Merkiaari Wars: 03 - Operation Oracle Read online

  “So she has feared blindness her entire life. Is she phobic?”

  “I’m no medic, sir, but I would say yes.”

  “Hmmm. This might be a problem,” Burgton said. “If she’s given up, she’s of no use to me. Don’t look at me like that!” Burgton snapped and Gina’s face cleared. “I don’t mean to abandon her. You promised and I will honour that promise, but there are more ways to skin a cat... forgive the pun. Shima could go to any core world for treatment. She doesn’t need me for that.”

  “But... okay, I can see that. Are we to be just a taxi then?”

  “That remains to be seen. I’m expecting quite a reception committee when we make planet fall at Zuleika, but I doubt any of them will see Shima purely as a friend. I want you to be that friend and advise her, but in the end, this is about more than a promise to one Shan female, Gina. It’s the true beginning of our dealings with the Shan.”

  “By ours you mean the Alliance?” Gina asked, but she had a feeling he meant something more personal.

  “The Alliance certainly. The regiment is part of the Alliance, but I was thinking more along the lines of the regiment and by extension Snakeholme. I’m hoping to turn your personal promise to one needy person into something more substantial and official. To be blunt, I need Shima on Snakeholme, or Shan at least.”

  “Need her. Need her why, for what?”

  “Study.”

  Gina didn’t like the sound of that. “She has fought for us—”

  Burgton stopped her with a raised hand. “Nothing invasive. To fix her eyes we’ll need to do a full medical work up. Regen needs data at the DNA level, but even if we can’t use regen, there are other options.

  “Gina, you’ve heard how infallible I am? How I’m always right, how I predict events?”

  She blinked at the seeming subject change. “Well, yes sir, but—”

  “But you’re not a believer. Good for you. You’re right of course. I make mistakes, hopefully not too many, but there is some truth to the stories. I run constant simulations and programs, trying to predict events. Some in my head, some under the mountain on Snakeholme. They’ve kept the regiment ahead of the game until recently.”

  “But now there are new factors, sir? Like the Shan,” Gina said finally catching on. “You need to understand how they’ll change things.”

  “Correct. I predicted a fresh Merki incursion to hit the Alliance within five years, but here we are fighting them years early. Not only that, errors have been slipping into my calculations for a few years now. Nothing disastrous yet, but my ability to predict matters is being seriously tested. Too many variables.”

  The regiment had relied upon the General to know what to do for centuries. Its numbers had been kept low by Council edict, and because of that, Burgton couldn’t simply station vipers on every world that might need them. He’d had to keep the regiment consolidated and ready to move out from Snakeholme, and to do that, he’d had to be right about where to send them and what to do when they got there.

  “I’m assuming this isn’t to become general knowledge,” Gina said.

  “Correct again. I might bring Shima into our confidence later. It depends. For now, we’re meeting Professor Wilder and whoever is with him at Zuleika for a conference. From there we visit Shima to see what her plans are.”

  Gina nodded.

  The shuttle hit atmosphere not five minutes later, and Gina tightened her safety harness. Burgton didn’t bother she noticed, and wondered how many times he had made planet fall in his life. Must be many thousands of times by now. She must have made close to a thousand herself, not including hot drops. This one was smooth in comparison to a combat insertion in a dropship. She didn’t need the harness, but it was habit to use it. A good one.

  The pilot was Victorious crew, and he was good. He brought them into Zuleika Spaceport and landed his ship like a civilian shuttle full of tourists. No fuss no muss, and nary a bump. They reached the end of the runway and turned around to taxi to the parking area. Burgton stood and prepared to leave when they heard the pilot powering down his engines. Gina took the lead to open the hatch and lower the ramp for him.

  A gust of wind blew into the cabin and with it rain. Nice. Gina was wearing her battle dress blacks without armour, as was the General. Neither of them had thought to bring wet weather gear. Burgton stepped passed her without pause as if unaware of the weather. He wasn’t of course, but he was uncaring of it. Gina sighed and prepared for a drenching.

