In the future, Fragger Sparks is back in action!
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
“How many men have we lost in the month since we captured this ship, Iso?”
Fragger Sparks asked his question of his second-in-command from the healing table of the dropship’s sick bay. Around him in the cool darkness, a quietly whirring machine worked at repairing the injury to his ruined face. The Ranger didn’t like to admit it, but he’d enjoyed the rest. The air conditioning was a relief from the heat of the steaming Jivaron jungle and the nasty swarmbugs hatched in its hell. He didn’t miss the smell, either. Fragger sighed. Of all the planets in the universe, he’d managed to land on one that had a giant fart for an atmosphere.
The Ranger glanced at the surgical repair device, willing it to repair his damaged face but not holding out a great deal of hope for the treatment. To the energy weapons of the future in which he’d found himself, flesh had little more resistance than the thinnest sheet of paper. His left eye had never stood a chance against the power blade of Lord Lesto’s officer in the battle for the ship. It was gone for good.
He turned his head to try to get a better look at Isoruku Watanabe. The movement sent a ripple of pain up the side of his head.
“Damn it, Iso, haven’t you learned by now to stand on my good side? Come around here where I can see you with my remaining eye! It’s damned maddening to keep talking to people I can’t see. All I can hear is that heavy breathing of yours. Why don’t you ask Dr. Lesto if she can give you a new nose?”
The sergeant’s underslung jaw jutted itself into the Ranger’s view. Underneath the rocky cleft Iso Watanabe called a brow, two brown eyes fixed an amused gaze on Fragger as a finger rubbed unconsciously at the pug nose that seemed perpetually plugged. It was a joke among the men that when Sergeant Watanabe snored, planets moved out of their orbits.
“What’s so damned funny?” Fragger demanded.
“You want to deliver me into the hands of Lord Lesto”s daughter? She’s been trying to kill you ever since you took this ship and drove her father into the jungle. Since she hasn’t succeeded yet, she’ll settle for me just to get at you. Before that Aiforian woman would fix my nose, she’d cut it off and shove it up my rear end. And that’s only if she couldn’t get at my balls first. I have no idea of why you’ve kept that woman alive.”
“Killing unarmed women isn’t part of my job description.”
“It’s not part of mine, either,” Iso said. “But when even a woman is trying to kill you, you get rid of her. Especially one as deadly as Lord Lesto’s daughter. It’s simple preservation.”
Unwilling to admit that Iso might be right, Fragger countered, “She’s fixing me, isn’t she?”
Iso snorted. “She’s not fixing a damned thing. The machine’s doing all the work, and it’s repairing everything but your attitude. You didn’t find my breathing that irritating before you lost the eye.”
A flare of pain in his cheek made Fragger snap out his words. “That’s true. It was all the rest of you I found annoying. Now, I asked you a question. Give me an answer without your attitude. How many men have we lost since I’ve been cooped up in here?”
“I’ll remind you, colonel, that you’re the one with the attitude.”
“Sergeant!”
“Twenty.”
“And how have we lost them?”
“As far as I can tell, we’ve lost most of them to Tyco Radmuller’s creatures, particularly the slipsnakes. The damned things are fast and deadly because they’re so damned hard to see. The hellhounds are nasty but easier to avoid.”
“You said “most’, Iso.”
“Yes. Others were likely killed by Lord Lesto and his troopers. Lesto’s not happy that we took his ship and his daughter. We thwarted his plans to make use of your hyperspace ability and humiliated him, all at the same time. And we certainly underestimated his ability to survive in the Jivaron jungle. The situation is aggravating.”
“And dangerous,” Fragger added. “Do you think Radmuller and Lesto have formed some sort of alliance so they can overcome our defenses?”
“It’s possible, colonel, but I don’t think so. Radmuller’s megalomania prevents him from taking on partners, even ones who might benefit him. If Lesto forms an alliance with anyone, it will be with the Corpse and Ricer forces blockading Jivaro as part of the Great Powers fleet. My guess is that, at the moment, he’s simply piggybacking on top of Radmuller’s attacks so as to make the most of the opportunity to get his daughter and his ship back.”
“You’re probably right,” Fragger admitted. “Shit! What are you doing to counter Lesto’s and Radmuller’s tactics?”
“I’ve sent Bucaram out with his headhunters to disrupt their attacks. The Shuar know the jungle better than anyone.”
“And what are the results?”
Watanabe shrugged. “The usual tit-for-tat in jungle warfare. They kill a few of us. We kill a few of them. Radmuller is the one with the advantage in this situation. Apparently, he has an unlimited supply of his genetically modified abominations.”
Fragger raised a brow at Watanabe’s tone of indignation, wincing at the pain the movement caused. “‘Abominations?’ I’ve never heard you use a term like that before. I didn’t know these creatures bothered you that much.”
