Empire Of Man 3 - March to the Stars (9 page)

“Essentially, their cosmology calls for a piece of land floating in an eternal, endless body of water,” she said. “It also calls for all water that hasn't been specifically contaminated to be 'good,' which means potable. So here we are, way out of sight of land, sailing over an apparently eternal body of . . . bad water.”

“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink,” Pahner said with a slight grin, then looked serious again. “I can see where that would be a problem, Captain Fain. Do you have a suggestion for solving it?”

“As Sergeant Major Kosutic has just suggested, I've been discussing the problem with her, Sir,” the Mardukan said diffidently. “I believe it would be useful for her to deal directly with the troops as a replacement for our usual priests. And, if possible, when the ships go back to K'Vaern's Cove, it would also be useful if, upon return, they brought a priest over with them.”

Pahner gazed at him for a second, then shook his head in resignation.

“By the time they could get back here from K'Vaern's Cove, hopefully, we'll be well on our way to the port. If we're not, we might as well not have made the trip.” The Marine tapped his fingers together while he thought, then gave Kosutic another slight grin. “Okay, High Priestess, you're on. Just no converting.”

“No sweat,” the sergeant major said. “I'll just point out to them that there's no problem, within their cosmology, with there being more than one 'world.' We're traveling across what is, technically, infinite water—a sphere is infinite, looked at in a certain way. For that matter, their definition practically cries out for multiple worlds, or, in fact, continents. And from what I've gleaned, there's nothing saying that all water is potable. In fact, they deal with certain types of nonpotable waters all the time. Waters that have been soiled by wastes, for example. And the God of Waters loves them just as much as he loves potable waters, and rejoices whenever they are restored to potability. Gets us into the concept of sin and redemption.”

“The Prophet Kosutic,” Roger said with a chuckle, and the sergeant major smiled at him.

“I'd invite you to a service, but I don't think the Empire is ready for that just yet.”

“Now that we hopefully have that crisis dealt with,” Pahner said, “there's another one to consider. Taking the port isn't going to be a picnic, and I've been watching the squad close-tactics training. It's not going well. Comments?”

“Train, train, train,” Julian said. “We're barely scratching the surface yet, Sir. The teams are improving. Just not very rapidly.”

“Sergeant Major?”

“Well . . .” Kosutic frowned. “I gotta say I don't feel like they're there, Julian. They're not concentrating. They're just going through the motions. We need to put some steel in their asses.”

“With all due respect, Sergeant Major,” Despreaux interjected, “I don't think you can say any of us are lacking in 'steel.' I think our credentials on that are fairly clear.”

“Maybe,” Kosutic returned. “And maybe not. One thing about being in battle as long and as often as we have is that for just about everybody, after a while, the edge goes away. You can't be on Condition Red forever, and we've been on it for a helluva lot longer than is recommended. So I think that that steel, Sergeant, is starting to melt. And it couldn't come at a worse time. You do realize that after we take the port, we're going to have to take a ship, right?”

“Yes.” Despreaux nodded, her eyes dark. “I do realize that.”

“Obviously, we're not going to hit the port when we know there's a ship in orbit to watch us do it,” Kosutic said. “But that means that whenever a ship does turn up, we're going to have to grab any shuttles it sends down the instant they hit dirt.” She leaned forward and stabbed a rock-hard finger into the wooden table. “And prevent communication between them and their ship when we do it. Then, we'll have to send our own shuttles up, blow the hatches, and do a forced boarding. We'll have to blast our way through the whole ship without smashing anything that can't be fixed. And it's probably going to be a ship used to bad ports—to the idea of pirates trying to grab it. So its crew won't be sitting there with their guard down. Now how easy do you think that's going to be?”

“Sergeant Major,” Roger said in mild reproof. “We're all aware that it's not going to be a walk in the park. But we'll get it done.”

“Will we?” Kosutic asked. “It won't be Voitan or Sindi, Your Highness. We won't be in a fixed position waiting for the scummies to throw themselves onto our swords. It won't even be just a smash and grab, like Q'Nkok and Marshad. We'll have to move like lightning, in the boarding and taking the port. And we'll have to be precise, as well. And we're not moving like that right now.”

