CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I joined the United Corps of Starfield Travelers because I wanted to be a starship captain. Such a noble, worthy goal to have as a child. Travel the starfield, visit folk on lots of worlds, find new worlds and make them safe for folk who want to move there… help folk everywhere do all sorts of important things. Ten-year-old Rylae Westiel only imagined the happy parts of the job.
I grew older and started basic schooling, and I began to learn how the world worked. School is boring, and there’s lots of work to do that isn’t fun. Adults have to do work that isn’t fun all the time, so being a starship captain obviously would come with a lot of times where the work isn’t fun. Sometimes being a captain is probably as boring as watching rocks dry after a rainstorm. But it would still be a starship captain’s job, so it would still be awesome even when it’s boring.
Transferring to the Academy, I still held out high hopes. I was finally done with all the boring schooling, and was ready to learn the exciting things – all the awesome magic used to run a starship, all the interesting folk it takes to run a starship, all the exciting folk to meet on other worlds, all the wonderful things to see and experience. By this point, I knew the job was pretty much a choice between running a diplomatic ship, a message ship, a trade ship, or an exploration ship. Some of those choices didn’t sound like much fun, but I would still be a starship captain.
I learned about the battalion in Academy, and have spent a lot of time training and learning how to fight. I understood that, sometimes, the only diplomatic solution was to send a bunch of ruffians to stand firm and hold the line. I accepted that, as a captain, there were times I’d have to make a call to a battalion major or master sergeant and give the go-ahead to start the fighting. I accepted that responsibility as important to the reasons we had to do it.
Once I joined the Corsari, I started learning that things aren’t exactly like you’re taught. For one, I didn’t realize exactly how often a battalion is used in diplomatic missions. Turns out, it’s used a lot, and for a lot of different reasons. Over the years, I accepted those reasons, as most of them were beneficial to our overall missions. I was still okay with deploying the battalion when required.
As I worked my way up through my ranks, I met many battalion members and heard their stories. I recognized that they were folk just like me, but with different stories and situations. They’re members of the ship as much as I am. And sometimes they die in battle. I’ve seen a lot of battalion members die on missions. However, I again accepted that as part of the cost of the missions. Not a cost I enjoyed knowing had to be paid, but a cost that sometimes was required. The battalion members also understand that, so while I still get sad for each individual member lost, I know each of them accepted that potential cost and is okay with being part of the mission.
I’ve had to be in a lot of fights myself. That’s something I never expected when I first joined the Corps, but it’s something I recognized as being just as much a part of the mission as deploying the battalion. I’ve been attacked by ‘opposition groups’ who objected to our presence as mediators on-world. I’ve been attacked by assassins aiming either for me directly or someone else on my ship. I’ve been attacked by hit-squads attempting to hurt dear friends. Every one of those times, I was defending myself or someone else, and I understood that sometimes you have to kill to defend. I accepted that, and added it to the list of things I didn’t realize I had to do to be a starship captain.
Just a week ago, I recognized the ‘warrior leader’ mentality of Cap and Admiral Shockpaw. I knew that both of them were Battalion Majors in their pasts, and I saw how that mentality has helped them. I never thought about how they got that mentality, though. I’ve always known there were two ways to get to be a starship captain – through the battalion or through the executive officer track – but I never really considered the difference before.
Thinking about it now, I realize that all of the captains and admirals I know which chose the ‘paper trail’ route are different. They’re more bureaucratic, spending more time at a desk than in the field. They worry more about the paperwork and regulations, and about what’s ‘proper’. Folk, like Admiral Longbow, who fret more about the language you use than the specifics of the mission.
The officers I’ve always respected, however, are the ones like Cap and Admiral Shockpaw. The ones who know how hard it is to achieve a mission. The ones who know that sometimes diplomacy and discussion can only be fully achieved after bloodshed. The ones who recognize when we’re doing good work for good folk, but who sometimes need to help protect those good folk from bad folk.
I didn’t join the UCST to fight in a battalion and kill folk. I didn’t join the UCST to lead a battalion into a battle where they would fight to rescue a world essentially held under siege by power-hungry warlords. Ten-year-old Rylae, School-age Rylae, Academy Cadet Rylae, and even Ensign/Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander Rylae didn’t really understand all of the truths of the job of a starship captain.
