by Terry Mixon
She made her way across the battalion area and into the headquarters building. The major’s adjutant gestured for her to go right in, so she did so. That was when she got her first surprise.
Seated just off to the side of the desk was Earl Still Water. Based on the half-empty tumbler of brown alcohol sitting at his elbow, he’d been there for a while.
He gave her a grin as she came in and a small wave of his hand.
“Have a seat, Lieutenant,” the major said with a tired-looking gesture of his hand. “Serve yourself a drink if you like.”
As an enlisted person, she’d never have been so bold, but it had been one hell of a day.
She walked over to the small bar set in the corner of the major’s office, selected something that looked good, and poured herself a double. She wasn’t going to allow herself to get drunk, but she certainly felt the need to unwind just a hair.
Then she took a seat next to the earl. “I see you’ve met my sponsor, sir. At least, I suppose that’s the right word. The man who recruited me for this mission.”
The major nodded. “The earl and I have been talking about the situation while we waited for you to finish your treatment. He’s given me the same information you have but provided a bit more detail in some areas. I now feel that I understand the situation a little bit better.
“That doesn’t make it any easier to solve, mind you. Just because I know who is here and why they want to stop Recruit Tolliver from graduating doesn’t mean that I can keep them from doing so. At least it gives me all of the data I need to disregard any feints like this planting of drugs if that happens again.”
She took a sip of her drink and nodded in appreciation at the smooth burn of the alcohol. “And we know for sure that it was drugs?”
Martelle nodded. “I’m given to understand that it’s a common drug for people who want to excel in physical matters. It also has the side effect of making the user euphoric. As drugs go, it’s not terribly addictive, but it would’ve been more than enough to get a recruit kicked out the door without any question.”
“As opening sallies go, it was fairly pedestrian,” the earl said. “Frankly, I can’t see this as what Countess Dayton had in mind. She seems much more the bloodthirsty sort, and I can’t see her being that subtle. This had to be the work of an intermediary that she hired.”
“Have you had any luck in locating her or determining who she hired?” Fei asked.
“Sadly, no. She’s concealed herself in a surprisingly effective manner. I’m not even sure what city to look in. As flamboyant a personality as she is, I’d have expected her to be at one of the most luxurious hotels, sequestered in the penthouse suite. Yet she’s nowhere to be found.
“That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to have any luck in finding who she’s working with, though. I have Riggio looking at the intruder’s communications devices and computer. He’s very competent at that sort of thing, as you well know. If there’s anything to be found, he’ll find it. The only thing that I’m uncertain of is whether he’ll do so in time to stop them from trying again.”
“Senior Sergeant Page moved the recruits up to the orbital that we use for space operations training,” Martelle said. “It’s causing a bit of a crowding issue and some grumbling from the other senior noncommissioned officer there, but it’s going to keep Tolliver out of easy reach.
“That said, we’re being careful because they managed to get someone on the base to do their dirty work. There’s no guarantee that they’re not going to try again with something a little bit more serious. It wouldn’t take much of an accident in space to end up with a lot of dead recruits. I want to avoid that outcome at all costs.”
Fei nodded. “So do I. Are they going to be able to shield them?”
“I have complete confidence in Senior Sergeants Page and Gunnarsdotter. They are aware of the danger, and they’re watching everything like protective mother bears.
“That said, I want to know who’s responsible for actually carrying out these attacks, and I want them stopped. That’s beyond the purview of the Imperial Marines unless someone authorizes me to drop a pinnace full of marines into their laps, but I’d imagine that’s something that His Excellency here can handle without any problem.”
Still Water smiled coolly. “I believe I can work with the local authorities in such a manner as to take out any problems once we determine who the responsible party is. That said, I’m not going to rule out the need for a pinnace full of marines. I’m an inclusive sort of fellow, and I’d like to give everybody a chance to get some back for the blood that was spilled.
“Unfortunately, I’m not certain how easy it’s going to be. Riggio may get lucky, but these seem like the kind of people who cover their tracks. We’ll probably be able to determine their identities, but I wouldn’t count on it happening in time to do us any good.”
“Then what do we do?” Fei asked, almost growling in frustration. “You knew up front that Dayton was going to try something, and yet you had to let her make an attempt. Well, I count this as an attempt.”
The noble turned to face her and gave her an expression of sympathy. “I understand how frustrating this is. I’ve got agents all across this planet doing their absolute best to locate her. If they do, I’ll pick her up and put her in a box to question her.
“Unfortunately, that does nothing to stop the events already set in motion. We have to fight this war on two fronts. One of those deals with Countess Dayton and the other one with protecting Andrea.
“I’m counting on you to work with Riggio and be the face of the efforts here on the planet. When we locate any information that gives us an angle to investigate, I want you front and center. With the major’s permission, of course.”
Martelle nodded. “Of course. When might we know what your man has found?”
