Legion Of The Damned - 06 - For Those Who Fell by William C. Dietz Page B

demanded. “What do you want?”
    Santana felt his hands start to tremble and balled his fingers into fists. “I was told that Gunnery Sergeant Kuga-Ka was released from the ship’s brig. Is that true, sir?”
    â€œYes,” Gaphy replied calmly, “but only after consultations with Colonel Kobbi. The gunnery sergeant has an impeccable record, there’s still a possibility that there was some sort of unfortunate mix-up where Haaby’s brain box is concerned, and the ship is in hyperspace. All of those factorswere taken into account while making the decision to release Kuga-Ka. Does that answer your question?”
    The whole thing had a rehearsed quality and made no sense to Santana, but there was only one reply that he could give. “Sir! Yes sir.”
    â€œGood. I read your statement, and while I find the accusations you made against Kuga-Ka hard to believe, I know you were sincere in lodging them. There will be a court of inquiry, similar to the one mentioned in your P-1, which will provide you with an opportunity to testify. In the meantime I suggest that you focus on your responsibilities as a platoon leader—and leave matters of military justice to your superiors. Dismissed.”
    The mention of his own court of inquiry, combined with the curt dismissal, had their intended effect. Santana clenched his jaw, delivered his best salute, and turned on his heel. It wasn’t right, not by a long shot, but Kuga-Ka was on the loose.
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    Though nicer than most, the cabin was still no larger than the average walk-in closet, and extremely spartan. Colonel Kobbi closed the door to his cabin, felt his heart beat just a little bit faster, and stood in front of the wall safe. The battalion commander felt both a sense of anticipation and dread as he prepared to read the orders locked within. The metal felt cool as he pressed his palm against the print-sensitive plate, there was a distinct click as the lock was released, and a whiff of stale air as the nearly indestructible door swung open. The O-4 package wasn’t much to look at, just a gray duraplast case, with “Command Eyes Only” embossed on its cover. But inside, nestled within a circular recess, was a data disk that detailed the battalion’s mission.
    Kobbi checked his watch and noted the time so he could include it in the ops diary that he updated each day. Then the officer removed the case from the safe, took a seat behindhis fold-down desk, and slipped a thumbnail under the removable sticker. It came off easily. With that out of the way the jacker applied his thumb to the print-sensitive oval, and the cover popped open. The battalion commander knew that had he, or someone else attempted to open the case with atool, the resulting explosion would have destroyed both the disk and the person trying to access it.
    The disk was shiny and about two inches across. Kobbi dropped the device into a slot on his hand comp and was rewarded with a nearly instantaneous response. Because the question had been drawn from his private life, the answer couldn’t be found in his P-1 file. “Who is your favorite author?”
    Kobbi cleared his throat. “Sun Tzu.”
    The computer checked the disk for a matching voiceprint, found it, and checked the answer. It was correct. Text flooded the screen. There was a preface, followed by the orders themselves and background information on Savas.
    Kobbi read for the next five minutes, went back to the beginning, and reread the orders again. The essence of the mission was clear. The battalion would put down near a fortress called Hagala Nor, capture something called a hypercom, and haul ass.
    The bugs had an armored unit in the area, plus the equivalent of half a battalion of ground troops, or so the briefing document claimed. But that information dated back to the point before the planet had been cut off, which meant that the force could have grown during the intervening time, or been