As I sit in the driving compartment of Unit 5 Section B’s landcraft, preparing to assault a shopping area building containing an unknown number of gang members, weapons, and my Lieutenant who needs to be extracted, I realize that Commander Rylae Westiel, Executive Officer of the UCST Corsari who took her captain’s test a couple weeks ago, may be learning a new lesson today in the truths of being a starship captain.
It’s a stunning realization, really. I should talk with Cap about it a bit more, when we all get back to the ship. If we all get back to the ship.
I check the time on the terminal and look at the armored dwarf driving. “Five minutes, aye?”
He nods. “Aye, ma’am. On schedule.”
Excellent. “Platoon leaders. Five minutes, confirm.” The opening phrase connects my helmet communicator to my two platoon leaders so they receive the message. LC Rhuviel is in Unit 5 Section A’s landcraft, and Sergeant Bigstink is in Unit 5 Section C’s, both behind my leading landcraft. I hear them both confirm, and turn back to my tactical plan.
Based on LC Darkmuck’s information, the shopping area contains four stores – a home supply store, a food and farming store, a landcraft sales store, and an off-world trading post, in that order. The off-world trading post, on the end, is our target. The Black Tongues use that store as a sales front for a lot of their smuggled merchandise, as well as a storage and recruiting location. It’s where the raid sixty years ago killed most of the Darkmucks in ‘the family’. Supposedly, the store was sold to another party after the raid, but I guess that was just another member of ‘the family’, or possibly Captain Darkmuck himself.
It doesn’t do much business these days with most of the gang’s off-world trading suspended, so we’re hoping there are no non-combatants inside. Being close to the landcraft store, we’re hoping that business there is slow today as well. There are two sets of doors on each of three sides, so we have a lot of area to cover. LC Rhuviel will be covering the front, Sergeant Bigstink will be covering the back, and I’ll be on the third side, farthest from the landcraft building. Each landcraft has almost-three squads of nine folk. Some creative movement put some extra ranged soldiers in my craft to fill it out.
As our landcraft roll up to the shopping area, I can see a number of folk by the home and food stores, but the landcraft store between them and our target is practically a wall protecting them. Approximately two dozen landcraft are sitting in the area in front of the store, thankfully separating where we’ll be fighting from the folk at the food store.
As we get closer to the target, I can see a handful of goblins standing outside the front doors, casually chatting. Once they notice us, they break for the doors like they’re being attacked by monsters. I suppose that’s a fairly accurate analogy, actually. “Platoon leaders. We’ve been noticed. Expect heavy defense.” I hear their confirmations and return focus to the scene.
My driver goes past the front and turns the corner, sw
inging around and coming to a stop parallel to the building. As we stop, I can see Sergeant Bigstink’s landcraft cut past us and round the corner to the back, coming to a stop. LC Rhuviel’s team will be behind us at the front.
As soon as the landcraft stops, everyone jumps out. I take a position at the front of the landcraft, where I can see the action on all three sides. The squads in each section form up between the landcraft and the building, with only about 35 meters between us and the doors. I pull my spellshooter from its holster and hold it lowered at my right side, holding my combat shield up with my left arm to cover most of my body from shoulders to knees. Pressing the charm activates a magical resistance spell, coating the shield in a blue glow.
Kesn wrote us a small thing to say when we got here, so things are legal and there can be no question as to our intentions. “Activate amplify,” I say into my helmet com. A small tinkle sound lets me know it’s working. Every command helmet has an option to amplify voice for cases like this.
“Members of the Black Tongues. This Unit has been ordered by His Majesty, King Damnation, to raid and occupy this location. You may exit peacefully, lay down your weapons, and surrender, and you will be treated kindly. Otherwise, we will attack. You have one minute.”
A few seconds after I stop talking, another tinkling sound lets me know that the amplify spell has ended. I begin counting in my head. The area’s quiet, if you can ignore the clanking of steel armor.
