Chapter 14 : At my signal...
King Torthil then waved his Lord Chamberlain over to him. "We're going back to the palace" he ordered "I'm calling an emergency war council. All advisors and senior lords to attend, and I MEAN all". Then, to Harrigan's surprise, the king added "Lieutenant Harrigan, you will attend also. You may bring one assistant with you. The others may wait in the atrium with the clerks and aides the other delegates usually bring. An outsider's perspective may prove useful. Besides, your valour in this last mission has earnt you a place in council."
Harrigan just stood stock still, eyes bugging out in surprise. "It just goes to show, my love" smiled Talannah, looking up at him "that now others may now find you even a fraction as indispensable as I do". Harrigan returned the loving gaze, adding "I couldn't live without you either, dear. Quite what use I'll be with this bunch of politicians, I don't know", and finished with a mystified shrug. Talannah hooked her arm through his and led him back to their buggy, saying "Well let's just go and find out, then". Harrigan laughed, throwing her up in the air almost seven metras, before catching her again and sliding her into the gunner's seat on their buggy.
A replacement vehicle more in keeping with the king's station in society was brought from the palace motor pool. Harrigan's and Crichton's buggies waited until the king's car had moved away, then turned and followed him back to the palace. When they arrived back at the palace twenty or so momens later, they found a small group of richly dressed men, and two women, waiting for them. Approximately two-thirds of the men were the senior lords loyal to King Torthil; Harrigan recognised Lord Rahjan among them. The two women appeared to be political advisors, along with the remaining men.
One of the men-at-arms on guard duty opened the door, and the party swept on into the palace. Then they proceeded down a wide staircase to the courtroom, where the king's advisors met weekly to discuss the affairs of his realm. As the king's court arranged themselves in their accustomed seats, Harrigan and Talannah hung back, watching them. "They're acting just like visiting politicos did back home at a briefing" growled Harrigan "First, sit down and grab a drink. Then they quibble and bicker over various minutiae in the briefing documents for several hours before going off to play golf or watch a movie. If that looks like happening here, I'm going to bash a few heads together, mark my words".
The king brought the meeting to order by slamming a judicial gavel several times on the desk. "This meeting is brought to order!" he called out "I have called you here to decide what our response shall be to the threat of war presented by our close neighbour - the city of Rathlaas, and its offworld allies. As you all know by now, the chief of staff was murdered by forces loyal to that city not more than an arn or two ago."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Raising his voice over the muttering, he added "Thanks to information provided by Lieutenant Harrigan and his comrades..." Harrigan and Talannah stood up to be recognised for a few microts, then sat back down. "...I now know that this is the opening act of an attempt to invade and enslave this city, and then the rest of this world, and bring it into the Scarran Imperium."
The floor erupted into a mess of shouted accusation, counter-accusations, and outright denials as the various civic leaders tried to place the blame on anyone else but themselves. "QUIET!" the king yelled. After they had all calmed down as requested, the king continued. "This is no time to seek petty advantage amongst yourselves by blaming each other for the trouble this city is now in. First of all, I call the deputy chief of staff to stand and report on the state of readiness of my royal guards". This individual, a Sebacean male, reported "Thanks to the training regimen put in place by my late superior, the royal guard is able to march to battle whenever you give the word, Your Majesty. All infantry, heavy armour, and mobile artillery units report full readiness. All resupply units report as close to full efficiency as possible, and are standing by. The medic corps has recently been boosted by several new doctors and advanced medic-bots and is standing by as well".
"Very good" replied the king. Then he turned to the various lords present. "If we do decide to fight," he explained "Your own personal retinues will be needed for the war effort as well. Do they stand ready, my lords?" Then each of the lords stood and faced their king.
"The forces of Lord Rahjan stand ready" that lord stated "Heavy infantry and light armour await your orders". "The forces of Lord Lorshul stand ready" that lord stated "Heavy infantry and hover-raiders await your orders". "The forces of Lord Aranak stand ready" the youngest of the lords stated "Snipers, skirmishers, mobile artillery and powered armour await your orders".
Some of the others glared suspiciously at the youngest addition to their number. It was obvious that they didn't approve of their comrade's training methods. "You came dangerously close to violating the chivalric traditions, and dishonouring our ancestors with your, erm, unorthodox, training methods. Yours as well" interrupted Lord Brathal "A detailed examination into the conduct and training of your armed forces is required, I feel". "Hah!" Lord Aranak laughed "My forces are ready to go to battle right now, and will fulfil everything the king asks of them. And more besides. Yours just march up and down the public square in brightly coloured uniforms to make sure they look good for the ladies. If they tried picking up rifles, they'd probably grab the wrong end and blow their own heads off!"
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Lord Brathal fumed. The king stepped in between his to quarrelling lords. "That's enough, the pair of you" he ordered "If both of you are still alive after all this dies down, you can challenge each other to a duel then". "But my misgivings on the state of my fellow's armed forces still stand, sire" Lord Aranak persisted "I send my recon teams and snipers over to infiltrate his military parades regularly for practice – they report the state of readiness as minimal to laughable".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "YOU SPY ON MY FORCES?!" screamed Lord Brathal, who almost went into an epileptic fit right there and then from sheer shock. "Just what are you planning?" he continued, after calming down a little "Taking over my own territory, perhaps?"
"Though I could do so if I wished it" Lord Aranak responded "I do not. My own territory is sufficient for me. Using those bright uniforms just makes your men easy targets for enemy riflemen and sniper teams. At least our colleagues at this gathering use darker colouring, even if they don't use camouflage as I do. I have sought advice from those offworlders that pass through my territory on how things are done out there" he continued, pointing at the sky "and use the parts of that that make sense to me. I find out the best methods of war; so my troops, and through them my people, benefit. If you require it, my factories can make available the same kind of uniforms my forces use to you"
The king pondered the words flying back and forth between the youngest and oldest of his lords. Then, remembering that Harrigan was here as well, the king beckoned him forward. "This is Lieutenant Harrigan" explained the king "It was him and his troops who conducted the reconnaissance mission that brought back the news of this war. Without him, we would know nothing at all of this threat. Lieutenant" the king asked "Would you conduct a readiness inspection of Lord Brathal's forces for me? Lord Aranak will accompany you, and you will report back to me what you know". Harrigan looked over at Talannah, who held up four fingers. Harrigan nodded and turned to the king. "Sure, Your Majesty" Harrigan replied "My First Officer here requests a flat fee of four thousand krepna for a complete report on the readiness of Lord Brathal's forces. This includes any infiltration or others efforts. The complete package, Your Majesty, everything included."
The other lords, and a few of the non-ranked advisors as well, almost looked as though they were about to swallow their own tongues in shock at Harrigan's bluntness. The king grumbled somewhat, but acceded to Harrigan's demand. "Very well" he responded "Your price is acceptable. Four thousand krepna, on production of the readiness report". Harrigan grabbed Lord Aranak by the shoulder, leading him out of the courtroom. "No time like the present" Harrigan prompted. Harrigan, Talannah, and Lord Aranak all got into Lord Aranak's crawler and drove off back to his own mansion.
On the way, Lord Aranak turned to talk to Harrigan. "This should persuade those fuddy-duddies in council that my methods are worth something." he said "I'll introduce you to my best troops when we get in, so you can get started right away." But Harrigan had other ideas. "No way, mate" he corrected "A commander leads by example. You're leading the squad yourself, sonny. We'll come along for the ride, but you have to show the troops you're willing to take the same risks as them. We'll go straight to the barracks, so you can grab a uniform and a weapon". "But my stealth work is hardly up to the standard of my troops, Harrigan..." he replied unhappily, before Harrigan interrupted with "That's LIEUTENANT Harrigan to you. If you skills aren't currently up to scratch, now's the perfect time to learn isn't it?" he prompted "When lives don't depend on it".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "I have to agree there" Lord Aranak replied sheepishly. He squinted down the road through the front windscreen. "Ah, good!" he replied to Harrigan's mystified incomprehension "The border checkpoints. The guardroom is a hundred metras or so that way". He pointed towards the building he meant. "I'll ask the guard to call ahead...", but Talannah stopped him, grinning. "No advance warning" she stated "For either side. That makes it fair. And much more fun for us too" she finished, digging Harrigan in the ribs. "You're so right, my love" Harrigan replied. Shushing the gate guard, they crept up to the guardroom and let themselves in. One private twitched slightly, turning towards them. Harrigan ordered a halt. The trooper turned back to his book. "You're hearing things" his sergeant laughed "All that time on point has driven you mad".
Harrigan chose this point to speak up. "Nothing of the sort!" he boomed, stepping forward "That private has his head screwed on right! Get up, the lot of you! We've got to conduct a full readiness and security inspection of Lord Brathal's troops for the king, and we're going to do it now, before word gets out!" Harrigan turned to the sergeant who spoke up earlier. "Can we get some transport?" Harrigan asked. "Hmm..." the sergeant mused, scratching his chin "We've got crawlers, but that's too obvious..." While this was going on, one of the troopers saw something, and ran outside. He found a merchant convoy heading out, so asked the leader where he was going. When he replied that he was going to Lord Brathal's section of the city, he yelled out "OVER HERE, SARGE!!" which brought the whole unit, plus Harrigan, Talannah, and Lord Aranak running. Lord Aranak caught on quickly. He ordered the whole unit to square themselves away on the trucks, in amongst the trade goods. "Don't break anything!" he admonished them.
Because of his weight Harrigan got a truck to himself. Lord Aranak was going to direct Talannah to an alternative vehicle; but Talannah made it perfectly clear that grievous bodily harm would follow if anyone tried to separate them. "You sound like my wife when some of the other Lords visit" Lord Aranak replied, a smile coming over his face at the thought of it. Talannah laughed softly as well, adding more firmly "But your wife probably doesn't know the means to that end, Lord Aranak. I do". Then Talannah climbed in Harrigan's truck and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around him. Lord Aranak laughed again, quickly dashed inside the barracks to swap his court clothes for combat fatigues, grabbed a rifle, then jumped in the front seat of Harrigan's truck.
The trip to Lord Brathal's fiefdom took two arns, as the trade route was not a straight one and detoured around several 'edgy' spots, as the merchant leader called them. Harrigan was finding it increasingly difficult to resist Talannah's teasing and tickling, but they were saved from blowing their cover by Lord Aranak leaning back and whispering "We're here. There's a guard post up ahead – wait a momen or two and we'll be in".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- But the guard's instincts weren't as bad as his bright red uniform. Something didn't seem right to him – he couldn't quite tell what, so he walked up past all the trucks, hoping something would reveal itself. When he saw the way the springs were sagging alarmingly on Harrigan's truck he went to yell out for reinforcements – but got nothing except a stunblast off Harrigan's arms, who had leaned out of the loadbed when he heard the guard approaching. The guard fell to the floor in a clatter of assorted weapons and web-gear. Harrigan levered himself out of the truck and cuffed him to a nearby tree.
"Don't worry, he's not dead" Harrigan reassured Lord Aranak, who was staring in astonishment at the comatose gate guard. "Though the headache he'll have when he wakes up will probably make him wish he was". Talannah followed close behind Harrigan, beckoning Lord Aranak to lead his unit behind them. The Lord was getting into the way of things now, as more of his old skills came back to him now that he was in the field. "It's almost midday" Lord Aranak told Harrigan "Recon reports an assault course over that way about a kilometra or so. We'll have to go on foot – that merchant convoy masquerade has outlived its usefulness for now." Talannah turned to Lord Aranak, saying "Well what are you waiting for? Move out!"
Talannah set a punishing pace. Harrigan, of course, kept up easily; and even the infiltration team kept fairly close, egged on by relentless good- natured taunting from Harrigan; but after a couple of hundred metras, Lord Aranak started huffing and puffing badly. Talannah and the team waited while Harrigan ran back, slung the Lord over his right shoulder, and ran back to where they were waiting. Once Harrigan put him down, Lord Aranak started groaning and complaining at the effects the unaccustomed exercise was having on him. "To be honest, John" Talannah whispered to him "the troops look as though they'd like a rest. I probably pushed that a bit too hard for a first meet with non-Scarrans". Harrigan gave her a soft squeeze around the shoulders, then replied "Nonsense. Throw them in the river and see if they can swim! But we'll see if there's a mess hall around here somewhere. I'm hungry!"
The recon sergeant came forward, and revealed that there should be such a thing not too far away. "But we'll have to pass the duty sergeant's office" he warned. Harrigan gestured to Talannah, saying "This one's yours, love". She rubbed her hands together with glee. "A little fun of my own, at last..." she whispered, a nasty smile expanding across her mouth. She grabbed a private from the team and explained just what she needed. He nodded and stepped up to knock on the door. "Sir?" he asked plaintively. "Yes, private?" came the rather irate reply. "Got a package for you" the private replied "Gotta hand it to you personally. Get your signature an' all that". While the sergeant grumped and groaned his way over to the door, Talannah slipped into the office through an open window. The sergeant opened the door, staring at the private before him, minus any kind of package.
