Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Spartan Chronicles

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Rynn
    replied
    Double post intercepted by HSA and killed



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

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    Sheng-Ji Yang sat at the head of the table. He placed the palms of his hands flat against the table surface and closed his eyes, reaching inwardly for that special place, that center of his being.

    His high command watched anxiously. Smaller in number than a few hours before, they knew that they were looking right into the eye of the storm. They shifted nervously in their chairs, and looked at each other, accusingly, comrades in arms, mistrustful, yet strangely together.

    Air Marshall Lew. Anticipating the command to turn his airforce against the four rebel bases. He was going to refuse, and that refusal, he knew, may cost him his life. But adamant that he would not give the order. ‘Enough is enough,’ he thought. ‘I wonder if any of the others will back me?’

    General Seng, of Eastern Command. All four rebel bases were in his zone of control. He also was the general in charge of the invasion of Plex Anthill, which had been disastrous, with appalling loss of life. He fully expected to be asked to commit suicide, but was determined to refuse. This war was not of his doing. The expeditionary force that had provoked the fighting in the first place belonged to General Ng, who had been tasked with finding the downed Spartan needlejet and who had managed to inflame a minor incursion into a full scale war that they were in danger of losing.

    General Ng, of Western Command. He was smugly satisfied. Not yet called upon except to provide cannon fodder to Seng, his only blemish was in being blind to the nascent Believer resistance in two of his bases. Not counting the Great Clustering fiasco, of course. But that could be firmly put on Sand’s shoulders, as he had deftly done.

    Admiral Hy. Unscathed. Not yet bloodied by the battle as the expected Spartan invasion fleet had not as yet materialized. Had successfully brought the naval units out from the rebel bases before any damage could be done to the ships, he was serene in the knowledge that he was, for the present, untouchable.

    Chief Science Officer Shimoda. Outwardly calm, yet inwardly terrified. He had just learned of the escape of Weiss and McCullough, and didn’t know if the Chairman knew. If he assumed Yang knew, and referred to it, and Yang hadn’t known, he could pay with his life. However if he assumed Yang didn’t know, and ignored it, and Yang did know, again he could pay with his life. His only ace-in-the-hole was the work he was personally doing in the realm of mind/machine interface which would allow the development of superior new weapons technology in the form of copters. Even Yang didn’t know that he was fairly advanced along this path. Maybe now would be a good time to tell him.

    Sheng-Ji Yang opened his eyes, and let his gaze roam around the table.

    “Tell me,” he said softly, to no-one in particular, “tell me why we are here?”

    The silence lasted well over a minute.

    “Did you not hear me? I asked a question. Must I repeat it?”

    “No, Mr. Chairman,” said Lew finally.

    Yang turned his gaze on the Air Marshall.

    “Then tell me, old friend. Why are we here?”

    Air Marshall Lew stood up and drew in a deep breath as the others secretly sighed in relief.

    “Chairman Yang. Colleagues. We are here because we are in a war we cannot win. We are here because we cannot keep the most elementary control of our own population. We are here because our own pact brother has turned against us. We are here because our own Empath Guild is riddled with defectors. We are here because although we have the largest and most feared fighting machine on planet, our equipment and morale shortcomings, allied with our own ineptness, has rendered us so impotent that we have even lost our ultimate weapon, the Planetbuster, to the Morganites. We are here because we have been finessed out of Plex Anthill, once the most promising of our newer bases. Essentially we are here because we have failed in everything we have set out to do these past months.

    “That is why we are here.”

    He sat down.

    Sheng-Ji Yang steepled his fingers and looked contemplatively at him.

    “Marshall Lew. Your facility for succinctness is admirable. You have echoed my thoughts exactly.”

    The others sat stunned. Where was the explosion of outrage and the hectoring of them to drive them into a frenzy of warfaring? Where was the invective against Morgan and Santiago – or at least against Burge and Allardyce?

    “Since the cease-fire went into effect at Plex Anthill, why have we not offered broad terms of a truce to the Spartan Federation, as suggested by Allardyce in his transmission? Are you waiting for my lead on this?”

