"Do you have any idea what this is all about?" he gasped.
"A very good idea. The powers that be think they are being spied upon. With good reason since they are. So they have pushed up the date of their invasion before details of their plans can be discovered."
"What will happen to us?"
"We invade. At least we will go out as officers. Which means that we can stay to the rear and order the troops forward in case of any enemy resistance…"
"Open your barracks bag," the moth said into my ear. "What are you saying?"
There was a sharp burning sensation in my earlobe as the moth discharged its batteries into my skin.
"Open… bag!" it gasped and dropped off, batteries drained and dead.
I bent and opened the bag, wondering if something had been planted there. There was a whistle and the stink of let fuel as the bird olummeted oast me into the bae.
"I'm not smuggling this damn bird and getting caught and shot!" I shouted.
"You must do it for the sake of all mankind," the hire said, eyes glowing wildly. "Reactivate by pressing the bil twice. Out."
The glow died and it went limp. I jammed the bag shu< as footsteps approached.
"Into the transport!" the colonel ordered. "We are on our way!"
Chapter 14
There was very little time to sit around and relax. As fast as the officers were spewed out of the supply depot, staggering under the weight of all their combat gear, trucks appeared to carry them away into the night. Groaning and complaining, with the rest of the groaners and complainers, Morton and I heaved our bags and weapons over the tailgate of a truck and clambered after. When it was Blled to capacity, and slightly more, we lurched away.
"And to shink that I just reenlishted. Voluntarily," an officer expostulated leaning heavily against me. There was a gurgling sound from an upended bottle.
"Share the wealth, share the wealth," I muttered as I pried the bottle from his shaking grasp. It was pretty foul stuff, but was rich with alcohol.
"You still don't drink?" I gasped at Morton, holding up the rapidly emptying bottle.
"I'm learning fast," He gulped then coughed, then gulped again before relinquishing the bottle to its original owner.
A deep rumble washed over us and we had to close our eyes against the glare as a spacer took off. The invasion was on. We swayed into each other as the truck squealed to a halt and a now familiar and loathsome voice ordered us out. Our nemesis, the pressgang colonel, was waiting for us. He was backed up now by a radio operator and a gaggle of noncoms. Behind him companies, battalions of soldiers, were marching in good order to the waiting transports.
"Now hear this," the colonel bellowed. "Those are good troops back there, and they need good officers. Unhappily all I have for them are you fat-bottomed desk types, the dregs of the base. So I'm going to split you up, one to every company, in the hopes that you will maybe get some experience before you get dead."
This was not good. I had promised Morton I would look after him. Which I could not do if we were in different companies. I sighed. I would have to break the first rule of military survival. Although it violated the primary army axiom—keep your mouth shut and don't volunteer—1 volunteered. Stepping forward smartly and slamming my bootheels down as I snapped to attention.
"Sir! My bottom is lean, my gut is flat, I have field experience. I fire sharpshooter, I instruct unarmed combat."
"And I don't believe you!" he roared into my face.
I threw him onto the ground, put my foot on his back, took away his gun, shot out one of the streetlights, helped him to his feet and handed back his weapon. His fierce glare melted almost to a smile as he wiped pebbles from his uniform.
"I could use a few more like you. You get a combat company. Name?"
"Drem. I respectflilly request Lieutenant Hesk here as exec. He is young and dumb but I have been training him."
"You got him. Move out. Any more volunteers?" I grabbed up my bags before he could change his mind and hurried off toward the transports with Morton stumbling behind.
"I thought that I was going to die when you knocked him down," he gasped. "You took some chance."
"Just being alive in the modern world is taking a chance," I pontificated, "what with all the carcinogens and traffic accidents. And I think we can stop and put the bags down. Help has arrived."
An eager-looking sergeant, with a bald head, large moustache and two privates, came trotting up and I returned his salute.
"I am Acting First Sergeant Blogh. If you are Captain Drem you are the new CO," the sergeant said.
"Right both times, sergeant. Get those men on these bags and let's go."
"Last of the company boarding now. We blast off in ten minutes.
"We can make it. Let's move."
The loading ramp vanished from behind our heels and the outer lock began to grind shut. We had to climb over. boxes of equipment bolted to the deck to reach the stairs. Two flights up was the company,; sprawled from wall to wall on their G pads. We dived for ours and were just horizontal when the red lights began flashing and the engines came to life.
As takeoffs go, it went. They poured on a lot more G's than a commercial transport would, but that is what the army is all about. When the acceleration dropped to one-G I stood and waved the sergeant over. "Canteens fall?"
"Yes, sir."
"Let them drink, but no food for a while…" There was a roar of sound from the speakers followed by an overly-amplified voice. "All commanding officers to deck two now. All COs, now."
"Lieutenant," I called out to a very queasy-looking Morton. "Take over until I get back. Let the noncoms do all the work." I bent and added In a whisper, "Don't let that bird-bag out of sight. If it is opened we will really be in the cagal."
He moaned slightly and I hurried away before he began to feel too sorry for himself. There were other officers climbing the gangway, all of them curious and expectant.
"Maybe now we will find out what this whole thing is about."
"They got to tell us something—we been living on latrine rumors for a vear."
The dining hall was not that big, so only the first arrivals got seats. The rest of us crowded in between the tables and leaned against the walls. An ancient sergeant checked us off his list when we came in. When he was satisfied he reported to a two-star general at the top table. The hum of conversation died down as the sergeant called for our attention.
"For them of you newly transferred to this division this here is your commanding officer. General Lowender, and he has an important announcement to make." There was silence as thg, general turned to us, nodded sagely, and spoke.
"This is it, men. H-hour, D-day, the moment you have all been expecting, nay, looking forward to eagerly. The captain of this ship has reported that we are on course, with no chance of turning back now. So the secret orders can be opened."
He took up a large envelope heavy with red seals and tore it asunder, the sound of ripping paper loud in the silence. He held up the red-bound volume inside.
"This is it. You will have heard rumors that we plan a defensive action against Zemlija. That is wrong. Security planted those rumors to mislead the enemy. Our ofiworld enemies are many and their spies everywhere. That has explained our great need for secrecy. That need is past, As you can tell we are now in space and heading toward a new world. A rich world. A world that lost contact with the rest of the galaxy thousands of years ago. And, more important, a world only we know exists. It is inhabited, but the natives are backward and do not deserve to have this verdant world for their own greedy selves. Is the machine ready? Good, General Zennor, the discoverer of this rich planet, will tell you abo.utit in his own words." My pulse hammered and I started to sink down before I realized that it was just a recording and I did not have to worry about being recognized. The lights dimmed a bit, the general took a digital recording from the envelope and slipped it into the projector. Zennor's repulsive hologramed features floated before us.