The Lost Stars: Imperfect Sword (32 page)

“To the other side, yes, sir. They don’t know we talked to Executive Gozen. We say we don’t know what’s going on, but there are obviously two factions, and can we make a deal with you if the other guys are still hard-core Syndicate? Not really. But the prisoner we send to the snake side has a very special present hidden in their battle armor’s systems, and when the snakes link with them to find out what the former prisoner can tell them, they open a path for our little friend here.”

Drakon nodded. “The snake firewalls won’t stop it?”

“They won’t see it,” Sergeant Broom said. “Nor will the security sharks guarding the network software. It will be totally stealthy thanks to its being embedded in an innocuous program that is so uninteresting nothing will notice it.” He smiled and tapped his helmet where the comm link was located. “I call the program my Serge Protector.”

“I see. Good.” Drakon fixed the sergeant with a glare. “If I have our systems screened to see if this innocuous-seeming software is anywhere in
our
systems, I won’t find anything, will I?”

“No, sir. Absolutely not. You won’t find anything when you run that scan.”

“Even if I ran it right now?” Drakon asked, seeing the reaction that question provoked. “Sergeant, you are valuable to me because you think and work outside the box. That’s why I got you out of that Syndicate labor camp just before you were going to be shot for hacking into the wrong network.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll never forget your getting me out of there alive,” Broom said. “You told me you needed someone who would spot things that no one else would in places that no one else would think to look, and I’ve been doing that.”

“And you do it very well,” Drakon said. “The Syndicate didn’t get anywhere in our systems that I didn’t want them to be before we revolted, and neither did the snakes. More importantly, they couldn’t tell that there were parts of our systems that they weren’t seeing. That took one hell of a good programmer to pull off. And you and your people have spotted every attempted intrusion into our systems since then. But if you wander too far outside the box, it becomes a problem for me, and that means it becomes a problem for you. I’m not going to order you to be shot like your last boss did, but I need to know you’re not getting into stuff that would make both of us unhappy. Maybe when Colonel Morgan gets back, I’ll have her run some checks on your work.”

“Colonel Morgan? That’s
really
not necessary, sir.”

“I’ll think about it,” Drakon said. Sooner or later, word might get around that Morgan was presumed dead, but until then, fear of her would remain useful. “Right now, let’s find a prisoner who meets our needs and get his systems loaded with our special delivery for the snakes.”

It took about twenty more minutes to set up the whole thing, while Drakon alerted both Kai and Safir to be ready to sally out if the snake-controlled Syndicate soldiers launched attacks on the rebellious soldiers commanded by Executive Gozen. “Colonel Safir,” he said, as they once again gathered for a virtual conference, “when the worm has been delivered, we’re going to hit the snakes opposite your positions. They need to be priority targets. If we can take them down, resistance from the remaining Syndicate ground forces should collapse.”

Colonel Malin indicated points on the display’s map. “We acquired a large supply of additional chaff rounds from the stockpiles in this base. We’ll be able to screen your approach to the Syndicate positions.”

“Have we got enough chaff to extend the coverage for another twenty meters to each side?” Safir asked. “According to this plan, we’re going in against the center of the still-loyal Syndicate troops. I don’t want to catch flanking fire as we charge.”

“That’s a good idea,” Drakon said. “Do we have enough chaff to do that?”

Malin frowned as he checked the stocks. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. We’ll have your flanks covered, Colonel. Penetrate the center, wipe out the snakes there, then pivot your troops to both sides and roll up the rest of the Syndicate loyalists before they can throw up internal lines of defense.” He pointed to lines bisecting the rows of buildings. The Syndicate positions in the ruined buildings facing the base formed a large square, the square now divided, with about two-thirds loosely held by the recent mutineers and the remaining third along one of the sides and part of another side held by the still-loyal Syndicate soldiers, their defenses now facing both inward at Drakon’s troops and cutting across the lines of the square to face the rebellious troops. “These mark the positions held by Executive Gozen’s soldiers. Make sure your soldiers don’t shoot at anyone on or beyond those lines.”

