Sector Kilo, Velmar Mountains base, Commitment
It would be a long time before Michael forgot the weeklong trek to safety: uphill and across rough country, with hours wasted dodging around Hammer positions or hiding from resupply convoys, foot patrols, and drones. To add to their misery, the rain set in early and heavy, and all the time his shoulder protested the abuse it was being given.
But they had made it, though Michael had no idea how. All he could remember of the last few days was a blur of pain, hunger, and exhaustion. Now he was content to sit back and nurse his shoulder-it had been cleaned, stitched, and bandaged, and the pain had subsided to a grumbling ache-as a battered buggy carried them through the tangled network of caves and tunnels that made up the NRA’s Velmar base.
“Kilo-5,” he said to Shinoda as the buggy slowed to a halt, its aged brakes screeching in protest. “This is us.”
What a pair of old crocks, Michael thought as he looked around. He tried but failed to massage the ache out of his legs. He pointed at a doorway cut out of the rock wall under a sign that read “3/120 Bn HQ.” “That’s it,” he said.
“No doubt about it,” Shinoda said as they walked over. “I’d know that ugly scumsucker anywhere. Hey! Lance Corporal T’zavara, you useless maggot!” she shouted at the marine manning the security post.
The woman’s heavily bandaged head snapped around. Her mouth sagged open when she saw who was calling her. “Sergeant Shinoda!” she said. “We weren’t expecting you.”
“I’m sure you weren’t. Don’t you NRA types stand up in front of a senior officer?”
“Senior off-”
“This is Colonel Helfort,” Shinoda said.
“No, it’s not. Oh, that Helfort. Sorry, sir,” T’zavara gabbled, shooting to her feet. “I wasn’t paying attention. I thought you … but now you’re a … I had-”
Michael put up his hand to stop the flow of words. “Shut up, Corporal.” He had to force himself to keep a straight face as T’zavara struggled to work out what was happening. “Now go tell your commanding officer that Colonel Helfort is here to see her,” he said.
“Hancock!” T’zavara said, turning to the marine beside her, “what are you waiting for? Go!”
“Yes, Corporal,” the man said before bolting down the passageway.
“What happened to your head?” Michael asked T’zavara while they waited.
“Shrapnel from a Hammer air burst, sir,” she replied. “Nothing serious.”
“The Amokran operation?”
“Yes, sir. It was a bitch.”
“Lot of casualties?”
“Too many, sir. But we gave those Hammer bastards one hell of a kicking. There were a lot of them, but … I don’t know, they didn’t fight hard.” She shook her head. “Not as hard as they used to.”
Shinoda put her mouth to Michael’s ear. “If you don’t ask her, I will, sir,” she whispered, “so get on with it.”
“Ah, right,” Michael mumbled, mortified that he had been so obvious. “Colonel Helfort,” he said. “Did she come through okay?”
“She did, sir. The Hammers sent a special forces unit to attack battalion headquarters. It was touch and go for a while, but we kicked them back to where they came from. Don’t think they’ll try that stunt again in a hurry.”
Sheer euphoria kicked Michael’s heart into overdrive. “Good to hear,” he said. “When-”
“Michael.”
His head snapped around. “Anna,” he said.
“You big lump,” Anna sighed. “What have you done to yourself? Come with me. And you can close your mouth now, Lance Corporal T’zavara.”
Michael lay back beside Anna, exhausted by the animal ferocity of their reunion. “I don’t suppose I need to say how glad I am to be back,” he whispered.
“I can’t say I’m totally convinced, spacer boy.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “Give me strength,” he muttered.
“You’ll need it,” Anna said, “so shut up and come here.”
“… and so here I am,” Michael said.
Tucked away in a quiet corner of the canteen, it had taken him a good hour to finish his account of all that had happened. Leave nothing out, he had been instructed, not even the smallest detail, and he hadn’t.
Anna looked at him for a long time before she pushed her bowl away and sat back. “I should hate you, you know,” she said breaking the long silence that followed. “I really thought you were dead.”
“I know, but … things just happened. Truth is, once Jaruzelska turned me in, I wasn’t in control of things anymore.’
“It was bad enough for me.” Anna’s voice was soft. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you.”
“It wasn’t the best time of my life, I’d have to say, but I’m here now, and that’s all that matters.”
“It is,” Anna whispered; she took his hand in hers.
The silence that followed was a long one. “Hey, drink your coffee,” Anna said much later, “or it’ll get cold.”
Michael took a sip and screwed up his face. “Ugh!” he said. “It already is.”
“That’s good, because my mug’s empty, so you can get us both a refill.”
Michael shook his head in despair. “You are so manipulative,” he muttered. “I’m a wounded trooper with only one working arm. It’s you who should get me a fresh brew.”