“They didn’t before,” Iso said, “but that lunatic Radmuller has added something new to his mix of slipsnakes and hellhounds.”
Fragger cursed at this news. “Jesus, now what?”
“Baboons and gorillas. Silverbacks. We’re now facing pissed-off 400-pound beasts with the intelligence to plan attacks and the dogged persistence of Salinsky.”
Fragger managed a grin at the mention of Corporal Salinsky. “I don’t think Red would appreciate the association with apes, even if Radmuller has given them homicidal tendencies.”
Watanabe returned the grin. “It’s a promotion for Red to be compared to Jivaron primates.”
“What duties have you assigned him?” Fragger asked
“The organization and maintenance of position defense.”
“And he’s doing it well, I’ll bet.”
Watanabe offered a nod of admiration for Salinsky’s efforts. “Red was born for defensive warfare. It suits his plodding personality. Most of our losses have been on patrols. We’ve had a few incursions into the perimeter, but nothing bad.”
Fragger asked, “Who got inside the perimeter?”
“Not who, colonel, what. Three of Radmuller’s genmod baboons broke through and made it inside the ship. They got their teeth into a couple of troopers before we took them out.”
“How’d they break through?”
“Sheer numbers,” Iso answered. “And speed. Those little bastards can move fast.”
“Attrition, that’s Radmuller’s strategy then?”
“That’s as good a description I can think of,” Iso answered. “And it’s working too damned well. We’ve about exhausted the supplies from Lesto’s dropship. He and his men weren’t planning to stay on Jivaro long, so they didn’t provision heavily. We get provisions from Shuar villages and supplement it with game from the jungle. But that means we lose people in the process.”
“Well,” Fragger said, thinking out loud, “in our attack, we killed the pilot for this ship, and we don’t have one handy, so escape from Jivaro is impossible at the moment. And even if we could, our odds are not great at breaking through the planetary blockade. But we can’t sit here and wait for Lesto and Radmuller to wear us down, either. So, the only solution is to go on the offensive.”
“How?” Iso asked.
“Find Radmuller first and eliminate him. He’s the greater threat with all those damned beasts of his. We have Lesto’s daughter, so he’ll eventually have to come to us.”
“Eliminating Radmuller is easier said than done,” Watanabe cautioned. “Bucaram has gotten close to him on a couple of occasions, but he sends those berserker gorillas and baboons swarming out of the jungle to launch assaults that allow him to escape.”
“Well, there’s a good way to counter that tactic, Iso.”
“Which is?”
“Get me up and off this table and back into action. Radmuller and his creatures have never seen anyone with my abilities. I’ll get that sonuvabitch, and I’ll feed him to one of those damned snakes of his.”
Fragger attempted to sit up and ran up against Iso’s hand on his shoulder. He strained against the pressure, got nowhere, and collapsed back onto the table.
“I don’t think so, colonel,” Iso said. “You’re in no condition to take on that lunatic and his army of beasts, even with your MASER abilities. You don’t have the strength to tackle the jungle. You’d be exhausted before you even got close to them. The problem of Radmuller can wait until you fully recover. You’re the one person we can’t afford to lose.”
“Damnit, I’m sick of being cooped up in here, Iso! At least get me outside so I can get some fresh air!”
Iso grinned down at him. “This is Jivaro, colonel. There is no fresh air. With all the rotting vegetation, the whole place smells like Salinsky and that damned gark leaf he chews.”
“Very funny, Iso. Get me outside, anyway.”
“I don’t think you’re ready yet,” Iso said. “Not without a stim/pain pill, anyway. The troops need to see you in good health. It’ll boost their morale.”
“Then get me a damned pill!”
“I don’t have access to them, you know that. We need to get the Martian in here. He and Dr. Lesto are the only ones who have access to the pharmacy.”
Fragger sat up, ignoring the flash of pain in his head, and looked about the sickbay. “Where are they?”
“They’re both tending to the men on sick call.”
“Dr. Lesto’s not trying to kill them as hard as she’s trying to kill me, is she?”
Iso laughed. “No, as long as you’re not a Rerun, you’re in good hands with her.”
“How are the men overall?”
“Tired of this planet, but otherwise fine. Except for Private Smedner.”
“Smedner? Who’s he?”
“A good jungle fighter, but insubordinate,” Iso answered. “I’ve had to discipline him several times.”
“What’s his problem?”
“He was trying to force a Shuar wife and caught a curare dart in the ass. Unfortunately, she’s one of Bucaram’s wives.”
Fragger groaned. “Smedner went after one of the uwishin’s wives? Haven’t you called the men together and briefed them on the Shuar tribal structure, Iso? You don’t mess with the headhunters, much less the shaman’s women.”
