ENCOMM billets, Branxton base
Michael was beyond exhausted.
As week followed week, Vaas had thrown task after task at Michael, the pace relentless as the launch of Operation Tortoise approached. The name still made Michael smile, and it was very apt. The NRA would make its push for McNair under a missile screen exactly as the Roman Army had moved forward under its testudo of shields. And every bit as unstoppable, Michael hoped.
But Tortoise could wait. If he didn’t get some sleep, he would collapse. Michael eased his aching body down onto his bunk and kicked off his boots, collapsing back with a grateful sigh. It won’t be long now, he reassured himself as sleep claimed him.
Sleep did not have him for long. A hand reached down to drag him awake.
“What?” he mumbled.
“General Vaas wants you, sir.”
Michael groaned. “You’re fu-”
“Now, sir.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll be there in two,” Michael said, cursing under his breath when he realized that he had been asleep for all of an hour. With an effort, he sat up. Forcing feet into boots, he set off for Vaas’s office, pausing only to liberate a mug of coffee from the drinkbot. He wouldn’t have made it otherwise.
Vaas waved him into his office. “Sit!” he said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Michael did as he was ordered, wondering if the man ever slept. And what the hell did he want now? Michael hadn’t been back in ENCOMM long enough for the bloody man to dream up a new mission, surely.
“Right,” Vaas said, turning his attention back to Michael at last. “The Revival Council has finally given the go-ahead for Tortoise.”
“Taken a while,” Michael said. He wondered why Vaas had dragged him out of his rack to tell him the news.
“Some of our Hammer friends took longer than the Council expected to see the merits of the Revivalist cause.”
“So Polk’s on his own, General?”
“He will be when it becomes obvious that the Hammers might lose this war. He’ll find key members of his Supreme Council have gone AWOL, along with the planetary councillors from Faith and Fortitude, and that means it’s time.”
Michael frowned; then it clicked. “Ah, you mean Hartspring and Polk?”
“I do. I thought I’d spare you the humiliation of going down on bended knee to beg me to let you go kill the slimeballs.”
“I’m touched by your consideration, General.”
Vaas grinned. “You remember the Calverson and Malfroy operation?” he asked.
“Operation Tanglevine? Of course. You asked me to keep an eye on their training.”
“Which you did, I know. Anyway, I was thinking that it’s as good a way as any to get you right into McNair without having your ass shot off. And that way, you’ll be there before Polk sees the writing on the wall and tries to run for it.”
“That sounds good, General.”
“One condition. I want you to take any of your security team dumb enough to volunteer to go along. I accept that you’ll always do your best to get yourself killed, but let’s lower the odds a bit, shall we?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So what are you waiting for? Tanglevine kicks off in forty-eight hours, so get your ass in gear!”
“Where are we off to now, sir?” Shinoda asked as the maglev accelerated away.
“Portal Zulu-36.”
“Again? You like that place. Do you know what happens after that?”
“Well, that depends on you and the guys. I’m not the general’s aide-de-camp anymore.”
That got Shinoda’s attention. “You’re not?” she said. “Have you been … you know?”
“What, sacked?” Michael laughed and shook his head. “No. The general’s approved my request to go take care of some private business.”
“Private business? I think you’d better tell me what you’re talking about, sir.”
“Let me tell you about a man called Hartspring, a DocSec colonel.”
Shinoda looked at Michael wide-eyed when he’d finished. “That’s one hell of a story, sir,” she said. “I never knew.”
“No reason why you should.”
“I suppose.” Shinoda paused. “But I can see why you’re going after him,” she went on. “I’d do the same in your shoes. But what about us?”
“That’s a good question. If you want to come along, then I’d be very happy about that. If not, then that’s fine also. It’s entirely up to you; I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, and I’m not just saying that. It really is up to you.”
Shinoda thought for a moment before responding. “I need to know a bit more. This Hartspring; where is he?”
“Last report put him in McNair. General Vaas has organized me a ride in with Major Moore’s 385th Independent Company. Tell you what; why don’t I comm you the order for Operation Tanglevine. That’ll explain everything. Wake me up when you’ve finished.”
Twenty minutes later, Shinoda had finished. She shook Michael awake.
“You done?” Michael said, rubbing eyes gritty and red with fatigue. “What do you reckon?”
“I’d like to think that whoever wrote that op order did it as a joke, but something tells me I’d be wrong.”
“It’s for real, I’m afraid.”
“The unit assigned to Tanglevine, this 385th Independent Company; what do we know about them?”
“It’s been handpicked. All men, of course, since the Hammers don’t have women in combat roles. All ex-marines, most with special forces training. Two rifle platoons, one support and heavy weapons, a headquarters platoon, and a platoon to provide specialized communications, linguistic, and psyops support. About 120 pairs of boots all told.”
“Not a hell of a lot considering what they have to do.”
“General Vaas thinks the keys to success are speed and finesse, not force. He was worried that making the unit larger would just make things too unwieldy.”
“How well do you know the 385th?”
“Very well. I was one of the team who picked them, and I sat in on as many of their exercises as I could. Thanks to a full-size mock-up of the High Temple complex, their training was very realistic. All in all, they’re good, very good.”
“Ah, now I get it,” Shinoda said. “That was why we went there so often.”
“It was. Sorry I was so secretive. Remember when we went over to the Resistance Council? That was where Tanglevine started, and Vaas never let me step away from it.”
“And they’re happy for you go along?”
“I spoke to Major Moore before we left, and yes, he’s happy.”
“And he’d be okay with us too?”
“Yes, but like I said, it’s up to you.”
“Tell you what, sir. It’s a long run to Zulu-36, so let me think about it. We can talk again when we get there. If I’m in, I’ll brief the guys and let you know what they decide.”
“Makes sense. Now, if you don’t mind, I want to catch up on my sleep.”