  Burgton reached the ground and went to a sprint taking Gina by surprise, but she went to max for a short burst just a few seconds behind him, and caught up. She was a MkIV, a newer and quicker model than Burgton’s MkI. She would never call herself better than the General, but she did have a higher top speed and acceleration. They slowed and reached the welcoming committee drenched, but together as if welded shoulder to shoulder.

  The welcoming committee awaited them just inside the terminal building, using it for shelter. One of the Shan held the glass doors open and gestured Gina inside. Her thoughts flashed back to the first time she had entered through this door. It had been her first night on Child of Harmony, and her first combat drop as a viper. Her platoon had been tasked with taking this building away from the Merki. A lot of firsts that night. Her first casualty happened here. Chrissie Roberts died true dead, and proved vipers were not invincible. She hadn’t even had time to make her first Merkiaari kill.

  Gina forced her thoughts back to the present as Burgton spoke with the Shan. She found the only other Human face and grinned as he came forward. Professor James Wilder took her hand for a shake but then pulled her into a hug. She laughed as his attempt to lift her off her feet barely took her weight off her toes. Vipers were heavy; they had a lot of metal armour coating their bones. She waited for him to give up and then lifted him—a much taller figure that from appearances weighed considerably more than she—easily and spun him around. He laughed as she put him back where she found him.

  “Good to see you safe, Gina,” James said. “You know Varya of course.”

  Gina nodded at the Shan scout who had accompanied her and Shima on the rescue mission that had led to Shima’s blindness. “Good to see you again, Varya. May you live in harmony.” Varya raised a paw and Gina pressed her hand to it in the Shan form of a handshake. “What are you doing here?”

  “Pleased I am, you come safe through fighting,” Varya said in English.

  “Hey!” Gina said smiling in delight. “That was really good, Varya. You’ve been practicing your English.” She switched to Shan. “I’m so glad you’re here and safe. I heard they sent you looking for stray Merki. Find any?”

  Varya replied in Shan. “Yes, not as many as we fought at Charlie Epsilon, but enough to keep my team busy. All finished now.”

  Gina nodded. “Glad to hear that.” She turned her attention to James. “It’s good to see you, James. It’s been a while. Where’s Brenda?”

  “She stayed behind today. This is some weather, huh?”

  Gina nodded. “Should have brought my rain cape.”

  James shook his head. “I’ve seen this before. We used to use these micro bursts as cover to get in position to ambush the Merki in the city. They don’t like rain much. It will pass in a few minutes. It’s not even raining a klick down the road.”

  “Huh,” Gina said and watched the General talking with the Shan for a moment. “You know what this is all about?”

  “Politics,” Varya said and spat dryly to the side, his whiskers drew down as if scenting something a week dead. “Elders and Tei get involved in warrior caste business and turn everything into a big debate.”

  Politics? That wasn’t her understanding, Gina mused. She wondered if the General had forgotten to mention it, or whether he was about to be blindsided. How did a simple promise to a blinded friend turn into a high-level political brouhaha?

  “Shima isn’t warrior caste,” Gina said. “Scientist caste I think she said once.”

  “T
rue spoken,” Varya agreed. “But the Blind Hunter is... sort of. It’s hard to explain, Gina. Heroes in our culture are a special case. I am not the right person to explain it, but as I am here, I will try.

  “Is it a truth with Humans that warriors lead warriors, and elders lead elders, and scientists lead scientists?”

  Gina nodded. “Broadly speaking, yes. We don’t have elders as you think of them. We have politicians, but yes they debate amongst themselves like your elders and decisions are made.”

  Varya flicked his ears in agreement. “Then perhaps this will make some sense. I know Humans do not have a clan-that-is-not, but if you did, it would probably be no different to ours. Tei cross all boundaries but are never elders. By tradition, Tei are separate. They are...” Varya paused trying to think of the right words. “This isn’t exactly right, Gina. My people know this instinctively, but Tei are separate but equal to the elders... but not... not in charge? No that isn’t right either. Tei lead, but they don’t say where they are to lead us. Does this make any sense to you?”

