A Fighting Chance (41 page)

Stik turned and made his way over to the com station even as a steady flow of reports came in from the ship’s command center. “Most of Battle Group 12 has been neutralized. Repeat, Battle Group 12 is presumed lost. Battle Group 3 is under pressure but continues to hold, and reports that one enemy carrier has been destroyed.”

As Stik eyed Parth’s face, he could tell that the civilian was angry. And, judging from the set of his antenna, scared as well. “Yes, Excellency . . . What can I do for you?”

“That’s a stupid question,” Parth replied caustically. “You can kill all of the animals before they land on Hive. That’s what you can do.”

Stik sighed. Civilians, especially
senior
civilians, could be rather thick at times. And the fact that both of them were members of the cabal did nothing to change that. “I’m sorry to say that won’t be possible, Excellency.”

Parth was visibly shocked. “You’re serious? You believe the animals will seize control of Hive?”

“No,” Stik replied patiently. “I didn’t say that. I said that we won’t be able to prevent them from landing. As you know, it has been necessary to weaken the home fleet in order to prosecute the war. That, plus the number of incoming ships, means that the animals will probably succeed in putting some troops on the ground. But General Amm and his forces will be waiting for them. So there’s little if anything to fear.”

“Good,” Parth replied stolidly. “But, just in case, I think it would be prudent to evacuate the Queen to Hive Home. I will accompany her to make sure that the government remains up and running smoothly.”

Of course, you sniveling coward,
Stik thought to himself.
Hide behind the Queen.
But there was no point in stating the obvious or placing his career in jeopardy. “Understood, Excellency.”

“Kill them,” Parth said unnecessarily. “Kill all of them.” Then the screen snapped to black.

The
New Empire
shook like a thing possessed, and Stik very nearly lost his footing as a symphony of Klaxons began to sound. “Torpedoes!” a voice declared. “Dozens of them. The screens are falling. Quick! We need to . . .”

But the officer never got to finish his sentence. Because that was the moment when a missile hit the ship; a jet of plasma burrowed through hull metal and found one of the ship’s magazines. The
New Empire
ceased to exist.

ABOARD THE CONFEDERACY BATTLESHIP
EARTH AVENGER
OFF PLANET HIVE

Ever since the moment that
Earth Avenger
left hyperspace, the destroyer escort (DE)
Fury
and a squadron of twelve Dag 190s had been sitting in the battleship’s launch bay waiting for orders to depart. And now that the capital ship and her escorts had successfully fought their way through wave after wave of nearly suicidal defenders, the time was at hand. The evolution had to be carried out with considerable care, however, because it was necessary for the
Avenger
to drop her shields momentarily to retrieve or launch smaller vessels. And that would open the battleship to attack.

So even though Booly, the Queen, and her retinue had boarded the DE and were strapped in ready to go, they had to wait for the right moment before the
Fury
could take off. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the warship rose on her repellers and followed three Daggers out into the cold blackness of space. The rest of the escorts took up positions all around to protect the ship from enemy fighters.

The little vessel was a good choice for the mission at hand, or so it seemed to Santana. Though small, it packed a lot of firepower for its size and was very maneuverable. That virtue paid immediate dividends as four Chak fighters bored in, the Daggers took them on, and the
Fury
’s captain sent her ship corkscrewing through the fray.

The baby-faced lieutenant was no more than twenty-one or twenty-two years old, but, thanks to all the casualties the Confederacy had suffered, she was already in command of her own ship. And had clearly performed well in the past given how important her cargo was. “Hang on,” the officer said via the ship’s PA system as something hit the screens and the
Fury
shuddered. “I have Landing Force Alpha on visual.”

Santana knew the officer was referring to one of three globe-shaped formations. Each landing force was comprised of heavily armored gunboats, transports, and hundreds of assault craft. All were important, but none more so than Force Alpha, which was to include the ship carrying both Booly and the Warrior Queen. Her scorpion-like Kathong body was strapped to the center of the cargo deck. Vanderveen was seated on the other side of the compartment from Santana and appeared to be in deep conversation with Chancellor Ubatha.

Dietrich was slouched a few feet away and, based on appearances, was taking a nap. In addition to his other duties, the noncom had agreed to watch over Vanderveen on the battlefield. Santana knew she would be furious if she found out about the arrangement but didn’t care so long as she survived.

Farther back, with his helmet on the seat next to him, General Booly sat staring into space. What was he thinking? There was no way to know. Some senior officers were as transparent as glass. But not this one. He was competent though. Very much so. And having suffered under General-453’s incompetent leadership on Gamma-014, Santana was thankful for Booly’s presence.

“We’re in,” the captain announced, as the
Fury
took her place at the center of Landing Force Alpha’s globe-shaped formation. “And I just received word that the Hudathan Pathfinders were able to board and take control of Battle Platform 5.”

A reedy cheer went up. Everyone knew that at least one of the enemy’s orbital battle stations would have to be captured or destroyed before Landing Force Alpha could enter Hive’s atmosphere. Now, thanks to the Hudathans, there was a large hole in the Ramanthians’ multilayered defense system. That would allow the globe-shaped formation to morph into a beelike swarm that would pour through the gap and battle its way down to the planet’s surface. “Here we go,” the captain announced, and the
Fury
began to buck as she entered the atmosphere.

ON THE SURFACE OF PLANET HIVE, THE RAMANTHIAN EMPIRE

As Chancellor Parth’s ground car plowed its way through the mob of citizens hurrying to leave the city for the countryside beyond, the sound of overlapping sonic booms rolled across the land, and white contrails clawed the otherwise-pristine sky. “Damn them!” the Chancellor said feelingly, as the car’s wheels bumped over what might have been a body. “Damn them to all of the hells.”

