The Spartan Chronicles

[Velociryx]

The maze of corridors made up the Hive complex seemed to go on forever, and Gavin, feeling every one of his years, tired beyond words, still bleeding slightly and woozy from the drugs did his best to be stealthy, but he felt about as stealthy as Moby Dick in the Sahara. Still, so far, no one had seen him, and that was a good sign.

Speaking of signs, he found himself wondering how the Hell the people who lived here found their way around….he couldn’t tell which direction he was going, and what few signs there were only served to mystify him.

And it wasn’t as if he could walk up to some friendly neighborhood guard, tap him on the shoulder and inquire…..

With a frustrated sigh, he wandered, hoping to find…..something. Anything.

And he’d better do it quickly, too, because the moment Sand or Angel returned to his former prison and found him gone, the whole place would be crawling with people actively looking for his sorry hide.

Twenty minutes later, sweating from a combination of nervous edginess and fatigue, he hit paydirt.

A nondiscript door which led down a perfectly straight corridor, lined with small, equally nondescript offices.

And apparently, no one was home.

He checked the first four, found them to be empty, and slipped into the next one down the line, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sat down in the straight-backed chair (no padding, of course), and turned on the ancient Hive computer, drumming up the datalinks.

First goal, to find out where he was.

Second goal, figure out how to escape.

Third goal….well, that was probably thinking too far ahead. Better to focus on the moment, so that’s exactly what he did.

And the **where** turned out to be quite surprising. The Great Clustering.

He smiled a genuine smile at the irony of that.

A little more digging clued him in to the fact that he was in Level Sixteen, Sub-Section Theta-Four, Governance District.

He would have been content to sit there and plot a way out, but just about the time he found out where he was, the Internal Security Klaxon began to wail loudly, and he grimaced.

Busted.

Quickly, he scanned the schematic of the Great Clustering, looking for a good hiding place.

“Come on, think damn you!” He berated himself. “Improvise…..improvise…..improvise….”

He smiled, and traced a curious path of corridors along the screen with his fingers.

It was just bizarre enough to work.

He cleared the Datalinks history log so no one could backtrack and see what he was looking at, then called up a listing for every recipe on file which included egg plant as an ingredient (the first thing that came to his mind), and left the office, turning right, and heading further down the long hall of offices, mentally picturing the map he had seen moments ago on the computer screen.

&&&

Ashaandi settled back in Gavin’s chair with a satisfied smile on his face. A very good day indeed, and it would not be long before…..

The annoying chirping of his Wrist-Communicator interrupted his thought. He glanced at it to see who was calling in.

Coded message. Urgent priority.

He frowned curiously.

“Yes.”

“We have a problem.” Sand’s raspy voice came.

Ashaandi’s eyes darkened and his jaw set into a hard line. “I thought I told you never to contact me here.”

“But Master, I….”

“Do **not** tell me he escaped you.”

The silence that followed told him all he needed to know, and Ashaandi sighed heavily.

“Deal with it and deal decisively, Sand, or I shall deal with you.”

Disgusted, he ended the communication, leaving Sand to think that over, then ran his hands through Gavin’s thinning, silvering hair.

He hated complications, and Gavin roaming about represented something of a fly in the ointment. If that somehow went public…..but no, Burge was a sly one, there was no doubt, but he could not one-up both Sand and Angel. There was no way.

They’d get him.

&&&

It was insufferably hot, but Gavin welcomed that. The steam from the venting system helped to sweat the drugs out of his system all the more quickly and made the throbbing in his arms and chest seem less severe.

Absently, he wiped the sweat from his brow and ducked low under some aging pipes. It shouldn’t be far now.

Through two more tunnel intersections, and then right….perhaps four hundred meters, and so far he’d been lucky. Not the first sign of…..

Guards.

Two of them, at the intersection ahead, and they weren’t exactly slouching.

Gavin groaned inwardly. They were on alert. Edgy, because of the incessant wailing of the security klaxon.

He crept closer to get a better look, using the steam and shadows to his advantage.

Plain synthsteel armor and Impact rifles. Not exactly the most state-of-the-art equipment, but they were just garrison forces, and it certainly beat the Hell out of his letter opener.

He felt for it and drew it out.

Because of the heat, neither man was wearing his helmet, and Gavin couldn’t help but notice that their necks were exposed. That was something, anyway. A small target, but better than no exposed flesh at all.

He watched them for a moment, uncertain. Not wanting to throw himself against two significantly younger men, but also not wanting to remain where he was.

He **had** to get to the central power station. If he did, he’d be a free man inside of two hours, if not, sooner or later, they’d track him down.

“Move damn you.” He whispered to himself.

And he did.

Suddenly, he was no longer a tired old man, but a much younger, more vibrant and alive man. A solder, but more even than that. A Spartan soldier.

He crouched low and hugged the shadows, his body drawing upon a lifetime spent training and fighting. Remembering.

Ten feet away from them, and still undetected.

Closer.

Closer still.

With an dangerous hissing sound, Gavin threw himself at the closest guard, slamming the business-end of the letter opener into the man’s exposed neck, and then pulling it back out in a single, fluid motion and turning toward the second guard. He did not even give his first victim a backward glance, but his brain registered the sound of the man’s quiet gurgles and the solid thump as he collapsed to the ground.

The remaining guard was surprised, of course, but seemed already to be recovering.

He fumbled with his rifle, trying to bring it up.

Gavin lowered his head like a bull and charged, hurling himself at the bewildered guard.

He caught the man in the midsection with one of his sturdy shoulders, and though the impact couldn’t have hurt him, it was more than sufficient to knock him off balance, and then send him tumbling over.

It was all Gavin needed.

Coolly, professionally, he moved with the practiced grace of the hundred plus years experience bottled up in him, and it was not long before the second guard was motionless as well.

His shoulder hurt him terribly (one of the drawbacks of tackling someone who was wearing a full body suit of synthmetal armor), and was likely dislocated, but he felt great.

He rolled his shoulder a time or two, wincing at the pain as he stood.

There was no time to strip the guards of their armor and use it as a disguise, but the Impact rifles were a different story.

Nothing quite like trading up as far as weapons went, and the pair of Impact rifles were certainly a good deal better than his letter opener.

He took them both, slinging one over each shoulder, and continued on his way toward the central power station.

&&&

[Velociryx]

The sound was deafening. A monstrous roar which he felt deep down into his bones.

He felt it most in his shoulder though, where the Impact round grazed him, and a very good thing it had only been a grazing hit. Impact Rifles did nasty things to unarmored humans.

As it was, the shock of it spun him around like a top and then pitched him roughly to the ground.

He closed his eyes and blocked out the worst of the pain, and then listened intently, trying to hear where the attacker might be.

Nothing.

Well, nothing save for the hissing of steam and the relentless clanging of machinery which pervaded everything.

He was close now. So close that he could hear the throbbing, humming sound the massive fission generator gave off as it supplied power to the entire base.

And now….shot.

Winged by some unseen assailant.

Weakly, he shook his head, and lurched back to his feet, scanning the maze of corridors.

Still nothing, but he was still alive, so whoever had him marked was toying with him.

Cat and mouse, which narrowed the field to exactly two people.

He nodded to himself. So be it, but he’d get as close to his objective as he could.

Wearily, and weaker now, thanks to the freely bleeding shoulder wound, he continued forward.

&&&

At the next intersection and to the left, he saw it.

His goal.

The reactor core.

The central nervous system of the entire base.

The heart.

And it was beautiful.

The room itself was massive, and a study in bland Hivean functionality, but the pure white light which glowed nearly as brightly as Chiron’s twin suns…..a thing of beauty by any definition.

It seemed to Gavin (in his cloudy and pain-numbed state) that Yang had captured a fiercely glowing angel and chained her to this place….slowly leeching the life and power from her.

