Retreat Hell (38 page)

This isn't over
, she thought.  But she knew the battle couldn't go much further.

“Twenty minutes to orbit,” the helmsman said.

Mandy took a long breath.  “Order the transports to break orbit at the ten minute mark,” she said.  Given their relative speed compared to the enemy warships, even that was pushing it.  If Admiral Singh gave chase after that, Mandy would be practically
forced
into a short-range engagement just to give the troop transports a chance to escape.  “And remind them, should they feel inclined to object, that it is an
order
.”

Bitter hatred welled up in her breast as she contemplated her actions.  She was abandoning her best friend, the woman she had grown to look up to as an older sister, the woman who had made her what she was today.  Jasmine would understand, she knew, but somehow that was no consolation.  It only made it worse.

“And then break contact completely,” she added.  “Take us back to the planet, best possible speed.”

***

“Enemy fleet is withdrawing,” the tactical officer said.

Rani smiled.  The enemy fleet definitely had improved drive units, she decided, as the range opened rapidly.  There was no way she could catch them if they decided to run.  Heading back to the planet was an interesting choice ... did they intend to scatter mines in her path or were they merely planning to escort their troopships away from Thule.  Either one would be more than a little annoying.

She considered, briefly, trying to run down the troopships.  Thule wouldn't be going anywhere, after all.  But the situation on the ground, according to her agents, was chaotic, with several different factions battling for supremacy.  If they didn't manage to land quickly, everything they needed from Thule would be destroyed in the civil war.  It was worth allowing the troopships to leave, she decided, if it meant she captured Thule.

“Contact General Haverford,” she ordered.  “Have him prepare the troops for immediate landing ... and warn him they might well be jumping into a hot zone.”

***

“Move it,” Buckley snapped.  “Now!”

Michael wanted to hesitate as the shuttle docked with the troopship, but the Marine – his face dark with fury – was too intimidating.  He hurried through the airlock and into the starship, where a handful of crewmen were hastily directing the refugees to their sleeping compartments.  The interior of the ship seemed to have turned into a madhouse.

The entire ship shuddered as the drive came to life, then he felt a faint sensation that told him the ship was underway.  Several people started cursing out loud, or shouting angry rebukes at the bulkheads, protesting that they were abandoning everyone on the planet.  But it made no difference.  By the time Joe Buckley crashed through the compartment, bellowing for silence in a tone that dared anyone to challenge him, the truth had sunk in. 

Michael sat down, leaning against a bulkhead, and pulled his terminal out of his pocket.  It still had an automatic link to the Commonwealth datanet, allowing him to see everything that wasn't marked classified.  The enemy fleet was advancing towards the planet, threatening to overrun the transports as well as the planet’s high orbitals.  And when they took control of the orbitals ...

He shuddered, thinking of the Brigadier.  She was stuck down there, along with two-thirds of the men under her command.  They would soon be prisoners – or dead.  The last reports Michael had heard, as he’d waited to board the shuttles, had said that the streets were dissolving into chaos.  By the time someone restored order, anyone wearing a CEF uniform would probably be lynched by the mob. 

Switching the terminal off, he closed his eyes.  There was nothing he could do now, but wait and hope they made it out of the system.  The war wouldn’t be won or lost here, he knew; they’d have to hope and pray the Commonwealth managed to recover from the surprise and fight back.  One day, he promised himself, they would attack Wolfbane itself.  Until then, they could do nothing, but fight.

***

“Enemy troopships are leaving orbit,” the tactical officer said.  “Should we give chase?”

“No,” Rani said.  The planet was the most important prize, by far.  “Prepare to clear the planetary defences.”

She settled back in her command chair and watched, grimly, as they slipped into engagement range.  The defences were tough, even without their communications networks, but her fleet had the firepower to remove them without serious risk to her ships.  Behind the fleet, the troops were already preparing to land.

“Fire as soon as we enter range,” she ordered.  “Sweep the skies clear of all hostile material, then launch boarding parties to the industrial nodes.  I want them all under our control within the hour.  Take prisoners if possible; remember, we need these people.  Anyone who harms them without permission will end up breathing hard vacuum.”

She smiled.  They
did
need these people ... and if they wound up seeing Rani as their saviour, so much the better.  Loyalty was always welcome.  And besides, her former allies on the planet below were expendable.

Moments later, the fleet opened fire.

The third and final course attempted by the social scientists, after reports of increasingly bloody slaughter made their way to Earth, was to insist on a major intervention by the Imperial Army.  On the face of it, the combination of superior technology and orbital fire support should have made it a fairly easy operation for the Imperial Army.  However, there were several problems.

First, every faction now regarded the outsiders as enemies.  The aggressors wished to continue their crusade until the destruction of their rivals.  Their rivals, on the other hand, saw the imperials as the ones who had arranged for them to be disarmed.  The net result was a series of increasingly bloody encounters between locals (of all stripes) and the off-world forces.

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

“They’re engaging the orbital defences now.”

