walked back to my detail, who had stayed near the entrance.

  "Look around and find yourselves a change of clothing," I said as I approached. My old team from Lanzhou smiled and began wandering the store. The new members hesitated, until the others waved to them. "Ceder, Elijah, join me." When they did, I briefed them on the current situation. "I’m going to split the detail into two groups. Ceder, you take your group to the right around the Presidential Building and Elijah and I will take the area to the left around the Assembly Building. Use channel thirteen to communicate between us and channel six if we need to get in touch with Colonel Feber."

  "Why the civilian clothes?" Elijah asked. Ceder smiled.

  "I doubt we are going to be able to force our way in without heavy losses. The army has already tried that. I’m hoping we can find a way to slip into one of the buildings with other rebels. They control the area between the buildings, which gives them access. Captain Latner is going to be creating a bit of excitement in a couple of hours, and I thought our uniforms might not blend in with the rebels."

  "At least the men get to play this time," Ceder said. "Come on, Elijah, let’s go find some slumming clothes. I’ll explain as we dress."

  I found myself some non-dressy men’s clothing and rejoined the group, who were laughing and joking when I arrived. "We need to dirty our outfits. Better yet, exchange them for a dead rebel’s clothes if you can." I looked around the group and saw only professionals getting ready to go to work. "No heroics. Getting killed serves the rebels, not the Jax. The idea is to obtain entrance without being noticed and then to secure it. If you see a reasonable opportunity take it. If not, wait for my orders. Clear?"