The Assassin
Chapter 25
Battlefront (TY53-month 630)
We moved quickly, bringing the equipment and shuttles forward as we progressed. We bivouacked on the trail while a fresh team moved in to operate the machinery and take the point. In the morning, we leapfrogged to the front and rotated the night shift back for rest. We were executing the same strategy with the volunteers, moving quietly through the jungle with the Yolŋu Tribe.
«What’s the status, Cricket?»
«Marines have launched multiple bombardments into the landing site. Some have gotten through the Sa’arm defenses. The Sa’arm have countered with their own bombardment and the two forces are moving toward each other. A secondary force is moving generally northeastward, slowly. Our observations indicate this is a food-gathering mission.»
«There’s no sign they are aware of us?»
«None. Based on known patterns, they are likely to ignore our progress until such time as we demonstrate we are a threat.»
«Estimated time for us to encounter?»
«Day after tomorrow at 0600. It seems the Marines are not making as fast progress toward the site, but they are being shot at.»
«I hope we can stay under the radar for a while. I’m worried about them digging in, though. And reproducing. We need to step up our speed.»
«Sections 3 and 4 are the farthest out because they have the longest way to cut in. I advise you to move Section 3 to support the efforts of sections on the other roads. Of course, Section 2 is closest, as you planned. In this way, we can get close by tomorrow night. Then just wait for the signal from the Yolŋu.»
«Make it so. I will transport to the front line of Section 2 tomorrow afternoon.» Until that time, I continued to monitor the map and progress displayed by Teddy in the Citadel.
We started moving a little faster and I switched to three shifts instead of two. I needed everyone to have as much rest as possible when we started fighting.
We were within fifty kilometers of their perimeter by nightfall. Instead of moving in, we turned the equipment and started a firebreak parallel to the perimeter. As the firebreak was completed, volunteers and Militia fighters filled the break. At the front of the lines, our firefighters began lighting fires and sending them toward the Sa’arm. By midnight, nearly a thousand-kilometer front had been lit and contained from the rest of the jungle by the firebreaks. Before long, the Sa’arm would have no doubt that they had another front to fight on.
The area nearest the Sa’arm was primarily bamboo forest. There was a lot of bamboo scattered around the Eldorado continent, partly because it grows so fast. Even though most species will reach full growth in just sixty days, it can still live over a hundred years unless harvested. In the very early days of Tara, bamboo had been one of the major raw materials for food replicators, along with the planet’s native algae. Burning a portion of bamboo forest wouldn’t have as much impact on the ecology as if we had burned tracts of nut and fruit trees. It would begin growing back in the morning.
As I was watching the fire, I gradually became aware of a throbbing vibration in the air. It was so unexpected that it took me a minute to identify the bullroarers of the Yolŋu. I quickly slipped my bullroarer out of my boot and answered the call, motioning those around me to silence. It was daring and clever. The Yolŋu intended to treat the Sa’arm just as they did animals on a hunt. They would drive them toward us for the kill.
«Cricket, is there movement in the Sa’arm infestation?»
«Yes, Niall. Those within the landing site seem to be focusing in our direction. The fire is just beginning to break through at the edge nearest them.»
«Is there adequate fuel left near them to keep the fire burning?»
«The bamboo has continued resprouting near them overnight. They would typically harvest in the morning. The fire will continue toward them, but at a lesser intensity. A vanguard of Sa’arm units has approached toward the fire and is spraying it with what appears to be a fire suppressant chemical. Several hundred units are now moving into formation behind their firefighters.»
“Comrades and volunteers, fall back into the tree line. Prepare firefighting units at the head of each road. Hold fire until the tribe has emerged and opened a path into the killing zone.”
«Cricket, are there still live weapons on the crashed ship?»
«There are weapons, but it seems ammunition is diminishing. The frequency of shots fired toward the Marines has lessened. Marines have engaged the enemy directly about 120 kilometers southwest of the landing site, which may be why weapons fire has lessened. However, the Marines are continuing to launch missiles at the wreckage from the lake.»
«They’re not getting many hits.»
«The Sa’arm anti-missile lasers are surprisingly effective.»
«We’ll need to do something about that.»
