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nights, because you’ll have a lot of<br />
work on your hands.”<br />
Niatti stared at the map. The<br />
role that the General just described<br />
wasn’t too glamorous, but it was<br />
much better than the toy-soldier the<br />
Patrol made of her since her escape.<br />
She was about to ask the General<br />
when she was leaving, but then she<br />
noticed something strange.<br />
“Sir, why is the Ruby spaceport<br />
colored differently from the others?”<br />
“This? Oh, it’s from a previous<br />
map. Intelligence thinks that this is<br />
where Seward keeps his prisoners.<br />
She felt her pulse quickens.<br />
“Samir too?”<br />
“If he’s still alive.”<br />
“Sir, I request permission to take<br />
part in the campaign.”<br />
The General raised an eyebrow.<br />
“As I just explained, Captain, you<br />
will.”<br />
“No, I mean a frontline job: fighting,<br />
commanding—”<br />
The General laughed. “Sure, Captain.<br />
Anything you say.”<br />
“Sir—”<br />
“Captain, you’ve been a wreck<br />
ever since you returned. You’re very<br />
lucky to have enough useful information<br />
in your head, but that’s no<br />
reason to give you a weapon and<br />
send you to the frontline. In fact, it’s<br />
a very good reason not to do that.”<br />
“Sir, I demand to be given a frontline<br />
job.”<br />
“And if you won’t, Captain?”<br />
She stared into his eyes. “Then<br />
you can call the Mental Health Department,<br />
and tell them to start<br />
trying all their new treatments on<br />
me.”<br />
A moment of silence followed, finally<br />
broken by the General. “Very<br />
well, I’ll have you assigned to a<br />
campaign ship. It’s actually a good<br />
idea—you’ll perform better as an<br />
advisor closer to the front.”<br />
“And then?”<br />
“We’ll see. I still don’t think you’re<br />
fit for combat duty, and you’ll have to<br />
work very hard to make me change<br />
my mind.” The General turned to<br />
the door, but stopped before he got<br />
out of the office. “One more thing,<br />
Captain. If you’ll get caught lighting<br />
one of these”—he pointed at the<br />
cigarettes on the floor—”onboard a<br />
campaign ship, you’ll get thrown to<br />
a military prison for a long time. And<br />
trust me, no matter how big a hero<br />
you are, there wouldn’t be any PR<br />
damage because of that sentence.<br />
None.”<br />
The Captain left and Niatti could<br />
feel her body shaking again. She<br />
was about to pick up a cigarette<br />
from the floor but stopped halfway.<br />
She leaned back in her chair, waiting<br />
for her body to stop shaking on its<br />
own.<br />
***<br />
Niatti decided to try again. “This<br />
is the twenty-third platoon, calling<br />
Siberni,” she called on her communicator.<br />
“Requesting permission to<br />
break into the prison section.”<br />
“Permission denied, twenty-third.<br />
Please remain where you are and<br />
wait for further orders.”<br />
Niatti cursed loudly, without<br />
bothering to turn off her communicator.<br />
General Matsumoto’s voice finally<br />
came on-line. “That’s enough,<br />
Major.”<br />
“Sir, I don’t understand why the<br />
delay in the permission to attack.”<br />
“Headquarters still isn’t convinced<br />
you’re the right person to<br />
lead this attack. And I share some of<br />
their concerns.”<br />
“Sir, I have led the attack on five<br />
other sections in this spaceport, and<br />
I don’t remember anyone complaining.”<br />
“Major, the objective in this attack<br />
is releasing the prisoners, and<br />
completing the takeover of the<br />
spaceport.”<br />
“I’m well aware of that, Sir.”<br />
“Nothing else. I don’t want to<br />
hear about any soldier, including<br />
you, who decided to save work for<br />
the tribunals. Whenever a mercenary<br />
surrenders, he or she is taken<br />
ISSUE <strong>53</strong><br />
prisoner. Understood?”<br />
“Yes, Sir.”<br />
There was a pause. “Very well.<br />
I’m authorizing your platoon to<br />
launch the attack. Call another platoon<br />
for backup. Good luck, Major.”<br />
The communicator went silent.<br />
Niatti switched it to speaker mode.<br />
“This is a message to all mercenaries<br />
in the prison section,” she called,<br />
her voice echoing beyond the section’s<br />
shuttered doors. “The Coalition<br />
Patrol is now in control of all the<br />
other sections in this spaceport. We<br />
demand that you will all come out,<br />
surrender, and deliver your weapons<br />
to us. We promise a fair trial to<br />
any mercenary who surrenders.”<br />
She waited another couple of<br />
minutes, and when no response<br />
came from the other side, she motioned<br />
the soldiers in her platoon<br />
to start moving, and called the fiftyfirst<br />
platoon to secure the exit.<br />
The prison section’s corridors<br />
were too narrow for her platoon<br />
to act effectively, and she split it<br />
into several squads, leading one<br />
squad herself. A few minutes later,<br />
the communicator came alive with<br />
reports from the other squads’ fire<br />
exchanges.<br />
No guards were seen in the corridors<br />
where Niatti’s squad advanced.<br />
A few prisoners in the cells along<br />
these corridors noticed the squad<br />
Page 30
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