God's Dogs Book 2

Even the people who betray you are part of the plan.

Pastor Steven Furtick

“Yes, Singh, we have it ready for transport,” Quinn said. He was in the communication center of the Cass camp.

“This is a mess,” Singh replied. “What do you want me to do?”

“Get us off this rock,” Quinn answered. “Right now we have an unknown Cass ally that’s willing to blow up this island to take us out. We need to get off this planet.”

“Okay. I’ll get with the Congress referees on this ship and get an evacuation order. We’ve won the battle anyway.”

“We’ll stay here,” Quinn said. “The referees need to see this for themselves. Drop them off on the first flight down.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“No, Singh, you order it. You take charge of this. Your people are in jeopardy. The referees do need to evaluate the evidence of cheating, and we’ll stay here until they arrive to verify it, but we have unknown enemies on the other ship. Be decisive about getting everybody else out of here.”

“Okay, Quinn. I will. It’s just a shock.”

“Betrayal is always a shock,” Quinn said in a softer voice. “Work directly through the ship’s captain. He’s used to dealing with surprises. Order – don’t ask – the referees to the ground.”

“I’m on it, Quinn,” said a more determined Singh.

“Quinn, out.”

Moss, who was sitting in a chair, commented, “Looks like our boy is growing up.”

“That, he is,” Quinn said with a smile. “We’ve got the live Cass secured, the bomb under guard, and that battle on the north plain won. What’s the bad guys next move?”

“Orbital bombardment.”

“Or take out our ship once we’re aboard.”

“That, too.”

“We need to get onto the other ship.”

“Where the bad guys are.”

“Or,” Quinn became thoughtful, “get them down here. It’s got to be someone in the Congress delegation.”

“Well, we’ve done what we can for now. Pax is with the bomb. River and C-Sharp are on over watch. The colonel is finishing up securing the Cass force in those containers we brought for that. All we can do is wait to see what their next move might be. I’m sure they didn’t expect this outcome.”

Quinn glanced at Moss. “What made you twig to this?”

“It was too easy.”

“It was going according to plan.”

Moss snorted. “When does anything go according to plan?”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t get caught up in the euphoria of our success,” was Quinn dry response.

“We should have accounted for this base in our plan.”

“That’s true enough. We assumed it would be medical people, cooks, and the like. I don’t think they deployed any support people at all.”

“Nope. Fighters and some bomb techs.”

The radio crackled. “Quinn, the shuttles are in-bound. The referees on the Cass ship are also in-bound on their shuttle. They will meet with our delegation at your location.”

“You’re headed down here?”

“I am.”

“Okay. We’ll see you soon.”

“Singh, out.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Then Quinn connected to the A.I. battle-net through Shiva. “We need two teams at the Cass camp before the shuttle sets down.”

Moss commented, “They need to get rid of the evidence.”

“We’ve got twenty minutes to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Consul Singh, two of his staff, and two of the Congress referees were in-bound on one of the shuttles. The others were headed to the north side of the island to begin evacuating the militia. A shuttle from the Cass freighter was also in-bound. Singh had updated the ambassador with the helmet-cam video of what Quinn found. He was assured the Congress referees updated their chain-of-command as well.

It was a troubling development, and Singh could see two, not mutually exclusive, motives behind the intended nuking of the island. Short-term, it would have punished Penglai in both reputation and resources. Losing seven Coyote teams, when there were less than three hundred teams, would be a significant loss, both to life and the Coyote mystique.

Long-term, it could be argued that the outcome of returning the kidnapped children would have proceeded better through conventional means. The conventional route, though a longer process, would not have put a dozen worlds into a political uproar, it would have punished the Cass but preserved their autonomy, and it would have allowed powerful people to find scapegoats to take the heat. With the blunt way the Coyotes handled it, though, there was motivation for nuking the island. Besides the obvious punishment value, it would send the message that Penglai’s independent status was a bad idea. The overall mess the Coyotes made of the situation, including the nuking of the island, could be laid at Penglai’s feet. Politicians were good at twisting reality that way and blaming victims.

Singh reflected on these considerations as they approached the landing zone. The good thing was Quinn found the bomb, but now they needed to figure out what to do with it.

Their shuttle landed before the Cass shuttle, and the delegation disembarked. Singh and his aides wore their version of light armor. The two referees wore their own version.

Quinn met them as Singh led the group down the ramp and followed Quinn to the building where the bomb was held. The second shuttle was flaring to land as they inspected the devise, and the Penglai shuttle lifted off for the northern plain.

“We left it pretty much how we found it,” Quinn told them, “but we’ve got it ready for transport.”

“It is a thermonuclear device,” said one of the referees, a Sentic. “How it got here is what we must ascertain.”

“Agreed,” Singh replied. “The other referees, when they confirm this, will also need to rule this a forfeiture.”

“Most likely,” the Sentic grumped. He, apparently, didn’t like someone telling him his job.

