Invasion of Kzarch (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

A day later, feeling somewhat better, especially after having executed three people he thought were planning on trying to kill him, Bloody Jack was ready to deal with the message… and the one who sent it.

“So.” Bloody Jack paused, eying the voice-only com.

“Yes?” came across after several moments’ wait. It sounded a trifle irritated. Suppressing a smile, Bloody Jack continued.

“I am a trifle puzzled, I must admit. Why, exactly…”

“That’s
my
business,” the other said curtly.

Bloody Jack shrugged.

“True. So then, how do you intend to help us, and why do you think we’ll give
you
what you’re asking for?”

The man at the other end of the line began explaining. Listening, Bloody Jack thought the man made a good case, but it wasn’t what
he
needed. But perhaps with some modification…

“In essence, then, we wouldn’t be getting anything.” The pirate chief’s voice was cold. “You would get what you want, but
we
would get nothing.” There was a short pause.

“I offered-”

“An offer that means
nothing
. We could do the exact same thing whether you offered it or not.”

Again there was a short pause.

“But you’d be able to es-”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Bloody Jack contemptuously. “We already knew they were likely to be coming. Simply because you warned us-”

“Then what do you
want
?” The voice from the other end of the line was harsh.

“
This
.” Bloody Jack outlined what he wanted.

“That…” the other said slowly. “It wouldn’t be impossible. But it’s not…” he trailed off.

Bloody Jack grinned.

If the person was actually considering the idea, then he probably would go for it.

“It’ll get us
both
what we want,” he said, then waited. Nearly a minute passed, as the other thought in silence.

Then the voice came back, heavily, “Very well. We have an agreement.”

***

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant Harsmith!”

“Eh? Sergeant Dri’ver-?”

“Sir, the general has been attacked!”

“
What?!
What happened?!” Frank immediately left the Marine barracks, heading towards the headquarters for the guerrilla camp, the much smaller sergeant struggling to keep up.

“No-one knows, sir! But the general’s quarters were blown up!”

“I didn’t he-”

“It was an energy bomb, sir!”

“I see. Is he alive? Wounded?”

“I don’t know, sir!”

“You don’t
kno
-”

“T- Colonel Fil’dwis just ordered me to fetch you! We were in the building when the bomb went off, so we knew
something
was going on. As soon as the colonel saw that the general’s rooms had been the site of the detonation…”

“Got it.” Frank strode into the building, where things were in a chaotically confused state, people rushing all over.

Deciding he was unlikely to get a clear answer from any of them, and that there would be a good chance that the answer would be wrong anyway, the lieutenant waded his way into the crowd, making his way towards the planning room. He assumed by this point most of the other guerrilla commanders would have been informed of what had happened, and had either made their way there, or were doing so.

He was correct.

By the time he arrived, nearly a third of the commanders had showed up, and more kept arriving every minute.

One of the people in the room made his way over towards Frank, as the lieutenant entered.

“Frank!”

“Tom! What’s going on? Is the gen-”

“He’s alive. But hurt.” Frank mentally breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.

If the guerrillas lost their leader, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

“How hurt?”

“Badly, but he’ll survive. He was lucky; he was in the hall when the bomb went off. But he won’t be back to full health for probably another week, minimum, even with the best medical care we can give him.”

“But at least he’ll survive.”

“Yeah.”

“Where is he now?” Turning, Frank looked in the direction of the general’s quarters, and saw the door and the wall it was in were deformed.

“The energy blast reached all the way
here
?”

“General Val’gor’s quarters
are
just down a hall,” Colonel Fil’dwis pointed out. “And I think the general is resting at the moment; in medical.”

“Should I-”

“I don’t think he’s ready for visitors.”

At that point, there was a commotion by the planning room’s main door.

“What’s- General!”

Limping slowly, using a crutch, General Juan made his way into the room.

“Get back!” a doctor snarled, as the guerrilla commanders attempted to approach. “The general is
not
to be bothered! He shouldn’t even
be
here!”

“Calm yourself, doctor,” the general got out, in a close approximation of his usual voice, though with hints of ragged agony in his voice. “They only wish to talk to me, not
attack
me.”

“I’d say you can hardly be sure of
that
, general! Not after the
bomb
.” he added meaningfully.

“True, doctor. But nonetheless…”

The general sat himself at the table, wincing as he did so. He looked around.

“Well, sit
down
.” he ordered dryly. The commanders did so, while the others moved back a bit.

Beginning to speak, tone heavy, General Juan said, “As you all know by now, I
-we-
have been attacked… By one of our own.” He gave a thin smile, then dropped it with a wince.

“I suppose it was inevitable. Presumably, the pirate located someone who was willing to sell us out, and convinced him to place the bomb.” Pausing for a second, he shook his head.

“In any case, what’s done is
done
. The only thing we can now do is to find the traitor, and at the same time, proceed with our plans to drive the pirates from
our
planet.”

A growl of agreement sounded around the table.

