XVIII

The grim expression Ranji wore whenever he was compelled to leave his cabin discouraged even close friends from trying to talk to him, and helped to preserve his solitude during the long Underspace journey out from Cossuut. Everyone knew that as Field Unifer great responsibilities devolved upon him. It was therefore only natural to assume that his attitude was a reflection of the serious inner contemplation that preceded battle. He was left alone.

His isolation suited Ranji just fine. Had his companions known the real reason for his solemnity they would have been shocked and dismayed. Not only was he not deeply engrossed in preparing battlefield strategy; he was wholly absorbed in trying to find a means of avoiding combat altogether.

There were too many times when he wondered why he was bothering to try. He was one man, one individual caught up in a millennia old galactic conflagration that involved billions of intelligent beings. Events of prodigious import were in motion, and like litter on a wave he found himself helplessly swept up and washed along, to be pounded against whatever shore fate had in store for him. Not for the first time he found himself thinking that perhaps the best thing he could do was simply try to preserve his own life and live it out as comfortably and unobtrusively as possible.

Only, he was repeatedly hammered by uneasy dreams, and visions of his sister slicing Human throats at the behest of shadowy, tentacular forms. Thoughts were not as easily avoided as friends.

What could he do? They were about to attack a developed Weave world largely populated by the ultracivilized, innocuous race known as the Wais. As the mere appearance of enemy troops was likely to paralyze the population, they would have to be defended by Massood and Humans. How could he, as Field Unifer, avoid participating in battle and giving orders if not directly having a hand in the deaths of many of his own kind? Desperately seeking a means of avoidance, he found only bleak and inner despair.

Time was running out. The invasion force was less than five days from the target. Preparations for touchdown had already begun. He might yet be spared contemplated agonies, he knew, for their landing shuttle might well be blown out of Ulaluable’s sky by orbiting or land-based defenses, thus sparing him the need to make life-threatening decisions. His attitude toward such a quick and exonerating death had grown dangerously ambivalent.

Perhaps worst of all, the truth gnawed at him like an insect struggling to escape its cocoon. He had returned to his people to give them knowledge, only to find himself unable to speak. The futility of his circumstances tormented him far worse than any prospect of dying.

His colleagues saw the inner struggle mirrored in his expression and misinterpreted its origin to his benefit.

He considered feigning mental collapse, seeking surcease in an inveigled disgrace. But that would not preserve his brother, nor prevent his sister from being trained to follow after. There was simply no way to extend his solitude to those he loved. He would have to find another way.

As attack preparations around him intensified, he redirected himself to the problem with ferocious application.

It wasn’t until the day before the fleet was to phase out of Underspace that he remembered the kindly Lepar, Itepu. Remembered his compassion and understanding. His had been a simpler view of the cosmos, basic and uncomplicated. In such simplifications were certain virtues. He pondered those memories, trying to recall everything he and the Lepar had discussed during his half-forgotten journey from Eirrosad to Omaphil.

When the word came for all soldiers to don field armor and equipment, he was much eased in mind. He knew now what he was going to have to do. If it ended in death, then at least he would be spared the future tribulation of thinking.

Those under his immediate command relaxed when they saw their Unifer stride purposefully into the landing shuttle. Clearly the depth and extent of his hermetic contemplation during the voyage out from Cossuut had amply prepared him for the forthcoming conflict. It boosted their morale accordingly.

“Look at him.” The recent graduate nudged his companion as they watched Ranji board the command sled. “Utterly self-possessed. He’s ready.”

“I hear he’s always like that.” The young woman tracked the Unifer’s progress admiringly. “You heard the story of how he handled himself on Eirrosad?”

The man was checking the charge level on his stinger. “Never panicked, kept his head when everybody else was losing theirs. I’m glad we’re in his group.”

“By the Purpose,” said a much shorter Ashregan from nearby, “I’m just glad he is on our shuttle!”

They examined each other’s armor locks and visors, exchanged and rechecked weapons. Once the shuttle touched down on the Ulaluablian surface they would be thrust outside and into a combat situation, where such checks would have to be performed, if at all, under arduous and possibly lethal conditions. Better to make certain seals were tight and weapons powered up now.

It must have been something to see: a dozen immense starships suddenly and simultaneously materializing from Underspace just above the cloud layer of Ulaluable’s blue-green globe. There was nothing present to witness the sight, however, except the alert sensors of the automatic orbiting planetary-defense system, which responded anon.

As ships dropped shuttles in the fashion of fecund invertebrates, on-board weaponry had some success in dealing with the cluster of orbiting hellaciousness. One ship as destroyed by a self-guiding orbital mine, both erupting in a flaming plume of metal, gas, and organic components. Seared vacuum momentarily blinded every instrument in the vicinity. Five other vessels were badly damaged by high-power, mirror-aligned particle beams.

The rest unloaded their deadly cargo with admirable speed and dispatch. Metaloceramic crescents dove into the clouds and made their way to the waiting surface, where their contents spread out and sought cover with slick alacrity.

