Spider’s Web
Jessica Schlenker
Part 1
1st Week February 210
Moyra Kelly stepped into the kitchenette to fetch a drink for her grandmother. A string of Irish Gaelic she didn’t recognize abruptly echoed through from the living room. She hadn’t heard such words since her pelvis was crushed under a horse, six or seven years ago.
She stepped back in to see what caused such a response from the normally restrained Isibéal O’Higgins.
Smoke filled the infoset’s screen, suddenly backlit by a bright explosion. Pieces of a building—concrete, roofing, what Moyra could only hope wasn’t a person—flung apart. A calm, measured voice spoke over the scene. “This is the live drone feed above Heilbrun Base. UN ships have initiated an unprovoked attack on Grainne soil without warning. These ships did not declare their affiliation until after this act of war started.” Another building took a direct hit, with a cluster of bright stars flaring just before the entire building exploded from the inside. “UN forces are demanding—”
The infoset’s signal cut off.
“The devil they’re demanding anything. Those bloody bastards.” Isibéal’s voice dripped with venom.
Moyra agreed, mental wheels turning. Isibéal took the forgotten glass from her. Moyra apologized.
Isibéal waived it off. “You’re thinking, lass.” She smiled, in a not-particularly-nice manner. “Are you brewing up mischief now?”
Moyra nodded slowly. “The kettle’s just been put to boil, Grandma.”
“Be sure to let me know when you’re ready for the teapot. I’d like a cuppa, myself.”
Her concern and uncertainty must have shown on her face. “No,” Isibéal said softly. “You aren’t going to go along with this…this…nonsense. Not to save me. I’m old. I’m worn out. They destroyed my family and home once. Not again.”
“Okay.” It hurt to agree.
The broadcast spluttered back to life. A clean-cut male whose uniform bore the UN emblem sat in the primary seat. The room and set were different from normal, indicating the signal had been hijacked. “This is an interim broadcast during changeover. The UN has resumed leadership of the Grainne Colony…”
“I highly doubt that,” Moyra snorted over his droning. “Can you hit record on this, so I can analyze it later? I need to…check in with some people.”
“Certainly, lass.” Isibéal set the record.
* * *
The special console never slept, and her compatriots already were filling the screens with furiously typed messages.
:: Shut up, all you lot, :: she typed. :: What the fuck do we know? And why don’t we know more already? ::
:: Hespera! You heard about— :: the messages overlapped.
:: We were watching the station broadcast. Again: What the hell do we have? ::
A flurry of information replied, and she scanned it. The UN’s “diplomatic” vessel arrived a few weeks ago, and one of her dabblers out on the stations had helpfully slipped a mined data chip onto the ship, as usual. Precious little information had been gleaned, but Jenkins primarily focused on blackmail material, including what might interest their other client. It wasn’t impossible he missed something. Her clique tended to keep away from military interests, to avoid tangling with their own military.
Invading her home changed that.
:: What are we going to do? :: asked Braknck. He had yet to live up to his claimed handle over the course of their escapades, or even manage to be useful.
:: We are spiders in the web, :: she replied. :: We will do as we always do. ::
DalesOP opened a private comm. :: The hell we will, Hesp. I won’t. We can’t let this happen. ::
:: I know, Dal. You know Brak as well as I do. He’ll flake if he thinks he’s at risk of anything. ::
:: True. Trip and Dam are angry, too, though. ::
:: Dam, I trust. But do we trust them enough? ::
:: Dam served a term, so yes. Trip…I’m not sure. ::
:: Dam may have useful contacts. We’re going to have to bridge where we normally avoid. ::
:: Yes. ::
Damocles appeared in the comm. :: Whatever it is, as long as it’s against those UN bastards, I’m in. ::
:: Thanks for letting me ask the question, man, :: Moyra snarked. :: But good to know. Do you think Trip is solid? Brak wouldn’t be. He’s only in this for the money. ::
:: Trip, maybe. I’ll sound him out. You know we’ll have to maintain some kind of op to keep the others from being curious. At least at first. ::
:: Yeah, :: DalesOP replied. :: Wankers. ::
At least they were in agreement there, Moyra thought.
