Koban: The Mark of Koban (84 page)

The transmitter power from the new ship was increased
for Jakob, to achieve at least a thirty-five mile range to send to a person
hosting a transducer, but the tiny transducers still only had a return send
range of about six or seven miles.

“Jake, Link me with Thad, Dillon, Marlyn,
Noreen, and Sarge. Call back when they’re all able to talk.” He started down
the cargo ramp of the Fancy, tempted to jump down as he thought back to how
dangerous that ramp descent had felt the first day he set foot on Koban.

He glanced up to note there were two squadrons
of wolfbats circling overhead. Rather than a threat, now they patrolled for
scorpion skeeters that sometimes strayed into the compound. Food rewards had
made them allies, and they took their paid obligation seriously. No one inside
this compound or at Hub City had been stung in years. He saw two children
playing with a ripper cub. From this distance he couldn’t tell which cub it
was, Kyla, Krome, or Kandy. Rippers were a major part of improving their lives
now.

He was halfway to the Mark of Koban when all
the conference Link parties were ready. “Ladies and Gentle Men, I’m on my way
over to the Mark from the Fancy, after having an extremely informative
interrogation of our two Krall prisoners. When you can join me on the Bridge
I’d like to begin planning an exciting little detour we will make on the way to
Poldark.”

Thad asked first, “Detour? What sort of
detour?”

“I’m sure you remember the day we decided to proceed
with Koban gene mods, shortly after the Krall left. I reminded you of what I told
Telour as the Krall pulled out. I said that when the Krall returned, our children
might not give this world back.

“Six of their warriors made a mistake and returned
early, giving us a quicker way off the planet. We’re done with waiting. Our
first stop will be to go looking for the Krall. I intend to make the first installment
of many paybacks.”

****

Thad liked the audacity. “We just waltz in and
steal two more Clanships, right from under their noses? I think it’ll work.
Sarge told us the Navy backed off from attacking K1 after the Krall killed a fifth
of the population of Rama, using one of those high-density high velocity Eight
Balls he described. The Krall on K1 have had time to grow complacent in the
years since then, and a random Clanship arrival wouldn’t be noticed anyway.”

Dillon was on board with the idea as well. “We
set down close to a couple of Dorbo Clanships, raise a portal and let our TGs
swarm them both. Just like Sarge said the Krall do it when they conduct a raid.
We may even find them empty, or they could have one or two watch standers at
the top deck, waiting for a near-space warning that human ships have made White
Outs. They will never expect raiders coming up their stairs, not right outside
their own dome. We secure the ships, send over our flight crews, and lift off. By
design, these birds are always ready to fly on a moment’s notice. We can
rehearse our TGs on this ship to shorten the time needed, and add polish to the
steps.”

Noreen brought up what Reynolds had said was
made public at home, Tri-Vid coverage of Parliamentary investigations after the
second fleet action the Navy took against K1. “We can’t Jump in directly from
Koban. The Krall have a method of telling the direction from which a long rage
Jump is arriving. They even get the information in advance, because they were up
and waiting for parts of the Hub fleet to arrive. We can’t let them trace a
line backwards that points to Koban.”

Mirikami nodded. “I have considered that. We
will White Out at some uninhabited star system in Human Space, near K1. Then
Jump to K1 from there. Because the Krall also followed the fleet straight to
Rama after the second attack, we know they have a capability to follow ships if
they do so quickly. The Mark, and the two captured ships will depart K1 in
different directions to other nearby empty star systems, and then Jump to a
third rendezvous system. The point about ensuring the Krall can’t trace us back
to Koban applies to our side as well. If they know that technical trick is
possible by the Krall, you can bet they have been working on doing the same
thing.”

Marlyn had a non-technological worry, really
more of a fear, of how the Krall might find out where they came from. “As hard
as it is to consider this, we will eventually lose someone in fighting, and
might not be able to recover the body.  Even worse, they may capture one of us
alive. They will certainly use the horrible brutal interrogation techniques
Sarge has told us about, to learn what they want, or possibly figure it out simply
from one of our dead. All of us on the mission carry Koban genes.”