  Gina shook her head but James was nodding.

  “I have spent a lot of time with Tei’Varyk, Gina,” James said. “I think what Varya is trying to say is that although the Elders and the Tei both lead their people, they do it separately and in a different manner. Tei lead by example from the front. They literally lead by doing it themselves. They are living examples of what should be done. The elders are more like the Council. They decide policy. As a people, the Shan go in the direction the elders decide is the right one, but how they get there is more in the realm of Tei and individual choice.”

  “Yes! Yes that is right,” Varya said evidently relieved. “There are Tei in every clan and caste, but heroes are always warriors. You understand that heroes are made through their actions in battle, so warriors you see?”

  Gina nodded.

  “We do not make war except against Merki,” Varya went on. “Without the war there would be no heroes at all, and most only become heroes by dying in battle.”

  “Dead heroes are always easier to find,” James murmured.

  Gina smiled. “And some would say dead heroes are more convenient.”

  Varya blinked rapidly. “That is something very close to a warrior saying of my people. There are no old bold warriors, just dead heroes.”

  Gina grinned. “Ha! So heroes are a special case. What does that mean for Shima?”

  “It means, that everyone wants a piece of her,” James said grimly. “The elders have an interest in anything their people find interesting. The Blind Hunter is a hot topic among Shan. Heroes are admired and people want to know everything about them. Tei want to control her—anything she says or does could have significance to those who wish to emulate her. Warriors admire her. They would follow her into battle if it were still possible. They think of her as one of them despite being scientist caste. Then there is her family, clan, and caste to think of. I’m not surprised she hides in her garden.”

  “She should be Tei,” Varya said. “All know that she is strong in the Harmonies. If not for her poor sight, she would have been invited when she became an adult and chose her caste. Many of my people disapprove of how Tei treated her in the past.”

  Gina pursed her lips in thought. Would Tei’Shima have an easier time of it than plain old Shima? Probably, if only in the way people treated her. As Tei, she could simply tell them all to bugger off and leave her alone. Everyone would comply... well, Shan would at least, Gina mused. She didn’t think the General would though. He had outside pressures pushing him to use Shima in his plans for the Alliance. Gina wondered what Shima would say if told of those plans. She frowned as ideas started forming. Shima was scientist caste before she was anything else. Inquisitive didn’t begin to describe her. Offering Shima a chance to learn something new was akin to offering a starving man a gourmet meal.

  “The General said you’ve visited with Shima.”

  James nodded. “She’s living in her father’s house with Chailen and Sharn. She’s not doing well. You remember what she used to be like, fierce and ready for anything?”

  Gina nodded.

  “She’s like a different person now. Very quiet, no energy. Spends her time mostly sitting in her garden. I’m no psychiatrist, but if she were Human I’d have her on suicide watch.”

  Varya didn’t agree with James, but neither did he disagree. He didn’t look happy.

  “Shit, that bad?” Gina whispered. “You really think she would do it?”

  “I think so. She’s Shan not Human, so I could be reading her all wrong, but I don’t think so. If not for Chailen and Sharn, I think she might have found a way to end things already. Walked into the wilds maybe. Shan used to do that, you know? When they considered themselves a burden upon the clan, they would leave and challenge some wild animal to a last hunt and die fighting.”

  “It is different now,” Varya said. “Our healers gained much knowledge from science and research during the years following the first alien war, and many diseases were eradicated. We are healthier and more robust even when aged, but James is not wrong about Shima. She believes that she is a burden upon her sib and her mate. My people have a duty to family and clan to be of use. In days past the old or infirm would remove themselves to help the clan prosper. But as I say, it is different now.”

  “We’ve got to fix her,” Gina said with determination. “We can’t lose her after all she did for us and her people. I know she hates it, but she really is a hero to them. They’d be devastated if she killed herself.”

  James nodded and Varya agreed, but Varya had reservations. “We cannot dishonour her. It must be her choice.”

