by Daniel Gibbs
MacIntosh let out a sigh. “More troops we don’t have. Our government already anticipated that course of action. Let them know we’ll send a hundred thousand military police and garrison troops. Can the sisters hold it together until they arrive?”
“I believe so, sir. They have things well in hand, and the planet’s population is quite frankly in shock. I don’t believe most people understood what was happening. Or maybe they didn’t want to understand. They’re being forced to confront reality now, and I think most people when they look into the abyss and see a reflection of themselves… it causes some serious soul searching.”
“From someone who’s looked into that abyss once or twice, I can tell you firsthand it does.”
“What are my orders, sir?”
“Prepare to return to Canaan. Your battle damage will be repaired, and fighter losses replaced. I will also debrief you and your senior crew in person. Do not expect that to be a positive experience, Colonel,” MacIntosh said, the hard edge to his voice returning.
“Yes, sir.”
“David, I need you to understand that, while I respect your abilities, I seek to make you a better officer. You should have gotten another eight years of seasoning in which you would have made Lieutenant Colonel, served as the XO of a capital ship, and returned to school for a degree in advanced tactics before you were ever considered for O-6. I’m trying to compress all of that into on-the-job training.”
“Do you lack confidence in me, sir?”
“No. Not at all. I have to tune you up and keep you from harming yourself or the Terran Coalition with ill-timed idealist stunts. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Get wrapped up and get back to the barn. Godspeed, Colonel. MacIntosh out.”
In the bowels of the Lion of Judah, Angie Dinman sat in her small production office reviewing dozens of hours of footage, interviews, and notes. She stared at the tablet in front of her, where she had tried several times to create an effective and compelling introduction to the story she had to file by the end of the afternoon. Trying again, she turned on the microphone to the recording program on her tablet.
“This is Angela Dinman for GNN, reporting from the CSV Lion of Judah. Over the last several days, I have been planetside on Monrovia, watching firsthand as the Little Sisters of Divine Recompense and several officers of the Coalition Defense Force attempted to stop the tragedy that was occurring on the surface. As a reporter, it’s my job not to become personally involved nor to draw any conclusions from a story that would influence my reporting. That job is to provide an impartial view of the facts and allow you, the viewers, to draw your own conclusions. For one of the first times in my life, I have found it nearly impossible to accomplish that standard. I’ve seen things the last week I hope never to see again as long as I live. I’ve watched women, children, and men rescued from camps where they lived worse than animals, starving to death, lacking basic hygiene and medical attention. I also witnessed firsthand, the excavation of mass graves where thousands of people had been buried.”
A tear slid down Angie’s face as she continued to talk into the mic. “There are times when I believe that our military gets it wrong, and I’ll report on those times fully and honestly, because all branches of our government must be held to account. That is the basis of a strong and free society. Here, though, to those who have argued the Monrovians weren’t doing anything wrong, I challenge you to come here, see what I’ve seen, and make that same argument. As you will see with the firsthand images, analysis, and forensic reports I have amassed, what the government of this planet did was nothing short of the systematic attempt to kill every human being that believed in a higher power. Regardless of your belief set—which, for the record, I’m an agnostic—this behavior is disgusting. Make up your own mind, but this reporter will argue to anyone who will listen that the Terran Coalition didn’t go far enough. Instead of looking away while a few brave soldiers stood up and joined with a group of nuns to try to save the innocent people in these camps, they should have sent everything they had to ensure a quick military victory. Up first is a series of holoprojections taken directly from the first camp that was liberated.”
Angie switched off the mic and sat back in her chair. That was the best take yet, though it still might be too personal. It’ll work at least as a placeholder. Now let’s slide in the drone footage from the overflight and see what happens.
38
As part of the final transfer of arms and supplies to the nuns, David had traveled back down to the surface in a shuttle filled with munitions and food. General MacIntosh had authorized the transfer of what amounted to the Lion’s balance of stores for food, medical supplies, and arms to the Little Sisters with the proviso that they would be responsible for the next week or so for ensuring Monrovia avoided general unrest. Following up a request from Mother Superior Sarno, he had diverted to a detention center where many of the suspected war criminals from the Monrovian military were being housed, as well as General Monahan.
Finding himself in a visitation room, David waited for Monahan to be brought in; the general had so far refused to speak with anyone regarding who his accomplices and agents were. I guess Mother Superior wants me to get that information out of him. Something tells me that he won’t give it up quickly.
The door swung open, and a single nun stood outside the door with Monahan, gesturing inside. He stepped into the room, and his face showed surprise at seeing David. “Colonel Cohen… you’re back in uniform.”
David grimaced slightly. “That I am, General.”
“I wish my captors would use the same courtesy. I haven’t gotten a single ‘General, sir’ since I became a guest of this facility.”
“Would you care to sit down?” David asked.
Monahan eyed the table and its two chairs; sitting down across from David, he stretched his legs out, and the nun that had brought him to the room closed the door, leaving them alone.
“Now, Colonel… what can I do for you?”
“Mother Superior asked me to talk to you.”