"You sure as frell haven't got any package, have you?!" barked the sergeant "Well why are you here then?" "To be a decoy?" quavered the private, as Talannah stepped up behind him. She immediately drove the tip of her boot into the sergeant's groin at high speed. As he folded up, his head met Talannah's knee coming the other way, hard. "Rrrrrhhh..." she growled happily, rubbing her hands together, before turning to the rest of the team. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Tie him up!" she hissed "Sit him up, bound and gagged, on that chair!" One corporal threw over a small keyring that he'd liberated from the sergeant's belt. "It should have all the keys we need, ma'am" he addressed Talannah. Once thy'd secured the sergeant to the chair, he'd started some muffled howling from behind his gag. Talannah thumped him again, and turned to the corporal who was fiddling with a small lumpy object under the chair and a few lengths of fishing line. "Booby-trap?" she prompted. He nodded, adding "Just a smoke bomb, ma'am. Green, I believe. Pity I'm not allowed to use real bombs". "Frell, I love demo!" he muttered happily, tying the final knot in the line. Harrigan grinned at that, remembering his old Captain, before waving them on towards the large shed next to the assault course.
Harrigan just marched up, throwing open the doors. "Where's the food?!" he barked. A cook appeared from behind the counter. "Just came off the course, did you?" she asked. "We have indeed just come through a great physical trial, milady" Harrigan replied, finishing off with a short bow and a smile. She blushed brightly, then called a couple of orderlies over – one leading a trolley piled with slabs of meat, the other leading a trolley with local vegetables on it. The team piled into the food thus presented before the real troops came in. Thankfully, the cook didn't look closely enough to see Talannah was a Scarran under her helmet, and Harrigan was by then sitting on the floor, which meant his head was level with everyone else's.
Once they'd all eaten their fill, and Harrigan had drunk several litres of water as well, they slipped out the same way they came in. They then proceeded up a slight rise to a small stretch of flat grass overlooking the assault course. "May as well relax and chill out for a while" Harrigan said, looking over the assault course. "Watch how well the troops perform. We'll have to prepare a briefing for the king when we get back, so make it good". The team spread themselves out, lying on the grass and watching Lord Brathal's troops going through their daily PT.
After an arn, Harrigan turned to the sergeant and Lord Aranak. "Opinions?" he asked. "Better than I thought" mused the sergeant "Fitness is good. They move well as units at squad level, but the problems set in when you get to the officers. They had a bunch of trench-storming exercises going, but almost all the officers hung back and let their men take the brunt of it. Very little unit integrity". A few momens later, sirens went off basewide, then a message was broadcast over the base PA. "Lord Brathal reports that there may be an attempt to infiltrate this base for a security and readiness inspection" came the massage "He expects the attempt to fail! The base goes to yellow alert NOW! Jump to it!"
Grunts and groans of dismay came from the troops below. Some of the officers used harsh language without example to bring their men into line, but a few just encouraged their men and showed them how it was done. These squads moved out to search the base with spring in their step, while some of the others just sloped off to one side.
"Let's move out" suggested Lord Aranak "We'll head back to the palace, and test the security again on the base motor pool and the outer perimeter on the way out". "We do need alternative transport, don't we?" replied Harrigan "Let's do it. Lord Aranak, you're on point." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- They'd made no more than two hundred metras when there was a muffled CRUMP! and a huge cloud of green smoke from behind them. The demo corporal started sniggering happily at the effectiveness of his work. Harrigan gave him a high-five, but didn't watch his strength as well as he could have; the slap almost dislocated his wrist.
Their celebrations were cut short a couple of momens later when Lord Aranak brought up his left fist for 'enemy seen'. Harrigan inched up to Lord Aranak's position behind a tree. He pointed out several crawlers, which would be ideal for their exfiltration; and half a dozen troops on roving patrol, which were not. Harrigan waved a couple of fingers, signalling 'silent movement', and pointed to the nearest crawler; which by a happy coincidence had its aft troop door pointed almost directly at them. Once they reached the back of the crawler undetected, Harrigan signalled the sergeant, who came over. Once Harrigan explained their situation, he beckoned another private, who picked the lock. The sergeant then signalled two more privates to knock out the guards at the front of the crawler and stash the bodies out of sight.
A couple of crack-thumps of punches hitting skulls later, and two slumbering Brathal troopers were rolled under a neighbouring crawler. One private had a bruise over his forehead, and was busy trying to massage the pain out of his knuckles. Harrigan waved a finger under his nose, and led the unit inside. Harrigan took Lord Aranak up front with him, and directed Talannah to the gun turret. She grumbled a bit about that, but reluctantly acknowledged that Lord Aranak would be needed on the comm when they reached the palace.
By now, the troops outside were beginning to sense that something was amiss. They knew that they were two troops short, and were beginning to search the parking lot in detail for traces of their missing comrades. When Harrigan hit the starter button, bringing the crawler's engine to life, the guard nearest the boom gate yelled "RAISE THE ALARM!" No more than ten microts later, red-alert sirens screeched on basewide and more troops appeared to be running towards them. "Time to go!" urged Lord Aranak urged. "I'm with you there" replied Harrigan, slamming his foot to the floor. Approximately 70 metras and a smashed gate later, Harrigan smiled and said "I could probably write a hazardous-driving course for these things, after the amount of trouble I've been in...". A mild thrum from the turret marked Talannah firing a short burst at a couple of trees. They fell across the road with a groaning creak, blocking the road completely until industrial lifters or heavy explosives could be brought in to clear the way.
Harrigan brought their speed down from breakneck to merely fast as they moved on to the main highways. The remainder of the trip back to Lord Aranak's mansion proceeded without further incidents, except the loud singing of regimental songs from the troop compartment driving both Harrigan and Talannah a little nuts. When Harrigan pulled up outside their barracks, the troops rushed out and headed straight for their bunks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Lord Aranak called out "Good going, troops" before the crawler sped off again, this time for the palace. A further half-arn later, Lord Brathal was walking in the palace courtyard. Now that I've warned my troops, that upstart offworlder won't have a chance! he murmured happily to himself. But his happy reverie was rudely interrupted when Harrigan's commandeered crawler screamed in through the gates and pulled a bootlegger turn not more than three metras from his left foot, showering him from top to toe in dust and gravel. While Lord Brathal brushed the looser muck off his face and clothes, Harrigan collared a passing trooper and instructed him to take the crawler to engineering for a new paint job.
Harrigan waved Talannah forward, and the two of them grabbed Lord Brathal by an elbow each, hoisting him off the ground a henta or two and then marched into the palace. The palace guards passed the news of Harrigan's return along to the king, who had the doors to his courtroom wide open by the time they arrived. "Your mission was successful, I presume?" King Torthil asked, as they followed him inside. Two palace serfs shut the doors behind them. "Yes, indeed, Your Majesty" replied Talannah "We found this outside when we pulled up" as she and Harrigan put Lord Brathal back down on the palace floor "Do you want it back?" The king scrutinised the dirt-covered thing before him carefully, then looked up. "Since I think that this is actually Lord Brathal, yes I'll keep him" the king laughed lightly "How did he get in such a sorry state?" Harrigan stepped in to answer this time. "When we pulled up, I pulled a big skid across the gravel. Once the dust cloud had dissipated, we saw Lord Brathal covered head to toe in muck, and couldn't resist the opportunity to embarrass him a little" he replied.
"I advise you to temper your practical jokes, Lieutenant" the king chastised "His forces will be needed in the upcoming war; and Lord Brathal's assent to that deployment will be greatly facilitated if his ego hasn't been pounded into the ground, hmmm?" "As you say, Your Majesty" replied Harrigan "We are prepared to give a briefing on the state of Lord Brathal's forces to your advisors now". The king turned to walk back into the courtroom, beckoning Harrigan and Talannah to follow. The other Lords and the deputy chief of staff were still present, and turned towards the king and his little entourage as they re-entered the room. Four or five momens later, a cleaned-up Lord Brathal resumed his seat as well.
"Lords and trusted advisors" intoned the king "A few arns ago, as you know, I sent Lieutenant Harrigan to conduct a readiness and security inspection. He has just returned. Lieutenant, if you please?" he finished, gesturing to the open floor. Harrigan spent a few microts calming down – he was not at ease around high political authority, then strode into the middle of the room.
"The state of Lord Brathal's forces is, I have to say" Harrigan stated "better than I'd hoped. The instincts and basic training of the enlisted ranks are very good – there were several times when I thought we'd get caught. Likewise most of the NCOs as well. But there was a clear caste system in operation over most of the forces we saw – a clear social separation – starting with a few of the NCOs and almost all of the officers, and this will be a liability in combat".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What are you talking about, man?!" argued Lord Brathal "I am a Lieutenant, Lord Brathal. I earned that rank, I didn't buy it with money or influence, so I expect to be treated with the appropriate level of respect. I have done the same for you and the other lords, and naturally for your king, so it's not too much to expect the same from you, is it?" Harrigan asked, then continued with "Oh well, we can deal with that later. Many of the officers, and some of the sergeants, believe themselves to be better than those they command simply because of their social status and family's political influence. They treat their troops like cattle, and this cannot be allowed to continue. It will lose us the war".
"But those of noble bloodlines" countered Lord Brathal "are born to command, and should be given appropriate deference." Harrigan's eyes almost glowed with suppressed anger at Lord Brathal's intransigence, and he replied with "Not to the point where it costs lives! They must EARN respect, and certainly trust, Lord Brathal! They are not entitled to it by birth! There is a certain amount of respect due to the position they hold, but the men won't truly trust a leader in combat who treats them like DIRT! DO YOU GET ME?!" Harrigan's voice rose to his already-notorious screech for his last few words. Then he turned to the king and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But attitudes like Lord Brathal's really rile me".
The king harrumphed a little, but Harrigan's apology had soothed him enough. "Very well" he said gruffly "Continue". "There were a few exceptional officers that we saw" Harrigan said as he continued the briefing "Once we had infiltrated the base, we watched daily PT for a while. There was a set of trench-storming exercises going on next to the assault course. A fair number of the officers led by example, as they should, and these units performed excellently. Those where the officers expected the men to do the work for them performed badly. Next, uniforms. Those red uniforms have got to go!" Lord Brathal crinkled his brow in honest surprise. "Why?" he asked "My father used them, as did his father, and his before him". Harrigan looked over to His Majesty for permission to continue. He got it, and waved Talannah over to him.
"What you may not know is this" Talannah said, stepping up beside Harrigan "We managed to capture the Charrid base commander during our raid. When we interrogated him back here, he revealed that Rathlaas' own forces would be boosted by 10,000 troops specially imported from Scarran space". The room dissolved into complete bedlam at Talannah's revelations. Recriminations flew back and forth, as various Lords and advisors sought to blame other Lords and advisors for the pickle they found themselves in now.
"SILENCE!" bellowed the king. "The blame for this upcoming war lies with Rathlaas and their allies. Not here in this room! Lieutenant?" the king prompted, turning back to Harrigan. Harrigan straightened up, and went on. "That's why those uniforms have got to go" he explained. "Charrids may not be the most subtle creatures in the universe, but they understand the value of tactics and camouflage. They have snipers. Those bright uniforms will seem like a gift from Charrid heaven! They don't have a chivalric tradition in Scarran space!" Harrigan raged "They just use what works. Lord Aranak knows this. Even you others" he waved one hand to encompass the other Lords "recognise this by using darker coloured uniforms. In this area, Lord Brathal, adherence to tradition must give way to tactical necessity". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Very well" replied Lord Brathal, now resigned to this situation. He turned to Lord Lorshul, saying "Perhaps you could make some of those black uniforms your troops have for my use?" Lord Lorshul turned, replying "Of course, Lord Brathal. I will even give you the discounted price rate, due to the upcoming war".
"Good, that's sorted out." Harrigan added thankfully "Despite the sorry state of the uniforms, Lord Brathal, you can be justifiably proud of your troops. They have all the right instincts, and are well trained. Once the officer corps gets kicked into line, they'll have officers worthy to lead them. I would recommend Lord Aranak's general staff for this" , Lord Aranak sat up with a little more pride and a small smile on his face, "but if you prefer, the king's deputy chief of staff would be an acceptable substitute". "As you say, Lieutenant" Lord Brathal replied, the he turned to Lord Aranak "Perhaps you could send a team over to my main training grounds tomorrow morning? I will order all officers to attend". Lord Aranak stepped forward and shook Lord Brathal's hand, saying "Done!"
"Apart from that, the forces of Lord Brathal stand ready" he reported to the king "Motorised infantry, light armour, and mobile artillery await your orders". Harrigan turned to Lord Brathal with interest. "Motorised infantry, you say?" he enquired "Very useful. You've just earnt a place at the front of the front lines, Lord Brathal". Then Harrigan turned back to address the main gathering. "Well, it's been a very long day" he said "With the king's permission, I'll collect my fee for this mission and go and get some sleep. I suggest you people do the same". The deputy chief of staff passed over Harrigan's fee while the other Lords and advisors left for their own estates. "The king has instructed me to have guestrooms in the palace made available, if you wish" asked the deputy chief of staff. "Including my comrades outside?" pressed Harrigan. "Including your comrades" confirmed the deputy chief of staff.
