Oshiro turned to Karin. “I regret the need to use your starship as an interrogation chamber Captain Karin, unfortunately you have the only translator on the planet that has this man`s language installed into its memory banks.” Oshiro said almost apologetically before turning back to Bishop Marley.
“Now Bishop Marley, where are your people camped, please show me on our map?” Oshiro asked as he pulled out a small scale map of the region.
When Bishop Marley refused to answer his question Oshiro immediately struck him hard, knocking Bishop Marley back against the wall. For five minutes Oshiro put questions to Bishop Marley, and each time he received silence as a reply, and each time his method to extract an answer grew ever more violent. It was then that Bishop Marley`s heart stopped beating, on seeing that his prisoner was dead Oshiro screamed in anger and kicked the dead body of Bishop Marley again and again. Finally he was sated and turning to the two sentries had them remove the body.
Two miles away Mark was holding onto the upper branches of a tall forest tree, it was from this position that he saw the limp body of his friend carried from the smaller starship and taken to the small cemetery began by the colonists after the initial attack. He watched as they dug a shallow grave and placed the body into it, Mark said a prayer as he watched the two sentries cover the body with soil. Sad at heart he returned to his vehicle and drove back to camp; here he broke the news to Joyce Marley and the other colonists. Some of the colonists wanted to execute their prisoners immediately, it was only Joyce Marley`s intervention that stopped the colonists from turning into a lynch mob.
Chapter Nine
Revenge
Joyce Marley, the widow of Bishop Marley, was asked by all of the colonists to take over the spiritual needs of the colony, to lead them in the ways of the lord. She happily agreed, and was given the special ecclesiastical rank of shepherd, a rank used occasionally by the Church of the Universe when it is impossible to send someone who has been ordained a minister of their Church. Later that day she approached Mark, she needed to make her feelings known to the man who was being urged by the colonists to retaliate against the Aldebrans.
“Please listen to me Mark, as with the other colonists, I too want you to commence operations against the Aldebran military, all I ask of you is to not take insane risks that might result in many deaths and injuries to our friends.” Joyce Marley said in a low voice that carried no further than Mark. “Vernon would not have wanted it, and neither do I.”
“Of course Joyce, I will do exactly as you say.” Mark stopped here for a moment while he thought over what he wanted to say to a brave woman, and finally he was ready.
“Joyce, I have heard some fools say that your husband`s death was futile, let me say here and now that it was not, he firmly believed in peace and died in an attempt to stop this insane war which will almost certainly result in many more deaths. It should never be wrong to countenance peace, the problem this time is that our enemy is led by a megalomaniac, one who does not care a fig for the life of anyone except his own, and this philosophy had spread across the entire leadership of the planet, especially amongst their military.” Mark said grimly.
Tears ran down Joyce Marley`s face after hearing Mark`s kind words. “Thank you Mark, for those words, I know that Vernon would have appreciated them, for he thought a lot of you. After you saved the colonists when those animals made their unprovoked attack upon us, he said that you were the only person on the planet that stood a chance of saving our lives.” Joyce Marley stopped here for a moment, but then she looked directly into Mark`s eyes.
“He would not say what I know he must have thought, but I will, if those animals we have captured do attempt to escape, hurting or killing as they do so, I will take up a Phaser rifle and gladly execute them all to a man.” She said grimly, then a troubled frown appeared on her face. “Mark, does that make me just as evil as they are?”
“No Joyce, it makes you as human as the rest of us, we may not be faultless, but at least we try to be, our enemy cannot say that.” Mark replied, and smiled down upon a woman wrought with feelings of self-doubt, but who he was sure would be as good a leader as her husband had been.
**********
The colonists had been asking for a meeting to be held to discuss their demands, they wanted Mark to do something to revenge the death of Vernon Marley, a man who put his search for peace beyond his own life. Mark was happy to accommodate them, but not until he had given the matter some thought. After hours of deliberating he came up with a plan that he was sure would put the fear of god within the hearts of the Aldebran troopers.