He was so enraptured that he almost stumbled into the chamber without looking, which would have been a mistake.

He came to his senses not quite three steps from entering the chamber and saw that there were four technicians present.

Monitoring staff.

He hefted up the Impact rifles and stepped into the room.

Two shots from each rifle, and the room was his.

Too easy.

He smiled wearily at that, wondering how long it would be before Sand and/or Angel came to end their cat and mouse game.

Not long, he decided, and he wanted to be ready.

Body aching more and more with every step, he stumbled over to the main control panel and began deciphering it.

The first thing he did was to seal himself in, then jam the opening mechanisms. That would buy him some time, no matter how crafty Sand and Angel might be.

Having done that, he called up a schematic of the chamber, found and enumerated all possible entrances to the room (air ducts, water pipes at least half a meter in diameter, doors, hatchways, and service panels, one hundred and twenty six in all), and began the arduous process of totally isolating himself.

Blast doors were slid into position, the internal air handlers were activated, and the external airducts were sealed with synthsteel plates, and further sealed with static force fields.

The pipes were flooded with steam, making it impossible that they could be used to gain entrance to the room, and finally, he was ready for the next phase.

One of the chief advantages of Yang’s paranoia was the fact that there were cameras everywhere. Gavin wasn’t all that interested in high tech gadgetry, but he was an ace when it came to fixing things or making them work the way he wanted them to, rather than the way they were originally designed, and it wasn’t long before he’d hacked his way past the archaic HiveComp Security system and run a patch to the camera system in the power chamber.

A few minutes later and he’d patched into his field console in Sparta Command (didn’t want to risk using his main console, which was probably being monitored and actively used by Ashaandi), grabbed the security routines from it, to make it difficult for the Hivers to undo what he had done, and then ran a patch from there to his old friend Allardyce’s system via a secured, poly-encrypted link.

He loved the power of the Planetary Networks.

Of course, it was likely that Googlie was still out of pocket, but when he finally saw the vid he was being sent…..well, he’d know what to do with it.

He took control of a specific camera and panned it down toward him, zooming in for a closeup, then bent slightly (even though he really didn’t need to) to speak into the mic.

“Googlie, old friend….I don’t know what our situation will be when you see these images, but I want you to know that it is my estimation that you not move against Ashaandi, who is my body double in Sparta Command until after the assault on the Great Clustering. Of course, you are your own man, and must act according to your conscience, and the possibility exists that when you see these images, you will write them off as fakes, but I had to try, so here goes.”

He looked around the room, panning the camera with him.

“I have currently sealed myself in the main power station, far beneath the Hivean base known as the Great Clustering….I was brought here by Angel, a member of the Circle of Ashaandi, tortured by both her and our longtime friend Sand, and impersonated by Ashaandi, who left me here to die while he went back to take my place at the head of the Spartan Invasion.”

He sighed heavily and shook his head.

“I have reason to believe that Ashaandi and his ilk are in grave danger if they remain here in Hive Lands….victims of their own successes, you might say, and are plotting a way to escape…..I also believe that their escape will be timed to coincide with our upcoming “surprise” military victory, and that leads me to the belief that Ashaandi will operate with our best interests at heart…..nonetheless, the plans are already in motion, and if you feel the need to move against him, it still should not change the outcome, but I’d recommend doing it quietly…..our command structure has been rattled enough here lately, if you know what I mean…..”

There was a clattering noise from somewhere behind him, and he turned to see. One of the motion sensitive cameras picked up on it too, and the image was transmitted halfway across the globe to Allardyce’s console.

Sparks from a cutter-tool.

Someone was in one of the airducts, cutting through to the room.

Gavin turned back to the camera. “It won’t be long now, old friend, and I’ve got stuff to do, so I’ll leave this running a while, and let the scene unfold…..if I don’t make it back, well, consider this my big goodbye….and tell Elizabeth I love her…..never had the guts to tell her that in person, but maybe it will make her smile.”

He saluted curtly, and then set about to work, muttering quietly to himself to explain what he was trying to do. Of course he had no way of knowing it but, because some of the controls were a good distance from the mic, not every word was perfectly audible, but it was more than enough.

“….figure if I can set the main generator on a continuous feedback loop and override the automatic shutdown procedures that……kick in when the tolerances are exceeded……should be able to blow this place to hell and back……ight not be as impressive as one of those Planet Busters, but it should make a hell of a hole…..” He smiled. “Oh, but I forgot….this place is **already** a hole…..well then….it’ll make it a good bit deeper.”

A few minutes later, he was finished, and already the Fission reactor could be heard whining and humming at a slightly higher pitch.

That would continue until a critical mass was reached, and then…..bang.

Satisfied, Gavin scouted around for a suitable hiding place with a good clean line up to the ventilation shaft, cradling one of his Impact Rifles almost casually as he waited.

He did not have to wait long.

In mere minutes, the last of the synthsteel plates fell away, clattering loudly to the floor, and Gavin wasted no time. He aimed at the entrance to the shaft and fired a steady, withering barrage.

No weapons fire was returened, and after sending perhaps thirty rounds into the shaft, Gavin stopped and cocked his head to one side, listening.

Silence reigned for a long moment.

And then it was broken.

The old soldier’s eyes narrowed, and then widened in concern and he scanned the room looking for….something.

The concussion grenade clattered out of the shaft and exploded before it even hit the floor, some twenty feet below.

It was close enough to Gavin’s position to completely bowl him over, and he felt several of his ribs crack.

He his his head solidly on the sharp edge of something as he fell, and the world got swimmy and black.

He fought against it and tried to stand, but found that he could not.

Tried to get his arms to move at least, so he could aim his rifle.

Couldn’t do that either.

Watched in quiet, impotent rage as a pair of stealthy figured dropped gracefully into the room.

Angel and Sand.

Together.

The end game.

&&&

Angel hung well back, covering Gavin with a dainty, miniturized shredder pistol (still wearing her gloves though, he noticed, and his foggy mind wondered vaguely what the pistol grip was made of).

Sand was not at all shy about approaching though, and he seemed to have a cocky swagger in his stride that made Gavin **really** wish he could find it in himself to stand up and throttle the little wiry bastard.

No luck on that count though.

Sand kicked the Impact Rifles away and sneered down at him. “So….I see you’ve been busy…..too bad it won’t do you any good. After we kill you, we’ll unlock this place and get our best technicians in here to undo whatever damage you’ve done.”

Gavin worked his jaw for a moment before he could actually speak. “Let’s….get on with it then…..”

And he glared defiantly up at the assassin.

Sand kicked him in response, and it was the thing that Gavin needed.

Something about the sharpness of the pain woke up all his pain centers again after the concussive blast seemed to numb his entire body and put him more than half asleep.

He came to though, with that one kick, and found at least a bit more fight in himself, but he hid it.

He didn’t have much left, and timing would have to be everything.

It didn’t even matter that Angel would kill him anyway, even if he got the better of Sand. That was no longer the point. It wasn’t about survival any more. He knew he woulnd’t. It was about…..being better.

Sand drew back his booted foot to kick him again, and Gavin curled up, pretending to cower.

Actually, he was tensing every muscle in his body, and when Sand lashed out with his foot, Gavin caught it and twisted savagely, throwing his longtime nemesis off balance.

He struggled to his feet as Sand tumbled over backward, and shoved the smaller man in the chest. Any hope Sand had of recovering his balance went by the board when Gavin shoved him, and he tumbled roughly to the ground.

In an instant, Gavin was atop him, straddling Sand’s chest and bringing those horrible, rock-solid fists to bear.

Right.

Left.

Another right.

Another left.

Again and again, beating Sand’s face into a bloody pulp, and strangely, Angel watched it all impassively.

