Элизабет Мун - Into the Fire

“So—how are you going to convince the government officials to leave—and where will you take them? And what about the damage the attackers will do to the buildings?”

“The buildings are less important than the people and the data—data transfer needs to start today. I need to talk to the President and the Council today without telling them more than they need to know. And we need to convince Kvannis that our plan is his plan because I—the idiot from outer space—can’t think of anything else. So we’re going to act as if that plan is our plan. There will be drills. We’ll get those buses, load ’em up, drive over there, and have cadets march around. We’ve got two small airfields—who’s reliable in AirDefense, do you think?”

“Well… there’s Basil Orniakos, but your aunt the Rector had a feud with him last spring. I’ve heard rumors he’s gone over to the rebels, but I don’t believe it. He was in my class here, and it’s my belief he’s rock-solid loyal, but could be pretending to defect.”

“AirDefense faculty here?”

Laurent looked down, frowning. “I can’t be sure. I don’t want to accuse anyone unfairly—”

Ky let out an exasperated hiss. “Colonel, I have to trust someone, and I’ve decided to trust you. So let’s deal with the loyalty due fellow officers as subordinate to the loyalty due Slotter Key as a whole. Is there anyone on the AirDefense track here that you trust unequivocally?”

“No,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Commander Vinima made… comments during the time you were in Miksland that indicated his lack of respect for former Commandant Burleson and his adherence to Kvannis. His second, I believe, transferred to the Academy when Vinima became chair of the department.”

“Then I will get in touch with Orniakos, through proper channels.”

“And the rest of your plan?”

“Remove the human and data targets, and appear to be following the old plan, in order to lure the opposing force into a trap.”

“There’ll be damage…”

“To structures. Which can be rebuilt. If we have the right combination of weaponry, damage will be confined to the government corridor, but evacuating the closest buildings would be a good idea.”

“That might actually work,” Laurent said. “But you still need to find a secure place for the President and the others.”

“I need staff,” Ky said. The plan was crystallizing now, and she could almost see how the parts would mesh. “We’ll need three different groups to pull this off. Command structure for each.” She felt the familiar excitement, energizing. “I’ll want your recommendations for the main group, and your support when I tackle Joint Services HQ.”

“It’ll take me the rest of the day—”

“Fine. I’ll see the President and the Rector. Keep in mind that this new plan is not for anyone else. No one, as this point, but you and me.”

“Yes, Commandant. But what about General Molosay?”

“I will inform him in person, but not via any communications device.” And not yet, she thought. They would be lucky if they had ten days, extremely lucky if something delayed Kvannis twenty days. She wished every meteorological and mechanical disaster on him and his forces.

By midnight, when she finally got to bed, Ky had talked to President Saranife, the Rector of Defense, and the few others she felt she must inform. She had a list for the next day’s calls as well. Colonel Laurent had prepared an organizational chart for the operation she’d outlined and they’d spent a couple of hours after supper refining it.

The next day Ky informed the entire faculty that the Academy’s traditional duty of protecting the seat of government might be called on, and advised them to be ready for sudden schedule changes.

“You mean someone might actually invade the city? Who?”

“Dissident elements of the military,” Ky said. “Possibly led by the former Commandant—”

“Are you sure he wasn’t abducted?”

“Yes,” Ky said. “We have evidence that he was plotting to overthrow the government and dissolve the union, restoring at least one southern continent to political independence.”

“That’s ridiculous; they can’t possibly expect to win.”

“Be that as it may,” Ky said, “General Molosay told me that in his opinion an attack is possible, and that the Academy would be expected to follow Emergency Orders Local and protect at least the two most important government buildings, Government House and the Presidential Palace. The Joint Services Headquarters expects to be fully engaged as well, so this is our problem, like it or not. Plans for this have been drawn up, as you know, and yearly drills held—”

“But nobody ever seriously expected an invasion to come—those plans were just an exercise for the seniors in Land Forces to learn from,” Major Parker said. “If it’s really an attack—” He glanced at Colonel Laurent.

“Colonel Laurent has already explained the plan’s shortcomings,” Ky said. “General Molosay has agreed to transfer a unit of combat engineers and their equipment; the President has agreed—reluctantly—that we can create some defensive barriers in the public gardens. That will start tomorrow; it will take most of the day to move the equipment into the city. I expect you to prepare the upper-division cadets for this, and avoid panic.”

“Do you know when the attack might come?” asked Colonel Dagon, chair of the AirDefense department.

“Not yet,” Ky said. “General Molosay’s assessment has been forwarded to your desks.” An assessment she had edited, with his permission, to mislead those faculty members who were part of the conspiracy. “It’s proving difficult to detect suspicious troop movements and concentrations due to the winter weather.” That much was true.

“I still think it’s a stupid plan,” said Commander Seagle, chair of Spaceforce division. “It’s a rectangle of relatively low buildings and open ground, and you’re proposing to build earthworks? The only sensible thing to do is evacuate the government—to space, for example, where these rebels can’t get at them—and wipe ’em out when they show up. One or two drone-mounted smart bombs would do it.” Seagle leaned back in his seat with the air of someone who had just said the obvious to a roomful of idiots and expected admiring applause.

“The President will not agree to that,” Ky said. “She feels that abandoning the Palace will be seen as abdication.”

“Well, she’s—” He stopped himself with obvious effort, and subsided, scowling.

“We’re going to have to go with what we already have. Colonel Laurent and I are working on more detailed plans. All cadets will participate in some of the drills we’ll be holding, but only the two upper classes will be part of the defense force should an attack come. I realize this will disrupt the usual class schedule, but our orders take precedence. At this time, cadets will be informed of the possibility of attack, and that drills will occur, but nothing more.”

Over the next ten days, Ky dealt with the Port Major city council and its agencies, none of whom were thrilled to have large construction machinery making dents in city streets and inconveniencing traffic… with the Port Authority, which resisted military “interference” tagging communications with incoming and departing ships… with the commanders of both the small AirDefense bases nearest the city… with a steady stream of questions, orders, revisions of orders, from the Joint Services Headquarters… and with the usual work of a Commandant.

She had seen Rafe only three times since his return, and Stella not at all, though she had talked to both of them daily, mostly about business. Rafe, Rodney, and Teague had moved back into the Vatta house, ostensibly to supervise the repairs. Ky trusted their intel reports more than those from Molosay’s office.