Chapter Forty-Five (Ullmook) (2/2)
Krekit nodded. ”My men, they have spoken. We will hide in the cavern and repair any damage we can.”
”That pleases me to know,” Ullmo'ok said.
And he meant it.
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Lo'omo'nan exited his vehicle, moving over to where his nephew was dressed appropriately for once, surrounded by well dressed syncophants and underlings like a proper Lanaktallan should be. Lo'omo'nan's wife and children exited the limo, looking around with parts disgust at being at a refinery/mining location/manufacturing facility, parts pleasure at seeing Ullmo'ok so improved.
They all oohed and aahed appreciatively during the tour. Lo'omo'nan noticed that beings came to his nephew frequently with updates, forms to be signed, introductions.
They were moving outside, preparing to leave, when Lo'omo'nan saw his nephew suddenly jerk upright and put his hand against the elaborate datalink on his temple and blink all four eyes.
”Repeat that,” Ullmo'ok snapped. The authority and urgent focus in the two words made Lo'omo'nan and his family draw back from the young male Lanaktallan in slight fear. There was a second and Ullmo'ok took his hand from his implant, blinking his eyes, including the ugly looking cybertic one, and gave a reassuring gesture. Lo'omo'nan saw Tukna'rn security officers jogging toward them, holding weapons.
”Sorry, my apologies,” Ullmo'ok said. He gestured toward the Executive Villas and made a motion. ”Please, before you fly out, at least enjoy some refreshments.”
”I'm sorry, Honored Nephew, we don't have the time,” Lo'omo'nan answered, suddenly feeling nervous. ”Perhaps another day.”
Ullmo'ok sighed and looked at his uncle, slowly drawing a needler from a holster he kept beneath his pouch. The Tukna'rn security men leveled their weapons at Lo'omo'nan's Lanaktallan guards and then disarmed them.
”I'm sorry, aunt, uncle, cousins, but I'm afraid that my words were not a request. It is an insistence,” Ullmo'on said, his voice violent sounding and menacing.
It reminded Lo'omo'nan of how stressed Terran's sounded.
”Ullo, dear? What do you mean, darling one?” Lo'omo'nan's wife asked, hugging herself in fear.
”I am sorry, most beloved aunt, but you must quickly come with my men. I will be remaining here,” Ullmo'ok said. He stared at his aunt. ”Do remember, though, that I do care deeply for all of you.”
The guards barked and motioned and Lo'omo'nan and his family began moving.
As they clattered away, their hoofs clumping on the tarmac, Lo'omo'nan called out to his nephew. ”I won't forget this betrayal as long as I live!”
Ullmo'ok didn't look back as more of his facility guards took the servants into 'custody'. Servants that had mysteriously brought along their families to see a perfectly normal mining facility. They all hid smiles as they hurried after Lo'omo'nan, and one signalled eternal affection at Ullmo'ok.
Ullmo'ok watched, listening to his implant.
ATTACK IMMINENT!
ATTACK IMMINENT!
ATTACK IMMINENT!
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Ullmo'ok was strapped into Pleasure & Glory, the datalink plugged in, his feet on the pedals, his hands on the controls. The big Bashmech was vibrating faintly around him, the huge fusion engine at low power. The scaffolding around him was clear, his access ports were closed, his armor ready. The durachrome around the scaffolding made the repair scaffolding look as it was just some kind of material storage towers.
He could hear his gladiators talk to each other. Weeks in the simulators were one thing, but they could hear on the radios that Goliaths were landing vehicles on the planet. That the Terran vessels were engaged in pitched fighting. The UMF and the Kestimet Corporation had already taken massive casualties. Only a few units survived, most of them working carefully with the Terrans. His men were nervous but unafraid.
He was not nervous. He was not afraid.
Instead, he felt something. The way poets described a female's tendrils trembling, the way commercials made tasting their ways sound.
He wondered what it was.
”Hi!” a small voice said in his ear. It was on his personal comlink.
”Clear the channel,” Ullmo'ok ordered, doing his best to imitate the Kestimet security jargon he'd picked up being arrested so many times.
”I'm your new friend,” the voice said. Ullmo'ok opened his eyes in shock as something tore through his firewalls, through his security, and scanned his entire Bashmech in seconds. ”Wow, good job on this. I should hash your security encryption though, you're using an old outdated one that the Precursors already cracked.”
”Who are you?” Ullmo'ok asked sharply.
”Oh, I'm your new Warboi. Assinged by Third COSCOM Digital Warfare Command. Either I help you, and you let my friends help your friends...” There was a long pause. ”Or V Corps has ordered me to slag your warmechs.”
Ullmo'ok thought for a moment. ”All right, new friend. I'll warn you, I am here to defend my loyal people. I will not stray far from this area.”
”Okie-dokey,” The voice answered. ”Rehashing now.”
His mech went to standby, booted up, shut down everything, then restarted again.
”Rehashed. I updated your systems with the latest IFF and targeting systems. I'm sending my brothers to help your friend,” The little voice said.
”What do I call you?” Ullmo'ok wondered aloud.
”Dunno. That's up to you,” the voice said. ”Oh, V Corps is referring to you as 5th Light Armor Irregulars and limiting your operations to a ten mile radius.”
