by Terry Mixon
The acceleration lessened slightly, and she looked up as Drill Instructor Page unstrapped himself and walked to the front of the compartment.
“Listen up, recruits. We’ve decided that it would be in your best interests to swap the field training exercises with orbital operations. We’ll arrive aboard the orbital used for small craft training and vacuum operations within the hour.
“This training segment will take approximately two weeks, and then we’ll move back down to the planet to continue ground operations. I’m sure you all have questions, but you’re just going to have to find out the answers as you go.
“Once we reach the orbital, you’ll be given quarters, and we’ll see that everything you need is provided. There’s going to be a little bit of a delay because some of the supplies you’ll need will have to be requisitioned from a nearby Fleet operations center.
“For safety purposes, you’ll receive a series of safety orientations. I understand that you haven’t eaten yet, so we’ll start off with that, but expect to be up late getting the necessary training that will keep you safe in space.
“Some of you already have basic skills in that area, and we’ll be leaning on those recruits to help make certain that none of you put yourselves or others in danger. If one of those recruits tells you to stop doing something, I expect you to obey immediately. Is that clear?”
“Clear, Drill Instructor!” they all shouted.
He gave them a stern look and then resumed his seat, leaving them to think about what he’d said.
Andrea didn’t know why this change was happening, but it felt as if it wasn’t normal. Something had caused it, and she was really curious about what that could be.
Well, no matter. She needed to focus on the job at hand. If she was any judge of circumstances, this would reignite the competition between her and Claudio, and she needed to make sure that she stayed on her toes. Everything else would sort itself out.
The medics took Fei to the battalion doctor once they had the bleeding under control. He grunted and poked at the wound as he was cleaning it out and prepping it for regeneration.
“I suppose it’s not as bad as it could be, as far as knife wounds go. You didn’t bleed out, and nothing was irreparably damaged. This wound is going to regenerate cleanly with a couple of sessions. What exactly happened?”
Fei looked pointedly at the MPs that were standing by the door. “I’ll be answering that question and plenty of others very shortly, Doctor, so I think I’ll just do it that one time.”
From the smirks on the MPs’ faces, she knew that she’d be answering that question and many more as many times as they wanted to ask them. Well, so be it.
The doctor shrugged and went about his business. Roughly half an hour later, the wound was regenerated, and she was almost as good as new, though she had a scar that would need further sessions to completely eliminate. She’d been down this road before.
The MPs escorted her to the military police building, where she was joined by Major Martelle and Riggio in a spartan interrogation room. It seemed that the two of them had bullied their way into the room rather than being relegated to the observation room behind the one-way glass.
Seeing her former subordinate made her frown slightly. Why was she actually getting the brunt of the questioning? He’d been the one that had shot the intruder. Shouldn’t he be on this side of the table?
Or had he even told them that he’d shot the man? Now that he worked for Imperial Intelligence, he might be playing that close to his vest. If so, he probably should’ve told her so that she could keep their stories straight. As it was, she intended to tell them precisely what had happened minus the classified parts.
A marine lieutenant with a nametag identifying him as Vega came in and frowned at Martelle and Riggio. “I’m not certain why the two of you were allowed in here, but I expect you to follow my lead. You’ll be allowed to ask questions when I choose, and you’ll answer any questions that I have. Is that clear?”
Fei thought he was a little snippy for a lieutenant speaking to a major, but since this was a criminal investigation, he might have more leeway than was usual. She thought he’d turn his attention to her, but he continued to stare at Riggio.
“Your name is Riggio Gomez?”
Riggio nodded. “That’s correct, Lieutenant Vega. I’m a retired marine.”
“And yet, here you are in uniform, Senior Sergeant. Or is that even the correct rank? Since you’re playacting, you might be making that part up as well. And aren’t you a little young for that rank?”
Her friend shrugged slightly. “When you’re good, you’re good. The rank is correct for my retirement, and the reason that I’m wearing this uniform will become apparent shortly.”
The investigator grimaced and shook his head. “I’m sure it will. So, you and Lieutenant Na surprised an intruder, and she killed him in the fighting?”
“Not quite. She was defending herself against him so effectively that he pulled out a flechette pistol. When I came into the barracks and saw her life in danger, I shot him. Personally, I’d have preferred to capture him alive, but that wasn’t meant to be.”
Lieutenant Vega raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I should have you sitting on the other side of the table. Perhaps you’d also like to explain why you were armed. I hope that that’s a past-tense sort of thing, since you shouldn’t be armed in this building. Were you authorized to carry that weapon?”
Riggio grinned. “Of course. You think I’d run around a military base with unauthorized weapons? I’ll transmit my authorizations to your implants right now.”
After a moment, Vega grimaced even more deeply. “Imperial Intelligence. I should’ve known. And what connection do you have with Lieutenant Na?”
“That’s classified. I saw Lieutenant Na in danger of being killed, and I ended the threat. That’s really all that’s important, isn’t it?”