Harrigan fought to keep back a yawn. "Tal, my dear" he asked, tiredness slurring his voice "Let Aeryn, Crichton, and Chiana know we're staying here tonight. The deputy chief of staff here will show us exactly where". Talannah and Harrigan were led out of the courtroom, where Aeryn, Crichton, and Chiana were waiting for them. "The king has given us guestrooms for the night" explained Harrigan, stifling another yawn. Talannah lifted his arm around her shoulder and gave him as much support as she could. "I for one need sleep NOW. Let's go" he addressed the deputy chief of staff.
They reached the tier of rooms normally reserved for visiting dignitaries. The first stop was Chiana's room. When she saw how plushly appointed the room was, she let out a squeal of excitement and kissed the deputy chief of staff hard on the mouth, holding the kiss for several microts. Then she rushed in thorough the door and jumped onto the bed, bouncing up and down a couple of times. "Go on then, you lot" she urged "I'll be fine here. Especially if that handsome chief of staff wants to stay..." she finished with a hopeful leer. Then they dropped off Aeryn and Crichton at their room. A quick hug, a kiss, and then they shut the doors behind them as they went in. Last of all, Harrigan and Talannah's room. The deputy chief of staff bade them goodnight and closed the doors as he left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah stared at the four-poster bed with a wistful smile on her face. "I know, love" Harrigan soothed "Me too. But it's not right. Not yet. After we're married". Talannah turned to face her lover, with a pained and slightly angry look on her face. "And when will that be?!" she cried in despair. Then she fell against his shoulders and cried softly. "Hardly normal Scarran behaviour, is it?" she sniffed "I can't imagine what you must think". Harrigan looked down at Talannah's face with such a look of warmth and love that Talannah's sadness dissipated slowly, a smile coming onto her face as well. "I don't care if it's normal Scarran behaviour or not" he responded, running a finger softly across her chin "It shows that you trust me enough to let me see the real you, the one I love so much and want to spend the rest of my life with".
Harrigan sat down on the couch and collected his thoughts. "To answer your question, though" he finally declared "'When will it be?' After this war is over, I'll ask Crichton if he knows any ways we can get back to Earth quickly. If he does, we'll stop over there for a weeken or two. Partly to bring back the results of my mission to find Crichton, but mostly..." Harrigan smiled again "...so we can finally marry. Once I've had a few words with the base chaplain, and he's got over his shock that you're not human, that shouldn't be a problem. In the mean time" Harrigan decided "you take the bed; I'll sleep on the couch over by the door".
For the first few arns, Harrigan slept fitfully at best. His separation from Talannah, even though she was only across the other side of the suite, manifested itself in him twisting and turning every few momens. Not only was this not good for his health, it wasn't good for the couch either – it wasn't built to stand the strain of 1100 pounds of constantly shifting insomniac on it. Eventually he walked softly over where Talannah was sleeping. Just the sight of her sleeping there, perfectly safe, soothed him – so he settled himself on the floor and went back to sleep at the foot of the bed.
He awoke blearily the next day to the sight of Talannah sitting next to him on the floor, tapping him on the head and digging him in the ribs to try and wake him up. "Yes?" he replied, still half-asleep. "Why are you waking me at this ungodly hour?" Talannah smiled, running a finger down his nose and over his lips. Harrigan kissed her finger, then hauled himself upright. "It's actually 10.30am local time now, my love" Talannah told him "It was very touching seeing you asleep at the foot of the bed like that. Very romantic. But the others have been wondering when you'd wake up, so you'd better clean yourself up pronto".
Harrigan groaned and grumbled his way to the shower, and ten momens later emerged to Talannah with her arms crossed and tapping her foot on the floor. "Come on!" Harrigan groaned, spreading his arms wide in entreaty "I needed that to feel even half-awake!". He bent over and grabbed his web gear, which he strapped on; and his G8C and Viper, which were respectively slung over his shoulder and placed in its shoulder holster. He shrugged his shoulders to settle the web gear into place, then gave Talannah a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go then" he decided "I'm up now, we may as well get something useful done".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepy-head!" laughed Crichton. Then, after calming down, he added "While you were asleep, the newly- elevated chief of staff dropped in to request a quick flyover of the approaching attack force. His satellites are being jammed or laser- flashed, so no help from that quarter. He wants you to do it. Fee proffered is 3000 krepna". When Harrigan heard 'flyover' all the tiredness left him. "Well, what are we waiting for?!" he urged the rest of them happily "Let's go! I'm glad to get a flying mission. Frankly I'd do it for nothing" Harrigan revealed "but don't tell them that. Since we now have five of us here...", Chiana had just come back with another drink, "... we'll take my ship. For once I'll be able to take her up with a full basic crew".
On the way out, they met the new chief of staff in the motor pool. "Congratulations on your promotion!" Crichton congratulated him. "Thank you" he replied more soberly. "But I'd really rather not have got it this way". "You wouldn't have got the job at all" assured Aeryn "if the king didn't think you were up to it". The chief of staff grinned sheepishly, then pointed towards their buggies, which had been overhauled and refuelled. "I take it you've been made aware of the king's request for an overflight. Your buggies have been fixed up. Those Charrids you grabbed them off had no idea of proper maintenance procedures. You'll reach the spaceport without the buggies falling apart now".
They drove through the city centre at a fairly sedate pace. Harrigan took the time to look at the locals going about their daily business; some waved, and one or two of the unmarried women smiled. Once one saw the look on Talannah's face, however, word quickly spread that he was spoken for, and the interest slackened off. It was obvious that this was in part due to her being a Scarran as much as Harrigan being taken.
The buggies pulled up outside the Harbringer's blast pit twenty momens later. A few of Lord Rahjan's guard were on duty there, and came over. "No one's even come close to your ship, sir" one trooper reported "We've kept the few curious onlookers at a safe distance". Harrigan was a little surprised at the 'sir', so the guard sergeant clarified his underling's words and manner. "Lord Rahjan himself sent word that the king has hired you and your friends to help defend the city against the Rathlaas attack. He also sent word to show the same respect to you as to our own officers". "Carry on" urged Harrigan "Just check our buggies now and again in the course of your travels to make sure they're still there and unharmed". "Sir" responded the sergeant, before moving on.
Harrigan unlocked the Harbringer and they all piled in. Chiana looked around with awe. "This is really drad!" she exclaimed "Dargo's ship, Lo'la, is pretty hot; but this is something else altogether". Talannah laughed as she slid into the copilot's seat beside Harrigan, then gave the others their places.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Aeryn" she directed "Nav console, as before. Crichton, top gun". Harrigan pointed up the ladder to show Crichton the right way to go. "Finally, Chiana. Straight down the corridor to the tail gun for you". Forty microts later they were all strapped in and ready to go. Harrigan yipped "Up, up, up, and away!" happily, while taking off unexpectedly smoothly. "Chi, Crichton?" he asked. "Yes?" they replied. "I'm powering up your guns" Harrigan decided "We shouldn't need them, but I'd like them online just in case of emergencies. Don't touch anything. A stray energy blast from an accidental discharge could alert the enemy unnecessarily. The longer we remain undetected, the more use we'll be". "Copy that" replied Crichton, "I get you" replied Chiana.
Harrigan flew the Harbringer straight and level over the city centre, and over the walls to the badlands and approaching enemy. Ten momens at half- speed they saw the enemy front line. A large dust cloud from approaching vehicles could be seen fairly close in, but infantry could also be seen running along on foot as well, plus some slower vehicles too far away to identify with even Harrigan's vision. "Right, here's where we earn our pay" Harrigan barked "Aeryn, power up that surveillance gear! Get me an ID on those vehicles up front, and those further back. The sweep over the infantry. We'll try and see how well equipped they are. Crichton, Chiana – sing out if your sensors pick up anything airborne".
Aeryn twiddled knobs and pressed buttons, sending her sensors sweeping over the enemy formations. They moved with discipline and order, more so than local men-at-arms or militia. "I think the enemy general decided to lead off with his best units" she said to Harrigan slowly "Those grunts down there don't move like locals. Where did they come from?". "You weren't there when the Charrid base commander was interrogated, or you'd know where. If he wasn't lying, 10,000 troops were imported directly from Scarran space. Whoever's in command probably doesn't trust the Rathlaas troops, such as they are". "So..." replied Aeryn, stunned. "The Scarran Imperium and its Charrid allies make their first move here". "What about those vehicles up front?" Harrigan prompted, returning Aeryn to reality. "Buggies" she replied "Various different kinds. Probably raiders and skirmishers. I see variants mounting pulse cannons and tak-7 missile packs". "Hmm" Harrigan replied "Lord Aranak will want to know about that. Next?".
"Further back" Aeryn added "We have a mix of self-propelled howitzers and some main battle tanks. Not superheavies, but big enough to be wary of. No IFVs. Mobile anti-aircraft guns around the artillery, but very few around the tanks or infantry. Force Commander at the back. Looks like a Scarran command hover-fortress. More mobile AA there as well."
"ETA Ithlin?" Harrigan asked. Aeryn went over a few possible options in her head, then gave a tentative "Approx. 3 arns for the main force, perhaps 2 for the buggies". A 'MISSILE LAUNCH!' warning flashed up on Harrigan's HUD. He immediately threw the Harbringer into a 90 degree left bank. The missile, a heat-seeker from one of the buggies, was shot down by the Harbringer's anti-missile system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Sorry about that, people" Harrigan growled "But some FRELNIK buggy jock decided to pop one off at us! Sorry, no-one home. Return to sender!" Harrigan immediately brought forward fire-control to active and started scanning for targets. The battlecomp reported fourteen buggies close by with tak-7 missiles. "Stand by for gun run!" Harrigan ordered. "Chi, once we go over, you cut loose at anything still moving. Got that?" Chiana forced her fear down, and replied "Got it, Harrigan". "Aeryn" he continued "Keep the fire control of those mobile AA guns out of action. Usually those things have to stop to get a clear shot, but I'm not taking chances. Turn their lights OFF". A swift "Aye!" was his only response as Aeryn's hands flew over her control panel, activating the EW gear. "Tal, get on the horn back to the palace" Harrigan finished "Advise that the main force will reach the city in a little less than 3 arns. We'll need a full mobilisation starting now". Talannah immediately got on the comm gear, and forced a call through to the palace.
Harrigan pulled the nose of the Harbringer round to bring them into line with the right side of the first wave of buggy raiders. Harrigan flew low over the vehicles, laying down volley after volley of heavy pulse cannon fire. A slightly higher-pitched thrum marked Chiana's tail guns mopping up survivors of the first run. Another thrum came from up top as Crichton turned his own turret round and added its fire to the mix, killing two more buggies and a tank. "That's enough fun for one day" Harrigan decided, pulling away "We gotta get back to the king, tell him what's going on, and make sure they get everyone ready to fight!" He immediately applied as much extra speed as was safe inside atmosphere and headed back to the spaceport.
"Status report!" yelled Harrigan. "Fine up here, H" replied Crichton "Gun's in the green and so am I". "Same here" replied Chiana "No weird smoke or crackling noises, or any injuries to me either. Unless you count the fright of my life when all that pulse fire from the buggies was coming up at me". Talannah punched a few buttons on the keypad by her right knee, which brought up a diagnostic report on her HUD and Harrigan's. "Ship's systems all on-line. Perhaps one or two minor scorch marks" she stated for the group "Nothing important"
When the Harbringer touched down back at the spaceport, a refuelling truck immediately pulled up and started refilling the tanks. A few techs started cleaning the muck and sand stains off the hull as well. "Careful doing that!" Harrigan yelled through the bridge window "This is a stealth vessel!" Then he turned to his crewmates, adding "Right! Everyone out! Make sure you take your weapons with you"
The king himself was waiting for them when they emerged from the Harbringer onto the blast pit edge. Wearing armour, and surrounded by several of his royal guard, he beckoned Harrigan's little group over to where a crawler was waiting. The royal guard protested when King Torthil ordered them into the other crawler, but soon realised that their charge would probably be safer with Harrigan than with them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- As soon as they had all sat down and shut the back hatch, Harrigan thumped the crawler's hull and yelled "Go! Go! Go!" The driver didn't need to be told twice. Slamming his foot to the floor, the crawler took off for the palace as fast as it could go. Citizens barely got out of it's way in time as it and it's fellow, following close behind, shot through the town centre for the palace at a highly unsafe rate of knots.
The king got out as soon as the vehicle had pulled up outside the palace doors. Harrigan flipped his left hand forward, ordering his comrades to follow close behind. They all swept down to the courtroom where the advisors and Lords were waiting. The king motioned for Harrigan to take the stand and give his briefing. "We have two and a half arns to assemble our forces for battle." He stated ominously "The main force of the enemy will take that long to arrive. Motorised raiding forces will be here sooner. Lords" Harrigan said, turning to them "I'd suggest you deploy you troops, especially all artillery units, outside the city wall NOW. Chief of staff?". That individual turned to Harrigan sheepishly. "I'm way out of my depth here" he replied "With the king's permission..." The king nodded, and the chief of staff continued "...I turn over command of the royal guard units to you, sir".
