I don't own avatar, but anyone who's read the previous 23 chapters, prologue, and interludes knows that.
Chapter 24: Burning Pyres
Date: May 14th, 2170
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
Eight more wooden pyres stood on the blackened ground next to the main runway. Six tri-colored Russian flags fluttered slightly beside a pair of blue and yellow Ukrainian banners.
A small sea of humanity stood at attention, gazing at the eight small shapes atop their wooden beds. Soldiers in their camouflaged field uniforms, miners in their working gear. Parker stood with his men, staring silently as the Russian company sang quietly. He had no idea what they were singing about, but it sounded mournful, a song of loss.
He made a mental note to ask Kozlov what song it was later.
The flame bearers stepped forwards as the song quietly continued, lowering their torches to the pyres, the flames roaring to life as they began to consume their new fuel. The bearers quietly set their torches along each pyre, before carefully stepping back from the heat and returning to attention.
He sighed as the song drifted to an end and the crowed began to disperse. They all had work to do, now that the funeral was effectively over. Only the flame-bearers would remain until the ashes cooled.
Heading back into the Ops-Center should have been welcome change from the hot outdoors. Even for Pandora, the day was unusually warm, and standing as near to the pyres as he had been had not helped. But the gloom of what had just occurred had already spread through the base. Everyone was quiet inside, a few occasionally glancing out the broad windows to gaze at the small fires still burning. The usual chatter of people was present, of course, but there was an dark undertone to it today. Most of it was technical, none of it was cheerful.
Parker understood the shadow hanging above them as he headed into his office. Everyone knew it, knew the score. The blue-skins had raided them twice now, and been defeated both times. But both times, humans had died. Equipment had burned. Ammunition expended. Emotions frayed. How long would they keep attacking? How long until they launched a full-on assault instead of a small raid?
No one knew. Weigand had called another meeting, but this one was for his combat staff only, neither he nor Thomes had been invited.
Which was mostly fine with him.. and yet it was irksome. He knew that he did not really have any place in a strictly tactical meeting, his minor studies over the last few weeks into military tactics did in no way qualify him for making military decisions. Yet he was the civilian Administrator of the colony, and it would have been nice to be kept in the loop.
He sighed and began to open the reports from his foremen, the top message blinking urgently.
To: Administrator Selfridge
From: Foreman Augustus
Two excavators at Site zero-two down, leaving only one still functioning. Might be able to fix one of the damaged vehicles by sacrificing the other, or else will be forced to wait until the Comet's Lament arrives in August. Recommend sacrificing one excavator to repair the other, and taking one excavator from mining Site zero-one until we hit our quota.
Not an easy choice. Pulling up several other programs onto his personal computer, he began to run numbers. Sacrificing one of the excavators would not be an issue. At the very least, the remaining hulk could probably be recommissioned once the Winter arrived with their plant.
The real question was pulling an excavator from the gravel mine to the unobtanium mine. One was the only reason they were there, to be sure, but they also needed the first mine to be running at full capacity in order to finish construction of their base. He also did not have any doubts that the military meeting would result in requests for increased concrete production from his men, so that they could afford additional construction of something or another.
He shook his head and fired off a response, authorizing the repairs but denying the request for the additional excavator until it was decided that it was completely necessary. The quota would have to wait, survival came first.
And so the day dragged on. Reports from Haskos merely noted that they had returned the equipment and were back to work, and from Augustus stating that they had also resumed work, though at a very slow pace with only one functioning excavator, and most of his men were working to repair the second by cannibalizing the third.
A brief lunch break, which revealed a cafeteria as equally bleak as the Ops-Center, was in turn followed by the resumption of working on the blueprints for the refinery. Which, naturally, dragged on into the night. He did not run into any of the senior military officers until dinner, when he spotted Adler sitting alone in the cafeteria.
"Hauptmann." he greeted, sitting down next to the other man.
"Administrator." the junior German officer replied.
"How was the meeting?"
Adler shrugged, "Typical. Attempting to work out a better defensive system against the banshee-riders, but with our equipment being so limited, hard to do. Jones is going to try building dedicated anti-air bunkers and using our spare machine guns to fill them. Glad you stopped by, was my job to find you and tell you, in any case."
He frowned, "Won't we be out of spare heavy weapons then, after the upgrades to Brunhilde?"
"Ja." the other nodded as he calmly ate some of his pasta. "But we have few options. He wanted to use spare assault rifles as well, but Kozlov reminded him the we may need to arm your mining teams before the end, and pistols alone will not suffice against the creatures here."
A wince at that point, followed by a nod. "Glad he was reminded of that. Where's he positioning the new bunkers?"
"At the mining sites. That was the subject of most of our discussion actually. We risk losing them there, true, but it will help much in defending those locations, as well as serving as bastions. Jones intends to make them as impregnable as possible, miniature castles almost, so that Kozlov's men can man them in case of an assault, and hold until a counter-attack."
Parker frowned some more, "I'm not an expert, at all really, but isn't that really risky?"
"Very. They will be cut off and surrounded, with no real method of escape. If we can't get to them, they're only option is to die as heroically as they can," came the blunt answer. "If the natives attack both mining sites at once, or, worst case, all three of our locations, there will be no reinforcements to send them."
Another wince. "Then why do it? Why not, I don't know, put them just at Site zero-one, or here on the base?"
Adler ticked off points on his fingers, "The base's anti-air defenses are already built into the main structures. Retreating down the road to Site zero-one from zero-two could turn into a bloodbath if the enemies numbers are high enough anyway. And lastly, by staying behind they can tie up as many enemy forces as possible, giving us a chance to eliminate the enemy piecemeal, first here, than at zero-one, and finally at zero-two."
