Retreat Hell (40 page)

“Dispatch two cruisers to track their passage, but hold the rest of the fleet,” she ordered, bitterly.  They might have captured the planet itself, yet losing the cloudscoops and technicians would hurt.  “And then start deploying the automated weapons platforms.”

She couldn't keep the fleet at Thule indefinitely, she knew.  Wolfbane did have an advantage in hull numbers, but the Commonwealth’s technology might well even the balance.  They’d have to leave soon, within days, just to strike deeper into the Commonwealth before Governor Brown tried to order them to consolidate their gains.  And yet ... she didn't dare leave the planet completely uncovered.  After the assassination attempt, it was unlikely that a Commonwealth officer would hesitate to bombard their positions on the planet’s surface.

But it didn't matter, she told herself.  Thule was
hers
.  She'd won.

And, she added in the privacy of her own mind, it was only the beginning.

***

The safehouse was right on the edge of Asgard, the perfect position – once upon a time – for meetings between the urban and rural divisions of the movement.  Now, Pete decided, it might well have turned into a trap.  Wolfbane’s forces had landed on the outskirts of the city and sealed the roads, preventing the population from fleeing out into the countryside.  He was trapped too, at least until darkness fell completely.

He glowered at the radio.  There had been nothing, but Wolfbane broadcasts since their troops had started to land, each one warning the civilian population to stay in their homes, no matter the situation.  It wouldn't be long, Pete suspected, before Wolfbane started registering the civilian population, exercising a degree of control that even the previous government had been unable to mount.  And then ... somehow, he had a feeling that his former captor had been right.  Instead of calling the movement out to take the reins of power, Wolfbane seemed to be securing the city for themselves.

“It's almost dark,” Gudrun said, from where she was seated on the couch.  She’d barely spoken a word since he’d saved her life, just stared at him.  Pete couldn't help wondering if she thought he’d saved her purely to take advantage of her himself.  Her voice was very soft when she spoke.  “Are we going to make a run for it?”

“Yes,” Pete said, shortly.

It was easy to see her apprehension.  She was a city girl, born and bred; she’d probably never seen the countryside, even when she’d been in school.  It was just another reason to dislike the local government, Pete considered; they’d never given the children room to grow.  But then, the population was really too large for the ideal balance between urban and rural environments.  If it had been up to him, the children would all be brought up in the countryside, where they would learn to take care of themselves.  But it was probably logistically impossible.

“Don’t worry,” he said, finding it in himself to reassure her.  There was no point in letting her worry if he could make her feel better.  “The countryside isn't full of dangerous animals who want to eat you.”

But the most dangerous animal walks on two legs
, he thought.  Law and order had broken down completely, save where Wolfbane held sway.  Parts of the city, even the fairly civilised parts, had collapsed into anarchy.  Shops would be looted, women would be raped, men would be killed ... all hell was breaking loose.  Even where Wolfbane had a strong presence, he suspected, their troops would have real problems keeping order.  Soldiers weren't police, after all.  The units that had been trained to play peacekeeper had never been very good at serving as the tip of the spear.

He sighed.  His wife and children were dead and his planet was occupied.  And he had played a role in making that possible, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.  In hindsight, it was clear that Wolfbane had done a lot more than just supply weapons.  If the reports were true, they’d inserted commando teams who had shattered the chain of command, just as their fleet was entering the system.  And they’d taken his planet.

Not for much longer
, he told himself. 
Whatever it takes, we will evict these people from our world.  We will be free
.

Unsurprisingly, the entire operation rapidly dissolved into chaos.  With the Imperial News Media looking over their shoulder, the operation’s commanders were forced to pretend to be in control, which resulted in colossal embarrassment when it was proven, time and time again, that they were nothing of the sort.  In the end, the outcome was inevitable.  The Empire abandoned Morningstar, unfortunately evacuating the social scientists along with their military personnel.

It was these failures that played a role in the slow collapse of the Empire.  Pointless military operations, long-distance command and control, the baleful influence of the unenlightened upon the uncomprehending ... all problems that our Commonwealth must attempt to avoid.  But can we avoid such problems as we expand further towards what were, once, the Core Worlds?

-
Professor Leo Caesius. 
War in a time of ‘Peace:’ The Empire’s Forgotten Military History.

Ed Stalker gazed down at the report, half-wishing he could smash the terminal against the wall and forget what it had said.  Disaster.  Thule occupied, five other systems believed to be occupied ... and the CEF either prisoner or destroyed.  Compared to some of the losses suffered during the Unification Wars, it was tiny, but it was the greatest disaster in the Commonwealth’s short history.  And it was far from over.

In hindsight, it was clear the enemy’s timing hadn't worked out perfectly.  At a guess, they'd intended to kill Gaby at the same time as launching their offensive, relying on her death to throw the Commonwealth’s political leadership into chaos.  But it had worked out well enough, he saw; their invasion of Commonwealth space had begun, forcing the Commonwealth to go on the defensive.  It would be very hard to recover their balance, let alone take the offensive themselves.  But there was no alternative. 