Watanabe gave him an exasperated look. “Of course, I briefed them. Twice, in fact. But stupid is stupid, and testosterone is testosterone. The combination of the two means trouble.”
“The idiot! When did this happen?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Bring him here,” Fragger said. “I’ll kick his ass right up into his throat.”
“I can’t do that, colonel. He deserted soon after Dr. Lesto treated him. He knew his life wasn’t worth spit if the Shuar caught him alone.”
Fragger swore. “Not only do I have to take on EarthCorp, your Ricer buddies and every other major power in the system, but I have to keep my own men from getting themselves killed before they even engage the enemy!”
“Relax, colonel. It’s likely he’s already dead,” Iso said. “If Radmuller’s creatures got hold of him, they tore him to pieces. Few people could survive out there alone. Besides, as you continually tell me, dealing with these problems is all part of command.”
Fragger glowered at Iso. “Do you always have to make so much damned sense?”
“Isn’t that what you’re paying me the high creds for?”
“Fuck you!”
“Quaint profanity from 600 years ago doesn’t get the job done,” Watanabe pointed out.
“This isn’t fair, you know, Iso.”
“What isn’t fair?”
“You’re the one with the rash temper. You’re the one who rides off on his horse in all directions at once, especially when somebody gets your goat about your buraku background of being an untouchable in the society of the Royal and Imperial Commonwealth of Nipponese Empires. I’m the one who’s supposed to be cool, calm and collected, not a Ricer like you.”
“And so you are,” Watanabe said. “Most of the time. However, the fact that you’re snapping and snarling at everyone who comes into sick bay proves two things. One, you’re on the mend, and, two, you’re not completely healthy yet. So, take it easy outside. We’re going to need you in good shape because one of our scouting parties reports a landing by an Aiforian party that’s been hopping about the planet trying to contact us. They’re about a week away, should we want to let them find us. If that’s the case, you’ll want to be in shape to deal with them.”
“They haven’t spotted our location, have they?” Fragger asked in alarm.
“Not in my opinion. As I said, they’ve hopscotched around Jivaro, landing in sectors they consider likely spots to find us. Plus, they’ve been slowed down by tropical storms. I’ve been monitoring weather forecasts from the blockade ships in orbit. Apparently, the Jivaron hurricane season is expected to be unusually active this year. But, the Aiforians were bound to get close sooner or later, storms or no storms. They’re broadcasting openly, trying to get our attention”
“What do they want?” Fragger asked.
“To talk about the release of Lord Lesto’s daughter, of course.”
“Talk the usual way, I suppose—with energy weapons.”
“Could be,” Iso said. “What’s different this time is that they’ve let a vidman do most of the talking in delivering their requests to meet with us.”
“What’s a vidman?”
“Someone who reports the news. His name is Watrun Wik. He says he’s been brought along by the Aiforian ambassador, one Heisst Wenghorn, to hear your side of the story. Wik’s made a point of calling himself an independent vidman.”
“More likely a government propagandist hack,” Fragger said. “Still…”
Iso raised an eyebrow. “This Wik interests you? It’s likely just another ploy.”
“More than likely,” Fragger agreed, “however, if this journalist really is what he says he is, then maybe we can use him to our advantage. A sympathetic eyewitness can be a valuable asset. Everybody loves an underdog and guess who that is on this planet?”
“Don’t remind me,” Iso grumbled.
“Iso, here’s a cold, hard fact. We need the truth to get out more than we need more weapons. EarthCorp, the Ricers, everyone will always outgun us. Maybe we can outgun them with the truth. It’s the one edge we’re lacking.”
“Soldiers don’t talk, they fight, colonel.”
“Leaders do both,” Fragger countered. “But enough talk about vidmen. We’ll let Wenghorn and Wik stew for a while and decide later whether to contact them. Continue monitoring their communications. Right now, commlink the doctor and Buurk and get them here so I can get out of this place. It’s about time you do something useful for a change besides harassing your commander.”
“What do you need Dr. Lesto for?” Iso asked.
“She can get the pill for me.”
Iso frowned. “Buurk can do that. You simply want to aggravate her again, don’t you? You find it amusing to have an Aiforian noblewoman tending to someone she considers inferior.”
“Call it a lesson in humility.”
“Humility, my ass! Colonel, you’ve got to stop provoking her. She keeps looking for ways to kill you, and your actions just make her redouble her efforts.”
“I know, but I can’t help myself. That attitude of hers just pisses me off no end.”
“And yours pisses me off no end,” Iso said. “You two are like scorpions in a bottle. One of you is going to end up dead. I’d just as soon it wasn’t you.”
“Iso, my head hurts, and you’re making it hurt worse. Now, do as I ordered and get those two in here.”
Iso growled and reached for his commlink with one hand while with the other he gave Fragger the finger.
Post a Comment