Sand struggled briefly, but gave up very quickly, and soon stopped moving at all.

Gavin sagged forward and then rolled off of him, staring up at the ceiling.

It had been a sucker punch, of sorts, but he’d still beaten him. Sand, the great assassin, bested by a tired old man.

If he’d had any energy at all left, he would have laughed at that.

He blinked twice, not quite believing he was still alive.

Why didn’t Angel just…..

He struggled to sit up, looking around with his fuzzy vision to find her.

She stood exactly as she had before, covering him with that dainty shredder pistol, but not moving.”

He found the strength to stand.

Glanced down at Sand’s unconscioius form and shook his head sadly. “…..could have…..killed you…..but I didn’t…..you live…..live and know that…..I beat you.” He told the unmoving form, and then looked back at Angel and began shuffling forward.

“Wha….what’s wrong with you?….Why don’t you just get it….over with? I’m dead….anyway.”

He looked into her normally cold eyes and was amazed to find a measure of compassion there. “I….I must kill you….you know that…..we both know that….”

He nodded.

“But I had to tell you….up close…..face to face….that I…..I….” She blinked back a tear, and Gavin was nearly stunned off his feet. Angel….crying?

“I admire you….your force of will….your courage….your….NOOOOO!”

He heard the word, but the warning came too late. His foggy brain and tortured body couldn’t have reacted quickly enough anyway, and the round from the Impact Rifle tore through his back at about kidney level, and the exit wound was correspondingly worse.

He reached down to his stomach, felt the warmth and wetness, but did not have the courage to actually look. Instead, he tried to turn around, sinking to his knees as he did so.

Sand was limping toward him, face battered and swollen, Impact Rifle in hand.

Gavin slumped to the floor and the world began to go dark.

“Coward….” He whispered softly.

Somewhere far beneath the Hive base, Great Clustering, Gavin Burge, acting head of the Junta, died.

&&&

Less than thirty mintutes after his death an explosion was reported on that same sight. Spartan intelligence units later confirmed that the blast destroyed the base’s Command Center, their Perimeter Defense Structure, and blew out their Recycling Tanks entirely. As the blast was directly beneath the Garrison Headquarters, some 2000 garrison troops were also reported either killed or missing.

“King Arthur had it right all along…..In serving each other, we become free…..”
-Gavin Burge, spoken over a glass of wine with Googlie Allardyce, long, long ago…..


[This message has been edited by Velociryx (edited September 17, 1999).]

[Googlie]

“But we must wake him – it is a matter of the greatest urgency.”

Basil Hargreaves was quietly insistent.

Chief Surgeon Kendra Ossenton was equally insistent.

“If you interrupt the rejuvenation process I cannot be held accountable for what might happen to him. The treatment is at a delicate phase. The heart has been replaced, and the bio implants inserted, and the limbs are reforming. Awakening Governor Allardyce now could stunt the growth of these limbs and other vital organs.”

“What do you need to be convinced?” asked Hargreaves helplessly.

“Governor Allardyce left no emergency interruption instructions, and only Supreme Commander Burge can overrule in these situations – absent colonel Santiago herself, of course.”

“There is one other way,” said the voice from the doorway.

Basil and Kendra looked round.

Marlo Hollis was standing at the door.

“As Governor of Sparta Command I can declare a State of Emergency under our Suspension of Civil Liberties Act. You, as citizens of Sparta Command, come under my direct control, as would Governor Allardyce. My word would be law at this base. Now I don’t have to do this, do I?”

Kendra shrugged, and pulled out her commlink, flipping it to record:

“Be it noted that I am activating premature awakening of Governor Scott Allardyce at the instigation of his aide, Basil Hargreaves, and the Governor of Sparta Command, Marlo Hollis. I do this involuntarily and under duress.”

“Oh, get on with it,” said Marlo, impatiently.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++

Shapes.

Voices.

More indistinct shapes.

The Unity was breaking up around me, and I was emerging from a cryogenic sleep.

I coughed and spluttered.

The esophageal tubing kinked and I wheezed.

The pump activated and my lungs emptied, and the liquid level subsided around me until my face was above the level of the gel.

I gulped in fresh air and blearily opened my eyes.

No, I was not in the Unity, but in the rejuvenation tanks, but something was wrong.

I felt an intense pain in my chest, and could hardly move my fingers and toes.

I brought a hand up to my eyes, and gasped. It was tiny, like that of a baby’s.

I swiveled my eyes around to take in more of my surroundings. The indistinct shapes took form – two women and a man.

“Governor Allardyce” one was saying. “Don’t thrash around so. We’ve brought you up prematurely for some information, then you must go back. Now pay attention.”

“Hargreaves, you’ve got one minute, then he’s going under again” I heard the voice say.

Basil’s face loomed in front of mine.

“Googlie. It’s Baz. We need your secure encryption code to read a vid squirt.”

I looked at the face. It was Hargreaves, Miller’s XO. What did he need my code for?

“Vidsquirt?” I said weakly.

“From Burge. Scrambled. Need your code, quickly.”

“Code?” I mumbled.

“That’s enough. He’s going under” I heard the voice say.

“Baz,” I said. He leaned closer.

“Jinty. Deirdre’s arms. You need vocal override on holo – Skyeblazer.”

Phththt.

The nozzle pressed against my neck discharged.

I fell into a deep sleep.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Jinty. Deirdre’s arms. You need vocal override on holo – Skyeblazer. What the hell does that mean?”

Basil was irritated. He and Marlo had discussed the code for several minutes and finally replayed the rasping words of Allardyce.

“Did he know what we were asking?” she asked. “He seemed pretty far out of it.”

“Oh, I think he understood,” Basil said. “He was telling us the code, I’m sure. I just don’t understand it. Deirdre’s arms. What the heck is that reference. What holo? The Skyblazer holo? What’s that, and why didn’t he say that?”

“Maybe the answer’s somewhere in his office” suggested Marlo. “Let’s go look.”

They trudged over to the SAC headquarters to go to Googlie’s office.

[Hydro]

Plex Anthill

*****

Rao stared for a moment at his datapad, digesting his conversation with Gavin. There were a number of things to consider.

First, Rao thought, Honshu has given me a personal compliment. In all my years in the Spartan Army I have never heard the reclusive Honshu make a direct public statement and have certainly never heard of anyone rating a congratulations from him. Moreover, now that I think about it I have never even seen him at any military function. I have met Gavin, certainly Burge and Slats, even the legendary Googlie, and have had the singular honor of meeting Santiago three times. But never Honshu - I wouldn't really know what he looked like if he came up and shook my hand. Now there was an interesting thought. What if he was at Plex now? Unlikely, but it was a thought-provoking idea. Even so, the delivery was in keeping with what little I know of Honshu: indirect. Honshu was nothing if not subtle.

Second, the people in HQ are paying attention. I guess stuck here in the sticks at Plex I think my problems and I am at the center of the world. Of course there are other things going on, and some of those probably make this little ruckus at Plex seem like small potatoes. Honshu was even generous enough to send his Fire Eaters, who themselves are legendary. That speaks volumes. If the Hive knows what's good for them they will save themselves the time by peeing their pants now and running back into the Middle Chiron Sea, Rao thought with a chuckle. The thought of the Dauntless Hive Soldier wetting themselves in pure terror was very amusing.

Lastly, why did this information come from Gavin? I don't know Gavin that well, but I do know he won't needlessly break the chain of command. He isn't a military bureaucrat that views COC as sacrosanct and will do what needs to be done. In this case his communication with me really wasn't necessary, and he does know better. Why didn't he go through my CO, General Wang? Wang isn't likely to be too deeply offended at the breach, but this is out of the ordinary. I'll squirt the info to Wang to make sure he is informed. If there is some fence mending that needs to be done, better have those two do it now then let it fester.