Harrigan was truly surprised at that. "Very well, Your Majesty" he stated. "What about this lot?" he enquired scathingly, looking over the advisors. "Secretary Sherak, Minister of State" one woman stated "I strongly suggest we make at least one more diplomatic entreaty to the your fellow in Rathlaas, Your Majesty. Perhaps a negotiated settlement can be found before those forces reach here". "Hear, hear" added three others. The other two spat on the floor in disgust. Talannah leaned over to Harrigan, and whispered in his ear. "I'm sensing she's hiding something" she confided "She prefers a diplomatic option alright, but she's more tense than she ought to be. That slimy-looking male as well". "Confirmed" Harrigan responded "I thought for a moment it was only me who thought that. Their body heat patterns are shifting slightly. They're hiding something". Talannah passed their misgivings over to the king, who almost blew his top.
"MINISTERS OF STATE AND INTERIOR, UP HERE, NOW!!" he bellowed. "Lieutenant Harrigan and Talannah here believe you're not being completely truthful with us. Explain your current reticence. Now" he finished, in a lower, but no less angry voice. "You would trust this offworlder ahead of an advisor of long standing?" replied the Minister of the Interior. Harrigan noticed a slight alteration in his heat signature again, and his twitch alerted Talannah as well. Harrigan stepped up and grabbed that minister by the throat, hoisting him several hentae off the floor. "How you made it to the head of an important ministry, I'll never know. I'd trust a dead slug before I'd trust you!" Harrigan yelled "Now either you tell me what's going on, or I'll demonstrate for the king exactly what we did to that Charrid in the staging base, on YOU!" and tightened his grip.
"I am not afraid" the minister of the interior replied. Both Talannah and Harrigan picked up the lie of that in their Scarran-gifted ability to perceive deceit at close range. Talannah thumped him hard in the groin, doubling him over.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Now you can answer to me" Talannah hissed at her captive "Or Harrigan here will turn up the juice until electrical overload leaves you a vegetable, writhing and convulsing on the floor. What will it be?" The minister spat at Talannah, hitting her in the face. "You of all people should know" he sneered "The Scarran Imperium is moving in. They will make this place theirs, and not you or your mutant boyfriend, nor any of this city's forces will be able to stop them".
Before Talannah could draw her swords, Harrigan's rage at him spitting on her caused an immediate electrical blast to flow down both arms and straight through the minister's neck and body. A loud scream of agony later, and Harrigan dropped him on the floor. Standing over him, Harrigan planted a giant boot firmly on his chest, pinning him to the ground with the force of 1100 pounds of enraged Earthman. The king stepped forward, addressing his former minister. "Why did you side with our enemies? You have power and privilege here, everything anyone could want. Why?" he asked. "Because I wanted more, why else?" he replied "The Scarrans promised me 15 million krendars if I delivered them the leadership of this planet. I let the Special Forces unit that killed the chief of staff in through the city gates. The army outside will finish you off, unless you surrender. The Imperium needs citizens to rule, not corpses, after all".
The king turned to his Lords. "By the words out of his own mouth, the former minister before you here is guilty of treason" he stated formally "What shall be his penalty?" The unanimous verdict came back within two momens. "The Lords have decided" replied Lord Lorshul "That the penalty shall be death. Sentence to be carried out immediately". "Lord Brathal, put out the summons" ordered the king "All available citizens to witness the execution of the Minister of the Interior for treason"
A crowd soon gathered outside the palace gates. Harrigan grabbed the minister by the neck and jumped on top of the wall where as many as possible could see. One of the royal guard passed the king a bullhorn. "Citizens of Ithlin!" the king boomed over the bullhorn "Your Minister of the Interior, the one trusted with maintaining order in the city, has thrown in his lot with the forces outside the walls. He let in the unit that killed my chief of staff" A chorus of booing and hissing in anger came from the crowd "He took money from the Scarran Imperium to bring down the royal line and authority of this city! Accordingly, a council of his peers found him guilty of treason; this carries a mandatory death penalty. Lieutenant Harrigan?" the king asked. Harrigan nodded "You may carry out the sentence". Harrigan drew one of his own swords, whispering "It's a pity this blade has to be christened with the blood of a traitor". Then he brought the sword round in a two-handed swing which decapitated the treasonous advisor, before wiping the sword clean and resheathing it.
"So perish all enemies" intoned the king. After the head was found, it and the body were fed through the waste recyclers. The king gathered his Lords around him for an impromptu conference. Ten momens later, he raised the bullhorn again and turned back to his people. "With the full agreement of my Lords, it has been decided that Lieutenant Harrigan shall have overall command of the city's defences for the duration of this emergency. All citizens are to obey him as they would me, or suffer the same consequences."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah looked up at her future husband with such a look of adoring pride and love that Harrigan somersaulted off the wall, ran right up to her, and almost crushed her in a massive hug. "I'm in way over my head here, hon" he confided softly in her ear. She nipped his own right ear, then ran her tongue slowly round its edge before responding. "Don't worry, my love" she replied ardently "I'm here for you. I'm sure that Aeryn will lend her expertise to the endeavour as well. You'll be fine". Harrigan shuddered a little from the pleasure of her ministrations, then turned towards Aeryn. "Will you assist as well?" he asked "I could do with another military advisor". "Sure" Aeryn replied "Why not?".
"What about Crichton?" Harrigan asked "He's not a soldier. Wouldn't it be better if he took over Dargo's duties on Moya, and sent him down here?" Harrigan saw the look on Aeryn's face at the possibility of not having Crichton close by, and clarified his reasoning. "Dargo's had experience commanding battle campaigns before. Plus we're hardly short of troops here. Besides, if he succumbs to hyper-rage, we'll just stick him out front and let him kill everyone himself while we watch his back". Aeryn's ire slowly cooled as she saw the sense of what Harrigan was suggesting.
"He has learned a lot since you saw him last" Aeryn assured Harrigan. "In several of our adventures Crichton's help made the difference between success and failure. He performed well on out raid on that Charrid base, didn't he?" Harrigan nodded, and Aeryn continued "But what you suggest does have merit. Crichton has no large-scale battle experience - and Dargo does. I'll break it to him". Crichton definitely didn't like the idea of going back to Moya. He spent a precious quarter-arn trying to badger Aeryn into letting him stay, with no success at all – she just got angry. Aeryn got on the comm to Pilot back on Moya. "Pilot?" she asked. "Yes, Officer Sun?" Pilot replied. "Is a transport pod ready to go?" "Yes, Officer Sun" Pilot replied "But why? Is someone injured?" "No, we're fine. But war is coming" she explained "We need Dargo down here. If you can keep Sikozu and Jool in line yourself for a while, get Dargo in the pod and send him down. We'll send the pod back with Crichton in it. Once he's on board, find a spot behind one of the three moons and hide. The enemy have offworld allies who may still be present insystem"
A further quarter-arn later, Dargo ran up to them, having just got off a public transport vehicle. "What's going on?" he asked. "We're going to war, Dargo" Talannah explained "And we thought you'd like to tag along. Harrigan wants you around as an advisor as well". "What does he need advice on?" Dargo asked, perplexed. "Grand strategy" Aeryn said, taking over "He's been given overall command of the city's armies. He asks for our help in planning the offensive". The agreement made, they walked back to the palace gates, where many citizens were still waiting.
Harrigan took the bullhorn from the king, and spoke to the people. "Citizens of Ithlin!" his voiced boomed out over the crowd "These people here beside me will advise and assist me in leading your armies and defending this city – and it's people. To my left –"he held up Aeryn's hand "we have Officer Aeryn Sun. An ex-Peacekeeper, she has brought her companions to help us. One of whom is-"holding up Dargo's hand "a Luxan, General Ka'Dargo. He brings his experience in many skirmishes and two battle campaigns here to assist me. A most valuable addition"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Between us" Harrigan proclaimed to the people "we will see this city kept safe, or die trying". Talannah took the bullhorn, stepped forward, and yelled "All hail War Commander Harrigan!". A loud roar of approval came back from the crowd as Talannah raised Harrigan's hand into the air.
Harrigan turned to ask Talannah what that was all about, but she just pressed one finger over his mouth, shushing him gently. The group of Lords were just heading down to the war room when Harrigan caught up with them. "Sitrep?" Harrigan asked. "All forces are moving out of the city to initial pre-deployment positions, War Commander" replied Lord Lorshul. "We await your orders for final deployment positions". Harrigan was a little uneasy about such a grandiose title, pleading "Just a 'sir' will be fine".
A hundred microts later, they were inside the war room. It's strange, Harrigan thought, how different a room like this seems once you're put in charge. First, Intel. "Bring up a topographic representation of the terrain surrounding the city, emphasising the section on a direct line between here and Rathlaas" he ordered a tech. She looked over at one of the Lords for direction. Lord Rahjan responded with "The king gave him command of all the city's military forces". The tech nodded, then tapped a bunch of button in a quick sequence. This caused a 3-D full colour scale holo of the main wall between Ithlin and Rathlaas, plus surrounding terrain, to come up out of the tabletop.
"Good and bad "decided Harrigan "No cover at all to hide infantry in, but plenty of room to manoeuvre the tanks and other armour. For both sides". He beckoned Dargo and Aeryn over, and bade them look over the terrain. Then he plotted out his initial ideas of where the various Lord's forces should go. Aeryn immediately shifted the light armour and motorised infantry forces to the centre, in front of the Royal Guard. Dargo shifted Lord Aranak's powered armour units to accompany the heavy armour. "Those heavy tanks have little to no protection against infantry or fast attack vehicles. Those PA units fill the gap nicely" explained Dargo. "I do like where you placed the artillery. From there it can support either flank, or a frontal attack. The..." he took a closer look at the force marker "Royal Guard infantry provide security for the artillery, or in an emergency can reinforce either side in the face of a determined enemy offensive". "What are these?" asked Aeryn, pointing to a unit marker she didn't recognise.
"Fast attack grav tanks" replied Lord Lorshul "Part of my forces. Quick and powerful, they can move fast enough to exploit a weakness in the enemy battle-lines at short notice or repel a counterattack. Don't let them get bogged down, War Comm..." Harrigan waved a finger at Lord Lorshul, who continued with "Sorry, Sir. Their armour isn't as thick as a regular main battle tank". Talannah whispered "We should open up with them. Hit hard, move fast, then return at high speed for the main lines. That will give the light armour and mechanised infantry time to move up to combat range. All the while, the enemy are being pounded by long-range ram launchers from the walls and rocket artillery from the plains."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What about my special forces?" asked Lord Aranak peevishly "I don't see them here"
"I haven't forgotten them" Harrigan laughed "They will be first to battle. Deploy skirmishers and sniper teams immediately. Sow terror and confusion. Priority targets to be any officers they can hit safely without exposing themselves. Get a vehicle or two, then shift to another position and do the same. You know how it's done". Lord Aranak moved to leave and give the necessary orders, but Harrigan called him back. "Not yet, Lord Aranak. Yes, Aeryn?"
"That command hover-fort carries considerable firepower of its own" she replied "We'll have to take it out before it comes within missile range of the gates". When she saw Harrigan's malicious grin, she caught on. "You're sending forces to destroy it, aren't you?" she probed. When his grin got wider again, Aeryn eyes almost popped out. "YOU are going to lead those forces?" she responded, surprised. "Absolutely" Harrigan confirmed "You don't think I'm going to let the locals have all the fun, do you? Besides, it'll set a good example to the regular grunts. Give them something to look up to. Lord Aranak?"
"Yes, Sir?" he replied. "Detach one squad from your special forces that are good at close-assault." ordered Harrigan "I will take these troops and lead them against the command hover-fort. Once it's down, I'll fire a red flare; then me and the squad exfiltrate back to the front lines for the battle proper. Aeryn, you will not be accompanying us". "Why?" she barked back, annoyed "Because I need you to command the first wave. That flare will be your cue to order a general advance."
Aeryn's ire dissipated rapidly as she realised the honour being given to her. "Yes, Harrigan" she replied "Red flare – general advance. Got it". "Let's move!" Harrigan ordered the Lords "We must deploy our forces to main battle positions before the buggies arrive in, oh dear" as he looked at the wall clock "One arn. We must be ready. Go! Go! Go!" Harrigan accompanied Lord Aranak to where a small team of heavily armed soldiers waited for them. A nasty-looking lieutenant stepped forward. "So you're the one who got us this mission" he grumbled "We're good, but if what I've heard about those things is anything like accurate, it'll be next to impossible".
"You can stay back here if you like" Harrigan barked back, staring him in they eye "Dargo, Talannah, and myself are quite prepared to do this ourselves if you aren't up to it" The lieutenant coughed and spluttered at Harrigan's remarks. "Stay here?!" he replied harshly "My squad's as good as good as any Scarran any day! And more besides!" The look on Talannah's face showed exactly how likely she thought that was, which only enraged the lieutenant further. "That's the spirit!" Harrigan encouraged. "Dargo, Tal? Let's move!"