“As soon as he tells me anything, I’ll pass that information directly to you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the earl’s eyes became slightly unfocused. “And I believe this is him calling now.”
Fei sat quietly, watching as the man took the call, and took another sip of her drink. She wasn’t sure that it was relaxing her, but it wasn’t hurting.
After about thirty seconds, the earl’s focus on the room returned, and he smiled. “He was able to find specific records inside the man’s computer and some deleted communications on his com unit that give us a motive for his actions and may point us toward the intermediary party.
“It seems that our wayward supply specialist had a hefty gambling debt to a local crime syndicate. Someone from that syndicate forgave the debt in exchange for planting the body wash. Perhaps that explains why he felt the need to attack you, Lieutenant Na. Failure would’ve meant that he still owed them.”
“What do we do with this information?” she asked.
“If you’re feeling up for a trip, I’d like you to change into civilian attire and accompany me. It seems that we’re going to a gambling den.”
Page was more than a little concerned about how Gunnarsdotter would treat Tolliver, but his worry seemed misplaced as the girl showed no signs of distress once the meeting between the two concluded.
He was already putting his people through the introductory safety briefing for vacuum operations. It quickly became apparent that the girl was basically competent in vacuum operations and had a fair bit of familiarity with the gear used in space.
That would be useful at this stage of training because having a few recruits who knew what they were doing would make things safer for everyone.
He could see that her knowledge of the gear had not gone unnoticed by the other platoon. The more they took in of his platoon, the more their ire seemed to focus on Tolliver. That was interesting but not completely unexpected.
No matter where the girl went, she was going to face discrimination and hatred. In a way, it was similar to the racism that had plagued prespaceflight Terra. That had mostly ceased once the human race had spread to the stars
, but it had never entirely disappeared.
Even after spreading to thousands of worlds, humanity still had quite a lot of variation in how it looked, but there was enough of a mixture that various genetic traits could pop up almost anywhere. Maybe one day, humanity would be truly one.
Perhaps one day, but not this day.
Once the recruits were thoroughly engaged in suiting up for their first vacuum test, he sidled over to Gunnarsdotter. She was watching her people just as closely as he was watching his.
“Since both of you came out minus bruises or cuts, I’m going to assume that the conversation didn’t go too badly,” he ventured.
The blonde sniffed and didn’t even glance in his direction. “She’s more complicated than I expected. She talks a good game, but I’m going to have to see how she behaves before I can make up my mind for sure.
“I can understand why someone who doesn’t know her might be inclined to make sure that she never becomes a marine. Those tattoos give me chills. Do you have any idea why she didn’t have them removed?”
“Apparently, once the tattoo is applied, it becomes part of the genetic code of those skin cells. She’d have to literally have her face removed and regrown without a template. Hell, I’m not even convinced that would work. It’s possible it’s not just ink. The tattooing process might’ve also altered the entirety of her DNA to make that part of who she is.”
The tall marine nodded. “I half expected something like that. I wonder what the Singularity will do once they figure out she’s on the loose. They’d be furious if anyone managed to collect a genetic sample from their higher orders, much less their ruling caste. I can’t imagine what their reaction will be once they learn that we have what amounts to a defector among us.”
“Not a defector,” he disagreed. “A castoff. Someone that didn’t meet their standards. That’s got to be a double insult. Not only does the Empire have their hands on someone that’s partially trained in their ways and has their complete genetic profile, but this is someone that they see as having been fatally flawed. Someone who should’ve been culled.”
The woman partially turned to face him, still keeping her eye on the recruits. “Do you think that’s sufficient to spark a cross-border incident or even something more? Would they go to war to make sure that she’s killed?”
Page shrugged. “I don’t know. I suspect they’d rattle sabers first. Demand that she be turned over to them. If she was still considered property in a legal sense, I’d imagine some Imperials would even consider handing her over.
“If she makes it through training and receives a permanent dispensation, though, that’s going to be a real stick in their eye.”
Gunnarsdotter chuckled. “It’s not like they’ve lacked reasons to go to war. The Singularity and the Empire don’t mix. If either one of us comes up with a decent excuse, we’ll fight. Do you think she’ll make a decent marine?”
“You mean if she passes?”
The woman snorted. “Barring some kind of accident, she’s going to pass. That’s not a judgment based on her genetic enhancement but on her willpower. She won’t give up, and that’s the key to success in basic training. At least as long as you’re not stupid, and she’s far from that.
“There’s still two months to go, but if she’s made it this far, she’s going to make it all the way. Once she gets into the ground operations section and starts working on the equipment that she’s already had some training on—and don’t think I didn’t notice that she’s done vacuum work before—she’s going to continue to excel. How much does she know, and how did she learn it?”
“She was rescued during a raid, as I expect she’s told you. Two of her guardians are former marines. One was the senior NCO of a combat platoon. The other was the platoon’s officer.