Rao picked up his datapad, excerpted the holofile of his and Gavin's conversation, encrypted it, and squirted it to 2nd Armor's General Wang. He also gave Gavin the benefit of the doubt in his very brief comment. Wang will understand my terseness, considering the circumstances.

Now, back to the battle, Rao thought.

The Hive assault on Plex Anthill had started at daybreak, 6 Chiron hours ago. It would be dark in another 4 hours, which, given the 18 hour Chiron day, would mean 8 hours of darkness and uncertainty. Who knows what could and would happen under the cover of darkness.

Rao examined the holomap of Plex Anthill for the umpteenth time: it showed the six Hive transports still in the small cove that protected Plex Anthill, a furious sortie that still raged between the now depleted Hive bombers and interceptors and the damaged Spartan Indigo interceptors. The seven Hive infantry brigades, which were in total well over a thousand men strong, were making unusually slow progress but were almost on the beach and would be in position before morning. Now safely licking their wounds, the 469 infantry was inside Plex and was receiving a well-deserved rest. Defensive and counterattack reserves now included the new Plex Brigade, since Mary just reported in for duty, in record time, too. They are added to our elite 469th rover squad, our veteran RT rover squad, and our two vigilant Aardvarks that still circle the skies. Honshu's Fire Eaters may or may not arrive in time - if they do they will surely tip the tides of battle in our favor. Our reserves, fortunately, have not been called on. Yet.

Most immediate, however, were the last two Hive rover squads that were attacking two Rolling Thunder brigades. Those engagements have not been nearly as spectacular and brief as the Hive amphib assaults. These Hive crews were much more experienced, and were using their maneuver to their advantage against the entrenched crews of Lightning and Knife Strike. The firefight had been going on for hours already, and was typified by 'duck, strike, and feign' tactics. It was all very frustrating to the rover crews who were used to using those same tactics against their opponents. Well, now they know what if feels like to be a groundpounder against a mobile attacker.

The sad thing is, Rao thought, that the whole battle may come down to whether these two RT brigades are so damaged that they can't counter attack. They will not be destroyed; not with the advantages of fusion plasma armor, their experience, and the fastness of Plex itself. No, it is the extent of the damage they take, pure and simple. If they are too damaged then the brigades will slip below critical mass and lose combat punch, maneuver, or both. Then the Hive infantry will be able to get into position.

It all hinged on the 20 rovers in 2 Rolling Thunder brigades.

Luong, who was still patched into the comm channel with her holosuite, interrupted Rao's reverie. She was still furiously coding and routing information with a virtual control system that existed only for her. To Rao it looked like she was tapping at the air.

"Rao, urgent patch coming through from Rogers in Lighting. Situation report," she said urgently in a clipped voice.

Rao watched as the holo of Rogers winked into existence above the Plex Anthill simulation. Brent Rogers had a pained expression on his face, and the rover's cabin was filled with drifting smoke. As he watched, a explosion that followed by a hail of boulders could be heard bouncing off the hull of the rover. It must sound like being in a kettle drum, Rao observed.

Based on the look on his face, it must be bad news, Rao thought gloomily.

[Hydro]

Plex Anthill

*****

"We're pinned in a bloody crater!" Kit yelled above the din of explosions and rumble of falling stone. She swiveled the Chaos turret of Lightning Brigade Rover 3 around to survey her now hated abode. The walls of the Alpha Sector West Cargo Bay now did look like a crater. The roof had long since collapsed under the relentless salvos from the now departed Hive missile cruisers. Each missile strike from the unending Hive assault by amphib and now rovers had slowly blasted the vertical walls so they now sloped, with the talus rounding out the base. The floor of the cargo bay had long since disappeared under 3 to 10 meters of rock and debris. Only the ceaseless vigilance of Spartan and Hive workers kept the corridor to Plex Anthill open, as it was constantly being choked with rock falls. If that were to become blocked they would be trapped in a hole.

The Hive assault had fallen into a predictable pattern of unpredictability. There was be a random period of proximity fire, the purpose of which was to keep the Rolling Thunder forces on edge and dodging boulders. There would be incidental damage the rovers, but most of the harm occurred to the psyches of the rover crews. There was only so much helpless tension and stress a crew can stand. Occasionally some of the Hive rovers would scoot out of cover and lob an imprecisely aimed volley directly into the bay. Of course, each time they did so they lost a rover or two. The quarter kilometer fanning out from the bay was littered with wreckage of amphib siege guns and at least 15 rover hulks from 2 rover brigades. Thankfully, at this distance the hundreds of bodies were not visible, nor could the plaintive pleas for help by the injured be heard.

"Kit, we need to get an update to Rao. What is the latest kill tally?" Flavio asked of the comm.

"We have 4 confirmed kills and 2 probables from this Hive rover brigade. They have to be down to 50% by now," Kit replied. As the turret swiveled again her arm, now our of it's sling against the medic's orders, spasmed in pain. Kit inhaled sharply as the needles of agony coursed through her left side, but she kept a tight focus. A moment of inattention could be fatal, or she could lose her chance to paste one of the remorseless Hive rovers. Gradually, the pain increased and the world seemed to spin, and black and grey spots swam before her eyes. She felt a warm trickle down her tortured left arm.

Her breathing came in short gasps. As she battled for consciousness, she uttered, "Flav, help me…"

Just then, the five remaining rovers in the Hive brigade darted into view and fired their missiles, which streaked toward the defenders. Lightning brigade rovers 2, 7, and 9 were able to return fire, and their coursing waves of fusion chaos enveloped two of the unarmored Hive rovers and imploded. The white light of the chaos energy was joined by the red and yellow of exploding rovers.

Some of the Hive missiles found their mark in the now fractured granite directly above Rover 3, and the explosion was followed by the deep and penetrating rumble of hundreds of metric tons of falling rock as an enormous landslide cascaded into the cargo bay.

When the dust cleared Rover 3 of Lightning Brigade was gone.

*****

"Rao, this is Rogers of Lighting Rover 7. We just lost Rover 3 and Rover 1 was crippled a while ago. The rest are either fully functional, or partially damaged like we are. All told, we are down to 70%. You told me to report when we were reaching the critical point, so here it is. Our attacker is down to 20 to 30% and only have a couple of operational rovers left in their brigade, so we may make it and still be functional for a," Brent Rogers involuntarily coughed loudly as the acrid smoke from the rover cabin finally got to him, "counter attack."

Rao nodded. "Kit was in Rover 3, wasn't she."

"Yes, sir. They're buried," Brent replied somberly. "Rover 1 took a direct hit. Most of the damage was absorbed by the plasma armor or deflected by the fusion structural fields, but their hull in ruptured, their chaos gun is scrap, and their drive train is non-operational. There were a couple of survivors in the crew."

"We'll need you to be ready for a counter attack before dark, if you are able. We HAVE to take out the infantry. Make sure to aim for those who are grouped to increase collateral damage," Rao told him. He knew that after they attacked they would be almost defenseless, unable to retreat if all the infantry weren't eliminated. If they were lucky they might take out two infantry brigades - but only if they were lucky.

Rogers knew this order was coming, and knew it might be a death sentence. "Yes, sir. Rogers out."

*****

Meanwhile in the Beta Sector cargo bay, the rover brigade Knife Strike was having much better luck. The Hive rover brigade had tried for a frontal assault. In doing so they had grouped up, wheeled around and charged the entrenched brigade head on. Just before they could fully engage the embattled defending chaos guns were firing. One, than another, of the unarmored rovers exploded, creating a chain reaction. A few late firings by the chaos guns finished the job. The Hive rovers got off a few missiles before the Spartans had fired, but these were poorly aimed. More damage was done to the Spartan rovers from the energy front backwash, and from falling Hive chassis debris. When it was all over Lightning strike was 85% operational, and the field was cleared of the last mobile Hive attackers in their field of operation.