It wasn’t clear who the official was referring to. The refugees ? The denialists who were urging them to flee? Or the animals who, in spite of their well-known inferiority, were about to land? The driver didn’t know. Fortunately, the Egg Haka was already out in the country near the small town where they had been hatched. As for the War Haka, he was off-planet somewhere, serving in the
Death Hammer
Regiment. A source of pride for the entire family.

Thanks to occasional blips of sound from a hidden siren, plus the flashing lights behind the car’s grille, the driver was able to force a path to a downward-sloping ramp, where two soldiers were stationed. A sure sign that the panic hadn’t infected the military.

The troopers came to attention as the government car rolled past them. Then, as the driver steered the heavy vehicle down into the maze of subsurface passageways where most of the city dwellers lived, it was like a return to sanity.

Because of a strong military and police presence, those citizens who wanted to leave had to do so via spiraling pedestrian ramps rather than the streets. That allowed the driver to make better time, and it was only a matter of a few minutes before he passed through a checkpoint and entered the spacious garage that was located beneath the Queen’s official residence.

Three armored cars and a contingent of brightly armored Imperial Guards were gathered around the entrance. That was a sure sign that the royal was waiting within. The driver brought the car to a smooth stop—and was surprised when Parth opened the door himself.
Perhaps,
Haka thought to himself,
we’re in more trouble than I thought.

Parth shuffled into the lobby, saw that the Queen was dressed in the same armor that was standard for her guards, and instinctively understood what she hoped to accomplish. Even if she couldn’t be the Warrior Queen, she could
look
warlike, and that would be good for morale. Parth’s respect for her went up a notch as she spoke. “You’re late.”

“Sorry, Majesty,” Parth replied as he bent a knee. “The roads are full of refugees. But never fear. Our motorcade will take us to a secured landing pad where a military transport is on standby. From there it is only a ten-minute flight to Hive Home. And once underground, you will be safe from everything up to and including a direct hit from a nuclear weapon.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the Queen replied contemptuously. “There won’t be any nuclear weapons. The Warrior Queen is ruthless, but she wants to rule over something more than a radioactive wasteland. No, if you’ve seen the propaganda broadcasts, then you know what she intends to do.”

Parth
had
seen the broadcast but had no idea what the Warrior Queen planned to do other than reclaim her throne and kill him. There was a horrible emptiness in the pit of his stomach. “I’ve seen the footage, Majesty . . . But I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“I should never have allowed myself to listen to you or to go along with your traitorous plans,” the royal said bitterly. “But, like you, I’m ambitious. And I believed I could use the cabal and ultimately take control of it. That was naïve. We still have a chance, however. Not much of one, but a chance nevertheless. And that is to go to the Plain of Pain and confront the Warrior Queen.”

“The Plain of Pain? Why there?”

“Because she is playing the part of the Kathong,” the Queen answered impatiently. “She
has
to go there. Then, once we kill the Kathong,” the royal continued, “the Ramanthian people will know who the
true
Queen is. And even if the animals succeed in taking control of Hive, they will still have to deal with the person in charge.
Me.
”

It was an audacious plan. Parth felt humbled. Here, rather than an empty vessel, was a monarch reminiscent of the great mother. And, thanks to the cloud of psychoactive chemicals that enveloped him, Parth discovered that he
wanted
to serve her. He bowed deeply. “I am your servant, Majesty. Your car awaits.”

According to current military doctrine, three conditions had to be met in order to carry out an opposed landing on a Class III planet: (1) Secure orbital control, (2) Achieve air superiority, and (3) Place enough troops on the ground to hold the landing zone (LZ) while more troops and supplies are brought down through the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, allied forces didn’t have complete control of the battle platforms in orbit around Hive—nor did they have unchallenged air superiority. But what they
did
have was a hole through which Landing Force Alpha could pass in order to establish an LZ on the Plain of Pain, a desolate place that had a special significance for the Ramanthian people.

But there were other reasons for establishing a beachhead on the Plain of Pain as well. First, there was no civilian population to worry about. And that was of considerable importance to the Queen because a great deal of collateral damage would make it difficult, if not impossible, for her to rule. Second, there were no localized defenses to deal with. And why would there be? It was, as one senior officer put it, “a goddamned desert.” And third, there was plenty of elbow room, which Confederacy forces were going to need if they hoped to put enough people and equipment on the ground to hold the LZ.

To accomplish that, Booly had ordered his generals to drop eight fully equipped TACBASEs onto the plain first. The so-called drop boxes formed a defensive ring five miles across and were ready to do battle within minutes of landing. And that was a good thing because no sooner had the last TACBASE thumped down and leveled itself up than the fortresses came under attack by Ramanthian armor. The bugs weren’t stupid. They knew what the off-worlders hoped to accomplish—and were determined to prevent it.

But because the high command hadn’t anticipated the possibility of
any
landing, much less a landing on the Plain of Pain, all they could do on such short notice was to rush lightly armored vehicles and troops into the area. Their job was to hold the animals in place until a battalion of Gantha tanks could arrive on the scene.

The problem was that each TACBASE included four quads as well as sixteen T-2s and their riders. Within ten minutes after landing, the highly mobile legionnaires were dispatched to plug the gaps between the drop boxes. And thanks to their superior firepower, they were able to lay waste to the attacking vehicles even as dozens of Confederacy ships put down inside the circle of steel. The
Fury
was one of them. The ship landed on a low rise around which troops were starting to mass.