Mirikami nodded, and said, “This is war, of
course, and we will have casualties. However, the genes of our dead will not
give Koban away to anyone. The Krall don’t have a science of genetics, they do
it the old-fashioned slow way, by breeding, so they won’t see our DNA or understand
it if they did.

“Hub bio-scientist
might
be able to do adequate
gene decoding now and spot alien genes, but as Dillon can attest, the best
geneticists, the majority of them in fact, were all on the Flight of Fancy. Their
former graduate students, who may have filled their jobs, did not yet have the
knowledge of the people we have here. The Hub’s learning about genetics probably
has not flourished as it has here. However, that doesn’t matter either, because
seeing an alien gene does not point you to
where
it originated, if it
came from a world unknown to humanity. It isn’t from our dead we need fear
discovery.” He looked around at them somberly.

“We must do everything possible to prevent the
Krall from taking any of us alive. Even to the extent that we become an
instrument of death for one of our own. Remember, we are assuredly facing a
painful gruesome death after capture by them. We can try to prevent that pain from
happening.” Mirikami avoided looking at Noreen, who had already suffered the personal
torment of ending the life of a friend, caught in the jaws of a whiteraptor.

Reynolds had listened to Mirikami’s outline of
what he wanted to do at K1. Making that stop before proceeding to Poldark, and he
listened as his high-level planers endorsed the idea or offered problems to
consider. However, none of them asked what he wanted to know. Why did Mirikami
need additional ships to go to Poldark?

He had been sitting on the Bridge of the Mark
of Koban, staying as unobtrusive as possible, answering questions if asked, but
extremely uncomfortable mixing with the people that helped formulate plans, and
furnished leadership in executing them. He’d happily follow orders and fight
the Krall, and show the TG kids some guerilla warfare tactics he’d been using
against the Krall. What he
didn’t
want was for Mirikami to assign him
some role in a position of authority besides training, or running a small
guerilla operation. To assign him something for which he was temperamentally
unsuited. He had felt confident that Mirikami understood his attitude, but now
he wasn’t so sure, because Reynolds found himself sitting in on a high level
meeting. However, his curiosity was burning, so he nervously decided to ask his
question anyway.

“Er…, Cap’in, whutcha gonna do wit two udder ships
on Poldark? It’s gonna be tuf nuf to sneak one down and git it hid. How’r ya
spectin’ to bring two more along, an wuht fer?

Mirikami was sitting at one of the four tall Smart
Chair acceleration couches, which they had bolted to the bridge deck by each
control position. The exaggerated country hick mannerism, and fractured grammar,
demonstrated the man was
really trying
to make sure his asking that
question didn’t lead to his being given a job he didn’t want. Reynolds friends,
everyone here, had all noted “ole Sarge’s” language deteriorated anytime he was
worried about catching any significant leadership job. He must be scared stiff
this time.

Mirikami, partly facing away, gave a slow wink
to the others as he swiveled his chair the long way around to face Reynolds.
There was no reason not to have a little fun at Sarge’s expense, since he did
the same with any of them when he could.

Because the Krall had nothing like a
conference room near the top of the ship, Mirikami often held meetings on the Bridge.
For visitors they had bolted four long benches to the deck. Reynolds was sitting
on one of those, a sheen of sweat noticeable on his forehead, despite the cool
air in the ship, and his heat adaptation gene mods.

As Mirikami completed his turn, his praising
words probably worried his perspiring target.  “Sarge that was a perceptive
question, proving you instantly identified the impossibility of slipping three
large ships down to the surface of Poldark simultaneously. You instantly recognized
that I must have some other use for those two ships. I do have something in
mind, but it may not be the best use, so I’d like to hear from a man that
realized that fact. If
you
had two additional ships to use on this
mission, and were in my position, what would you do with them?”

Shit! I should have kept my stupid mouth
shut,
he swore at himself, sweat appearing on his
forehead and under his armpits.

