The Bayern Agenda: Book One of the Galactic Cold War by Dan Moren

Author:Dan Moren [Moren, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Espionage
Amazon: B07DZHVQJJ
Publisher: Angry Robot
Published: 2019-03-05T08:00:00+00:00

Interlude

Ascraeus Mons, Mars – May 9, 2398

“We’re what?”

“I’m sorry, do I need to repeat myself, Corporal Kovalic?” The voice was tempered steel.

“No… No, sir,” the corporal hastily corrected himself. “I’m just surprised, is all. We’re abandoning Mars?”

Kiroyagi sighed, her face falling. “Believe me, corporal, it’s not my call. I lodged my protests, but the brass, as you might guess, were not very interested in hearing them. With Earth firmly under Illyrican control, the crims have turned the full brunt of their forces towards Mars. We can’t hold out much longer.”

Mouth set in a grim line, the corporal scrubbed the ubiquitous red dust from his helmet. He hadn’t even had time to get his pressure suit off since coming in from the cold. Kiroyagi’s summons had met him and the sergeant at the base’s entrance and they’d made their way to her office without delay. The older man was leaning against the doorframe, his lined face bearing the mirror of their commander’s disappointment.

“We’ll begin a systematic evacuation of Ascraeus Mons’ personnel over the next few days,” said Kiroyagi, interlacing her fingers. “You two will make those preparations just like anyone else.”

The corporal frowned, then exchanged a curious glance with his older counterpart.

“Drop the other boot, captain,” said the sergeant, with a tilt of his head.

Kiroyagi’s return expression was sharp, but she continued. “While the majority of the battalion is moving out, I’ve received permission to retain a platoon’s worth of soldiers for a specific operational purpose after the main withdrawal.”

The corporal blinked. “We’re leaving people behind?”

“You’re talking about what,” said the sergeant, cocking his head, “a skunkworks unit?”

“Something like that.”

The corporal’s head swiveled back and forth between the other two. “You’ve lost me, sir.”

The sergeant shrugged, pushing himself off the doorframe, and walking over to Kiroyagi’s desk. “Leave a unit behind to disrupt the enemy’s advance, and make life… inconvenient… for them. Sabotage, ambush, guerrilla warfare – that kind of thing.”

“The unit would be operating without support from command,” said Kiroyagi. “Self-sufficient in every way: food, shelter, equipment, and so on.”

“What about extraction?” the sergeant said, holding Kiroyagi’s gaze.

“The goal behind this operation is to slow the Illyricans down as much as possible, give us time to cover the withdrawal of our forces out-system.”

“Out-system?” the corporal echoed. “We’re giving the crims the whole solar system?”

Kiroyagi leveled a bland look in his direction. “Again, not my call, corporal. But the Terran Executive – or what’s left of it – has decided that there’s little chance of maintaining a foothold without control of Earth or Mars. The outer reaches of the system are too sparse and desolate to provide a suitable launching ground for a counter-offensive. So, yes, we’ll have to pull back to another system – Centauri, perhaps, or Nova.”

The corporal clenched his fists, his eyes going to the metal lockbox that sat on a shelf behind Kiroyagi’s desk. “This is a mistake. We’ve lost a lot of good people here. Daoud… Laing… Zhao. They all gave their lives, and for what?

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