Prince of Sparta by Jerry Pournelle

Author:Jerry Pournelle [Pournelle, Jerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Falkenberg; John Christian (Fictitious character), General, Science Fiction, Low-intensity conflicts (Military science), Life on other planets, Fiction
ISBN: 9780671721589
Publisher: Baen
Published: 1993-04-14T23:00:00+00:00

192 Jerry Poumelle ^ S.M. Stirling

A man burst through the door of the operations control center. He was hastily buckling on armor.

"General alert, Karen. General, we're sure glad you're here."

"My husband and partner," Karen said.

"Karl Olafson, general co-manager and Major of the 22nd Brotherhood, for my sins. Alan, can you give me a relay?"

"Here."

This time the screen split. "Captain Solarez here, Major Timmins is down." The new figure was crouched in a shallow hole behind a rock, with a wounded communications tech lying beside him and operating the pickup. Small-arms and explosions sounded from the background.

"Report, Captain," the militia Major said.

"I've got thirty dead, sixty wounded and three hundred effectives, that counts the walking wounded. We had to leave most of our heavy weapons with the transport. The enemy have us under visual observation and they're sending us heavy fire, medium mortars, 84 and 105mm recoilless rifles, heavy machine guns. Nothing fancy but they've got plenty of it. We've beaten off one attack already, in company strength."

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A map of the militia position came up; squares indicated possible enemy dispositions. The Brotherhood fighters held a dome-shaped rise, as high as anything in the vicinity; the road wound past it.

following the low ground up from the shores of the lake. The gap into the sedimentary basin that held the

Torrey estate was still two kilometers north and west, but the picture-pickup showed columns of smoke from that direction.

"Major, I can hold here but not forever," the captain went on. "We've no water except the canteens, very

PRINCE OF SPARTA 193

little in die way of other supplies, and I'm taking steady losses. Either someone tries to pull us out, or we'll have to fight our way through to the Torrey's. This is obviously bigger than we thought."

"Hold," Karl Olafson said. "We'll come get you."

Ace Barton spoke. "What do you have on hand, Major?" he asked.

"Our security battalion, Brigadier," the miner replied. 'There's another Brotherhood reaction-force battalion here, mobilizing now, I'll leave those. We've got a little surprise, a six-gun battery of 155mm gun-howitzers, just up from thevon Alderheim plant in Olynthos. And plenty of trucks, we'll take the mine vehicles. Pick up more infantry at the rally-point at

Danniels Mill, and mounted scouts to cover our flanks."

Barton picked his words with care; interfering in the local chain of command was not something to be done lightly. 'This isn't going to be anything you can handle," he said. 'They're risking too much for just a raid. They've got something much bigger in mind. The mine itself, for a guess.

You go out there and they'll ambush you just like they did the original relief force."

Major Olafson nodded. "We'll be careful. And counting the second-line people and the perimeter guardposts, that still leaves the equivalent of a complete rifle-regiment here. It's a chance, sir," he said.

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