Star Fortress ds-6 Page 12

  Premen made such pathetic soldiers. Only in mass like a horde of lemmings did they present danger. Once more, Sulla shook his head, driving out extraneous thoughts. The robot attempted to outmaneuver and kill him.

  Just as my enemies attempt to outmaneuver me, hoping that I make a fatal mistake.

  Sulla shifted to the left. The robot paused, and a tread spun, rotating the machine. It would kill him here in the chamber if it could. Sulla never used the lower settings. That would be a mistake of the first order. You practiced at the same level you wished to fight. How otherwise could you hone your instincts to maximum efficiency?

  “Come, little death,” he told the robot. “See if you can match the greatest fighting Highborn of all.”

  A blue light blinked on the robot, indicating the beginning of a shutdown.

  Sulla began to relax, although he was angered. Who dared to tamper with the fighting machine or interrupt his exercise?

  As the blue “shutoff” light continued to blink, the robot’s treads spun as it advanced at speed. The whippy stalks moved like an octopus’s limbs, with the knife poised in back for a killing blow.

  Sulla bellowed with rage. Here was base trickery. Then a knob struck his thigh. Another hit a rib with enough power to crack a preman’s bones. A third—Sulla’s gauntleted hand caught the mechanical stalk and yanked savagely, ripping it out of the machine. Bits of metal went flying, skipping across the floor. He took a blow to the back of the head. That staggered him, and the knife flashed. He barely twisted in time, taking a stab in his shoulder muscle instead of his throat. With a bound, he retreated, circling the treacherous robot.

  The fighting machine rotated, and the blue light blinked more rapidly. It seemed like an act of mockery now.

  Sulla’s eyes narrowed. Whoever had tampered with the robot had just done him a favor. He would not forget the lesson. He even had enemies aboard ship.

  Spitting at the robot, Sulla took a Shaolin stance. He had never used the ancient Kung-fu technique against the fighting machines. The robot would run a quick analysis on it now, giving him a second. Sulla attacked. He took a blow to the shoulder and another one on his thigh. A red weal had already appeared from a previous strike. The robot’s knife-arm struck, and he grabbed the stalk just below the blade. A mongoose couldn’t have done better against a cobra. Sulla ripped the stalk out of the machine, removing its most dangerous weapon. He jumped back, pivoted and backpedaled.

  His thigh throbbed, so did his rib and blood-dripping shoulder. Those were good hurts, however. They told him he was alive.

  Lately, the cyborgs had put the Highborn on the defensive and the premen had regained conquered territory on Earth. South American Sector was gone in terms of industry and life. During the planet-wrecker attack, North American Sector had rebelled and rejoined Social Unity. The reason the war went poorly was clear—the Highborn had lost their edge and waited for others to attack. It was time to show the Solar System the Highborn fist.

  The blue light on the robot had turned off. Now it blinked again. Sulla pretended to relax. The robot’s treads spun, and the fighting machine lurched closer. Sulla stood transfixed as if surprised. The stalks whipped, and Sulla attacked by moving forward. As the knobs struck, he delivered five hammering blows against the chassis. It smoked as circuits shorted-out, and the pummeling arms fell limply to the chamber’s floor.

  That was how you obliterated your enemy, by going in and finishing it, delivering harder blows than you received. It was time to speak with the other high commanders and convince them of this elemental truth.

  * * *

  A day later, Admiral Sulla sat in his chamber. His cut shoulder was still sore, but he had used quick-healing agents to speed the process. The agents repaired his tissues faster than they could have done naturally. Some Highborn disliked Quick-heal and said prolonged usage began to affect one’s judgment. Sulla’s reply was that being wounded and weak affected one’s judgment even more. He was strong and thus attacked his problems head-on as a vigorous warrior should.

  Sulla made himself comfortable in the chair. Behind him on the wall was a neural whip, two cestuses and a gyroc pistol. He believed it symbolized his fighting prowess, his willingness to fight any foe one-on-one anywhere, knowing he would always be victorious as the superior soldier.