As I get to fourteen, a flash of fire from the back of the building catches my eye. “All squads, contact rear. Begin attack.”
I look ahead as the squads in my unit advance on the side of the building. An instant later, a dozen or so goblins with crossbows and spellshooters pop out of the doors and fire. They’re frantic, disorganized, and don’t appear to be aiming at anything in particular. A few bolts skitter along the packed clay ground where they fired too low, and a couple fly past to the side. Only one or two hit the advancing squads, and those bounce off harmlessly.
The goblins with spellshooters are a different matter. A fireball and three green-glowing force missiles hit the squads in varied positions. The foremost squad members are equipped with shields like mine, and are able to take the brunt of the fireball without much damage. The force missiles hit two soldiers on the left and one soldier on the right, knocking them backwards and on the ground. The medic with our group rushes to check on them while the holes in the formation are patched by nearby soldiers.
Our return fire begins. A lightning bolt cracks loudly between a spellshooter and the goblin it hit, sending him flying back into the wall of the store. He drops to the ground and appears out of the fight. I see another two goblins fall with crossbow bolts in their chests, one drops from a green force missile, and three on the left take a fireball straight on, taking them out.
The rest of the goblins fire again, except for one who ducks back inside, probably to alert the remaining gang members. My squads are about halfway between the landcraft and the building now, giving the goblins more accuracy. Four more squad members take force missiles and drop to the ground, and two take hits from crossbow bolts but don’t fall. I see another fireball hit the front rank and dissipate.
Another handful of goblins run outside to take up positions and shoot at us. At that second, I hear LC Rhuviel’s voice in my helmet, “Platoon leaders, contact Lieutenant, front.” I glance to the front of the building just in time to see a large wall of fire appear between our attackers and the defending goblins. After a few seconds, the wall disappears and LC Rhuviel’s attackers charge the doors.
I see a goblin turn the corner from the front to my side just as I hear Rhuviel’s voice again. “Unit Command! Lieutenant cleared front enemies and is advancing on your sector!”
I look closely at the goblin on the corner, and it’s definitely Zaxn. “Section B, contact Lieutenant Gloomfire left!” I get the command out to my team quickly, hoping no one shoots Zaxn by accident. Just then, I see him raise his arms to his chest like he’s carrying something. Suddenly, he’s holding a large ball of fire in his arms. Taking it in one hand, he swings his arm up and around, releasing the ball in the direction of the enemy goblins. The ball extends out, between us and the goblins, into a huge wall of fire.
Once it’s fully extended, he swings his arm toward the building, and the wall of fire crashes into the goblins as it smashes into the wall behind them. When the fire dissipates, all of the gang members on our side are on the ground.
Wow. I shake off the surprise as quickly as I can. “Section B, advance into the building!” My squads take off at a run, quickly clearing the rest of the empty lot and rushing the doors. Three soldiers are still on the ground, and the medic is bouncing between them.
Once the soldiers are inside, Zaxn walks past the doors and continues to the rear of the building where there’s still fighting. “Platoon leaders. Lieutenant cleared section B enemies, advancing on section C!”
I start running toward him as he reaches the corner and cradles another ball of fire in his arms. He throws another wall out and smashes it against the enemies in section C. I get to him as Sergeant Bigstick releases his squads to rush the building. Neither of us could possibly hear anything over the clanging armor, so I wait until it quiets down before I announce my presence to him.
Turning back to my section, I see two of the soldiers on the ground are gone, probably back up and inside the building now. There’s still one soldier on the ground with the medic, but everyone else is inside clearing that out. I hope that one soldier is okay.
A hand taps the shoulder of my armor. I turn to see Zaxn standing next to me and smiling. “Hey, Rylae. I told you I’d bring the fire. I guess this means my spying job is done?”
Smiling, I nod back. “It is. Go grab a seat in the landcraft. We’ll discuss things back at the ship.”
He shakes his head. “I have to grab some evidence from inside. I’ll help the soldiers while I’m in there, if they need me.” He walks toward the closest set of doors, straight-backed and with his head held high. He doesn’t look anything at all like the nerdy goblin boy I remember from a few days ago.
I wonder if that’s good or bad.