“Here come the Yolŋu!” I shouted through the headset. “Prepare for enemy fire.” As the tribe emerged from the burning bamboo, dressed in their firefighting skinsuits, they immediately broke into two groups running rapidly to our left and right. The sudden cessation of the bullroarers left our bodies vibrating. We waited in the silence. Soon, Sa’arm broke through the fire line, led by their own version of firefighters. “Hold until they have reached the firebreak.”
We all held our breath, wondering how accurate what we had been told about the Sa’arm was. Were they really deaf? Had they followed the path laid out for them by the Yolŋu or were they focused on us behind the tree line? I heard the bullroarers start up again and could feel them coming from two distinct directions. Apparently, the Sa’arm felt it, too. They immediately split into two groups, following left and right toward the sound. This changed their formation from a single point headed toward the tree line to a long line stretched out before us. There were nearly 100,000 Militia and volunteers with weapons trained on them. As soon as they were clearly two groups, I gave the order to fire.
Some thousand or so Sa’arm units received the impact of 100,000 bursts from our pulse rifles. The rifles had come with all kinds of warnings as to where to hit the Sa’arm units for maximum damage and how many shots it was likely to take to kill each unit. We’d trained hard with them to master the techniques. The fusillade left all the Sa’arm down, though some were returning fire.
“Firemen to the front. Hose the Sa’arm with chemical pellets.” Our eight firetrucks rolled out of the eight roads into the firebreak and began putting up a wall of chemicals between the Sa’arm and the defenders. “Fireteams, make sure they are dead. Advance!” That was a trick Marcie and Crazy Edie had brought to us. A fire requires heat, oxygen, and fuel in order to burn. The suppressant chemicals denied two of those items, heat and oxygen. It left living Sa’arm nearly frozen and sluggish. Not one unit was passed without making sure it had received a fatal shot.
«Niall, another wave of Sa’arm units have emerged from the wreckage. They are moving rapidly in our direction, following the path of the destroyed units. Estimated time to target, seven minutes.»
“Clear casualties and retreat. Bring Section 3 in through the transporters and prepare for live fire!” The noise and disturbance of our shift change was covered by the Yolŋu, who once again led the Sa’arm toward us and then split to follow the vibrations.
«Niall, another scouting unit to the northeast has encountered and engaged with the backup cadet squad. Fire is heavy.» No. No. Not the children.
«Send Section 4 to their relief as fast as possible!»
«Cadres are on the move.»
«Marines and sponsors have noted our success with fire and have begun setting fires from their positions,» Teddy broke in. «The fires, however, are burning both directions as they have no firebreaks. They have cut off their own escape routes.»
«Damn it! We have no firebreaks to contain it on that end. We don’t dare send the shuttles up unless we can get that ship completely neutralized.»
As the Sa’arm lengthened out into their front charging the Yolŋu, our fire burst from the trees again. This time, they were better prepared and launched a devastating fusillade back at us. We dropped hundreds more, but there were still hundreds firing. Then I felt the vibrations of the bullroarers again. They were far distant. The Sa’arm showed some confusion as they were certain the weapons were ahead of them, but the threatening vibration they had felt now came from behind them. The moment’s confusion allowed us to launch a new attack that cut the invaders down. It was followed by the trucks spraying them again and a mop-up operation beginning.
«Are more reinforcements on the way?»
«There are a few units near the wreckage, but they seem disoriented. We may be down to the last few at the site. Units on the other front, however, are also beginning to fall back toward the wreckage. If they get up to their usual land speed, we’ll see them at the wreckage in an hour and a half.»
“All sections and volunteers, retreat and get the casualties back to base. Bring forward the third wave. Move through the burnout to the wreckage. We’re going in.”
A new wave of Militia and volunteers swept into the clearing and through the smoldering remains of the bamboo forest that surrounded the wreckage. As soon as we were in range, we began taking out the Sa’arm units. They swung toward us but were not coordinated enough to do much damage before we advanced.
“Fire crews. Start controlled fires on the southwest and head them toward the line of the Sa’arm. Bring up Section 8 to advance with the fire. Let’s pin them between the Militia and the Marines. Section 2, guerrilla cadres. You’re with me. Let’s find a way into this behemoth and neutralize it.”
