You do know that the convention makes no distinction between arms used against humans and against the aliens, right? And that a conventional .50 cal barely scratches the skin of a Twenty-Three. And that doesn’t take into account that you do run into physical limits with reload times on all arms at some point…making clearing hordes harder without some area effects.
Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to risk my life and hobble my ability to deal with the antithesis just to coddle some outdated views on how warfare should work. Especially when nearly 80% of the signatory countries have violated the same conventions themselves multiple times. And that’s just those that are still around.
Besides, do you really want to set that precedent? You didn’t think this through. That is an international treaty that can only be signed by sovereign countries. If any Samurai signs it, that means we, each and every one of us, can be considered our own sovereign nation. The ability to sign treaties with other nations is part of the definition of a nation
--T4 when confronted by the Committee for Ethical Warfare, 2041
***
“We’re a lure, Captain, to make sure the big swarm draws into the trap. We would catch the large swarm, engage them briefly, then retreat, drawing the enemy into our trap. The problem is that she caught the wrong fish. We caught the smaller lead element, not the main force. I think we should use her plan, just on a smaller scale.”
Despite his prejudice against me, Carlson had shown his professionalism and competence as a leader to the rest of the troop. I could see the captain’s mind engaging, and his eyes flickered back and forth while he made connections.
“You want us to move. Where?”
“East. There’s a couple creeks with small valleys we can defend.”
“We’ll be arriving tired with the antithesis on our heels, without any defenses in place.”
“The aliens can be slowed or led on a longer path, giving us all the time we need.”
“I don’t have the authority to deviate that much.” His resistance seemed to be collapsing.
“Isn’t there something about taking initiative in the definition of a captain?” I asked.
“‘A Captaincy is granted in places where an independent command may need to take initiative due to changing circumstances.’” He absently quoted the manual. “I’m still going to have to report the change, in case they need to adapt. If I can get through.
“While I do that, why don’t you and Decurion Martin go work on this plan of yours? You’ll need to figure out where we’re going, and I’d like more details about how you are going to slow the antithesis down to give us time.
“Morris, even if we don’t go haring off, you all will be safer if you start on the defenses behind the gap.”
I gave him a deliberately sketchy salute and went to track down Martin.
Five minutes later, Martin and I pored over a shared map. “I like the farther stream better,” I said. “The steeper valley will protect us better, and we might be able to make use of the walls.”
“I’m not enamored of either, to be honest. We’d be bushwhacking the whole way if we needed to retreat. Doing that with enemies on your heels is no simple affair.” He paused a moment, then the map scrolled a little farther east.
A scoop had been cut out of the slope of the hillside, forming an artificial cliff over a flat space with a thin line of trees hiding it from the road. A marker indicated it had been a rock quarry at some time and still saw intermittent use. “This is better. We can stand on the walls of the quarry and slaughter them. They’ll never get close to us from in front, but we’ll have to keep an eye out on the flanks, though.”
“And if we have to retreat, it’s not far from the creek. I like it,” I said.
“Only two questions remain, then. How do we get them to follow us but not too close? And how to make them go into the quarry? I don’t like how easy it will be to flank us on that gentle slope. The cliff will hold them back, but we’ll be vulnerable to flanking.”
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“I have lures that can bring them into the quarry proper. And I can make the flanks less appealing, I think. When it comes to leading the main force around. I could do it, if nothing else comes to mind.”
A chorus of protests in the conference channel drowned out Martin’s response. Ginny won by being loudest. [“Why not use a drone for the lure?”] she demanded.
[“Ginny’s right,”] Kaitlyn said. [“While it’s all noble and poetic to make the heroic run like some reverse Paul Revere, the risk of that turning into tragedy isn’t worth it. My vote’s for having that captain run the distraction, if he doesn’t trust a drone.”] She hadn’t been happy with Carlson and had thrown disparaging comments at him all day.
I must have reacted to their complaints, since Martin looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I lifted a hand in the “I have a call” motion while I subvocalized my response. [“The lure we used before was good, but it was also small. I’m not sure it will catch the attention of the whole swarm, which is what will be needed. If it doesn’t work, I’m the best person to make up a solution on the fly.”]
[“That generic lure won’t catch the whole swarm, and it won’t work on the higher models. But for a few more points, stronger lures are available that will have both greater reach and affect the bigger models.”] My own AI joined the fight against me.
[“See? This is just like the machine room. You don’t have to go charging in all the time. You have options—explore them!”] Ginny was in fine form, only to be cut off by Tara.
[“There are only three ways a drone lure would fail. The EYRIE will help with connection loss, and Corie has options to fix the drawing power. That leaves flight time, and we’ll need a new drone to carry the lure anyway. Jerry’s still in Ginny’s apartment.”] Tara’s fear accelerated her speech to a rapid-fire assault.
“The captain’s coming, might want to wrap it up.” Martin pointed to where Carlson was crossing the redoubt.
“Sorry, sometimes you have to appease the divine chorus.”
Kaitlyn jumped on that one. [“So we’re divine now? You can’t butter us up that easily!”]
[“You’ve raised good points, so can I please coordinate with the captain in peace? I don’t want to be the decoy if I can help it, and I never said that was plan A. It’s the captain’s call anyway.”]
The team’s silence was telling, and I fully expected another earful later on.
“Well, you were right. The commander liked the idea. Her big concern was over how to get the main antithesis force to take the gap. If we can cover that, we’re approved.”
“In for a penny...Let me check what options I have.” I took a half step away while I talked with my AI.
--I assume a hellgate is out of the question?
--Spoilsport. Okay, for a large area of effect, you’ll definitely need something more than the Class 0 Sight and Scent lure. You want a more specific pheromone and a dispersal unit for the best results. For that you’ll need the Class I Biochemical Warfare catalog.
--No. The bio part of the catalog’s name is for bio-reactive materials, not live biological attacks. Not that I’m against full biological weapons. Humanity has restricted itself too long due to those old treaties. They were created in a different era that didn’t have the antithesis as opponents, nor did they have access to the controls that Protector technology can provide.
--A biological attack would be a living and active life form that can infect the target and attack from within. It covers viruses, bacteria, and other self-replicating and growing organisms. Bio-reactive refers to substances that directly interact with the biology for an effect. Enzymes that break down the cell walls, or venoms that cause neurotransmitter uptake delays or redirection, or other deep chemistry effects are common. Think drugs, not microbes.
--Any Protector technologies that release pathogens also include controls on the lifeforms. But if you want to go that route, they require higher-level catalogs to still be broadly effective since the antithesis can always adapt to any disease given enough time.
I frowned, still unsure about the catalog. Chemical weapons had been banned for valid humanitarian and practical reasons. While the humanitarian reasons did not apply to the antithesis, practical issues with cleanup did still come into play. Some of the chemicals used in the past lasted ages. No one wanted to have a pack of kids die because a few drops of sarin didn’t get cleaned up properly ten years before. We had enough toxic waste sites thanks to corporate greed.
On the other hand, better targeted chemicals could be less dangerous to bystanders. When I mentioned these concerns to Corie, she countered.
--While the catalog does include area delivery methods, you can also use the chemicals on a more targeted basis by combining them with your existing Esoteric Munitions catalog’s payload delivery rounds.
--But fair warning: you will be using a chemical area effect for the lure. It’ll be releasing a pheromone that only affects the antithesis. And the chemicals will break down in a few hours, leaving behind nothing but inert or innocuous traces.
--And your current points cover what you need to get the catalog, the lure, and the drone easily.