Tales from the Academy
Chapter 41
Anny came to her senses and discovered that she couldn't move. She could feel her arms and legs, indeed, she hurt just about everywhere, so she hadn't broken her fool neck, but she couldn't move. The armor's failed. Encased in the metal and ceramic suit she was immobilized. Total failure? Any impact that could have done that ought have killed her. She cleared her head and tried to access the neural interface system…
[ready…]
Glowing letters seemed to float in front of her eyes and she breathed a sigh of relief. System status?
[main power off-line… secondary power off-line… operating on emergency battery power…]
What systems are available?
[limited communications… limited sensors… internal diagnostics… limited…]
Stop. Activate communications. Squad command circuit.
Almost instantly she heard Sergeant Zeckman barking out orders: "…well then you'll have to leave him. Get your ass over to me, right now! The Ensign is down and I can't raise her. I've got her beacon about 700 meters south of me."
"Sergeant Zeckman."
"Ensign Payne! Are you all right, sir?"
"I think I'm okay, but my suit is out. What's the situation?"
"We've got three other men down with various injuries, none too serious. I'm gathering everyone else and preparing to move on your position. Sergeant Kerstan's squad's in about the same shape, but they landed a klick further west, they'll be following. I've sent one man toward your position already. He should be there shortly. You know you scored a bullseye on the first shuttle, sir? Right on top of it. You sure you're okay? We're reading some faint contacts in that area."
"Uh… so far I'm okay," she replied, suddenly nervous. "Haven't really looked around yet. You carry on, Sergeant. Good job."
"We'll be there in a couple of minutes, sir, hang on. Zeckman out."
Anny was slightly reassured. Her command hadn't met with total disaster and was still combat effective. But what about her? Landed right on the shuttle? They'd lost contact with Bothari-Jesek's people while they were on their way down. What was going on around her? Time to find out.
Initiate diagnostics. Question: can power be restored?
[negative… main and secondary power switches have been thrown manually…]
Manually? There was an access panel on the rear of the armor that could allow someone to cut the power in the event of an emergency. But it was deliberately put in a position where it couldn't accidentally be thrown and difficult enough to access that no enemy could get at it during combat. There was no way power could have been cut just by the impact of her landing. Someone did it…
And that someone was probably close by. Activate external cameras and microphones.
Up until now Anny had been seeing only blackness except for the glowing letters in her head, but now it was like a rapid dawn. Immediately in front of her was a clump of bushes and the reddish dirt of the planet's soil. She slowly turned her head and saw that her armor was lying on the ground, but propped up on its side. By turning her head further she activated the all-around-view mode and it was as if she could swivel her head in a complete circle. It took some getting used to, but it allowed her to see her surroundings without moving. Okay, there was the shuttle about thirty meters away. There was a blackened hole in one side and the containers of weapons were scattered on the ground. About a dozen people were scattered on the ground, too. A couple were clearly dead with hideous plasma burns, but the others might only be stunned. A few had been tied up. Some were Bothari-Jesek's people, but the rest were dressed in much rougher clothing. Locals? The weapons' buyers?
As she continued to turn the viewpoint she stopped and gasped. Only a few meters away was a man. She was pretty sure it was Bothari-Jesek's first officer. He was bound and his shirt had been torn off and there were burn marks all over his torso. Not plasma burns, a shock stick, perhaps. His eyes were open and glazed and she couldn't tell if he was breathing or not…
"They're off to the north, but headed this way!" cried a voice suddenly. "We need to get out of here, link up with the others!"
"Can't do it, the Baron wants the weapons secured. And the prisoners, too. Once we squeeze them dry we can break the last resistance cells," said another voice.
Anny swung her view around and saw a group of men coming round the shuttle. There were six of them, two were in battle armor and the rest were all armed, as well. Two of them were arguing.
"Well then get a damn shuttle over here so we can load them up! Or get some more men! There must have been twenty or thirty more of those bastards in that last wave and if they all come here, how are we gonna stop them?"
"I've put in the request. We ought to have a shuttle soon. Calm down, damn it. We've got hostages, we can hold off these soldier-boys until reinforcements arrive."
