'No, sorry,' Karlovic said with a shake of the head. 'You'll need to check with ENCOMM.'
'We'll do that.'
One of Karlovic's troopers entered the canteen. 'Lieutenant, the transport's here,' she said.
'Thanks, Enjada,' Karlovic said. 'You guys ready?'
Anna and Michael nodded, and five minutes later they were on their way to the sector debriefing center. Two minutes after that, both were asleep, a rough tunnel floor and the cargobot's inadequate suspension no match for overwhelming exhaustion.
Every muscle in his body protesting, Michael climbed down out of the cargobot. Anna followed, wincing as her wounded arm caught for a moment.
'Still sore?' Michael asked.
'Yup.'
Michael bit his lip while they walked down the narrow access tunnel leading to the small complex of caves that housed the Fed's administrative center. The NRA medics had said Anna's arm was well on the way to recovery notwithstanding the abuse it had suffered during their flight from Perdan. Anna refused to take the painkillers they prescribed, of course. 'It'll be a long time before I trust Hammer medicines' had been her first and last words on the subject. Taking careful note of the set of her mouth, Michael had changed the subject, even though he knew Hammer painkillers were both effective and safe.
The tunnel opened out into a small lobby where Captain Adrissa waited for them. 'Welcome back,' she said. 'I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see you again.'
'So was I, sir,' Michael said.
'Me, too,' Anna added.
'Quick question, sir.'
'Shoot.'
'The rest of my crew: Ferreira, Bienefelt, Carmellini, Fodor, Morozov. Did they make it back?'
'Yes, they did. Chief Bienefelt's arm is badly chewed up, but the rest of the crew is fine. Bruised and battered but okay.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' Michael said, relief flooding through him in a cool, sweet wave. 'Bienefelt's arm. Any details?'
'Sorry, not yet. The NRA's medics are under a bit of pressure.'
'I'll follow it up. Any chance of a coffee, sir?'
'Of course.'
They followed Adrissa into a cave. Michael caught his breath when they went in. 'Well, well,' he said. 'Looks to me like the scroungers have been hard at work.' He was right. The place was filled with an impressive array of furniture: tables, benches, a cluster of battered armchairs, a wall-mounted holovid, and, most important of all, what looked for all the world like-
'Yes!' Anna said when she spotted it. 'Tell me I'm not dreaming. Tell me that's a Fed foodbot, please.'
'It sure is,' Adrissa said, her face split by a huge grin. 'Didn't see any reason why Hell Bent and Alley Kat needed all their foodbots. Took a bit of arm-twisting, but I won in the end. Can't think why. So help yourselves.'
After weeks of NRA gruel interspersed with field rations, Anna needed no encouragement. Soon she and Michael were plowing their way through food as good as any in humanspace. Adrissa nursed a large mug of coffee and watched them in silence.
'Waaah! That was good,' Anna said at last, getting up to drop plates and cutlery into the foodbot's recycler.
'Well, now that the important stuff's out of the way,' Adrissa said, 'is there any chance of getting down to business?'
'Oh, sorry sir,' Michael said, not feeling even slightly contrite as he scraped the last morsels of food off his plate. 'Shoot.'
'Thank you. Right. First, the Perdan operation. You have the datalogs for Widowmaker's last mission?'
'I have, sir,' Michael said. 'Autodownloaded when we ejected.'
'Good. Comm them to my chief of staff. Don't know that we'll learn much, but we should have a look.'
'Will be done, sir.'
'Second, General Vaas talked to me this morning. His people have been over your debriefing report. He tells me that the two of you attacked… let me get this right… yes, you attacked an entire planetary defense battalion. The 1125th PGDF's Second Battalion, to be precise. Is that right?' Adrissa looked at them both in turn.
Michael's stomach executed a lazy somersault. Had something happened that Lieutenant Karlovic did not know about? 'Er, yes,' he said, his voice faltering. 'We didn't know who they were at the time.' He turned to Anna for help.
'Yes, sir,' she said, the color rising in her face. 'That was us. Wouldn't say attacked exactly. Lobbed a few microgrenades at them, shot a few officers, then legged it.'
'That's what I've been told'-Adrissa's face dissolved into a broad smile-'and a damn good thing you did, General Vaas says. He asked me to say thank you. Because of your attack, the Hammer operation fell apart before it even started, and most of the NRA troopers in that valley escaped. Which means our marines escaped, too.'
'Kallewi?'
'Yes, though he was quite badly wounded. He was one of the last to get out before the Hammers started dropping those fuel-air bombs they like so much, but his grunts refused to leave him. They carried him back. He's in one of the base hospitals in… yes, in sector Echo.'
'Can we see him?' Michael asked.
'Last I heard, yes, you can tomorrow. So if you're passing that way, sure. I'll comm you the first cut of ENCOMM's after-action report. It covers the Perdan operation as well as the withdrawal. You'll find it interesting. Now, orders. Anna.'
'Sir?'
'You'll find the battalion at Zulu-56. Colonel Haadith wants you back'-Anna's face fell-'in three days' time.'
'Oh,' Anna said, her surprise all too obvious. Leave was not something the NRA held in high regard. 'Thanks.'
'Don't thank me. Thank General Vaas.'
'What about me, sir?' Michael asked. 'Since I don't have a lander to carry me into battle, I think I ought to join the 120th.'
Adrissa shook her head. 'Maybe, but not yet. I'm giving you three days' leave as well, though I've no idea where the pair of you can go.'
'We'll find somewhere, sir, don't you worry about that,' Anna said with what looked to Michael horribly like a leer.
Adrissa shook her head. 'When you get to my age, children, there's something rather… rather disturbing about young love. Anyway, Michael. When you've taken your three days' leave, report back here. You'll be attached to my staff for a week or two. I've got a project for you. We'll see where best to use your undoubted talents once it's finished. Okay?'
'Yes, sir,' Michael said, troubled by an unexpected surge of relief that he would not have to face the Hammers any time soon, guilt-stricken that Anna would. Monday, December 3, 2401, UD Sector Echo Base Hospital, Branxton Base, Commitment
'Lieutenant Kallewi's awake,' the nurse said. 'We moved him out of the trauma tank this morning, but he's still very weak.'
'Can he talk?' Michael said.
'Oh, yes, but we don't want him overdoing things, so you can have five minutes and no more. This way.'
'Thanks,' Michael said. Taking Anna's hand, he followed the man down the narrow tunnel, its walls punctuated every few meters by openings that led into brightly lit wards. Michael's heart sank; these were intensive care wards, and every trauma unit he could see was occupied, banks of subdued indicator lights blinking out the fate of the occupant. Michael shivered; the Perdan operation had been a success for the NRA, but the cost in dead and wounded had been huge. Only the fact that the NRA had managed to destroy the best part of two regiments of marines along with thousands of PGDF soldiers had made the operation worthwhile.
