Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [122]
'Yes, Admiral,' the weapons officer said sheepishly.
Conrad Brindle stepped over to the comm station, brisk and all business. 'Did that ship send any transmissions before they left?'
'Yes, sir - a message down to the surface. A warning about us.'
Willis stood from her command chair and stretched. 'Then prepare our dropships. We'd better move quickly or this'll be a mess.' As before, when she'd guided her ten Mantas to Theroc, she felt uneasy about the mission. 'Those folks down there are already used to the EDF. We'll just remind them they're still well-loved members of our one, big, happy family.'
Brindle lowered his voice. 'Don't you think that's somewhat naive, Admiral?'
'Yes, I do. But I prefer to call it optimism until it's proven otherwise.' General Lanyan would have gone in with guns blazing to intimidate the poor inhabitants, but in these situations she followed a policy of non-aggression unless it was warranted.
Leaving her exec in command, she went to her quarters to change into a formal uniform, white with dark blue. She quickly ate another ham-and-cheese sandwich that was waiting for her (just in case the Rhejak islanders did not throw a welcome feast). After touching up her hair and checking the cuffs and pleats on her uniform, she was ready to join the initial wave of dropships.
Soldiers scrambled to their stations. Belowdecks, teams rushed to the landing bay, gathering the weapons and supplies needed for a full occupation force. Willis climbed aboard one of the twenty-seven dropships and gave orders to launch.
Though the ride down was bumpy, she kept her cool and stared directly into the transmission screen as she introduced herself. The fleeing trader had already blown their element of surprise. 'Since Rhejak has always been a Hansa colony, we have come to offer our assistance. By placing you under the supervision of the Earth Defence Forces, we will help you distribute your products to the Hansa, where they are most desperately needed.' She ended with what she thought was a charming smile. She knew it was pure bullshit.
The explosion of insults and angry retorts across numerous channels told her that her optimism was misplaced. She sighed and decided to confront the issue head-on. 'All right, I can see you're not happy about this. Tell my ships where we can go, and I'll talk it out with you face-to-face.'
'We'll tell you damned Eddy bastards where to go--'
Another voice cut the complainer off. 'My name is Hakim Allahu, the Trade Spokesman for Rhejak. I must remind you that we are an independent world. We have publicly discarded the Hansa Charter. The EDF has no jurisdiction here.' His defiant tone changed to resignation. 'On the other hand, we are not foolish enough to believe that we could defeat your heavily armed military force. We have no choice but to surrender to your illegal invasion.'
'Mr Allahu, who said anything about an invasion?'
'How would you define it, Admiral? You bring ten battleships to forcibly place an independent planet under - what did you call it? - EDF supervision?'
Willis knew the people would never accept this forced occupation, but she hoped to ease the pain as much as possible. She had her orders. 'I'm sorry, sir, but we've got a job to do.'
As the dropships approached the cluster of reefs and islands, she admired the beautiful blue-green sea, white beds of coral, and limestone sand. Huge tentacled things drifted about. The dropship pilots scanned the areas of dry land, and the sensor operators were in a quandary. Admiral, we can't land more than two dropships in any one spot. They don't have a spaceport facility.'
'Bring this ship and an escort down for my initial meeting with Mr Allahu. The rest of you circle overhead and stand ready until we figure this out.'
'In a threatening posture, Admiral?' the pilot said.