The Hipno Chronicles:
Ghosts of Liandris
Chapter 4:
Debriefing
0900 HOURS, JULY 30, 2537 (IMPERIAL CALENDAR) \ ABOARD
LEGION POINT VELOCITY, LOCATION CLASSIFIED
(5 YEARS AFTER ALPHA COMPANY INDOCTRINATION)
Colonel Mantadurru and SCPO Kuran had been escorted to this catwalk through a series of corridors and high-security biometric vaults into the bowels of the stealth cruiser Point Velocity.
The security officers had then left them standing at attention on the catwalk, and sealed the vaultlike door behind them. Below the metal grating of the catwalk, the shadows swallowed all sound.
Three meters to Kikoji's left was a slightly curved white wall. No door. Beyond was Thor's Eye, the high-security conference room where he'd first been told of the HIPNO-III program by Colonel Ackerson.
'Think this is some Section One test?" Dom finally whispered. "Or maybe someone doesn't like getting news about the lousy selection results for the Beta Company candidates?"
"I'm not sure," Kikoji replied. "My requested upgrades for the Mark-II SPI armor were over budget."
Dom raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hear that?"
"The new AI talks alot."
" 'Deep Winter' " Dom muttered. "I wonder if AIs pick their own names, or if some officer in Section One does it."
Kikoji was about to offer his opinion when he noticed there now stood a door in the curved white wall. Colonel Ackerson stood there. "Gentlemen, join us." Ackerson then retreated into a brightly lit chamber.
Kikoji noticed that he hadn't met their eyes. That was always a bad sign.
They entered, and as he crossed the threshold, Kikoji felt static crawl over his skin. The concave illuminated walls of the chamber were disorienting. Kikoji focused on the center of the half-spherical room, on the black conference table. Two officers sat there, gazing at holographic screens that floated in the air over its surface.
Ackerson waved them closer.
A woman sat with her back to them; opposite her sat a middle-aged gentleman.
The man was gray and balding. The woman appeared older than regs permitted before mandatory retirement. Her osteoporotic slump, slender frail arms, and thinning white fur indicated extreme age.
Kikoji froze as he spotted the one- and three- star rank insignia on their collars and snapped off a salute. "Vice Admiral, ma'am." he said. "Rear Admiral, sir."
The Vice Admiral ignored Dom and scrutinized Kikoji. "Sit," she said, "both of you."
Kikoji didn't recognize either of these high-ranking officers, and they didn't bother to introduce themselves.
He did as he was ordered, as did Kuran. Even sitting, though, his back was ramrod straight, his chest out, and eyes forward.
"We were reviewing the record of your HIPNO-IIIs since they went operational nine months ago," she said. "Impressive."
The Rear Admiral gestured at floating holographic panes that contained after-action reports, still shots of battlefields filled with Furain corpses, and ship damage-assesment profiles. "The insurrection of Mamore," he said. "that nasty business at New Constantiople, actions in the Bonanza asteroid belt and the Far-Gone colony platforms, and half a dozen other engagements--this reads like the campaign record of a cracking good battalion, not a company of three hundred. Damned impressive."
"That was only a fraction of the HIPNO-III program potential," Colonel Ackerson said. His eyes stared at some distant point.
"I'm sorry, sir," Kikoji said. " 'Was'?"
The Vice Admiral stiffened. It was clear that she was not accustomed to her junior officers asking questions.
But Kikoji had to. These were his men and women they were talking about. He'd kept his eyes and ears open for news on Alpha Company, and had cultivated intelligence sources outside ONI, Section One, and Beta-5. Being Commandant of Camp Currahee had its priviledges, and he had learned how to use them. He managed to track his Hipnos during the last seven months, until his sources had mysteriously gone silent six days ago. Only the AI Unending Spring had given a clue as to their whereabouts: Operation PROMETHEUS.
"Tell me about the selection process for the next class of HIPNO-IIIs," the Vice Admiral asked Kikoji.
"Ma'am," Kikoji said, "we are operating under Colonel Ackerson's expanded selection criteria, but there are not enough age-appropriate genetic matches to meet the larger second-class target number."
"There are sufficient genetic matches," Colonel Ackerson corrected. His face was impassively mask. "What's missing are data to find additional matches. We need to proscribe mandatory genetic screening in the outer colonies. Those untapped populations are--"
"That's the last thing we need in the outer colonies," the Rear Admiral said. "We're just getting a handle on a near civil war. You tell an O.C. they got to register their kids' genes, and they'll all be reaching for their rifles."
The Vice Admiral steepled her withered hands. "Say it is part of a vaccine program. We take a microscopic sample as we inject the children. Inform no one."
The Rear Admiral looked dubious, but offered no further comment.