“You mean she asked you to question me about my involvement in terrorist activities,” Monahan interjected.
“In so many words.”
“I’m not rolling on my men, Colonel.”
“They’re not your men any longer,” David observed.
“They’ll always be my men. We made a pack to defend our faith, our families, and those who couldn’t fight back from the butchers in the Monrovian government. Regardless of what it took, we’d make them pay.”
“By killing innocent civilians?”
“Innocent?” Monahan asked incredulously. “Do you think the people who voted to exterminate us are innocent? While I’m a Christian, I know the history of Jews, Colonel. I know what happened to your people back on Earth. If you had been alive during the Holocaust, would you have not tried to strike back?”
“Of course I would’ve tried to strike back,” David snapped.
“And you think you’d have taken out a few people that maybe didn’t deserve it? For that matter, are you seriously telling me that, in your career, you’ve never killed an innocent?”
David sat silent for several seconds. “No, I can’t say that, General. I’d like to believe, though, that I never targeted innocents. I’d like to believe those deaths will stick with me and guide me to make better decisions.”
“I played the hand I had. Bombings worked. We inflicted real pain.”
“Don’t you realize that by engaging in suicide bombings, you only made it easier to round up more people and execute them?”
“They would have done it anyway, Colonel. I evened up those scales. I might have even brought down the government if you guys hadn’t shown up.”
“And how many more would have died in the end?”
Monahan shrugged. “That’s for God to sort out.”
“No, it’s up to us to do the right thing. Day in, day out.”
“Maybe for you. For me… an
ything required to win is on the table. Victory at any cost.”
How far would I go? Could I face down defeat and opt to do the right thing overtaking more of the enemy down with me? “I don’t subscribe to that way of thinking, General. I remember the words of Marcus Aurelius. The best revenge is to be unlike them who you fight. When we stoop to the level of acting like our enemy, I believe we become our enemy. The only way to truly win is to win the moral battle within, as well as the physical battle.”
“Colonel, I’m glad you haven’t yet had to make that choice. Someday, you will. I’d be curious to know what your decision is on that day. For now, you can keep riding high on your smug morality.”
“It would go easier on you if you would provide us with names of those who engaged in civilian bombings.”
“I’ve got nothing to say on that matter. I won’t give up those who served with me. I don’t care what you do to me. Lock me up the rest of my life. I don’t care.”
David nodded. “Well, it’ll be up a tribunal set up jointly between Monrovia, the Terran Coalition, and the Organization of Non-Aligned Planets to determine what happens to you. And the rest of the war criminals here.”
“Good old Attwood’s idea of coming clean?”
“It was his idea, yes.”
“I should’ve shot that coward when I had the chance.”
“For what it’s worth, General, I think he’s sincere about wanting to make amends.”
Monahan’s eyes narrowed. “There is no way in heaven or hell to make amends for trying to wipe out millions of people in torture and gas chambers.”
David cocked his head to one side. “That’s perhaps one thing we do agree on, General.” He stood up, glancing toward the door. “I’m afraid I have to be going. I’ll let the guard know you’re ready to go back to your cell.”
“You do that, Colonel,” Monahan replied, his voice hard.
David banged on the door and waited for it to open. God, please don’t let me end up like this man. That would be a fate worse than death.
Amir jumped out of the all-terrain vehicle as it came to a stop, turning back to face the nun who had driven him to the flight line. “Thank you, Sister. I’m much obliged for your assistance.”
“My pleasure,” the younger woman said, flashing him a smile and hitting the accelerator. The vehicle took off, whisper quiet due to the electric engine.
Looking out across the flight line, eight SF-106 Phantoms remained out of the twelve they had initially given to the sisters. Almost all of them had battle damage, but Amir thought they sat there proudly, if a piece of equipment could remotely appear proud. He made his way over to the lead fighter and walked around it to find Arendse staring up into one of the engines. “Salaam ‘alaykum, Sister Arendse,” he said.
Arendse whirled around and smiled upon seeing Amir. “And also with you, Colonel Amir. I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see you before the CDF shipped everyone out.”
“Colonel Cohen is finishing up some business in the capital, as is Colonel Demood. I just wanted to come back and make sure you were okay.”
“Worried about me?”
“It was a bit touch and go there, wouldn’t you say?”
“Very. But God saw us through, that and some fancy flying. We’re in your debt for teaching us how to utilize these fighters properly and for staying with us until the very end.”
“Trust in Allah, and tie your camel to a tree,” Amir said, recounting an Arab proverb.
Arendse laughed and smiled. “I like that one. I think I’ll start using it too.”
“What now?”
“We serve as peacekeepers until relief arrives. Mother Superior told us that the Terran Coalition has agreed to send troops, so we have to keep things together until they get here.”
“I understand we’ll be transferring more fighters to your order. You’ll have twenty-four fully operational Phantoms once they get here.”
“What about spare parts?”
“I’ll make sure we send some of the more difficult to source parts over,” Amir replied. “I’m going to try to get you a couple of simulator units with our more realistic training scenarios.”
“Thank you.”