“Can you take this ship without our help?” Rastar asked suddenly. “Isn't this what you brought us for? To fight by your side, your foes as ours?”

All the human heads in the cabin swiveled like turrets as their owners turned to look at him. Roger's mouth flapped for a moment before he could spit out a sentence. Then—

“It's . . . not that easy.”

“This environment isn't one you want to fight in, Rastar,” Eleanora said quietly. “You'll undoubtedly be involved in the taking of the port. But the ship will be another issue.”

Roger nodded then leaned forward in the lamplight and placed his hand atop the Mardukan's.

“Rastar, there are very few people I would rather have by my side in a firefight. But you don't want to fight on shipboard. Onboard, if you press the wrong button, you can find yourself without any air to breathe, your breath stolen and your skin freezing until you die, quickly.”

“There are . . . hazards, Rastar,” Pahner agreed. “Hazards we would prefer not to subject your forces to. They aren't trained for that sort of environment. And despite the difficulty, a short platoon of Marines will be able to take most freighters. For that matter, since there will probably be functional armor at the spaceport, we can probably take a pirate down, as well. If, as the sergeant major has noted, we're trained to a fine edge.”

He rubbed his cheek for a moment in thought.

“Who are the best at this sort of thing?” Roger asked. “I mean, of the troops we have.”

“Probably myself and Despreaux, Your Highness,” Julian answered.

“Don't count me out, boy,” Kosutic said with a wink. “I was door-kicking when you were in swaddling clothes.”

“Why don't we have a demonstration?” Roger asked, ignoring the byplay. “Set up a visible 'shoot-house' on the deck, made out of—I dunno, sails and stuff—and let the teams watch Despreaux and Julian do their thing. And the sergeant major, of course, if she's not too old and decrepit. Show them how it's done.”

“Decrepit, huh?” The senior NCO snorted. “I'll show you decrepit, sonny!”

“That's 'Your Highness Sonny,' ” Roger retorted with his nose in the air.

The comment elicited a general chuckle. Even Pahner smiled. Then he nodded more seriously.

“Good call, Roger. It will also give our allies a look at what we're doing. Since we're not going to be using live rounds, we can give them detectors and let them be the opposition. Let them see if they can stop the sergeant major's team.”

“Surprise is the essence of an assault,” Despreaux said quietly. “If they watch us prepare, they're not going to be too surprised.”

“We'll train in the hold,” Kosutic said, tugging at the skull earring dangling from her right ear. “Then duplicate the conditions on deck.”

“That sounds good,” Julian said, but his tone was a bit dubious. She cocked her head at him, and he shrugged. “You know how much of this is about muscle memory,” he said. “Even with the helmet VR and our toots, we're still going to need at least some room to move in, if we're going to do it right. And, frankly, I don't think there's enough room in Hooker's hold.”

“He's got a point, Smaj,” Roger said. The prince frowned for a moment, then shrugged. “On the other hand, there's a lot more room below decks on Snarleyow. I bet the civan have eaten enough of the forage to give us a lot more room in Snarleyow's forward hold than we could find in any of the other ships.”

“That's an excellent idea, Roger,” Pahner approved. “Her between-deck spaces are even deeper than ours are, and she's got a lot more beam, as well.”

“Still not as much room as I'd really like, but a lot better, ” Kosutic agreed.

“And we'll be the 'opposition'?” Rastar asked.

“Yes,” Pahner said with a nod. “We'll set up a facility above decks on one of the other schooners. It may still be a little cramped for troopers the size of yours, but it should work out. As far as the demonstration itself goes, you'll know they're coming, but not quite when. And you'll be armed with your standard weapons, but no ammunition. The computer will be able to tell which shots hit and which miss, and the system will tell you with a buzzer if you're hit or killed.”

“Can I participate also?” Fain asked.

“Certainly,” Pahner said, then chuckled. “A sergeant major and two sergeants going after a prince and his officers. It should be interesting.”

“Could I participate, too, instead of being the objective?” Roger asked. “I'd like to see how I'd do on this tac team.”

Julian started to open his mouth in automatic protest, then thought about it. Every single time he had doubted the prince's abilities in a firefight, he'd been wrong. And so, after a moment more of thought, he shut his mouth, instead.