They reached the buggies waiting to take them on their mission. Harrigan got on the radio to Aeryn, who was now in the field command post. "Red flare, Aeryn, OK?" he reminded her "At my signal, unleash hell"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
King Torthil then waved his Lord Chamberlain over to him. "We're going back to the palace" he ordered "I'm calling an emergency war council. All advisors and senior lords to attend, and I MEAN all". Then, to Harrigan's surprise, the king added "Lieutenant Harrigan, you will attend also. You may bring one assistant with you. The others may wait in the atrium with the clerks and aides the other delegates usually bring. An outsider's perspective may prove useful. Besides, your valour in this last mission has earnt you a place in council."
Harrigan just stood stock still, eyes bugging out in surprise. "It just goes to show, my love" smiled Talannah, looking up at him "that now others may now find you even a fraction as indispensable as I do". Harrigan returned the loving gaze, adding "I couldn't live without you either, dear. Quite what use I'll be with this bunch of politicians, I don't know", and finished with a mystified shrug. Talannah hooked her arm through his and led him back to their buggy, saying "Well let's just go and find out, then". Harrigan laughed, throwing her up in the air almost seven metras, before catching her again and sliding her into the gunner's seat on their buggy.
A replacement vehicle more in keeping with the king's station in society was brought from the palace motor pool. Harrigan's and Crichton's buggies waited until the king's car had moved away, then turned and followed him back to the palace. When they arrived back at the palace twenty or so momens later, they found a small group of richly dressed men, and two women, waiting for them. Approximately two-thirds of the men were the senior lords loyal to King Torthil; Harrigan recognised Lord Rahjan among them. The two women appeared to be political advisors, along with the remaining men.
One of the men-at-arms on guard duty opened the door, and the party swept on into the palace. Then they proceeded down a wide staircase to the courtroom, where the king's advisors met weekly to discuss the affairs of his realm. As the king's court arranged themselves in their accustomed seats, Harrigan and Talannah hung back, watching them. "They're acting just like visiting politicos did back home at a briefing" growled Harrigan "First, sit down and grab a drink. Then they quibble and bicker over various minutiae in the briefing documents for several hours before going off to play golf or watch a movie. If that looks like happening here, I'm going to bash a few heads together, mark my words".
The king brought the meeting to order by slamming a judicial gavel several times on the desk. "This meeting is brought to order!" he called out "I have called you here to decide what our response shall be to the threat of war presented by our close neighbour - the city of Rathlaas, and its offworld allies. As you all know by now, the chief of staff was murdered by forces loyal to that city not more than an arn or two ago."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Raising his voice over the muttering, he added "Thanks to information provided by Lieutenant Harrigan and his comrades..." Harrigan and Talannah stood up to be recognised for a few microts, then sat back down. "...I now know that this is the opening act of an attempt to invade and enslave this city, and then the rest of this world, and bring it into the Scarran Imperium."
The floor erupted into a mess of shouted accusation, counter-accusations, and outright denials as the various civic leaders tried to place the blame on anyone else but themselves. "QUIET!" the king yelled. After they had all calmed down as requested, the king continued. "This is no time to seek petty advantage amongst yourselves by blaming each other for the trouble this city is now in. First of all, I call the deputy chief of staff to stand and report on the state of readiness of my royal guards". This individual, a Sebacean male, reported "Thanks to the training regimen put in place by my late superior, the royal guard is able to march to battle whenever you give the word, Your Majesty. All infantry, heavy armour, and mobile artillery units report full readiness. All resupply units report as close to full efficiency as possible, and are standing by. The medic corps has recently been boosted by several new doctors and advanced medic-bots and is standing by as well".
"Very good" replied the king. Then he turned to the various lords present. "If we do decide to fight," he explained "Your own personal retinues will be needed for the war effort as well. Do they stand ready, my lords?" Then each of the lords stood and faced their king.
"The forces of Lord Rahjan stand ready" that lord stated "Heavy infantry and light armour await your orders". "The forces of Lord Lorshul stand ready" that lord stated "Heavy infantry and hover-raiders await your orders". "The forces of Lord Aranak stand ready" the youngest of the lords stated "Snipers, skirmishers, mobile artillery and powered armour await your orders".
Some of the others glared suspiciously at the youngest addition to their number. It was obvious that they didn't approve of their comrade's training methods. "You came dangerously close to violating the chivalric traditions, and dishonouring our ancestors with your, erm, unorthodox, training methods. Yours as well" interrupted Lord Brathal "A detailed examination into the conduct and training of your armed forces is required, I feel". "Hah!" Lord Aranak laughed "My forces are ready to go to battle right now, and will fulfil everything the king asks of them. And more besides. Yours just march up and down the public square in brightly coloured uniforms to make sure they look good for the ladies. If they tried picking up rifles, they'd probably grab the wrong end and blow their own heads off!"
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Lord Brathal fumed. The king stepped in between his to quarrelling lords. "That's enough, the pair of you" he ordered "If both of you are still alive after all this dies down, you can challenge each other to a duel then". "But my misgivings on the state of my fellow's armed forces still stand, sire" Lord Aranak persisted "I send my recon teams and snipers over to infiltrate his military parades regularly for practice – they report the state of readiness as minimal to laughable".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "YOU SPY ON MY FORCES?!" screamed Lord Brathal, who almost went into an epileptic fit right there and then from sheer shock. "Just what are you planning?" he continued, after calming down a little "Taking over my own territory, perhaps?"
"Though I could do so if I wished it" Lord Aranak responded "I do not. My own territory is sufficient for me. Using those bright uniforms just makes your men easy targets for enemy riflemen and sniper teams. At least our colleagues at this gathering use darker colouring, even if they don't use camouflage as I do. I have sought advice from those offworlders that pass through my territory on how things are done out there" he continued, pointing at the sky "and use the parts of that that make sense to me. I find out the best methods of war; so my troops, and through them my people, benefit. If you require it, my factories can make available the same kind of uniforms my forces use to you"
The king pondered the words flying back and forth between the youngest and oldest of his lords. Then, remembering that Harrigan was here as well, the king beckoned him forward. "This is Lieutenant Harrigan" explained the king "It was him and his troops who conducted the reconnaissance mission that brought back the news of this war. Without him, we would know nothing at all of this threat. Lieutenant" the king asked "Would you conduct a readiness inspection of Lord Brathal's forces for me? Lord Aranak will accompany you, and you will report back to me what you know". Harrigan looked over at Talannah, who held up four fingers. Harrigan nodded and turned to the king. "Sure, Your Majesty" Harrigan replied "My First Officer here requests a flat fee of four thousand krepna for a complete report on the readiness of Lord Brathal's forces. This includes any infiltration or others efforts. The complete package, Your Majesty, everything included."
The other lords, and a few of the non-ranked advisors as well, almost looked as though they were about to swallow their own tongues in shock at Harrigan's bluntness. The king grumbled somewhat, but acceded to Harrigan's demand. "Very well" he responded "Your price is acceptable. Four thousand krepna, on production of the readiness report". Harrigan grabbed Lord Aranak by the shoulder, leading him out of the courtroom. "No time like the present" Harrigan prompted. Harrigan, Talannah, and Lord Aranak all got into Lord Aranak's crawler and drove off back to his own mansion.
On the way, Lord Aranak turned to talk to Harrigan. "This should persuade those fuddy-duddies in council that my methods are worth something." he said "I'll introduce you to my best troops when we get in, so you can get started right away." But Harrigan had other ideas. "No way, mate" he corrected "A commander leads by example. You're leading the squad yourself, sonny. We'll come along for the ride, but you have to show the troops you're willing to take the same risks as them. We'll go straight to the barracks, so you can grab a uniform and a weapon". "But my stealth work is hardly up to the standard of my troops, Harrigan..." he replied unhappily, before Harrigan interrupted with "That's LIEUTENANT Harrigan to you. If you skills aren't currently up to scratch, now's the perfect time to learn isn't it?" he prompted "When lives don't depend on it".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "I have to agree there" Lord Aranak replied sheepishly. He squinted down the road through the front windscreen. "Ah, good!" he replied to Harrigan's mystified incomprehension "The border checkpoints. The guardroom is a hundred metras or so that way". He pointed towards the building he meant. "I'll ask the guard to call ahead...", but Talannah stopped him, grinning. "No advance warning" she stated "For either side. That makes it fair. And much more fun for us too" she finished, digging Harrigan in the ribs. "You're so right, my love" Harrigan replied. Shushing the gate guard, they crept up to the guardroom and let themselves in. One private twitched slightly, turning towards them. Harrigan ordered a halt. The trooper turned back to his book. "You're hearing things" his sergeant laughed "All that time on point has driven you mad".
Harrigan chose this point to speak up. "Nothing of the sort!" he boomed, stepping forward "That private has his head screwed on right! Get up, the lot of you! We've got to conduct a full readiness and security inspection of Lord Brathal's troops for the king, and we're going to do it now, before word gets out!" Harrigan turned to the sergeant who spoke up earlier. "Can we get some transport?" Harrigan asked. "Hmm..." the sergeant mused, scratching his chin "We've got crawlers, but that's too obvious..." While this was going on, one of the troopers saw something, and ran outside. He found a merchant convoy heading out, so asked the leader where he was going. When he replied that he was going to Lord Brathal's section of the city, he yelled out "OVER HERE, SARGE!!" which brought the whole unit, plus Harrigan, Talannah, and Lord Aranak running. Lord Aranak caught on quickly. He ordered the whole unit to square themselves away on the trucks, in amongst the trade goods. "Don't break anything!" he admonished them.
Because of his weight Harrigan got a truck to himself. Lord Aranak was going to direct Talannah to an alternative vehicle; but Talannah made it perfectly clear that grievous bodily harm would follow if anyone tried to separate them. "You sound like my wife when some of the other Lords visit" Lord Aranak replied, a smile coming over his face at the thought of it. Talannah laughed softly as well, adding more firmly "But your wife probably doesn't know the means to that end, Lord Aranak. I do". Then Talannah climbed in Harrigan's truck and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around him. Lord Aranak laughed again, quickly dashed inside the barracks to swap his court clothes for combat fatigues, grabbed a rifle, then jumped in the front seat of Harrigan's truck.
The trip to Lord Brathal's fiefdom took two arns, as the trade route was not a straight one and detoured around several 'edgy' spots, as the merchant leader called them. Harrigan was finding it increasingly difficult to resist Talannah's teasing and tickling, but they were saved from blowing their cover by Lord Aranak leaning back and whispering "We're here. There's a guard post up ahead – wait a momen or two and we'll be in".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- But the guard's instincts weren't as bad as his bright red uniform. Something didn't seem right to him – he couldn't quite tell what, so he walked up past all the trucks, hoping something would reveal itself. When he saw the way the springs were sagging alarmingly on Harrigan's truck he went to yell out for reinforcements – but got nothing except a stunblast off Harrigan's arms, who had leaned out of the loadbed when he heard the guard approaching. The guard fell to the floor in a clatter of assorted weapons and web-gear. Harrigan levered himself out of the truck and cuffed him to a nearby tree.
"Don't worry, he's not dead" Harrigan reassured Lord Aranak, who was staring in astonishment at the comatose gate guard. "Though the headache he'll have when he wakes up will probably make him wish he was". Talannah followed close behind Harrigan, beckoning Lord Aranak to lead his unit behind them. The Lord was getting into the way of things now, as more of his old skills came back to him now that he was in the field. "It's almost midday" Lord Aranak told Harrigan "Recon reports an assault course over that way about a kilometra or so. We'll have to go on foot – that merchant convoy masquerade has outlived its usefulness for now." Talannah turned to Lord Aranak, saying "Well what are you waiting for? Move out!"
Talannah set a punishing pace. Harrigan, of course, kept up easily; and even the infiltration team kept fairly close, egged on by relentless good- natured taunting from Harrigan; but after a couple of hundred metras, Lord Aranak started huffing and puffing badly. Talannah and the team waited while Harrigan ran back, slung the Lord over his right shoulder, and ran back to where they were waiting. Once Harrigan put him down, Lord Aranak started groaning and complaining at the effects the unaccustomed exercise was having on him. "To be honest, John" Talannah whispered to him "the troops look as though they'd like a rest. I probably pushed that a bit too hard for a first meet with non-Scarrans". Harrigan gave her a soft squeeze around the shoulders, then replied "Nonsense. Throw them in the river and see if they can swim! But we'll see if there's a mess hall around here somewhere. I'm hungry!"
The recon sergeant came forward, and revealed that there should be such a thing not too far away. "But we'll have to pass the duty sergeant's office" he warned. Harrigan gestured to Talannah, saying "This one's yours, love". She rubbed her hands together with glee. "A little fun of my own, at last..." she whispered, a nasty smile expanding across her mouth. She grabbed a private from the team and explained just what she needed. He nodded and stepped up to knock on the door. "Sir?" he asked plaintively. "Yes, private?" came the rather irate reply. "Got a package for you" the private replied "Gotta hand it to you personally. Get your signature an' all that". While the sergeant grumped and groaned his way over to the door, Talannah slipped into the office through an open window. The sergeant opened the door, staring at the private before him, minus any kind of package.