    Yang asked the question rhetorically.

    General Seng coughed for attention. All eyes turned towards him.

    “Is Sparta the enemy? Or Morgan?”

    “Well?” asked Yang, looking around.

    Shimoda seized the moment, rising to his feet.

    “Aha, the civilian,” said Yang. “He has an opinion. Let us listen.”

    Coloring slightly, Shimoda began:

    “We cannot afford to fight on two fronts. If we are to retake the rebel bases and reassert control, then we must sue for peace with Sparta. Our resources are stretched to the maximum as it is, and we are falling behind technologically.

    “We intercepted the transmission between CEO Morgan and Marlo Hollis, who seems to have emerged as the strongwoman of the Spartan Federation. The Spartans have passed on to the Morganites the secrets to Fusion Power and Chaos weaponry.”

    There was a gasp from the assembled group.

    Yang stared speculatively at Shimoda.

    “Why have I not been informed of this?” he asked quietly.

    “The transfer of knowledge has not yet taken place, or is currently proceeding. I did not wish to alarm you unduly lest they be only rumors,” replied Shimoda, inclining his head.

    “But let me continue. We need a period of sustained calm while we work on our researches. We are close to a major military breakthrough that will let us leapfrog the others – I refer to research we have labeled ‘mind/machine interface’ which will allow the manufacture and production of a new type of air and ground support craft – the copter. If we can trade for or steal the Chaos weaponry technology, we will have a military advantage until the others catch up.

    “I suggest that we sue for peace with the Spartan Federation, and plan a major invasion of Morgan territory, to capture Morgan Metagenics. It is one of their lesser bases, but it is where they have built the Hunter Seeker Algorithm which would render all our bases immune to further probe attacks.

    “Of course we would have to neutralize the PlanetBuster at Communal Nexus. That will be a job for the Air Force in conjunction with the infantry.

    “I have taken the liberty of preparing a missive to the Spartan Junta.”

    Shimoda sat down and activated his console.

    The screen at the far end lit up.

    Chairman Yang was surprised to see himself on the screen, and even more surprised to hear himself say:

    "Your forces are formidable, members of the Sparta Junta, and I see I was unwise to test your patience. Allow me to pledge Blood Truce and make amends."

    Even the expressions on his face and the ways he used his hands were genuine.

    He looked over speculatively at Shimoda.

    “Be careful what words you put into my mouth,” he said. “You may live to regret them.”

    To the assembled group he said:

    “And what do you think of our Chief Science Officer’s suggestion?”

    They shifted uncomfortable in their seats, wishing that Yang would reveal his hand before asking them to commit.

    Finally Marshall Lew spoke up:

    “I agree with Shimoda. Let us sue for peace.”

    Yang looked around the room. One by one they nodded their agreement.

    His face impassive, he turned to Shimoda.

    “Send the message.”

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    Kurt was gently stroking Shauna’s hair as she slept, her eyelids flickering intermittently as she dreamt. Kurt was following the dream with a half mind, keeping the neural barriers intact with the other. He smiled fondly down at her.

    How beautiful she looked, so serene, so untroubled, and her dream was pleasant too, uncluttered and uncompromising. The dreams of innocence and youth. ‘God I love this girl,’ he thought.

    He heard a commotion on the landing outside Shauna’s small apartment, but daren’t expand his consciousness lest the searchers find him.

    There was a muffled explosion outside, and suddenly the door was kicked in and two Hive troopers burst into the room, their shredders at the ready. Behind them strolled a figure that Kurt recognized. He recoiled in horror, instinctively tightening his grip protectively around Shauna, who woke up.

    “You,” Kurt said, aghast.

    “The same,” said the figure, doffing his cap. His head was shaven, and the scars from the operation were still visible like a crown around his scalp.

    “It took three days and countless operations to reverse the nervestapling, but now I’m newer and stronger,” said Bert, Kurt’s old companion.

    “How did you find us?” asked Kurt. “My block was impenetrable.”

