Finish the Fight: Echoes of War Book Seven

by Gibbs, Daniel

  “For more than six months, at least.” David glanced at him.

  Amir nodded. “I, too, wish we could’ve decisively destroyed the infidels.” His expression softened. “Then I think about my daughter flying into combat, and find myself happy she’ll no longer be in danger.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the mess steward dropping off glasses of water for the table. David took one and raised it. “If for no other reason, I’d like to toast no longer having to review casualty reports for the names of friends and loved ones.”

  “Hear hear,” Tural said as he raised his cup.

  All three men took a sip. Amir set his glass down. “I’ve been giving thought to the future.”

  “Going to make flag officer and run the training academy on Canaan?” David asked, his tone light.

  “No.” Amir flashed a grin. “I think I’m out after this tour is over. I’ve only got six months left.”

  While it made sense that after a war that had gone on for so long, and cost so much, many would leave the service, David still hated to see his friends go. He nodded thoughtfully and took another sip of water. “Spend some time with the family?” His mouth curled up into a wry smile. “Don’t tell me you’re going to get a job as a planetary shuttle pilot.”

  Amir snorted. “There are limits.”

  Laughter rang out from all of them, hearty and from the belly. As they shared joy with each other, another voice called out from behind. “May I join?” Aibek asked, his deep voice laced with a trace of a hiss.

  David sprang to his feet, shocked to hear the voice of his XO. “Talgat, what are you doing here?”

  The tall Saurian grinned, his teeth showing. “I decided to come see my friends. The Resit Kartal will be laid up in your shipyards for some time before it can return to Sauria, and I was hoping there’d still be room for me here.”

  Without a word, David reached forward and embraced Aibek. “There’s always room for you, my friend.” He forced himself to avoid tearing up. “Sit! Join us. We’re about to have dinner.”

  “I ordered a steak.” Aibek sat in the remaining chair. “It's impossible to find on Sauria, for any price.”

  “We could have the cow brought to you, still living,” Amir said with a snicker.

  Aibek flickered his eyes and again grinned with his teeth showing. “I suspect it would trouble you and the other humans here to watch me eat a live animal.”

  “There was talk you kept rodents to snack on,” Tural interjected. “I seem to remember seeing some in your quarters.”

  “I carried that joke on for months.” Aibek laughed. “Ah, you humans are so gullible at times.”

  “So Amir here has announced he’s leaving the CDF in six months. What about you, Doctor? Talgat? Got any plans for the future?” David asked.

  Tural spoke first. “Allah has blessed my hands to heal. I’ll do so as long as I am able.” There was a quiet, intense passion to his words as if they were almost a prayer. “For now, the CDF is where I feel called to be.”

  “I am a warrior,” Aibek rumbled. “I will always be a warrior.” He stared at David. “It would be fitting, however, to continue to serve at your side should the exchange program restart.”

  “I’m sure President Spencer and Chief Minister Obe will straighten things out,” David began. “Until then, we’ll just have to do things our own way, together.” He lifted his glass again. “To our fallen friends, may they rest in peace, knowing the fight was won.”

  “To our fallen,” Amir called out. The rest echoed him.

  David downed the glass of water and set it back on the table. Regardless of any other feelings or questions he had about what truly happened during the battle, it felt good to be sitting there, with the people he’d fought side by side with for years. The bond they had was something only those who endured the crucible of combat could understand. Unbreakable, it would bind them together for the rest of their natural lives. As the night progressed, even though important questions remained over many portions of his life, he was happy.

  25

  The flight deck of the Lion of Judah gleamed. It was practically as good as new after the six-week-long refit and overhaul the vessel underwent. David stood with pride, beaming at how the vessel's crew went about their business, preparing for the VIP visit. While the pomp and circumstance of the treaty signing had brought out the cleaning and polish crews, General MacIntosh’s official inspection was even more important to the ship's company. Aibek was next to him, along with Amir and an honor guard of enlisted personnel—mostly fighter crew and masters-at-arms. A sleek shuttle put down in the middle of the area, and its cargo hatch slid open.

  General MacIntosh strode down the ramp, cover on.

  “Attention on deck!” Master Chief Tinetariro bellowed. She brought her bosun’s pipe to her mouth and trilled out the notes for “over the side.” The enlisted personnel stepped forward, forming rows on either side of MacIntosh. The bright-colored uniforms of yellow, blue, green, red, and purple presented the appearance of a rainbow. Each color belonged to a different department of space aviation.

  MacIntosh brought his hand up and kept it up, returning their salutes as he walked through the line.

  David, Aibek, and Amir saluted the four-star general in turn. “Welcome aboard the Lion of Judah, sir,” David began as he dropped his arm back to his side. “We’re ready for your inspection.”

  “Is that a fact?” MacIntosh asked with a genuine grin on his face. “I’ve been looking forward to you getting underway again.”

  “Well, we’re ready, sir.”

  “In that case, permission to come aboard?”

  “Permission granted, General. I’m sure you remember Colonels Aibek and Amir? They’ll be joining us for the tour.”

  “How could I forget?” MacIntosh replied dryly. “Lead the way, General Cohen.”

  For the next few hours, they trudged through the ship, taking in the engineering spaces, upgrades to the weapon systems and shield generators, as well as mingling in the mess areas. A tour of sickbay and the bridge culminated with MacIntosh and David, alone at last in the CO’s day cabin, right off the central passageway on deck one.

  David gestured to a chair in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat, sir.” After the older man had sat, he joined him. “Did she meet your approval, sir?”

  “Of course,” MacIntosh rumbled. “The Lion is an impressive ship and an equally impressive crew. Especially after what you’ll all been through. I suppose you’re wondering what’s next?”