"Calm down? These aren't locals, Vitto! They're Barrayaran regulars! Trust me, you do not want to mess with those maniacs! I can't imagine what the Baron is thinking trying to fight these guys!"
"You worry too much! Once they realize what this is costing them, they'll pull out. They'll make a deal! What interest is Barrayar gonna have in a shithole like this? Anyway d'you think the Baron would be here in person if he thought there was any real danger?"
"Sure hope you're right," grumbled the other. "If the Baron's wrong there'll be hell to pay."
"We'll see," said the one named Vitto. "Get this guy's helmet open." He pointed right at Anny.
The other one came up to her and started fiddling with her helmet but couldn't get it open. One of the men in battle armor moved closer. "The two tabs on the sides, sir," came a voice from the suit's speakers. "You have to press in and pull forward simultaneously."
"Right. Got it." The visor on Anny's helmet swung up and she was staring right at the man. He blinked and jumped back.
"Hey, it's a girl!" he exclaimed. "Didn't think these Barryarans had girl-soldiers."
"They don't. You sure?"
"Damn pretty. Must be a girl. Can't see anything but her face."
"Well, we'll correct that soon enough." The other one, the one named Vitto, came over, squatted down, and stared at her and grinned. "You a girl, girl?"
"Ensign Andreanne Payne, serial number E4568274G."
"Feisty, are you? Well, we'll cure that quick enough." He pulled a shock stick out of his belt and waved it in front of her nose. "You know what this is don'tcha? Yeah, I can see you do. So you're an officer, eh? You in command of these guys? How many troops did you bring down with you? How many more up in orbit? Can you talk with them? Tell them to stay clear of here?"
"Ensign Andreanne Payne, serial number E4568274G."
"Oh, that's no way to be, girl. Let's see if we can loosen that tongue of yours." He pressed a switch on the shock stick and there was a faint hum. He jabbed her in the cheek and the blast of pain wrenched a shriek out of her despite all that she could do. It was like a lightning bolt that went all the way through her.
"That was at the lowest power setting, girl. Shall we try it at number two?"
"Go to hell!" she gasped.
"Ah, maybe number three then…"
"Sir! Someone's coming!" It was the guy in the armor. Vitto stood up and turned away. Anny quivered and tried to throw off the effects of the shock. She had to stay alert, but damn that hurt!
"How many?"
"Just one, I think. There are a lot more further away. About five hundred meters and closing."
"All right, stand ready, but don't fire unless they do. Get behind me, all of you." The others did so and Vitto pulled out a nerve disruptor and held it right in front of her face. The nasty bell-shaped muzzle was only centimeters away. Anny cringed. Of all the weapons in common use, the nerve disruptor frightened her most. A direct hit would destroy her brain and kill her instantly, but a grazing shot could cripple her like Commodore Koudelka or leave her a drooling vegetable. Her armor had a built in shield against disruptor fire, but it was off-line now and wouldn't protect her with the helmet visor open. What was he planning to do? Maybe she should call Zeckman and have him pull back whoever this was…?
But before she could do so a trooper bounded into the clearing and swung his weapon in their direction. "Don't move!" he commanded. "Drop your weapons!" Neatly stenciled on the chest of the armor was the word 'Karal'. Zac!
"Oh, I don't think so, soldier-boy," said Vitto. "Drop your weapons and stand down or I'll fry the pretty girl's brains."
Anny activated the neural link and sent Zac a text-only message: Don't do it, Zac! Shoot them!
Zac stood frozen.
Vitto pressed the muzzle of the nerve disruptor against her face. "Do it or she dies!" he snarled.
Don't do it, Zac!
Zac lowered his weapon. Anny groaned
"Good! Now open your visor. Juan, you cover him." Zac's visor swung open. No! Dammit!
"Ensign, are you all right?" he called.
"Shut up!" snarled the other one. He walked up to Zac and pointed his own nerve disruptor at Zac's face.