My specially trained cadres were on my heels as we searched for the access to the ship. We finally set explosives and expanded a hole that had been blown while it was still in space. Anything that moved, we shot, including dangling wires and swinging debris. Cricket accessed all available data on the ship and directed me toward where the erratic firing of the missiles and laser interceptors was coming from. A single Sa’arm unit was sitting on the floor of the missile bay turning its head left and right. We didn’t bother to ask it to surrender. There were eight more missiles in the bay and we wired them all with explosives on timers. According to Cricket, the missile bay was directly below the laser defense. We set the timers and retreated back the way we came.
This time, we met resistance. Sa’arm units began coming up through holes in the floor. It was like playing gopher tag but these gophers shot back. What was worse, they knew the layout of the ship. We were quickly pinned in a passage and blocked from the hole we’d blown. One of my remaining cadres came at them from the rear and we were able to slip around them to get to the hole in the ship. We tumbled out, staying low as comrades poured shots into the hole at the emerging Sa’arm. Then the missiles blew.
Rear Lines (TY53-month 630)
I woke up alert and on my guard. There was danger. The Swarm had landed! When the med tube opened, I was momentarily disoriented. Had this all been an elaborate training scenario thought up by the Pussy Pirates? No. It had been far too real.
«Cricket, what’s the status,» I demanded immediately.
«There is no further enemy action at the crash site, Niall,» he said, confirming the reality of the situation. «You were concussed when the missile magazine blew up. As you and your comrades were dragged away from the wreckage, a deeper subterranean explosion was set off. It appeared that fuel and other materiel had been moved underground. Apparently, one of the missiles went through the fuel chambers.»
«What are our casualties?»
«Niall, at the moment we have lost 122,171 Militia and volunteers. Nearly ten thousand are still missing. I am sorry to say, 18,388 teen cadets have been lost in the action on the northeast front.»
«No, not the children,» I moaned. «We need to get relief out there and pull them in.»
«Section 7 responded in full force but by the time they arrived, the cadets had completely annihilated the enemy in that location. Section 7 is sweeping inward from there toward the landing site to be sure no units survive.»
«How about the Marines?»
«The battle is raging on the southwest with the Sa’arm trapped between the fires the Marines set and the fires your Section 8 set. There is a lot of blind fire taking place and we may have higher casualties yet. Director Kramer took over command when you were injured and has ordered more volunteers and Militia to the front.»
«Are the Marines making progress?»
«Yes, but casualties have been high. We have only rough estimates at the moment, but they indicate that nearly half the Marines and sponsors on the front have died.»
«Half! We need to get them reinforcements!»
«The remainder of Section 2, Section 4, and Section 5 are prepared to join you. The Marines have requested firefighters to stop the backdraft. With the missiles and lasers eliminated, it should be safer to fly the shuttles into the area where the Marines are pinned down.»
«Inform them we are on our way. Uh. Where am I?»
«You are on the shuttle Smokey Bear, lifting from the Militia line to the Marine line. Comrades will arrive by transporter en route. Smokey Bear was loaded with firefighting equipment before takeoff.»
«That was very efficient of you. Thank you.»
“Director Kramer, this is Cho,” I said, knowing my communication would be routed immediately.
“Good to hear you still alive, Cho.”
“You have command of the northeast front. Better put some units in charge of cleaning up the wreckage and making sure there are no additional units underground. I’m taking three sections to the southwest front to assist the Marines and sponsors.”
“Godspeed, Cho. I have the northeast covered with Section 7. Sections 3 and 6 are on standby and will send comrades into the crash site for clean-up.”
“Carry on!”
When I saw the carnage on the southwest, I was thankful the Marines and citizens had taken this end of the spear. There must have been thousands of Sa’arm units that went out to meet the Marines. There were over 2,000 that came to meet us at the wreckage. There was a big difference between our groups, though. There were about 10,000 well-trained and prepared Marines with some 30,000 poorly trained sponsors who felt it was someone else’s responsibility to protect them. Twenty thousand had died. I’d lost nearly 150,000, but I had started with 100,000 well-trained Militia and a million freemen who were all trained to defend their land. I was about to send a quarter million into the fray to back the Marines.