Not every shuttle made it to ground. Some were obliterated by surface-based weapons. Others ran afoul of scrambling high-speed aircraft. But by the time the surviving starships retired to the protective astrophysical anonymity of Underspace, the greater portion of the battlegroup had successfully disembarked and dispersed. Now if Ulaluable’s defenders chose to use heavy weapons on the invaders they would be putting at risk sensitive portions of the very world they were supposed to be protecting.

Ordinarily destruction or damage to half an attacking force’s ships would be sufficient to bring an invasion to a halt, but not this time. There was too much at stake for the Amplitur to recall their ground forces, which after all had made it down largely intact. The components of the engagement had shifted surfaceward. Time to see what the Ashregan-led battlegroup could do.

Ranji’s shuttle landed hard in a grassy glade surrounded by extremely thin, tall trees, rattling both soldiers and equipment. The attenuated woods provided some cover from patrolling aircraft, as did the soot-colored clouds from which a light rain was falling. As troops rushed to disembark, the shuttle’s crew stayed at the equipment which projected half a dozen ghost shuttles overhead, their purpose being to bemuse and distract enemy sensors.

Ranji commanded slightly less than a thousand regular and modified Ashregan soldiers riding skids and floaters. They deployed themselves with gratifying speed, erecting camouflage and establishing a perimeter while engineers excavated a hole deep enough to conceal the shuttle. Maintained and defended by its own crew, it would serve as a field base, a point of reference, and, if need be, a means of final retreat.

Their target was the control station of the principal power-distribution grid for the entire northern third of the planetary landmass. Like any other unavoidably unsightly industrial complex on a Wais world, it had been sited as far as practicable from the nearest population center.

An intricate network of dams in the nearby mountains stored water for irrigation and hydropower. It would have been a simple matter to target them for destruction by land-based missiles, but that would require their replacement by the eventual victors. A much more sensible course of action involved the incapacitation or better yet, the capture of the complex that stored and distributed the power thus generated.

If Ranji’s group could capture the complex they would control the supply of energy for half the population of Ulaluable. Nor could the defenders blast them out without destroying the critical components of their own power grid. A successful assault on the center would weaken local communications, industry, and transportation significantly.

The Wais were little better prepared psychologically to deal with an attack than if they had not been warned at all. True to the claims of their chosen administrators, they did not panic: they merely shut themselves away in their homes and waited for defenders or assailants to triumph. In the sparsely populated regions where the invaders landed, it was more difficult to pretend nothing so uncivilized was taking place. Some citizens fled, others barricaded themselves in their places of work, and a small portion went catatonic.

Of all the Weave races, the Wais were perhaps the least well equipped to deal with the awkward reality of contentious violence. The very thought of their exquisitely coiffed garden world being subjected to onerous combat was enough to induce severe trauma in the more sensitive of them. It was left to Ulaluable’s Hivistahm inhabitants to maintain the abandoned planetary infrastructure and assist the defenders in the movement of troops and supplies.

The second group of invaders made swift progress toward the capital city’s communications center until they came up against a small but well-entrenched cluster of determined Massood. As the defenders were in possession of advanced surface-to-air weaponry, the attackers’ skids and floaters were unable to detour to their target.

Thus bogged down, the invaders were forced to take up secure positions of their own, which gave the besieged Massood time to call in reinforcements from the city. This included a flying squad of Humans, who threw themselves against the Ashregan with utter disregard for their own safety, making life miserable for the Unifers in charge of the attack by reducing their careful timetables to chaos.

In spite of the fact that the majority of actual combat was restricted to obscure or outlying areas, there were casualties among the civilian population … from heart failure, shock, and cerebral hemorrhage. Wais physicians (those who were not themselves paralyzed by circumstance) were kept busy tending to their own kind.

Soratii’s team successfully wrested control of Ulaluable’s northernmost shuttleport from its defenders. If they could hold the place, it would allow for faster and safer resupply from orbit. As their first important conquest, the achievement cheered every member of the invading forces.

Ranji’s group received the news as they were skimming in attack formation toward their designated target, their skids and floaters tearing along just above the ground at maximum combat speed. Since their attention was concentrated on sensors and weapons systems, their cheers were silent ones.

Once more those close to him took his silence and otiose expression for quiet determination and resolve. It would have shaken their confidence not only in their Unifer but in themselves had they been able to see the pain and uncertainty that raged within him.

Tormented by unceasing doubt and confusion, Ranji left necessary decisions to subordinates like Weenn and Tourmast. In the absence of direction from above the group’s flexible command structure allowed them to skillfully guide the battlegroup through rugged mountains toward its target. Ranji’s continued silence as they neared the high, narrow valley which had been selected as a staging area for the actual attack began to concern them, but they said nothing. By now their Unifer was famed for his moodiness;

Underground lines fed power from dozens of different sources to the main distribution center, which lay on a fertile plain between the nearest conurbation and the mountains. It was decided to attack late at night. Despite a thousand years of military development, ordinary darkness still offered soldiers a certain amount of cover which strategists and planners were pleased to take advantage of at every opportunity. The absence of notable geological features in the vicinity of the target rendered a stealthy approach impossible anyway.

Ranji found himself hoping that the majority of the complex’s defenders were Massood. From what he knew of the psychological makeup of the Wais, actual operations were probably being run by local Hivistahm.

