--
Солнце светит, но не греет.
Garrett squinted into the distance. Storm clouds were gathering in the east. A cold wind was blowing from the north. The rebels were being pushed back in the south. Since the air cavalry had arrived and the Retale planetary defense had been mobilized the counterinsurgency was proceeding smoothly. The few DSC on the planet when the uprising began were initially overwhelmed (as, Garrett remembered, had happened to him two weeks ago) and pushed back all the way to the Caroe Islands, the border between North and South. Then the Retalan planetary defense was scrambled and the rebels had been in retreat ever since. Garrett, as the highest ranking officer, was the head of all military operations on Retale. Today, he led a troop of mixed DSC and Retalan troops, heading eastwards.
He stood at the height of a hill, staring out at a vast, empty landscape. The countryside was hills and valleys all the way down to the eastern ocean. He lowered the binocs and looked over his shoulder at the mountains he and his troops had spent the previous day climbing. Turning back around, he set his hands on his hips and took in a deep breath. The wind whipped around his scarf, but his uniform kept him warm. His sword clattered against his pant leg. He started down the hill, back towards the village.
Garrett and his portion of the RPD alongside his DSC soldiers had been on a blitz for the past week, but nearly 300 hours of nonstop advances would tire out even the hardest marines. Today, they rested. They had set up camp in and around a small South Retalan village. The village itself was a beauty, a picturesque little item built around a river. Farm plots dotted the surrounding countryside. In South Retale, this was one of the two types of settlements you found. The other half was densely populated industrial sectors filled with sprawling factories. Garrett preferred the rural kind, but it was soon to be an endangered species.
The DSC had set up a few of its tents inside the village, but the majority were back west of it. Mostly a tactical move, so that they could fortify the town to defend themselves in case the enemy counterattacked. Of course, the residents would not be pleased, but then again this town had pledged loyalty to the DSC when Garrett’s company had pushed the South Retalan rebels out.
RPD strolled eastwards through the village as Garrett strolled west. Few civilians walked the narrow, cobblestone streets. On his way back to the DSC encampment, Garrett ran a mental check – Keyhearth and Beybluff and Leminster and Alswold (where he was now), and the next town on the list was Caulfield, South Retale.
--
Caulfield, South Retale. A helicopter passed overhead.
Jay started out of sleep, awoken by the sound of two explosions, seemingly just outside of his accommodation. Throwing on a ragged tee and some grey cargo pants he exited his tent to the sight of two DSC helicopters speeding a couple of meters above his head. Looking further up, he witnessed something quite peculiar.
Two of the three DSC ships, a frigate and a Battlecruiser, that had been in Retale’s orbit for the past two weeks were warping out of the system, their drives tearing into the fourth dimension and sucking them into it. He was brought back down to earth as something behind him exploded.
“Confederacy’s a-comin’!” Jay heard Grey-hair yell from somewhere.
Quickly he broke into a sprint, heading at full speed towards his Space Wasp, parked just behind another larger ship. He was relieved to see it in one piece.
More DSC helicopters flew by, these ones bearing the insignia of the Retalan planetary defense. Jay traced their origin to the west, from the town of Caulfield. The trailer park was east, “behind” the town. In the month he had been here much had changed, most notably the South Retalan rebels that had moved into the park some six days ago. They had demanded a tithe from every resident of the park for their “protection” by the new Free State of South Retale. Jay had paid them his last R$50. Now they would have to follow through on their promise. If the DSC won the town Jay and everyone in the trailer park would be arrested and their possessions confiscated. Jay had no intention of staying.
He popped on his goggles and was about to enter his ship when a burst of gunfire broke out and a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He twisted and first saw the three rebel soldiers, then, further back over Caulfield, DSC marines fast roping down from a hovering helicopter. The rebels had their faces up to their eyes covered with scarves portraying the new South Retalan flag – a solid green background, with the flag of the DSC split in two in the center. They were wearing flak vests and pants looted from DSC soldiers, and each carried their own rifle.
“Hey.” Said the one with his hand on Jay’s shoulder.
“H-hey.” Jay muttered back. The two men shifted to block Jay from the back.
“Why aren’t you on the barricades? Caulfield’s under attack.” A helicopter hovered, a mechanical voice reading out instructions to get down onto the ground, hands on your head. Jay saw rebels running west through the trailer park to defend Caulfield.
“I’m not from here. I want to leave.”
“You’re in South Retale, it’s your duty to defend it.” The rebel in front let his hand off Jay’s shoulder as the two behind Jay clasped him firmly in theirs. The helicopter’s voice droned on. He could hear the shouts and gunfire as rebels clashed with DSC and RPD inside the town.
“I’m not from here. I have to leave.” Jay said, wriggling. “You should probably leave too.”
The rebel in front of Jay was about to say something when the helicopter hovering above them opened fire. The first burst of bullets hit one of the rebels holding Jay from behind. Jay twisted away from the other rebel’s loosening grip. Jay leapt at the rebel in front, the one who had grabbed him as he reached for something in his left pocket. Jay twisted once more, bringing an elbow around to his temple. The helicopter flew by overhead, spitting out fire as it flew. As he climbed into the Wasp, Jay saw Fat-man and Gold-glasses ducked for cover behind a pile of scrap metal.
