15
The Press Conference
The next morning Commander Lanzia ordered the 3rd Army to attack the TGA from behind and cut them off from their supply lines. They delayed their attack until mid-morning to give time for Threebeard’s strategy to work. Initially they encountered very little resistance. A wing of the 1st Airborne was sent to soften up the enemy and then the infantry attacked. The enemy seemed confused to see troops coming at them from behind and ill prepared for the battle. Thousands were killed before the TGA air force showed up and started putting up some resistance.
Again the 1st Airborne came at the hovertanks on the front lines with a vengeance. But this time the enemy had anti-aircraft batteries with each hovertank and the Loyalist fighters had difficulty getting close enough to the hovertanks to disrupt their pulses. Then late in the day as the anti-aircraft batteries ran out of missiles, due to the disruption to their supply lines, the Loyalist fighters started putting hovertanks out of commission again.
When most of the hovertanks were destroyed Threebeard ordered his army to stop their retreat and engage the enemy face to face like the night before. Again there were heavy casualties on both sides, but at the end of the day the Loyalists had stood their ground. As night fell over central Rigimol the battlefield became as still as a graveyard.
After the last fighter had landed, Leek went back to the command center to talk to Lorin and see how she assessed the day’s events. He was feeling pretty good about how his army had done but he wanted to get Lorin’s assessment and to see how the media was reporting it.
The command center was a hive of activity. Leek was surprised to see so many new faces. Lorin was at her post so he walked briskly over to her. “Where did you get all these people?”
“Oh. Well, some of the senior staff had been hiding out in Quori and when they heard we had a new headquarters here they came at once. It’s a good thing too. I don’t need to be worrying about feeding troops. I’ve got the entire Tarizon underground to get organized.”
“So, how do you think it went today?” Leek asked.
“Threebeard’s a genius. We all knew that. He stopped them for the second night in a row.”
“I thought the 3rd Army did pretty well too, didn’t you?”
“Yes, considering what little time they had to get organized and trained, I think they did remarkably well.”
“How’s the media reporting it?”
“They’re claiming the army is advancing as expected and that the Loyalists are in retreat.”
“Nothing about Gallion or the destruction of the TGA’s fleet of hovertanks?”
“Not directly. Videl did call the Loyalists a bunch of cowardly thieves today in an address to the General Assembly.”
“Well, he may have a point,” Leek admitted.
Lorin smiled. “He may have more to say about it tonight. He’s asked the media for time to address the citizens of Tarizon.”
“That’s unusual, isn’t it?” Leek asked.
“Yes. I think it’s because of our new Liberation Network. I’m sure he was angry when our reporters pointed out the details of Gallion and our success at knocking out hovertanks.”
Major Oakril interrupted them to say that Videl was about to go on the air. Lorin and Leek went over the big video monitor on one of the walls of the command center. The news reporter was advising the listeners that they were going live to Shisk for an address to the citizens from Chancellor Videl Lai.
An image of the Capitol Building came on the screen and the announcer said to stand by for the Chancellor’s address. The screen changed to the Chancellor’s ornate office. Videl Lai was seated in a large red and gold upholstered chair which to Leek looked a little like a throne. The Chancellor leaned forward and began to speak.
“Citizens of Tarizon. I asked for this time tonight to address you so I could dispel any concerns you might have about your security. There have been ridiculous reports from the Loyalists’ new propaganda station that the TGA is being defeated on the battlefield. That is a lie. Since our campaign started on the Rini River we have stormed through Tributon and now are half-way through Rigimol. In a few days we will take the capital city of Shini and drive the Loyalist army into the sea.
“As I promised you when I took office I would not tolerate treason or desertion and anyone discovered aiding the enemy would be summarily executed. Unfortunately, there have been a few misguided officials, officers and soldiers who have gone over to the enemy and they have paid for their treachery.
“The first was Chancellor Garcia when he started this rebellion. Well, you saw what happened to him. He was choked to death in front of his family, friends and fellow traitors. He thought he was safe far away in Rigimol but he was wrong!”
Lorin gasped in horror. “That dirty skutz! I’d like to poke his eyes out.” Leek took Lorin in his arms and held her.
“And then there was the, so called, Prophecy and Leek Lanzia suddenly appears, claiming to be the Liberator. Well, we couldn’t get to him directly but we captured his mate, Lucinda Dimitri, and she’s confessed that Leek Lanzia is a fraud.”
The screen dissolved into a view of a prison cell. Lucinda was chained to the wall like a zoo animal and looked like she was barely alive. Leek tensed at the scene and Lorin began to cry. In the background a voice asked, “Tell us, Lucinda. Is Leek Lanzia the Liberator?”
Lucinda coughed and struggled to speak. “No. He’s Peter Turner from Earth. He’s . . . he’s—”
“Is he the Liberator?” the voice boomed.
“No! He’s just an exile. He’s nobody,” she said, her voice trailing off.
Videl’s picture flipped back on the screen. “You see what happens to traitors. They suffer and then they die! Rest assured, every last Loyalist and Loyalist sympathizer will be found and executed.
“Now, you’ve heard reports that the TGA is being defeated on the battlefield. Well, it’s a lie and tomorrow the Loyalist soldiers will regret the day they deserted the TGA. Tomorrow they will pay as we will unleash a weapon so devastating that they will wish they were never born!”
The screen changed again to another prison cell. A soldier was being injected with something by a guard. He immediately began to thrash and writhe in pain. The camera zoomed in for a closeup of his swelling head, bulging cheeks and eyes that looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. Leek felt nauseous.