Any formal defenses were probably of recent installation, since, like any other civilized Weave world, Ulaluable would have been ill prepared for a serious assault. In that respect resistance might be less well organized than it had been on Koba or Eirrosad. The downside was that they had to continue to advance, since they as yet controlled little territory and therefore had precious few places to retreat to.

He didn’t doubt that the complex’s defenders were prepared to extend greetings to any uninvited visitors. Since sheer cliffs and steep gorges offered some protection even from modern weapons, they would anticipate an assault from that vicinity rather than the open plains of the south, though they would doubtless be alert to an attack from any direction. Local geology allowed little leeway for subtle strategies.

The outcome would be determined by whose fighters were the more skilled, the more determined, and by what sort of weaponry the defenders had managed to put in place.

Whoever they were, boldness was not their hallmark. When Soratii’s squads first sortied from the foothills they met intense fire and promptly withdrew. Had Ranji been in charge of the complex’s defense he would have followed up with immediate pursuit and counterattack, if only to test his attackers’ strength and resolve. Those inside the distribution grid’s perimeter did no such thing. In classical fashion they chose to sit behind their screens and sensors and weapons and wait for the next hostile move.

Probably not many Humans, then, he decided, feeling a little better about the situation. He smiled relievedly, suddenly realized what he was doing, and glanced around the interior of the command skid to see if anyone had noticed the unnatural, un-Ashregan expression. No one had. Everyone was concentrating on work or conversation. In the future he would have to be more careful. Assuming he had one. And if he did, what would it be as?

If naught else the long journey outward from Cossuut had given him ample time to think. He had arrived on Ulaluable with a vague notion of what he wanted to do. All that was lacking now was a means for carrying it out without getting himself or any of his friends killed while integrating his intentions into the little matter of the battle he was expected to direct. Surely a simple enough task.

The practical knowledge he’d acquired on Koba, Eirrosad, and even Omaphil enabled him to probe the enemy’s defenses with few casualties. Though hastily installed, they were substantial and deadly. Soratii’s people encountered and reported the presence of photic charges, heat- and shape-seeking missiles, and intelligent explosives, in addition to an aurora dome which would instantly short out the components of any approaching vehicle, not to mention microwaving its inhabitants. The complex was going to be difficult to approach, much less capture.

In the attackers’ favor was the fact that on a civilized world such installations were not constructed with an eye toward defense. Most of the distribution complex was located aboveground, buildings and facilities arranged in an aesthetically tasteful but exposed star pattern with typically lush Wais gardens burgeoning between. The defenders would also be hampered by the need to keep the grid functioning while simultaneously fighting off any assailants.

Ranji knew that in order to have any impact he would have to move fast. As Ulaluable’s defensive command identified the invaders’ targets, they would proceed to rush reinforcements to those areas. He had no intention of being stuck in the mountains for a long siege. Whatever he finally decided to do would be executed with speed.

Exhilarating, this independence of mind, he mused. Exhilarating, and addictive.

Occasional missile exchanges produced a lot of noise and flame but no serious damage to either side, as antimissile weaponry obliterated projectiles in midflight. Beam projectors were held in reserve, since the use of such advanced devices simultaneously exposed their positions to enemy sensors and return fire.

The extended, cautious firefight that occupied the daylight hours witnessed much sound and fury but nothing in the way of advance or retreat. The Massood and Hivistahm defenders soon realized that their attackers wished to capture and not destroy the distribution complex, and were able to conduct their defense accordingly.

The slightly sloping plain that halted at the base of the mountains was sliced by several mostly dry gullies, watercourses designed by nature to drain the foothills in the rainy season. An intent Ranji had begun studying them through magnifiers from the moment of his group’s arrival. Now he left his position near the front of the command skid and moved to stand next to his adjutant, Birachii.

“I’ll need a floater.” He poked at the luminescent, hovering representation of what in ancient times would have been called the battlefield, his finger tracing one particular topographical feature until it came to rest among several pinpoints of blue light. “It looks like this one squad’s made some real progress. I’m going to check out their status.”

“Your pardon, Ranji?” Birachii eyed him uncertainly.

“I said, I’m going out. To have a look around.”

The sub-Unifer hesitated. “I ask excusal for making exception, Ranji, but you’re the group commander. If you’ll just tell me what you want, there are many on board or outside who are much more expendable than yourself and who’d be glad to go in your stead.”

“Thanks, Birach, but I have to do this myself. See, I’m not just going out to survey the terrain. I have it in mind to reconnoiter an idea.” He turned. “Jhindah-ier will be in charge until I get back.” Birachii didn’t try to hide his surprise. Though a perfectly competent officer, Jhindah-ier was a member of the pure Ashregan contingent and not one of the modified.

“It’s bad procedure.” Ranji found his friend’s concern touching. “And not in keeping with the teachings of the Purpose.”

“Birach, ever since we were children we’ve been noted and promoted for doing the unexpected. I’m just taking another step along the same old trail. Don’t worry. I just want to confer with the squad leader. I have every intention of returning to supervise the rest of the attack. Now stop mooning at me like a lovesick youngster and requisition that floater.”