“I have been in many squadrons, fought in many battles, and had the honor of serving with many fine pilots. I want you to know that among all of them, I’ve never seen more courage, dedication, and honor than out of you and your sisters. There have been battles in the past where a few good people made an outsized difference in the outcome. This was one of those battles,” Amir said earnestly. “You should be proud of your efforts and your sisters’ efforts. I go back to the Lion of Judah inspired by your example.”
Arendse turned away from him before turning back, a tear running down her face. “I can’t stop thinking about the ones who didn’t come back. We normally don’t go into direct combat. Our largest space battle to date has been against low-rent space pirates that run away as soon as someone shoots back. I don’t think I was emotionally prepared for what real combat is truly like. How do you do it week in, week out?”
“It is hard,” Amir said. “It’s difficult to make friends and gain meaningful emotional attachments because of the high loss rates pilots suffer. It’s our job to go out and take the hits meant for the big ships. Still, I mourn every loss. You should too. Remember their sacrifice but continue the fight.”
“Those are wise words.”
“My wife told me that once. I never forgot it.”
“Is your wife in the CDF too?”
“She was a fighter pilot for ten years. Our daughter is a pilot now too. The entire Amir family likes to ride fast and fly high,” Amir said, grinning widely. “I’m so proud of my daughter. She’s even better in the cockpit than I am.”
“Don’t you worry about her safety?”
“Now you sound like my wife,” Amir joked. “Yes, I worry every day, and I look forward to getting the short vidlinks she sends me once a week. My heart stops for a moment after I hear of a battle her carrier was in. All that said, she’s fighting for what’s right. I am proud we raised children who value our freedoms and are willing to die to defend them.”
“I’d like to meet your family someday.”
“I’d be honored to have you in our home for a meal.”
“Deal. As soon as the war’s over.”
Amir smiled. “I’d better be getting back to Colonel Cohen’s shuttle. I don’t want him to leave without me,” he said, deflecting her comment.
“Godspeed, Hassan.”
“Ila al-liqaa,” Amir replied. “Until we meet again,” he finished, explaining the Arabic phrase he had used.
As David and his compatriots prepared to depart Monrovia for the last time—at least on this deployment—he found himself in the courtyard of what had been an abandoned Catholic church. The sisters had taken it over as their planetary HQ, something David found especially fitting. The final shipment of military hardware was delivered. An old Gladius-class destroyer, which ironically had been the same class of warship that his father flew into the side of Seville’s flagship so many years ago, was in route to the system to be handed over to Mother Superior Sarno.
“Colonel?” Simone asked as she walked out of the main sanctuary’s wide-open doors.
“Sister Darzi!”
“Simone is fine… I think we can be on a first-name basis after I hauled you out of prison.”
David cracked a smile in return. “Very well, Simone.”
“You wanted to see me? Mother Superior was asking all kinds of questions. She reminded me that I’ve got solemn vows in my future.”
“Yes, I wanted to thank you for saving my life,” David said, as what she said registered and his face turned red. “Sister, I would never in any way try to violate your vows…” As soon as he said it, a voice in the back of his head chimed in, It’s not like she isn’t incredibly attractive and you don’t realize that.
“I know,” Simone cut in. “You’re a good man, Colo
nel. I’m glad our paths crossed.”
“No one is good…not even one.”
“I wasn’t aware that Jews quoted the Christian Bible.”
David grinned. “The verse actually traces back to the Psalms…which is on my side of the Bible.”
“Ah, I wasn’t aware of that. How does a CDF colonel have the time to study the Bible?”
“Before I was an officer, before I joined the CDF… I wanted to be a rabbi. I spent many years studying the Torah and the wisdom of the rabbis who came before. To me, that’s one of the neatest things about Judaism. The constant search and questioning of what God’s told us. I loved nothing more than reading the Torah and asking the rabbis the toughest questions I could. But, somewhere along the way, I decided my calling was to be a soldier. Nearly twenty years later, here I am.”
Simone adjusted her habit and smoothed the fabric down. “It must have been a difficult choice.”
“It was. I still wonder sometimes if I made the right call. It’s a shame there isn’t a group of Jewish rabbis running around the universe doing good through combat.”
Simone laughed. “Are you making fun of us, David?”
“Never. You, Mother Superior Sarno, Sister Kaufman… you’ve earned my respect and gratitude.”
“Well, I can only speak for myself, but you and your crew earned mine too,” Simone replied, pausing for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about leaving the order.”
David stared at her closely. “Why?”
“Yes. I… I’m not sure I’m fit to remain after killing that man. Mother Superior has counseled me that it was an unavoidable consequence of war, and my actions were justified before God. I just… when I close my eyes, I see him,” Simone said, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. “How do I get past that?”
“You don’t. When I close my eyes at night, I see the faces of those I’ve killed. Sometimes I look down at my hands, and I feel like no matter how much I wash them, the blood never comes off. There’s a part of me that hates what I do, another part of me hates how well I do it, and yet another part is proud that I’m able to defeat the League because I believe the League is pure evil.”