”All right,” He thought for a second. One of his friends back in the Core Worlds talked like the computer program. His name had been long, but everyone had shorted it to ”Tak” so that they could get a word in edgewise. ”I'll call you Tak.”
”Tak it is. I have General Trucker on secure comlink. He wants to speak to you.”
A General? That was like a military High Most. Curious, Ullmo'ok opened the comlink.
”Fifth LAI? Do you read?” a Terran's rough voice sounded in his ear. Ullmo'ok could hear a nuclear cannon cut loose in the background.
”Yes,” Ullmo'ok answered.
”All right. I'm sending you some air defense and point defense units and some warborg infantry. I'll keep those shelters of your locked down and defended, you just worry about any armor units that head your way,” Trucker growled. In the background Ullmo'ot heard bellowed orders. ”You stay out of our though, you get in my way I'll run you over just like ancient metal.”
”Of course. Nothing personal,” Ullmo'ok said. He'd seen more than a few black market Terran war TriVids in the past few months.
”Nothing personal,” Trucker said. Suddenly the pitch of his voice changed. ”Get those UMF areospace fighters out of there, tell them to get that blasted formation tighter or they're going to get raked out of the sky by that mass of Djinn! Tell that dumbass cow he's about to get slaughtered!”
Ullmo'ok knew Trucker was referring to a member of his species, but it did not bother him.
Cattle described most of the people Ullmo'ok met before the Terrans arrived.
”Look, 5th, I'll get you a dedicated data-stream and provide what support I can, but... TELL THAT DUMB BASTARD TO ACTIVATE HIS POINT DEFENSE!... but I've got my hands full. I wish you'd have interlocked with us earlier but... JEEZ-SUS SODOMIZING KEE-RICEST WILL SOMEONE KILL THAT THING? ... but I'll interlock you as best I can.”
”I understand,” Ollmo'ok replied. The sounds behind the Terran's voice and his bellowed commands made something inside Ollmo'ok's soul tingle. He opened a Slender James and chewed on it, filling his mouth with the taste of the greasy meat stick.
”Do your best, Fifth. Trucker out.”
”Understood.”
In his tank Trucker looked at his EW/EMCOM/Com-tech. ”You sure we were talking to an Lanaktallan? He sounded like a damn answering service VI.”
His tech nodded. ”VI says he was an actual living being with almost 83% certainty.”
”Huh,” Trucker said, then took his mind back to the battle at hand.
Ullmo'ok was relaxing in his crash couch, keeping his men's moral up, ordering them to sleep in shifts.
Listening to his implant, which Tak was keeping him aware of what was happening as more and more Precursor ships made planetfall.
Nearly two hours later Tak woke him up, the vibration of his Bashmech lulling him to sleep.
”Got Confed troops on the horn, boss. They want to know which warehouses to conceal themselves in,” Tak said.
Ullmo'ok rubbed his eyes. ”What?”
”General Trucker sent some air defense and pint defense vehicles to keep your area safe. He also sent ammunition trucks and counter-battery artillery units, including radar,” Tak answered.
Ullmo'ok closed his eyes, visualizing the layout of the factory with his cybereye. He 'blinked' at the buildings, assigning them. ”Tell the leader of the vehicles that the warehouses and vehicle hangers can be destroyed. All of the surface installations can be destroyed. Just defend the shelters.”
Tak hummed for a moment. ”They say OK. Well, they talk weird. You know, Terran military guys. They all talk funny.”
”Wake me up if anything moves funny.”
”Oky-Dokey!” Tak said.
Ullmo'ok closed his eyes, going back to sleep.
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”BOSS! BOSS! WAKE UP!” Tak yelled.
Ullmo'ok opened his yes, lifting his two upper hands to rub at them. ”Yes, Tak?”
”Trucker just signalled. You got a whole bunch of, and I quote, big metal coming your way.”
”Wake up the boys,” Ullmo'ok said, bringing his big mech up to full readiness. He waited for each of his gladiators. Nearly eighty in all. Even the maintenance crews, led by Krekit checked in. Finally the Terran Confederate Military forces checked in.
Everyone was ready.
”It's time for the Ultimate Show,” He said over the 'command channel'.
And put his mech in motion.
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V CORPS COMMAND MEMO
Extensive civilian shelters outfitted with psychic shielding arrays at the Kestimet Hoolangenar Mountains Refinery. Estimated numbers of civilians in shelters in excess of 320,000. Area is protected by civilian grade medium warmechs.
8th Infantry has deployed a company of air and point defense units as well as battalion of artillery configured for counter-battery operations.
Support these guys when you can. The leader is a known and MILINT compromised black marketeer, but he's been good to our guys and is taking care of his people.
--General Nodra'ak, V Corps, Commanding
------NOTHING FOLLOWS-----------
KESTIMET INTERNAL MEMO
Lesser High Most Lo'omo'nan and his entire family as well as his servants have been kidnapped by his known law breaker nephew Ullmo'ok, who has seized control of the Hoolangenar Industrial Facility and may be planning on holding it for ransom.
At this time, do not speak to any press agents.
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3rd ARMOR DIVISION BROADCAST
HERE THEY COME, BOYS!
---General Trucker, Commande