Warriors For The Working Day

Chapter Four
By
(UCSBdad)

Disclaimer: Stolen about equally from the Henson Co., David Drake and a bit from George MacDonald Fraser. Shakespeare is in the public domain, I hope. In any case, no money changes hands here. Rating: T due to language Time: Some twenty-five plus years after Peacekeeper Wars.

"Communications spike from enemy fleet. They're talking to each other." Someone said.

"Message incoming." Added someone else.

There was a burst of static followed by an angry voice. "Unidentified ships. Haul off right now. Do you know who the frell you're dealing with?"

Unfortunately for him, we knew exactly who we were dealing with.

A half a dozen voices seemed to be talking at once, with communications in the background.

"Task Force Command reports all ships under way, headed towards the enemy."

"TF Fox is accelerating and is lighting up the enemy with active sensors."

"Veer off, you frelling morons. Do you know whose planet this is?" There was a note of panic in the voice now.

"Firing solutions in ten seconds…nine…eight…seven.."

"We're getting feed from L-319, Hellzapoppin." Aida barked. "Put it on the central display."

Suddenly we were looking at the very crowded bridge of a ship. In the background a voice finished counting down to zero. The Hellzapoppin's bridge view screens were lit up by the flashes of 144 missiles headed for the enemy.

My attention went back to Hellzapopin's bridge shown on the main holo. The commander was shouting orders.

"All ships, reload. Defensive weapons are unlocked and free. Sensors, what's headed our way?"

There was a slight delay. "Sensors, dammit, what's incoming?"

"Not one damned thing, sir. And they aren't doing squat about our missiles. No counter missiles, no energy weapons, no electronic counter measures, no nothing. Shit, they aren't even giving us the finger on the view screen."

There was a round of quickly stifled laughter in the CIC of Agincourt.

The holo was returned to a view of the battle as a whole. The enemy fleet was at last starting to react, but with no plan or discipline. I saw a ship begin to move forward, oblivious to the fact that another ship was blocking it. In microns it rammed the other ship and the two were hopelessly entangled.

Another ship opened fire with whatever weaponry it had. It did manage to hit several ships around it, but nothing had come hear our missiles or ships. I saw several ships boats were quickly leaving heading to the planet. One was destroyed by the wildly firing enemy ship. Other boats and survival pods headed for the planet.

"Detonation in ten." Announced a bored sounding mechanical voice.

Human missiles used a detonation X-ray laser. At the moment the warhead exploded, a small amount of the energy was focused on the target as an X-ray laser. That is a small amount of energy as thermonuclear explosions go. That was enough energy to punch through a heavily armored warship.

144 warheads detonated, momentarily blinding our sensors. For a few microns there was silence.

"Clean sweep." Someone said.

"A couple of their ship's boats may have been far enough away to escape destruction. "

"Most of their fusion bottles must have breached, maybe all of them. I'm reading a debris field that consists mostly of vaporized metal." Someone else added.

"Any friendly casualties?" Aida asked.

There was a brief pause. "A cook on Tamerlane scalded himself with hot coffee when they accelerated past Alpha."

"Jesus!" Was someone's response.

Aida stood up. "All right, everyone. That's the first part. Now we have to drop a regiment on an unfriendly planet. Admiral Nagumo, if you'd replace me in CIC, please? I'll be with the Guards."

Aida stood and walked out of the CIC. Kathleen quickly followed her. After a micron, I did the same.

Kathleen led me back through a maze of passageways to Gunner Ismaili's office.

"Colonel! Aeryn!" Ismaili grinned at us. He was in his armor, but his helmet was hanging behind his neck. "Corporal Gupta and I have been playing with your power armor." I assumed Gupta must be inside the closed down armor beside Ismaili.

"Playing?" What the frell was wrong with humans?