"You sure as frell haven't got any package, have you?!" barked the sergeant "Well why are you here then?" "To be a decoy?" quavered the private, as Talannah stepped up behind him. She immediately drove the tip of her boot into the sergeant's groin at high speed. As he folded up, his head met Talannah's knee coming the other way, hard. "Rrrrrhhh..." she growled happily, rubbing her hands together, before turning to the rest of the team. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Tie him up!" she hissed "Sit him up, bound and gagged, on that chair!" One corporal threw over a small keyring that he'd liberated from the sergeant's belt. "It should have all the keys we need, ma'am" he addressed Talannah. Once thy'd secured the sergeant to the chair, he'd started some muffled howling from behind his gag. Talannah thumped him again, and turned to the corporal who was fiddling with a small lumpy object under the chair and a few lengths of fishing line. "Booby-trap?" she prompted. He nodded, adding "Just a smoke bomb, ma'am. Green, I believe. Pity I'm not allowed to use real bombs". "Frell, I love demo!" he muttered happily, tying the final knot in the line. Harrigan grinned at that, remembering his old Captain, before waving them on towards the large shed next to the assault course.
Harrigan just marched up, throwing open the doors. "Where's the food?!" he barked. A cook appeared from behind the counter. "Just came off the course, did you?" she asked. "We have indeed just come through a great physical trial, milady" Harrigan replied, finishing off with a short bow and a smile. She blushed brightly, then called a couple of orderlies over – one leading a trolley piled with slabs of meat, the other leading a trolley with local vegetables on it. The team piled into the food thus presented before the real troops came in. Thankfully, the cook didn't look closely enough to see Talannah was a Scarran under her helmet, and Harrigan was by then sitting on the floor, which meant his head was level with everyone else's.
Once they'd all eaten their fill, and Harrigan had drunk several litres of water as well, they slipped out the same way they came in. They then proceeded up a slight rise to a small stretch of flat grass overlooking the assault course. "May as well relax and chill out for a while" Harrigan said, looking over the assault course. "Watch how well the troops perform. We'll have to prepare a briefing for the king when we get back, so make it good". The team spread themselves out, lying on the grass and watching Lord Brathal's troops going through their daily PT.
After an arn, Harrigan turned to the sergeant and Lord Aranak. "Opinions?" he asked. "Better than I thought" mused the sergeant "Fitness is good. They move well as units at squad level, but the problems set in when you get to the officers. They had a bunch of trench-storming exercises going, but almost all the officers hung back and let their men take the brunt of it. Very little unit integrity". A few momens later, sirens went off basewide, then a message was broadcast over the base PA. "Lord Brathal reports that there may be an attempt to infiltrate this base for a security and readiness inspection" came the massage "He expects the attempt to fail! The base goes to yellow alert NOW! Jump to it!"
Grunts and groans of dismay came from the troops below. Some of the officers used harsh language without example to bring their men into line, but a few just encouraged their men and showed them how it was done. These squads moved out to search the base with spring in their step, while some of the others just sloped off to one side.
"Let's move out" suggested Lord Aranak "We'll head back to the palace, and test the security again on the base motor pool and the outer perimeter on the way out". "We do need alternative transport, don't we?" replied Harrigan "Let's do it. Lord Aranak, you're on point." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- They'd made no more than two hundred metras when there was a muffled CRUMP! and a huge cloud of green smoke from behind them. The demo corporal started sniggering happily at the effectiveness of his work. Harrigan gave him a high-five, but didn't watch his strength as well as he could have; the slap almost dislocated his wrist.
Their celebrations were cut short a couple of momens later when Lord Aranak brought up his left fist for 'enemy seen'. Harrigan inched up to Lord Aranak's position behind a tree. He pointed out several crawlers, which would be ideal for their exfiltration; and half a dozen troops on roving patrol, which were not. Harrigan waved a couple of fingers, signalling 'silent movement', and pointed to the nearest crawler; which by a happy coincidence had its aft troop door pointed almost directly at them. Once they reached the back of the crawler undetected, Harrigan signalled the sergeant, who came over. Once Harrigan explained their situation, he beckoned another private, who picked the lock. The sergeant then signalled two more privates to knock out the guards at the front of the crawler and stash the bodies out of sight.
A couple of crack-thumps of punches hitting skulls later, and two slumbering Brathal troopers were rolled under a neighbouring crawler. One private had a bruise over his forehead, and was busy trying to massage the pain out of his knuckles. Harrigan waved a finger under his nose, and led the unit inside. Harrigan took Lord Aranak up front with him, and directed Talannah to the gun turret. She grumbled a bit about that, but reluctantly acknowledged that Lord Aranak would be needed on the comm when they reached the palace.
By now, the troops outside were beginning to sense that something was amiss. They knew that they were two troops short, and were beginning to search the parking lot in detail for traces of their missing comrades. When Harrigan hit the starter button, bringing the crawler's engine to life, the guard nearest the boom gate yelled "RAISE THE ALARM!" No more than ten microts later, red-alert sirens screeched on basewide and more troops appeared to be running towards them. "Time to go!" urged Lord Aranak urged. "I'm with you there" replied Harrigan, slamming his foot to the floor. Approximately 70 metras and a smashed gate later, Harrigan smiled and said "I could probably write a hazardous-driving course for these things, after the amount of trouble I've been in...". A mild thrum from the turret marked Talannah firing a short burst at a couple of trees. They fell across the road with a groaning creak, blocking the road completely until industrial lifters or heavy explosives could be brought in to clear the way.
Harrigan brought their speed down from breakneck to merely fast as they moved on to the main highways. The remainder of the trip back to Lord Aranak's mansion proceeded without further incidents, except the loud singing of regimental songs from the troop compartment driving both Harrigan and Talannah a little nuts. When Harrigan pulled up outside their barracks, the troops rushed out and headed straight for their bunks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Lord Aranak called out "Good going, troops" before the crawler sped off again, this time for the palace. A further half-arn later, Lord Brathal was walking in the palace courtyard. Now that I've warned my troops, that upstart offworlder won't have a chance! he murmured happily to himself. But his happy reverie was rudely interrupted when Harrigan's commandeered crawler screamed in through the gates and pulled a bootlegger turn not more than three metras from his left foot, showering him from top to toe in dust and gravel. While Lord Brathal brushed the looser muck off his face and clothes, Harrigan collared a passing trooper and instructed him to take the crawler to engineering for a new paint job.
Harrigan waved Talannah forward, and the two of them grabbed Lord Brathal by an elbow each, hoisting him off the ground a henta or two and then marched into the palace. The palace guards passed the news of Harrigan's return along to the king, who had the doors to his courtroom wide open by the time they arrived. "Your mission was successful, I presume?" King Torthil asked, as they followed him inside. Two palace serfs shut the doors behind them. "Yes, indeed, Your Majesty" replied Talannah "We found this outside when we pulled up" as she and Harrigan put Lord Brathal back down on the palace floor "Do you want it back?" The king scrutinised the dirt-covered thing before him carefully, then looked up. "Since I think that this is actually Lord Brathal, yes I'll keep him" the king laughed lightly "How did he get in such a sorry state?" Harrigan stepped in to answer this time. "When we pulled up, I pulled a big skid across the gravel. Once the dust cloud had dissipated, we saw Lord Brathal covered head to toe in muck, and couldn't resist the opportunity to embarrass him a little" he replied.
"I advise you to temper your practical jokes, Lieutenant" the king chastised "His forces will be needed in the upcoming war; and Lord Brathal's assent to that deployment will be greatly facilitated if his ego hasn't been pounded into the ground, hmmm?" "As you say, Your Majesty" replied Harrigan "We are prepared to give a briefing on the state of Lord Brathal's forces to your advisors now". The king turned to walk back into the courtroom, beckoning Harrigan and Talannah to follow. The other Lords and the deputy chief of staff were still present, and turned towards the king and his little entourage as they re-entered the room. Four or five momens later, a cleaned-up Lord Brathal resumed his seat as well.
"Lords and trusted advisors" intoned the king "A few arns ago, as you know, I sent Lieutenant Harrigan to conduct a readiness and security inspection. He has just returned. Lieutenant, if you please?" he finished, gesturing to the open floor. Harrigan spent a few microts calming down – he was not at ease around high political authority, then strode into the middle of the room.
"The state of Lord Brathal's forces is, I have to say" Harrigan stated "better than I'd hoped. The instincts and basic training of the enlisted ranks are very good – there were several times when I thought we'd get caught. Likewise most of the NCOs as well. But there was a clear caste system in operation over most of the forces we saw – a clear social separation – starting with a few of the NCOs and almost all of the officers, and this will be a liability in combat".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What are you talking about, man?!" argued Lord Brathal "I am a Lieutenant, Lord Brathal. I earned that rank, I didn't buy it with money or influence, so I expect to be treated with the appropriate level of respect. I have done the same for you and the other lords, and naturally for your king, so it's not too much to expect the same from you, is it?" Harrigan asked, then continued with "Oh well, we can deal with that later. Many of the officers, and some of the sergeants, believe themselves to be better than those they command simply because of their social status and family's political influence. They treat their troops like cattle, and this cannot be allowed to continue. It will lose us the war".
"But those of noble bloodlines" countered Lord Brathal "are born to command, and should be given appropriate deference." Harrigan's eyes almost glowed with suppressed anger at Lord Brathal's intransigence, and he replied with "Not to the point where it costs lives! They must EARN respect, and certainly trust, Lord Brathal! They are not entitled to it by birth! There is a certain amount of respect due to the position they hold, but the men won't truly trust a leader in combat who treats them like DIRT! DO YOU GET ME?!" Harrigan's voice rose to his already-notorious screech for his last few words. Then he turned to the king and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But attitudes like Lord Brathal's really rile me".
The king harrumphed a little, but Harrigan's apology had soothed him enough. "Very well" he said gruffly "Continue". "There were a few exceptional officers that we saw" Harrigan said as he continued the briefing "Once we had infiltrated the base, we watched daily PT for a while. There was a set of trench-storming exercises going on next to the assault course. A fair number of the officers led by example, as they should, and these units performed excellently. Those where the officers expected the men to do the work for them performed badly. Next, uniforms. Those red uniforms have got to go!" Lord Brathal crinkled his brow in honest surprise. "Why?" he asked "My father used them, as did his father, and his before him". Harrigan looked over to His Majesty for permission to continue. He got it, and waved Talannah over to him.
"What you may not know is this" Talannah said, stepping up beside Harrigan "We managed to capture the Charrid base commander during our raid. When we interrogated him back here, he revealed that Rathlaas' own forces would be boosted by 10,000 troops specially imported from Scarran space". The room dissolved into complete bedlam at Talannah's revelations. Recriminations flew back and forth, as various Lords and advisors sought to blame other Lords and advisors for the pickle they found themselves in now.
"SILENCE!" bellowed the king. "The blame for this upcoming war lies with Rathlaas and their allies. Not here in this room! Lieutenant?" the king prompted, turning back to Harrigan. Harrigan straightened up, and went on. "That's why those uniforms have got to go" he explained. "Charrids may not be the most subtle creatures in the universe, but they understand the value of tactics and camouflage. They have snipers. Those bright uniforms will seem like a gift from Charrid heaven! They don't have a chivalric tradition in Scarran space!" Harrigan raged "They just use what works. Lord Aranak knows this. Even you others" he waved one hand to encompass the other Lords "recognise this by using darker coloured uniforms. In this area, Lord Brathal, adherence to tradition must give way to tactical necessity". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Very well" replied Lord Brathal, now resigned to this situation. He turned to Lord Lorshul, saying "Perhaps you could make some of those black uniforms your troops have for my use?" Lord Lorshul turned, replying "Of course, Lord Brathal. I will even give you the discounted price rate, due to the upcoming war".
"Good, that's sorted out." Harrigan added thankfully "Despite the sorry state of the uniforms, Lord Brathal, you can be justifiably proud of your troops. They have all the right instincts, and are well trained. Once the officer corps gets kicked into line, they'll have officers worthy to lead them. I would recommend Lord Aranak's general staff for this" , Lord Aranak sat up with a little more pride and a small smile on his face, "but if you prefer, the king's deputy chief of staff would be an acceptable substitute". "As you say, Lieutenant" Lord Brathal replied, the he turned to Lord Aranak "Perhaps you could send a team over to my main training grounds tomorrow morning? I will order all officers to attend". Lord Aranak stepped forward and shook Lord Brathal's hand, saying "Done!"
"Apart from that, the forces of Lord Brathal stand ready" he reported to the king "Motorised infantry, light armour, and mobile artillery await your orders". Harrigan turned to Lord Brathal with interest. "Motorised infantry, you say?" he enquired "Very useful. You've just earnt a place at the front of the front lines, Lord Brathal". Then Harrigan turned back to address the main gathering. "Well, it's been a very long day" he said "With the king's permission, I'll collect my fee for this mission and go and get some sleep. I suggest you people do the same". The deputy chief of staff passed over Harrigan's fee while the other Lords and advisors left for their own estates. "The king has instructed me to have guestrooms in the palace made available, if you wish" asked the deputy chief of staff. "Including my comrades outside?" pressed Harrigan. "Including your comrades" confirmed the deputy chief of staff.
