After the attack, Ostin and Jack sat back, exhausted, against the east wall.
“That was weird,” Jack said. “It’s like they came just to annoy us. Like mosquitoes. What do you think their objective was?”
“They took down the fences,” Ostin said. “There’s only one reason they’d do that.”
Jack looked at him, awaiting the reason. “And that reason is . . . ?”
“. . . Ground troops,” Ostin said. “Boots on ground. I think they’re softening us up for a full-on invasion.” He looked up at the helicopters. “You watch. They’ll do what we were going to do, except they don’t have any reason to hide. They’ll keep sending guards over here until they’re ready to blow the walls.”
“I thought you said these walls were impenetrable.”
“Nothing’s impenetrable,” Ostin said. “The walls can hold off Hellfire missiles but not everything.”
“Like what?”
“A battleship’s cannons.”
“Fortunately, Enele sank their battleship,” Jack said.
“I’m sure Hatch will find another one eventually,” Ostin said.
“You’re so optimistic,” Jack said, shaking his head. “So, if you were Hatch, what would you do?”
“What would I do, or what would I do if I were Hatch?”
“Both.”
“I would have just starved us out,” Ostin said. “But I’m not Hatch. If I were and didn’t care about the lives of my men, I’d start sending men over. Then, when I had a large enough force, I’d either send a detonation team to blow a hole in the wall or, preferably, find a battleship.”
“Why is that preferable?”
“With our weapons, it would be too easy for us to take out a detonation team and capture their explosives. But a battleship, we couldn’t touch it.”
“Why would you start sending men over? Why not send them all at once?”
“Because they don’t have any ships large enough to transport all their men at once, so I’d send them in waves.”
“But if they had a battleship, they’d be able to kill two birds with one stone.”
“If by ‘birds’ you mean our resistance and all hope, yes.”
Jack groaned. “Then what would you do?”
“Then, after we had breached the wall, I’d throw in grenades and smoke bombs to clear the way. Then I’d send in soldiers to take the building.”
“Just like Hades,” Jack said.
“Just like Hades,” Ostin replied. “What would you do?”
“If I were Hatch, I’d punch a hole in the wall. Then I’d fire in a nerve agent, like sarin.”
“You’d have to be sick to do that.”
“ ‘Sick’ is Hatch’s middle name,” Jack said.
Ostin frowned. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t have any sarin.”
* * *
A half hour later Enele came up to the third floor to inspect the damage.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jack and Ostin.
“Yes.”
“Was anyone hurt?”
“Tomas got some shrapnel in his hand, but nothing too serious,” Jack said. “He’s got it wrapped up. How about below?”
“One casualty,” Enele said curtly. “War council in thirty minutes.” He turned and walked away.
* * *
Less then an hour later the same group from before was gathered for war council in the conference room. Everyone except for Adam.
“We’re all here,” Enele said.
“Where’s Adam?” Ostin asked.
The room went quiet, except for Raphe, who was softly crying, his face concealed behind his hands.
“He’s the casualty,” Enele said, forcing himself not to show emotion. “He went out to get a better shot at the helicopters.” His face fell. “They saw him.” Suddenly the anger showed in Enele’s eyes. “This is just the beginning. We must accept that the Elgen are preparing for an invasion. This is better than being starved out, but we must also prepare. We’ve taken full inventory of what weapons and ammunition we have. We are limited and cannot afford to waste, but I believe we have enough.
“To attack us, their biggest problem is getting inside. They can only do this with explosives. There are three ways they can accomplish this. They can drop a bomb from the air. They can, on ground, deliver explosives. Or they can shell us from a battleship. We are fortunate in this regard. They clearly do not have aerial bombs, or they would have used them on Hades. We do not know if they have land explosives, but we know we took all they had at Vaitupu, and Captain Pio then used them to sink their battle cruiser. But if they do have more, we will not allow them near the building. Lastly, we do not believe that they have a battleship; as I said, Captain Pio has sunk it. So, for now, we have a short reprieve. In addition to preparing our men for these three possible situations, how do we best use that time?”
“We never should have come here,” Tomas said. “The old man was wrong. Now we are just papaya waiting to be picked. We should have followed our first plan and attacked Funafuti.”
“We would have died on Funafuti,” Nazil said.
“We’ll die here,” Tomas said. “At least we would have spilled some of their blood.”
Enele said, “Where we are is all that matters now. We must deal with our present situation, not rethink the past choices.”
Raphe raised his hand. “Sir, is it possible to still move toward my original plan?”
Enele was quiet a moment, then said, “Yes. I do not think we will have time to move the whole of our army, but it is still preferable. But the increase in drone activity makes it even more risky.”
“At this point, sir, all options are risky,” Nazil pointed out.
“Well said, Nazil,” Enele said. “I would like to appoint Jack as my second-in-command in charge of keeping the Elgen away from the building.” Enele looked at Jack. “Do you accept that responsibility?”
Jack nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m honored.”