“There is only one way for us to conduct this war, as guerrilla fighters, assassins in the night, and our first mission will be one of bloody revenge. I will lead a team of five other sharpshooters to the Aldebran camp; there we will attack the camp over a period of two nights. I already know the men to pick, and I will explain the mission to them when this meeting breaks up.” Mark said grimly.
“Just the six of you, Mark we all want to go.” Joe Butcher complained.
“I know that Joe, and believe me when I say that everyone will be involved in the defeat of the Aldebran troopers, and dangerously so, but not this time, this time what is needed is a clinical operation that should result in no loss of life on our part. If more of our people joined the party there would be too many deaths, as your leader I am unwilling to avenge Bishop Marley by spilling our blood, he would not have wanted that. Please be patient, there are two hundred Aldebrans on the planet, enough to go around, you will soon be in the thick of it.
The meeting broke up here with most of the colonists feeling content with Mark`s decision, as for Mark, he turned to Richard Rider.
“Richard, could you arrange to have two days supplies made ready for eight men, while I get my team together?” Mark asked.
“As long as you understand Mark that the first man you will ask to join your team is me and that I hereby agree to go with you.” Richard said.
Mark shook his friend`s hand. “Thank you Richard, I must admit to being a little anxious about asking you, seeing as how you have seen so much action already.”
Richard immediately began to gather the stores while Mark spoke to four of the colonists who he knew were quite expert in handling a rifle, all of them agreed to go, even if the mission scared them when he told them of it.
Two colonists volunteered to transport them in the two smaller tracked vehicles, the same men who had taken Mark on his last sortie against the Aldebrans, the one that had resulted in Robbie being injured. They left that afternoon, and as before their journey was a long one, lasting well into the night, they were finally dropped off just two hours walk away from the Aldebran camp. The two drivers then drove deep into the forest where they rested up until it was time to return to the drop off point, where they would collect their friends.
It was four in the morning when Mark and his team finally approached the sentries; the area was brightly lit as before by the landing lights of the starships. They slipped quietly along the dark gully towards the troopers guarding the four starships. Richard Rider and Joe Finney stopped near to the salvage ship to await their chance. John McIntire and Karl Meiser stopped near to the freighter. McIntire had done a fair amount of work photographing wild life from close up, and was very skilled in stealthily creeping up on his target. Mark and the final member of the team Rogé Patel carried on along the gully until they reached the troopship; it was here that they also stopped. The first part of the mission that these six men were engaged on was to kill the sentries on guard, and without alerting the sleeping Aldebran troopers.
Richard could see that his targets were bored, they were certainly not afraid of becoming one of the targets of a commando style raid. One of the sentries he was watching, a tall thin man, checked his watch, it was time to check the perimeter and so the man walked slowly away to commence his routine check that all was well on the other side of the massive starship. His comrade, a smaller stouter man
was searching the sky for his home star; the sky was dark now, for the larger of the two moons had finally set beneath the far horizon; however the bright landing lights of the starships meant that his night vison was compromised. Seeing his chance Richard crept quietly forward, his body almost brushing the ground, while Joe Finney had stayed in the gully, covering Richard with his rifle. The quiet of the night was suddenly broken by the howls of the local wolf, the sentry turned to look into the night in search of the animal, swearing at it for breaking his studies of the night sky. Richard suddenly reared up behind the sentry who only saw him at the final moment, he attempted to cry out but Richard`s knife sliced across his throat, and only a soft gurgle came from the mouth of the rapidly dying man. Even though Joe had wanted revenge upon the Aldebrans, seeing it in action caused his muscles to almost give out on him, shocked by what he had seen he was only able to stare at the dead sentry. Richard threw the dead man down into the gulley and then went back for the sentry`s weapon. Seeing that his friend was in a temporary state of shock Richard dropped down beside Joe and had to shake him to jolt him out of his shocked state.
