Six Actual,” Garvin said into the mike, proud that his voice was calm, emotionless. “I shackle XRAY VELDT RANGE, repeat, XRAY VELDT RANGE. Attacked by Musth. All aliens killed. Need immediate medic flight, request Grierson extraction, two heavy hitters and standby reaction company. Musth were evidently part of some spy operation — extensive com gear found.
“We’re in very deep shit now.”
• • •
“Loy Kouro, you may kiss your bride.”
CHAPTER
4
“So here the Musth were, sending whatever reports they were sending,”
Caud
Rao said. “Lord alone knows what data that was, since nobody’s reported seeing any furry guys skulking around since the Musth officially pulled out.
“You come booming through the brush, and naturally, they think the worst and start shooting.”
“Yessir.” Garvin’s eyelids were bouncing together. It was well past dark, and the I&R trainees were either in bed or hospital. “My fault — ”
“Bullshit your fault,” Angara said. “I approved the exercise, and they fired the first shot.
Caud,
I think our
alt
needs sleep more than anything, and this is the fourth time we’ve put him through the wringer. Jaansma, get your ass out of here, and die until you wake up. Don’t pay attention to anything but loud explosions.”
“But …”
“That’s an order. Go. Yoshitaro’s outside, and he’ll point you toward your bunk, maybe hose you off a little first. Now get gone.”
Rao, Angara, and Hedley waited until Jaansma staggered out.
“Now what?” Angara asked.
“Hedley, that’s your department,” Rao informed his Intelligence chief.
“We flipping disperse like we’ve never dispersed before, making as rotten a legion of targets as we can,” Hedley said. “None of the offplanet warning stations detected any transmission from the Musth when the patrol hit them, but they never picked up anything before, either.
“So we’ve got to assume they punched a message through on some unmonitored freq, and if their fuzzy brothers weren’t on their way back to Cumbre with a case of the ass like they promised to have after the ‘Raum War, they surely must be by now.
“Plus let’s not forget Our Friend Redruth has, or had anyway, somebody reporting to him that we’ve never tracked down. So that’s another country to be heard from. Lord knows what the Kurans are going to do, but I think we should assume flipping unpleasantries.”
“Who knows if you’re right,” Rao said, “but we can’t assume you’re wrong, so we’ll move this instant.
“Here’s what we’ll do: Keep Headquarters and Support, less the units I’m going to detach next, here at Mahan, along with I&R Company and their proprietary air. That’ll have to be our reaction force, pissyass though it is. Mahan’s almost completely underground and hardened against anything short of prolonged nuke bombardment, so we should be covered there.
“Pull one infantry company from a regiment and get it across to Mullion Island’s airbase as their security element, plus all pilots who’ve been involved with our hideout fleet.
“First Regiment will disperse to Leggett, somewhere back of the Heights; Second to Aire; Third to Taman City; Fourth to Kerrier. Split up Artillery and Gunship Battalions, plus support, into the usual elements with each regiment so they’re independent. Have them bivvy outside the cities, using what bunkers are available, building more. We’ll run showers and field kitchens out to the regiments. I’ll have PlanGov commandeer some translifters to shuttle the troopies back and forth from the boonies to Mahan in a week or so for some time off.
“We’re screwed if anybody hits us and we have to react quickly in force, but we’ll have to take the chance. I’d rather be spread out than sitting in a big happy pile waiting to get massacreed.
“From now on, no passes, no leaves, one-third on alert. I can hear the troopies scream now.
“Oh yeh. How many of those Musth attack
“We’re in very deep shit now.”
• • •
“Loy Kouro, you may kiss your bride.”
CHAPTER
4
“So here the Musth were, sending whatever reports they were sending,”
Caud
Rao said. “Lord alone knows what data that was, since nobody’s reported seeing any furry guys skulking around since the Musth officially pulled out.
“You come booming through the brush, and naturally, they think the worst and start shooting.”
“Yessir.” Garvin’s eyelids were bouncing together. It was well past dark, and the I&R trainees were either in bed or hospital. “My fault — ”
“Bullshit your fault,” Angara said. “I approved the exercise, and they fired the first shot.
Caud,
I think our
alt
needs sleep more than anything, and this is the fourth time we’ve put him through the wringer. Jaansma, get your ass out of here, and die until you wake up. Don’t pay attention to anything but loud explosions.”
“But …”
“That’s an order. Go. Yoshitaro’s outside, and he’ll point you toward your bunk, maybe hose you off a little first. Now get gone.”
Rao, Angara, and Hedley waited until Jaansma staggered out.
“Now what?” Angara asked.
“Hedley, that’s your department,” Rao informed his Intelligence chief.
“We flipping disperse like we’ve never dispersed before, making as rotten a legion of targets as we can,” Hedley said. “None of the offplanet warning stations detected any transmission from the Musth when the patrol hit them, but they never picked up anything before, either.
“So we’ve got to assume they punched a message through on some unmonitored freq, and if their fuzzy brothers weren’t on their way back to Cumbre with a case of the ass like they promised to have after the ‘Raum War, they surely must be by now.
“Plus let’s not forget Our Friend Redruth has, or had anyway, somebody reporting to him that we’ve never tracked down. So that’s another country to be heard from. Lord knows what the Kurans are going to do, but I think we should assume flipping unpleasantries.”
“Who knows if you’re right,” Rao said, “but we can’t assume you’re wrong, so we’ll move this instant.
“Here’s what we’ll do: Keep Headquarters and Support, less the units I’m going to detach next, here at Mahan, along with I&R Company and their proprietary air. That’ll have to be our reaction force, pissyass though it is. Mahan’s almost completely underground and hardened against anything short of prolonged nuke bombardment, so we should be covered there.
“Pull one infantry company from a regiment and get it across to Mullion Island’s airbase as their security element, plus all pilots who’ve been involved with our hideout fleet.
“First Regiment will disperse to Leggett, somewhere back of the Heights; Second to Aire; Third to Taman City; Fourth to Kerrier. Split up Artillery and Gunship Battalions, plus support, into the usual elements with each regiment so they’re independent. Have them bivvy outside the cities, using what bunkers are available, building more. We’ll run showers and field kitchens out to the regiments. I’ll have PlanGov commandeer some translifters to shuttle the troopies back and forth from the boonies to Mahan in a week or so for some time off.
“We’re screwed if anybody hits us and we have to react quickly in force, but we’ll have to take the chance. I’d rather be spread out than sitting in a big happy pile waiting to get massacreed.
“From now on, no passes, no leaves, one-third on alert. I can hear the troopies scream now.
“Oh yeh. How many of those Musth attack
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