“As far as finding the traitor goes, I want
everyone
to keep their eyes open. Undoubtedly, the traitor will, ah, ‘betray’ himself. As long as we’re paying attention, we should be able to catch him.” He waited a second as the commanders murmured to themselves.

“Now then, I think we need to discuss the next mission we had planned, the one against the supply compound near the governor’s mansion.”

Everyone leaned forward, tensing slightly. Was the general going to call the attack off?

“I feel we must proceed with it, as soon as possible.” The tension in the room only rose, if for a different reason.

“Of course, in the shape I’m in, I will be unable to participate; unless we were to put it off for at least a week. Obviously
not
an acceptable option.”

“Therefore, I appoint in my stead Colonel John’son. Colonel, I charge you with arranging and completing the mission.”

“Yes, sir.” A rather nondescript commander nodded his head importantly.

“However… Your force will be far smaller than originally planned. You will only use a two hundred-fifty men.”

“May I ask why…?” said the colonel carefully.

“Because instead, all the Marines will be sent. I feel that a quicker, smaller, but just as powerful force will be the most effective means for accomplishing the mission.”

There was a moment of silence, then everyone began talking, Frank only not joining them because he want to carefully consider what to say.

“Sir,” he finally said, talking loudly enough to override the others, who fell silent as he spoke, “I don’t quite understand. The plan called for two-thirds of my Marines to be used in the first place. I frankly don’t see how adding the additional third will make up for the numbers you plan on taking out of Colonel Johnson’s forces.”

General Juan frowned.

“Lieutenant, your platoon would be far more effective for this sort of heavy raiding attack, considering how it will have to operate under stealth as much as possible. As well, they’ll be far more capable of extracting themselves if something goes wrong.”

“That’s true sir, but without the additional forces, my Marines would simply be killed. We
need
the support of your troops, general, or we’ll only be overwhelmed. Even if I had a
full
platoon it would be problematic, and at this point, I only have about forty left. And most of
them
have battlesuits that are no longer in perfect working order. I must therefore respectively refuse your suggestion, sir.” Around the table, breaths were held. The lieutenant was refusing an order? Technically, he wasn’t under the general’s command, but…

Still frowning, the general didn’t say anything, allowing Colonel Fil’dwis to break in.

“Sir, I have to agree. The Marines, even with the support of a battalion, aren’t going to be able to accomplish the mission.” Looking around, General Juan saw that most his commanders agreed.

His frown deepened, then his eyes closed for a second, as if making a hard decision.

“Very well,” he finally said. “Colonel John’son shall have six hundred men. With the addition of the Marines, I believe that shall be sufficient? Lieutenant?” His tone bordered on sarcastic.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Colonel John’son, you are to execute the plan in twenty-four hours.” There was an instant of shock, then everyone started speaking at once.

“General, I don’t-

“-too short of-”

“-we can do it!”

“Sir, I worry something-”

“General, I can’t guarantee such a short time will be suffic-”

“Sir, I must protest!”

“SILENCE!” General Juan boomed out. For a second some people continued talking, before falling silent under his glare.

“There will be
no argument
on this! The attack
will
proceed as ordered!” Everyone stayed quiet, avoiding each others’ eyes.

Finally, Lieutenant Harsmith spoke up, as the only one not technically under the general’s command.

“Sir, it’ll be chancy.”

The general said nothing, simply cocked an eyebrow.

Not fooled by the general’s apparent quiescence, Frank continued carefully.

“General, it’s going to be a hard, difficult mission. Chances of something going wrong, even
catastrophically
wrong, are high. If we don’t plan things carefully, things will be even worse.”

“That is true, lieutenant…” General Val’gor said slowly, “But nonetheless, the attack
must
proceed. Besides, we’ve been planning for it already, so it is not like the mission will be started without preparation. And the pirates are off-balance at the moment; their attack on me seems to be proof of that-”

Not a proof all the commanders agreed with; certainly not Frank himself.

“-plus they’ve lost a considerable amount of their forces, both of men, materials, and supplies.”

This, no-one could dispute. Indeed, several of them developed thoughtful looks.

“If we can strike them one or two hard blows, we may finally be able to
crush
them. On the other hand, realizing that they’re in a bad position, it is entirely likely they will attempt some sort of extreme tactic. Should they do so, and succeed… Our situation may well turn for the worse. I simply feel now, after having been a victim of an internal attack that I would never have believed they could pull off, that we
cannot
afford to wait.”

There was considerable muttering, but no-one disagreed.

“Are there any further points of consideration?”

“Actually, general,” Colonel Fil’dwis said. “What happens if the pirates get wind of what were planning? We know now that they have a spy in the camp.” The general nodded thoughtfully.

“I’ve already taken care of that. I’ve ordered that the base be fully locked down, with no other communication than what I myself allow.” He gave a grim smile.

“Actually, the spy makes it all the more imperative to get the attack off as soon as possible. If he told the pirates about it, undoubtedly they’ll start preparing, but they won’t be expecting it for another couple of days. If we strike
now
…” Around the table, nods quickly caught on. Some were more cautious than others though.