“This is what is in store for every Loyalist soldier out there on the front lines tomorrow and there is no way to escape it. Good night, citizens of Tarizon, and sleep well. The enemy’s days are few.”
Leek looked at Major Oakril. “What’s this new weapon? Do we have any intelligence on it?”
“No. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“What do you think? Is it some kind of chemical weapon?”
“From the video, that would be my guess.”
“How will they deliver it?” Leek asked. “Use a crop duster to fly over us and spray it on us?”
“More likely they’d fly over us and drop canisters of the toxin that would rupture on impact,” Lorin replied.
“Then we can’t let them control the skies tomorrow. We’ve got to stop them from delivering that chemical.”
“I’m afraid that will be difficult,” Major Oakril replied. “There were new fighters streaming into Gallion yesterday and they have a full airborne division at Mapi. We’ll be outnumbered at least two to one tomorrow, I’m sure.”
“You should have blown up the runways before we left Gallion,” Lorin said.
“We were going to, but our visit got cut short by the hovertank,” Leek replied.
“We don’t have chemical warfare equipment, but I know where we can get breathers for everyone. There’s a warehouse full of them at Rhule. The 3rd Army found it on their way through town. I’ll send someone back to get them.”
“What about our so
ldiers in Rigimol?” Major Oakril asked.
“I’ll make sure Threebeard is aware of the situation,” Leek said. “I’m sure he can get his soldiers prepared for a chemical attack.”
Lorin ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “What’s wrong?”
“None of these precautions are going to do any good. Videl wouldn’t have told us about this new weapon unless he was absolutely sure we had no defense against it.”
“Maybe it’s a bluff,” Major Oakril suggested. “Maybe Videl just wanted to scare our soldiers—try to get some of them to desert.”
“I don’t think so,” Leek said. “If he was trying get them to surrender he’d have offered them amnesty. There’s no reason to surrender if you know you’re going to get shot.”
“I’m going to issue the breathers anyway,” Lorin said. “It won’t hurt to have them.”
When Leek returned to his quarters he closed his eyes and connected to Threebeard. He thought about Videl’s press conference, seeing Lucinda, and about the new weapon described by Videl. Threebeard felt badly about Lucinda and promised Videl would pay one day for his crimes. Then Leek asked him what his strategy would be for the following day.
“I want you to have Tam and his special unit available for a mission tomorrow. We have to control the skies tomorrow at all costs. If we face the TGA in a fair fight, I believe we can win, but if our troops are dodging cluster bombs all day, we won’t have a chance.”
After Threebeard and Leek had severed their connection Leek went to see Tam. He explained what Threebeard wanted them to do and asked him to get on it right away. Tam agreed and left immediately to make preparations. When Leek got back to his quarters, Lorin was there.
“I’m sorry about Luci. It must have killed you to see her like that.”
Anger began to well in Leek again as the image of his mate chained to the wall of her cell came back to him. He’d tried to repress the thought because it was so debilitating. He couldn’t show weakness in front of his troops. He had to be strong and focused. But now there was no reason to hold it in. He took Lorin in his arms and they both cried. They cried for her father, they cried for Jake and they cried for Lucinda. They cried and grieved for some time, but when they were done they felt a little better.
After Lorin left Leek slept, but it was a troubled slumber full of fiendish nightmares. In one of them he woke up with an angry snake hissing at him. Instinctively he grabbed it below its head and held it as far away from himself as he could. Then he found a stick and started beating its head over and over again. He woke up breathing heavily and shaking like a tree in a hurricane.
He looked at his alarm clock and saw that it was almost time to get up. He didn’t want to risk another dream so he turned on the light and got dressed. When he went outside, Tam’s unit was preparing to board their transportation to Gallion and Mapi. Leek understood the importance of their mission, but feared Gallion’s heightened security might make the mission there impossible. He knew the unit had little intelligence on Mapi, so the task there would be even more perilous.
Leek went over to Tam. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Tam nodded. “I think so. Wish us luck.”
Leek smiled. “I will. If anything goes wrong just abort and get back here. Security will be tight.”
“You know. I’m not so sure about that. They’ll probably be more surprised this time than they were the last time we showed up. Besides, this time we plan to get in and out without being detected. All we have to do is tap into their fuel supply and let the contaminant do its job.”
The contaminant was engineered personally by Threebeard. Only a small quantity introduced into the fuel supply would start a chain reaction that would change the chemical characteristics of the entire body of liquid and render it useless as a jet fuel. Once it was pumped into the fuel tanks the fighters would become inoperable. Only after removing all the fuel and cleaning out the residue could new fuel be pumped in. This was a slow process and would keep the fighters out of the sky for several days.
Of course, it was expected that the TGA would discover the problem before a lot of fighters were refueled, but that would still leave all the available fuel contaminated. To get the rest of the fighters in the air would require trucking or flying in fuel from another source. Either way the TGA would be out of the air for a day or two.
“Make sure that’s what happens. In and out, no fireworks.”
They embraced and then Tam started toward the plane. Just then a stout mutant soldier with hands like a spork climbed aboard. Leek stared at them. Tam smiled.
“That’s Digger. He can dig a tunnel faster than a ground trencher.”
Leek raised his eyebrows. The sight of the mutant with hands like the paws of a groundhog was unsettling. He couldn’t imagine having to live with such a deformity. He wondered if Digger had been forced to endure a lot of ridicule over his odd-looking hands. He knew on Earth that would be the case, but because there were so many mutants on Tarizon he thought it might be different. At least he hoped so.
“Sounds like he’ll come in handy,” Leek finally replied.
Tam nodded and climbed aboard. Leek watched the two planes take off into the early morning sky and split off in different directions. He prayed the missions would be successful.