Casserine (46 page)

“Mardoc was to set off the explosive as soon as you came in range of the blast. It was hoped your death would discourage your people, and they would leave,” Zaros replied, lying back with his head on the medical corpsman’s bag.

The corpsman looked him over, shrugged, and then glanced up at Jake. “He’s been beaten up, but I don’t know enough about them to tell you much more, Sir.”

Jake nodded, and knelt next to the Passallion. “How are you? Is there anything we can get you?”

“I’ll be okay,” Zaros replied. “When they planned this stupidity, I tried to reason with them, and so did my people who had been imprisoned with me. This military triumvirate told me they were very close to developing an anti-matter weapon capable of defeating your fleet.”

“Let me get this straight,” Mercer said, disgust in his voice. “We save your people from the Bugs, and you wipe us out to show your gratitude?”

“They allowed us to believe we were accepted, and then these three imprisoned us the moment your mission on the first nest started. While your fleet was busy with the Bugs, a cruiser was to attack with the new weapon. I am told it was destroyed the instant it took off.”

“Any suggestions, before I have one of our Command Wing Fighters show you what an anti-matter weapon can really do?” Jake asked calmly. “I don’t suppose Mardoc was the leader of this military triumvirate, was he?”

“No, but he was like others of my people, too proud to accept the fact we are no longer the most advanced race around, and certainly not the most dangerous. I thought with the way our people have adapted and enjoyed human idiosyncrasies, we would not only welcome your help, but also your friendship.”

“Any chance this is just a small percentage of your people? Once the Bugs are gone, and we don’t fit you all for a slave collar, their opinion might change.”

“Yes, it is possible, General,” Zaros replied, “but I did not dare hope you would give this a chance, after what they tried to do to your force.”

“Where’s this military triumvirate located, and do you think they will be there?”

“I can guide you to them,” Zaros offered. “It will be dangerous though.”

“I have a little plan for that if you can tell us the level they’re holed up in,” Jake replied. “Hold on a second.”

Jake flipped on his helmet communicator. “Tim?”

“Yes Sir?”

“You think your hovercraft could be used for a little mission into this building?”

“Sure,” Dougherty chuckled, “but if we have to tear around inside the building in a hovercraft, why not just take out the building.”

“I concur,” Corey put in.

There was a chorus of agreement from Peters and Wilcox to add to Corey’s.

“Okay,” Jake said thoughtfully. “Hold that thought. Zaros, how many innocent people do you have up in the other parts of this building?”

“Possibly over ten thousand,” Zaros answered.

“Sounds like acceptable losses to me,” Mercer put in. “They could have one of those anti-matter bombs up there.”

“They do not, Sir,” Zaros broke in. “They want to live. They don’t mind sending a hapless dupe like Mardoc to his death, along with whatever number of our people were caught up in the blast on this level, but they feel too important to be risked.”

“Okay, I’m warming up to the idea of taking these guys into custody, and letting Mr. Snappy reeducate them,” Mercer said angrily. “By the time I get done with them, they’ll nominate you for emperor of the planet.”

“You know, Charlie,” Jake mused, “that’s not bad, not bad at all.”

Jake gestured for McClure to walk away with him and Mercer. They switched off their outside channels, and took off their helmets. “Vic, we have a little problem in the upper level of the building. I want you to talk to your guys and see if they would want to volunteer for a small action, which would save a lot of innocent ET’s, and further our trade mission relations. It’ll be just me, Colonel Mercer here, your squad, and Dougherty at the helm of a hovercraft.”

“I’m in, Sir,” McClure said immediately. “I’ll be right back.”

McClure went over and huddled with his platoon-sized squad. There was some laughter, and then McClure jogged back. “They only want to know if they can kill anything that ain’t laying on the floor.”

Jake and Mercer laughed.

“We can’t put out the word, but we’ll have Zaros along to warn them, and Tim will be scanning for weapons. It will be a free fire zone. I expect some innocent ET’s may get caught in the crossfire, but our main concern will be three military guys, who are screwing things up for the whole planet. We could use them alive, with maybe just pieces missing.”