Jasmine nodded as she stepped outside, looking up towards the darkening sky.  Flashes of light could be seen high overhead, followed by trails of fire as pieces of debris fell into the planet’s atmosphere and started to burn up.  Admiral Singh’s forces were launching kinetic projectiles towards the unmanned platforms, while firing missiles at the manned orbital defence stations.  With their datanets contaminated and every defence station forced back on its own resources, the end could not be long delayed.

“Start dispersing the remaining troops,” she ordered.  The spaceport would be a primary target the moment the attacking fleet got into range to hit the planet with precision weapons.  “And then prime the computer cores for self-destruct.”

She thought, briefly, about the insurgent leader.  Had releasing him been a wise decision – or a mistake?  She would find out in time, she assumed.  Or she would die when Admiral Singh ranged in on the planet.  Mandy’s ships were already well out of her range, escorting the transports away from Thule.  At least something would be saved from the growing disaster.

“Understood,” her new assistant said.

Jasmine sighed, inwardly.  On any other Commonwealth world, her troops could disperse into the countryside and continue the war, but Thule would be extremely hostile territory for them.  A smart enemy commander wouldn't hesitate to use the locals against the CEF, offering all sorts of incentives to win hearts and minds.  Hell, given how tightly Wolfbane had worked with the local insurgency, they already had enough ties to ensure their troops received local knowledge ... at least until the sheen wore off.  But it wouldn't be quick enough to save the CEF.  They were in the very definition of an untenable situation.

And Admiral Singh will want revenge
, she thought.  Did Admiral Singh know who Jasmine was ... and what she'd done on Corinthian?  She’d been a prisoner for a few scant hours, more than long enough for a DNA sample to be taken.  Marine records were generally classified, unavailable to officers outside the Corps, but it might not matter.  Jasmine’s DNA could easily have fallen into the Admiral’s hands.  She might be willing to treat the others as legitimate POWs, yet she might make a special exception for Jasmine.  Losing a pocket star empire to a handful of Marines had to be irritating.

She sucked in her breath, watching the live feed from orbit.  One by one, the orbital defences were being blown out of the sky. 

It wouldn't be long now.

***

“Shuttles dispatched,” the operations officer said.  “There’s no sign of weapons on the industrial nodes.”

Rani nodded.  She would have been surprised if there were, even in a system that had thrown so many of its tax credits at the local defence establishment.  Thule’s industrial network was its pride and joy; the planet’s defence planners wouldn't want to turn the industrial stations into targets, not when they could use the stations to bargain for better treatment.  They'd get it too, she knew, as long as it suited her to treat the locals well.  And, if they behaved, they would
always
be treated well.

She watched, dispassionately, as a hail of missiles tore a large orbital defence platform apart, sending pieces of debris flying in all directions.  Orbital space would be a minor hazard for a while, part of her mind noted, although it wouldn't last long.  The chunks of debris that didn't fall into the planet’s atmosphere would be vaporised by the starships or simply knocked out of orbit.  It wasn't as if there were enough of them to do serious damage to the planet’s ecosystem, not like there had been in orbit around Earth.  If half the stories were true, every asteroid in Earth orbit had fallen on the planet below.  Earth wouldn't just have been depopulated, it would have been pulverised beyond reason.

Good
, Rani thought.  She’d worked her way up the ranks, without taking advantage of her good looks and charm.  If only ten percent of the population of Earth had shown themselves ready to work to save their world, the Empire would never have fallen. 
Let us survive without the worthless parasites
.

“Send the surrender demand,” she ordered, looking over at the communications officer.  “And repeat it until we have secured complete control of the high orbitals.”

“Aye, Admiral,” the communications officer said.

Rani smiled.  The ground-based stations appeared to have been badly hit by the insurgents or her commando squads.  They were already at a major disadvantage, being at the bottom of a planetary gravity well, but they could still have posed a problem.  But not if they were already hammered long before her fleet entered orbit.  Hopefully, enough remained to allow her troops to secure them, without forcing her to bombard them from orbit.  Not, in the end, that it would make any difference.  Thule was doomed.  The only question was just how badly battered the world would be when their time ran out.

“The commandos have secured the orbital stations,” the operations officer reported.  “They’re reporting back now, Admiral; the locals have surrendered rather than fight.”

“Remind them to treat the locals gently,” Rani said.  She cared little for the great mass of unemployed on the planet below, but trained technicians were always useful.  “I’ll have the head of anyone who mistreats one of them without extremely good cause.”

“Aye, Admiral,” the operations officer said.

Rani smiled.  “Is there any response to our surrender demands?”

“Negative,” the communications officer said.  “I’m trying to track their communications, but it’s proving impossible.  I don’t think there’s anyone left in command on the planet below.”

The plan worked too well
, Rani thought, then laughed at herself inwardly.  Not being able to demand a formal surrender from the planet paled compared to losing one’s planet to an outside occupation force.  The problems she was facing were the problems of
victory
.  She could guess the horror and despair gripping the remaining planetary defenders, defenders who knew they could do nothing to stop her taking Thule.  All they could do was bleed her a little.

“Contact General Haverford,” she ordered.  “Inform him that he has permission to land his advance forces.”