“No problem, General, as long as they aren’t shooting at us. Speaking of which, while we’re rolling up these loyalists, are my people allowed to shoot at Syndicate soldiers who aren’t snakes?” Safir asked.

“Yes,” Drakon said. “Anybody who is shooting at them. The best information we have is that the ground forces still under snake control are not happy or highly motivated, so there’s a good chance you won’t encounter much resistance except from the snakes themselves. The fact that the snakes haven’t tried to hit Executive Gozen’s positions is a pretty clear sign that the soldiers they still control are unreliable or worn-out or both. But if they fight us, you are authorized to deal with resistance from any source.”

“Good.” Safir grimaced. “I’ve been resting my guys in shifts, but they are pretty tired, too, General. If we hit anything hard, they might stumble.”

“I understand. Both sides in this fight are reeling. But we’ve got enough left in us for a good punch that should knock out what’s left of our opponents.” He indicated the virtual map again. “The remaining Syndicate forces are spread a lot thinner than we were defending this base. They’ve taken heavy losses, and have a lot more frontage to cover. We should have a much easier time breaking their line than they had trying to break ours.”

Colonel Kai studied the plan. “What if Executive Gozen sends her soldiers after us while Colonel Safir is attacking the snakes?”

“Then you take care of them,” Drakon said. “Your brigade will peel off a few units to help cover the area of the base perimeter that Colonel Safir’s soldiers will be vacating during their attack, but you’ll have plenty of troops left facing Gozen’s positions if she tries to stab us in the back. I’ll be very surprised if that happens, but your brigade is insurance if it does.”

“How do we know if the worm has made it into the snake systems?” Safir asked.

“We’re employing our Trojan horse prisoner for that, too. Our code apes are using him to also sneak in a linked worm that will trick the Syndicate comm systems into sending a single microburst that will alert us when the snake-targeting worm is in place. That microburst will be our signal to attack.”

Safir suddenly laughed despite the fatigue lining her face. “Let’s see if I have that right, General. When the worm from the apes tells us the snakes are lit up by our horse, we attack.”

He couldn’t help smiling. “Exactly. You might want to phrase it differently when you brief your assault force, though.”

“No, sir. That’s exactly how I want to tell it to them. They’ll remember that, no matter how tired they are.”

“General,” Kai said, “would it not be wiser to simply have the
Midway
bombard those buildings held by the loyalists? We could wipe them out without any risk to us.”

“That’s true,” Drakon said. “But the loyalists might see the bombardment coming with enough time to evacuate into the next row of buildings behind them, the ones they occupied before. If I know snakes, they’ve been refusing to allow any retreat by the soldiers who are still loyal to the Syndicate. But if they see a big bombardment coming down on their heads, they’ll all run, and if those units get out into the city, we’ll have the human resource director’s own time trying to catch them.”

Safir nodded. “I’d rather finish it now. Did you know that people used to say
the devil
instead of
the human resource director
?”

“What’s the devil?” Kai asked.

“Something like a human resource director, I guess.”

“There’s another factor,” Drakon said. “Executive Gozen, and the soldiers with her, don’t want more of their comrades to die than necessary. Flattening those buildings in an attempt to kill everyone in them would make us look like someone who couldn’t be trusted and doesn’t care any more for human life than the Syndicate CEOs. Some of the survivors from this division may help form the core of a new defense force for Ulindi, and I want them to see us as trustworthy.”

“And not see us as Syndicate,” Colonel Kai said. “I understand. I was not aware of all of the issues that long-term planning had to take into account.”

“When are we doing this, General?” Safir asked.

“As soon as you’re ready. It’s important to hit the snakes before they can rest too long.”

Safir could be seen scanning her display, reviewing data on her soldiers. “Fifteen minutes, to brief my people, get them fully supplied for the assault, and get them in position.”

Drakon nodded. “Good. Colonel Malin, prepare to release the prisoners. I want them walking toward their respective parts of the line out there in exactly fifteen minutes.”

“What about the division’s CEO and his staff?” Malin asked. “Do we ask
Midway
to take them out?”