Harrigan fought to keep back a yawn. "Tal, my dear" he asked, tiredness slurring his voice "Let Aeryn, Crichton, and Chiana know we're staying here tonight. The deputy chief of staff here will show us exactly where". Talannah and Harrigan were led out of the courtroom, where Aeryn, Crichton, and Chiana were waiting for them. "The king has given us guestrooms for the night" explained Harrigan, stifling another yawn. Talannah lifted his arm around her shoulder and gave him as much support as she could. "I for one need sleep NOW. Let's go" he addressed the deputy chief of staff.
They reached the tier of rooms normally reserved for visiting dignitaries. The first stop was Chiana's room. When she saw how plushly appointed the room was, she let out a squeal of excitement and kissed the deputy chief of staff hard on the mouth, holding the kiss for several microts. Then she rushed in thorough the door and jumped onto the bed, bouncing up and down a couple of times. "Go on then, you lot" she urged "I'll be fine here. Especially if that handsome chief of staff wants to stay..." she finished with a hopeful leer. Then they dropped off Aeryn and Crichton at their room. A quick hug, a kiss, and then they shut the doors behind them as they went in. Last of all, Harrigan and Talannah's room. The deputy chief of staff bade them goodnight and closed the doors as he left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah stared at the four-poster bed with a wistful smile on her face. "I know, love" Harrigan soothed "Me too. But it's not right. Not yet. After we're married". Talannah turned to face her lover, with a pained and slightly angry look on her face. "And when will that be?!" she cried in despair. Then she fell against his shoulders and cried softly. "Hardly normal Scarran behaviour, is it?" she sniffed "I can't imagine what you must think". Harrigan looked down at Talannah's face with such a look of warmth and love that Talannah's sadness dissipated slowly, a smile coming onto her face as well. "I don't care if it's normal Scarran behaviour or not" he responded, running a finger softly across her chin "It shows that you trust me enough to let me see the real you, the one I love so much and want to spend the rest of my life with".
Harrigan sat down on the couch and collected his thoughts. "To answer your question, though" he finally declared "'When will it be?' After this war is over, I'll ask Crichton if he knows any ways we can get back to Earth quickly. If he does, we'll stop over there for a weeken or two. Partly to bring back the results of my mission to find Crichton, but mostly..." Harrigan smiled again "...so we can finally marry. Once I've had a few words with the base chaplain, and he's got over his shock that you're not human, that shouldn't be a problem. In the mean time" Harrigan decided "you take the bed; I'll sleep on the couch over by the door".
For the first few arns, Harrigan slept fitfully at best. His separation from Talannah, even though she was only across the other side of the suite, manifested itself in him twisting and turning every few momens. Not only was this not good for his health, it wasn't good for the couch either – it wasn't built to stand the strain of 1100 pounds of constantly shifting insomniac on it. Eventually he walked softly over where Talannah was sleeping. Just the sight of her sleeping there, perfectly safe, soothed him – so he settled himself on the floor and went back to sleep at the foot of the bed.
He awoke blearily the next day to the sight of Talannah sitting next to him on the floor, tapping him on the head and digging him in the ribs to try and wake him up. "Yes?" he replied, still half-asleep. "Why are you waking me at this ungodly hour?" Talannah smiled, running a finger down his nose and over his lips. Harrigan kissed her finger, then hauled himself upright. "It's actually 10.30am local time now, my love" Talannah told him "It was very touching seeing you asleep at the foot of the bed like that. Very romantic. But the others have been wondering when you'd wake up, so you'd better clean yourself up pronto".
Harrigan groaned and grumbled his way to the shower, and ten momens later emerged to Talannah with her arms crossed and tapping her foot on the floor. "Come on!" Harrigan groaned, spreading his arms wide in entreaty "I needed that to feel even half-awake!". He bent over and grabbed his web gear, which he strapped on; and his G8C and Viper, which were respectively slung over his shoulder and placed in its shoulder holster. He shrugged his shoulders to settle the web gear into place, then gave Talannah a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go then" he decided "I'm up now, we may as well get something useful done".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepy-head!" laughed Crichton. Then, after calming down, he added "While you were asleep, the newly- elevated chief of staff dropped in to request a quick flyover of the approaching attack force. His satellites are being jammed or laser- flashed, so no help from that quarter. He wants you to do it. Fee proffered is 3000 krepna". When Harrigan heard 'flyover' all the tiredness left him. "Well, what are we waiting for?!" he urged the rest of them happily "Let's go! I'm glad to get a flying mission. Frankly I'd do it for nothing" Harrigan revealed "but don't tell them that. Since we now have five of us here...", Chiana had just come back with another drink, "... we'll take my ship. For once I'll be able to take her up with a full basic crew".
On the way out, they met the new chief of staff in the motor pool. "Congratulations on your promotion!" Crichton congratulated him. "Thank you" he replied more soberly. "But I'd really rather not have got it this way". "You wouldn't have got the job at all" assured Aeryn "if the king didn't think you were up to it". The chief of staff grinned sheepishly, then pointed towards their buggies, which had been overhauled and refuelled. "I take it you've been made aware of the king's request for an overflight. Your buggies have been fixed up. Those Charrids you grabbed them off had no idea of proper maintenance procedures. You'll reach the spaceport without the buggies falling apart now".
They drove through the city centre at a fairly sedate pace. Harrigan took the time to look at the locals going about their daily business; some waved, and one or two of the unmarried women smiled. Once one saw the look on Talannah's face, however, word quickly spread that he was spoken for, and the interest slackened off. It was obvious that this was in part due to her being a Scarran as much as Harrigan being taken.
The buggies pulled up outside the Harbringer's blast pit twenty momens later. A few of Lord Rahjan's guard were on duty there, and came over. "No one's even come close to your ship, sir" one trooper reported "We've kept the few curious onlookers at a safe distance". Harrigan was a little surprised at the 'sir', so the guard sergeant clarified his underling's words and manner. "Lord Rahjan himself sent word that the king has hired you and your friends to help defend the city against the Rathlaas attack. He also sent word to show the same respect to you as to our own officers". "Carry on" urged Harrigan "Just check our buggies now and again in the course of your travels to make sure they're still there and unharmed". "Sir" responded the sergeant, before moving on.
Harrigan unlocked the Harbringer and they all piled in. Chiana looked around with awe. "This is really drad!" she exclaimed "Dargo's ship, Lo'la, is pretty hot; but this is something else altogether". Talannah laughed as she slid into the copilot's seat beside Harrigan, then gave the others their places.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Aeryn" she directed "Nav console, as before. Crichton, top gun". Harrigan pointed up the ladder to show Crichton the right way to go. "Finally, Chiana. Straight down the corridor to the tail gun for you". Forty microts later they were all strapped in and ready to go. Harrigan yipped "Up, up, up, and away!" happily, while taking off unexpectedly smoothly. "Chi, Crichton?" he asked. "Yes?" they replied. "I'm powering up your guns" Harrigan decided "We shouldn't need them, but I'd like them online just in case of emergencies. Don't touch anything. A stray energy blast from an accidental discharge could alert the enemy unnecessarily. The longer we remain undetected, the more use we'll be". "Copy that" replied Crichton, "I get you" replied Chiana.
Harrigan flew the Harbringer straight and level over the city centre, and over the walls to the badlands and approaching enemy. Ten momens at half- speed they saw the enemy front line. A large dust cloud from approaching vehicles could be seen fairly close in, but infantry could also be seen running along on foot as well, plus some slower vehicles too far away to identify with even Harrigan's vision. "Right, here's where we earn our pay" Harrigan barked "Aeryn, power up that surveillance gear! Get me an ID on those vehicles up front, and those further back. The sweep over the infantry. We'll try and see how well equipped they are. Crichton, Chiana – sing out if your sensors pick up anything airborne".
Aeryn twiddled knobs and pressed buttons, sending her sensors sweeping over the enemy formations. They moved with discipline and order, more so than local men-at-arms or militia. "I think the enemy general decided to lead off with his best units" she said to Harrigan slowly "Those grunts down there don't move like locals. Where did they come from?". "You weren't there when the Charrid base commander was interrogated, or you'd know where. If he wasn't lying, 10,000 troops were imported directly from Scarran space. Whoever's in command probably doesn't trust the Rathlaas troops, such as they are". "So..." replied Aeryn, stunned. "The Scarran Imperium and its Charrid allies make their first move here". "What about those vehicles up front?" Harrigan prompted, returning Aeryn to reality. "Buggies" she replied "Various different kinds. Probably raiders and skirmishers. I see variants mounting pulse cannons and tak-7 missile packs". "Hmm" Harrigan replied "Lord Aranak will want to know about that. Next?".
"Further back" Aeryn added "We have a mix of self-propelled howitzers and some main battle tanks. Not superheavies, but big enough to be wary of. No IFVs. Mobile anti-aircraft guns around the artillery, but very few around the tanks or infantry. Force Commander at the back. Looks like a Scarran command hover-fortress. More mobile AA there as well."
"ETA Ithlin?" Harrigan asked. Aeryn went over a few possible options in her head, then gave a tentative "Approx. 3 arns for the main force, perhaps 2 for the buggies". A 'MISSILE LAUNCH!' warning flashed up on Harrigan's HUD. He immediately threw the Harbringer into a 90 degree left bank. The missile, a heat-seeker from one of the buggies, was shot down by the Harbringer's anti-missile system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Sorry about that, people" Harrigan growled "But some FRELNIK buggy jock decided to pop one off at us! Sorry, no-one home. Return to sender!" Harrigan immediately brought forward fire-control to active and started scanning for targets. The battlecomp reported fourteen buggies close by with tak-7 missiles. "Stand by for gun run!" Harrigan ordered. "Chi, once we go over, you cut loose at anything still moving. Got that?" Chiana forced her fear down, and replied "Got it, Harrigan". "Aeryn" he continued "Keep the fire control of those mobile AA guns out of action. Usually those things have to stop to get a clear shot, but I'm not taking chances. Turn their lights OFF". A swift "Aye!" was his only response as Aeryn's hands flew over her control panel, activating the EW gear. "Tal, get on the horn back to the palace" Harrigan finished "Advise that the main force will reach the city in a little less than 3 arns. We'll need a full mobilisation starting now". Talannah immediately got on the comm gear, and forced a call through to the palace.
Harrigan pulled the nose of the Harbringer round to bring them into line with the right side of the first wave of buggy raiders. Harrigan flew low over the vehicles, laying down volley after volley of heavy pulse cannon fire. A slightly higher-pitched thrum marked Chiana's tail guns mopping up survivors of the first run. Another thrum came from up top as Crichton turned his own turret round and added its fire to the mix, killing two more buggies and a tank. "That's enough fun for one day" Harrigan decided, pulling away "We gotta get back to the king, tell him what's going on, and make sure they get everyone ready to fight!" He immediately applied as much extra speed as was safe inside atmosphere and headed back to the spaceport.
"Status report!" yelled Harrigan. "Fine up here, H" replied Crichton "Gun's in the green and so am I". "Same here" replied Chiana "No weird smoke or crackling noises, or any injuries to me either. Unless you count the fright of my life when all that pulse fire from the buggies was coming up at me". Talannah punched a few buttons on the keypad by her right knee, which brought up a diagnostic report on her HUD and Harrigan's. "Ship's systems all on-line. Perhaps one or two minor scorch marks" she stated for the group "Nothing important"
When the Harbringer touched down back at the spaceport, a refuelling truck immediately pulled up and started refilling the tanks. A few techs started cleaning the muck and sand stains off the hull as well. "Careful doing that!" Harrigan yelled through the bridge window "This is a stealth vessel!" Then he turned to his crewmates, adding "Right! Everyone out! Make sure you take your weapons with you"
The king himself was waiting for them when they emerged from the Harbringer onto the blast pit edge. Wearing armour, and surrounded by several of his royal guard, he beckoned Harrigan's little group over to where a crawler was waiting. The royal guard protested when King Torthil ordered them into the other crawler, but soon realised that their charge would probably be safer with Harrigan than with them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- As soon as they had all sat down and shut the back hatch, Harrigan thumped the crawler's hull and yelled "Go! Go! Go!" The driver didn't need to be told twice. Slamming his foot to the floor, the crawler took off for the palace as fast as it could go. Citizens barely got out of it's way in time as it and it's fellow, following close behind, shot through the town centre for the palace at a highly unsafe rate of knots.
The king got out as soon as the vehicle had pulled up outside the palace doors. Harrigan flipped his left hand forward, ordering his comrades to follow close behind. They all swept down to the courtroom where the advisors and Lords were waiting. The king motioned for Harrigan to take the stand and give his briefing. "We have two and a half arns to assemble our forces for battle." He stated ominously "The main force of the enemy will take that long to arrive. Motorised raiding forces will be here sooner. Lords" Harrigan said, turning to them "I'd suggest you deploy you troops, especially all artillery units, outside the city wall NOW. Chief of staff?". That individual turned to Harrigan sheepishly. "I'm way out of my depth here" he replied "With the king's permission..." The king nodded, and the chief of staff continued "...I turn over command of the royal guard units to you, sir".