The main comm blinked, and Moyra flipped over. :: Oh shit, :: Sa1amander typed, :: Trip, please tell me your sister and the baby are still visiting your folks. They just bombed the dormitories at the base here. ::
:: Oh no. Oh fuck. Baby’s here. Sis just headed back off maternity leave two days ago. Oh fuck. I have to tell my parents. :: Moyra felt unbidden tears fall for her friend, and thanked the heavens his baby nephew was safe—for now, at least.
:: Not unexpected, :: Damocles responded. :: They’ve hijacked sat feeds, and they’re taking out the bases. I’m surprised they didn’t immediately take a station, too. Should probably try to check with Skylight up on Skywheel Two, to see if she’s okay. ::
He added in the back comm, :: A few of my boys got out. But only a few. Daks pinged me from Heilbrun. Rescue attempts are in progress. We don’t have a response from Maygida. He’ll try to find out how many got out at Merrill. Assbags. It’s NIGHT there. ::
:: Do we know the extent of the damage? ::
:: Negative. But I would expect the UN intends to bomb the bases into oblivion. It’s what I would do. ::
Main comm chatter angered Moyra. :: Shut up. All of you. The UN isn’t interested in our little activities YET. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that won’t change. Have any of you ever LOOKED at the UN laws regarding what we do? You—we—are all in deep shit if they decide to go after us. ::
Jenkins flagged up a private comm. :: My uplink to the “diplomatic” ship hasn’t been shut down. Yet. ::
:: How much access do you have? ::
:: Not enough to deploy Wrecking Ball, but I can fix that quickly. Won’t even have to pull a Leroy. :: Moyra snorted at the age-old joke.
:: How far are you willing to do this? ::
:: My brother is…was…at Heilbrun. I hope he still “is.” ::
:: Crap. Sorry, man. Gotcha. We need as much access as deep as we can, as fast as we can. ::
:: I’m on it. ::
Moyra flipped over to the back comm. :: Jenkins is going to play a round at the alley. ::
:: He’s in? :: Damocles replied.
:: He says his brother is stationed on base. ::
:: Shit :: / :: Fuck :: came the replies.
:: There’s going to be a lot more casualties before this is over, Hesp. ::
:: I know, Dam. I hope it won’t be any of our guys, but… ::
:: Nuke the UN, :: DalesOP replied.
Moyra got up to stretch and check in with her grandmother. The infoset continued to drone UN propaganda on the satellite feeds.
“What do the normal broadcasts show?” Moyra asked.
“I hadn’t checked,” Isibéal said. She gestured with the remote, and changed over to the local news.
Air footage of the demolished military base filled the screen. Craters partially encircled by the crumbled remains of walls smoked, both fire and dust. Lights from emergency vehicles pulsated while personnel scrambled over ruins, pulling at loose bits.
“This is Action News, reporting live. Heilbrun has been targeted by apparent kinetic weapons. Witnesses report feeling the ground shake at the start of the attack, but there does not appear to be any fallout consistent with thermonuclear devices. Rescue missions are underway at this time. We have reached out to Freehold Forces contacts for any update available, but have been unable to successfully locate a contact so far.”
The screen zoomed to a particular building-cum-crater, as the anchor continued. “As this was the public relations office, we do not expect a rapid official reply to our inquiries.
“What few unofficial sources we have been able to contact at this time, as well as the known takeover of the satellite-based channels, indicate that the United Nations is attempting a second invasion. Our viewers may recall the repulsed invasion attempt at the spaceport last year.
“It appears the UN learned from the previous failure, and targeted the military forces directly. Stations located near the other Freehold Forces bases are showing similar destruction, and we have those feeds on parallel.
“We currently do not have a status on those forces stationed in locations other than the main bases.
“Here are the aerial views from other stations across Grainne.”
Isibéal gestured the remote, and the infoset shut down. “I’ve seen enough.”
Moyra thought of Jenkins, TripleShot, and Damocles, all with friends and/or family in the rubble. “Yeah. I have work to do.” Before the UN tries to turn every town and city on Grainne into more smoking rubble.