God's Dogs Book 2
41

It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is.

Hermann Hesse

The Galactic Congress needed to accommodate a vast number of civilizations. Luckily, sentient beings that evolved complex civilizations also evolved the cooperative spirit that made complex civilizations possible.

Cooperation was at the heart of the Congress’ success. The political bias, then, was a focus on similarities among different races: the need to provide for one’s family, regardless of how that family was constructed; the need to fulfill some sense of purpose, regardless of what that meant professionally; and the need for a sense of safety and security, while respecting another’s comparable need for the same.

It was in balancing the need for security that the Congress, historically, struggled. Placing ASIs as regional governors solved many of the issues that led to conflict. ASIs were fair, incorruptible, and beyond intimidation. Disputes that reached them, which were typically convoluted messes generations in the making, found an adjudicated judgment that solved the root problems with scathing logic.

However, logic didn’t solve all problems. Sentient beings evolved to trans-rational consciousness. True, they took logical and rational or scientific principles with them, according to the developmental rule of ‘transcend the former worldview, but include and maintain its gains.’ Those trans-rational attributes did, however, concede to an adjusted form of scientific method for verification and replication.

As an example, one could not declare oneself a Zen master without a community of Zen masters to verify that one had completed the necessary steps for that designation. Others who were not Zen masters may be fooled, but that was because the verification process was limited to those who knew, from experience, what it took. Therefore, it wasn’t objective verification but subjective by necessity. Even so, the verification was rigorous and replicable.

As such, the ASIs were at a loss as to what to do in cases where the subjective standard ruled. It would be like asking them to judge great literature, or art, or music. It was beyond their ken.

As Quinn observed, honor issues fell into this category as well. Even so, and with the agreement of member nations, honor issues were resolved on one planet in each region. If you wanted a duel at twenty paces, you could only legally do so on that planet.

Governments resolving honor issues were restricted to battalion sized combatant forces and rudimentary weapons, which meant no energy weapons, no air support, and no artillery. It also meant a cessation of hostilities until they met at the planet and engaged in battle. If that rule was broken, the offender lost his case. Dishonor was costly.

During the truce, it was hoped the combatants would calm down, rethink their options, and resolve the conflict through conventional means. In the case of the Cass calling out Penglai, that was a forlorn hope. In fact, winning the honor battle was the Cass’ only hope for retaining their autonomy and mercenary way of life.

The showdown for the honor match was a month away at this point. The Coyote team leads studied the rules, the battleground on the designated planet, and the options they saw.

All of the teams were back on Jomeca IV, having retrieved the final children and returned them to their home world. The governments supporting the Cass were in an uproar due to the scandal of trying to frame Penglai for drug running, let alone their support of child abuse. The Cass and the other inhabitants of that world were evacuating as the infrastructure collapsed in the uncertainty of what might happen.

Penglai wasn’t happy either. Honor held a different definition in Penglai society. Honor was equivalent to the intent in a Namaste greeting: the Divine in me sees and honors the Divine in you.

This view was, perhaps, an evolutionary shift up from honor infractions based on a person refusing to honor or respect another’s worth. Still, it was nowhere near the self-reflexive nature of honor referring to an imposed code one lived by and held others to. Penglai, both the government and the people, groaned mightily at the absurdity of the pending honor battle when it became public knowledge.

Then dark humor entered public discourse: ’Maybe we should send the 1st year Coyote candidates to make the battle somewhat sporting.’ Etc.

The Coyotes on Jomica IV, after pondering and meditating on the entire dilemma, set a goal for themselves: to capture the Cass battalion with no fatalities on either side. When this was announced on Penglai, the response with a full society chuckle, and a collective comment that mostly ran, ‘Of course that’s what they’d do. They’re Coyotes.’

A battalion is about 500 troops. Seven Coyote teams numbered 28 men and women. They needed more troops. Quinn lobbied Master Sergeant Jack Gomez through Master Lu to put together a scratch battalion of Penglai militia. The Coyotes sent the preferred tactics to Master Lu and Gomez so that once the battalion was formed, they could drill the individual platoons according to the strategy involved.

The configuration of a battalion was flexible, based on what it needed to do. First of all, it needed to sustain itself, which meant there were a logistical element and a medical element. Once resupply and the care and feeding of the troops was secure, there was the scouting and intelligence issues to account for. Then there were the designated trigger-pullers themselves – the ground troops.

Because of the strategy the Coyotes were planning, the recommendation they sent was for 18 platoons of 28 troops in each. That would allow one Coyote for each platoon with ten left over, but they wouldn’t be part of the logistical or medical deployments, which accounted for about a third of the troops. Three teams, then, would be unattached, and it was up to them to make the whole plan work.

With the preliminary work done, the teams returned to Penglai to train with the battalion for two weeks. By this time, the battalion was formed and had been in the field for about ten days. The rough edges were worn off, and Gomez was happy with how it was coming together.