“Both of them have been training her on and off for the last six years in marine operations and equipment. Of course, they had to spend a large amount of time teaching her how to socialize because she grew up in what amounted to a dystopian hell. She probably knows as much about our equipment as someone who’s already graduated. Perhaps even someone who’s been through advanced individual training just before their first assignment.”
Gunnarsdotter considered that and then slowly nodded. “Then she’s definitely going to make it. We need to take that into consideration when we perform more training. Put her under more stress by making her teach the others and forge some kind of alliances inside your platoon.”
“We?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She smiled slightly. “I might have found myself somewhat invested in this process. I understand that I’m only going to be part of what happens here on the orbital, but I like her. That’s actually kind of surprising because I don’t like very many people, particularly recruits. She knows what she wants, and she’s willing to fight to get it. I can appreciate that.
“I remember you said that she had a friend and an enemy inside your platoon. Have you considered how to cause the platoon to gel a little bit more tightly around her?”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Make her a squad leader. Put both her friend and her enemy inside the same squad. As my platoon puts pressure on yours, they’re going to grow to rely on one another more closely, and she’s either going to excel in the role or fail completely. Either one of those outcomes will tell us something about her.”
He’d actually been thinking of doing something like that already, so it was an easy choice to make.
“I’ll do it. I can’t imagine that’s going to make Recruit Baker happy, but that’s a just punishment in its own way. The boy has an attitude that I’d like to see broken.”
“Which one is he? I might be able to help you with that.”
Page smiled as he pointed Baker out. “I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”
She started outlining a plan for getting his platoon more fully integrated while having her people lean in on the browbeating. It was audacious and perhaps a bit more aggressive than he’d have preferred, but he liked it.
Which meant that the recruits would hate it.
30
Andrea was exhausted by the time she got to her bunk, but sleep was short-lived. She felt like she’d only been asleep for a few seconds when someone shook her awake. It was Diana.
“We’ve got trouble,” the girl said grimly.
She swung her legs out over the edge of the bunk and hopped down to the deck. With her enhanced musculature, the landing was no problem. She was only dressed in her underwear, but almost a month’s worth of showering in mixed company had helped them all deal with any lingering body modesty issues.
It only took a few seconds for her to blink the sleep from her eyes and walk around the wall lockers and see what the trouble was. There was an argument taking place in the no man’s land between the two platoons. She didn’t recognize any of the people from the other platoon but had no difficulty seeing who was causing the trouble on her side.
Of course it was Claudio.
With a sigh of resignation, she headed straight for the troublemaker. He was in someone’s face, waving a finger around under their nose in a way that would’ve gotten it broken if it had been her, yet the other person—a boy somewhat shorter than him but wider by half—simply smirked at him.
That was probably the worst approach to take with Claudio. He liked being the smug guy in the room, and having someone else do that to him had to burn.
She stopped a couple of steps away from the argument and put her hands on her slender hips. “What’s going on here? People are trying to sleep.”
That wasn’t true anymore. They were all up and gathering to see the confrontation. No matter how this turned out, this was the flashpoint that she’d been dreading. She had to defuse it.
The other boy turned to face her, and his expression darkened. His smirk was replaced with a look of disgust.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in. We were just talking about you, genie. I was explaining
to your boyfriend here why you didn’t have a place inside the Imperial Marines and that you’d best be careful because your inexperience with vacuum gear could lead to accidents, if you know what I mean.”
As threats went, it wasn’t the worst she’d ever heard, though it wasn’t that imaginative. What put her off her stride was the fact that Claudio seemed to be disagreeing. That couldn’t be right. She was missing something.
She turned to face him, holding up a hand to silence her foreign detractor.
“What? You disagree with him? Am I still asleep, and this is some kind of dream? Someone pinch me.”
The look Claudio gave her implied that she was four years old and stupid to boot. “I agree with every single thing he says, but he doesn’t have the right to say it. That’s my job.”
“So you two are fighting over who gets to insult and degrade me? Neither one of you feels any disagreement with what you’re saying, but you’re going to wake up everyone because the guy outside the platoon isn’t allowed to say those things and steal your thunder?”
“You’re damned right,” Claudio agreed with a half snarl and a rude gesture toward the other guy. “You might be a bitch, but you’re our bitch. He doesn’t get to talk about anybody in this platoon like that, not even a genie like you.”
Andrea started to tell him that that was the stupidest thing that she’d ever heard, but Diana put a hand on her shoulder, leaned in close, and whispered into her ear, “Let him do this.”
With her mouth still open, Andrea turned to face her friend and saw her resolute expression. She had absolutely no idea why Diana would want to see this continue, but she already knew that she had a weakness with interpersonal interactions. Maybe something was going on that she just didn’t get.
Instead of arguing, she threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender and stepped back. “Okay. I’ll let you two settle your business. Whoever wins can keep insulting me, and the loser has to go back to his bunk with his tail between his legs. Have fun, boys.”
