“I am giving you an order! Comply!”
Syndicate training insisted on obedience, backing up that insistence with vicious penalties for failure, but Rogero, like all Syndicate executives and CEOs, had long ago learned the problems that created when contradictory commands existed. Untrained at resolving issues for themselves, inexperienced with making their own decisions, and above all afraid to comply with the wrong order, workers often simply locked up like a machine told to both open and close a door at the same time.
The resulting delays could be fatal.
“Comply!” Rogero yelled again, as the limo went past the turn he had indicated and into the multipronged intersection leading into the nearest one of the main approaches to the ground forces headquarters complex.
The driver finally acted, jerking the limo to a halt in a vain attempt to back toward the missed turn. The security limo behind braked frantically, slewing to one side and narrowly missing the limo carrying Rogero, while the lead limo went onward several more meters before realizing that anything was happening.
Rogero, cursing the confusion, reached for the door release.
His hand had not touched it when the lead limo slid onward another meter as it began braking, and tripped a hidden sensor in the roadway. Massive shaped-charge explosions erupted from the roadway beneath and from locations on the façades of the buildings on either side.
It had taken far too long to get to this point. First, Morgan had been forced to infiltrate the outer areas of the snake alternate command center, following a route she had previously used, until she could activate the necessary loops on the taps in certain control circuits heading out from the command center. Having neutralized the snakes’ ability to set off their buried nukes, Morgan had then worked her way out past snake security, through more security checkpoints and columns of enemy vehicles, to where she could waylay a laggard soldier and use his gear to tap into the enemy tactical display.
Colonel Roh Morgan could finally see what was happening.
General Drakon was trapped, an entire Syndicate division of ground troops consolidating to form a solid ring around his perimeter, the enemy brigade occupying the base dug in and well supplied, lots of newly arrived artillery being moved into position to turn the unfortified buildings holding Drakon’s troops into masses of rubble before the enemy ground forces launched an all-out attack.
She had failed him. There was no way to stop this, no way for her, alone, to do enough damage in a short enough time to an entire division of enemy troops and all of their supporting weapons to make any difference in the outcome. Even if her arm hadn’t been injured and she had been at full physical capability, it simply wasn’t possible. The snake nukes had been neutralized, but that didn’t matter. The enemy didn’t need the nukes.
Morgan fought off tears, shaking her head with growing rage. No. No. Even if he dies here, even if I die here, our daughter will live. Our daughter will avenge us.
But all vengeance will not wait for her.
One more snake has to die this day, the snake who set this up, the snake who tricked me, and who is not going to live to enjoy his victory. Don’t worry, General. I failed you in everything else here, but I won’t fail in this. I’m going to make sure that snake dies.
She took the dead enemy soldier’s sidearm and eased onto the nearest street, heading back toward the snake alternate command center.
The echoes from the explosions near Midway’s ground forces headquarters were still resounding through the city when crowds of agitated citizens began pouring into the streets, blocking traffic and filling every public square.
Iceni looked from one virtual window before her desk to the next, at dozens of tiled scenes of embryonic mobs. Part of her had to admire whoever had set this up, priming the citizens with anxiety and fears that would burst into hazardous motion when a fuse like the explosions went off.
Only part of her, because the other parts of her were busy.
“Find out what Colonel Rogero’s status is!” she demanded of the senior police officer at the scene of the explosion. “I want to know the instant you find out, and I want you to find out immediately!”
Another virtual window was displaying messages flooding through social media, news, and other citizen communication feeds.
General Drakon has been killed by Iceni.
President Iceni seriously injured in assassination attempt by Drakon.
Ground forces soldiers forced to take new oath of loyalty to the Syndicate.
Iceni has invited Syndicate to return to Midway to restore order.
Drakon has smuggled large numbers of snakes into star system and given them back control of their headquarters.
Open fighting in city as forces of Iceni and Drakon battle for control.
Iceni declares herself sole CEO at Midway.
Drakon has drawn up plans for mass arrests.
Iceni to reopen labor camps.
All elections canceled, all elected officials ordered arrested.
Mobile forces ordered to bombard planet.
Mobile forces mutiny.
Ground forces mutiny.
Iceni sells out Midway to the Alliance.
Drakon a traitor, deliberately lost battles to Alliance, say ground forces.
Midway to be surrendered to enigmas.
Enigma attack imminent, most defenders away by order of Iceni.
Enigma attack imminent, most defenders away by order of Drakon.
She slammed a comm control hard enough to wonder if it was possible to physically damage a virtual control. “Why aren’t these messages being stopped? Why are they getting sent all around the planet?”
A senior aide, looking terrified, shook his head. “We don’t know, Madam President. You have loosened restrictions on content—”
“And we have retained full control of every mechanism for distributing messages like these! Why haven’t we shut them down?”
A grim-faced woman answered. “Someone sabotaged the control software. We can’t activate any of the censor overrides. They’re letting through everything. Our software people—”
“To hell with the software people! Shut everything down! Kill the power!”
The woman blinked in surprise. “Oh. That’s a hardware solution. I’ll need to contact—”
“Do it! Pull the plugs!”
“Yes, Madam President!”
“Get everything except security comm channels off-line,” Iceni directed. “Then power it back up piece by piece with reloaded software. Start it happening now! We need those media channels back so we can start sending out our own messages to calm this mess!”
She could see the crowds reacting to the messages, see waves of growing anger and fear rippling through the masses of citizens, each wave reinforcing the others. It didn’t matter if the fears contradicted each other. It didn’t matter if the fears made sense. The citizens were moving past the point where logic, reason, common sense, and even their own safety and security had any restraining influence.