Devil's Due (Destroyermen #12)(128)
Chack waved it away. “It was their first baattle,” he said, “and a confusing one at that. We have always had trouble with landings, and this one was unusually well opposed. Besides, your troops were leaderless for a time. It’s normal,” he added grimly.
“But it wasn’t their first battle, Colonel. Not for most. Many fought the Japanese from Hidoiame. All the NCOs did.”
“Okay. But that was at home. This was not. This was a shore they never even knew existed and they fought very well once they overcame their uncertainty.” He looked at I’joorka. “That uncertainty is gone now and will not return. You have no reason to be ashamed of yourself or your troops. I am not.”
“Thank you,” I’joorka said, looking down.
“Now,” Chack said briskly, sharing a relieved glance with his sister, “we must pursue the enemy. I don’t expect serious resist-aance until we near the harbor, but there may be aam-bushes. We’ll pull two sections of the mountain howitzers before us on the trail, supported by a company of Maa-reens with Blitzerbugs and a maa-sheen gun section. We have to move swiftly,” he reminded, “and it should be very difficult for the enemy to block that much firepower on a narrow trail.”
“What about the taanks?” Risa asked. “I like ’em!”
Chack considered. “If they can make it, they can come. But they’ll have to bring up the rear. We can’t take the chance one will break down or get jaammed and block the trail.” He looked grimly at his officers and the troops gathering round, the crackling of damp, burning trees and moans of the wounded the only sounds. “We’re ashore,” he said. “Now the haard part begins. We have a long way to go before daylight, and a great deal to do when we reach our objective. Let us proceed.”
CHAPTER 21
////// Kurokawa’s HQ
The bombing woke Kurokawa, as it had before. He didn’t leap from bed this time, however. There was nothing he could do and it was already too late to run outside and dive in the muddy, protective trenches. His Grik had taken to using them as latrines, in any event, damn them. Muriname would flush the fighters—Not that they’ll do much good, he thought bitterly—and the antiaircraft artillery was already booming. It was better to stay where he was. If a stray bomb found him, his worries would be over. If it didn’t, at least his people might interpret his actions as unconcern, and wouldn’t see the terror that had begun to torment him.
Considering all he’d been through, it rather amazed him that he’d never realized he was a coward. He’d always been able to blame his failures on others and rationalize his escapes, to define his behavior as the courage to survive and continue fighting in the face of adversity, to strive for the destiny awaiting him on this world. But then he’d seen real courage in the eyes and actions of the defenseless pregnant wife of his most hated adversary. Not only were she and her friends entirely in his power, helpless to resist if, on a whim, he chose to snuff them out, but regardless of their position and the fear they surely felt, they still had faith in Captain Reddy and their cause—and an absolute certainty they’d be avenged. And it wasn’t just bravado; he’d used that enough to recognize it when he saw it. They were so sure that he was doomed that it shook Kurokawa to his core.
He knew his people relied on him and obeyed him. His Grik practically worshipped him. But it wasn’t faith that drove them, only fear. Fear of his power and anger, as well as the enemy he’d constantly provoked, perhaps disastrously this time. The latter had bound them together against a common threat, and since none could expect more mercy than he, they’d still fight to save themselves. But the former hadn’t inspired loyalty, faith, or even true respect, and most had probably judged him a coward long ago as he squandered their lives to preserve his own. It was as if a light of reason had flickered to life in his long-deluded mind, and even as he’d tormented the small woman with his words at their first meeting, he’d reluctantly realized he admired her—and grown ashamed of himself.
His first reaction had been denial. He’d show her—he’d wreck the cause she fought for, destroy the puny ship that thwarted him at every turn, kill the man she loved, his most implacable foe that . . . And then it hit him. Captain Reddy was the enemy he had made. There’d been the old war, of course, and that couldn’t be ignored. It even still seemed reasonable that they should’ve continued their battle here. But the Grik had perverted that purer cause, and by aligning himself with them, he’d lost any honor a victory might give him. The reason he’d regained admonished him that he should’ve made peace with Captain Reddy, worked with him, allowed him to conquer this world, the Grik, and now the League at his side. With Captain Reddy’s ability to inspire, to raise armies and alliances, and Kurokawa’s beloved Amagi, nothing could’ve stood against them. But somehow he doubted Reddy would’ve been as ruthless as required. I could always have removed him later, when the time was right. He shook his head as the bombs exploded closer and he trembled. No, he realized. I am what I am and Captain Reddy would never have joined me. I would’ve had to join him, support his vision, and that was never possible.
A sharp rapping on the door to his bedchamber brought him upright and he tried to compose himself. “What is it?” he demanded harshly.
“General of the Sea!” came Signal Lieutenant Fukui’s anxious voice. “I just received a telegraph message from the garrison on the southern point of the island!”