The Knife Strike crews called it a turkey shoot.

With premeditated glee Lieutenant Frederic Mrozinski ordered his rovers to leave the safety of their cargo bay to the crest of the hill overlooking the beaches, where the Hive infantry was busy wading ashore. He didn't bother reporting to Rao, and would gladly take the flack if brought to task. After all, it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, in some cases at least. And the Hive infantry were oh, so exposed on the rocky beach.

All the pent up rage, frustration, and blood lust was released and the rovers burst from their confines in the ruins of Beta Sector cargo bay.

The turkey shoot was just beginning.

[This message has been edited by Hydro (edited September 19, 1999).]

[Slats]

PLEX ANTHILL, DELTA SECTOR

Amanda trudged down a rocky corridor, feeling battered and bruised but much cleaner. She hobbled along down one of the access tunnels towards the Delta Sector hangars. Amanda had noted that the base looked unusally empty of Spartan military personnel. This implied that something was happening above, the fact reinforced by the quiet rumble of gunfire from outside beyond the rock walls. Amanda was anxious to find the rest of her flight. The hangar seemed her best bet.

As she neared her goal she ambled past the airlock for the primary hangar, now useless due to a collasped roof. Two Hive drones marched past going the opposite way, giving her a bemused look. Amanda had walked about eight metres along from the hatch when she heard the warning bell that signified the airlock chamber was cycling. Intrigued at the use of a hatch from a disused area she turned to look at the new arrivals. The figure's that emerged from the hatch were wearing blue pressure battle armour, emblazoned with the Hive logo on the upper chest. Amanda pivoted around to face the new intruders. Had Amanda been the Hiver's first target she would have already been dead but the enemy troops had other priorties. Two of the soldiers fired their rifles from the waist and cut down the two drones who stood frozen in shock. Gore splashed the sides of the tunnels. Amanda made a grab for her sidearm and ripped the standard issue shredder pistol from it's holster. The third Hive soldier raised his rifle to fire at Amanda, who gave up the hope of returning fire and threw herself sideways behind a tunnel support beam. A half dozen loud thumps rang out as the soldier squeezed off an semi-automatic burst. Giving a loud, wordless cry of alarm Amanda flinched but then emptied the magazine of her shredder pistol blindly round the corner. Unknown to Amanda the razor sharp plastic needle swarms didn't penetrate the suit armour of the Hive troopers but it did scare them into diving behind cover.

More rounds thudded into the beam protecting Amanda. With shaking hands she slid a new plastic ammo block into her pistol and poured another barrage around the corner. Through sheer luck several of the needles struck the palm of the gloved hand of the nearest trooper, tearing and blending into the flesh. A shout of pain lifted Amanda's falling spirits. More shouts. But this time from down the corridor!! Amanda craned her neck about to see a pair of Spartan soldiers accompanied by a couple of Plex Anthill citizens, all wearing light body armor and carrying plasma rifles. The four sprinted up the tunnel and took refuge in a doorway about 10 metres down from Amanda. The two opposing squads began to exchange rifle rounds and white hot globules of plasma.
Looking back again Amanda saw one of the Spartan security team unclip something from his belt, crouch and then hurl the object up the tunnel, past Amanda. She instinctivly curled up behind the vertical beam just in time to shield herself from the blast wave from the lobbed high explosive grenade. Amanda looked up the corridor to see the shattered body of one of the Hive soldiers. The remaining two Hivers were staggering towards the airlock, attempting to escape. One seemed wounded and lagged behind the other. The lead trooper escaped through the hatch but the wounded man fell short as a plasma glob removed the top of his head.

The four man security team dashed from their cover, up and past Amanda in pursuit of the escapee. Amanda just closed her eyes wearily and slipped down into the darkness.......

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ABOARD INDIGO 4 ON FINAL APPROACH

Pedro looked worriedly at his fuel level indicator, which was flashing EMPTY in all tanks. The engines must be running on fumes. His aircraft had already been slightly low on fuel when he arrived above Plex Anthill earlier and now all the dogfighting meant the aircraft was in danger of dropping out of the sky.

However Indigo 4 was no longer needed as the three remaining Hive aircraft were running for home out at sea, max thrust, most likely also low on fuel. Hive ground forces were concentrated on the beach, now being cornered by Spartan rover units. Pinwheel's 2 and 3 were swooping downward to the shore to lend a helping hand, while Indigo 3 covered them from above. Pedro's aircraft was currently lined up for landing, and a quick touchdown systems check was followed by a rough jolt as the landing gear suspension absorbed the shock of the rough surfacing on the service road / runway. Pedro taxied back towards the hangar hurriedly while Paul kept a beady eye out for Hive stragglers from the operations seat.
As they neared the hangar entrance they could tell something was wrong. The three Spartan soldiers who usually guarded the broken doors lay sprawled about their sandbagged pit. Dead. Four blue armored bodies also lay near the pit at various distances. Seriously worried now, Pedro stopped the jet just inside the wrecked main hangar. The doors to the auxiliary hangar lay closed, inaccessable from the outside. Still wearing their c0ckpit breathing gear, the two airmen unhooked themselves from various systems and opened their canopies. They were about to climb down when the hanger's airlock opened. A Hive soldier ran madly from the entrance. Two shredder pistols spoke, needles finding the seam between helmet and breastplate. Blood spurted and the man crumbled to the ground. Pedro holstered his pistol and climbed down the crew ladder.

[This message has been edited by Slats (edited September 19, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Slats (edited September 19, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Slats (edited September 20, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Slats (edited September 20, 1999).]

[Hydro]

Plex Anthill

*****

The rovers of Knife Strike were bounding over the cratered terrain, and sometimes frantically steering to avoid a Hive wreck or an unexpected crevice that wasn't there before.

"Call up the file now," Frederick said with a grin to his engineer at comm. Fully outfitted with hologoggles and gloves, he readily complied, and in a moment the cabin of the rover was filled with the stirring refrain of some truly ancient music the Frederick was addicted to. This piece was by an old Earth composer, and went by the name The Valkyries by Richard Wagner. None of them had a clue what a 'Valkyries' was, but they didn't care. The music was exciting and seemed so 'right'.

"Patch me in to all rovers," Frederick said as they neared the promontory overlooking the beach. They would be there in less than five minutes. Marlin nodded and initiated the patch.

"Mrozinski to all rovers. Initiate a delta movement pattern at the discression of the pilots. Guns, target the nearest infantry group and lay down a methodical grid. Wipe 'em out - we do not want any lose elements. Target their siege gun when in range, since the collateral damage from it going should partially take out nearby groups. We are going to stay on the ridge and act as a fireline. Be sure to duck and run when guns are recharging - no use letting the Hivers get a free shot. LET'S DO IT."

As he finished the rover squad pulled up the granitic knob that sloped down 30 meters to the beach at about 45 degrees. The beach was fully 100 to 300 meters away, and stretched for a kilometer to each side. Arrayed below them was a surging mass of Hive men and material working their way up the beach with their heavy equipment in toe. They seemed to be organized into companies of 10 or so men, with maybe a dozen companies per brigade. A few forward elements, perhaps 50 to 100 men, had already made the beach and were establishing a perimeter above the surf. Luckily the heavy surf and rocks were giving the unassisted infantry a very hard time, and reducing their ability to make it to the beach easily.

The high-pitched whine of the chaos guns warming up filled the cabin. Within seconds of each other the rovers were firing at the infantry on the beach.