And the losses were grievous.  Avalon was proud of the CEF, despite Councillor Travis ... hell, he’d concentrated his attacks on the leadership, rather than the CEF itself.  But now the CEF was gone, along with its commanding officer.  Four more Marines were dead or captured too, losses he could ill-afford.  And Thule – and its priceless industrial nodes – had fallen behind enemy lines.  The cloudscoops might have been destroyed, but Ed had few illusions.  It would be months, at most, before they were replaced and Thule started churning out war material for Wolfbane.  Absolute disaster was looming over the entire Commonwealth.

He stood, thinking hard.  Gaby and the Council would have to be informed; hell, they would already have heard rumours.  He’d put a block on the information as soon as he’d realised the sheer magnitude of the disaster, but something would have leaked out.  It always did, he knew, no matter the security.  The return of Mandy’s squadron and the absence of much of the CEF had made sure of
that
.  A formal announcement would have to be made soon, no matter what else happened.  Or the rumours would grow completely out of control.

“Get me a flight to the mainland,” he ordered, as he stepped out of his office.  “And inform all senior officers that I wish to meet with them at Churchill Base, after I meet the Council.”

It was going to be brutal, he knew.  The attack on Gaby showed just how ruthless Wolfbane was prepared to be ... and the attack had caused widespread anger across Avalon and the Commonwealth.  Gaby was popular; she’d been the person who’d forged a lasting peace
and
started building the Commonwealth.  No one, even her enemies, had taken the attack on her lightly.  Her name would be used in cries for revenge that would echo over the entire world.

And there was no longer the guarantee of overwhelming force.

The Trade Federation will support us
, he thought, as he followed Gwen over to the helicopter.  Using a military aircraft as a personal taxi wasn't his preferred choice at all, but there was little alternative for a hasty trip. 
And we have support from the RockRats
.

And there were the improvements in technology.  The irony was chilling; even if the most pessimistic projections were accurate, Avalon would have a staggering advantage within five years.  If the more optimistic projections were closer to the truth, the old Imperial Navy wouldn't have been able to stand up to a squadron of Commonwealth ships.  But there was hardly any time to get the new innovations into play.  They’d have to make do with what they had.  They still had some advantages ...

But would they be enough?  All their information on Wolfbane was little more than educated guesswork, at best.  How many ships did Governor Brown have at his disposal?  What work had he done to improve his tech base?  How many trained technicians did he have working for him?  How many ... there were just too many questions and too few answers.

And Admiral Singh had returned, out for revenge.

And there was a spy ring on Avalon, still undiscovered.  Who knew what it was sending to its off-world masters?

No
, Ed told himself. 
It will be hell
.

***

Rumours had raced through the city at the speed of light, each one wilder than the last.  The Commonwealth had suffered a great defeat; no, the Commonwealth had been victorious, but at a terrifying cost.  Wolfbane had been attacked by the Empire; no, Wolfbane
was
the Empire and the Commonwealth was facing overwhelming force.  By the time he joined the crowds outside the Council Chambers, Emmanuel Alves had heard so many rumours that he couldn't have said which one was most likely to be the truth.

The crowds looked angry, he noted, as he found a place to watch.  They’d already seen their President attacked – anger against Wolfbane had been terrifying to watch, after Gaby Cracker had been shot – but now it was worse.  If the rumours were true ...

He heard silence fall as Gaby Cracker stepped out of the Council Chamber.  They’d been meeting in urgent – and confidential – session, according to the rumours, a meeting that had been called just after the squadron returned to Avalon.  Emmanuel leaned forward, hoping to see Jasmine, but there was no sign of her.  Had she returned to Avalon or ... or what?  Was she dead?

“We have been attacked,” Gaby said.  Her voice was quieter than Emmanuel remembered; he shivered as he realised the woman who had once been able to master a crowd could no longer speak with full force.  “Two weeks ago, Wolfbane’s forces rolled across the border and attacked seven Commonwealth star systems.  Six of them – including Thule – have fallen to the enemy.  There have been very heavy losses.”

The crowd seemed to shiver, rage and fear warring for supremacy.  Emmanuel felt cold ice running down his back.  Jasmine had been deployed to Thule, along with the CEF.  Was she one of those losses?  Somehow, he couldn't imagine her abandoning Thule and her people if there was a hope of saving them.  Or, for that matter, abandoning her men to captivity.

“Wolfbane wishes us to surrender our independence to their Consortium,” Gaby continued.  “They want to turn us into their slaves, to enforce a servitude on us that will be far worse than anything we experienced under the Empire.  Everything we have built over the last five years will be forced to work for Wolfbane.  It will not be tolerated.”

There was a long pause.  “Today, the Commonwealth Council formally declared war on Wolfbane,” Gaby said.  “We will not surrender, we will not submit ourselves to them; instead, we will fight like free men and women, fight until we are safe once again.