Ismaili nodded. "We re-jiggered the control software. If you move slowly, you can move your bum leg using a control operated with your left little finger. If you have to move at anything faster than a rapid stagger, Corporal Gupta and I'll have to carry you. Suit up then step forward with your good leg, and then flex the left little finger."

I did so and managed to take a slow step forward. I tried a few more times and decided I just barely could walk.

"We did something else, Aeryn." Ismaili tapped some sort of control on the outside of my armor. "Check the readouts displayed on your viewscreen."

Centered over Ismaili and Gupta's helmets was a small orange rectangle filled with numbers, letters and symbols. Being human, they made no sense to me.

"Okay, those are standard icons. When you are line of sight with someone, the icon appears over the helmet. The standard icons identify the unit, the weapon the trooper is carrying, whether he's wounded, and a lot of other crap you don't need to learn." He tapped the armor again. Now the names "ISMAILI" and "GUPTA" appeared over their heads.

"When they're armored up, you'll see the name Kathleen over the Colonel's helmet and Aida over the Vice-Marshall's. For everyone else, you'll just get the standard icons."

I nodded. "Thank you. That'll be a big help."

Ismaili laughed. "Wouldn't want you to change your mind and have me stuck on this damned tin can while everyone else gets to dance."

Kathleen got into her armor and the four of us set off through more endless corridors to the landing craft bays, I found that instead of walking in a straight line, that I lurched just slightly to the left. As narrow as the corridors were, that meant that I would hit a bulkhead about every ten steps.

I managed to compensate by twisting to one side every five steps. I felt like a clumsy cadet, but I kept going.

Finally, we walked up a ramp and into the belly of an assault lander. Rather than sit, as we would have done in a Peacekeeper transport, we remained standing and our armor was locked onto a metal bar that swung down from above.

Several space-suited lander crewmen raced through the packed bay checking some frelling thing or another.

"Miz Cray-ton?" said a voice in my ear.

"Yes."

"Gunner Ismaili as't me ta see ta ya. Now, you jist relax. Ah'm gonna tighten yer internal webbing, so's ya won't git bounced agin' yer armor, should sumpin' go wrong. Don't ya`worry none, I'll take her in slow like."

I felt something tightening around my limbs and torso and a piece of webbing dropped over my forehead and pulled my head backward.

"Kin ya`move?" asked the voice.

"Not a bit." I grunted.

"Number Four Five, good to go." The voice announced.

I sat there feeling like a dreelik in a hunter's trap. How the frell would I get out if something did go wrong?

Kathleen must have read my mind. "Aeryn, the straps will release as soon the rear troop door opens. Your armor will be released from the stanchion as well. There's an emergency release controlled by your right ring finger. Tap it and you should see the release menu on your head up display."

I tapped and studied the menu for a micron.

"Want to know what's going on?" Kathleen asked.

"Absolutely!"

Kathleen laughed. "I'm displaying a basic schematic of the landing on your display. Agincourt and Tamerlane are holding themselves over the inhabited valley. If they have planetary defenses, like heavy directed energy weapons, or anti-ship missiles, the two cruisers are the best armed and armored ships we have to slug it out. The destroyers and frigates will be behind us. They're too damned light for that kind of combat."

"Marshall Soult is on the far side of the planet. She'll send her landers in on the other side of the planet and hug the ground until they arrive at the valley. Most of the Guard company went to Marshall Soult hours ago. Once they're down, we'll land. All we have in this lander is our command team and one platoon for close protection. Clear?"

So, once again, I found myself sitting helplessly wondering if John sand the children were almost in reach but too far away for me to help. I watched the heads-up display and willed the icons representing the landers to go faster. They didn't, of course. The more I watched, the slower they seemed to go. The slower they seemed to go, the more time I seemed to have to imagine all sorts horrible tortures John and the children were undergoing, while their wife and mother sat helplessly. I had just promised myself that I would never again let John or the children out of my sight, when a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Szent Istvan Command reports they are down. No, repeat no, losses on ingress. Contact is reported as very light and scattered. Fleet intel reports no sign of any planetary defenses. No missiles, no energy weapons, no sensors."