    “Too good,” said Bert. “In fact, that’s how we found you. Our neural broadcast net only encountered two barriers, so they had to be you two. You were like a black beacon ‘shining’ in the light – we simply followed the blackness until we found you. Not difficult, really.”

    He looked down at Shauna, who was snuggling into Kurt for protection.

    “Pretty little piece you’ve got there,” he said. “Pity we’re under instructions to deliver you unharmed to the Chairman himself. I’d enjoy getting better acquainted with her. Shauna, eh?” Bert leered down at her.

    “But no time to chat. Get dressed and let’s go. We haven’t got all day.”

    He stood to one side with the two guards as Kurt got up from the cot.

    “At least have the decency to wait outside while we get dressed,” he said to Bert imploringly.

    “Fat chance,” Bert replied. “No touch is the rule, but no-one said anything about not watching. Get up Miss.” He gestured his shredder pistol at Shauna.

    She reached out with her mind, to Bert’s, and read his lascivious desire as if it were a book in front of her.

    She flashed a thought to Kurt, still erecting his barrier seize the moment when it presents itself - take the guards

    Focussing on Bert’s desire, she pushed back the coverlet from the bed, and sat up.

    His eyes hungrily followed her every move.

    Shauna swung her legs over the side of the bed and languorously stood up and stretched, turning round to give Bert a full frontal view of her nakedness.

    “Is this what you want to see?” she asked

    Bert drooled, and the two Hive troopers watched in suspended disbelief.

    “Or this?” she asked, running her hands from her waist up to her breasts and cupping them in each hand, squeezing slightly until her nipples were erect.

    Bert’s desire was palpable.

    “Maybe you’d like to see me use my vibrator,” she purred. “I’ll get it.”

    Bert’s jaw dropped as she turned to the small table by her cot and opened the drawer. The sweat was dripping down his face as he anticipated the show he was about to see. The two troopers were goggle eyed.

    Shauna reached into the drawer, and whipped out her personal shredder pistol. In one movement she raised it to Bert’s temple and fired. His head exploded in a pulpy mass of flesh and gore and electronic wiring from his implants.

    Simultaneously Kurt reached out with his mind to the two troopers, engaging them in a vice like grip of thought control.

    With horrified eyes, aware of what they were doing, yet unable to resist, they each raised their shredders, pointing to the other, and fired.

    Their bodies crumpled to the floor.

    “Get dressed and let’s get out of here,” said Kurt.

    Within minutes they had exited the apartment block, on the run.

    “What now?” Shauna asked.

    “I don’t know,” replied Kurt. “Stowaway maybe. Let’s try the docks. Maybe a cargo out. Or else go to the Hive itself – they’ll never think of looking for us there.”

    “The docks,” said Shauna. “I know some Believer longshoremen.”

    They headed to the docks.

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    Kurt knew that they were in deep trouble, maybe even in over their heads.

    Sleep was out of the question – at least for both of them together. One always would have to be awake, inside the mind of the sleeping other, keeping the neural block functioning. He could sense them even now,at the fringes of his consciousness, in the middle of the night, as he sat watch while Shauna slept.

    Their message was insidious and repetitive.

    Shauna…..Kurt… We know you are in The Leaders’ Horde. Contact us. We know of your involvement at Laborers’ Throng. You were under the influence of the Spartan operative, Miles Cavenaugh. You are not to blame.

    We want to strike a deal with you that will let you fulfil your aspirations of a free Believer society while at the same time perform a great service for your adopted faction, the Human Hive.

    Contact us, we are ready. We are waiting. We want to talk with you. Chairman Yang wants to meet with you. You have a destiny in the annals of the Hive that will be heroic.


    Kurt steeled his mind, and threw the protective mental shroud over Shauna.

    He worried about his turn to sleep.

    Sure, he had tutored Shauna in the short time since they first sensed the empaths – and she was a fast learner, but her talent was raw. And she was a reader, with strong divining skills with an immense ability to penetrate minds and read their flow as well as to map out future paths based on the probabilities of these minds spawning actions. Her neural defenses were weak.

