فصل 7

7

Battle of Vaitupu

The rising early morning sea was calmer than Enele’s heart as the northwestern Vaitupu harbor came into view. He led the four-boat armada aboard the ES Regulator, the largest of the Elgen shipping boats, along with two hundred and fifty Tuvaluans, only sixty of whom were armed. They were followed at a short distance by the three other ships they’d commandeered from Demeter: the ES Pulse, the ES Proton, and the ES Neutron.

Unlike Hades and Demeter, Vaitupu—renamed Ares by Admiral-General Hatch, after the Greek god of war—was technically not an island, but rather was an atoll, a ring-shaped coral reef consisting of nine isles. It was the largest of the six Tuvaluan atolls and had the second-largest population in Tuvalu, only smaller than the Tuvaluan capital of Funafuti.

Seagulls circled the ship, and to the east the sun was rising like fire from the Pacific Ocean. Enele sat in the control deck next to Adam and the ship’s captain, Noa.

“How long until we reach the dock?”

“Fifteen, twenty minutes,” Noa said.

He turned to Adam. “Are the troops ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are they mentally ready?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Suddenly the radio chirped. “ES Regulator, this is Ares Dock. We have no authorization for your docking.” The radioman looked over at the captain. “What should I do?” Captain Noa turned to Enele. “Sir?”

“Ignore it,” Enele said. “Prepare to dock.” Enele grabbed the mic for the boat’s PA system. “This is Enele, your commander. We have reached Vaitupu and are about to dock. First-wave soldiers on deck, armed and prepared to attack. Second- and third-wave soldiers remain inside on level two and wait for further instruction. Everyone keep low, especially those soldiers on deck. Do not be seen until I give the signal. Do not fire unless commanded. Expect hostility.” As the Regulator sidled up to the Vaitupu dock, they were met by an armed Elgen officer and six other dockworkers. The officer was wearing the Elgen insignia beneath two stripes, the markings of an Elgen naval lieutenant. He walked up to the starboard side of the ship and lifted a bullhorn to his mouth. “You’re not scheduled to dock here, Regulator. Pull away now or face consequences.” “We just lost a war,” Enele shouted over the side of the boat. “No one is scheduled anywhere. You haven’t heard?” The officer looked at him suspiciously, then, lifting a radio, said, “I’m going to have to check with EHQ for authorization.” “Drop that,” Enele said, pointing a gun at the officer and simultaneously giving his soldiers the signal. Two dozen Tuvaluan soldiers rose up over the side of the boat, their rifles aimed on the dockworkers. “You just got your authorization. Pull us in now, or we’ll blow you apart and do it ourselves.” The officer hesitated, then said, “Pull them in.” The Elgen dockworkers pulled the boat in, lashing her to the dock’s cleats.

“Shoot anyone who tries to leave the dock,” Enele shouted to his men, loud enough for the Elgen to hear. “Adam, tell the captain to open the starboard port door and signal the other boats to dock. I want you to lead the first wave out. Take the dock, commandeer all communications, and establish a hundred-yard perimeter.” “Yes, sir.”

A large metal door opened on the starboard side of the ship, and the Regulator crew lowered a gangplank from the boat. Twenty Tuvaluan soldiers dressed in Elgen uniforms were the first to storm out of the ship. Behind them came the rest of the Regulator’s soldiers.

As the other boats moved up behind the Regulator, Enele went belowdecks and disembarked. He walked up to the dock’s main building. The Elgen officer he’d been talking to had already been cuffed and bound and was sitting on the ground with three other Elgen. Two armed Tuvaluans in uniform stood to either side of them.

“How many Elgen on the island?” Enele asked.

The Elgen officer looked at the other Elgen, then said, “I’m not talking.” Enele looked him in the eye. “What’s your name?” The officer scowled. “Earl.”

“Earl,” Enele repeated. “That’s an American Southern name, isn’t it?” “Yes.”

“Where are you from in America?”

“Jackson, Louisiana.”

“I only know that name because of that country song. ‘Earl had to die.’ Clever song.” Enele said to one of the Tuvaluan soldiers, “Take these men inside. Leave Earl with me.” “Get going,” the soldiers said, one of them pushing the closest Elgen with his foot. The Elgen struggled to their feet, then walked off.

“So does Earl have to die?” Enele said, taking an Elgen Taser prod from his utility belt. He knelt down and put the Taser on Earl’s neck. “How many Elgen are on the island?” Earl just swallowed. Enele didn’t wait two seconds to push the Taser’s button. The sound of arcing electricity filled the air, and the officer’s frozen body fell to the side. He groaned out in pain.

“I know that hurts,” Enele said. “Do you want to guess how I know? Because your Elgen buddies used to do that to us every day in Hades. In fact, they especially liked to do it to us when we were in the shower. Yeah, that was hilarious.” Enele pushed the Taser button again, and the man stiffened and groaned.

“You can’t make me talk,” he said.

“Earl, you’re so brave,” Enele said. “Stupid, but just so . . . brave. So let me tell you what I’m going to do.” He moved the electric prod to Earl’s face. “After I’m done shocking you a few hundred times, and if your heart holds out, I’m going to tie a rope to your feet and hang you from one of those cleats, just a few feet above the waterline, then let the tide slowly drown you. And, while all that fun’s going on, I’m going to bring out one of your other men, show them you, and then make them the exact same offer. I’m pretty sure that one of them will tell us everything. So, you can tell me what I need to know, or you can die a slow, painful, and very worthless death, since it will accomplish nothing.” At that, Enele again pushed the electric prod’s button. This time Earl screamed out.

“I wonder what it would feel like to have your eye at the center of all that voltage,” he said. He moved the prod to Earl’s right eye.

“I’ll talk,” he said.

Enele moved the prod away from Earl’s face. “I thought you might come to your senses. Just so we’re clear now, if you so much as stutter, we’ll test the eye thing, and then you’re shark bait. You understand?” “Yes.”

“Say ‘yes, sir.’ ”

“Yes, sir.”

“How many Elgen are on the island?”

“Just a handful. Sir. Hatch called almost everyone off to the battle.” “Why?”

“Who knows why? He called it real-world training.” “How many is ‘a handful’?”

“Maybe thirty, including us. But they’re mostly the office workers.” “Where are the office workers now?”

“They’re in the main headquarters.”

“Where’s the headquarters?”

“It’s about two hundred yards from here. There’s a map of the island inside the office.” “What weapons do they have?”

“They have thousands of weapons. It’s the Elgen’s armory.” “Where do they keep the weapons?”

“The main armory is in the south wing of the HQ.” “How many armories are there?”

“There’s one in almost every main building. The explosives have their own building behind the HQ. The office workers didn’t want to store them where they worked.” “Of course,” Enele said, nodding. “How do we get into the headquarters?” “They’ll see you. There are cameras everywhere.” “You’re Elgen. There are always cameras everywhere.” “They haven’t been as vigilant watching. With everyone gone, things have been a bit lax. I think there’s been a lot of drinking going on.” “We’ve noticed that.” Enele stood. “Adam, take Earl on board with the other Elgen prisoners. Then get back here. Tell your men we’re going to attack in fifteen minutes.”