Anna squeezed his hand. “You know I love you, right?” she whispered. “With all my heart and all my soul.”
“Yes,” Michael said with a frown, thrown by her abrupt change of tack, “I do.”
“So get off your ass and get my coffee.”
Michael did as he was told.
“Here you go,” he said when he got back. It had been a struggle to keep the scalding hot coffee in the mugs one-handed. He sat back down and pushed Anna’s across the table. “You know something?”
“What?’
“It’s one of life’s great mysteries,” he said, taking a cautious sip from his mug, “how the locals can brew such good coffee without being able to produce decent food.” He poked his bowl of gruel with a dismissive finger.
Anna laughed. “You should hear the moaning I have to put up with. It’s the battalion’s number one complaint.”
“I’m not surprised. Listen, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Sound ominous.”
“Ah, yes … well, it is, actually.”
The smile slid off Anna’s face. “Go on, then.”
“Lance Corporal T’zavara told me a Hammer special forces unit attacked your headquarters during the Amokran operation.”
“Yes, one did. But Branxton warned us that something was in the wind, so when they turned up, we were ready for them.”
“T’zavara said you kicked their asses.”
“Oh, we did. But it was strange.”
“How strange?”
“It was out of character. It’s not what the Hammers do … Well, they might try to take out a brigade or divisional headquarters, but never a battalion.”
“Anything else strike you as strange?”
Anna thought for a moment before responding. “Yes,” she said, “now that you mention it, there was. Some of my guys swore there was a DocSec officer in charge, which is crap, of course. No marine unit would let one of those DocSec rats take command.”
“They weren’t wrong,” Michael said, “but-”
Anna’s face hardened. “Stop screwing me around and tell me the whole story.”
“I will. I just wanted to be sure we were talking about the same unit.”
“Michael!”
“The unit is called Team Victor. It’s commanded by Colonel Hartspring-” Anna flinched. “-and its mission is to capture you alive, hand you over to DocSec, and then … well, I don’t need to say any more.”
“But why would they do that?” Anna shook her head. “Surely they’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“Not in Chief Councillor Polk’s mind. If the man’s not insane, he’s awfully close to it. He wanted me to go to my death knowing what he planned to do to you, knowing that there was not a damn thing I could do about it.”
“The son of a bitch. Well, fuck Polk. Didn’t work, did it? I’m here with you.” Anna sat back. She looked at Michael for a moment; her eyes narrowed. “I know you, Michael Helfort, and well enough to know that there’s something else you’re not telling me.”
Michael threw his hands up. “Okay, okay,” he said. “ENCOMM told you that I’m one of Vaas’s aides?”
“They did. Aide-de-camp or some such bullshit title. Too good to join us grunts down in the mud, eh?”
“No!” Michael protested. He paused. “I am his ADC,” he went on, “but when the time’s right, I’m going after Hartspring, and once I’ve dealt with him, Polk’s next. I just wanted you to understand why.”
“Dealt with him. You mean kill him, don’t you?”
Michael nodded.
Anna stared at him; her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Michael,’ she said, a catch in her voice, “let it go. Forget Hartspring, forget Polk … please. The Revival and the NRA will deal with them. Do your best for Vaas and help us finish this damn war. Then we can all go home and get on with our lives.”
“I can’t do that,” he said. “Not after what those two have done.”
“You can’t do that? That’s it?”
“I’m sorry, but yes, it is. I love you more than I can ever say, but I have to do this. Tell me it’s okay.”
Anna stared at him.
The silence dragged on until Michael could not stand it anymore. “Anna,” he said, “Anna, please-”
“I can’t say it’s okay,” Anna said, “because it’s not. It’s crazy, it’s stupid, it’s dangerous-”
“But Anna!”
“-and it frightens me to death just thinking about it. After all you’ve been through, don’t you think you’ve done enough, taken enough risks?” Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. “Why am I saying that? Of course you don’t. Look, if going after Polk and Hartspring is what you have to do, then go ahead. Nothing I can say will stop you. Just promise-” The words caught in her throat and forced her to stop for a moment. “-that we will leave this pissant planet together when all this is over.”
“I promise … and no more of that crazy marine shit from you,” he added.
Anna smiled through tears. “I promise. Oh, crap! Look at the time. I have to go.” She got to her feet. “My leave pass expires in … let me see, yes, in ten minutes.”
“Leave pass?”
“Colonel Balaghi said he would kick my ass all the way to McNair if he saw me back in battalion headquarters before 22:00. But I do need to go. I’ve got a lot to do. I’ll see you back at my billet, though who knows when.”
“Go,” Michael said. He climbed to his feet and folded Anna into a clumsy one-armed embrace. “I’ll be waiting.”
She kissed him, then pushed him away. “You’d better be,” she murmured.