Vengeance
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: For the last time! I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: In an AU future.
Kate took his hand. "What is this Legion they've hired like?"
Castle thought for a moment. "Three good infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, some light armor, nothing armed with anything larger than a 50mm cannon, plus the usual support troops. A good unit altogether."
"What about New Hanover's space navy?"
"A pair of destroyers and about a half a dozen frigates. Even the frigates would be enough to blow the Pink Zephyr to bits."
"So what do we do?"
"Go back to our original plan, guerilla warfare. We'll avoid the soldiers and keep attacking the plantations. We've already heard that some of them are unhappy and want to sell out. I doubt that Geiser can afford enough troops to be able to fight off a company sized raid on all four hundred plantations. If enough planters leave, they won't make any money and will have to leave. So, we need to get ready people. Staff meeting in half an hour."
Everyone worked hard to prepare for the upcoming war. Then Castle was called to his headquarters.
"Sir, we received a message addressed to you. There's no indication of the sender, but it appears to have been sent from space. From some ship out there, I guess."
"What's the message?"
"Just one word, sir. Cheerio. What does that even mean?"
Castle smiled. "It means were taking a little trip. Have someone get all of the vehicles out of hiding and get them ready for a trip. Get all of the chiefs ready, too. I'm going to go see Kate."
"What do you mean we're going fifty miles south of here with all of the village chiefs? We have a war to get ready for." Kate said.
Castle smiled. "This is part of the preparations."
"Just what is it, then?"
"It's a surprise."
"Rick, I hate surprises."
"You'll love this surprise. Really."
"I'll love it more if you tell me what it is right now."
"Sorry. You'll find out more the day after tomorrow."
They left early the next morning in the two trucks that had tracks rather than wheels and several four-wheel drive vehicles. It was quite crowded because Kate, all of Rick's officers and all of the village chiefs insisted on bringing along a platoon of soldiers. Castle just smiled.
The arrived at a small, open prairie late in the afternoon and no one, not even Kate at her seductive best could get Castle to explain. That night when they went to bed, Kate rolled over facing away from Rick and told him she had a killer headache.
At about noon the next day, they heard the rumbling of a ship coming in to land. Looking up they saw not one, but three large ships coming in.
"You're not handing us over to that Davidson's Legion, are you?" Asked Chief Mugwump.
"Of course not."
"Are they surrendering to us?" Kate asked.
"Them? Of course not."
The first ship landed and the forward cargo ramp opened and tanks began rumbling onto the prairie, followed by other vehicles. One tank headed straight for them.
"I thought you said Esposito's Legion only had light tanks. Those don't look very light." Kate said.
"They aren't. They're not a bit light." Castle was still smiling.
The tank stopped, the commander's hatch opened and a man got out and jumped to the ground. He was tall and slender, with eyes as blue as Castle's and with a Brigade of Guards mustache adorning his upper lip. He was dressed in camouflaged fatigues over which he had a battered black leather coat with silver epaulettes on the shoulders. On his head was a black beret with a sliver death's head on the side. Over his shoulder was a shortened assault rifle. He smiled as he walked towards them. "Ricky, old boy! So good to see you again."
Kate was surprised that he spoke in a cut-glass English accent.
Rick saluted. "Good to see you again, sir,"
The man returned Rick's salute with a negligent wave. "Oh, good heavens, Ricky. Given the size of your command here, I hardly outrank you, old boy." He looked past Rick. "I see you brought everyone."
Rick put his arm around Kate. "May I introduce my fiancé, Kate Beckett? Kate, this is Oberst Hans von Tarlenheim, commander of Kampfgruppe von Tarlenheim."
"Oberst?" Kate said, frowning.
"A Colonel, Captain Beckett."
"And what's a kampfgruppe?"
"Literally, it's a battle group or a fighting group in English. In my case, it's a brigade. I have a battalion of tanks, some eighty five strong…"He stopped and looked back at Rick. "Oh, Ricky, I must tell you, I bought a small company of the Chieftain heavy tanks. Just eleven of them, and they are rather slower than I might want, but they're just lovely for leading an assault." He turned back to Kate. "I also have two battalions of panzergrenadiers, infantry in armored vehicles, two battalions of artillery…"He stopped again. "You must see my new guns, Ricky. A battery of Royal Ordnance Factory self-propelled 180mm guns. Why, I could hit any part of Golden Life Valley with them from here." He turned back to Kate. "I have battalions of engineers, armored cavalry, aviation, aerospace defense artillery, and all the usual support troops."
"That's very impressive." Kate said, still not sure what was going on and unsure as to why Castle wasn't talking.