“Can do,” McClure stated. “When do we leave?”

“There also may be explosives,” Mercer added.

“We are Marines, Sir. If we wanted to be safe like in our Mothers’ arms, I guess we all should have stayed there.”

“Okay Vic,” Jake nodded, “hang tight, and we’ll get the hovercraft flown down here.”

Jake and Mercer walked back over to where Zaros was now sitting
^u
p.

“We’ll take you with us, and see if we can capture these guys,” Jake informed him. “There will be casualties amongst your people, but we’ll try to keep them at a minimum.”

“General, our people are starving. They have no decent leadership, and they simply bide their time now until they are overrun by the Bugs. Once I am truly able to communicate and lead my people, this stupidity will end.”

“Good.” Jake put on his helmet, switching on his outside com. “Have Tim’s hovercraft flown down ASAP, Jas. We’ll be waiting.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” Peters responded. “I had them ready to go on your word. The hanger bay crew chief said to tell Tim, he even managed to get the smell out of the back.”

“Outstanding,” Dougherty chirped in. “Are you sure you’ll be alright with that, General?”

“Alright with what,” Jake asked in confusion.

“Well,” Dougherty answered deadpan, “without the Bug guts to wallow around in back there, I didn’t know if you’d want to go or not.”

Jake sighed as the channel echoed in his ear with laughter. He silently gave thanks Mercer had not had his helmet on. “You know, Tim, I may have a special assignment for you once this ends. We always need mining liaisons down in the tunnels, and what with your experience and all.”

“Sorry, General,” Dougherty replied quickly. “I’m back now. You were speaking to that other Dougherty, who can’t keep his mouth shut when he should.”

“Jas, have another deck gunner flown down too,” Jake instructed. “Our new mining liaison to the Omaha Colony needs a replacement so he can go on his last combat mission.”

“I’m in position, Jake,” Dougherty said from the cockpit of his redesigned hovercraft. The craft hovered just outside the sixth level of the flat-topped, pyramid shaped, ebony building.

“Thanks Tim,” Jake replied. “Hold until Sara gets Alpha in position to scan the inside, and take shots when needed.”

Alpha Drop Ship shadowed the small hovercraft.

“We’re right behind you, Jake. Lieutenant Fajardo’s at the deck gun, and scanning,” Corey said.

“See anything in the area Zaros showed you on the diagram, Lieutenant?” Jake asked.

“Yes Sir,” Lieutenant Fajardo answered. “They have at least twenty armed Passallians inside the fortified room, along with five others without weapons.”

“Shit,” Jake exclaimed. “They must have had an armory in there. Otherwise, they’d have been killed already. Can you kill the armed ones without blasting the guys we’re after?”

“He can’t, Sir,” Dougherty chimed in. “It’s not that we couldn’t punch through the reinforced room, but if we do, the intensity needed to pierce it could kill everyone in there.”

“How about around the room?” Jake asked.

“I’ve taken out anyone who picks up a weapon with an energy signal,” Fajardo replied. “There are enough holes through the building, I’m starting to worry about building integrity, Sir. We’ve definitely shorted out their illumination circuitry, and communications.”

“Then they’re blind as well as stupid,” Jake said. “Okay, Tim, let’s go in. Keep the building integrity in mind, huh?”

“I will, Sir,” Dougherty promised. “I’ll cauterize it as we go in. They’ll have a hell of a repair bill after we get through.”

“Cut in at your discretion, Tim, and pull up when you cut through to the section we’re looking for. Leave us something to stand on.”

“Aye, aye, Sir, punching through now.”

Jake stood next to Mercer and McClure as he watched the monitor to view the progress. The hovercraft tunneled its way right through the outside shell of the angled wall, shooting debris out of the back. It shook slightly with the effort of excavating into a reinforced structure. Dougherty slowed the hovercraft as he superheated the hole he created. The military command center office, located in the center of the structure, had been moved from a bunker underneath the mammoth building because of the Bug breakthroughs.