"Go on, Lieutenant Colonel," she said.
"We have identified 375 candidates," Kikoji said. "Slightly less than we started with for Alpha Company, but we have learned from our mistakes. We will be able to graduate a much higher percentage this time."
He nodded toward Dom to give the Chief the credit he richly deserved. Kuran sat completely still and Kikoji saw that he wore his poker face.
"But," the Rear Admiral said, "that's nowhere near the one thousand projection for the second wave."
A brief scowl played over Ackerson's lip. "No, sir."
The Vice Admiral set her hands on the table and leaned closer to Kikoji. "What if we loosen the new genetic selection criteria?"
Kikoji took note of the "we" in her question. There was a subtle shift in the power structure at the table. With a single word, the Vice Admiral had made Kikoji a part of their group.
"Our new bioaugumentation protocols target a very specific genetic set. Any deviation from that set would geometrically increase the failure rate," Kikoji said. The thought of dozens of Hipnos being tortured and ultimately crippled as they lay helpless in a medical bay filled him with revulsion. He managed to contain the feeling.
The Vice Admiral raised one threadbare brow. "You've done your homework, Colonel."
"However, as our augumentation technology improves," Ackerson said, "one day we will be able to expand the selection parameters, maybe to include the entire general population."
"But not today, Colonel," the Rear Admiral said, and sighed. "So, we're back to about three hundred HIPNO-IIIs. That will have to do, then."
Kikoji wanted to correct him--three hundred new Hipnos plus those in Alpha Company.
"Let's move on to the review of Alpha and Operation PROMETHEUS," the Vice Admiral said, and her face darkened.
Colonel Ackerson cleared his throat. "Operation PROMETHEUS occurred on the Furian manufacturing site designated as K7-49."
A holographic asteroid materialized, drifting over the table, a rock with molten cracks that made a spiderweb pattern over its surface.
"K7-49 was discovered when the prowler Blade's Edge managed to attach a telemetry probe on an enemy frigate during the Battle of New Harmony," Ackerson said. "They then followed the craft through hyperspace, the first and only time this technology has worked, I might add, and they discovered this rock seventeen light-years past the Empire's outer boundary."
The image magnified, revealing midaltitude images of factories on the surface that belched smoke and cinder, and showed that the volcanic fissures were canals of flowing molten metal. A gossamer lattice surrounded the asteroid, tiny lights winked on the filaments, and black specks drifted near.
"Specral inhancement," the Rear Admiral said, "showed us what they're using all that metal for."
The view shifted closer. The latticework girders were hundred-meter-wide beams, and the black specks appeared to be the bones of whales in orbit over K7-49--a dozen partially constructed Furian warships.
"K7-49 is one large orbital shipyard," Ackerson explained. "All the apparent volcanism is artificial, created by these." He tapped his tablet once more. Thirty infared dots appeared on the surface of the asteroid. "High-output plasma reactors that liquefy metallurgical components, which are refined, shaped, and then transported via gravity beams for final assembly."
"The PROMETHEUS op was a high-risk insertion onto the surface of K7-49," the Rear Admiral explained. "Three hundred Hipnos hit dirt at 0700, July 27. Their mission was to disable as many of these reactors as possible--enough so the liquid contents of the facility would solidify and permanently clog their capacity to produce alloy."
Colonel Ackerson then tapped the holographic display. "S.T.A.R.S system and TEAMCOM recorded Alpha Company's process."
A handful of the hot infrared points on the asteroid's surface flared and then cooled to black.
"Initial resistance was light." Ackerson tapped a button and a new window opened.
On his display, Hipnos in SPI armor systems moved, their camouflaged patterns shifting imperfectly against the molten metal and black smoke of the factory. Kikoji wished his suggested upgrades for the SPI armor's software had been implemented before Alpha had graduated. There was a burp of suppressed submachine-gun fire, and a pod of Fodder salve workers fell dead.
"After two days," the Admiral said, "seven reactors were rendered inoperative and a counterforce was finally organized by existing Furian units."
A new video feed appeared.
The vulturelike Scarfers moved in squads through large courtyards, and filed over archways. They were more organized than their Fodder counterparts, and they worked in fire teams, methodically clearing section by section. But Kikoji knew his Hipnos wouldn't be cornered. They would be the hunters.
Thirty Scarfers moved into a circular court, where Technicians tended a churning pool of molten steel. The Scarfers cleared every hiding spot, and then started to cross, warily scanning the rooftops.
Flagstones exploded and sent the Scarfers sprawling. Sniper fire took out the stunned aliens before they could get their shields in place.
"The Furian counterresponse was neutralized," the Rear Admiral continued, "and over the next three days, Alpha Company destroyed thirteen more reactors."
