Oberheim (Voices): A Chronicle of War by Christopher Leadem (to read list txt) 📗

pain of life's final reckoning, of uselessness and barren seed. "Can I tell you something, 'as a man?'" Dubcek turned his eyes away, poured the bottle into the glass.

"Yes." Brunner too looked away.

"I wasn't always old, or alone, with no other calling." He breathed heavily through his nose. "But my wife died some years back, and we had no children. Some men can go on from such a thing: find another wife, start again. But I am not one of them. I had never loved before….. But that is beside the point." He drank the glass again.

"I found myself alone, in the military, with no real skill other than being a soldier, a good officer. My father had been a working man….. So I put all my energies into advancing my career, trying to fill the emptiness. Telling myself." He gave a short, disagreeable laugh. "Telling myself that if I could only rise high enough through the ranks, that I could SAVE lives. I was going to make certain the old war-mongers who ran the armies of the world did not subject innocent people to the kind of loss I'd known. I was going to see to it that no task force was ever advanced needlessly, no ship ever mindlessly sacrificed to gain a tactical advantage." He stopped, as some other emotion rose up in him.

"You say you hated me when you learned I had sacrificed a thousand men and women. What would you feel if we had lost, and left the colonies unprotected?" He rose in a rage, as Brunner stood and backed away. "How would you judge me while some Belgian officer was raping your pretty little wife?"

Brunner's eyes flashed murder at him, but he said nothing.

"Yes. And how would you have liked me when the political executions and imprisonments began? Forget your romantic notions! When it comes to occupying armies, there are no morals left to judge." He steadied himself, took a breath.

"Behind us lie the three planets of our people, our home. One hundred million inhabitants. Nothing else stands between them and us. And maybe our enemies don't even want them. Perhaps they would be just as happy to destroy the entire system, or even use radiation bombs: empty the inhabited planets of life without destroying the cities, the beautiful landscape. Do you think this is a fucking game?"

"You misunderstand. I am not judging you."

"And you misunderstand," said Dubcek bluntly. "Why do you think I take an interest in you? Why do you think you are here?"

"I don't KNOW!"

Dubcek waited. "Shall I tell you?"

Brunner turned his head painfully, faced the older man.

"You are here because this battle will not end the war. This war will not be the last our people know. Because if someone has to command and send young people into battle, I want it to be someone who still has some feeling left…. Because I respect you….. I have no son."

Brunner squeezed his temples with his hands, unable to stop the tears.
"But I CAN'T."

"You can, and you must….. I am not releasing you." Dubcek stalked out of the room.

The young lieutenant did not return to his post for several hours. The battle went on without him.

16) P-KR4 P-KR4

17) P x P N x P

18) KN-K2 R-R4 19) QR-N1 B-K3 20) P-R3 P-Q4

Brunner reentered the battle room with his head down, walking stiffly to the place where a subordinate stood manning his station. The man looked up, handed him the lightboard—-showing how they had arrived at the present disposition—-and with a quick bow started to leave.

"Wait," said Brunner quietly. The man turned. After an awkward silence. "How are we doing?" The man looked at him with mild curiosity.

"As you see."

"That's not what I mean." Their eyes met. "Have we truly engaged the enemy only when necessary."

"Yes, Lieutenant. But he does have a battle to fight. If I may say it, the old man has done very well. But here." He pointed again. "We'll know soon enough." Brunner turned his gaze back to the globe, and the man was gone.

Lieutenant Olaf Brunner would remember the rest of the battle as bits and pieces of a vague, impossible dream. Unable to bring himself to look out the portal at his fighting comrades, he watched the moving shapes as if entranced, as they swam amid the invisible sea of the globe. Masaryk's voice.

"Enemy first destroyer group to corridor two, column six."

Dubcek. "Engage."

21) N-N3 N x N

"Battle cruiser coming forward to intercept."

"Robot battery 5, attack enemy battery opposite."

22) R x N P x P

"He took the bait. Second destroyer group moving forward."

"Mongoose forward to column two. Starboard guns to standby alert."

23) N x P K-N2

"Still coming right at us, corridor one."

"Let him come. Light cruiser, heading C-four."

24) P-R5 B-B4

An unfamiliar voice. "Colonel. My instruments show a strange energy field materializing before the enemy battle station, bearing 00 to 04, F-six. Apparently a highly charged, extremely dense mass of negative ions."

Hearing this, Brunner's senses came suddenly, vividly to life. Some half remembered, theoretical principal of matter….. As the fear materialized in thought, he was filled with a dread such as he had seldom experienced.

Looking up, he saw that Dubcek too was unnerved. He turned toward the speaker as calmly as he could and said, "Link up with the main ship's computer. Keep me posted."

25) P-R6(ch)

Masaryk. "Robot battery still coming forward, moving into range."

"What?" replied Dubcek absently.

"The enemy battery, moving into range and preparing to fire. We've got to move back."

"Yes. Of course. Mongoose to corridor one, column one."

K-R1

For some reason these coordinates seemed to Brunner the final manifestation of an impending doom. Riveting the globe with his eyes, he understood the reason why. The enemy was perfectly positioned…..