"Oh, other news, Ricky. The Earl of Orkney is bringing his regiment here. He'd just entered the system as I was landing. He finally has his regiment more or less complete: A complete tank battalion, an armored infantry battalion, an artillery battalion and everything else is company sized. Of course, old Freddy will keep adding on. He'll have a division before he's done."
"I should introduce you to the village chiefs, sir." Castle said.
"Oh, by all means, but please do call me Hans."
Introductions were made, but before anyone could ask any questions, von Tarlenheim spoke again. "Ah, they've set up my tactical headquarters. We should sit down and have some refreshments. A grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla for you, Captain Beckett?"
"Yes, but how did you…?" She looked over at Rick and glared at him.
"Lemonades for the Tarkai?"
They agreed at once.
Four boxy armored vehicles had backed up to each other and tarps had been spread between them. Under the tarps, in addition to people working on computer terminals and comm systems, was a table set with a snowy white tablecloth, with three waiters dressed in white ready to attend to the guests. Drinks were served and several plates of fresh donuts were put out.
Since Castle didn't seem inclined to say anything, Kate asked a question. "May I ask why you've come here, Colonel?"
"Oh, please call me Hans. May I call you Kate? And to answer your question, I'm here because I sense a business opportunity."
Kate frowned. "We can hardly afford to hire you, or this Earl of Orkney."
"I'm not here as a seller, but as a buyer."
"A buyer of what?" Kate was starting to get angry that Castle was saying nothing.
"I looked over Ricky's claim to the Geiser Corporation that he's legally the heir to Jackson and Martha Rodgers and therefore the sole legal contractor for the Tark project. By the by, the security at Geiser Corporation is dreadful. So, they don't have a legal led to stand on, which is why they've resorted to force. As I know Ricky has no desire to be some sort of farmer on this planet, I thought I'd buy him out."
"Buy him out?" Kate echoed.
"I was thinking for fifty million UK pounds and 2 ½ percent of the new corporation. I think that's fair."
Castle nodded. "It sounds fair, but I have an agreement with the Tarkai to consider."
Von Tarlenheim smiled. "Of course. I'll need to make a deal with them. First, I had in mind upgrading their military. For starters, a light infantry division. Say nine infantry battalions, perhaps, and a single artillery battalion and the usual support units. They'll need help with maintenance, repair and logistics at first, and in handling the more complex weaponry. But before you know it, they'll have a force too powerful permit anyone to enslave them ever again."
"What about the plantations?" Castle asked.
"As I, and the law, see it, every sale or lease of a plantation by that Demming fellow is illegal and without force. I shall simply tell the slavers they've been illegally squatting on my land and that I want a reasonable back rent from them for however long they've been there. I can't imagine any one of them coming up with that kind of cash, so they'll have to move, or I'll move them."
"What about the plantations themselves?" Castle asked.
"Oh, I'll just sell them for a nominal sum to the various villages. I'll make my money by providing various services to the new owners. They'll need engineers to maintain their fusion plants for refining the product. I don't imagine the Geiser stores, bars and whatnot in town will be very popular, especially when I end their monopoly. I should be able to make a tidy sum out of this with little effort on my part."
Kate wasn't too sure about that, but it seemed like a good deal for the Tarkai.
Von Tarlenheim, Castle and the chiefs discussed the contracts that the mercenary was offering. Castle pretty much accepted his, once Kate had nodded her agreement. The negotiations with the chiefs took a bit longer, and in the end they insisted that Castle stay on for a year as their chief military advisor and commander of their forces.
"Isn't there one thing you're forgetting?" Kate asked.
"What's that, Kate?" Von Tarlenheim asked.
"New Hanover is sending a warship here. Your transport doesn't have the firepower, I'm sure, to fight off even a frigate. And once they've established space superiority around Tark, they can shoot you to bits from orbit."
"There is that." Von Tarlenheim agreed. Then he called out to someone in one of his command vehicles. "Sir Kevin, can you come out here?"
Sir Kevin was a slender, compact man with blond hair and a blond Imperial beard, dressed very conservatively and very expensively.
"May I introduce Sir Kevin Ryan, of His Majesty's diplomatic service? Sir Kevin, I have successfully concluded my business with both parties. Are you prepared to make your offer?"
"That I am. The government of the United Kingdoms would like to offer a treaty of alliance to the government of the Golden Life Valley. If you agree, His Majesty's Navy already has a task force in this system. It consists of two armored cruisers and six destroyers. Should any foreign power threaten you, we would defend you. In addition, we would like to buy the largest of your three moons. As you have no means of reaching any of the moons, I'm afraid we'll be offering just a nominal sum, one hundred thousand pounds."
The village chiefs had to have explained to them what the vessels were and how they compared to the ships of New Hanover, but eventually agreed.
TBC