“It… is confused,” admitted a ’Cat lieutenant whose Home regiment could only be discerned by the crest on his rhino pig-leather armor. As the war in the West became less… linear, the Sa’aaran practice of tie-dyeing a kind of camouflage pattern in Army kilts and smocks and the painting of armor had grown almost universal. It made eminent sense, and not only did it simplify production and supply; it made troops harder to see from the air, which was a growing concern. As new supplies came forward, the regional uniforms were steadily being replaced. Even the Marines painted their field armor now, though they insisted on keeping their blue kilts. Blue blended well enough in the dense forest, Pete rationalized, as did the black of Queen Maraan’s regiments, who similarly clung to their traditions-although they also darkened their armor now.
“ How confused?” Pete demanded.
“Well… General Rolak has apparently personally supported Colonel Flynn’s push inland, with elements of General Taa-leen’s First Division and most of the First Battalion, Second Marines, and perhaps some of Colonel Enaak’s Maa-ni-la Cavalry…”
“Goddammit!” Pete seethed almost resignedly, and the lieutenant flinched, but the Army and Marine commander’s wrath was not aimed at him. “Which elements? Flynn was supposed to lead his Rangers and the Second to find that road or path junction-whatever it is-and seize it, then send runners back to show the others the way! You mean Taa-leen and Rolak just… went along? Besides, General Rolak’s a corps commander, not a brigadier! What the hell does he think he’s doing?”
“He is an old warrior ‘marching to the sound of the guns,’ as I think you would say, Gener-aal,” Safir soothed in a softer tone. “He must see some advantage.”
“I know what he’s trying to do,” Pete admitted. “He’s trying to do Flynn ’s job! Well, Flynn knows what to do. Once we control that junction, that goofy Grik berg where Madras should be will be cut off. We need Madras and its port to keep the beans and bullets on the road! I’m not really worried Rolak’ll get in the way, but he does have a real job of his very own, and he’s liable to get his overeager ass killed!” He looked almost pleadingly at Safir. Possibly she alone knew how much Pete counted on the old Aryaalan. “I just wish he wouldn’t go romping off like this,” he added.
For the first time, really, with Hij-Geerki’s aid, some odd but decent captured maps, and aerial reconnaissance, the Allies had a good idea of the geography of their objectives and could finally make strategic plans. They’d spent the last month sucking the vast majority of Grik combatants into South India, and now they meant to cut them off and destroy them before possibly countless reinforcements could be summoned. Their main goal in this, besides killing Grik, was to destroy what Pete suspected was this dangerous new team of Grik leaders. After that, they would establish a temporary defensive perimeter around what they saw as the resource-rich-including iron ore, some coal, and perhaps just as important, a kind of rubber-producing forest-industrial heartland of Grik India. That should oblige what they hoped was some ordinary Grik commander to come at them in the same old way, and they’d bleed him white before resuming offensive operations.
Pete admired Rolak’s guts and initiative; he just wished the wily old warrior would finally come to grips with how important he was and quit taking such spontaneous personal risks. The fact that Pete sometimes did the same thing himself didn’t even enter his thoughts.
“Okay,” he said with a sigh, squinting in the darkness toward where he heard the snuffling and heavy breathing of muzzled me-naaks, or “meanies,” the long-legged, crocodilian, Maa-ni-la Cavalry mounts. “We’ll send runners ahead to drag our… fiery old gentleman back here, where he can resume his proper duties and get this mess squared away.” He looked at Safir. “How’s Second Corps shaping up?”
Safir Maraan flicked her long black tail. “Third Division landed north of Maa-draas, as planned, and moves against the city. I came ashore on the south bank with the Third B’mbaado and Sixth Maa-ni-la Caav. I have, as yet, no idea where Colonel Grisa’s Ninth Aryaal or the First and Third Sular have found themselves, and they, of course, bear the bulk of my aar-tillery.” Somehow, Sularans were natural artillerymen who had an almost instinctive grasp of ballistics. Maybe that was a result of their millennia-long reliance on slings and thrown missiles instead of arrows? There was no telling. Regardless, their regiments were always gun-heavy. Safir suddenly went silent, and they listened for a moment as a furious cannonade abruptly erupted several miles to the north, the booming echoing back at them from the ships offshore.
“Ah,” she said with a predatory grin. “There had been no report, and it never occurred to me that the Sularans might make landfall exactly where they were supposed to! Perhaps, with practice, things grow less confused at last?”
Pete rubbed his neck with relief. Safir was right. After some recent… catastrophes, he always assumed their landings would be botched. But after Alan Letts’s visit, things had improved dramatically, and maybe practice did make perfect. Well, “perfect” was relative, of course…
“Okay.” He gestured around. “But we’ve still got to get this mess squared away, and Rolak should have been here to do it.” Another wave of barges loaded with Surgeon Commander Kathy McCoy’s medical division and hospital corps was hitting the beach, threatening to stack things up even more. Pete growled in frustration and held his watch to one of the lamps. “Third Division is attacking from the north right now. That’ll draw the enemy. In less than an hour, we need to be hitting Madras hard from the south, so let’s get these other guns on the move while we still can. General Maraan, Madras is your nut, so see if you can push things along up the beach. That attack has to go in before the Grik have a chance to get their shit in the sock.”
“And you, General Aalden?” Safir asked.
“I’ll stay here until we round up General Rolak; then I’ll join you. If we can take the city and the crossroads before the end of the day, they’ll never push us out.” Pete looked at Keje. “Sir, I know your bombardment element is already in place, but we have to have that combat air patrol up with the sun, in case our lizardy friends start poking around with zeps to see what the hell we’re up to. I’d also love to know if there’s anything unexpected heading our way on the ground.”
“Of course, General Aalden,” Keje rumbled. “I shall take your hint and return to Salissa.” He nodded at Safir. “May the Maker of all things be with you all.”
CHAPTER 4
Ghaarrichk’k Madurai
Provisional capital of Grik India after the loss of Ceylon
N’galsh, Vice Regent of India and Ceylon, was almost keening with woe in the Speaking Chamber of the ancient temple. He was one of the few beings who knew that the odd stone structure festooned with the curious weathered remnants of unknown creatures carved on nearly every exposed surface actually predated the Grik conquest, which had occurred perhaps five hundred years before, but he cared nothing about that now. General Halik had been intrigued by the structure when he first arrived, and General Niwa assumed a troubled expression. But Halik’s interest had quickly turned to the subject at hand, and now he glared at N’galsh with a loathing he could no longer conceal. He’d had just about enough of the officious, elitist, fear-crazed creature, and wondered that N’galsh had not already turned prey despite his Hij status. It had been a rough day for them all. Why could N’galsh not contain himself?
“They are coming, probably with the dawn!” N’galsh cried. “The world burns. It heaves! They will cross the Ceylon Tongue, and if you do not send more warriors, they will soon have all India as well! You must bring your warriors forward!”
“Silence!” General Halik finally snarled. “You lost any entitlement to make demands of me that your exalted station may once have afforded you, N’galsh, when you abandoned Colombo while the Battle of the Highlands was at its peak! It is you who cost us Ceylon, and you attend me now only at my sufferance!”