"Don't get better than that." Someone muttered.

"Silence!"

The original voice continued after a few microts. "Szent Istvan Command reports they've over-run eight compounds, but Alpha Green Five and Echo Red Two are giving them a problem."

"Can we land near Echo Red Two?" That was Aida.

"Affirmative, ma'am."

"Do it"

"Aeryn?" That was Kathleen.

"I'm right here. What is it?"

"Alpha Green Five is the main compound. The one where Goro, the owner of this hell hole lives. Echo Red Two is where Brissollino lived. And where his damned family is."

I swore softly to myself. I was doing that a lot.

In ten microts we were charging down the ramp of the lander. We headed through a nicely manicured forest over grass that looked like the front yards I had seen on Earth.

I reached the remains of a wall and peered over it. Ahead of me I could see a line of armored troops taking cover. I started to lift myself over the wall, but found myself being hauled back.

"What the frell?"

"Sorry, Aeryn, but this is as far as you go.' Ismaili said, not unkindly.

I swore again. Then I took a breath and tried to sound reasonable. "But we're nearly a mile away from the compound. You have to let me get closer. I can't see a frelling thing from here."

I could see Ismaili shake his head inside his helmet. "This is as far as you go. And my rangefinder makes it one thousand, one hundred and sixty yards to the compound."

Then Ismaili tapped the side of my helmet. "I'll give you a data feed from right up front. It'll be just like you're there."

It wasn't like being there, but it was close. The main compound building was a huge black rectangular block topped with a monstrous bright yellow dome. I could see no windows, just occasional weapon slits with most of the walls covered with vines, and blocked by trees growing near the building. In the center of the building were two enormous doors, at least three times the size of anything even a Luxan might use. I could see desultory fire from the troops outside, but there was no return fire from inside.

I was about to ask what the frell was going on, but I was cut off by an announcement over the comm., "Fire mission for Echo Red Two. Fire!"

I pushed myself up, only to be pushed back down.

"Artillery!" I screamed. "What if John's in there?"

Before I could say or do anything else, the area around the compound was lit up by hundreds and hundreds of bright flashes.

"It's okay, Aeryn," I heard Ismaili say. "That's popcorn."

Popcorn! For a microt, I had a mental image of Rygel. Then I remembered something from long ago on K'hiff.

Ismaili confirmed my memories. "The artillery shells dispense small oval shaped bomblets, they look a little like popcorn. And they do pop. All they're doing is blowing away the trees and vines and all that other crap."

I focused again on the compound. The vines had been chopped up and the trees were being reduced to kindling. Even the decorations on the building were being blown off. What was left were weapons' slits and blank walls.

Off to my left two hover tanks rose on columns of air and began firing at the compound's doors. Every other weapon in the area seemed to be firing on the building's weapon slits. Suddenly, one door sagged and then they both collapsed.

"Up and at 'em, Guards!" Screamed a voice over the comm.. The armored infantry rose and charged ahead, firing as they went. Fire from inside the building slackened and then ceased.

The first wave of assault troops fired a volley of some kind of large weapon into the gaping doorway. They threw themselves down, just as a series of blasts rocked the building.

"Now can we go?" I asked acidly.

"Sure, "Ismaili said with a laugh, "but we'll ride like ladies and gentlemen."

He waved towards our rear. Two more landers had arrived not fifty motras behind us. With all that was going on, I hadn't heard a thing. Two tanks were being driven down the ramp of one of them, while two boxy armored vehicles exited the other one.

"These are Vice-Marshall O'Donnell's command vehicles. Two command cars, "he waved at the boxy vehicles, "and two tanks."

Ismaili waved at the lead tank. "Need a lift for Colonel O'Donnell and her staff." He bellowed.

The tank slewed to a halt and an armored head poked out of the turret.