“Sorry about that Richard, but it is the first time that I have seen a man killed in cold blood.” Joe Finney blurted out in the quietest of whispers.
“That is all right Joe, now you know why I left the army, even when the enemy might well deserve death, each such act as this kills a small piece of your soul, I came to New Caledonia to get clear away from it.” Richard said grimly with no trace of humour.
Joe felt an enormous amount of sympathy well up inside him as he looked at his friend, and he thanked god that he had not been asked to commit such an act. They now waited for the second sentry to return. Richard had concealed himself behind a large rock, while Joe, who was dressed in the heavy overcoat and metal helmet of the dead sentry, was relieving himself on the far side of the rock.
The tall sentry came over to him. “Mind if I join you?” He said moving into the space between Joe and the rock and unzipping his trousers.
Richard came around behind the sentry and moments later he too was dead. Joe stood still for a moment longer while he came to terms with being a commando. “Some ruthless killer I am, the mere thought of killing a man close up almost makes me faint.”
Richard looked at his friend and smiled, for he knew that when the time came he would do what was needed of him, especially as it was to revenge the murder of his bishop.
**********
John McIntire and Karl Meiser were watching their own targets, the first was a stocky looking sentry, he was leaning up against the freighter while smoking a cigarette, the second man was of a similar height but he was going to fat. John McIntire and Karl Meiser had never killed another person before, now they had to psych themselves up to do so from close up, although both had been on Mark`s team that had surprised Commander Lu-Song, neither man was looking forward to committing the deed. Mark had told them both what this mission entailed when he had asked them to join him on this mission of revenge, stressing to John McIntire, his own bloody part. Both men had agreed, for they had admired Vernon Marley and wanted to see his sudden death avenged. Now they crouched down in the darkened gully and waited for their chance. It came when the second sentry moved off and began to walk around the freighter to ensure that all was well. The first man had finished his cigarette and decided that he also needed to take a leak. The sentry ambled across to the gully and luckily stood on the other side of a leafy shrub to the two colonists.
John McIntire knew that he could not afford to hesitate while committing the deed, to do so could see one or both of the colonists killed and the lives of the other four men put at risk. As the sound of liquid hitting the bottom of the gully broke the quiet, McIntire geared himself up to the task, he quietly climbed out of the gully and around the far side of the large shrub and without a moment’s hesitation pushed his hunting knife deep into the side of the sentry, his other hand stifling the cries of pain that left the dying man`s mouth. McIntire then twisted the knife and pulled it sharply from his victim, when he knew that life was leaving his victim`s body he slit the man`s throat. The man died quickly now, so McIntire grabbed the now heavy body around its chest, and then he allowed the bloody body to slip quietly down into the darkened gully where Karl Meiser was waiting to lay it down upon the floor. McIntire quickly dropped back down into the gully, he too was in a state of partial shock, Karl Meiser saw this immediately and took charge. First he collected the dead sentry`s rifle, as Mark had ordered, then he waited for the second sentry to return. Karl Meiser seeing that his friend was still a little shaky after the death of the sentry volunteered to take care of the second man, and John McIntire was only too happy to accept the offer.
The sentry finally returned and came to the gully looking for his comrade, he called out his name, then he felt a sharp burning at his throat, Karl Meiser then pushed the dead man away from him, the body falling close to John McIntire, landing with a crumpled thump as it hit the ground. The two men collected the second rifle and returned silently along the gully to where Richard Rider and Joe Finney were waiting. Neither man spoke for both were in a light state of shock, cold bloodedly killing someone with a knife does that to you the first few times, unless you are just plain evil.
**********
Mark and Rogé Patel were the last of the team to complete their mission; their victims were standing near the troopship wondering when this shift would ever end, although they knew that it would only end when the sun came up over the eastern horizon. They decided to walk around the troopship together, to ensure that all was well on the other side where the rest of the troopers were sleeping within their tents. Five minutes later and they reappeared at the other end of the troopship and stopped to light a cigarette. Leaning their rifles against one of the strong landing legs of the troopship, the taller of the two men pulled out his last packet of cigarettes and offered one to his comrade. Taking one out the second man was just about to pull out his lighter when he saw a knife appear beneath his chin, Mark had been concealed behind the landing leg of the starship, the sentry`s death was quick and quiet.