"There, wasn't that easy?" said Vitto. "Juan, power him down like you did pretty-girl here." Another of the armed men covered Zac while Juan went around behind him. Vitto squatted next to her again. "In fact that was so easy maybe I don't want you warning your men off, maybe we can just bring them right here and have them all surrender. What about that, pretty-girl?"
Anny started at him in horror. Could it happen? Would her whole squad—both squads—surrender to save her? Because she was a woman? They'd never do it for a man, not even one of their buddies. But for her? Would they? No!
"I can see you don't like that at all, do you?" sneered Vitto. "Looks like the Baron's gonna have all the hostages he could ever use."
Keeping her face frozen like a mask she activated the neural interface again and sent out a message to Zeckman: Karal and I captured. Hostages. Do not approach. Attack and relieve Vorsworth as planned.
"Ensign Payne! We're only a few hundred meters away. We can rescue you!" Zeckman was speaking aloud but his words only existed in her brain.
Negative. Nerve disrupter at my head. They'll kill us unless you surrender. Stay clear! Win the battle and they'll quit. Complete your mission, Sergeant!
There was a lengthy pause and finally he replied: "Acknowledged. Good luck, sir."
Well done. Godspeed. Payne out. She silently sighed in relief.
She waited and her captors waited, except for the one named Juan, he was still working on Zac's suit. Then one of the men in armor spoke: "Sir, the contacts are pulling back, moving past us around to the north. Heading toward the Baron's position."
"What? You said they were on a beeline here!"
"They were, sir, but now they've changed direction."
Vitto turned back to look at her. "What did you do?" She didn't say anything. "What did you do? Juan, you idiot! You said you'd taken care of this suit!"
"I did!" snapped back the other one. "She didn't say anything on her com did she?"
"No, but she must have done something! Tell me, you little bitch!" Suddenly the shock stick was pressing her cheek and she screamed again.
"Leave her alone, you bastard!' shouted Zac. He took three steps forward but then halted when Vitto rammed the nerve disruptor into her face again.
"Stop right there! Why haven't you powered him down like I said?" snarled Vitto.
"Can't get the frikkin' panel open! It's got a big dent in the metal and it's jammed!"
"Can't anyone do anything around here!" Vitto got up and walked over to Zac who was red with anger.
"I don't need two hostages now," said Vitto as calmly as if he was passing the time of day. He raised his nerve disruptor and shot Zac in the face.
"Zac! No!" screamed Anny.
The boy's face went slack as the life drained out of it. He didn't even fall over, his suit kept him upright. Anny thrashed in impotent rage and actually managed to move her suit a little, but it was hopeless. Superimposed over this scene of horror a small message was projected in Anny's spinning brain:
[CASUALTY… CASUALTY… CASUALTY…]
Anny could feel tears coursing down her cheeks, but her expression was one of raw fury.
[CASUALTY… CASUALTY… MEDICAL ASSISTANCE NEEDED IMMEDIATELY…]
But no medical assistance could help Zac Karal now. His body could be frozen and even revived, but everything that had been Zac Karal was gone forever.
Vitto walked back over to her and reached into her helmet and caught her face in his large hand and squeezed. "See what your little trick got you? I'm really going to enjoy questioning you, bitch!" he looked over his shoulder. "Juan! Get her out of this can! Peel her down to her skin and make sure she doesn't have any hidden devices! And tie her up—tight!"
[CASUALTY… COMMAND OVERRIDE?]
The other one, Juan, walked over and started looking for the release catches that would open up her armor. "Shouldn't have made him mad, girl," he whispered.
[CASUALTY… COMMAND OVERRIDE?]
Command override? She was bracing herself for the coming horror, preparing for a burst of extreme violence once she was free of the suit, but her brain latched onto that one phrase Command override? Yes! The older model battle armor had a built-in feature that would allow an unconscious trooper's buddies to take control of the armor and actually walk him to safety. But the new model armor… the neural interface…
Yes, initiate command override.
[initiating…]
She'd only practiced this a few times, but it didn't really need any practice. It was the strangest sensation for a moment, the view from her helmet faded away and then she was looking out from Zac's armor, staring at herself a dozen meters away.