"Ismaili? What the hell are you doing here, pappy? Did someone decide this was an exercise?"

Ismaili snarled an obscenity. Before he could go any further, Kathleen broke in.

"Gunner Ismaili is here because the Vice-Marshall wants him here. Any problems with that?"

The tanker laughed. "None at all, ma'am. Climb aboard."

In a few more microts we were halting in front of the demolished doors and dismounting. The interior of the building was the sort of controlled confusion I remembered so well from my days as a Peacekeeper. There seemed to be no firing, just armored troopers shoving groups of civilians together in the massive entry hall. I could look all the way up to the golden dome a good six stories above me. Stairways led upstairs from to the right and left.

I almost stepped on a body. She had been a young and beautiful blonde. She was wearing only a diaphanous blouse with a large hole in it and her. Before I had a chance to feel sorry for her, I noticed a large pulse pistol a few denches from her outstretched hand.

I located the icon that said AIDA at the entrance to a hallway. The four of us headed for her.

"Fuckin' back off, people. Don't you listen?" Snarled a sergeant kneeling on the floor watching the hallway.

"Fuckin' back off, ma'am, I think." Kathleen said lightly.

"Uh, yes, ma'am."

"What's the hold up?" Ismaili asked.

"Female slave's at the end of the hall. She's got her daughter and has a knife at her throat. Says she'll kill the kid rather than let her live a slave's life. She's crazy. Don't realize she's been liberated."

"Shit!" Ismaili said with feeling.

Suddenly half of my display showed the woman at the end of the hall. She looked too young too be the little girl's mother, but under a lot of bruises she was beautiful. So was the little girl, but thankfully she had no bruises. Both were dressed in the sheer tops that seemed to be the sign of female slaves. The woman was screaming threats, but the little girl just stared ahead blankly.

"Where's the damned sonics?" Aida's voice said softly over the comm. "I need them here now."

"Right here, ma'am." Another armored trooper had come up behind Aida.

"Can you knock her down before she can stab the little girl?"

"Sure! You want it done now?"

"Of course now!"

Without saying another word, the soldier leaned his weapon out and fired, a sound like sheet metal being torn. Both the woman and her child dropped.

"No problem, ma'am." The soldier said as he trotted off.

Aida started yelling for a medic, and then headed for us when several medics headed for the unconscious pair.

"Combat over, ma'am? Ismaili asked.

"You'll be out of here before you know it if any fighting starts, Gunner." Aida shot back. "Meantime we have some good news. Corbellote's two idiot cousins are upstairs. Bito and Argolotte Corbellote. The bad news is that Corbellote went to see Goro at his compound. They're both holed up in there. Stoll's troops are taking them down slowly but surely."

The cousin's room was on the top floor, with glass on three sides. The room was dominated by an enormous bed. A naked young girl was sitting on the bed being tended to by a medic. By the goddess! She was no more than ten cycles old and sobbing continuously.

There were a dozen or so armored soldiers milling around the room, some searching, some just milling.

Two young Sebacean men were sitting on the edge of the bed. Each had a metal cap on their heads and a blank smile. To each side of them sat a soldier wearing un-powered armor with a small box on their laps.

"How's the girl? Aida asked.

"Not too bad, ma'am. It looks like they just got started with her. I think she's a clone, though. There are two more in the back room that look just like her."

"Why the frell aren't you helping them?" Aida exploded.

"Can't. There's no helping them." The medic replied softly.

"How's the interrogation going?" Aida turned to an armored soldier standing near the bed.

"We're getting the basics set up in the computer now, ma'am. We'll be getting some intel soon."

"This as an interrogation?" I whispered to Kathleen.

"Not exactly an aurora chair, is it? Human interrogations are a lot quieter than Peacekeeper's."

"So what is this?" I asked.

