Jim Troup on the left: “I’ve got enemy troops heading your way, sir, regimental strength at least.
“Fuck,” Marek muttered under his breath. Jack Winton was standing a few meters away, up against the fence. He was mostly trying to help organize the escaping prisoners, but also looking inside, hoping against hope he’d see his missing daughter crawl through the breach. “Jack, I need your help. We’ve got to get everybody out of here. Now! We’ve got major enemy forces inbound.”
Winton turned to face Marek. “Got it, John.” He walked down the line of troops, focusing on the veterans, the ones most likely to respond, trying desperately to help bring some order to the pulsating mass of troops and civilians. In the dark, in the excitement and urgency of the moment he missed her. Maybe 25 meters away, screaming into the deafening roar of the crowd and waving her arms trying to get his attention, Jill Winton got swept away again, deeper into the mob, away from her father, away from rescue.
“Aaron, you need to withdraw now.” Marek was calling the officers in command of the other wings.
“We’re getting the better of this exchange, John. I think we can…”
“Aaron, just obey my orders!” Marek was pissed. He knew he shouldn’t have to explain himself, but he was a long way from Carson’s World and his hardcore veterans. “We have massive enemy reinforcements inbound. We need to get out before we’re trapped.” He paused, turning to take a look at Winton’s progress. “We’re in deep shit here, Aaron. I’m counting on you to get as many people back to the evac area as you can. We’ve got civilians streaming back. Get your people moving and take charge in the rear.”
“Got it, sir.” Then, after a brief pause: “You can count on me, John.”
He was pretty sure he’d gotten through to Davis. He’s a good man, Marek thought, as long as he controls his anger. For better or worse, he was in charge of the rear. “God, I wish I had Anton back there,” he muttered to himself. Then he dove into the throng to help get his people out of the trap.
Chapter 13
Cain embraced Jax in the landing bay. “God, it’s good to see you, you big oaf.” Cain was fairly tall and broadly built, but Jax was a giant towering over him. “It’s been too long, far too long.” They’d served together for years, but Cain hadn’t seen Jax since he’d left Carson’s World after the final battle there. They’d exchanged a few communications, but staying in touch across the lightyears wasn’t easy.
“Isn’t it insubordinate for a colonel to hug a general?” Jax was normally a fairly “by the book” Marine, far more so than Cain. But he and Erik went way back – they’d been the same rank at times, different at others, but that had never mattered between them. Besides, formalities seemed misplaced in the current situation. Their whole world was changing rapidly; both could feel it, though neither knew just what was happening yet.
Cain had tried to get to Arcadia to see Will Thompson, but he’d found it a lot more difficult than he’d expected. It was hard enough just getting off Atlantia. The planet had been as much a powderkeg as any of the colony worlds, and in the three weeks Erik and Sarah had been out on the Cape, things had gotten considerably worse.
New Federal edicts were met with mass protests, and soon the planet was paralyzed, commerce and transportation at a virtual standstill. There hadn’t been any violence yet when Erik and Sarah were finally able to get a shuttle to the orbital station, at least nothing serious. But he was sure it was only a matter of time.
Having finally gotten off Atlantia and aboard a ship bound for Arcadia, Cain figured the rest of the trip would be easy. But when they entered the Wolf 359 system, they found the planet Arcadia quarantined and blockaded by a naval squadron. Their ship was turned back, and even Cain’s insistence that he be allowed to land and go to the Academy was refused, despite his strenuous attempt to use his rank to put force behind the request. His efforts to contact the Academy or Will were unsuccessful; all communications in and out were blocked, subject to approval, Cain was told, of the military governor.
After leaving Wolf 359, their ship went to Armstrong. There they got General Holm’s message to come to Columbia, along with orders from Admiral Compton allowing them to commandeer a naval vessel to bring them there immediately. Cain wondered how Holm and Compton had found him, but as he was about to find out, they’d had a bit of help from an unlikely source.
“Darius!” Sarah Linden stepped off the shuttle, and Jax was the first person she saw, not surprising since he was 10 centimeters taller than anyone else in the bay. “She ran over and threw her arms around him. “You look great. I do good work, don’t I?” Jax had been seriously wounded in the fighting on Carson’s World, and Sarah had tended to him personally. The last time she’d seen him he’d been up and around, but still limping along on a cane.
“You are without question the best.” She almost disappeared as he wrapped his huge arms around her. “I will recommend you to all my friends who walk into enemy fire and get shot to pieces.” He looked over at Cain. “She’s a much better hugger than you, Erik.”
“Do you have a hug for me too?” General Elias Holm rounded the corner and walked into the bay. On the collar of his neatly-pressed uniform were four platinum stars, the last one the spoils of the victory on Carson’s World. He smiled as Sarah trotted over and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Good enough?” She looked up at him and grinned.
“Even better.” He smiled back at her then turned to face Erik. “Well, if it isn’t Brigadier General Erik Cain.” He walked over and extended his hand. “Why don’t you spare me one of those horrendous salutes and we’ll just shake hands.” Erik was a veteran Marine and a great leader, but his sloppy salutes were semi-legendary among those with whom he’d served.
Cain walked over and grasped Holm’s hand. “It’s good to see you, sir.” His voice was emotional – it had been three years since he’d seen Holm. The general had been more than a commander to Erik; he was a mentor, a friend, a father figure. Other than Sarah, Elias Holm had been the most influential person in Cain’s life.
“It’s good to see you too, Erik.” He put his hand on Cain’s arm as they shook warmly. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, but right now Admiral Compton is waiting for us in the conference room.” He looked around, glancing briefly at each of them. “There is a lot going on, and we need to get you up to speed. So if you’ll all follow me.”
He turned and walked down the corridor, Jax, Cain, and Sarah following silently behind. None of them had ever been on one of the Yorktown Class behemoths, and they couldn’t help but look around in wonder. Erik had thought the battalion assault ships like the Pendragon were big, but the Bunker Hill was more than twice the length and six times the tonnage. She and the other Yorktown Class ships were the biggest vessels ever built by man, though there were rumors the Martian Confederation was working on something even larger.
They took a ship’s car to the admiral’s conference room, which was over a kilometer from the landing bay, and walked through a door flanked by two Marines in full dress uniform. The Marines serving as security on navy ships were part of the Corps, officially detached for naval service. It was considered a backwater posting within the Corps, but overall the system worked well, and the shipboard Marines had a strong record of service.
The conference room was huge, far larger than anything of the sort Cain had ever seen on a ship. Real estate was tight on a spaceship, but the Bunker Hill had been built to be a fleet flagship, and the designers managed to allocate enough space to give the admiral a good-sized briefing room.