The large infrared asteroid-wide view changed. Two-thirds of the surface had cooled to dull red.
"But," the Rear Admiral said, "a massive counterforce appeared in orbit and descended on to the surface."
Colonel Ackerson opened three more holographic windows: HIPNO-IIIs engaged Therons on the ground, trading fire from cover. Siren fliers swooped down from building tops--two Hipnos fired shoulder-launched SAMs and stopped the air assault cold.
"On day seven," the Admiral said, "additional Furian reinforcements arrived."
The video from a helmet camera showed a dozen HIPNO-IIIs limping and falling on a smoldering landscape of twisted metal. There was no unit cohesion. No two-man teams covering one another. In the heat-blurred background, Therons took up superior positions with good cover.
"By now," the Rear Admiral said, "eighty-nine percent of the reactors had been destroyed. Sufficient cooling had occurred to permanently shut the operation down. Alpha Company was cut of from their NEBUCHADNEZZER exfiltration craft."
The window showing the HIPNO-IIIs tilted sideways as the owner of the helmet cam fell. Ackerson rotated the holographic display 90 degrees to rectify the image.
Three Hipnos remained standing, firing suppressing bursts from their PA6-Ls behind a crashed Siren; then they broke from the cover and sprinted--a second before the flier was destroyed by an energy mortar. IFF tags at the bottom of the screen identified these Hipnos as Rob, Shane, and, carried between them, Jane. She had been the first candidate to jump that first night of indoctrination.
TEAMBIO appeared in another window. Rob's and Shane's blood pressure was close to the hypertensive limit. Jane's biosigns were flatlined.
Seeing them like this...it felt like someone had driven a metal spike into Kikoji's chest. A pair of hulking Furian Seekers blocked the Hipnos' retreat. They raised their energy grenade launchers.
Robert unloaded his assault rifle at them, which hardly made the pair flinch as it spanged off their thick armor. Shane switched to his sniper rifle and shot through one Seeker's unarmed midsection, and then pumped two rounds into the other's vulnerable abdomen. They both went down, but still moved, only momentarily incapacitated.
Theron fire teams, meanwhile, popped up on either side and unleashed a hellstorm of exploding needles and plasma.
Robert caught so many needles to his chest, he looked like a purple pincushion. Screaming, he managed to reload and spray his ML0-B on full auto at the Theron who had shot him. TEAMBIO showed his heart in full arrest, but he still grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin, and lobbed it at the enemy fire team...and then the needles exploded, blowing him apart.
Shane screamed, a primal, hellish sound that chilled Kikoji to the marrow, as he watched his the pieces of his friend rain the ground around him. He turned back to the Theron fireteam and unloaded on them.
More Therons appeared, surrounding the lone Hipno.
Shane's rifle clacked, empty. He pulled out an N3 pistol and continued to fire.
An energy mortar detonated like a small sun two meters away.
Shane tumbled through the air, and landed prone, unmoving.
"And that's all we have." Ackerson said.
Kikoji continued to stare at the screen of static, his heart racing, half expecting the feed to go live again and show Shane gather up Jane, and together they'd limp off the battlefield, wounded, but alive.
Seven years Kikoji had trained them, and grown to respect them. Now, they were dead. Their sacrifice had saved countless lives, and yet Kikoji still felt like he'd lost everything. He wanted to look away from the screen, but he couldn't.
This was his fault. He had failed them. His training hadn't prepared them. He should have rectified the flaws in their Mark I photoreactive suits and fixed them faster.
Dom reached over and tapped the Colonel's tablet. The display mercifully blanked and faded away.
Ackerson shot Dom a glare, but Kuran ignored him.
"Recent drone recon shows the entire complex cold," the Rear Admiral said. "No more ships will be built at K7-49."
"Just to clarify," Kikoji whispered, and then he paused to clear his throat. "There were no survivors of Operation PROMETHEUS?"
"It is regrettable," the Vice Admiral said with the slightest sadness in her voice. "But we would do it again if presented with a similar opportunity, Colonel. Such a facility within two weeks journey of the empire's outer colonies...your Hipnos prevented the building of a Furian armada that would have resulted in nothing less than the massacre of trillions. They are heroes."
Ashes. That's all Kikoji felt.
He glanced at Dom. There was no emotion on his face. The Basitin held his pain well.
"I understand, ma'am." Kikoji said.
"Good," she said, all trace of pity ad now evaporated from her tone. "I've put you in for a promotion. Your soldiers performed well above the program's projected parameters. You are to be commended."
Kikoji felt the only thing he deserved was a court martial, but he held his tongue.
"Now I want you to focus and accelerate the training of the Beta Company Hipnos, Force Colonel" she said. "We have a war to win."