Master Lu, who oversaw militia training for Penglai, tried to keep units together as he assembled this expeditionary force, but he was rather cavalier in his appointment or retention of the officers. He instructed Gomez to do the same for the NCOs. Lu justified it by reminding those who complained, this was a scratch battalion, organized for a specific purpose, and he would choose personnel to achieve that purpose.

A battalion is the smallest military unit that could sustain independent action. It was normally commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and in this case Master Lu selected a combat veteran, Lt. Col. Samuel Wong. He was tall, with a thick body, and a rectangular face. He was considered overly serious, efficient, and did not suffer fools at all.

To balance the humorless Wong, Lu appointed Major Michelle Keono as the 2 i/c. She brought a more flamboyant command style and a nurturing attitude for the troops. Nearly as tall as Wong, she was lithe in structure and moved like a dancer. Her face was balanced and handsome, but also wrinkled with age.

Captains led the four companies, and lieutenants were in charge of each platoon. Gomez was the command master sergeant, and other sergeants of lessening ranks attended the companies and platoons. Sprinkled throughout were the ones Quinn knew: Washington, Blessing, and the others they met at the boot camp.

Lu was able to keep troops together, at least at the platoon level, and in some cases he kept the officers as well. The support staff he cherry-picked and gathered those he saw as the best in their fields: medical, intelligence, supply, and so on.

The Coyotes arrived on Penglai without fanfare. They seemed to just show up and seamlessly integrated into the ranks. But the next day, the real training began.

Wylie addressed the officers and senior NCOs in a well-appointed meeting room, “The planet is called Vindication or Exoneration or Absolution. The translation allows for those variations. We’re calling it Vindication. It’s 0.9g and about half water, a few large continents, and a bunch of archipelagos. It’s on one of the islands that these duels are fought. It makes for an interesting part of the local economy, by the way.

“This island is twenty-four miles long and ten wide. At the southern end is an extinct volcano about two thousand feet in elevation. A mountain spine bisects the island and loses height over its length until it flattens out about a mile from the northern coast. It’s forest on both slopes of the mountain ridge.

“The plan is the Cass gets dropped off on one side. We get the other side. Near the volcano is a no combat zone for medical facilities, the mess hall, and barracks. A mile north, and over the rest of the island, is the combat zone.”

He looked up from the holo-image, showing the island, floating between him and the command team

“We know the Cass will want to attack with a frontal assault, but they will need to protect their flank. That means they will march down the coast, circle around the north end, and come at us head on. They should deploy some flankers to make sure we don’t come at them from the woods, but the main force will stay on the coast and attack us head on. They don't have the organizational structure to try anything else.

“What this means is they will want to stay on the coast. Our plan is to lure them into coming over the mountain spine, split their forces, and trap them between two forces, one before them, one behind them.”

The holo-image portrayed what he said, and the audience nodded at the strategy. It was a classic ploy for a ‘defeat in detail’ gambit.

Wylie went on, “The tricky part is our ammunition and defensive tactics. The Cass use powered and unpowered armor. Our rounds are designed to penetrate armor only slightly then deliver a good jolt of electricity to lock the armor up. Those in unpowered armor will be tazed by these rounds and rendered unconscious.

“Defensively, we’ll use a shield wall for the ground troops. They’ll look like the Roman Legions. The ambush forces will rely on suit shields.

“Now, the details –”

The details included SCUBA diving, practicing with the ancient deployment of a shield wall, and rapid building of scout pits.

After a week of drilling on the component pieces of the strategy, an opposing force of militia allowed them to practice the main option they hoped for, as well as the other options the Cass could employ on this type of ground.

On schedule, a troop carrier arrived from the Congress, and the battalion departed Penglai. Included on the ship was a delegation from the Congress to oversee the battle. Also included were Consul Singh and his group, which were TDY from the Jomeca IV delegation.

Quinn sought out the consul once they were underway. They met in Singh’s quarters aboard the ship, which were more spacious than Quinn’s, but sparsely furnished nonetheless.

“So you’re completing the assignment to deal with the Cass. Is that it?” Quinn asked.

“The ambassador seemed to think it would be fitting,” Singh replied with a smile. “But what’s with your plan for a fatality-free battle? Did I hear that right?”

Quinn grinned. “Yeah. It was Moss’ idea.”

“That figures. But why?”

“To show the absurdity of fighting for honor.”

Singh shook his head. “Do you think anyone will get that message?”

“Some will,” was the answer. “More importantly, it’s something we need for ourselves.”

“Coyote honor?”

“If you like. We definitely can’t go in there with the obvious motivation.”

“Revenge, teaching lessons, or –”

“Vindication?” Quinn interjected. “That’s the planet’s name, by the way.”

“Well, it has other translations, but I get your point. What does Penglai think of your plan?”

“Pax called it, ‘Eye-rolling incredulity.’”

“Pax,” Singh said with an eyebrow arching.

“He has a good vocabulary,” Quinn said in a matter of fact way.

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