  “Force wouldn’t work on her,” Gina agreed. “We have to snap her out of her funk. Make it her duty to help us, rather than the other way around.”

  Varya’s tail rose and he gestured a Shan’s version of a shrug. “That would be good, but it will be hard making her believe that a blind scientist can be of use, to us or to anyone.”

  Gina nodded glumly. “I’ll think of something, or you two will. We can’t lose her like this.”

  “Agreed,” James said. “And screw the politics. This is about loyalty to a friend.” He turned to Varya. “It is a matter of honour.”

  Varya’s ears pricked. “Yes... it really is a matter of honour is it not?”

  Gina nodded. “You’ve thought of something. What?”

  “Gina,” Burgton called before Varya could explain and she went to join him. “I’d like you to meet Elder Jutka, Tei’Varyk, and Kazim. I think you probably know who Kazim is—”

  The Shan all laughed, their jaws dropping and tongues lolling. Gina couldn’t help but laugh along with them. Kazim was as famous as Tei’Varyk in his way. She wondered where his camera was. He was never far from it.

  “Honoured to meet you all,” Gina said with a very respectful bow to the elder. “May each of you live long and in harmony.”

  “Well spoken, young Human,” Jutka said not attempting to use her few English words. “It still amazes me how the viper clan can speak Shan so well. I understand you have translators within your bodies, but the words come from your mouths in your own voices. I find that very hard to understand.”

  “I’m not an engineer, elder, but I can try to explain.” Gina said looking to Burgton for permission. He nodded. “As I understand it, our processors hear your words and translate them very fast. Then, those words are placed into our memories so quickly that we don’t notice any delay. To us, it’s as if we have always known how to speak Shan, so when I talk to you it’s not a mechanical translator speaking, it really is me, Gina, using the language of your people in my memory.”

  “Extraordinary,” Jutka said. “I could wish my people had such advantages.” She glanced slyly at Tei’Varyk who stiffened as if jabbed. “Come, we have much to do and our escort will wonder what is keeping us.”

  Gina had a feeling she had just been used to score points off Tei’Varyk. A quick glance at Burgton c
onfirmed her thought. He was looking very thoughtful. As Varya said earlier, it was a political game Jutka was playing, but to what end?

  Gina followed as they trooped through the empty building. It would be a while before the spaceport recovered and became busy again. There were no Shan spacecraft left, and orbital infrastructure requiring the facilities here no longer existed. Perhaps that was why the damage was still evident. Replacing blown windows and painting over burn scars was a low priority when most of the cities were in ruins. Those that still stood had patchy services. Power stations, water pumping stations, and transportation of food and other supplies had to take priority over an unneeded spaceport. Most of the population still dwelled in the keeps where power and food was secure, but an increasing number were emerging to rebuild their worlds. It would take years, but with Fifth Fleet’s help, it would only be years and not decades.

  Gina and the others braved the rain again but only briefly. The ground cars were parked close to the entrance. There were five. Tei’Varyk ushered Burgton into a car with him and Elder Jutka. Gina joined James, Varya, and Kazim in the car behind. The other cars were their escort. She assumed they contained warriors for the elder’s security, but no one emerged from them and they remained buttoned up.

  “Any idea where we’re heading?” she asked.

  Kazim’s elusive camera magically appeared and he started recording. “Elder Jutka is hosting the meeting at her home.”

  “So we’re not visiting with Shima immediately.”

  James leaned back in his seat as the car pulled away. “Sorry, I should have mentioned it. Tei’Varyk isn’t here for Shima’s benefit, not directly anyway. Kajetan sent him here along with other Tei to discuss Child of Harmony’s reconstruction, but he’s been side-tracked with Shima’s situation. My fault, in part; I asked him to help me with her.”

  Gina nodded. “I’m glad you did. So what’s this about the reconstruction?”

  James glanced at Kazim’s camera and frowned. “I don’t think it’s a secret. Kazim?”

  “Not a secret. My supervisor was asked by the elders to cover the talks. She sent me. It will be released as part of a special news segment about the reconstruction.”