Jackson nodded. 'Indeed it is,' he said. 'I already have standing orders for such a thing drawn up. Triad Space Command has direct links to all potentially targeted installations.'
'I figured you had something like that in the works,' she said. 'And I also told them that if WestHem did actually attack and neutralize the recon satellites that are detecting these launches, they could evacuate at that time, mission be damned.'
'I agree with that as well,' he told her. 'Mostly because I know the WestHems are too dumb to actually do that. It took less than twenty-four hours from the release of their attack plan to having the anti-satellite strikes scrubbed. They are behaving exactly as we both predicted.'
'Yes,' she said, 'but I'm still worried. Nor am I the only one. I've got MarsGroup reporters crawling up my ass demanding to know why you haven't started shifting troops and equipment to Eden. I've got thousands of emails from citizens demanding to know the same thing. So tell me, Kevin — when are you going to start shifting those troops? I was just watching a big three station on the MarsTrans and they had a camera crew inside the AA-71 bay up on the
'No,' he said. 'Not yet.'
'But if they launch those strikes any time in the next twelve hours and they are successful in their mission, you won't have the ability to reinforce us any further.'
'I'm aware of that,' he said. 'And I'm not trying to be secretive, I'm not choking, and I'm not caving under the pressure or any of the other reasons people have assigned for why I'm still holding those units in place. The simple fact of the matter is, I don't think the plan they're announcing right now is the plan they're eventually going to initiate.'
'You don't think they're going to attack Eden?' she asked.
'I'm not sure,' he said. 'Eden may still be the subject of the attack but...' He shook his head a little, having trouble articulating what he was trying to say. 'Look, I know it sounds crazy and I know it sounds like I'm putting everything at risk, but I'm really not. The plan they came up with was a good one, a damn good one. If they had carried it out as it was written they would have taken Eden without firing a shot. I would've been forced to surrender our most important city to them under our own doctrine and under my own common sense and we would have had a bitch of a time taking it back from them.'
'But they didn't carry it off as it was written,' she said.
'No, they didn't,' he said. 'Their first mistake, maybe the most significant mistake, was releasing details of what they planned to do, of allowing it to leak to the WestHem press. Not only did that give us forewarning of what they are planning, it allowed their powers-that-be — namely the corporations — to start doing what they're doing now.'
'Picking the plan apart?'
'Exactly,' he said. 'We've both known all along, ever since those first days after the Jupiter War when we first concocted this crazy scheme, that if the WestHems fought this war like it was a real war, like it was a conflict with EastHem, we would lose and lose bad. There is no way we can stand up to their military might when they use it as its supposed to be used.'
'Agreed. And we were both right. They underestimated us from the beginning and that was how your plan allowed us to get where we are now. But are they still underestimating us?'
'Their military commanders certainly aren't,' Jackson said. 'But their corporate leaders and their politicians... now that's another matter. Within twenty-four hours of them releasing their attack plan the big three — nothing but a collection of powerful corporations — got them to change what was one of the most important parts of the plan. If they can't attack our recon satellites they can't launch their strikes undetected and therefore they're putting all of their spacecraft at risk of destruction and risking the very success of their mission.'
'I understand all that,' Laura said. 'But what does that have to do with moving the troops?'
'I don't think they're done screwing around with that plan yet,' he said. 'The other corporations haven't had a chance to say their two dollars worth yet and to start putting their own pressure on the Executive Council. I don't want to start shifting my forces around until I see them making some real moves.'
'You don't call getting the AA-71s ready to launch a real move?'
'That's the military apparatus doing what they do,' Jackson said. 'They've received orders and they're preparing to carry them out. If I'm wrong... well, then I'm wrong. They'll bomb the rail network and maybe our ammunition plant and we won't be able to reinforce Eden. Eden will fall and it will be my fault.'
'So you're gambling?'
He nodded. 'I'm gambling that my instinct is correct,' he agreed. 'We just need to wait a little longer.'
She took a thoughtful drag of her cigarette and then snuffed it out in the ashtray. She blew the smoke out of her nose and then looked at her commanding general. 'I've trusted you this far,' she said, 'and you've carried us this far. I have no reason to question your judgement or your instincts now. You do what you think you need to do.'
'Thank you,' he said. 'Hopefully your faith in me is not misplaced.'
The AA-71 pilots were actually in their final briefing, less than two hours from launch, when Major Wilde's PC began to buzz with the priority ring. Wilde was in the back of the room, watching as the targeting assignments were being handed out. He almost groaned, knowing it could not possibly be good news at this point in the game.
'Yes, General,' he whispered to the screen, keeping his face expressionless.
'I need to see you right away,' Browning said. 'There's been a slight change in plans.'
He looked out at the briefing room helplessly and then back at his boss's image. 'Yes, General,' he said. 'I'll be there in ten minutes.'
He was actually there in seven minutes, his worry causing his pace to unconsciously increase. He walked through the security layers and into Browning's office, finding him sitting behind his desk, sipping on his third or fourth rum and coke of the day and smoking nervously.
Wilde didn't bother saluting, not even the phony, jerk-off salute he normally offered. He simply sat down and lit a cigarette of his own. 'A change in plans, General?' he asked.
'It's nothing major,' Browning told him. 'Just a shift in targets.'
'A shift in targets?'
Browning nodded. 'What do you think about attacking New Pittsburgh instead?'
Wilde licked his lips, sure he wasn't hearing correctly. 'New Pittsburgh?' he asked. 'What do you mean? The strike is lining up to hit the Eden rail network. Are you saying you want to take out the Alexander Industries plant first? I thought we'd agreed that...'
'No, you don't understand,' Browning said. 'We're going to occupy New Pittsburgh with our ground forces. Eden has been scrubbed. NP is the new priority.'
Wilde was quite literally speechless. What in the hell was this madman talking about? Occupy New Pittsburgh instead of Eden? Why in the hell would they do that? Especially at this late stage of the game?
'Are you okay, Wilde?' Browning asked, concerned. 'You look a little pale.'
'I'm sorry, sir,' he said, feeling like he was in a dream. 'But did you just say that we are attacking New Pittsburgh instead of Eden? That our entire occupation zone is being changed?'
'Yes, that's correct,' Browning said. 'Is that a problem?'
'Is it... is it...' He shook his head and took a few deep breaths. 'This is your idea of 'nothing major'?'
'It's just another city on the surface,' Browning said. 'We'll just need to reprogram our targeting and entry coordinates and update the marching orders. New Pittsburgh is almost as big a rail hub as Eden and it's also the capitol, where Laura Whiting and that terrorist puke Jackson live. The Executive Council feels that if we are only able to take one city that it should be their capitol where we can capture their leadership. They think that maybe that might foment the surrender of the other cities without requiring further task forces to travel here.'
'Sir,' Wilde said, 'you'll forgive me if I say that's the most asinine thing I've ever heard. We've got pilots in their final briefing right now. They're being assigned targets in the Eden area so they can isolate that city for our invasion. They're within two hours of launching on the biggest space strike since the Jupiter War!'
Browning simply shrugged. 'As I said, the target has now shifted. We'll have them stand down and we'll send them out in eight hours against New Pittsburgh. That way we can hit their ammunition plant and take out their rail