Kosutic frowned contemplatively. Then she nodded.

“We'll . . . introduce you to it, at least. It's more than just being able to shoot straight. Some people who aren't much good at other fighting are very good at close-quarters work, and vice versa. If you do well in the preliminary training, you'll participate in the final demonstration. If not, not.”

“Fine,” Roger said with a nod. “How long to set this up?”

“Start in the morning,” Pahner said. “Captain T'Sool and I will get with Snarleyow's skipper and have Hooker's main deck set up to duplicate the conditions in Snarleyow's hold. You do your prep down there, then do the assault on the deck. That way we can all watch.”

“And make rude comments, I'm sure,” Kosutic snorted.

“So are we going to play shirts and skins?” Julian ogled Despreaux luridly. “If so, I say we take skins.”

The sergeant major's palm-strike would have been a disabling or even killing blow if it had landed a few inches farther forward on the side of his head, or if she'd used the base of her palm instead of the side. As it was, it just hurt like hell.

“You're toast, buddy,” she said, chuckling as he rubbed the side of his head.

“Man,” he protested. “Nobody around here can take a joke!”

“And don't let this interfere with your discussions with the Mardukans,” Pahner reminded the sergeant major, ignoring the byplay. “I'm not sure that either takes precedence over the other.”

The captain was still unsure and unhappy about the relationship between his senior NCO and his intel sergeant. They were discreet, and there wasn't a hint of favoritism, but small unit command was about managing personalities, and sex was one of the biggest destabilizers around. There were strict rules against the type and degree of fraternization the two of them were engaged in, and they knew it just as well as he did. But, he reminded himself yet again, none of the rules had contemplated a unit being cut off from all outside contact for over six months.

“Got it,” the sergeant major nodded, noting his dark expression.

“Should we load anything else onto the list?” Roger asked, deliberately trying to reclaim a less serious mood. “I don't think Sergeant Major Kosutic has enough on her plate, yet.”

“Ah, you just wait, Your Highness,” the NCO told him with an evil smile. “As of tomorrow, you're just 'Recruit MacClintock.' You just keep right on joking.”

“What's the worst that can happen?” Roger said with a smile. “Going back to Voitan?”

“ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OWN SECTOR NEXT TIME, RECRUIT?”

“One hundred and twenty-seven. YES, SERGEANT MAJOR!”

There were several axioms, handed down from generation to generation by the noncommissioned officers who were the true keepers of the tribal wisdom, in which Sergeant Major Eva Kosutic firmly believed. “No plan survives contact with reality.” “In battle, His Wickedness always has a hole card.” “If the enemy is in range, so are you.” All of them were rules the military forgot at its own peril, but the one that was currently paramount in her own mind was “The more you sweat, the less you bleed.”

And at the moment, some people obviously needed to do a little more sweating than others, she thought bitingly.

Roger MacClintock had several things going for him when it came to close combat. He had been gifted, both naturally and through long ago manipulation of the MacClintock genotype, with the reactions of a pit viper. He was a natural-born shot, with the hand-eye coordination of a master marksman, and he had spent many a lonely hour building on that platform to perfect his aim. And he had a good natural combat awareness; in a fight, he always knew “where” he was and had a good feel for where the enemies and friendlies were around him. That was an often underrated ability, but it was crucial in the sort of high-violence and sudden-death environment for which they were training.

But although he'd learned to be a “team player” in soccer, he'd never really had to perfect that in combat. Worse, perhaps, he tended to go his own way, as had been proven repeatedly on the long march from the shuttles' dry lakebed landing to K'Vaern's Cove. Roger was never one to integrate himself into a fire plan. Which made it a good thing that he always led from the front, since he also tended to kill anything that got in front of him.

“Your job, when we do an entry, is to watch my back! Not to watch where I am going! If I run into resistance, I will deal with it. But if I have to watch your sector at the same time, you are OFF THIS TEAM! Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“CLEAR, SERGEANT MAJOR!” Roger hammered out his final push-up. “One fifty, Sergeant Major!”

“You just stay there in the front leaning rest position, Recruit MacClintock! I'll get to you when I'm ready.”