“I need to understand why this person attacked Lieutenant Na. Perhaps you’d provide a little background information?”
“My duty is to support Lieutenant Na in this matter. This would be the place you ask her the questions.”
The man sighed and turned to face Fei. “Lieutenant Na, would you care to elaborate on why this individual attacked you?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Major Martelle interrupted her. “That matter is classified. My purpose in this room is to oversee what is allowed to be discussed and what is not, as I’ve been briefed on this matter.
“What I can say for the record is that this intruder wasn’t supposed to be in the barracks. He was dressed as a drill instructor but had never served in that capacity. He was attempting to do something illegal when Lieutenant Na confronted him.
“Before he entered the barracks, he or someone associated with him compromised the monitoring system, and that wasn’t cleared up until one of my drill instructors rebooted the system after the fight was finished.
“While I can’t explain why the man was there, it’s critical that we determine what specifically he was doing. We’re going to rely on you and your people to get us that information in an exceptionally timely manner, if you know what I mean. Is that going to be a problem, Lieutenant Vega?”
The investigator looked as if he wanted to chew the table in frustration. He was angry, and Fei could certainly understand why. Imperial Intelligence had gotten her just as worked up in the past by keeping her in the dark about certain details. Yet here she was with secrets that she wasn’t going to explain.
“Pending confirmation with Imperial Intelligence, we will, of course, work in as delicate a manner as is required by classified information,” Vega said, his tone almost surly. “And how exactly am I to do that when I know virtually nothing of the events in question?”
Major Martelle inclined his head toward Fei. “Lieutenant Na will explain as well as can be.”
Taking her cue, Fei addressed what she could of the situation. “The intruder opened a recruit’s wall locker and swapped
out the body wash inside the shower kit. I’ll identify which wall locker, but we’re going to need you to test the tube he planted to see how it was tampered with.
“I physically observed him placing it into the kit. I believe that the recruit is unaware of this action, which should not reflect upon that recruit. Is that clear?”
“That really depends on where the evidence takes us. Is there anything else?”
She nodded. “The second thing we need to know is who the intruder was and what drove him to do this. All we have at this point is his name and real duties in the supply section. Since he can’t talk, perhaps there’s some information in his quarters or on his communication devices that could explain exactly what he was doing and why. We’re going to rely on you to find that for us.”
The lieutenant made a harrumphing noise. “We’re already gathering some of that information. I’ll make sure that we get the body wash to the lab to determine if it was tampered with. When I get the results of that, I’ll get you a copy of the report through Major Martelle.
“I have to say that I’m deeply unhappy with this situation. I’ll cooperate, but I want to know what’s going on, and I’m not going to stop asking questions until I get answers.”
Martelle shrugged, not bothering to commit to satisfying the man’s curiosity.
Thankfully, that wasn’t Fei’s problem. Her problem was keeping Andrea safe.
She wasn’t certain where her ward was at this moment or how Page was shielding her and the other recruits, but she needed to find out. Once she did, she’d leave him to keep them safe.
It would be her job to dig into what was going on here and make sure that the responsible parties were dealt with. Ultimately, that was Dayton, but sadly, Fei would have to work her way through the intermediaries to get to the woman.
Well, as her wife often said, if it was easy, anyone could do it. She’d just have to get busy and make the magic happen.
27
When the pinnace reached the orbital, Page instructed the recruits to remain where they were because he knew that there would be trouble, and he’d rather handle that in private.
The orbital was relatively small but modern enough. Everything inside was clean and well maintained, just as it should be, since this was also a Fleet training facility. The marine recruits and Fleet trainees made sure that everything was in the best condition possible. That was, after all, part of their training.
The problem was going to be the number of people aboard. Fleet took up a fair chunk of the orbital because their training in space was ongoing. The marine recruits came broken down by platoon, everything scheduled and choreographed so that each group got their education done before the next training platoon arrived.
The problem he was about to trigger was because he was about to wreck all that careful planning.
He’d taken the opportunity on the flight up to call Major Martelle and get verbal authorization, which fell under the category of begging forgiveness rather than asking permission. Still, the deed was done, and the major had approved.
That fact wasn’t going to carry any water at all with the lead drill instructor currently running her platoon through the orbital training. She’d be righteously pissed, and nothing he said was going to change that. The two of them had to find a way to make this work while stuffing two platoons into the space that one customarily occupied.
Before that could happen, he needed to get the other platoon sergeant to at least stop screaming at him. That was probably going to be a challenge because Senior Sergeant Ingrid Gunnarsdotter had something of a reputation for chewing up the deck when she was angry.
The two of them had been professionally cordial with one another for several years, but the woman had a chip on her shoulder, and it didn’t take much to set her off. It was just his bad luck that she was the one on station now.
In the end, she wasn’t going to have any choice about accepting him and his people. Major Martelle would’ve made that perfectly clear, and her platoon leader would’ve backed that up.