  A red light blinked on his screen. It showed him that the other two admirals on their Doom Stars were ready. There was Admiral Scipio, a tall, retiring Highborn known for his ability to work with the premen. It was a somewhat embarrassing trait, but useful as long as the cyborgs represented a threat. The other was Admiral Cato. He had moved up into Cassius’s vacated chair aboard the Julius Caesar. Cato was stern and taciturn, and was probably more concerned with consolidating his new position than moving on the great enemy at Neptune. Lastly, there was Commandant Maximus, the fourth highest ranked Highborn, having maintained his post at the Sun-Works Factory for several years. It was surprising he hadn’t tried to gain command of a Doom Star. It was odd, in fact. What lay behind it?

  Sulla shook his head. He would have to think about it later. The four-way meeting was about to begin.

  * * *

  MAXIMUS: I shall begin since the time lag is the worst for me. I have read Admiral Sulla’s opinion. It is convincing. We should attack Neptune and burnout the cyborg home base. One cannot win a war while remaining on the defensive. However, there are several considerations to keep in mind. One, the news from the Jupiter System is grim. The cyborgs have launched eight planet-wreckers from Uranus. It means the cyborgs control Neptune, Saturn and Uranus and will likely conquer or destroy the Jupiter System in short order.

  SCIPIO: The Jovians have begun defensive preparations. I have read the reports. They possess two mobile asteroids. It is possible they will defeat the Uranus planet-wreckers just as we defeated the Saturn-launched wreckers.

  SULLA: I disagree. The Jovians have a paltry fleet. It cannot compare to our armada and to your strategic use of the Earth’s farm habitats.

  SCIPIO: The premen worked hard on the old habitats, aiding us during the emergency.

  SULLA: They worked hard under Highborn guidance and forethought. It is inconceivable they could have done anything less. Otherwise, they would have faced our wrath.

  SCIPIO: In light of the cyborg menace, I have reassessed our use of the preman. While it is truth that they are smaller, weaker—

  SULLA: And less courageous.

  SCIPIO: It takes courage to continue fighting against their superiors.

  SULLA: You mistake mulish stubbornness for courage. They are too foolish to understand their shortcomings.

  SCIPIO: Whatever the cause, they fight to the bitter end.

  CATO: Gentlemen, the Commandant’s message is incoming.

  MAXIMUS: I’m not sure this four-way conference will work. The time lag for me is too great. Because of that, let me finish my statement and then I will listen to your arguments, responding only when requested.

  The cyborgs presently control the majority of the Outer Planets. If—or should I say—when we destroy their outposts on Neptune, we will have to finish them off in the Saturn and Uranus Systems and possibility in the Jupiter System as well. I am convinced that the cyborgs have used up their strategic assets in Saturn and Uranus Systems. A careful study of the planet-wreckers and data from the first Cyborg Assault against the Jovians leads me to believe they cannibalized conquered vessels and military stores in order to construct the planet-wreckers. Given the time needed to build large warships—often three to four years—it seems unlikely that they can launch newly constructed fleets from those bases in the near future. Therefore, we must strike now before they can consolidate their gains and build larger warships.

  SCIPIO: You speak with the strategic wisdom of Grand Admiral Cassius.

  SULLA: Are we agreed then?

  SCIPIO: Agreed to what?

  SULLA: An immediate and massive assault on the Neptune System.

  SCIPIO: In theory, it ap
pears to be a sound idea.

  SULLA: It is a sound idea.

  SCIPIO: There are many variables that we need to consider first.

  SULLA: I cannot think of any.

  SCIPIO: I will number the obvious ones then. As we attack Neptune, the cyborgs might launch another attack upon the Inner Planets.

  SULLA: Didn’t you just agree to Maximus’s analysis? The cyborgs do not possess the means to mount another large-scale assault.

  SCIPIO: What if the cyborgs launch stealth fleets from Neptune, Saturn and Uranus? Even given that they are small fleets, they could converge at Mars perhaps, moving on to attack Earth with a substantial fleet—substantial at least in terms of the warships left around Earth.

  SULLA: I do not win my combat matches by fearing my enemy’s moves. I attack and make him fear my moves.

  SCIPIO: You raise an interesting point. Do cyborgs fear? If so, how can we tell? Frankly, I doubt they fear to any appreciable degree.

