rear. I presume it’s they who have the gun. Tell them to bring it up here to support us. We can’t link up with anyone until we get past that building there.” He pointed at the one they’d stalled in front of. “I assume that’s this city’s Government House?” he asked the cobbler.
“Aye, or at least it was. As ye may imagine, it was taken over by the Comp’ny several months ago when the Doms first started coming in,” he seethed.
“Months?” Chack asked.
“Aye. Didn’t anyone know?”
“No one who mattered, apparently,” Chack said. “None of the shipping from here reported it, but it rarely touches at Scapa Flow.. ..” He paused. “Or anywhere I’m aware of except for New Britain Island, come to that. There’s been… suspicion of late.”
“Aye,” the cobbler said, “an’ naught but Comp’ny ships’ve been allowed to come an’ go this past year!”
“That explains a lot,” Chack murmured, “but not why.” He looked at Corporal Shmuke. “Bring them up!”
“Aye, sir!”
“Corp’ral,” said the cobbler, “one of my boys’ll lead ye. Ye can get quite close moving along the rooftops. He’ll know those ye meet, an’ which dwellin’s are safe to descend within.”
“Thank you, sir!”
Another broadside thundered from Salaama-Na in the harbor and other Imperial ships had joined her at last, risking their comparatively thin skins in an effort to overwhelm the fort. The fort wasn’t finished yet, however, and the night lit up with a terrible eruption as an Imperial “liner” disintegrated as a result of a lucky shot.
“Ye asked why,” the cobbler said softly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Many of us here, on New Ireland an’ elsewhere, adhere ta the Catholic faith-the old, true faith some of the Founders brought with ’em. Even if it weren’t for the Doms an’ their perversions, the ‘Old Church’ is frowned upon. Its practice is legal, but grounds for revocation of citizen- ship. One cannot be an open Catholic an’ vote for the court, so those of us who’re honest to our God an’ our emperor have no say. The dishonest sell their votes ta the Comp’ny. Some here, the ‘rebels,’ would have independence. Most would be happy just ta worship as we would. The Comp’ny, as separatist rebels, or for reasons of their own, p’raps hoped the Doms would help us gain independence and just be happy ta have us move a tad closer ta their way of thinkin’.” He spat. “Madness, o’ course. The ‘Old Church’ has nothin’ in common with the filthy version the Doms advance-an’ any fool could see they don’t accept half measures. If they’re in, they’re in, an’ the suffering here, especially after whatever transpired on New Scotland, has been enough to kill a man’s soul. I an’ me family’ve been lucky ta survive the ‘cleansin’,’ an’ me poor daughter’s been hid ever since they arrived. Most females of childbearin’ age… The sacrifices, ye see…”
Chack could bear no more. He hadn’t really considered the lot of those on New Ireland who didn’t support the new regime. He looked once more at the dying city. “There will be a reckoning for this, sir, I assure you. Now I must return to my Marines. You’ve been most helpful and kind.”
“I thought you said your ‘beloved ass’ wouldn’t fly!” Second Lieutenant Orrin Reddy shouted through the voice tube to his passenger, as the NC-1B “Nancy” achieved a cruising altitude of about five thousand feet. There were no lights on the plane-something that needed fixing-but his “passenger” knew enough Morse to confirm the other ships in the 10th Pursuit Squadron had converged on the orange exhaust flare from the lead plane’s engine. Orrin hoped they wouldn’t “converge” too close! He couldn’t make out any details in his little mirror, but he suspected he’d see Dennis Silva’s gap-toothed grin if it was light.
“ I ain’t flyin’; you are!” came the reply.
“I thought you were afraid to fly!”
“I am! That’s why you’re doin’ it, damn it!”
“Well…” Orrin shook his head in frustration. “What difference does that make?”
“I ain’t at the controls!”
Orrin started to ask at what point a maniacal gunner’s mate in the Asiatic Fleet had ever controlled an aircraft, when something bumped into the back of his leg. “What the hell!” He looked down but saw nothing in the darkness.