THUWOCK THUWOCK, THUWOCK

White globes of chaos energy radiated around the men on the beach, blowing some down into the ground, others tens of meters in to the air, and ripping others apart by forcing them both up and down. Their small arms and missile launchers exploded sympathetically with small balls of reddish yellow flame, which stood out from the white of the chaos spheres.

The Hive soldiers reacted immediately by scattering and forming defensive positions, which was all they could do. They couldn't dig into the black rocky beach, but some did find shelter behind house-size boulders. Most simply scattered along the beach in each direction away from chaos death.

Frederick looked down from his commanding position on the cliff, watching the rather futile actions of the Hive infantry. An evil smile graced his lips: a smile of anticipation, and enjoyment of just revenge so long denied.

This is going to take a long time since they are so spread out, he thought as he surveyed the Hive men spread out along the beach and hundreds of meters into the surf..

The chaos turret abruptly stopped firing, and the pilot jerked the rover toward the north while it recharged. Frederick was caught at unawares and slammed into the right side of the command and pilot center as a result of the turn.

"You OK, boss?" his pilot Rosa asked as she kept a close eye on the other rovers who were moving away to recharge. She hadn't moved a centimeter during the violent maneuver.

"Yah, fine. I'll strap in next time," he said as he grabbed is co-pilot chair. No more sight seeing for me he thought accusingly to himself.

"Marlin, patch me through to Rao. Need to let him know what we are doing," he said as he finished touch-seaming the five-point inertial harness.

"You got it," Marlin replied in a somewhat distracted tone. He was integrating the flyeye data and relaying important items to C&C and to the other rovers. He was also receiving vids and data from Lightning, which was having a hard time, and the Aardvarks and Indigos. It seems they were enjoying the show immensely and relaying helpful information at the same time.

Rao's miniature image appeared above his co-pilot console.

"We've engaged the Hive infantry. They are not bunched up as much as I'd hoped, but we are proceeding systematically," Frederick reported. "It should take us a couple of hours to eliminate a brigade since they are so spread out. We're doing a shoot-n-scoot, like you ordered."

"Very well. Lighting will be joining you soon. They just finished off the last of the Hive rovers," Rao grimaced in distaste. Frederick knew that Lightning was pretty beat up and that Rao didn't like it one bit. "Will you be able to make it back to Plex?"

"Negative. We go out, shoot, and then we are pretty much out of energy reserves."

"Acknowledged. Rao out."

In the distance Frederick could hear the concussive retort from chaos guns going off to the west. Lightning must be getting into action.

Fred thought with malicious glee of the nasty Hive running from one source of death to another. He was getting to enjoy this.

*****

Rao finished his status report with Frederick and looked up at the holomap of Plex Anthill. He did a little mental math about the relative strength of his forces and what he had to destroy, and came to a decision.

"Luong, patch me through to Aardvark 1 and 2."

Luong didn't respond, but Chen and RJ appeared above the holotable, framed in a portion of their cockpits.

"Chen, RJ, you are to take out an infantry group at all costs and return to base for refueling and rearming. You already know the Lightning and Knife Strike have engaged, and the tactical situation. Questions?"

An uncoordinated pair of "No, sirs," came over the channel. Rao cut the channel.

*****

Frederick's rover had just completed another run when he saw the two Aardvarks diving for an attack run. They came down at a 45-degree angle and were firing a long strafing line as they went. Their old fashioned missiles impacted in a regular pattern along the beach and about 20 meters into the shallow surf. As the dive bottomed out the remaining infantry took up their missile launchers and blasted back at the Aardvarks, which were pulling up quickly. The Aardvarks suffered minimal damage, mainly from nearby air detonations. Obviously there were no anti aircraft guns in that group. After the first pass the blasted remains of the infantry were decimated. It wouldn't take many more passes to eliminate those groups.

Fred almost glowed he was so happy. Who knew killing could be so much fun?

He pivoted around to Rose, "Take us about. Let's get another shot!"

In the background The Valkyries had reached a crescendo. It had been looping for the last 30 minutes.

*****

On the beaches there was pandemonium. Death came from the hills and from the sky. Chaos explosions were followed by missile impacts. There was no shelter, no escape.

Hive platoon leader Jon Shin looked around as he plowed ashore in the heavy surf. He was waterlogged. There was no going back. Yang's orders were clear: retake Plex Anthill or die gloriously for the People. Jon had no intention of dying just yet. In the near distance he saw something that looked promising: the partially collapsed and ruined underground harbor of Plex Anthill, full of sunken transports. There was his desperately needed cover, but his brigade was the only one with a hope of making their way to it.

"Troop, follow me. To the harbor!" he yelled above the explosions. His men eagerly and almost impatiently complied. Soon the hundreds of men were streaming toward their new sanctuary.

Jon thought through the schematics of Plex Anthill he had memorized. If he recalled correctly, there was a way into the third level of Alpha sector from the Harbor. If it was lightly or unguarded he could take Plex Anthill back from the corrupt and treacherous Spartans from the inside!

Glory To The People!

[Rynn]

Shauna loved what she and Kurt called "mind meld sex".

They were in her small cot together, and her mind was tuned to his so that she was anticipating his every movement as he thought of it, and vice versa. Her head was in the crook of his left arm, and with his left hand he was idly tracing a circular pattern around her left nipple, while the fingers of his right hand were paralleling the motion around her right nipple. She shivered in anticipation, knowing from being in tune with his thoughts the exact moment when he would touch her nipples. They were erect with expectation and suppressed excitement.

She knew that within moments his mouth would seek her right breast, and she arched her back to receive it.

beeep…beeep…beeep

"Shoot," she said. "The emergency signal."

Kurt sighed and rolled on to his back.

"Impeccable timing," he said.

Shauna flicked on the commlink.

"Twentyone" she said.

The screen was blank, but the disembodied voice came through clear.

"GC4 here. The egg is fried. Tell mother."

"What the hell is that all about?" Kurt asked.

"It's a resistance cell from Great Clustering" Shauna replied. "They're telling us that the Planetbuster is now operational and that I've got to get word to our Spartan contacts. We need to reach Miles - he'll know what to do."

They huddled together and focussed their thoughts into a search beam.

Suddenly Kurt grabbed Shauna's arm.

"Get out" he said. "Think of anything - a crowded scene or something."

She tried to penetrate his mind. It was closed like a vice.

"What's happening?" she said aloud.

"We were being scanned," he said. "Hive empaths. I think they're on to us. They wouldn't get a fix in that short a time, but we need to be very careful"

They pondered how to get word to Miles.

They needn't have bothered.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"This is Russell Theakston standing in for Paula Forbes who is on assignment.

"Our news headlines this evening are…"

rrriiiing

"Excuse me.

"Yes. Certainly, Mr. Chairman.

"We interrupt our evening news to bring you this message from Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang of The Human Hive. You are live, Mr. Chairman."

"Good evening. My message is for the ears of the leaders of The Spartan Federation, whomever and wherever they may be.

"I demand that you cease hostilities within the hour on all fronts and that within three hours you evacuate the Hive base of Plex Anthill which you illegally occupy.

"Be warned that I have developed an ultimate weapon of last resort--the PLANET BUSTER! It is now fully operational.

"If your forces have not vacated Plex Anthill by 9.00 local time tonight I shall remove Sparta Command from the face of Chiron at 10.00 o'clock precisely.

"Good night."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Phew. This is Russell Theakston. That was pretty plain. I hope that the Spartan leaders were tuned to this broadcast.

"Stay tuned to this station.

"Now for the rest of the news…………."

[Rynn]

Shimoda chaired the meeting of the Hive Empath Guild. Although the Chief Scientific Officer, he was intensely interested in the paranormal, into which he classified all psi activity. His key lieutenant was Ota Kyi, whom he had just entrusted with the embryonic Hive MindWorm Corps. They were meeting in person, rather than psionically, as neither Shimoda nor Kyi were full rated empaths.

