Tiger- Enemy Mine by David Smith

Author:David Smith [Smith, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-07-13T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Elsewhere on Todot Hahn, Jim-Bob Stallworth was dodging amongst the rubble of a destroyed Sha T’Al city. He didn’t know what defensive systems the Sha T’Al still had, certainly none had been apparent when they’d fled here from Sector 193, but there was no point in taking chances.

They’d lost so many people in Sector 193 that the rebellion was effectively over. Hollins still talked about carrying on the fight, but only a few thousand of them had managed to escape the Empire’s brutal assault.

He remembered how he’d been so determined and so fired up by his first meeting with Hollins. He’d always raged against the stupidity and violence of the Empire, but even so, he wasn’t sure about joining the rebellion.

That had changed when Hollins swung into town. Jim-Bob could still remember the phrase that had finally convinced him to throw his lot in with the rebels. Hollins had spoken to him directly. ‘There’s no shame in being the little fish in the big pond, and there are always a few who want to be the big fish in a little pond. Me? I’m going fishing with dynamite . . . ‘

It had been glorious. They’d fought, and fought, and fought, always sure of the righteousness of their cause. When the Empire had started a war with the Sha T’Al and then the Tana, the rebellion had spread like wild fire, and for a little while they’d actually controlled most of Sector 193.

But it had all collapsed like a house of cards. The Empire abandoned Sector 244, stalled the Sha T’Al and Tana and had hit the rebels with all their might. The local Alderman, Isobelle Grosvenor, had been completely ruthless and slaughtered every rebel she caught and anyone she suspected of being a sympathiser. Hundreds of thousands had died, and she’d been promoted to Magistrate and Governor for the entire province.

The rebels had hidden a few ships and they still had cells of operatives dotted around the Empire, but it was over. They’d lost.

He looked up at the darkening sky and wondered if even now, the Imperial Forces gathering above them were readying themselves for a final, devastating assault. He put the thought out his mind. While they were still alive, they’d fight on. There was nothing else to do.

He gathered himself and sprinted to the next building, getting undercover as quickly as he could. Another series of short sprints saw him reach his destination, the Command Post.

He nearly laughed as he said it. A few computer terminals and a sub-space comms set rigged to the abandoned Sha T’Al fusion generator a hundred meters below their feet. The place didn’t even have a damned door.

A bedraggled looking guard challenged him, but realised who it was as Jim-Bob stepped out in front of the ancient and inadequate lights they’d rigged ‘temporarily’ over three months ago.

He stepped into the main room through the piles of dust and rubble, where at least the lighting was a little better.

Hollins was hunched over a terminal with Sergeant Belle, the leader of the last contingent of infantry they had available.

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