“I know you will succeed. Nazil, you will be in charge of the troops inside the building. I ask you to design a plan to hold off the Elgen should they gain access to the building. They will likely parachute in. In that case Jack and his men will be the first line of defense. If they blow a hole with explosives, I would expect them to take aim at our structurally weakest point—the metal gates of the loading dock. I believe that is why the Elgen helicopters targeted them, to test their strength. As we all saw, the gates are vulnerable. Perhaps not to Hellfire missiles, but certainly to something more powerful. Like a vehicle loaded with explosives. Jack, it is your responsibility to keep them away from the building.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Nazil, we must have a plan to protect the north loading dock if they manage to break through.”
“Yes, Enele.”
“If they are to shell us from the sea, it will be the eastern or southern side of the building that they will target.”
46
Why Did the Elgen Cross the Channel?
The next four days on Plutus were quiet except for the drones. The Elgen had increased the flybys to every two hours. On the third day Jack took a shot at one just out of anger.
“That’s not going to do any good,” Ostin said.
“It did me good,” Jack said. He put down the rifle. “What are they looking for?”
“They’re just making sure we stay put,” Ostin said. “Or trying to drive us mad.”
“It’s working,” Jack said. “They’re not bringing men over.”
“Which means Hatch is waiting for a ship.”
Then the drone did a second flyby.
“That’s new,” Jack said. He lifted his binoculars. “It’s circling.”
“Is it carrying payload?”
“No.” Then Jack lowered his binoculars to the eastern horizon. Then he groaned. “It doesn’t need it.” He turned back to Ostin. “You were right. Hatch found a battleship. And a few others.”
Ostin lifted his own binoc
ulars. “Oh no.” A moment later he said, “Wait, we know those ships. I recognize the flag. They’re Filipino.” He lowered the binoculars. “They’re probably the same ships that captured us in Fiji.”
“Now the Filipinos are helping out,” Jack said. “Why would they help Hatch?”
“Because he owns them,” Ostin said, still looking at the ship. “It’s got sixteen-inch cannons.” He turned back to Jack. “We’re so screwed.”
* * *
It wasn’t a direct hit, but the battleship’s first shell exploded with a deafening boom that shook the entire depository. Even though the shell struck the rock shore twenty yards in front of the southeastern wall, it was big enough to rip away pieces of the outer wall and scatter rock higher than the depository. Smoke rose above the building.
Enele and Raphe came running up. “What was that?” Enele shouted.
“They’ve got a battleship,” Jack said, handing Enele his binoculars. Enele looked out at the ship and shook his head. “There are four ships.”
“They’re the same ships that captured the Joule,” Ostin said. “I’m sure the others are carrying soldiers.”
There was another boom in the distance, and a second shell struck. This one caught a corner of the southeast wall. Jack ran over to the nearest opening and leaned out. “They’ve breached the wall. It’s twelve feet up, too high for them to climb.”
“They’ll keep firing,” Ostin said. “That particular battleship can hold nearly a thousand rounds.”
“We are screwed,” Jack said. “Maybe they’ll just shell us into oblivion.”
“If they hit this floor, it will kill us all,” Raphe said, grabbing Enele. “We’ve got to evacuate this floor.”
“No,” Jack said. “Once they blow a hole in the wall, the soldiers are going to pour in. We need the machine-gun nest to stop them from getting inside.”
“Then we can come back up after they’ve landed their men and have stopped shelling.”
“He’s got a point,” Ostin said. “They’ll stop shelling after they land their own men. We can watch from the third floor.”
As they evacuated the fourth floor, Ostin said to Jack, “Why did the Elgen cross the channel?”
Jack looked at him. “Why?”
“To kill us.”
47
Losing Faith
As the ships neared the island, the shells fell with greater accuracy. The fourth and fifth shells struck within seconds of each other, creating a hole big enough for a dozen men to enter at once.
“They got their front door,” Jack said.
“She’s still coming closer,” Ostin said. “And the other ships are turning north.”
“That’s where the dock is,” Enele said. “They are preparing to land.”
Then Nazil and Tomas came up to the third floor. “Enele, they’ve opened the wall,” Nazil said. “Your orders?”
“My orders remain as before. We know where they are coming; prepare your men to hold the fortress.”
“We are prepared,” Nazil said. “We have a machine-gun nest in place.”
Just then another shell struck. It was well placed and landed a few yards inside the hole they’d blown in the wall. It shook the building and filled the lower level of the depository with smoke.
“Enele, you need to get below to the vaults,” Raphe said. “They can withstand the ship’s cannons.”
Enele didn’t move.
“Sir.”
“Why? So Hatch can put me in a monkey cage like my grandfather? No, I’ll fight to the end. I will stand here when the Uira te Atua comes in his glory.” He looked out over the ocean and the nearing ships. “Uira te Atua, do not let our faith be in vain.” Then he said, “Why is he waiting?”
“Because he is not coming,” Tomas said. “Because it is all just myth.”
“Do not speak so,” Raphe said.
