Children of Steel Read online

  That lead to a lot of mixed feelings, but happiness turned out to be the winner in the end, that and no small amount of pride of course. I hoped that I would one day get to see them with my own eyes too. I then opened up the next one, it had been sent directly to the Falcon, and was only two months old.

  'Dear Raj,' It began, 'I heard from Mist about what happened to you, and I want you to know I'm sorry about it. Please don't go off the deep end on us, you've got a family now plus a lot of friends. Also' she continued bluntly, 'I've got dibs on you now! So you better take care of yourself until I can collect!'

  She did go on to mention that Mist had made it back to the Astra, and that Balizar, Sharazad, Terease, Banner, and Lyle were all doing fine and were still assigned there. It didn't go too much further into detail, you were charged by the word on these letters and I know it had probably cost a week's pay. Two, I revised when I saw the more recent pictures of the kits that she had included.

  Her offer made me stop and think though; when this campaign was over I'd have to give it some serious consideration. Then I went and celebrated the birth of my kits by going and getting the championship back from John, who was getting too complacent anyway.

  I was insufferable for the entire week as I kept showing my kit's pictures to everybody around, whether they wanted to see them or not. In the later case I often held them down until they made appreciative noises. Aruba, acting as the Lieutenant finally put an end to this behavior, by threatening to confiscate the photos if I didn't knock it off.

  "From the way you're acting, you'd think nobody ever had a kid before Raj."

  "Hey, they're my first! What do you expect?" I protested.

  "That you don't act like an idiot. If there's one thing I can't stand it's the way new parents always go around gloating about their kids." She grumbled, "And coming from you it's down right sickening!"

  I did behave better after that.

  During that second week I did go out and see a little more of the place. Mikarus Three wasn't much on sightseeing; it was pretty much a bland company planet. What kept it going was that it was a major transshipment point for several large corporations, being located in the center of a large cluster of settled planets. So there was a lot traffic here as well as a major company installation.

  Dave and I did hit several of the bars, and did try to see some of the sites that there were. He was seeing a couple of the ship’s female personnel, and would often drag one of them along. I brought Aruba along a few times as well and we made a double date of it. I think Dave’s friends were pretty nervous around me, I did have a reputation on the ship now, and I suspect it was a bit exaggerated up front where they didn’t really know me. We never talked about what we were doing on the Falcon however when Dave and I went out. We either talked about stuff from the Astra, or discussed one of Dave’s favorite philosophies. For those hours we’d both just pretend that the war didn’t exist.

  There was also a crèche here and a training facility. It was kind of strange to go by there and see all the cubs off in the distance. You couldn't get too close most of the time though, security was tight now and I guess they thought that a crèche would be a prime target. I did run into a few of the older 'students' that were in combat training however. When I saw some of the young Leopards strutting around because of their pride in their new abilities, I really just couldn't help but think of myself at that age.

  I also just couldn't help but laugh out loud at that thought too! I was very full of myself then, and I had to admit it was a funny sight looking back. They of course didn't share my humor at the idea and were quite indignant.

  I was gentle with them, hell they were only kids. But I still got fined a hundred credits for disorderly conduct. It probably would have been more, but I suspect that my inability to keep a straight face in the Rep's office whenever one of them growled at me, made him realize that I was just probably still unwinding from my last patrol. So he gave me the minimum, and told the kids to show more respect for their elders. The idea of me being an elder of course broke me up totally, so I had to tell him just what was so funny. But at least he let me do it over a beer down in the company lounge.

  He thought it was pretty funny too.

  "You know Raj, you're a pretty good Lepman," he said after he had stopped laughing himself. "A lot of animen are just too damn serious."

  "That's just around you humans," I smiled, "we tend to cut loose among ourselves more."

  "Back when I was a geneticist, I always wanted to put more humor in you guys, but the company said they wanted killers, not comics!" he grinned again.

  My ears perked up, "You were a geneticist?" I asked surprised.

  "Hell yes, I designed quite a few of you. I even follow the careers of some of my better 'children'. Always felt like I was their father or something."

  "Could you actually do that part about putting in more humor, or more killing?" I was really interested in this part; it could answer some important questions.

  He grinned sheepishly then, "Actually no, as far as we can tell that's not really a genetic thing. But sometimes I used to wish it was."

  "So tell me," I asked remembering what somebody had said to me back on Arboral I think, "how much different am I from a human anyway?"

  "I would think a look in the mirror should make that one fairly obvious," he smiled.

  "No, I mean beyond the looks, at the gene level. Are we mostly human, or animal?"

  He looked at me carefully, "Why do you want to know that for?"

  "Because of something somebody once told me. That we really weren't any different under the skin. That it was all just cosmetic."

  "That's an interesting theory," he said thinking for a moment. "But it's totally untrue Raj."

  "Is it?" I asked still curious.