“I don’t know if they’re still in the location they occupied before Executive Gozen’s contact with them was severed. Wherever they are, once we take the rest of the Syndicate line out, I expect the CEO to stampede for safety with part of the staff.
Midway
will spot the vehicles or shuttles, and I’ll decide what to do from there. All right. Let’s go.”

Fifteen minutes later, Drakon watched in separate virtual windows as one freed prisoner walked slowly, hands held out and open, toward the positions held by Executive Gozen’s soldiers, and another freed prisoner in the same posture stepped toward the Syndicate positions still controlled by the snakes.

“It is always possible,” Malin murmured to Drakon, “that the snakes will simply shoot the prisoner rather than interrogate.”

“I thought of that,” Drakon said. “But I think the snakes are desperate to find out more about our status, and the only way they can get that information is by talking to that prisoner we just sent them.”

The prisoner who was headed for the positions controlled by the snakes clearly wasn’t as confident as Drakon about the reception awaiting him. He kept stumbling over the many imperfections in the fought-over and bombarded ground, his hands held as high as he could.

Drakon saw the first freed prisoner reach Executive Gozen’s positions and be brought in.

The second freed prisoner reached a spot just outside the Syndicate positions and stood there, apparently reacting to instructions.

“Stand by with the chaff rounds,” Drakon said. “Colonel Safir, get ready to go.”

“The snakes haven’t brought the prisoner in yet, General,” Malin protested.

“They’re not going to,” Drakon said. “I just realized what they’re doing. They’re going to do a remote interrogation using comm circuits, then kill him to avoid the risk that he is loaded with some kind of physical weapon.” He felt sick at the thought that he had ordered the prisoner to his death that way, but until this moment had not imagined that even the snakes would be that paranoid. “They’re snakes. Why the hell didn’t I expect them to act like snakes?”

Malin’s hands hovered over the firing commands for the chaff rounds. “General, none of us—”

“General, the microburst just came in!” the comm specialist reported.

“Fire,” Drakon said to Malin. “Colonel Safir, we’re launching chaff.”

The chaff rounds were being fired before he finished the sentence.

The freed prisoner stumbled backward, then fell.

“They shot him just before we launched,” Malin said.

“He’ll be the last victim of those snakes,” Drakon growled. “Safir, go when you’re ready.”

The chaff rounds were blooming in front of the Syndicate positions, throwing out every manner of decoy. Safir shouted “At them! For Colonel Gaiene!” then, with an ululating cry, led her assault force against the Syndicate positions.

A barrage of fire met them, the defenders firing blindly into the chaff and scoring few hits. Drakon had called up a view from Safir’s armor, seeing the smoke and assorted decoys from the chaff clouds looming ahead, then Safir plunged into the chaff, and he lost the link. The only information he still had was an estimated position on her based on her last-known rate of progress.

“What’s going on elsewhere, Bran?” Drakon asked, not wanting to take his attention away from Safir’s assault.

“It’s quiet in the sectors facing Executive Gozen’s forces,” Colonel Malin replied. “We haven’t picked up any artillery coming in yet against Colonel Safir’s attack.”

“The
Midway
did a lot of damage to the Syndicate artillery,” Drakon said. “Our assault should be clearing the chaff any second now.”

His display flickered, updated, flickered again, then steadied. Once again, he had a clear view from Safir’s battle armor in the seconds before the attack hit the Syndicate positions.

The weapons of the defenders had been ineffective while firing blindly into the chaff. With the attack clearing the chaff, the defenders had a short period in which they could use their targeting systems to fire with extreme accuracy against Safir’s troops. It was the moment Drakon had dreaded. Even though the Syndicate defenders were covering more ground with fewer people, and even though the defenders were exhausted from launching attacks for days, Safir’s soldiers could take a lot of casualties before reaching the Syndicate positions.

But in those few seconds, Drakon could see that most of the defenders’ fire was still badly aimed. Only a small percentage of the shots hit the attackers with the accuracy expected of targeting systems, most of the rest of the enemy fire going wide.
They’re not trying to hit us,
Drakon saw with relief. Had Gozen gotten word to the Syndicate soldiers that they could surrender and count on being taken prisoner? Or had the Syndicate soldiers been so badly used that they simply didn’t care anymore?