“Deploy the fire control teams to the rear. Quell that fire so there is a path out of here. Section 5, Unit 3, Sweep the battle area for all human bodies and send them back to Sunnybrook. Section 4, set up a supply chain and get medical attention to those in need. Section 2, on me. We’re headed to the front.”
“Lieutenant Governor Cho, I have to say it’s good to see you again,” Commander Inslee said when our vanguard approached. “We’re in a bad situation here. The Sa’arm have some heavy equipment we weren’t counting on. They randomly fire through the flames and the forest just to see if they can take some of us down. They were soaking the line ahead of us, but we think they’ve run out of water.”
“They’re fighting on two fronts,” I said. “We’re burning toward them from the wreckage.”
“How did you get past the wreckage?”
“We burned them out and then went in and blew it up,” I said. “I still have a mop-up crew there in case any pop up, but most of my forces are on the fire line headed this way or just behind me here.”
“I’d have never thought you could get to the wreck from that side and can’t imagine how you blew it up without heavy weapons.”
“No doubt they would have helped. I have a hundred thousand Militia and volunteers deploying behind me. How would you like us to proceed?”
“A hun… My troops have been going non-stop for four days. They need six hours of shut-eye and a meal. We can’t leave the line for fear the bastards will break through,” the commander said.
“We’ll move in for relief. Let’s try to make it an orderly exchange.”
«Cricket, make sure our shuttles are flying low and taking the long way around to come in from the south. Commander Inslee says the Sa’arm have some heavy weapons. Is there a way we can get around them?»
«Some Sa’arm units have attempted circumventing the fire, but the way the Marines started it, we are surrounded by fire. There are places that show no signs of Sa’arm life on the other side of the sheet of flames.»
I moved cadres around until most of the Marines could fall back for a break, then took two cohorts with flamethrowers with me. Firefighters blasted a hole in the wall of flames with suppressant chemicals and we pressed through. We moved out of the protected area and began working our way around the Swarm. My plan was to start another fire, closer to the dickheads this time. Cricket was keeping me updated regarding where the enemy was.
Then I felt a familiar vibration behind me. The Yolŋu had emerged from the protected area and were beating the bushes, so to speak.
“Dig in!” I yelled to my comrades. “They’re coming toward us.”
Bamboo grows straight and the plants grow close together. Technically, it’s a grass and not a tree. In this area, the grass was over twenty meters tall. Even for the Swarm, it was a formidable barrier to penetrate, but they’d been known to go straight through rock in other times. We had forty flamethrowers and forty rifles. Just as a troop of Sa’arm units broke through in front of us, we let go with the flamethrowers. The Sa’arm units that had been hit burst into flame like marshmallows at a campfire. Before the units could get a shot off at us, the flames had spread from one to another and back into the dense thicket.
“Retreat!” I yelled. We all fell back through the opening we’d previously created and set fire behind us.
“Chief Cho!” Commander Inslee called as I came into the opening. “Pull all your people back. Can you get a message to those on the other front? Pull back. We have three Navy ships entering the combat zone. They will bombard the known infestations.”
“Shit. We have people all over out there.” I immediately called through Cricket. “All sections and units, withdraw from engagement. Sections 2, 4, 5 withdraw to the shuttles and get all volunteers back to Ponderosa. Sections 1, 3, 7 withdraw to the shuttles north of the crash site. Sections 6 and 8, move all roadbuilding and firefighting equipment as far from the conflict as possible. We are about to experience an orbital bombardment.”
«Estimated forty-two minutes until the fleet is in range for bombardment,» Cricket said.
«Shit! I’ll never get everyone out of the line of fire by then. Try to get them to hold off. Some of our people have a hundred kilometers to retreat.»
«This is Commodore Perry. Who’s in charge down there?»
«This is Lieutenant Governor Cho. Commodore, we need more time to evacuate our troops.»
«How many Marines do you have?»
«We have 5,000 Marines and 15,000 sponsor volunteers on the south end along with 100,000 Militia and volunteers. The north end has another 100,000 Militia and volunteers retreating in that direction. So far we have nearly 200,000 casualties.»