  "Hey, I ought to know! I designed templates for many of your coworkers, I specialized in Catmen. That's why I enjoy talking to them whenever I can. Sixty percent of your Genetic Template was lifted straight from the Leopards in the jungles back on Earth. Which is also where almost all the original base gene material came from, I might add. That's why your muscles are stronger and your reactions are quicker than human ones, you have a Leopard's basic wiring.

  "The next thirty or so percent are still from the same stock, only they've been re-arranged into a humanoid shape. That's why you have hands and feet instead of paws, but you still have the retractable claws and the pads. Everything has just been reshaped.

  "As for the remaining ten plus percent, yes they came from humans. That ten percent was mixed in to a few major areas dealing with your brain. It's where most of your higher intelligence comes from. But the fact of the matter remains, you're more closely related to the Cats in the jungles than to humans. It's the same for all of the other species as well." He stopped and had a long drink from his beer then.

  I found the whole thing very interesting, I really didn't know that much about our makeup, I had always thought that because I was 'point seven of the human norm' I was seventy percent human. The idea that I wasn't seventy percent, just ten, was intriguing. I wonder if that made me better or worse? Or just more different?

  "So why do they rate us as point seven human if we're actually only ten percent?"

  "Oh, that's just because the rating system isn't based on where your genes came from, but what shape they've been arranged into. Even then the standard is pretty loose; they had to be careful to make sure they didn't end up classifying humans as animen. That would have been a real political nightmare!"

  We talked a little more then, and he left to go home for the night. It did make me think quite a bit, but try as I might I couldn't find anything about the idea that really bothered me. It just reminded me of something I had overheard Dave saying to some missionary on one of our stops back on the Astra. 'You forget that I was made by a bunch of humans, not your God.' He laughed, 'and if you think I'm going to worship a bunch of Lab Techs or CEO's, well, they don't pay us THAT much!' The subsequent
laughter from everybody else had then driven the guy from the bar.

  Maybe that's what really made humans worry about us, most of them didn't really understand us, but we did understand them.

  At least, I think we did.

  26

  Six months later we were in jump space again with a new set of orders for yet another strike. Since our stop at Mikarus Three we’d had a string of raids, four total, one of which had been in cooperation with two other frigates and a destroyer. My reputation had continued to grow, and so had my scars. I’d been shot several times and almost had to get a skin graft when a white phosphorous grenade went off too close and burned though my armor while setting my fur on fire and burning all the fur on my chest, arms, and shoulders. Thankfully someone hit me with a fire extinguisher before more of my fur caught. I was in bed for two weeks after that one, and the cost of the new armor set me back a bit as well. At least I didn’t scar from it.

  This mission was going to be a bit different this time however. Intelligence had found a humanist base that looked like it would be a tough nut to crack. This wasn’t someplace they’d be able to just pull out of, they’d have to try and hold it against any kind of strike.

  Other than the location though they had no real intelligence on it. And they needed more, quickly, as an assault force was being formed to move on the planet.

  “So,” Captain Johnson began, “the plan overall is fairly simple, to do a hit and run strike against the weakest part of the installation that we can find. So far Tri-Star has engaged in only such type of measures, so another one shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

  Everyone nodded to that in the gym.

  “But when Falcon block pulls out, we’re going to leave two squads behind to do some in depth reconnaissance. The two squads will be split into halves, and the four three man teams will have six weeks to scout out as much information and data as possible. At the end of that time the invasion fleet will show up and attack. All of the data you’ve gathered at that point you will transmit to them, so they’ll be able to pick out the softest spots for troop landings, and identify all the ground force locations and defenses.”

  He looked around at the group, “So I’m looking…”

  I stood and had my hand up before he finished.

  He smiled and finished, “for half squads to volunteer. I’ve got one half so far, who else?”

  John stood, “Mine too.”

  “And us,” Nic a leopard from the first platoon stood.

  “Us too!” Said Ran, a Jag from my platoon, standing quickly before anyone else could.

  Aruba looked pleased standing next to the Captain that so many from her platoon had been so fast to step up.

  Captain Johnson nodded, “Good, just remember that this is supposed to be on the sly, well at least until the fleet attacks. So don’t try and kill them all by yourselves okay? Leave some for the army!”

  Everyone gave a little laugh at that and he continued a moment later.

  “Okay, the fine details of the plan will be worked out once we’ve had a chance to review fresh data on the planet. Intel has a stealth ship making a sweep through the system as we speak and we will meet up with it out past the edge of the system. We will then plan our approach and where we will be hitting. For the hit and run the plan will be the same as usual. However one of the assault shuttles will make a high speed run out and back at low level to drop the half-squads. Once that shuttle has returned to the main smash we’ll let them drive us off and get out of there.”

  “Any questions?”

  Marko was about to raise his hand when I kicked him in the back of the shin.

  “No? Good. Dismissed!”

  Marko waited until the Captain and Lieutenant had left than turned to me rubbing the spot where I had kicked him. “Why’d you have to volunteer us Sir?” he grumbled. “Six weeks in the mud is not my idea of a fun time.”