Uh…, if ya lose this ‘un, Koban’s up shit’s
creek and no paddle. Send one back I reckon. Thu secont one could jest stan by,
if ya got in trouble on Poldark. Meby do sumpen else there, if the genral will
hep ya, like Thad ‘spects he will.”

Don’t ask me more, don’t ask me more!
He tried to will Mirikami.

 “Excellent, Sarge. That is close enough to my
ideas that I feel like you must have frilled me, you sly dog. I plan to send
one ship back to Koban with a minimal crew. The other would be a stealthed
backup. At least until General Nabarone talks to Thad, and agrees to support
us. I might take both new ships to Poldark with us first. I haven’t decided.

“Next I’d like to satisfy my curiosity, about
another one of your anecdotes Sarge, about the Special Operations troops you
met. They prove that the Planetary Union is thinking outside the box, and
trying something secretive and different on Heavyside. I want to find out what
is going on there. Perhaps we can insert ourselves into their operation, and
help one another in some way. Our TGs don’t need drugs or mechanical
enhancements to face the Krall. Small unit commando action to the enemy’s rear
is what we can best do to disrupt their war machine.”

“You’re not worried Nabarone won’t let us
leave, are you Tet?” Thad sounded like he thought that was highly unlikely.

“No, I trust your judge of character Thad, and
you knew Nabarone well. However, the Planetary Union is running the human side
of the war, and they may not like what we bring to the table, or simply may not
trust people wearing Krall style tattoos. Besides, as Sarge has mentioned,
there is some risk in just our landing, so we need to have more baskets for our
eggs.”

Noreen had her own concern. “Who takes which
ship?” She didn’t want to miss the action and return to Koban.

Mirikami pulled at his lower lip, looking directly
at Reynolds. “Who indeed should lead either of the new missions?”

Like a gazelle in a truck’s headlights at
night, Reynolds sat frozen with apprehension. He knew that lip tug gesture by
now. It meant Mirikami was formulating a plan in his mind, and he was staring directly
at him.
No, no, no! Not me!
rang through his head, as he couldn’t even
breathe.

Mirikami suddenly spun away, a smile forming,
“The new ships will obviously need the command of qualified Captains, and we
only brought two spares with us.”

The breathy whoosh of relief, as Reynolds
nearly slipped from his bench cushion was audible. Everyone laughed, except
Reynolds, who was too red faced with relief to do more than breathe again.

Still laughing, Marlyn shook her head, “Tet,
that was funny. Insensitive as hell, but very funny.”

Noreen had slowed to a chuckle, and reminded
her Captain he hadn’t answered her question. “OK, Tet. While Sarge recovers
what part of his dignity he thinks he can find, perhaps you can tell us the
purposes of the two added missions.”

“Right. The mission back to Koban requires the
most explanation, because on the surface it appears less vital. That appearance
is deceiving, and the mission is certainly more important than being the heavy
lifter for the Raven’s refurbishing, which will only be required one time, to
take all of the new Trap emitters, replacement hull plates and wiring up to
orbit.  And it might fit a couple of shuttles aboard for the work crews to use,
and save their fuel.”

Marlyn shrugged. “I guess you need to tell us
the deceptive part, since servicing Raven was all I thought was needed back there
right now.”

He started his explanation. “We intend to
destroy the Krall’s capability to manufacture what they need to conduct their
wars. Who builds their ships, weapons, habitat domes, and even their uniforms?”

Dillon provided the expected and perfunctory
answer. “Slave races, of course. The
Torki manufacture machines and
tools, ship parts, weapons, and electronics. Supposed to look like large crabs,
per the brief description the translators gave us on the Fancy. The other major
slave race is the Prada. One translator said they were black or brown, with
white markings, a furry mammal with a long prehensile tail. Dorkda said the
Prada had a shape something like short hairy humans. They are the Krall’s main
assemblers of parts the Torki make, and they build domes, and run farms. Other
than Raspani, kept for food, we heard there were a few limited slaves from
other races, retained for uses they never described to us.” Dillon shrugged.