"Colonel," he said. Dubcek glared at him, angry and agitated.
"Colonel, please." The commander left his post and came toward him.

"What is it?"

"Sir, if that's some kind of star gate—-"

"It CAN'T be….. That is only a theory."

"But the American scientists are said to be coming close."

Dubcek did not wait to hear him out. He started toward the chief scientist.

At that moment a blinding silver halo split the sky, and through its inner darkness passed a ship far greater than any yet seen in battle. To his final, unyielding horror, Brunner saw the outline of an enormous carrier take shape inside the globe, in perfect position for the kill.

26) New queen appears, QB3. Check.

BECAUSE WAR IS NO GAME, AND NO ONE PLAYS BY ANY RULES.

At their posts, Masaryk and Wessenberg were struck dumb. Dubcek stood still in the middle of the room. The chief scientist had taken out his ear-piece and thrown it to the floor. All seemed incapable of movement. Finally Masaryk stirred, shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Colonel. A second enemy carrier has appeared. Bearing 01 to 02,
F-six. He's staring right down our throat."

Dubcek, shaken to the bone, somehow managed a short laugh. He turned, walked toward his executive officer.

"Configuration?"

"Commonwealth Super-carrier. It's the Americans, Ivan."

Dubcek breathed out his final despair.

At that moment the communications officer turned toward him. "Sir.
It's the Commonwealth commander with. . .terms for our surrender."

"Bastard," he muttered beneath his breath. Then. "Put him on the screen. And get me General Itjes with the Coalition reinforcements." He quickly checked the time. They were due to arrive in another hour.

The large main screen of the battle room came to life. And there in the midst of it, his face animated with tension, confidence and self-satisfaction, stood, in military uniform, General Charles William Hayes, Secretary of State for the United Commonwealth.

His fear submerged beneath a desperate, fey indifference, Dubcek turned to Masaryk with a rueful expression. "This just keeps getting better….. Yes, Mr. Hayes. What are your terms?"

"I want the immediate surrender of all your forces, and a complete shut-down of planetary defense systems. In return I'll see that your people, both military and civilian, are treated fairly and with respect."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that. Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to negotiate such a complete capitulation. I have contacted both our President and the Assembly (a necessary lie), and also the Coalition military representative. You will have an answer soon enough. One question, though, if I may ask it."

"What is it?"

"How do you plan to run the occupational government?" He looked at Brunner as he said these words, turned back to Hayes. "Who will be in charge?"

"The Belgians and Swiss."

"While you carry the crusade elsewhere?"

Hayes' voice was blunt, brutal. "You have five minutes."

"That should be sufficient. Thank you, Mr. Secretary." His face left the screen, and Dubcek immediately went to work.

"Brunner, Wessenberg, Kinsky and Schmidt, get to the evacuation ships. Gunnery and engineering high-officers to remain at their posts; everyone else off. First battleship and remaining cruiser to provide cover for their retreat, then get out themselves—-link up with the reinforcements as soon as possible and put themselves under the command of General Itjes. Go on. Move!"

Masaryk relayed the orders with grim satisfaction. His commander was going to fight.

As the others filed past him with blank, scared faces, Brunner remained at his station. Dubcek looked over at him.

"Get out, fool!" But still he did not move. The aging commander strode quickly over to him.

"There is no time for this. If you want to be brave then hold on to your commission and fight them again."

"I don't want to leave—-"

The voice of the communications officer broke him off. "General Itjes, sir. I've also contacted the colonies: all data being relayed."

"Good," said Dubcek. "Put him on and get below." He held out his hand to Brunner.

"Goodbye, Olaf. Go. Now!" His lieutenant turned and left the room.

Four officers remained in the chamber. "Anyone else who wishes to go, it must be now." None stirred. "Very well." He nodded, turned to Masaryk, then remembered General Itjes.

The chief scientist had moved to the communications board. He put him on the screen. The lined and wizened face of the German General stood before him.

"Yes, Ivan. I understand you're in trouble. Can you hold him off long enough for us to get around his flank?"

"Don't bother trying, General. He's got the ships and firepower to cut us both to pieces. The best thing you can do is guard the civilian retreat from Premislyde and Goethe. I'm afraid Athena must surrender."

Itjes sighed painfully. "All right, then. Agree to capitulate your forces along with it, and stall on the rest for as long as you can."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir."

"Why not?"

"He is not about to be detained, and I am not about to let him win this battle without the shedding of American blood."

"Ivan, this is no time—-"

"This is bigger than both of us, General. They must know at the very beginning that they will be resisted every step of the way."

"Colonel, it is pointless to die like this."

"Sorry, Helmut. I have much work to do. Save as many as you can." He gestured to the chief scientist, and the screen went blank. He turned to Masaryk. "Is Hayes unloading yet?"

"Just starting now, sir." They both watched as perhaps a dozen of the monolithic carrier's twenty chutes were lowered and the first wave of fighters, mingled with other, larger ships, came streaming off. "If that's the Dreadnought….."

"It is."

"They