"Report," he said tersely.

Pang Chow-Lai stood up. As the senior Empath he knew that it was his duty to tell the bad with the good, and the news was bad.

"Officer Shimoda," he began, "it was an imperfect exercise. We deduced that an empath had been at work with the Laborer's Throng incident, or at least that thought control had been used. Given the nationalities involved, we suspected that a Hive empath had been turned, so we began the roll call.

"Apart from Ashaandi and his group, only two are uncounted for, and we briefly were in contact earlier this evening."

"Names?" rasped Shimoda.

"Shauna McCullough is one, and Kurt Weiss the other" he replied.

Shimoda punched them into his console, then pursed his lips. The code red was flashing, indicating ex Believer stock. He punched in the access code.

"Bingo" he said.

"McCullough is the granddaughter of the old Believer mindworm trainer, Jessica, a close friend of Godwinson's. Weiss is one of yours," he said accusingly, looking at Ota Kyi.

She flinched.

"He was seconded a few weeks ago to work with an empath squad on the kamikazi unit," she said, in defense. Then he went missing after he nerve stapled the units's controller. There's an APB out for him, but he's good."

Shimoda read the coded description.

"Get him," he said to the assembled empaths. It's your first priority. He's the key to any Believer resistance movement. He's Miriam Godwinson's grandson."

The group of seven empaths winced. Chow-Lai spoke up for them.

"They're good. I remember McCullough. She was an outstanding latent that for some reason was never accepted into the Empath Squad. Weiss has neural amplification. As a team they will be difficulat to detect let alone best."

Shimoda let his eyes go steely.

"You know the penalty for failure. It will not be tolerated. You have your orders. Dismissed."

They stood up and left the room.

[Paula Forbes]

I was furious at the interruption, but the noise of the commlink beeping was captured by the tape so would need to be edited out or the interview reshot anyway.

"Cut," I said to Peter and his camera crew. Lady Deirdre relaxed at her desk.

I snapped the commlink open.

"This had better be good," I rasped into it, then felt a flush course through me at seeing Marlo's image appear. "Sorry," I said, "you caught me at a bad time - interviewing."

"Sorry love," she said. "It's urgent or I wouldn't have called.

"You were pretty close to Googlie. He's in the rejuvenation tanks right now, but gained consciousness just long enough to give us a decryptioning code. But we don't understand it. Thought maybe you could help. He mentioned something about Deirdre's arms. Was he infatuated with that woman, or what?"

I chuckled.

"Maybe. But he was into old earth heraldry. Deirdre's arms would be her coat of arms if I'm not mistaken. She's here, let me ask."

"Lindsay," said Deirdre, partly following the conversation. "I took the name Skye as that's where I was born, and partly to dissociate myself from the clan when they supported the United Britain movement when we won our independence."

"Did you get that?" I asked Marlo. Lindsay coat-of-arms. Googlie had a holo collection."

"Jackpot" said Marlo. "When are you coming back? I miss you."

I had the grace to blush.

"Not long now," I replied. "We're almost finished the documentary. You'll be my first call. I promise."

I clicked the commlink shut.

"Now back to business. Where were we?"

[Googlie]

"Good work," said Hargreaves. "Now what?"

"We call up his holo collection, that's what," said Marlo.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard to Googlie's console, then suddenly she said "Got them."

A few moments later a plaid and shield materialized on the table in front of them with the unmistakable purples and greens of the Lindsay tartan and the famous white swan with the Latin Endure Fort on the swordbelt looped round the swan.

"Skyeblazer" said Marlo.

Confirm password for decryption

"Jinty" said Marlo.

Repeat password

"Jinty."

Immendiately the holo disappeared and in its place the encrypted burst played out.

Hargreaves and Marlo sat in stunned silence as the message from Gavin appeared. They saw the indomitable courage of the man in the face of death as the camera played on until it went blank when the Command Center blew.

Marlo had tears coursing down her cheeks. "I loved him" she whispered softly.

Hargreaves was more business like.

"Bloody hell, what do we do now? The key Junta members are out of commission - Allardyce in the tanks and St Salvador God knows where. And our Supreme Commander is a Hive operative that Burge asks us to trust? And where the hell is the Colonel?"

"Who needs to know? said Marlo.

"Miller? Honshu? Wang? Atreus?"

"Who can we trust?" asked Hargreaves.

Just then there was a discrete tap on the door.

"Come in," said Marlo.

Her assistant entered.

"You should see this," she said, inserting a tape in the player.

It was the rerun of the Morgan News item with Yang's ultimatum.

Hargreaves and Marlo watched with growing horror.

"Damn…damn…damn" was all they could say.

[This message has been edited by Googlie (edited September 19, 1999).]

[Rynn]

Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang sat at the head of his table and forced himself to relax.

He cast his gaze around the assembled group. One by one, they quailed under his gaze.

Shimoda and Ota Kyi of the Empath Guild. Generals Seng and Ng of the army and Air Marshall Lew. Admiral Hy. Captain Chang of the Interior Defense Force. Linked holographically was the heavily bandaged form of Sand, sitting with the newly appointed military governor of Great Clustering, Madame Hsui.

He spoke softly.

"I will not tolerate incompetence. We have lost the base of Plex Anthill, and thousands of our men trying to recapture it. We have suffered a severe setback with the borehole destruction at Laborers' Throng, to say nothing of the loss of the life of Air Marshall Lew's son, a fine young officer with much potential. The damage to Great Clustering is immense. Only by a miracle was the Aerospace Center saved, with our ultimate weapon, which, by the way, I have ordered moved to another location.

"Captain Chang. Why are you still with us?"

At the end of the table, the young captain blanched. He looked beseechingly into the eyes of Chairman Yang.

"I was not in control of myself" he stammered.

The eyes were implacable.

"Why are you still with us while Lieutenant Chow, Corporal Lew and Manager Shen are deceased?"

Chang shuddered. His hand reached to his holster for his personal shredder pistol. He pulled it out and placed the barrel to his temple, looking imploringly into the eyes of Chairman Yang. The eyes were unwavering, the countenance grim.

He pulled the trigger.

There was a gasp from the group, and just a tinge of sadness in Air Marshall Lew's voice as he said "He didn't know what he was doing."

"Incompetence is incompetence under any guise, and I will not tolerate it," said Yang.

He turned his attention to the holoscreen.

"Enjoy your last brief moments, old friend," he said to Sand. "You might have escaped the conflagration at Great Clustering, but if you are alive at dawn tomorrow you will face the firing squad. See to it," he said to the figure of Madame Hsui. She nodded.

Yang turned to Shimoda. "Ensure that the two renegades are captured within 18 hours."

He nodded his assent. "It will be done."

"To business," said Yang. "Are any of you in doubt that we should carry out our threat against Sparta command?"

"All will turn against us," said General Seng.

"And who is this all?" sneered Yang. "Morgan? I think not. He is too afraid of us and enjoys his luxuries too much. Lal? That's no threat. Deirdre? She is too afraid that we will remember what we did in the past and might be tempted to repeat it.

"Only Lal will sound off, and he will soon recant when he sees how alone he is.

"So should we proceed?"

All nodded their agreement.

Yang dismissed them, asking only Shimoda to remain.

"Yes, Chairman?" he asked, when they were alone.

"With the removal of my old friend, Sand, I need someone to foment the unrest among the old University bases. Preferably an empath. When you capture Weiss and McCullough I want to meet with them. I think a deal can be struck that will be to our mutual advantage - remove the Believer threat internally and drive a stake into the heart of the Spartans."

"It shall be done as you command," replied Shimoda.

[Googlie]

"We have to reawaken him"

Kendra was adamant. "You can't. It might kill him."