“On your right, Lieutenant Dougherty,” Fajardo warned suddenly.

The hovercraft shook with pulse weapon fire. Dougherty raked the area with his front turret, ending the attack.

“Thanks Dan, I was looking in too many places at once,” Doughertysaid.

“Any more of that and we’ll back out and Mag the building,” Jakecut in.

“Just pulse beams, Sir,” Dougherty replied. “We’re not cloaked, but we’re armored with a strong enough Bug shield to repulse particle beam weapons. We’re almost there now. I’m slowing, and leaving you a safe hallway to the door. You see it?”

“Tea Tim, perfect,” Jake answered. “Back us out, and turn her around. We’ll drop the rear hatch, and secure the passage to the room while you face back around.”

“Aye, aye, Sir.”

Dougherty backed the hovercraft out quickly. Fajardo opened up with thin, particle beams in a random pattern around the area where Jake and the Marines would be attacking. As soon as Dougherty reentered the building, rear hatch first, Fajardo held his fire. It took only seconds to reach the passage, which Dougherty had superheated to the rest of the structure around it. Jake hit the rear hatch panel, which opened onto the jagged opening. Jake led Mercer and McClure’s platoon, numbering fifteen men, into the passage with the Marine at the rear carrying Zaros along.

They approached the center quickly, crouched over as they ran through the six foot high passage. Dead Passallians in uniform lay mangled around the passage, and in rooms, which opened into the passage. The Marines followed Jake’s and Mercer’s pattern of putting a burst through each body they saw, as they secured each room on the way. By the time they reached the military center’s hatch, Dougherty had returned facing forward, and scanning ahead.

“Five Passallions coming up from the level below, and they have weapons, but nothing with an explosive signature,” Dougherty reported. “They’ll be coming up thirty feet in front of you.”

“Thanks Tim,” Jake acknowledged, nodding at Mercer, who gestured comically at McClure.

“Handle it, handle it,” Mercer ordered.

McClure grinned and pointed at two of his original squad, who immediately bracketed the passage in between the Marines and where the carrier would be stopping with its armed force. The five Passallians exited in the dull glow of the shorted out illumination circuitry backups, and were executed immediately. Three other Marines ran past them and fired into the bodies on their way to the carrier, which they blew to pieces.

They gathered again at the hatch leading into the military center. Jake motioned for the Marine helping Zaros along to bring him forward. Jake took off his helmet. “Okay, here we are. Can you open this door without my having it blown?”

“No, General,” Zaros shook his head negatively. “I do not have thecode.”

“Here’s how we’ll do it,” Jake said. “We’ll blow the door, and throw in a couple of concussion grenades. A couple seconds after that, we’ll go in and kill everything carrying a weapon. Once we blow the door, if they don’t just start firing at us, I want you to call in to them, and tell them to surrender. If they give up, we’ll skip the grenade part, okay?”

“Thank you, General, I will be happy to try and obtain a surrender without more deaths.”

Jake nodded, and then gestured for the platoon to get on both sides of the door, leaving the area directly in front of it empty. After putting on his helmet, Jake gestured to McClure, who used short blasts to blow the door inwards. He ducked back out of the way, as pulse beam fire shot out of the room, and into the bulkhead across the way. McClure gestured to a Marine next to him, and the Marine dove down in front of the doorway on his stomach. He fired into the room wherever he saw weapon flashes, and then rolled out of the doorway. Silence followed the Marine’s action.

“It’s your show, Zaros,” Jake called over to the Passallion.

Zaros inched to the side of the doorway, and began calling into the room in his own language. Moments later, angry shouts echoed out from inside. The voices were followed by pulse weapon fire. This time, the weapon fire hit into the floor where the Marine had fired from. Zaros turned back to Jake, and shrugged. Jake nodded at McClure, who then threw three concussion grenades into the room, one after the other.