[command override complete…]
"Sorry, Baron, I tried to sucker them in here, but there are about two dozen headed your way," Vitto was talking into a communicator. "Yes, the enemy shuttle and all the weapons are secure and I've got about ten prisoners, including one of the… Aaak!"
Anny moved.
The visor of Zac's helmet snapped down and she activated the plasma arc that was built into the left arm. She swept a full-power blast across the two unarmored men and sliced them in half before they could even twitch. The two men in battle armor were swinging around to face her, but she charged right on past. Vitto's eyes were wide as saucers as she closed on him and he fired a useless shot from his disruptor. Her rage-driven fist struck like a pile-driver and tore his shattered head off in a spray of gore. Her backstroke caught Juan and flung him twenty meters across the clearing. She caught a glimpse of her own face and it was as dead as Zac's.
Easy part done.
She flung herself at the remaining men in armor. One fired a plasma arc at her but her plasma mirror splashed it harmlessly away. The other had a bulky hyper-velocity rail gun and that was the real threat. She closed on him so quickly she was inside his arc of fire before he could bring it to bear.
Shooting's no good this close, sucker! You should have had assault training!
She grabbed the man's left arm in both of her hands, kept right on moving, and then turned, twisted, and pulled with every bit of strength and momentum she had.
The arm tore right out of its socket with a shower of sparks—and blood.
Another plasma blast hit her, but she didn't even pause. Holding the severed arm like a club she bought it down on the helmet of the next man with a loud clang. He staggered backwards and she hit him again. And again. Her vision seemed to be tinged with a red mist. Blood or rage she didn't know. She kept pounding until the top and front of the helmet were mashed in and the suit lay unmoving on the ground.
She turned and the last man was staggering up from where he'd fallen and was clutching the gaping hole where his arm had been with his remaining one. He saw her coming and held the hand out as if trying to fend her off—or surrender.
I'm not taking any prisoners right now, scumbag!
She wound up like an Old Earth baseball player and then beat the man to death with his own arm.
By the time she was done she felt like she was gasping for breath, but when she turned, her own body was lying there impassively as if she were asleep. Weird. Damn weird. She staggered over to herself and heaved her suit around until she could get at the access panel where her power cut-off was located. It was still open and she could see the switches, but the fingers on her gauntlet was too big to fit into the opening. She very nearly popped open the gauntlets as she would have done normally and then froze in horror. The hands inside the gauntlets weren't hers. They were Zac's and they were dead.
She wanted to vomit, but instead she found a stick that she could use to push the power switches. Down to pointed sticks now, are we? she thought, insanely.
But she pushed the stick into the slot and flipped the switches. Immediately a new message appeared:
[primary unit commencing start-up…]
She activated her communicator and she wasn't really sure who was doing the talking. "Payne to Zeckman, come in, Sergeant."
"Ensign! What the hell is happening? I got the alert that Karal was down and I almost turned back, but what…?"
"Everything's under control now, Sergeant. Enemy neutralized. Rendezvous here and we'll plan out our attack."
"Yes sir! Three minutes!"
"Good," she whispered. "Payne out."
She sat Zac down, leaning against a tree, before she switched back to her own suit.
[Scene Break]
Zeckman was as good as his word and three minutes later, just as her armor finished its start-up, her squad and Sergeant Kerstan's squad and Captain Bothari-Jesek moved into the clearing. The Captain immediately went to help her people, but most of the troopers were gawking at the carnage all around them.
"God! Did you do this, Ensign?" asked Zeckman.
"Most of it, I guess." She didn't want to talk about it. "What's our status?"
"Twenty-one men ready for action, sir. I left two men with our injured back where we landed. I've been in touch with Ensign Vorsworth. He says the truce seems to be over and they're under attack again, but they can hold out until we get there."
"Anything from Commander Vorscans?"
"Just regular demands for updates. Nothing useful."