“We are doomed,” Tomas said.
“Go below with your troops,” Enele ordered.
“Troops,” Tomas said. “They are basket weavers.”
Nazil and Tomas left the floor.
Ostin said to himself, “Michael, if you’re coming, now would be a good time.”
* * *
The good news was that the battleship stopped shelling the depository. The bad news was that it was because the other three Filipino ships were about to dock and release their troops.
Looking out the north wall slot of the fourth level, Jack could see the ships lined up, the men on dock armed and ready to swarm the island. He estimated that there were at least several thousand soldiers just on the first ship, half Elgen, half Filipino. Hatch had efficiently brought in his guard from around the world. “Here they come.” He turned back to Ostin. “It’s déjà vu.”
“Yeah,” Ostin said. “Hades all over. Except this time, it’s without Michael.” He breathed out heavily as a gangplank began to extend from the ship.
“At least we’ll be with him soon,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?”
Jack pointed skyward. “In heaven.”
“You think there’s a heaven?” Ostin asked.
“There’s got to be.”
“Why is that?”
“Look around you. We know there’s a hell. There’s got to be balance, somewhere.”
“What if there’s not?”
Jack shook his head. “Then we’ll never know, will we?”
Ostin’s eyes filled with tears. “My poor parents.”
“They’ve got their own problems. In some ways, we’re the lucky ones.”
“How’s that?”
“When you’re dead, you’re free. No pain, no Elgen. No Hatch.”
“No fear,” Ostin said.
“Are you afraid?” Jack asked.
Ostin nodded. “Terrified. Are you?”
Jack looked at him. “I try not to think about it.”
Just then one of the ships blew a horn.
“They do that before they unload,” Ostin said.
“I need to make sure everyone is ready,” Jack said.
He ran around the fourth floor, checking out his twelve riflemen and three machine gunners.
“This all the ammo we have?” Jack asked one of the machine gunners. In light of the growing enemy, the twenty-two boxes they had seemed inadequate.
“Yes, sir,” the gunner replied. “We brought up all we have.”
“All right. Don’t waste ammo. We’ll at least make them fight their way in.”
Just then a door opened on the ship’s second level and a second gangplank extended to the dock.
“What’s that?” Ostin said.
Jack looked out at the boat. “They’ve got a tank. That’s not fair.”
“We are so screwed,” Ostin said.
Jack looked at Ostin. “Remember that time when we caught you behind the school and Wade pantsed you, underwear and all?”
“I’ll remember that until the day I die. Which is probably today, anyway. Why?”
“Sorry.”
“You’re apologizing now?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I forgive you.”
“And Wade?”
“I’ll forgive him, too.”
“Thanks.”
“I don’t forgive Mitchell.”
“Well, he did let us hang out at his place when the Elgen were hunting us.”
“That’s true.”
“And he paid for all that pizza.”
Ostin sighed. “Okay. I’ll forgive him, too.” A moment later Ostin said, “Since we’re doing this, I need to apologize too.”
“For what?”
“Back when I found out that you were driving Michael and me to California, I told Michael that I didn’t like you.”
“Of course you didn’t. We pantsed you.”
“Yeah. Well, I also said if Wade was in a shark tank and asked for help, I’d throw in chum.”
Jack laughed. “Good thing you didn’t say that to my face. Back then I pr
obably would have smacked you.”
“I figured.”
“Not that you did anything wrong, but I forgive you too. I think Wade would too.”
“Thanks.”
Jack and Ostin both looked at the tank sitting on the gangplank. “Our guns won’t do a thing to that,” Ostin said.
“See that tank in back?” Jack said. “The smaller one with the weird gun? It’s not really a tank.”
“What is it?”
“Really? I actually know something you don’t know?”
“I don’t know everything,” Ostin said.
“You could have fooled me. It’s an M132 armored flamethrower.”
“An unstoppable flamethrower. That’s not good.”
“No. If they’re smart, they’ll drive it inside that hole they breached and push us back. The halls are wide enough for it. And if not, they’ll just drive through them. We’ve got to tell Nazil to set the land mines.”
“This is all kinds of happy,” Ostin said. “Do you know where the flamethrower tank came from?”
Jack shook his head. “No idea.”
“Britain. It was developed late in World War II. They called it the Churchill Crocodile.”
“I always wanted a weapon named after me,” Jack said. “Like the Sherman tank or the Pershing missile.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought that would be cool.”
“I always wanted a university named after me,” Ostin said.
“It would have happened,” Jack said. “And there would be a statue of you in front of it. Ostin University.”
Ostin smiled. “People would get it mixed up with the University of Texas at Austin. Maybe it would have to be Liss University.”
“That’s a good name,” Jack said.
“I always thought you’d receive the Medal of Honor someday,” Ostin said.
Jack looked at him. “You did?”
“Yeah. Maybe you still will. Posthumously.”
Jack was suddenly quiet. “That may be the best thing anyone has ever said to me.” He looked back toward the enemy boat. “Why is that tank not moving?”