Chapter 156: (Telkan) (2/2)
There were wounded men who needed dustoff.
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”Madame Director,” Colonel Harvey said, touching Brentili'ik's shoulder, distracting her from the atmospheric reports. The Elven Queens already had the atmosphere cleared enough to breathe outside without a mask, without fear of disease, pollen, or spores, but it was still thick with ash from the volcanoes that had exploded.
Brentili'ik looked up. The fur around her eyes was white now and her whiskers drooped slightly. Not enough for most to notice, but enough for Colonel Harvey to notice.
”Yes, Colonel?” she asked. She flinched inwardly, wondering what more he had to tell her. She had already spent the last three days trying to figure out how to tell the broodcarriers and the podlings that her husband was dead.
”Trucker's coming back,” Colonel Harvey said.
”Trucker? I thought he was dead. His men all say he's dead,” Brentili'ik interrupted. She pinged her datalink and saw it. KIA - Killed In Action.
Harvey shook his head. ”The big bastard's tougher than a Martian miner, Madame Director. He's still alive and coming in.”
”Notify any family that he lives,” Brentili'ik said, turning her attention back to the holodisplay.
”That's not why I came to find you,” Colonel Harvey said. He touched her shoulder again, this time keeping his hand in place. ”It's your husband.”
Brentili'ik stood up straight, lifting her chin. ”I am prepared to identify his remains.”
Colonel Harvey shook his head. ”He's alive. SAR brought him in, they're rushing him into surgery now.”
Brentili'ik sagged for a second and Colonel Harvey reached for her. Before he could touch her she straightened up, her spine rigid.
”Take me to him,” she ordered.
For a split second Colonel Harvey was amused at the difference between the half-terrified young female Telkan he had met a year ago and the solid female in front of him now.
”General Tik-Tak has a ship standing by,” Colonel Harvey said. He held out his arm. ”If I may escort you, Madame Director?”
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Wakefulness came slow to him. Several times he lapsed back into sleep, back into dreams of his wife, his broodcarriers, his podlings, his friends, his comrades in arms.
It was the beeping that woke him up. It was annoying. It kept manifesting as an alarm clock, as an armor warning, and once as a podling toddling around making the beeping noise.
He opened his eye hoping to get it to shut up.
His other eye was dark.
He was staring at a white ceiling. Lights shined soft white light down.
He could only hear out of his right ear. He turned his head to look at the beeping noise.
A female Telkan was staring at him.
”I love you,” Brentili'ik said to her husband, staring into his one remaining eye. ”By the Mad Arch-Angel TerraSol, I love you, Vuxten.” She bent down and laid her muzzle next to his, crying into his short shaved fur.
He lifted up his arms and hugged her tight.
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The welders sparked and the grinders howled as Trucker watched, leaning on his crutches. He knew he was supposed to still be in the hospital but he'd ignored them to put on his uniform and crutch his ass out to watch.
Cry Little Sister had given everything she had.
Ekret stood next to Trucker and 584 and 471 as they watched the mechanics decommission the tank.
When they were done Trucker moved forward, holding out his hand to the lead mechanic. Ekret moved up and put his hand on the burly human's shoulder as if to steady him.
The mechanic dropped a chunk of warsteel, sticky with the carbonized flesh still adhered to it, into Trucker's hand.
”Thall shalt not fall,” Trucker whispered.
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General Takilikakik AKA Tik-Tak stood next to the holodisplay in his dress uniform. The awards had been handed out, the vehicles of Seventh Army and V Corps were refit, repaired, and replaced.
The Telkan Campaign was over.
He sighed in relief as he caught his reflection.
He still had no Combat Action Badge.
His finger still shook with how close it had come as he reached out and transmitted the memo.
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V CORPS MEMO
TELKAN-ONE COMBAT OPERATIONS ARE NOW AT AN END. ELVEN QUEENS AT OPTIMAL. DWELLERSPAWN AND DWELLER INFESTATION AT 8% AND DROPPING.
REQUEST RELIEF AND REFIT
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
VII ARMY MEMO
DEFENSE OF THE TELKAN SYSTEM SUCCESSFUL.
REQUEST RELIEF AND REFIT.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TELKAN GESTALT
I... I think we won.
Did we win?
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TERRASOL
You're still pulling air past your teeth, you're doing good, kid.
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IMPERIAL COMMUNIQUE
THERE ARE OTHER WORLDS BENEATH THE EYE OF THE DWELLERSPAWN
THE WAR IS NOT OVER, BROTHERS
REGROUP
---END OF MESSAGE---
TREANA'AD HIVE WORLDS
BAH! He scared the shit out of me!
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
MANTID FREE WORLDS
Yeah, I get the feeling we're going to see a lot of that.
And yes, dear one, you won.
Horrible, horrible victory.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
soft and warm sing podling sing with broodmommy brave and strong podling clever podling cute podling sing with broodmommy
CYBERNETIC ORGANISM COLLECTIVE
Is it weird I'm starting to get used to that?
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---