***

Thomas looked around Riverside and shuddered, inwardly.  It looked far more civilised than the Zone, even though most of the houses were still quite small.  They had gardens, parks and even a library, as well as a healthy degree of separation from their neighbours.  It was easy to understand that the people who lived in Riverside were the ones who had jobs and employment, the ones who had survived despite the economic crash ... and the ones who had silently supported the local government’s refusal to find a compromise.

There were hardly any civilians in sight.  Thomas hoped that meant they were keeping their heads down, although he wouldn't have put money on their chances if – when – the mobs started rampaging through Riverside.  The radio channels were a non-stop litany of horror, an endless series of reports of fighting right across the giant city.  No one was in command, it seemed, on either side.  The insurgents they’d fought were pushing out of the Zone, while police and military units fought hopeless battles for survival.

“Enemy fleet launching shuttles,” a voice said, through his radio.  “I say again, enemy fleet launching shuttles.”

Thomas sighed, considering his options.  Nearly two hundred men had made it to Riverside and dispersed through the district, abandoning their vehicles in the middle of one of the giant parks.  They’d be targeted from orbit, Thomas knew, as soon as the enemy fleet took the high orbitals.  He would be very disappointed with the enemy commanders if they wasted time trying to capture the simplistic vehicles instead of destroying them.

But what were they going to do?

He’d been in bad spots before.  Serving in the Marines during the last days of the Empire had involved moving from bad spot to bad spot, pissing on fires long enough to put them out and declare victory before moving to the next one.  But this was different.  Offhand, had there
ever
been an Imperial unit in such a dire position in the last thousand years?  The Empire normally controlled space so carefully that outright defeat was rarely a possibility.

His men could fight, when – if – the shuttles landed in Asgard.  Hell, they had a handful of HVMs they could use, giving Wolfbane a taste of their own medicine.  But then ... they’d be obliterated, along with the civilians in the district.  It crossed his mind that that wouldn't be a bad outcome, a thought he angrily dismissed.  Maybe it would help the Commonwealth if trained and skilled manpower were to die, rather than fall into Wolfbane’s hands, but it wasn’t something he could countenance.  If they started thinking like that, they might as well start depopulating whole planets.  And no one would win such a war, apart from the RockRats.  They’d probably be relieved.

He passed the word to his men, then waited.  It was all they could do.

***

Jasmine looked down at the portable terminal, then up at the operator.  “They’re not coming near the spaceport?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” the operator said.  He looked nervous, but pressed on anyway.  “As far as I can tell, half of their shuttles are heading for the centre of the city and the other half are heading for Riverside.  They’re dropping decoys and flares everywhere, though.”

“I see,” Jasmine said.  It made a certain kind of sense; secure the remains of the planet’s government and the most valuable sections of the population, then deal with everything else.  At least they weren't dropping Marines out of orbit onto the city, she noted; Wolfbane didn't seem to have any trained Marines, at least no one comparable to the Terran Marines.  Or maybe they were just holding them in reserve.  “Warn the locals, if possible.”

She shook her head, inwardly.  The local defence network had fallen apart, completely.  It was unlikely that any resistance could be organised, at least in time to matter.  Besides, the invaders would have orbital fire support to clear any large obstacles out of their way.  She was mildly surprised they hadn’t destroyed the spaceport already, along with her command post.  Did they think the command post had already been destroyed?

“That’s another flight of shuttles,” the operator added.  “I think these are heading for the edge of the city.”

Jasmine nodded, wordlessly.  In the distance, she could hear shuttles dropping through the planet’s atmosphere, heading towards their targets.  There was a flash of light in the distance, followed by a fireball that billowed up into the darkening sky and slowly faded away to nothingness.  She didn't need the operator to tell her that the KEW had struck the remains of one of the major military garrisons in the city.  Two more died in quick succession, obliterating what remained of the military infrastructure.  The local troops – all that was left of them – were doomed.

In an entertainment flick, she knew, the Marines would come riding to the rescue at the last possible moment.  Or, if the producers preferred the Imperial Navy, a large battlefleet would appear out of nowhere and save the planet from certain destruction.  But there would be no miracle, Jasmine knew; they rarely happened in the real universe.  And, even though Mandy was a competent officer, she had strict orders to withdraw rather than engage superior forces and risk losing her fleet.  There was no hope of rescue. 

And the end could not be long delayed.

***

General Mark Haverford distrusted Admiral Singh more than he cared to admit.  Governor Brown might have been a corporate hack, rather than a military officer, but Mark knew that he’d done an excellent job of holding the Wolfbane Sector together after the Fall of Earth, when chaos had threatened to tear them all apart.  He might not have been someone Mark would have expected to respect, yet he’d saved the sector from chaos.  Admiral Singh, on the other hand, had come begging for succour and somehow parlayed a handful of starships into a position of considerable power.  Mark suspected she was ambitious enough to do whatever it took to gain supreme power.

But he pushed his concerns aside as the shuttle dropped through the planet’s atmosphere and fell towards the centre of the city.  The advance elements were already on the ground and reporting minimal resistance, which wasn't entirely surprising.  Between the shock of commando assaults in their own city and the massive deployment to the Zone, the enemy troops were definitely caught out of place.  There would be no time to recover before his forces held all of their targets and deployed to suppress resistance.