"Oh, that's rich. It's almost impossible to die these days," said Marlo.

Realizing the hopelessness of her argument, Kendra asked "How long do you need him for, and in what state?"

"No more than ten minutes, able to speak, and write."

"That'll be tough, but doable."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The level of the gel subsided until I was breathing again, and was able to sit up, although my arms and legs were grotesque caricatures of adult limbs. I listened to what Marlo was saying. Inwardly I grieved for Gavin, denied the retirement he craved, but at peace now, and going out literally with a bang. I fervently hoped he'd taken Sand and Angel with him.

"Marlo, give me the commlink recorder," I said. She handed it to me.

"CEO Morgan. By the authority invested in me by Colonel Santiago and by the Military Junta of the Spartan Federation I insist that you effect an exchange of bases with us. As you know, an ultimatum has been issued by Chairman Yang demanding the return to the control of The Human Hive of Plex Anthill. If you had been able to see the conditions in which their citizens lived you would have been as appalled as I. We cannot return them to Yang's control.

"But neither can we sit idly by and let him reduce Sparta Command to nuclear dust - yet we are powerless to stop his missiles. The only remedy is for us to transfer control of Plex Anthill immediately to you in exchange for one of your bases - Morgan Processing, which is your second smallest and least productive. Of course this exchange will be short lived, until the war with the Hive has been brought to a conclusion.

"We value your friendship and trade, and are confident that this solution will work for the mutual benefit of both our peoples."

I looked at Marlo.

"And it will give our Supreme Commander, Gavin Burge, a base within easy range of Great Clustering. Only you, Basil and I need to know that Gavin is Ashaandi. Let him know we know, but be diplomatic. Let him know we acquiesce as long as our plans converge."

I took the commlink recorder again.

"Chairman Yang. This is Federation Governor Allardyce. Today we transferred control of Plex Anthill to your pact brother, CEO Morgan. In all conscience we could not allow the newly liberated citizens to be subject to the conditions of abject slavery you had subjected them to. I trust that this negates your threat to commit an atrocity against the citizens of Sparta Command.

"As to a cessation of hostilities. As I recall it was Hive troops that opened fire originally. We are always open to your suggestions if you wish to sue for peace."

I snapped the commlink recorder shut.

"Get Morgan onside first, as soon as possible, then transmit to Yang. You've only got a couple of hours at most. Now let me grow my new body in peace."
Marlo leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm on my way," she said, as she and Basil departed.

Kendra came back into the room.

"No more interruptions," she said. "You only need one more week."

The phhtt of the injection was a welcome relief.

[Hydro]

Plex Anthill

*****

The granite-strewn beach at the base of Plex Anthill was awash in blood, but very little movement. The Middle Chiron Sea was quickly washing away the liquid gore, but the thousands of bodies and a multitude of missile launchers and siege guns remained. Silence, except for the crashing surf, filled the Plex Anthill cove.

Victorious but hardly unscathed, the elite rover squadron of the 469th rumbled up the steep incline. The Hive infantry, after losing 2 brigades to the Rolling Thunder rovers and another two to the Aardvarks, had grouped themselves in a defensive cluster in the middle where the strafing and white spheres of chaos death were the least common. It was a last stand.

At this point the Elites burst from the Alpha Sector cargo bay, where they had been waiting for the word. They used up some of their movement and energy reserves crashing down the rocky incline at terrific speed, heedless of the sporadic but increasingly desperate defensive fire from the infantry. Ignoring the fire the group of 10 armored rovers charged on, firing as they went. The concussive fire was merciless on the pathetically grouped troops. First one, then a second, of the great siege guns ruptured and ignited, sending a wide swath of shrapnel in all directions.

As the rovers bounded off of the rocky incline onto the beach the return fire became more accurate. In fact, the rovers were hard to miss. However, the fusion plasma armor rebuffed most of the defensive fire with relative ease. Quickly, the defensive fire waned, and then stopped altogether.

By the time the Elites approached the 500 meters of beach where the infantry had stood all that was left was pulverized rock, and gastly remains. There were very few survivors.

Night was falling, and it would soon be 1400 military time.

A total of 6 Hive missile infantry brigades had been destroyed.

One Hive brigade, however, was missing.

*****

Intruder claxons sounded in Alpha Sector. During a siege that only meant one thing.

Mary didn’t waste a second. She dashed back to the appropriated Delta Sector Fabrication Complex 5 Level 3 where ‘her’ brigade was training on the sometimes-unfamiliar weapons. As she approached she noticed pandemonium. It was not bad pandemonium, however, but good pandemonium.

She looked around in amazement as the hundreds of men and women formed orderly ranks, with their missile rifles and launchers. A few stragglers were struggling to catch up and find their places, but the hole they were moving with efficiency and determination.

At their head was Spartacus. He saw her frenzied approach and raised his right hand. His brigade stopped in relatively good order. He then approached Mary.

“Sir, we are ready for the defense of the liberated Plex Anthill. We all recognized the intruder alarm, and its origin. We wish to fight,” Spartacus said simply.

No civilian, no matter how well trained, could do this in a half a day. This man is Command, and definitely military Mary thought to herself. A shiver passed up her spine. It was uncanny.

“Permission granted.”

Spartacus returned to his position at point and led his troops forward. Mary then went to get her rifle. In what was to come a shredder just wouldn’t do. She noticed Markus in the back by the impromptu armory, which was not much depleted.

“Phenomenal, isn’t it?” he asked.

Mary just nodded in agreement. “Get your weapons. Let’s go.”

*****

Firefights in close quarters are always confusing and messy. But, the advantage usually goes for those who know the terrain. The Plex Brigade knew their terrain well, since it was their home: the choke points, the blast shields, spy cameras (which there were a lot of), and crowd suppression equipment. All was used against the Hive invaders, who knew what to expect, just not when and where.

Within a half hour the invading force of 150 men had been reduced by half, and those were trapped either in the ruined underground Plex Anthill harbor or exposed in the corridors of Alpha Sector Level 3. However, they exacted a fierce price for their eviction. By the time they were finally vanquished over 75% of the Plex Brigade was dead or wounded.

Among the wounded were Markus and Mary. Among the severely wounded was Spartacus.

[Googlie]

“Why my dear Ms. Hollis, why would I want to take possession of a pile of rubble and unexploded munitions in exchange for one of the jewels in our crown of bases? Your Federation Governor Allardyce must consider me a naïve fool to effect an exchange one for one.”

“Then what else would you feel would persuade you of the merits of the deal?” asked Marlo.

CEO Morgan was silent for a moment.

“Throw in the secrets to Fusion Power and Chaos Weaponry and you have a deal.”

Marlo paused. Did she have that authority? Allardyce’s signed proclamation of a State of Emergency in Sparta Command was in her possession, naming her Supreme Commander of the base. Was this type of deal covered by it?

Assuming it was, Marlo said:

“CEO Morgan, we have a deal.”

“Splendid,” he said. My garrison forces will arrive within the hour. I will entrust the governorship and handover negotiations to my son. We may need to call on some of your administrative people to stay for a while to assist in the changeover. I trust that will be satisfactory?”

“Of course,” Marlo replied. “Basil Hargreaves, aide to Federation Governor Allardyce, will fly immediately to Morgan Processing to assume the temporary governorship there on behalf of the Spartan Federation. Within the hour our scientists will transmit the research data you need for us to complete our side of the bargain.”

“Splendid,” said CEO Morgan. “Will you advise Chairman Yang of the new status of Plex Anthill, which by the way we shall rename, or shall I?”

“I would be obliged if you could inform him,” said Marlo. “I have a transmission from Scott Allardyce to send to him, but it would be better if he heard it from you first. I will delay ours for 30 minutes.”

“It shall be done,” said Morgan. “Goodnight and sleep well.”