"Right." Anny was starting to quiver. Reaction? No time for that. She ordered her suit to give her a dose of Dynatrim. It would help her fight off the shock that was threatening to seize her. She had to stay clear-headed for a while longer. She absently noted that the medical read-out was showing that she had three broken ribs. Didn't hurt a bit now… "Okay, we are going to move to Mr. Vorsworth's relief. The latest sensor readings show that he's more or less surrounded, but that leaves the enemy spread in a pretty thin arc. We are going to punch through that perimeter, link up with Vorsworth's men, and then roll up the enemy in both directions. Understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Anny! Wait!" She turned and saw Bothari-Jesek beckoning to her. She trotted over and saw that she was kneeling next to a middle-aged man who was sitting and rubbing at the raw spots on his wrists where he'd been tied. Bothari-Jesek's helmet was open and she jerked her head towards the other man Anny had seen earlier. "My exec is dead. This is Mister Gundersen, he's one of the leaders of the resistance. Mister Gundersen, this is Ensign Payne, Barrayaran military."
"You gonna help us?" the man looked at her suspiciously.
Anny raised her visor. "We're going to try, sir. I don't know if we can stay and clean them all out, but we're going to take care of the ones in this area."
"Can your people help?" asked Bothari-Jesek.
"Dunno. Dunno…" the man seemed dazed. "Already got way more than I bargained for. Never seen anything like these monsters. Won't stop at anything. Kidnappings, torture, hostages. Anyone who even complained would have their whole family snatched up. All the town mayors… Henrik betrayed us here, but they have his daughter… Brought all my folks here to get the guns and we walk right into an ambush… I don't know…" he shook his head.
"Well then help stop it!" snapped Bothari-Jesek. "You'll never get a better chance! Nearly all the Jacksonian's heavy equipment is here right now. Once we crush that there'll only be a scattering of their thugs left. With the weapons I've brought you can handle them and be free again!"
"Came to this world in the first place to be free…" muttered the man.
"Then fight for it! Fight now or your grandchildren will be slaves forever!"
The man shook himself and slowly got to his feet. He looked at Bothari-Jesek and then at Anny. "You won't betray us?"
"We'll take care of the ones here, sir. I promise you that." For Zac if for no other reason.
"And we'll be bringing more weapons and equipment," said Bothari-Jesek. "Come on, man! There are hundreds of your people in the area. They are scattering, but if you could rally them we'll get them armed."
"I'll leave two troopers here," said Anny, even though she couldn't afford it. "Give you some local security until you can get organized."
"All right… all right," said Gundersen. "No other choice, I guess…"
"Okay," said Anny. "I've got to get moving."
Bothari-Jesek nodded at her. "Give them hell, Anny."
Anny returned to her men. They were standing around Zac. Zeckman had squatted down and opened the visor. "What happened, sir?"
She caught her breath. What to say? You deserve the truth, Zac. "They murdered him. He sacrificed himself to save me and they murdered him."
"Bastards," muttered one of the men.
"That's right," she said. "And we're going to pay them back. Let's get going."
"Yes sir."
She detached two very unhappy troopers, and then moved out. She studied the tactical display as they moved. Harrier was hovering a few hundred kilometers overhead, using its drive to stay in place despite being far below orbital velocity, and feeding her data from its powerful sensors. Alby's perimeter was still holding, although he was down to about a dozen effectives. Not all his losses were actual casualties: suits of armor could get damaged or run low on power. In particular, their plasma mirrors could only absorb so many hits before failing. When they got low the troopers had to stay under cover if they could.
But the enemy faced the same problem. As near as she could tell there were only twenty or twenty-five of them in battle armor and maybe a hundred others. Those others could be dangerous, but couldn't slug it out toe-to-toe with a man in armor. If they could break the enemy armor, the rest would crumble. It was a damn shame they couldn't get fire support from Harrier, but the ship was built for space combat and its weapons were just too powerful for the precise sort of work needed for close support of ground troops. If they tried to blast the troops ringing Alby's position they could well end up toasting everyone.
"Alby, we're about five hundred meters southeast of you. I'm going to punch a hole through their lines right about here." She marked a spot on the tactical map. "If you can keep some of them pinned down so they can't reinforce that area it would help. Can do?"
"Can do, Anny," replied Alby. "It'll be really good to see you."
