Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [177]
Her corps of engineers had constructed a large floating island of interlocking honeycomb segments on multiple pontoons. The raft-base gave the EDF occupation forces ample space for barracks and operations. When they required more area, the soldiers installed additional segments to expand their artificial island.
Signing off on a daily status log (which she barely skimmed), Willis sat on the edge of the raft platform and watched the giant tentacled creatures being herded about. Tired of eating rationpacks, she had arranged an exchange of supplies with the fishermen homesteaders. She paid through the nose for their seafood, no doubt about that, but Willis loved medusa meat. It had a squeaky texture like roast mushrooms and a rich flavour that reminded her of lobster, especially when drenched in butter substitute.
She had sent a fast scout ship back to Earth, informing the Hansa that Rhejak was secure. She knew the Chairman was anxiously awaiting word about when shipments would resume -rare metals, exotic minerals, kelp extracts - but she was still busy nailing down the operations, and knew not to make any promises that she might have trouble keeping.
Willis encouraged her troops to be good neighbours. ‘Tuck your oversized balls firmly in your pants, choke down a dose of humility, and treat the inhabitants with respect.' By sharing trinkets and keepsakes brought from Earth, some soldiers earned a modicum of friendship. Hakim Allahu, through regular visits to Willis aboard the floating raft-base, had come to grudgingly accept the EDF's presence as unavoidable.
Though she might be lenient, she wasn't stupid. Conrad Brindle remained in command of the ten patrol Mantas overhead, and she had installed watchdog teams at the Company Works extraction facility. Other soldiers monitored and took turns running the machinery at the coral-grinding quarries.
Her Mantas had already chased away several Roamer ships that came to Rhejak as part of their usual trade routes. The Roamer pilots had sounded alarms, transmitted curses, or taken a few potshots at a Manta before racing away. But it was mostly harmless. There was just no way to please everyone…
* * * * *
At night, with operations shut down and the Company Works illuminated only by a few blinking locators, the dark waters were calm. Rhejak's two small moons lit the sky with a silvery glow. Medusas never slept, but floated along, burbling and hooting as if to keep themselves company.
A small explosion in one of the Company extraction towers set all the alarms ringing on the raft-base. EDF soldiers raced onto the honeycombed deck, shouting into their short-range comms and looking around for the source of the disturbance. Willis sprang from her bunk and threw on the first uniform she could find, tugging on her boots as she raced out onto the deck.
‘Something's happening at the extraction plant, Admiral!'
Already heading for the skimmers they kept tied up to the edge of the raft, Willis yelled for a few nearby soldiers to join her. She jumped in and caught her balance as one young ensign untied the docking rope and another fired up the engines. While the craft bumped and splashed across the shallow water, Willis fastened the last few buttons on her uniform.
All the lights had come on at the Company Works. Alarms ratcheted through the sinuous pipes and framework towers of the extraction facility. The EDF guards stationed there shouted to each other in a combination of bluster and sheepish confusion. When too many conflicting transmissions crackled across the comm, Willis barked for a succinct report. ‘It's rebels, Admiral. We don't know who they were, just caught a glimpse.'
‘They weren't wearing much,' another voice broke in. ‘Loincloths or trunks. I think it was a couple of medusa herders.'
Willis clenched