    Kurt on the other hand was trained, a projector and compellor. His ability was to force his will on others, to thought control them, and he was trained well by the guild. His compulsion abilities were what had attracted the attention of the Mindworm Brigade, and also that had made him a prime candidate as a controller when miles became available. Plus he had the headset, which amplified his talents by a factor exceeding ten.

    He closed his mind to the whisperings and watched Shauna.

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

    Pang Chow-Lai sat in the needlejet taking him to Great Clustering. This latest news was disquieting.

    Due to the single-mindedness of the Chairman, all Empath Guild members were engaged in the effort to find and turn Shauna and Kurt, with the result that any effort they could have brought to bear on the four subverted bases was nil. Not that they could have saved all four, but surely two could have had their resolve strengthened by timely interventions of empaths.

    And Shimoda’s news was bleak. Sand, his old mentor, was to be executed at dawn, which would be 3.00 local time, or in about five hours from now. Pang was a member of the Circle, a deep plant, instructed to work from within. He had been recruited by Angel, with whom he had had a tempestuous affair, before her sadism had turned him off. He had learned how to thought control her, to tame her excesses, but much of her spontaneity had been lost so their relationship withered.

    Now he was going to try and effect Sand’s rescue, and maybe even Angel’s, if she still was alive.

    It would be a dangerous end game.

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

    Sand sat in his cell in Great Clustering, pondering the message he had received. He knew it had to be a message, as he hadn’t thought of the incident for many years, and suddenly the thought had come unbidden into his head.

    Matteus

    He pondered. Who had sent it to him – obviously an empath, but who – and for what purpose.

    Matteus had been his loyal servant who had willingly died for him these decades ago when googlie had flamed him at the foot of the Council steps They’d been waiting – Allardyce, Burge and St James – in ambush as he descended from a clandestine meeting with Santiago. As he reached the foot of the steps, they’d emerged from behind the colonnades, Allardyce firing while Burge and St James guarded his back.

    Matteus had been waiting too, and when the firing commenced, in the confusion, he’d thrown himself in front of the flamegun, allowing a badly charred Sand to escape while Googlie still vented his wrath on the smoldering corpse at his feet. Charred to a nothingness, they had then fled, and Sand had vowed his revenge on all three.

    But an empath knew, and was suggesting a means of escape using the same tactic, Sand surmised. But who?

    So his “death” at the hands of a firing squad would actually be some other poor unfortunate’s death, and he would be spirited away to continue the fight. An empath would have to be involved – a compellor – so that the squad and the Governor would believe him to have been executed. And a victim was necessary as the holocams would be recording everything for Yang’s subsequent review. The victim would be heavily bandaged – as Sand was – so the deception would not be difficult. The body would need to be burned, of course.

    And what of Angel? The last he had seen of her had been when the medics took him to the garrison hospital – her body had been lying across the console she had been working at when the core blew. Could she be behind this? Hard to believe. It had to be the Circle.

    He sat back and waited.

    Leave a comment:


  • Hydro
    replied
    Worker’s Nest

    *****

    “MOR-GAN, MOR-GAN, MOR-GAN” many of the crowd that filled the streets were chanting.

    The Gaians, free of the Yang’s Punishment Sphere and Nerve Clipping for the first time in 20 years, were jubilant. Some even mentioned that they would have welcomed any liberator, even the fanatical Miriam, if she still lived.

    Hive Administrator Ferris figured prominently in the celebrations. As the prime inquisitor for the Hive at Worker’s Nest, he was the most hated and was eagerly sought after. His ‘interrogation’ by the Gaians had lasted for hours and his mangled corpse now hung on a gibbet at the blasted ferrocrete ruins of the Punishment Sphere.

    Andreas’ operatives, who had engineered the chaos, were more practical, however. This was not a time for celebrations, for the entire weight of Yang’s military industrial complex was a mere stone’s throw away. A defense of the three liberated Gaian cities had to be created, and fast.