That didn’t mean that the process was going to be easy or smooth. If he wanted this to work, he’d have to grease the squeaky wheel and find a way to bring her on board with what he was doing.
Frankly, he wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to do that. Still, he was a marine, and he had to try.
Page entered her outer office and was about to speak to the corporal sitting at the desk when the hatch behind the young man opened abruptly, and Senior Sergeant Ingrid Gunnarsdotter stepped out, her face a mask of incandescent fury.
Well, this was going to be fun.
The other senior noncommissioned officer was tall, blonde, and statuesque. Her family was of pure Nordic descent, even though they hadn’t been on Earth in centuries. She certainly looked like what he imagined a Valkyrie would look like. When it was about to reap someone’s soul.
Her size made her somewhat intimidating as she scowled down at him, completely blocking him from even trying to get into her office. Not that he’d been inclined to even try to go in uninvited.
Instead, he raised an eyebrow as he looked up into her face and smiled slightly. “Senior Sergeant Gunnarsdotter, I apologize for my unexpected intrusion. Might we speak privately?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed and slid to the side to look at the corporal, who was studiously working on his computer and making a point of ignoring everything that was taking place around him.
That was probably a wise choice on his part.
Page thought he could almost hear the woman’s teeth grinding as she stepped to the side and gestured for him to enter. He stepped through the open hatch and glanced at her office.
It was exactly as he remembered, a closet with the computer and a cramped desk. How the large woman fit in there comfortably, he had no idea.
Somehow, she’d found a way to put a single visitor’s chair into the corner, but he had no intention of using it. He was already at a height disadvantage, and he didn’t want to sacrifice any more ground.
She put her hands on her hips and glared at him as soon as the hatch was closed. “What the ever-loving hell do you think you’re doing, Page? This damn station is already stuffed to the gills with Fleet trainees and my recruits. What would make you think I’d have any desire to squeeze your platoon into the same area my platoon is already using?
“I don’t give a tinker’s damn what the major said. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kick your ass back to your pinnace.”
“Straight to business it is,” he said dryly. “Somebody tried to attack one of my recruits and cut my platoon leader up in the barracks less than an hour ago. The intruder is dead, but I don’t think that’s the last of the matter. I had to get my recruits to a place where they wouldn’t be easily accessible, and this station fits the bill.”
Her already narrowed eyes closed until they were barely slits. “That’s crazy. Who would attack a recruit, much less an officer in the middle of the marine base? Are you yanking my chain?”
Page shook his head and sent her a still image from the scene he’d recorded through the feed from the barracks after the attack. It showed how the barracks had been shot up, Lieutenant Na receiving medical care, and the dead intruder.
Gunnarsdotter’s eyes became slightly unfocused as she took in what he’d sent, and then the color drained from her already-pale face. She refocused on him, and there was a blazing fire in her ice-blue eyes.
“Why would anyone do that? That’s insane.”
“It’s complex,” he admitted. “The recruit in question is a refugee from the Singularity. I suppose there’s nothing outrageously exceptional about that, other than the fact that she’s genetically a member of one of their higher castes, tattoos and all. Someone wants to make absolutely sure that she doesn’t graduate.”
Gunnarsdotter blinked in shock. “Really? I don’t know much about the higher castes inside the Singularity, but I know that Imperial law says they aren’t even human. How could
she possibly be a marine recruit?”
“Are we really going to have that particular argument?” he asked softly. “She’s an eighteen-year-old girl. Were her genes meddled with? Absolutely. Does that make her a thing? No.
“Even if that weren’t the case, she’s received an Imperial dispensation to attend training. If she graduates, the emperor will grant her an exemption to the law, and she’ll be recognized legally as human, and that’s why someone wants to stop her.”
Gunnarsdotter opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. Her gaze became distant, and she began pacing, obviously thinking.
Page didn’t blame her and actually admired that she’d take the time to think about her response rather than just saying the first thing that came to mind.
She waved for him to take a seat, and he did so, his behind regretting it immediately. This might, in fact, be the most uncomfortable chair he’d ever sat in. Still, it was the barest hint of welcome, so he wasn’t going to turn it down.
The woman paced for a full two minutes before she stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “Even if I accept that everything you’ve said is true, this comes back around to my original question. Who is behind this, and what do they have to gain? Even if they stop this recruit from graduating, it’s not going to stop this kind of thing from happening in the future.”
He shrugged. “The intruder was a marine. From what I understand, he worked in the supply section but was masquerading as a drill instructor. The little bit of information that I got from Lieutenant Na following the attack indicated that he was attempting to plant something in the recruit’s wall locker.
“If I had to guess, drugs or other contraband. Something like that would get her kicked out. What I don’t understand is why the guy went off on the LT when she confronted him. He was armed with a knife and a flechette pistol, and he wasn’t shy about using either one.
“The LT was unarmed and took a pretty nasty gash in the confrontation. Unfortunately for him, she’s a mustang and used to be the senior NCO in a combat platoon, and she was more than capable of handling herself.