"All right, stand by. We'll be in position in about two minutes."
They were getting close now. A low hill shielded them from the enemy and Anny deployed her troops. She gave orders to Zeckman and Kerstan and they both obeyed without hesitation. With the Dynatrim in her blood her brain seemed to be working at high velocity. The tactical display was just some classroom exercise. Enemy forces here… move my forces there. Achieve local superiority at this point. Assign these men to the assault, those to provide fire support. Chances of success, very good.
They reached the crest of the hill. The enemy was trying to react, redeploy to meet them, but Alby's troops were opening up with everything they had, pinning them down. Anny looked at the troopers on either side of her and suddenly it wasn't an exercise anymore. This was real. Her first combat command.
"We're ready, sir," said Zeckman.
The berserkergang that had seized her earlier suddenly returned and she moved across the crest of the hill and waved her arm.
"Come on! Follow me!"
They charged down the slope in twenty-meter bounds. Fire started coming at them immediately, but it wasn't concentrated or very accurate. The troops she'd assigned to support suppressed it savagely—by the book. With trained precision the assault swept into the enemy positions. Unarmored foes were blasted down if they showed themselves while Anny's troopers closed in on the ones in armor.
It immediately became apparent that while the enemy knew how to use their equipment, they weren't trained in this sort of combat. They were thugs and enforcers, not real soldiers. When faced with real soldiers they died and died quickly. Anny dispatched one herself in close combat although this time she used a leg instead of an arm. Before she could find anyone else to kill the enemy broke and fled. They cut down several as they ran. The combat had only lasted what seemed to be seconds and moments later she burst through into Alby's position.
"Hey there, Ensign! Damn good to see you!" It was Alby, limping toward her. His armor was scarred and scorched in a number of spots. She came up to him and they clasped hands.
"You all right?"
"Just dandy now! Shall we finish this?"
Anny checked the tactical display and saw that the enemy was falling back to the northwest, but they did seem to be rallying. They weren't completely beaten. Not yet. "Yes, let's finish it."
"Ensign Payne, this Commander Vorscans. Report your situation. Have you relieved Ensign Vorsworth?" Anny sighed.
"Yes sir. The position is secure. We are preparing to pursue."
"Hold your position, Ensign."
"Negative, sir. The enemy is regrouping, I'm going to hit them before they can." She waved to Zeckman and he gave her a thumbs-up and started gathering the men.
"Stand down, Payne!" snapped Vorscans. "You've accomplished your mission! I'm dispatching shuttles to retrieve everyone. Now hold your position!"
"Sorry sir, we've got unfinished business down here."
"Wait, dammit! We've got three faint sensor contacts moving toward you from the northeast. Flying low, very fast, and with good stealth systems. They're probably assault shuttles carrying reinforcements. They'll be there in half an hour. Stand fast and we can have you all out of there before they arrive!"
And leave the locals to face them? I don't think so!
"If you've got them on your sensors can you take them out, sir?" she asked aloud.
"Well, maybe, but we don't have any ID on them and I don't know if…"
"You've got guns on that damn tub of yours don't you?" snarled Alby suddenly. "Well use them! Shoot the friggin' things down!"
"Ensign!"
"Sir, as commander of the ground forces on this planet I'm formally requesting a fire support mission," said Anny. "Please take out those contacts. I will be engaging the enemy shortly and if those shuttles aren't stopped it could result in serious casualties down here."
"Good!" hissed Alby. "Let's see him wiggle out of that!"
An exasperated snarl came from the communicator. "All right, damn you! But you're going to pay for this, Payne!"
"I've already paid, sir. Now I'm going to collect. Payne out." She looked at Alby. "You stay here and guard the wounded."
"But…"
"I gave you an order. Now obey, ensign." She thumped her fist against his shoulder. "Please, Alby, you've done enough for one day."
"Yes, sir," replied Alby grumpily.
"Sergeant, let's move." They had only lost one man during the attack and they now added five of Alby's men so she had around twenty-five.