River contacted all of them on the tac-net, “We’ve got two platoons off-loading the other shuttle.”

Quinn turned to Pax and Moss. “Pack it up. We’re out of here.”

River, atop a different building, switched to a private channel. “Ready, C-Sharp, Eli?”

Two clicks answered, and she fired twice at the advancing mercenaries.

“Moving,” she said as she retreated off the building and to the tree line.

Two more shots echoed. Two more Cass fell, and the rest took cover. Two more shots, from a different location, rang out, and two prone bodies jerked and went still.

The Cass were slow in their response, but they returned fire eventually. The three snipers, though, were long gone.

By the time the Cass resumed their advance, Quinn’s group was in the trees heading north.

“What’s the plan?” Singh asked as he jogged up the trail.

“Jolene built hides a few miles away. We’ll meet up with her and hole up there until the militia takes care of the Cass.”

“The shuttles are evacuating the militia.”

“Not all of them,” Quinn told him. “The colonel is holding back a platoon, and we have three teams to protect the bomb. You, snipers, will lead the Cass to the colonel.”

River led C-Sharp and Eli, Jolene’s sniper, into the trees to slow down the pursuing mercenaries. The plan was to get them to follow a path away from Quinn and towards a militia ambush.

It was a hasty plan, and she worried about it as she set up for her next shot. If the freighter’s sensors were sensitive enough to pick up heat signatures through the trees, Quinn’s group would be in trouble. If the militia platoon didn’t get lost in the confusion of the evacuation, the ambush would fail.

She put those concerns out of her head as she lined up the shot and fired.

“Moving,” she said and retreated to her next way-point.

To the north, Lt. Col. Samuel Wong and Major Melinda Koono raced with a platoon and four Coyote teams up the spine of the ridgeline. They were off the spine itself and in the trees to mitigate their heat signature and hide their movement. The scouts were in front to find the best route, but speed was the goal. They wanted to at least halve the distance to the Cass camp before they set up their ambush.

Wong contacted River, “Grid coordinates, River.”

She sent them and said, “They are figuring out how to move against us.”

“We’re close enough. Bring them on a line halfway up the slope. We’ll set up on either side.”

“Understood,” she said and switched channels. “Eli, hang back to close the back door. The militia are setting up. C-Sharp, drift downhill. I’ll go straight through the militia’s position. You circle the militia and we’ll both close the front door.”

Clicks confirmed her order. Then she settled on the line to the militia and rattled off quick bursts at the Cass.

Quinn’s group was over the spine and down the east slope to Jolene’s hides. She, Ron, and Sunny directed the group to the hides and sealed them in. Then they climbed to their tree hides.

It was close in the slit trench, and the Sentic wasn’t happy. “I don’t see the need for this treatment.”

Moss responded, “You can leave at any time.”

The Sentic glowered and returned, “I know the situation.”

“Then direct your ire at those who created this mess.”

The other referee, a Durani, put his hand on the Sentic’s shoulder and directed him to the earthen bench carved into the wall.

Pax muttered, “Ire?”

Moss grinned back at him.

The Cass mercenaries surged after River into the militia’s ambush. Wong had the time to position the troops so the firing lines didn’t endanger either line.

The militia opened up on the mercenaries from both flanks. The snipers hit them from front and back. Grenades exploded. Rail guns whined. Tree bark and limbs were shredded.

After a long minute, the colonel barked, “Cease fire!”

Immediately, there was silence, broken only by the wailing of the wounded.

“Alpha squad, secure the area. The rest of you cover them. Medics and healers, follow behind Alpha squad. River, alert Quinn that we’re secure. We’ll rendezvous at Camp Bravo.”

River contacted Quinn over the tac-net, “We’re done with the Cass. The colonel says to meet up at Camp Bravo.”

“Thanks, River,” Quinn replied. Then he offered a half-smile to the group. “Time to go.”

They hauled out of the hide and jogged down slope to the coastal plain and the camp Quinn’s force defended that morning.

The platoon and the other Coyote teams arrived an hour later to the waiting shuttle. Once the shuttle lifted for orbit, the only ones left alive on the island were Cass prisoners.

Once they were aboard the freighter, the referees secured the thermonuclear device and retired to their section of the ship. The colonel and his command staff met for debriefing and to settle into preparing their after-action reports.

Quinn, Wylie, and the other team leads congregated in Singh’s quarters.

“Have the referees released us to go somewhere else?” Wylie asked.

“The other referees are delaying it. They want to know what’s going on.”

“They’re being played,” Wylie said. “That’s what’s going on.”

“I think our referees are beginning to suspect that, but they need consensus to act.”

“Can you get the captain to move us to high orbit?” Wylie asked. “We might need room to maneuver.”

Singh frowned. “You don’t think this is over?”

“We’re still alive,” Wylie replied. “What do you think?”

Singh left for the bridge, as Wylie turned to Quinn. “Not looking forward to a space battle.”

“Neither am I.”