Harrigan was truly surprised at that. "Very well, Your Majesty" he stated. "What about this lot?" he enquired scathingly, looking over the advisors. "Secretary Sherak, Minister of State" one woman stated "I strongly suggest we make at least one more diplomatic entreaty to the your fellow in Rathlaas, Your Majesty. Perhaps a negotiated settlement can be found before those forces reach here". "Hear, hear" added three others. The other two spat on the floor in disgust. Talannah leaned over to Harrigan, and whispered in his ear. "I'm sensing she's hiding something" she confided "She prefers a diplomatic option alright, but she's more tense than she ought to be. That slimy-looking male as well". "Confirmed" Harrigan responded "I thought for a moment it was only me who thought that. Their body heat patterns are shifting slightly. They're hiding something". Talannah passed their misgivings over to the king, who almost blew his top.
"MINISTERS OF STATE AND INTERIOR, UP HERE, NOW!!" he bellowed. "Lieutenant Harrigan and Talannah here believe you're not being completely truthful with us. Explain your current reticence. Now" he finished, in a lower, but no less angry voice. "You would trust this offworlder ahead of an advisor of long standing?" replied the Minister of the Interior. Harrigan noticed a slight alteration in his heat signature again, and his twitch alerted Talannah as well. Harrigan stepped up and grabbed that minister by the throat, hoisting him several hentae off the floor. "How you made it to the head of an important ministry, I'll never know. I'd trust a dead slug before I'd trust you!" Harrigan yelled "Now either you tell me what's going on, or I'll demonstrate for the king exactly what we did to that Charrid in the staging base, on YOU!" and tightened his grip.
"I am not afraid" the minister of the interior replied. Both Talannah and Harrigan picked up the lie of that in their Scarran-gifted ability to perceive deceit at close range. Talannah thumped him hard in the groin, doubling him over.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Now you can answer to me" Talannah hissed at her captive "Or Harrigan here will turn up the juice until electrical overload leaves you a vegetable, writhing and convulsing on the floor. What will it be?" The minister spat at Talannah, hitting her in the face. "You of all people should know" he sneered "The Scarran Imperium is moving in. They will make this place theirs, and not you or your mutant boyfriend, nor any of this city's forces will be able to stop them".
Before Talannah could draw her swords, Harrigan's rage at him spitting on her caused an immediate electrical blast to flow down both arms and straight through the minister's neck and body. A loud scream of agony later, and Harrigan dropped him on the floor. Standing over him, Harrigan planted a giant boot firmly on his chest, pinning him to the ground with the force of 1100 pounds of enraged Earthman. The king stepped forward, addressing his former minister. "Why did you side with our enemies? You have power and privilege here, everything anyone could want. Why?" he asked. "Because I wanted more, why else?" he replied "The Scarrans promised me 15 million krendars if I delivered them the leadership of this planet. I let the Special Forces unit that killed the chief of staff in through the city gates. The army outside will finish you off, unless you surrender. The Imperium needs citizens to rule, not corpses, after all".
The king turned to his Lords. "By the words out of his own mouth, the former minister before you here is guilty of treason" he stated formally "What shall be his penalty?" The unanimous verdict came back within two momens. "The Lords have decided" replied Lord Lorshul "That the penalty shall be death. Sentence to be carried out immediately". "Lord Brathal, put out the summons" ordered the king "All available citizens to witness the execution of the Minister of the Interior for treason"
A crowd soon gathered outside the palace gates. Harrigan grabbed the minister by the neck and jumped on top of the wall where as many as possible could see. One of the royal guard passed the king a bullhorn. "Citizens of Ithlin!" the king boomed over the bullhorn "Your Minister of the Interior, the one trusted with maintaining order in the city, has thrown in his lot with the forces outside the walls. He let in the unit that killed my chief of staff" A chorus of booing and hissing in anger came from the crowd "He took money from the Scarran Imperium to bring down the royal line and authority of this city! Accordingly, a council of his peers found him guilty of treason; this carries a mandatory death penalty. Lieutenant Harrigan?" the king asked. Harrigan nodded "You may carry out the sentence". Harrigan drew one of his own swords, whispering "It's a pity this blade has to be christened with the blood of a traitor". Then he brought the sword round in a two-handed swing which decapitated the treasonous advisor, before wiping the sword clean and resheathing it.
"So perish all enemies" intoned the king. After the head was found, it and the body were fed through the waste recyclers. The king gathered his Lords around him for an impromptu conference. Ten momens later, he raised the bullhorn again and turned back to his people. "With the full agreement of my Lords, it has been decided that Lieutenant Harrigan shall have overall command of the city's defences for the duration of this emergency. All citizens are to obey him as they would me, or suffer the same consequences."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah looked up at her future husband with such a look of adoring pride and love that Harrigan somersaulted off the wall, ran right up to her, and almost crushed her in a massive hug. "I'm in way over my head here, hon" he confided softly in her ear. She nipped his own right ear, then ran her tongue slowly round its edge before responding. "Don't worry, my love" she replied ardently "I'm here for you. I'm sure that Aeryn will lend her expertise to the endeavour as well. You'll be fine". Harrigan shuddered a little from the pleasure of her ministrations, then turned towards Aeryn. "Will you assist as well?" he asked "I could do with another military advisor". "Sure" Aeryn replied "Why not?".
"What about Crichton?" Harrigan asked "He's not a soldier. Wouldn't it be better if he took over Dargo's duties on Moya, and sent him down here?" Harrigan saw the look on Aeryn's face at the possibility of not having Crichton close by, and clarified his reasoning. "Dargo's had experience commanding battle campaigns before. Plus we're hardly short of troops here. Besides, if he succumbs to hyper-rage, we'll just stick him out front and let him kill everyone himself while we watch his back". Aeryn's ire slowly cooled as she saw the sense of what Harrigan was suggesting.
"He has learned a lot since you saw him last" Aeryn assured Harrigan. "In several of our adventures Crichton's help made the difference between success and failure. He performed well on out raid on that Charrid base, didn't he?" Harrigan nodded, and Aeryn continued "But what you suggest does have merit. Crichton has no large-scale battle experience - and Dargo does. I'll break it to him". Crichton definitely didn't like the idea of going back to Moya. He spent a precious quarter-arn trying to badger Aeryn into letting him stay, with no success at all – she just got angry. Aeryn got on the comm to Pilot back on Moya. "Pilot?" she asked. "Yes, Officer Sun?" Pilot replied. "Is a transport pod ready to go?" "Yes, Officer Sun" Pilot replied "But why? Is someone injured?" "No, we're fine. But war is coming" she explained "We need Dargo down here. If you can keep Sikozu and Jool in line yourself for a while, get Dargo in the pod and send him down. We'll send the pod back with Crichton in it. Once he's on board, find a spot behind one of the three moons and hide. The enemy have offworld allies who may still be present insystem"
A further quarter-arn later, Dargo ran up to them, having just got off a public transport vehicle. "What's going on?" he asked. "We're going to war, Dargo" Talannah explained "And we thought you'd like to tag along. Harrigan wants you around as an advisor as well". "What does he need advice on?" Dargo asked, perplexed. "Grand strategy" Aeryn said, taking over "He's been given overall command of the city's armies. He asks for our help in planning the offensive". The agreement made, they walked back to the palace gates, where many citizens were still waiting.
Harrigan took the bullhorn from the king, and spoke to the people. "Citizens of Ithlin!" his voiced boomed out over the crowd "These people here beside me will advise and assist me in leading your armies and defending this city – and it's people. To my left –"he held up Aeryn's hand "we have Officer Aeryn Sun. An ex-Peacekeeper, she has brought her companions to help us. One of whom is-"holding up Dargo's hand "a Luxan, General Ka'Dargo. He brings his experience in many skirmishes and two battle campaigns here to assist me. A most valuable addition"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Between us" Harrigan proclaimed to the people "we will see this city kept safe, or die trying". Talannah took the bullhorn, stepped forward, and yelled "All hail War Commander Harrigan!". A loud roar of approval came back from the crowd as Talannah raised Harrigan's hand into the air.
Harrigan turned to ask Talannah what that was all about, but she just pressed one finger over his mouth, shushing him gently. The group of Lords were just heading down to the war room when Harrigan caught up with them. "Sitrep?" Harrigan asked. "All forces are moving out of the city to initial pre-deployment positions, War Commander" replied Lord Lorshul. "We await your orders for final deployment positions". Harrigan was a little uneasy about such a grandiose title, pleading "Just a 'sir' will be fine".
A hundred microts later, they were inside the war room. It's strange, Harrigan thought, how different a room like this seems once you're put in charge. First, Intel. "Bring up a topographic representation of the terrain surrounding the city, emphasising the section on a direct line between here and Rathlaas" he ordered a tech. She looked over at one of the Lords for direction. Lord Rahjan responded with "The king gave him command of all the city's military forces". The tech nodded, then tapped a bunch of button in a quick sequence. This caused a 3-D full colour scale holo of the main wall between Ithlin and Rathlaas, plus surrounding terrain, to come up out of the tabletop.
"Good and bad "decided Harrigan "No cover at all to hide infantry in, but plenty of room to manoeuvre the tanks and other armour. For both sides". He beckoned Dargo and Aeryn over, and bade them look over the terrain. Then he plotted out his initial ideas of where the various Lord's forces should go. Aeryn immediately shifted the light armour and motorised infantry forces to the centre, in front of the Royal Guard. Dargo shifted Lord Aranak's powered armour units to accompany the heavy armour. "Those heavy tanks have little to no protection against infantry or fast attack vehicles. Those PA units fill the gap nicely" explained Dargo. "I do like where you placed the artillery. From there it can support either flank, or a frontal attack. The..." he took a closer look at the force marker "Royal Guard infantry provide security for the artillery, or in an emergency can reinforce either side in the face of a determined enemy offensive". "What are these?" asked Aeryn, pointing to a unit marker she didn't recognise.
"Fast attack grav tanks" replied Lord Lorshul "Part of my forces. Quick and powerful, they can move fast enough to exploit a weakness in the enemy battle-lines at short notice or repel a counterattack. Don't let them get bogged down, War Comm..." Harrigan waved a finger at Lord Lorshul, who continued with "Sorry, Sir. Their armour isn't as thick as a regular main battle tank". Talannah whispered "We should open up with them. Hit hard, move fast, then return at high speed for the main lines. That will give the light armour and mechanised infantry time to move up to combat range. All the while, the enemy are being pounded by long-range ram launchers from the walls and rocket artillery from the plains."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What about my special forces?" asked Lord Aranak peevishly "I don't see them here"
"I haven't forgotten them" Harrigan laughed "They will be first to battle. Deploy skirmishers and sniper teams immediately. Sow terror and confusion. Priority targets to be any officers they can hit safely without exposing themselves. Get a vehicle or two, then shift to another position and do the same. You know how it's done". Lord Aranak moved to leave and give the necessary orders, but Harrigan called him back. "Not yet, Lord Aranak. Yes, Aeryn?"
"That command hover-fort carries considerable firepower of its own" she replied "We'll have to take it out before it comes within missile range of the gates". When she saw Harrigan's malicious grin, she caught on. "You're sending forces to destroy it, aren't you?" she probed. When his grin got wider again, Aeryn eyes almost popped out. "YOU are going to lead those forces?" she responded, surprised. "Absolutely" Harrigan confirmed "You don't think I'm going to let the locals have all the fun, do you? Besides, it'll set a good example to the regular grunts. Give them something to look up to. Lord Aranak?"
"Yes, Sir?" he replied. "Detach one squad from your special forces that are good at close-assault." ordered Harrigan "I will take these troops and lead them against the command hover-fort. Once it's down, I'll fire a red flare; then me and the squad exfiltrate back to the front lines for the battle proper. Aeryn, you will not be accompanying us". "Why?" she barked back, annoyed "Because I need you to command the first wave. That flare will be your cue to order a general advance."
Aeryn's ire dissipated rapidly as she realised the honour being given to her. "Yes, Harrigan" she replied "Red flare – general advance. Got it". "Let's move!" Harrigan ordered the Lords "We must deploy our forces to main battle positions before the buggies arrive in, oh dear" as he looked at the wall clock "One arn. We must be ready. Go! Go! Go!" Harrigan accompanied Lord Aranak to where a small team of heavily armed soldiers waited for them. A nasty-looking lieutenant stepped forward. "So you're the one who got us this mission" he grumbled "We're good, but if what I've heard about those things is anything like accurate, it'll be next to impossible".
"You can stay back here if you like" Harrigan barked back, staring him in they eye "Dargo, Talannah, and myself are quite prepared to do this ourselves if you aren't up to it" The lieutenant coughed and spluttered at Harrigan's remarks. "Stay here?!" he replied harshly "My squad's as good as good as any Scarran any day! And more besides!" The look on Talannah's face showed exactly how likely she thought that was, which only enraged the lieutenant further. "That's the spirit!" Harrigan encouraged. "Dargo, Tal? Let's move!"
They reached the buggies waiting to take them on their mission. Harrigan got on the radio to Aeryn, who was now in the field command post. "Red flare, Aeryn, OK?" he reminded her "At my signal, unleash hell"
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