As they trotted through the forest one of the men came up to her. "Look what I found, sir." He held up a nasty-looking missile launcher of some sort. "Got it off one of the dead guys back there. Betcha this is what they used to knock down our shuttles!"
"Can you figure out how to use it?"
"If it shoots I can figure it out, sir!"
"Okay, hang onto it. We might need it." Especially if Vorscans lets us down.
But he didn't. A few minutes later he called to report that all three contacts had been destroyed. She thanked him and he said: "You won't be thanking me when I make my report. Also, we're picking up a large number of unknown contacts around that shuttle. I see two of your men there so I'm assuming they're friendlies."
"Yes, they are. Thank you." She immediately called Bothari-Jesek. "Captain, we've broken them here and are in pursuit. They look to be gathering again a few klicks northeast of you. If your people want to help, send them that way."
"Will do, Anny," she replied. "I've passed out the weapons are we'll be moving shortly."
"Good."
"Anny? Thanks. Thanks a lot."
As they moved they overtook enemy stragglers and blasted them down. Some of them tried to surrender, but Anny didn't have the men to guard them. She briefly thought about stunning them and leaving them to the locals, but what was the point of that? It would all be the same in the end. They didn't take any prisoners.
When they neared the enemy positions she suddenly got a frantic communications from Baron LeGrange. Probably just got word that his reinforcements have been vaporized. "Yes, Baron? What can I do for you?"
"You can stop firing! Why the hell are you doing this?"
"You pissed us off."
"What? Look, look, we can make a deal here! I'll pull my people out and you and your people can just leave. No reparations, just everyone leaves, okay?"
"Not okay. I'll be seeing you shortly."
"What's the matter with you?" the man's voice was getting shrill. "I said we can make a deal! A deal!"
"No deals."
"Madmen! You're all a bunch of madmen!"
"Yes, sir. You should have considered that before you pissed us off."
"Ensign? I'm picking up an air vehicle lifting off about a klick to the north." It was Zeckman. The trooper with the missile launcher was next to him.
"You figured out how to use that thing, trooper?" Her channel to the Baron was still open.
"Think so, sir. Say the word and I'll take 'em out."
"What are doing?" came the Baron's strangled cry. "Look, look, I can give you a fortune! Anything you want! Let me out of here and I'll make you rich!"
"Good bye, Baron."
"Damn you! Damn you, you stupid bitch!" Then there was a whimpered: "It's not fair…"
"Welcome to Barrayar. Fire."
The missile launcher roared and a few seconds later there was an explosion in the distance.
"Target destroyed, sir."
"Good. Let's finish this. Move them out, Sergeant."
[Scene Break]
The mopping up didn't take too long. As they hit them from the front Captain Bothari-Jesek's people hit them from the flank. With their leader gone, most of the enemy just tried to flee. They didn't get very far. By the end of it even Anny's blood-lust was sated and they did take some prisoners. She turned them over to the locals who didn't look all that interested in keeping them. She didn't give a damn.
An hour later the shuttles started to arrive and they collected their wounded. Since they were now scattered over a wide area, it took a while. While she was helping carry a trooper who was missing a leg, she was called by Commander Vorscans.
"I've gotten a reply from the Admiral, Ensign. He's sending help and his orders are to stand fast and not escalate the situation."
"Oops."
"Oops indeed! I don't know how you're going to explain this, Payne, but I am not going down with you!"
"Not asking you to, sir." She was getting very tired.
"Uh, if I can make a suggestion, Commander." It was Bothari-Jesek.
"You! You started this whole mess! Why should I listen to you?"
"Just a suggestion, sir. Since you very wisely didn't recognize the Baron as the rightful government on Dounby, and since I've got thousands of locals who will swear that he wasn't the rightful authority, then his attack on my shuttle was an act of piracy, wasn't it? The Admiral has broad power to deal with pirates. I imagine that wiping out a nest of pirates would look very good on everyone's record. Don't you think, Commander?"
There was a very long pause and then Vorscan's said: "I'll pass along your suggestion to the Admiral, Captain." He broke the connection.