  SULLA: (shouting) They will fear as we smash their circuits and pulp their flesh! They will howl in agony as we laser their habitats and send nuclear missiles onto their moons! They will gnash their teeth as we crush them out of existence!

  SCIPIO: Contain yourself, Admiral Sulla. I can hear you quite well.

  SULLA: Then tell me if you can hear this. I challenge you to a—

  CATO: Gentleman! We are the admirals and the cyborgs are our enemies. Let us focus our resolve and fighting skills against them, not against each other.

  SULLA: I am used to respect and will accept nothing less.

  CATO: We are not matched on the wrestling mats or in the fighting ring. We are the strategic team that must forge our strategy. We must outperform the greatest conqueror to date—Grand Admiral Cassius.

  SULLA: He led us to victory for a time.

  CATO: We were mere fighting slaves for the premen until Cassius showed us the way to greatness.

  SULLA: Enough about Cassius. As you said before, we have a war to run. We should stick to that.

  SCIPIO: Yes, a war and a feasible strategy. Since you didn’t like my first one, let me offer you a different quandary. What if during our absence, the cyborgs drop a thousand nuclear bombs on Earth? Here is another possibility. What if during our journey to Neptune, the preman re-conquer Antarctica and Australian Sectors?

  SULLA: I will answer the second first. We must force the preman warships to go with us to Neptune. This should be easy to achieve, since they have already agreed to it.

  SCIPIO: That solves one dilemma, but leaves Inner Planets open to any hidden cyborg fleet. The present crises in the Jupiter System shows us the distinct possibility that the cyborgs have stealth vessels where we are unable to spot them.

  SULLA: You have stated your fear. Now how would you solve it?

  SCIPIO: It is not a fear, but a strategic possibility. The answer, however, is simple: We should leave a Doom Star behind in the Earth System.

  SULLA: No! That was Cassius’s mistake in the Third Battle for Mars. He didn’t attack with the full preponderance of his force. He lost a Doom Star because of it.

  SCIPIO: We will have Social Unity’s battleships with us in lieu of the third Doom Star.

  SULLA: I cannot believe a Highborn speaks these words. You equate warships under preman control as being as excellent as a Doom Star?

  SCIPIO: I am growing tired of your continuous slander, Admiral Sulla.

  SULLA: (laughs) Tell me this, Admiral, which Doom Star do you recommend stays behind?

  SCIPIO: We must arrive at our decision logically and consider the sensibilities of our allies.

  SULLA: I hope you do not mean that we pamper the premen.

  SCIPIO: We use them. We trick them as we have been doing. Obviously, it is easier to trick them when they have a feeling of trust. They will not trust you, an Ultraist.

  SULLA: But you are their friend?

  SCIPIO: I’ve worked with them in the past and we achieved a level of success. It is logical, therefore, that they would trust me more than any other Highborn.

  SULLA: What do you other commanders think? Is this not rankest cowardice we hear? Admiral Scipio fears to face the cyborgs at Neptune.

  SCIPIO: I have warned you once already, Admiral Sulla. I spit on your slurs.

  SULLA: Do you challenge me to individual combat then? I will accept any manner of fighting that you decide.

  CATO: Admirals, we must unite. The cyborgs have all but conquered the Outer Planets. They have heavily damaged Earth, the greatest industrial prize in the Solar System. Admiral Scipio, I do not believe it is wise to travel to Neptune with two Doom Stars. The cyborgs are clever fighters. We must destroy them totally and with massive force. I submit we use every Doom Star and SU warship in our possession. War is a risk. Now we must take acceptable risks to annihilate our great foe.

  SCIPIO: How does it help us to burnout Neptune System but lose our base and the majority of the Highborn? Those on the Sun-Works Factory, in and around Venus and Earth, and on Luna Base—

  SULLA: There is your answer. Luna Base helps defend Earth. Up to this point, we have not subdued Eurasia. I do not believe the cyborgs could succeed where we have failed until now.

  SCIPIO: They just showed us how to destroy Earth: with planet-wreckers.

  MAXIMUS: I have the answer.

  CATO: I suggest we wait for the Commandant’s words.

  SCIPIO: Yes. I will wait.

  SULLA: Speak, sir, we attend you.