"The human brain is just a protein based computer run by low power electricity. You can pick up those electrical signals at very close range and amplify them. Before we had translator microbes, you had to speak your subject's language, which could cause problems on planets settled by oddball ethnic groups."

"And the subjects don't fight you?"

Kathleen laughed. "The interrogators shoot them full of a happy juice that comes from some planet off past High Brasil." She gestured to the two cousins. "Those two have never been happier in their lives than they are right now. They couldn't fight anyone off anything."

Kathleen suddenly stepped past me. "Corporal! Consumables only." A group of soldiers examining small bottles on a large dresser stopped and turned around.

One soldier answered in a soprano voice. "Ma'am, we think these are perfumes. Within regs, ma'am."

Kathleen nodded to Ismaili. "Gunner, will you check it out?"

Ismaili walked over and examined the bottles. "Seems to be perfume, ma'am."

Kathleen nodded. "The value of the containers?"

Ismaili shrugged. "A hundred Solars?"

Kathleen nodded again and the soldiers divided the perfume up between them.

"What was that about?" I asked her.

"Looting has been a problem with armies since the beginning of time. Commanders have been trying to stop it for just as long. Troops that are looting aren't doing their jobs. We pay well and on time. Our troops get the best equipment there is. They get the finest medical care. If they die, we pay their families a pension. If they become disabled, or last long enough to retire, they get a pension. But we still have problems with looting. So we institutionalize it. You can loot consumables. Anything you can eat, drink, smoke, or otherwise consume. Anything else of value is turned in and divided up after the campaign is over. It works most of the time."

"Ma'am?" Called an armored trooper from the doorway. "We may have something."

"What?" Aida, Kathleen and I asked at once.

"We have a slave in the main.." He began.

"You have a former slave, lance corporal." Aida cut in.

"Um, yes, ma'am. There's a former slave who says she was on the clean up detail for the prisoners held here. There's apparently a regular dungeon under this place, plus a hidden dungeon for special prisoners. Lieutenant Pellew is putting together some sappers and a doctor to check them out. He thought you'd like to know."

"He couldn't have commed this?" Aida asked sharply.

The lance corporal shook his head. "He's in a maze that the, um, servants here use to get around without bothering anyone. He thought you might need a guide to find him."

"Then guide away." She replied.

In a dozen microns we were through the maze and facing another dozen or so armored troopers. In their midst was a beautiful woman with sea green hair, wrapped in a blanket.''

"She's the one who told us about this, ma'am." Pellew said, putting a large armored hand on the woman's shoulder.

The woman fell to her knees and began banging her forehead on the floor. "Great Lord, do not punish me. I cannot open the door. Please! I beg of you."

"Christ!" Aida muttered. She reached down, put her armored hands under her arms and lifted her to a standing position." You will not be punished. I will reward you for helping us. We will reward all who help us." The woman kept bobbing her head and begging not to be punished.

Aida turned to one of the troopers near her. "Get her out of here. Have a medic check her and get her fed. And get some clothes on her."

"Ma'am?" One of the Guard officers said. "There's a metal door just around the corner. We have couple of sappers working on it."

Aida went around the corner. The four of us followed her.

"Sergeant Schell, isn't it?" Aida asked. "You were with us at Las Molinas de la Reina, right?"

The sergeant never took his eyes off of the door. A half a dozen small devices were attached to the door. What they were for, I had no idea.

"Yes, ma'am. This'll be a lot easier to get into though. It's big and tough looking, but all it's meant to do is keep out stray dogs and the idle curious. Nobody ever figured anyone like us would come a calling."

"Aha!" Someone said over the comm.

Sergeant Schell pulled down a heavy lever and the door slid silently open.

"We go first, ma'am." Lieutenant Pellew said. He and a dozen or more armored troopers stormed past us and down some stairs. Once again I was left standing while other people looked for John and our children.

"All clear down here, ma'am. Pellew said over the comm.

I hurried down the stairs and came to a dead stop at the bottom. No, it couldn't be...