Graham Paul - The battle for Commitment planet

Belasz's outburst had triggered a wave of raw fury that threatened to overwhelm Polk; the last man to talk to him so bluntly was long dead. He regained his self-control with an enormous effort, a tiny grain of common sense telling him that Belasz was not all wrong. "By Kraa, Admiral," he hissed through still-clenched teeth, "you take some chances."

"Some things have to be said, sir," Balasz said, eyes still blazing anger and defiance, "whatever the consequences."

Suddenly the fight went out of Polk. He slumped back into his seat. Belasz had a point, but the problem with the Yamaichi marines was much bigger than the admiral allowed.

Much bigger, so big that it threatened his hold on power.

The fact was that ordinary marines had refused to cooperate with DocSec; the Hammer system had a linchpin, and it was the people's unquestioning acceptance of DocSec's authority. If well-trained and disciplined marines started standing up to DocSec, the foundation on which the entire apparatus of state terror rested was at risk.

That he could not allow. Not now, not ever, not if he wanted the Hammer of Kraa to endure. No matter what Belasz might say. He straightened up in his seat the better to look Belasz right in the face. "I'll forget your insubordination, Admiral… this time. Do not ever presume on my tolerance again. Is that understood?"

"But sir," Belasz protested, "how am-"

"Enough, Admiral, enough!" Polk's voice slashed across Belasz. "Enough or by Kraa…" Polk drew in a huge breath, letting it out in a long, slow sigh. "I take note of your comments concerning the effect of what I think you called DocSec purges."

"Thank you, sir."

"But," Polk continued, "this Yamaichi business is another matter. The arrests of the marine officers responsible for the Branxton debacle must stand, and that includes General Baxter. The old fool stood in front of the entire Defense Council and assured every last one of us that Medusa could not fail, and it did. In any case, I will not compromise DocSec's authority."

Belasz's mouth started to open, then snapped shut. Wise move, Polk said to himself, wise move. "As for the rabble at Yamaichi, there will be no deals with the mutineers, and since you are obviously not convinced that the marines of MARFOR 8 can do the job, I want them replaced by a combined planetary defense and DocSec task force. I expect a detailed briefing on how you plan to retake control of Yamaichi inside twenty-four hours. That is all. You may go."

Belasz sat, his mouth tight in a thin, bloodless line. For a moment, Polk thought he was going to take him on. Just try me, Admiral, he thought, and you'll be joining the commanding general of marines in front of a DocSec firing squad before the day is over. But Belasz's survival instincts must have kicked in; without another word, he stood up and left.

Polk watched him go. Something told him he might be looking for a new man to run the Hammer defense forces rather sooner than he had planned. Saturday, January 26, 2402, UD FLTDETCOMM, Branxton Base, Commitment

"… so there you have it, sir. It's a bit risky, but with a bit of work it's doable."

Captain Adrissa's eyes had long since opened wide in shock and disbelief. "A bit risky?" she sputtered. "A bit risky? You cannot be serious, Michael. What you are suggesting is, is… insane! I cannot order anyone to execute a mission as dangerous as this. I cannot, and I will not."

"You don't have to, sir."

Adrissa snorted. "Volunteers? Is that the answer?" She shook her head. "I don't think so. Nobody will volunteer for this mission unless I ask for volunteers, and I won't. Since I cannot order anyone to carry it out, it's a nonstarter. Sorry, Michael, but that's the way it is. We need to find another way."

"Sorry, sir, but that's not right. You just need one volunteer, and that's me. I dragged everyone into this mess, so I think it's up to me get everyone out."

Adrissa sat back and steepled her fingers. She stared at Michael for a long time. "You're a stubborn little bastard, Helfort; that much is a gold-plated fact," she said at last. "And yes, you did drag everyone into this mess. So tell me. If I don't give this crazy plan of yours the green light, you'll harass and hound me until I do. Am I right?"

"Pretty much, sir, pretty much, but to be serious, I know what I've suggested is risky, but so's being stuck here on Commitment while the Hammers kick the crap out of us for the next ten years. I've only had two days to think the mission through, and I agree with you. As it stands, it's too risky. Give me a week and let me see if I can get the risk down to something you can live with."

"One week."

"I'll also need access to ENCOMM's intelligence knowledge base. I need to know everything they know about the Hammer's ballistic missile and nearspace defenses, and when I say everything, I mean-"

"Everything, got it." Adrissa frowned. "Mmm, that might be a problem. They keep their intel very close to the chest. Leave it to me; I'll see if I can persuade General Vaas to make an exception in your case."

"He'll want to know why, sir."

"He will, but since your plan…" Adrissa paused. Shaking her head, she continued. "Plan? Not even close to being a plan, not yet, anyway. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Since your deranged scheme involves the NRA, I suppose we might as well bite the bullet and tell him what we're thinking. The sooner we get Vaas onside, the better."

"Then I guess I'd better get started, sir. The general will want to see something a bit less, er… adventurous."

Adrissa laughed. "He will, he sure will. Right. You'd better get started. Make sure you don't discuss this with anybody, not even with the lovely Sergeant Helfort, and that's an order."

"Aye, aye, sir. By the way, she's been promoted. It's Lieutenant Helfort now."

Adrissa rolled her eyes. "Oh, for chrissakes, two Lieutenant Helforts! One was bad enough. Go!"

"Sir." Monday, February 11, 2402, UD Sector Juliet, Branxton Base, Commitment

"Hello, spacer. Why so glum?"

"Oh, hi, Kat." Michael pushed his coffee mug around the tabletop. "Oh, the usual. Just got a vidcomm from Anna."

"And let me guess," Sedova said, her face a sympathetic frown. "Your plans for some time together have just been trashed?"

Michael sighed. "Yup. The 120th is going back into the line sooner than she expected."

"I'd heard. Seems General Vaas thinks we've all had enough time to recover, so it's back on the offensive we go."

"So it seems," Michael said. "Must say, I'm surprised. The NRA might have kicked the Hammers back where they came from, but it cost them."

"Yeah, it did, and it shows. We've just been briefed on ENCOMM's plans for the next three months. All small-scale stuff."

"Which begs the question, how-"

"Are they ever going to win this fucking war?" Sedova said with a scowl. "That's the only question that matters to me."

Michael tried not to wince; every time the question was asked-and it was asked a lot-it reminded him that he and he alone was responsible for Sedova's predicament. "That is the question," he said, "and I wish I knew the answer."

"What the hell," Sedova said with a smile. "Did I tell you I'm going to get hitched?"

"You're kidding. No, you didn't."

"Yeah. Next month, hopefully, though the way ENCOMM pushes its units around, it may be the month after."

"Ah, that'd be Trooper Zhu?"

"That's the man. He's with one of the combat engineering regiments."

"Don't know him," Michael said. "But I'm glad, Kat. Very glad." He meant it; if people like Sedova were prepared to make that sort of commitment, then maybe life might not be so bad, after all; maybe he should not feel so guilty. "I hope he makes you happy."

"Thanks." Sedova smacked her coffee mug down with an emphatic bang. "Coffee's the one good thing-no, it's the only good thing to come out of a Hammer canteen," she said, pushing back in her battered chair.