The second sentry stood there too shocked to move for a moment but as he began to reach for his rifle Rogé Patel reached forward and putting one hand over his victim`s mouth, slit the man`s throat.
Rogé let the man fall to the floor to lay crumpled at his feet. “So you are avenged Bishop Marley, now it is time for us to avenge our other friends.”
Mark and Rogé were just about to leave when they saw movement; the sergeant on duty had decided to check up on the sentries, starting with the one detailed to guard the special operations starship.
Mark knew that to leave now was impossible, to do so would soon bring the Aldebran camp to life and risk everything, especially his team`s lives. The sergeant was only minutes away from him, giving Mark little time to think; thankfully Rogé Patel was there to aid him. Mark quickly told Patel what he wanted done, first he pulled out the belt out from the trousers of Rogé`s victim, Patel now rolled the body over and then used his knife to cut a slit down from the collar of the trooper`s heavy overcoat, one the sentry wore as the spring mornings were rather cool on this part of New Caledonia. Now they stood the dead body upright and tied the belt around the trooper`s neck and a part of the landing leg, concealing the belt beneath the heavy overcoat. Rogé Patel now dragged the body of the second sentry and dropped it into the gully and then he slipped back down into the gully while Mark donned the other trooper`s coat and once again waited behind the landing leg.
“Troopers Malin, Rapee, where are you hiding, you are supposed to be on guard duty?” A loud voice demanded to know.
The Sergeant now saw Trooper Malin, and assumed that he was dozing while on duty, his last act was to approach the dead trooper; it was now that Rogé Patel made a noise causing the sergeant to turn around to investigate it.
“Is that you Trooper Rapee?” The sergeant called out.
The sergeant being di
stracted allowed Mark to move silently forward and for the second time that night he killed a man without warning. Mark took the dead sentry`s coat off, he said thank you to Rogé Patel but he had not needed it. He then picked up the dead troopers` rifles, gave one to his friend to carry and then followed Rogé Patel back up the gully to their waiting friends. The sun was just showing over the far horizon, they needed to be away before someone spotted them.
“Ok team let`s head into the prairie and rest up until tonight.” Mark ordered and led the way rapidly into the long grass.
They had already got a place in mind to rest up in; Rogé Patel had found it while returning from the patrol the day after Richard and his team had found the site for the new camp. It was yet another gully, this one though was very narrow, however, at the start of it was a manmade cave, it was another temple of the ancients, albeit a rather small affair, maybe a rustic shrine or a local sanctuary to a minor deity. Nothing much was left of it, only the worked stone and what looked as if it might once have been a sacrificial altar, which was at the far end of the cave, there was also signs that a spring had once flowed through it, and it had probably created the narrow gully outside of the cave. Mark hung their survival blankets over the small opening in an attempt to keep out the heat and the light, and also to ensure that during the early morning, or late afternoon, their heat signatures did not escape from the confines of the cave.
Commando Oshiro sent half of his force out to scour the forest in search of the earthmen, thinking they must have headed back to their new camp which he knew must be somewhere deep inside the vast forest that stretched across much of the northern part of the large continent that the Church of the Universe had chosen to colonise. The forest was broken only by the vast prairie that stretched from the far north and down through the middle of the continent until it met one of the vast oceans of New Caledonia. He used all of the drones to assist in the search, as well as the North Wind, although it was high in the sky. Captain Karin had been given back the task of ensuring that the earthmen did not call home, which was why the North Wind was not flying just above the tree tops. However, as night fell they were no closer to finding the colonists` new encampment, or the Earth commandoes who had mounted their audacious attack.