He mulled that over. Practical when put like that, but still, it could easily turn into a suicide mission for those that stay behind. "And Kozlov agreed to this?"
"It was his idea." The German shrugged.
His appetite was vanishing fast. "What about my miners at both sites?"
The other had to quickly swallow some food before speaking, "The fortifications should be able to hold off the enemy while they retreat here. If the numbers are overwhelming..." his voice trailed off.
"They'll have to head into the bunkers." Parker finished for him.
A nod. "They'll be built with additional weapons inside, in case of that eventuality, but yes. Preferable to being eaten while trying to run, ja?"
It was a better alternative, but not by much. He rose, taking his food to the trash. His hunger had died as they had talked, and he bid Adler good night.
Yet more good news to tell my teams. He thought darkly. Screw this. I'm going to sleep before the day gets worse.
Date: May 15th, 2170
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
Thomes came down the next day with the last of the spare heavy weapons, along with what news she had managed to pry from Patel.
"Not much I'm afraid," he had approached her as soon as the Valkyrie landed and started offloading, "Apparently they think there might be something to the idea that their goddess or whatever is pressuring them to attack soonest. Apparently they don't like how the new barrier is cutting up their precious animals."
He snorted as they walked towards the Ops-Center, "A few cut up beasts is a small price to pay for the attacks stopping."
"More or less what I said," she replied, "I also told him about how we can't retreat, that more than anything seemed to stun him."
Parker blinked and frowned, "Think that will influence him any?"
"No idea, but I'm hoping it'll make him realize the gravity of the situation for us."
They stepped into the airlocks and eagerly removed their exopacks before she continued speaking, "Reminding them that they're human didn't seem to have much of an impact, but it was hard to tell. I think they're still clinging to the hope that they can negotiate something."
He laughed out loud at that, "Would have thought Patel would know better than that."
A small smile tugged at her mouth as well, "One would think. If the natives attack us again, however.."
"Not if, when." he stressed, "This is two raids we've suffered through so far, and Weigand told me this morning that he thinks the next time is going to be a full-on assault since the raids have failed."
A grimace this time from his female compatriot, "That's something else I needed to tell him, but he seems to be on it. We've started to pick up increased heat blooms around several of the local home-trees."
"They're massing." his stomach felt like lead weights had just been dropped into it.
"Yes. Currently, we're guessing maybe a thousand gathered at four different trees, more at Sully's than elsewhere. If their current rate continues, maybe ten thousand in a week and a half. Mabye two."
Numbers flashed in his head. "Ten thousand natives, plus whatever fauna attacks us this time, against a little over seven hundred humans, only half of which have full combat training?"
She nodded silently, "Not good odds at all. But we're creative bastards, we'll think of something." She gave him a slight glare, "Preferably something that does not involve tearing apart any more of my ships, Parker."
He held up his hands in defeat and chuckled a little before heading into the conference room.
Everyone else was present, and the female Captain wasted no time in going over the facts she'd already told Parker.
The military men reacted much the same as Parker had, grimacing and staring at the images she brought up on the screens along the wall.
The Oberst sighed, leaning back in his chair. "So, at our best estimate, we have a week and a half until every native clan within several hundred kilometers is present and ready to fight, then maybe two days travel time by their dire horses and banshees until they attack."
Parker leaned onto the table, "I'm going to start running my men through defensive drills, going over the basic training again."
Weigand nodded, "Yes. Adler, have your men work with them on that. Jones, Kozlov, we need those fortifications done before then. Preferably far before then. I want your people to know them inside and out."
The American captain frowned, glanced at his notepad, and nodded, "I can have them built at both sites in four days, assuming we work around the clock and I can get fifty more men to help. Kozlov's men can finish the interior, and then we'll get to work finishing the defenses here. The buildings aren't done, and there's not way they all will be by then, but we can at least get their guns mounted and in place."
He was already shaking his head, "My men will be busy as hell with the training, plus whatever extra defenses you need built here at the main base."
"I can land my crew." Everyone blinked at Thomes, "We'll keep a skeleton force on the ship and transfer everyone else down to help. That will give you thirty more men, give or take."
"Can you maintain the Dream on a skeleton crew?"
She nodded, "Not terribly long, but long enough in this case."
"Sehr gut." Their commander spoke, turning their attention back to him, "This is a good start. Parker, Jones, I also want secondary trench lines around the Ops-Center and Apartment complex, as they're the only complete buildings so far, they will no doubt draw much attention."
Weigand barely waited for them to nod before resuming, "Adler, have your men in the air running formation and attack drills with Brunhilde and the Samsons starting tomorrow. I will begin preparing to brief our personnel. Remember, everyone. Trust, morale, both are key. We cannot retreat, withdraw, or flee. We must stand and fight, surrender is not an option, and failure dooms our species. You all are the leaders of men and women, you must not let them see you give into despair. We will be victorious here, even against the horde that gathers against us. You have my word. Now go, we have too little time to be sitting here."
Everyone stood and began to move quickly, Parker headed to the Ops-Center to call his foremen.
An errant thought flashed through his mind as he did so, Suddenly, I well and truly do wish that Patel succeeds in his mad quest to get them to stop. Weigand's rhetoric is one thing, but against ten thousand blue-skins! He shuddered internally as he got to work, preparing his men to face their possible deaths once more.
Chapter 25: Nature's Riposte
And so the build-up to the main action is beginning, going to be one hell of a fight, eh? Hope everyone is still enjoying, and hope everyone is looking forwards to what's going to happen.
We'll have one or two chapters of preparation before the end of this act, then I'm going to torture you with an interlude, and then we'll see if all hell breaks loose or if Max can stop this coming fight.
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