  “Probably more like eight weeks,” I grinned, “It’s gonna take a while for them to secure the planet don’t forget.”

  He sighed still grumbling.

  “Look on the bright side,” I told him.

  “There’s a bright side?”

  I nodded, “Of course, you won’t be able to get me in dutch with the Captain or the Lieutenant for almost two months.”

  “I dunno, I think in this case I just might prefer the beatings…” he said scratching his ear.

  Using our stealth gear and a low speed to obscure the flash from any distant detectors we broke out much farther than normal and in the plane of the ecliptic. It took about a day for the stealth ship to find us, about the time one of our company’s destroyers showed up as well.

  Six days after we had started in I was sitting at a table with Captain Johnson, Lieutenant Aruba, John, Nic, and Ran as we went over the information the stealth ship had gotten us one last time. It wasn’t much, but combined with what company intelligence had supplied it provided the Captain with a choice of targets. We were now trying to decide which one of the two would best suit our purposes, and pick where we wanted to be dropped off.

  “No matter which one we pick, they’re both off on the edge of the main installations,” John said point to the four main bases that were spread out over several hundred miles. “It could take us four weeks walking to get out of there.”

  We all nodded, “Any sign of active roads or rail lines?” Lieutenant Aruba asked.

  “Hard to tell, these lines here look like railways, but the quality of the pictures just isn’t that good to tell if they’re active or not.”

  “Well, just pick one. We’ll just have to deal with it when we get there,” I sighed setting down the computer tablet I’d been staring at for an hour now.

  “There has to be a way to tell,” Ran said picking up his slate again and staring at it.

  “I’m afraid I have to agree with Raj,” John sighed as well. “It’s a crap shoot. Commander,” he turned to Captain Johnson, “I’d say it’s up to you or the Captain. Whichever site suits your purposes the best. We’ll just have to figure something out on our own.”

  He nodded, “Well, it’ll be this site to the north then. Where do you want to be dropped?”

  “By the rail lines,” I said. “About a mile from this structure here.” I tapped the map.

  John nodded, “You can drop us all there, we’ll disperse after we figure out our transportation problems.”

  “All right, I’ll tell your shuttle crew to start planning their mission. Drop’s tomorrow, so have a good night gentlemen.”

  We all nodded and got up, heading back to our quarters. We’d been coasting in as stealthily as possible, while the destroyer had started a diversion off back the way we had come. They had used a series of tuned hydrogen warheads that gave off the same signature of several ships breaking out at once, and then started in while towing a series of decoys that electronically looked like an invasion fleet.

  We’d seen the four defending ships break orbit six hours after the decoy operation had been detected as they bought it. The Captain figured we’d have about the same four hour window as last time. They’d left behind only one defender, a converted freighter that shouldn’t pose much of an issue. The ships going out to engage would be however, if they caught the Falcon. They were all frigates, and two of them looked to be new from what I heard when talking to Dave at breakfast.

  I went and checked up on Hess and Marko to make sure they had their gear in order, then went and saw to mine. About two hours after I was finished Aruba showed up, she had a lot more to deal with getting her platoon in order for the drop.

  “You will not do anything stupid,” She said to me later that night in bed. “And that’s an order, okay?”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” I grumbled and rolled onto my side, pulling her against me.

  “The fun is when I reward you afterwards,” she chuckled and then yawned. “Seriously Raj, can you go six weeks in the heart of enemy territory without trying to kill everyone you see?”
r />   I nodded, “Of course, when the payoff is getting them all,” I yawned as well and then nibbled her ear.

  “Good, cause I’m going to hold you to that. Remember it.”

  The drop went perfectly, and as the troops started to attack the installation our shuttle took us off towards our drop point. About five minutes out John got a call from Dave who was the WSO on our shuttle. “Sergeant, we’re getting some strange chatter from the attack force.”

  “What is it?

  “I think you should hear it, let me pipe it through…”

  A moment later and I could hear Aruba’s voice: “No contacts over here either sir, my squads haven’t seen anyone. The whole place looks deserted.”

  “Damn, my third squad found a couple of squatters of some kind at the gate, but that was it.”

  “Well at least we know why this area had no missile defenses.”

  “The mine here must have run out or something. Okay, set charges so we can at least get a nice fire going and call for pickup. No reason to stick around if there’s nothing here.

  “Roger that Captain.”

  “What do you make of it Raj?” John asked me as Dave cut the feed.”

  “Not good, if that place isn’t operational, then those rail lines are definitely dead.”

  “Just what I’m thinking. Well, nothing we can do about it now.

  “Pilot, how long to drop?”

  “Twenty minutes Sergeant.”

  “That’s too long,” I said, “They’ll be starting to pull out in twenty minutes now.”

  “You’re right; if they just sit there and wait it’ll look suspicious. Damn, let me check my map.”

  I motioned to the others to hook up as John checked it.