“It’s cold!” came a strange voice from within the fuselage/hull of the plane.
“My God, Lawrence! Is that you?” Orrin demanded.
“Course it is! Who else do you think could get in here?”
“But what are you doing in there? I thought this thing was heavy.
…”
“Look, Mr. Reddy,” Silva yelled. “I work for the Skipper, an’ my job’s to take care of stuff for him, you know, the gals an’ such. Well, Miss Lieutenant Minister Tucker an’ the Munchkin princess are safe as can be right now. They both think maybe you need a little watchin’ over right now, you an’ the Skipper bein’ related an’ all.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“Sure it is, an’ I said so, but they made me come! It was a face-to-face, direct order!”
“But… what’s Lawrence doing here?”
“He kinda thinks of himself as my sidekick, see? Sometimes I let him carry one of my guns.”
“I ain’t no sidekick!” Lawrence said.
“Hey, there’s the moon!” Silva said, diverting the conversation. The bright orb, nearly full, had begun emerging from the sea. “Boy, it sure looks close! Hey! How come it always looks closer when it rears up than when it’s right overhead, Lieutenant? I’ve always wondered that.”
“You’re kidding? Well… there’s more atmosphere between us and it when it first comes up. It acts like a magnifying glass… I think.”
“So… it’s because there’s more air between us and it now than when it’s straight up?”
“That’s what I just said!”
“Then if you had a glass tank and filled it with compressed air, you could really see somethin’, right?”
Orrin shook his head but didn’t reply. What a dopey question, he thought. Now it’s going to drive me nuts! He was glad to see the moon, though; it would make setting down on that lake in the dark a lot easier. He looked over his shoulder and saw the silhouettes of the rest of his flight. Maybe we won’t be as likely to run into each other either. The silhouette of New Ireland had appeared as well, as the moon rose higher, looking like a mountain range surrounded by a sea of mercury. “We should see the southern elements of Second Fleet soon. Start keeping your eyes peeled, in case any of those damn lizard birds are waiting for us.”
The four-cylinder engine droned companionably above them as the coastline neared and the dark shapes of ships emerged. On shore, northeast and southwest of Cork, a battle raged, with vertical slashes of fire in both directions pinpointing artillery emplacements. Occasionally, clusters of mortar bombs sputtered where observers must have spotted enemy troop concentrations. The ships weren’t firing much, since all were Imperial vessels and had no explosive shells, but they’d probably rejoin the fight in earnest at dawn, once they could see what they were shooting at again.
“Anything on the horn I ought to know about?” Orrin asked.
“I can’t make heads or tails of it,” Silva confessed. “I ain’t no spark catcher, but I can hold my own. Every time I start pickin’ up a thread, somebody stomps all over it. Sounds like a mess, though. Everbody’s screamin’ for those swell new mortar bombs. Apparently, they’re about all that’s keepin’ the bad guys back. Must be runnin’ out.”
“I’m not surprised,” Orrin said. “This turned into a lot bigger fight than anybody expected, and all the artillery that fires exploding shells are with Chack and Blair, or left behind at Waterford.” He looked down at the fighting around Cork as they flew above it. “They’ll get more ordnance in the morning when that Jap colonel comes ashore-if they can hold that long.” Orrin’s tone revealed he still wasn’t comfortable relying on Shinya. He liked and respected Sandra, Laumer, and Captain Lelaa (he’d taken to the ’Cats as quickly as anyone). He even liked Lawrence right off, but, of course, he’d never seen a Grik. In many ways, Orrin Reddy was still entranced and fascinated by this bizarre “Oz” he’d found himself in, and it sure beat the fate that awaited him aboard-or beyond-that hellish ship he’d ridden to this world. But no matter whose side he was on, Shinya was still a Jap.
Ahead were the Wiklow Mountains. Soon they’d cross them and view the valley beyond-and the lake that ought to be Pearl Harbor.