    Luckily, each of the cities contained the weapons and armor, and logistical support system, for two brigades. The loyal Yang supporters were weeded out and generally killed as ‘war criminals’, and those with known (as opposed to recently found) Gaian sympathies were retained and promoted. Eager, if green, recruits were easily identified. Within a day or so the specs for new fusion plasma armor would come through, and all units would be retrofitted. Offensive chaos weaponry would come later, perhaps much later.

    After that, the strategy was simple: put almost all the available forces forward in Paradise Swarming, which would bear the brunt of the Hive counter attack. All other production would be turned toward defensive and anti-aircraft armaments. Then, hide behind the Hive perimeter defense Yang had been kind enough to create.

    Surveying the happy throng, the Morganic probe team just let them celebrate. The cruel realities would come soon enough. Likely, it would come too soon, and be too cruel for the Gaians to contemplate.

    Then again, the Gaians had lived under the tender mercies of Yang for 20 years. They knew perfectly well what fates awaited them. If they failed then they would die, and be free of Yang at last. If they succeeded then they had a chance at a real life that none of them ever dreamed could be possible.

    For the first time in 20years the long-lost Gaians had in their possession the rarest of commodities: hope.

    Leave a comment:


  • Googlie
    replied
    Hargreaves walked into Marlo’s office and dropped a letter on her desk. She looked up quizically.

    “From St. James. Enclosing one putatively from Santiago. Arrived for Googlie a few minutes ago. You need to read it and evaluate how much you tell Burge/Ashaandi when you two meet.

    “I’m off to Morgan Processing in a few minutes, but before I go you’ll need Allardyce’s access codes. I’ve brought the transfer block.”

    He pulled out the small package and activated the controls. He pressed his thumb into one of the recesses, then held it out to Marlo, who pressed her thumb into the matching recess. The bioscan recorded the unique signature of each.

    He then passed it before one eye, the soft laser conducting the retinal scan, then passed it to Marlo who did likewise.

    “Good luck”, he said, preparing to leave.

    Just then Marlo’s assistant entered.

    “Breaking news”, she said. “Four Hive bases have revolted and just declared themselves to be Morgan followers. Worker’s Nest, Hole of Aspiration, Paradise Swarming, and Communal Nexus. The Hive is in an uproar.”

    “I’ll bet,” said Hargreaves. “And Morgan will need to get garrison troops in quickly to these four bases as Yang won’t take this lying down. Maybe we should think about gifting some units to them. Anyway, I must dash. I’ll commlink you on my arrival in Morgan Processing in a few hours. And get some sleep – you look awful.”

    Marlo stuck out her tongue at him as he left.

    Her assistant, Jennifer, coughed discretely.

    “What now?” Marlo asked. “More news?”

    “Not exactly,” she replied. But you should probably address the local population. They’re still leaving in droves after Yang’s broadcast and clogging up all the exits from the city. The garrison troops and police are doing the best they can, but if the danger is past then they need to return to their homes.”

    “Good point,” Marlo said. “Set it up. I need to find Burge as well. Has anyone seen him?”

    “Not recently in Sparta Command,” Jennifer said. “I’ll ask around. Meanwhile I’ll set up the broadcast. Give me ten minutes.”

    Jennifer left to make the arrangements.

    ‘Bloody hell,’ thought Marlo. ‘I’m running the whole shebang. Corrie’d be proud of me. Hell, Corrie. I forgot about the letter from St. James.’

    She opened the letter and read the Colonel’s message to Salvador.

    ‘Hmmm. The plot thickens,’ she thought. ‘It's trust Sand now. As well as Ashaandi. Hmmm.’



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

    Leave a comment:


  • Hydro
    replied
    Morgan Industries

    *****

    Morgan Senior entered the Tactical Operations room, which hadn’t been used in over 20 years. Using the Tacs meant that Morgan Industries was on a war footing. And the last time the Morganites had been at war was during the near extermination of the Gaians over 20 years ago.

    The room was dimly lit and had over 10 elaborate holo grids to display lining the walls. In the center was the main grid, which also served as a meeting table for the 15 or so ministers and generals it could seat. At this time only five, including Morgan, were present. That is all that could be quickly located after Yang’s extremely unpleasant pronouncement less than 25 minutes ago.