«I can give you fifteen extra minutes. Lift your people out by any means necessary. We need to exterminate these before they can dig underground.»
«We’ve been fighting them for four days.»
«Impossible. By this time, they’d be dug in so far you couldn’t touch them. Fifteen minutes, Lieutenant Governor.»
There was no way we’d make it.
«Shuttles, stay low and converge on the Militia northeast of the Swarm concentration. Utilize every transporter and get our people out of there. Abandon all equipment except the firetrucks and transporters. Go. Go. Go.»
We still had four Marine shuttles and transporters at the lake. Troops, sponsors, comrades, and freemen volunteers were hitting the transporters at a dead run and disappearing. I wasn’t sure where they were all being routed but I stayed at the rear with a rifle outfit to cover the retreat. We saw the flames blank out as the Sa’arm equipment finally extinguished them and the units flowed through. We were too far away for effective fire. The shuttles were lifting off, along with the transporter pads.
“Into the lake!” I commanded the remaining volunteers and Militia. As we hit the water, the entire stretch behind us exploded with air to surface bombardments.
Aftermath (TY53-month 630)
The carpet bombing was effective. Following the bombardment, a company of Marines was landed to march through the nearly 500-kilometer swath that had been cut across our continent. They evacuated the remaining 20,000 or so of us who came up out of the lake.
I recalled the firefighters to take the trucks in and start eliminating the fires. The shuttles were pressed into service with volunteer firefighters to spray our chemicals from the air. By the end of the next day, the Marines were boarding their shuttles back to the transport ships that brought them. I found myself at Sunnybrook facing Commander Inslee and Commodore Perry.
“The Navy bombardment took out over 50,000 Militia and volunteers,” I growled. “There was no reason for such a radical treatment over an area we had already neutralized. You burned over five million hectares of forest when we had the Sa’arm confined to a 50,000-hectare area. It was nice to see you come flying in to save the day, but your response was way out of line.”
“We found out on Earth that we needed to burn a hundred-kilometer band around any Sa’arm infestation in order to starve them out. The entire operation was completely within bounds when the range of the invaders was considered. And who are you to complain?”
“Commodore, this is Acting Governor Niall Cho. He also happens to head one of the best-trained Militias in the universe,” Inslee said.
“Acting Governor?” I said. Where was O’Hara?
“I’ve been informed that Governor Scarlett O’Hara was among the casualties. Director Kotter died by her side. I’m sorry to announce it this way, but that makes you the acting governor and head of all the Militia,” Inslee said.
“That is not necessary,” the Tara AI broke in. “I have everything under control and acting governor is a role I will provide until such time as I consider the planet re-stabilized and appoint a new governor.”
“What? An AI can’t act as governor,” Commodore Perry said.
“Niall Cho is not qualified to become acting governor. He is a concubine,” the AI said.
“I’m a planetary citizen,” I snapped. “I have all the same rights and privileges as any sponsor.”
“Militia Charter terms have been found in conflict with the Confederacy charter and have been revoked. Tara wishes to thank the Confederacy Navy for coming to our aid. Its appropriate actions saved thousands of Marine and sponsor lives. My investigation indicates the crashed Sa’arm was damaged in a battle with the Confederacy in the Soldat system. It made three jumps to hyperspace before finally landing here. There is no reason to expect any additional Sa’arm incursions. Commodore, your ships are clear to leave the system.”
“My AI tells me the Tara AI is within its rights. Commander. Uh… Mister Cho, we need to return to our station. There is still a war going on out here.” Commander Inslee snapped to attention and saluted. I just stared at the Commodore. He returned Inslee’s salute and stepped on a transporter pad.
“Commander Inslee, Mr. Cho is to be confined to quarters pending trial,” the AI said. “There won’t be any mistakes this time.”
«Cricket? What the hell is going on? Where are you?»
«Your Militia AI has been locked out of all areas except the rebel state of Eldorado.»
«Rebel? We’ve never rebelled against anything!»
«Concubines have no property rights. The entire continent of Eldorado and township of Ponderosa is considered to be in rebellion against the Confederacy and will be dealt with accordingly.»
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