Inside the Space Wasp, Jay gunned the engines as fast as their failing turbines would allow them. Looking to the west, he saw nothing but columns of DSC moving through the streets of Caulfield, with helicopters and even a few tanks backing them up. He rotated himself to the east, the sun gleaming off the hull of the Wasp. As he turned to the cosmos, the space was clear, unobstructed by the now gone DSC ships. He knew that one frigate was still in orbit, but it was nowhere in sight. Jay took his chances. He flew off from Retale’s surface just as the first DSC troops poured into the trailer park.
---
The hum of the DSCS-GANYMEDE bathed Weston in warm vibrations as he moved through its halls. The cabin lights cast a blue glow, giving the hallways an almost ethereal ambiance. Weston, having served on the Ganymede for quite some time, had gotten used to it, but the new recruits often found themselves wandering aimlessly in circles around the serpentine passages. As he walked past a viewscreen he paused, looking over at the lazy movement of clouds above the oceans of Retale. The spring this year was an exceptionally nice one, with constant high pressure over the continents. South Retale was exceptionally nice this year, despite being an unending source of strife. Well, perhaps unending wasn’t the most accurate term. He’d heard that the DSC, supported by the Retalan planetary defense was to capture Stronach within the day. Of course, days here were long, so that still left plenty of time for bloodshed.
Besides the sluggishly rotating planet, the skies were empty. The light frigate DSCS-IO and Battlecruiser DSCS-LIVERPOOL had warped out of the system yesterday, responding to a Wheel attack on the planet of Andyal, just beside the DSC-aligned, but largely independent world of Kaisari. Weston briefly recalled hearing about another DSC Battlecruiser dispatched to Kaisari recently.
The briefing room was nearby, and was filling up as Weston arrived. It was a small room in the style of and amphitheatre, with five rows rising up as they went further back. At the center stood a podium, reserved for the ship’s Captain. Ganymede’s captain, a miserly fellow named Takewontson took the podium. Weston sat at the center of the third row.
The briefing was a plan of action for the Ganymede’s next few weeks. As soon as Stronach was taken, the Ganymede would move out to support (if necessary) the DSC at Andyal. The Battlecruiser DSCS-PRETORIA was engaged against Wheel of unknown designation at the time, and the DSCS-IO and DSCS-LIVERPOOL would arrive soon, as you all should know. The carrier DSCS-PORTUGAL should arrive soon to pick up the DSC troops on the planet, as Stronach has just been taken.
The briefing room broke out into a brief clap. A talkative second lieutenant, Samuel, with whom Weston often ate lunch, asked for some details. The captain explained that after the death of Brigadier General Sidlis in Keyhearth, Colonel Garrett Scott came in charge of the DSC and allied planetary defenses on Retale. He took Caulfield yesterday, then continued his blitzkrieg straight southwest to Stronach. His forces had taken it about an hour ago. More claps from the assembled masses. South Retale was now firmly under the control of the DSC and would be governed exclusively by it. North Retale would retain its autonomy under Governor Breton. Anyway, said the Captain, back on track. The Wheel has also stepped up border raids on other worlds on the Outer Rim of the DSC and has been moving into various independent worlds in between Wheel-controlled and DSC-controlled areas.
The briefing continued for another half hour. On his way out Samuel caught Weston in the hallway.
“Man, the way the captain talked about Colonel Scott makes him sound like a damn Superhero.” Weston didn’t really know of the Colonel or his exploits, so he just shrugged.
“You know he was leading the mission to catch that scavenger? The ‘search for the bunker-class fighter’?”
Now, Weston perked up. Samuel began to walk and Weston walked alongside him.
“No, I haven’t heard about that. What’s the deal?”
“Well, yeah, he knew the guy was on Retale, and- He stole a Wheel battery, by the way, that’s why they’re after him- Anyway, uh, he knew he was on Retale, and started a planet-wide search. Next thing you know, civil war breaks out and he’s called off to lead the troops. Now, a whole month later, he’s taking this town of Caulfield, right, that the captain mentioned? Then, vroom!” The second lieutenant made a take-off motion with his hand. “Bunker class fighter flies off right above him. He’s only got helicopters that are no good for space flight. And get this, the Liverpool? It was supposed to be watching the planet for that bunker class fighter. Too bad though, because it’s gone! You’d think this Scott guy would have organized this better, but he’s not really in control of anything.”
Weston was surprised, but concealed his emotions. This was the first he had heard about this. Weston had been told that the DSC presence on the planet was due to the civil unrest, not because of the search for a scavenger named Jay.
“Why didn’t we catch him, then, when he left the planet yesterday? Where’s he gone?” Weston asked.
“Shit, I dunno where he’s gone. Probably to another outer rim world, where neither the Wheel nor the DSC got much presence. Why didn’t we catch him? Hah hah, he’s a clever guy. We’re in geostationary orbit, we stay still relative to ourselves but we don’t stay in one spot over the planet. Like, weather satellites, they’re in geosynchronous orbit, which means they’re always over the same spot relative to the planet, so they always know the weather at that one place. Anyway, I don’t know if it was luck or whatever, but he took off at the time when we were smack dab over the other end of Retale. Took off in the opposite direction. But Scott’s been reassigned to the hunt, now that this whole rebellion business is over.”
Weston was troubled. He moved back through the Ganymede’s halls, second lieutenant Samuel sharing with him his thoughts on the weather, the arrest of magistrate Atter, and the looming war between the DSC and the Wheel. Weston smiled and was silent, his thoughts swirling around inside his head.