  (Several minutes of unintelligible whispering follow.)

  MAXIMUS: The Grand Admiral initiated several secret projects. Here at the Sun-Works Factory we are hard at work on them. Cassius believed that superior technology often achieved victory quicker and with less causalities. The collapsium plating on each of your Doom Stars is one of technologies that will give us the Solar System. Another is a long-distance beam, much like the Beamship Bangladesh employed against this station.

  SULLA: My…confederates have heard of a new distance beam. Can you tell us more about this technology?

  MAXIMUS: We are several months away from deployment. Once in place, it will prove to be a powerful defensive weapon, particularly of the Sun-Works Factory. As long as we hold the Mercury System, we can regain any lost territories on Venus, Earth and those already lost on Mars. In the event of the appearance of a large cyborg stealth fleet during the Doom Stars’ absence, I recommend a complete Highborn pullback to the Sun-Works Factory. Then, on the return of the Doom Stars, our conquest shall resume.

  SCIPIO: What if during our absence, the cyborgs launch more planet-wreckers against Earth or Venus?

  SULLA: Didn’t you hear the Commandant? The Highborn will regroup on the Sun-Works Factory, thereby maintaining our numbers and weapons systems. Meanwhile, the cyborgs will be eliminating premen for us.

  SCIPIO: And destroying our industrial basin.

  SULLA: The Sun-Works Factory is our home base, not any of the planets, including Earth. Gentlemen, this is a war of extinction. We must eliminate the cyborgs before they kill us. Let us accept terrible loses for the privilege of annihilating our enemies. Once the cyborgs and premen are gone, we will have won everything. Then we can rebuild at our leisure, the victors of a genocidal campaign.

  CATO: I agree in the first principle: we must attack and destroy the cyborgs. The obvious place to start is Neptune.

  SULLA: You are a true Highborn, Admiral Cato. Your courage is inspiring.

  SCIPIO: Grand Admiral Cassius spoke to me before about unity of command. The cyborgs have it. We…have excellent soldiers but often our high commanders are too combative. Even though I have endured slanders and slurs here today, in the greater interest of Highborn victory, I will concur with the majority instead of basking in a feud. However, I will only agree if Commandant Maximus believes likewise.

  MAXIMUS: I agree with Admiral Sulla. It is time to speak with the premen, gather their warships and set out for Neptune no less than two or three weeks from now. We have rearmed and ret
ooled our Doom Stars. Now let us finish the fight in true Highborn style.

  SCIPIO: As I said a moment ago, in the interests of unity, I will concur, although I have my doubts. The cyborgs are cleverer than we are giving them credit for.

  SULLA: (grudgingly) You may be right, Admiral Scipio. They are clever, but we are the Highborn, and our fighting prowess will trump their stealthy moves as we ram our armada down their throats.

  -12-

  On Earth, in Athens, in the detention center, a man shook Marten Kluge awake.

  Marten sat up in his cell. He’d been here for three days already. They’d separated him from his wife, Osadar and from the Jovian marines.

  Commissar Cleon stood before him. The cell door was open, and outside stood a guard of red-suited peacekeepers.

  A cold feeling filled Marten. He debated lunging at the commissar, trying for his gun. The peacekeepers would shoot him, but at least he’d go down fighting.

  “You’re about to escape captivity, Force-Leader,” Cleon said gravely.

  Marten blinked several times, unsure of what he’d just heard. He felt groggy, as if it was still night. “What did you say?”

  Commissar Cleon removed a computer scroll from under his left arm. Kneeling on the floor, rolling it open, he touched the screen. A political map of Europe appeared, filled with red and green colors of various shades.

  “It’s chaos,” Cleon declared. “More European sectors are declaring for Backus every day. Italia Sector has strongly sided with the director, together with Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Hungary and Slovakia Sectors. Romania and Moldova Sectors therefore are isolated.”

  Except for the last two, the named sectors were red-colored. The last two were green.

  “Romania and Moldova Sectors have sided with Cone?” Marten asked.

  “They have little choice,” Cleon said. “The Sixth Army is stationed throughout them. As you can see, Ukraine and Belarus Sectors are for Backus. They block you from reaching the Moscow launch-sites.”