    Morgan motioned for the slim entourage to be seated. Present were his Interior Minister, his Finance Minister, and a very junior Military Minister. At Morgan’s side was Paul Andreas, his Director of Security. When found at all, he could be found at Morgan’s side. All of his ministers were obviously agitated.

    Morgan remained standing. Without preamble he started.

    “I have just spoken with Ms Marlo Hollis of the Spartan Federation and initiated at trade, at great profit to us, of Morgan Processing for Plex Anthill. We will have to deal with the political ramifications of the trade at a later date. Yang, of course, will be coldly furious and will demand this base from us after the trade has taken place. This, however, is a minor issue, for I no longer care if I anger Yang.

    “You have all heard the news. Yang has, and is threatening to use, a Planet Buster. Now we know where the energy Yang extorted from us went: he has used it to crash build his planet buster. Our intelligence estimated Yang was at least half a year away from completion of this dread device. So, once again, we have been the instrument of Yang’s power.

    “This is the biggest threat to us and humanity in the history of humans on Chiron. He can not be allowed to have, much less use, this weapon of mass destruction. He is paranoid enough to use it and weapons like it against enemies or even ‘friends’ who do not comply with his delusional wishes.

    “To counter this threat, I will initiate Scorched Earth.”

    His ministers quit fidgeting. They knew some vague outlines of what this program was, but no details. It involved committing the Morganites to total war against the Hive, and depleting most of their significant economic and scanty military resources in one, hopefully fatal, strike.

    “Paul, an update please.”

    Paul rose from his chair.

    “Thanks to our integrated datalinks due to our alliance with the Hive, we are able to easily locate most of Yang’s forces when they are not en route. Of critical importance, Yang’s Planet Buster is now located in Communal Nexus, just off our coast. Yang knows we know of its location. This is his attempt to both divert whatever plots the Spartans have cooking and to intimidate us.

    “The crucial elements of Scorched Earth are our operatives and energy reserves. Our energy reserves are ample, even after Yang’s extortion. Currently, we have 2 teams in Spartan territory, 2 in Peacekeeper territory, none in Gaian lands and 11 ‘trade delegations’ in Hive territory. Interestingly, part of our work has been done for us. Spontaneous riots have broken out in Laborer’s Throng, Manufacturing Warrens, and Great Clustering within the last hour. More seem likely. It is highly unlikely that the Spartans or Peacekeepers are behind all these closely timed periods of civil unrest. It is equally unlikely that they are truly spontaneous, given Yang’s police state. There is no other explanation for this than Yang’s own Ashandi.”

    Paul paused for effect. Even Morgan was riveted at the implications.

    “At low cost we will instigate riots and then turn the Hive cities of Worker’s Nest, Hole of Aspiration, and Paradise Swarming. These are all former Gaian cities, and are not yet assimilated and are therefore relatively easy marks. Our primary target, however, is Command Nexus. Within the hour we will subvert this city, whatever the cost. Then the Planet Buster will be ours.”

    *****

    Even before Morgan had called his emergency meeting he had initiated Scorched Earth. Well-planned riots started all over the Hive. Between the riots started by Morgan operatives and the ‘spontaneous’ riots, fully one third of all Hive bases were in chaos. Some of the rioters ‘found’ conveniently located arms caches. The security officials and troops at these cities found themselves inexplicably locked in their buildings or otherwise incapacitated or hamstrung by inoperative computer systems. The result was official gridlock, chaos, looting, revenge killings, and victory for the insurgents.

    By 9:00 midnight four Hive cities raised the Morgan flag: Worker’s Nest, Hole of Aspiration, Paradise Swarming, and Communal Nexus.

    Leave a comment:


  • Googlie
    replied
    “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.”

    Leave a comment:


  • Hydro
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Googlie
    replied
    "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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Googlie
    replied
    "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).]

    Leave a comment:


  • Paula Forbes
    replied
    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?"

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Rynn
    replied
    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…………."

    Leave a comment:

Working...
X