"Thanks, Elena," said Anny. "That might help." She knew she was in a world of trouble, but for some reason it didn't bother her. "But if it doesn't, do you know if the Dendarii Free Mercenaries are hiring?"
Bothari-Jesek laughed. "I doubt it will come to that, but if it does then I'm quite sure they'll snap you up in a second. Just between the two of us, Anny, you did a hell of a job. A hell of a job and I'm forever grateful to you."
"Thank you."
They finished the loading and Anny was running out of steam. And her ribs were starting to hurt. And the burn on her cheek. And…"
"Ensign?" She turned and saw Gundersen and Bothari-Jesek and a small crowd of the locals.
"Yes?"
"Just wanted to thank you for your help," said the man. "We couldn't have done it without you."
She looked at the faces of the people. Some were smiling, some were apprehensive, perhaps thinking of the fighting they'd seen, the fighting still to come. What to tell them? She hadn't done it for them. She was glad she'd been able to help them, but she hadn't done it for them. What to say?
"You're welcome."
[Scene Break]
The Admiral arrived ten hours later. Apparently he had been impressed by Bothari-Jesek's suggestion because the next three days saw additional landings and some orbital fire support and by the end of it the Jacksonian presence on Dounby had been eradicated. They stayed in orbit for another ten days to make sure everything was in order.
Anny saw none of that. Jer and Patric and Denis Fallon and some of the other jaygees got involved, but she was ordered to the flagship and stayed there. The official reason was to treat her injuries, but she knew it was to keep her confined without actually putting her under arrest. There was nothing for her to do except sit in the cabin that had been assigned to her and worry.
She didn't regret what she'd done, but she knew there could be a stiff price to pay. Discipline had to be maintained in any military and there was no doubt she'd broken the rules. Quite a lot of them actually. Could she be kicked out? Discharged in disgrace? Maybe. If the Admiral was determined to ruin her, he could probably make the charges stick. Well, there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it now.
After two weeks things had quieted down and the convoy was heading toward the next jump point. Anny was summoned to the Admiral's cabin. She'd been expecting this for days. She put on her undress greens and nervously presented herself. She was a bit relieved to see Major Lurray there, too, although she couldn't have said why. The Admiral did not invite her to sit down so she stood there at attention, facing him.
"Reporting as ordered, sir."
"So, you do obey orders when it suits you, Ensign?"
"Sir."
"That's not an answer, it's an evasion. But I'll get right to the point: I'm not the least bit happy with what you've done. I realize that the whole mess was not of your making—although that business with the weapons should have been reported to the flagship! I'm none too happy with Captain Vorhuber, either, Major," he said to Lurray.
"Yes sir," said Lurray. "I'll speak to him."
"But once the crisis broke and once actions had been decided upon by the senior officer present—Commander Vorscans—you had no business taking the actions you did. It turned out well, I suppose, but it might have been a total disaster. Even with the victory we still have thirteen men dead and another dozen critically wounded. Most of those were from the first wave, but you had your share, too, Ensign."
"Yes sir." Zac Karal and Andy Hartmann dead, four others still in sickbay…
"And you might have lost your entire command!"
"Yes sir."
Vorkoff sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Disobeying orders, recklessly endangering your command, insubordination… I don't know how many other infractions. You're a disaster, Ensign!"
Nothing about seducing your men, sir? Have you at least forgiven me for being a woman?
"But…" Vorkoff glanced at Lurray. "There seem to be some people who think you're a damn hero. I'm not really sure what I think. More importantly, I'm not sure what a lot of other people are going to think! Therefore, for the moment, I'm not going to take any action. Others might later, but that's another matter."
Anny let out her breath. No action? No charges?
"But I do want to know one thing. Off the record." He stared hard at her. "Why? Why did you do it? Why'd you go down there against orders? An agreement could have been reached, you know. We've done things like that before when we've had to. Why did you risk everything and go down there?"
Anny stood there and didn't answer. Why had she done it? To try and save Alby? To help Captain Bothari-Jesek? Yes, those were reasons, but was that all there was to it?
"Well?" demanded the Admiral. "Why?"
She drew herself up.
"For the honor of the regiment, sir."