“It will not be easy.  There will be many battles to come and there will be serious losses.  But we have powerful allies, an important cause and justice on our side.  We will defeat the advancing enemy fleet, we will send them back across the border and we will take the war to Wolfbane itself.

“There will be those who will want a limited victory, a truce rather than unconditional surrender.  To those people, I say that these are the days in which empire are formed.  Will it be us, with our freedom and self-determination, or Wolfbane’s corporate tyranny that determines the shape of the future?  If we lose this war, freedom itself will vanish from the galaxy.  We will fight and we will win.”

She stopped speaking and waited.  The crowd went wild, cheering her words and shouting their outrage and hatred of Wolfbane into the skies.  Emmanuel allowed himself a tight smile, even though he knew the coming war would be very bad.  But there was no alternative to fighting, he recognised.  Governor Brown was unlikely to be content with just a handful of worlds.  No, he'd come for them all.

Afterwards, he approached Colonel Stalker before the Marine could make his escape.  The Colonel looked unsurprised to see him, merely ... irked.  Emmanuel asked the question as quickly as possible, as soon as they were out of earshot of the crowd.

“Colonel,” he said, “what happened to Jasmine?”

“She's been taken prisoner,” the Colonel said, quietly.  “We don’t know what will happen to her.”

Emmanuel stared at him.  “But ...”

“I believe she will cope with the situation,” the Colonel assured him.  “And she may well find a chance to escape.  But until then ...”

“I understand,” Emmanuel said.  “I’ll wait for her.”

***

Two kilometres away, a pair of grim eyes watched the newscast as the reporters competed with one another to come up with the vilest names and suggestions for Wolfbane.  The watcher couldn't help finding it more than a little amusing, even if it was completely uncontrolled.  It would have to be changed in the future, she knew.  The mindless sheep who made up the vast majority of the galaxy’s population needed to have their opinions steered in the right direction, not allowed to pick and choose what information and attitudes they wanted to listen to for themselves.  Not, in the end, that it would matter.

The spy allowed herself to relax.  No one had come near her, not as far as she had been able to determine; she was, in their eyes, a complete non-entity.  But now ... she could finally begin to retake what had been hers by right, no matter the cost.  She hadn't spent years on Earth, trying to build up a power base, just to abandon her dreams completely when the Empire collapsed.  No, she still wanted power.  And she was damned if she was abandoning her quest now.

She sat up and poured herself a glass of sherry.  Let the mindless sheep call for war, she told herself, even though there had been defeats rather than victories.  They’d be disillusioned soon enough when Wolfbane arrived, forcing the entire planet to surrender.  And she would be waiting to step back into the limelight and take power for herself.  This time, she wouldn't be dependent on a well-meaning, but inept husband.  This time, she would rule in her own right.

Maybe she would be a satrap, she conceded.  But she would still have power. 

And, in the end, power made it all worthwhile.

***

Governor Brown sat alone in his office on Wolfbane, thinking hard.

The first reports had come in, hard on the heels of an official note from Avalon that had been so undiplomatic that he’d been surprised it hadn't burst into flame.  Someone had attempted to assassinate the President of the Commonwealth ... and
he
was being blamed.  But why would
he
have attempted to kill someone he wanted to negotiate with?  If Gaby Cracker had seen sense, she could have taken on a high position within his administration.  He would have welcomed someone with so much ability to get hated enemies to work together.

Instead, she’d been shot – and wounded – and he had a war on his hands.

It was more than he’d wanted, he knew.  There had been nothing personal in the war – or at least there hadn’t been.  Now, Gaby Cracker and her subjects wanted revenge; they were unlikely to see sense and make concessions, rather than force him to crush the Commonwealth completely.  And yet he hadn't ordered the assassination attempt.  Maybe it had been one of her political rivals, he wondered, or maybe it had been a lone wolf.  It wouldn't be the first time someone, acting completely on their own, had attempted to kill a major political figure.

Or had it been someone else?

He wasn't blind to the ambitions of his underlings.  Some of them wanted power for themselves, others wanted to restore the Empire.  Either motive would give them a reason to try to lash out at him, to take power ... or to provoke a war.  So far, Wolfbane had been victorious at very little cost.  But it wouldn't be long before the Commonwealth and the Trade Federation began striking back.  The war was far from over.

Bitterly, he shook his head.  There was no point crying over spilt milk.  Instead, he would have to bend every effort to win the war before it was too late.  If nothing else, the advances the Commonwealth had shown were truly worrying.  What would happen if they were given time to put their new developments into mass production?  No, the war had to be won ... which would make him all the more dependent on his military advisors.

Standing up, he walked over to the window and peered out over Wolfbane’s skyline.  So far, the locals knew nothing about the war, but that would change soon enough.  How would they react, he asked himself, once they knew the truth?  Would they be pleased that their empire was winning battles or would they fear the outbreak of interstellar war?  Perhaps they would be both, he thought sourly.  Winning battles was always popular.  But long wars were never so welcome.

We’ll just have to win
, he told himself. 
The alternative is unthinkable
.