Read Online Legion Of The Damned - 06 - For Those Who Fell by William C. Dietz - Free Book Online

bed.
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    The sun was up, and the streets were damp from the early-morning spray-down, but would soon be forced to surrender their moisture to the sun. Regimental headquarters occupied four interconnected inflatable buildings, which made sense, since it took a lot of people to support three battalions of cavalry. Like most organizations of its type it was top-heavy. All manner of captains, majors, and colonels prowled the busy, air-conditioned halls. Each had responsibility for some aspect of the regiment’s administrative, logistical, technical, medical, intelligence, and air support functions. And while all of them were supposedly on the same side, they typically spent part of each day competing with each other for more budget, clout, or recognition.
    But regimental headquarters wasn’t a democracy, and at the end of the day there was only one officer who really mattered, and that was General Lani Ibo, sometimes referred to as the Iron Lady. Ibo had a tight cap of close-cropped gray hair, black skin, and high cheekbones. Her uniform was as spotless as her record and the metal table that served in lieu of a desk. She wasn’t one for knickknacks and never had been. The surface in front of her supported nothing other than a hand comp, coffee cup, and two sheets of badly mutilated hard copy. Not because she couldn’t read the orders off the screen, but because she liked to sleep with her problems, and computers make poor bedfellows.
    But the strategy was successful, the general awoke with the decision made, and was in the process of reviewing itone last time. Ibo scanned the printout again. LEGCOM was located on Algeron, which meant that the NOVA class orders had been approved by Bill Booly himself, and maybe the president as well. The directive called on her to dispatch a battalion of heavy cavalry to a planet called Savas, “. . . where the commanding officer will carry out his or her orders by whatever means possible.”
    Orders which she, as the battalion’s commanding officer, wasn’t privy to. That was unusual, but not without precedent, given the need for security.
    But the next part of the cover letter, the part intended to guide her decision, was entirely unique. “Because of the particulars of this mission LEGCOM recommends that the officer tasked with this mission be extremely experienced, utterly reliable, and suited for independent command.”
    And then, as if Booly had seen fit to add a postscript himself, it said, “If the entire war hung on one battle—who would you choose to fight it?”
    That was the line that captured Ibo’s attention, caused her to delay a final decision until morning, and served to pique her curiosity. Ah well, the general thought, I’ll find out what was so goddamned important eventually.
    Ibo touched a button. A staff sergeant responded immediately. “Ma’am?”
    â€œGet hold of Colonel Kobbi. . . . Tell him I’d like to see him at 0930.”
    â€œMa’am, yes ma’am.”
    â€œAnd sergeant . . .”
    â€œMa’am?”
    â€œFind Captain what’s-his-name, you know, the naval liaison officer. Tell him to join the colonel and me at 1000 hours.”
    â€œMa’am, yes ma’am.”
    Ibo touched the button for the second time and took a moment to lean back in her chair. The decision felt good.Had she been selecting an individual to serve as an aide, a diplomatic attaché, or a liaison officer, Kobbi would have ranked at the bottom of her list. But when it came to the most important battle of the war? The general felt confident that she had the right man.
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    As the sun inched higher in the sky, and cool morning air began to warm, B Company stood at parade rest. The company consisted of a headquarters platoon, a scout platoon, and two quad platoons.
    Santana, who had been assigned to the 2nd, or scout platoon, had been introduced to the various beings under