  “Well, yes, sir.”

  “This… peace isn’t exactly ideal. Neither side technically won, though we most certainly got the better end of the bargain. Still, our losses are such that the Terran Coalition is significantly weakened.”

  David locked his eyes forward. He wasn’t entirely sold on the inclusion of former Peace Union members in the government, and especially in Fuentes as the VP. Politics aren’t an officer's business, he reminded himself. “I suppose now we’ll be in the position of having to win the peace.”

  “Quite.” MacIntosh snorted. “It would’ve been easier to have our Marines marching through the streets of Paris and Moscow, but this will do. So, along the lines of winning the peace, as you put it so aptly, Cohen… the Lion of Judah’s near term mission is to fly the flag. Show the neutral planets, especially the human-controlled worlds, that the Terran Coalition is their friend. A natural ally.”

  “What about the Independent Systems Alliance?” David asked with a raised eyebrow. “They’ve got a fleet. And a fleet admiral to go with it.”

  “James Henry. Yes. I was amused at that. A man we cast out, who was dishonored and lost everything. He rode to our rescue with a group of neutrals, civilians, and pirates.”

  Unable to suppress a laugh, David smiled as he did. “Quite a motley crew. But, gosh, he did show up at the right time. You know, I talked to him after. I found he’d regained his faith. That’s why he was there, leading the fleet.�
�

  MacIntosh stared at David intently. “I’ve read the after-action report you filed, along with the many other captains in the fleet.” Silence hung in the small room, immediately becoming almost oppressive. “A few things don’t add up.”

  “I’m happy to try and enlighten you, sir.” I’m surprised it took him this long to figure it out. David had left his experience—whatever it was—out of the official record, and hoped it remained as such.

  “Why did you execute a full-scale alpha strike against a target you had no chance of hitting?”

  There it was. A question David couldn’t really answer. One he’d wrestled with and found his thoughts lacking. Either he’d had a supernatural experience or a momentary break with reality. Part of his mind didn’t want to know which. “I thought I saw an opening, sir. I took it… failed, and then something broke our way.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, God himself intervened in our favor,” MacIntosh replied with a snort. “I’d be shocked if you didn’t feel the same.”

  “I do, sir. I have no other rational explanation. While, as Dr. Hayworth would put it, unlikely events do occur, this one is a bit too unlikely at the right time to be anything but a finger on the scale.”

  “And you didn’t have an experience?”

  David opened his mouth, his first thought to deflect somehow, or even lie. No, if it were an encounter with HaShem, it would be a grave sin to lie. He bit down on his lip. “I don’t know, sir. Whatever happened, it was personal, and I don’t wish to discuss it. Unless you’re directly ordering me to, sir.”

  “I won’t push you, General,” MacIntosh finally replied after a ten-second silence. “Setting that aside, are you planning to stay in the service?”

  “Yes.”

  MacIntosh resumed his hawk-like stare. “Not returning to the ministry?”

  “No, sir.” David shook his head as he spoke. “I’m a soldier. It’s in my blood. About time I faced that and embraced it for the rest of my career.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, I know that’s not an easy decision to make.” MacIntosh’s stare softened. “You know, you can’t retain command of the Lion of Judah in perpetuity.”

  “Depending on how you look at it, my tour’s up… or it just restarted.”

  “Always working on getting what you want, aren’t you, Cohen?” The older man laughed. “I can’t blame you. If I had this ship, oh, I’d do anything to keep her. Well, you’re in luck. President Spencer thinks it would be good for the service to keep you in command. So we’re going to let your promotion stick. The Lion will get her own battlegroup, which you’ll command. In a few months, she’ll get a commanding officer, and you will remain as overall battlegroup commander.”

  David’s eyes opened wide. “Thank you, sir. Any day I command the Lion of Judah is an honor.”

  “Then I wish you Godspeed… David.” MacIntosh stood and stuck out his arm.

  “Thank you, sir. Godspeed to you as well,” David replied as he shook the outstretched arm. “I’ll escort you back to the hangar deck.”

  “Negative. I know the way. A few stops I want to make privately, if you don’t mind.”

  “You do outrank me, sir.” David grinned.

  “Ah, so that does register at times with you. Good.”

  There were chuckles between the two men as MacIntosh made his way out of the hatch, leaving David alone. He sat back in the chair, staring at the finished piece of metal as it slid back into place. Even with all that had occurred, he was still troubled. The gnawing need to know for sure what happened. Was it God? Or just random chance? The thoughts persisted as he dove back into paperwork for crew transfers—another ordinary day.

  * * *

  Later that day, David found himself making his rounds on the Lion, including a stop in the engineering spaces. The cavernous reactor control room never ceased to amaze him, starting with the twenty-foot-tall anti-matter reactor housing in the center of it. Covered in super-dense alloy for safety reasons, the power output of the device rivaled some planetary power grids. As he stood staring at it, a voice rumbled behind him.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?”

  David turned to find Dr. Hayworth and Major Merriweather standing there. Both had utility coveralls on, with numerous grease stains. They looked every bit the part of scruffy engineers. “Still is, even after all this time.” He flashed a grin at the two of them. “Isn’t it past your shifts ending?”

  “The sooner we get into space, the sooner I can test my latest round of enhancements to the reactor control software,” Hayworth replied. “CDF command wants the results for another miniaturization project, but they won’t tell me what it is.” The scientist snorted. “Bah, poppycock. Military secrets.”

  “Now now, Doctor,” Merriweather began. “Those secrets pay for your grant money.”

  Hayworth rolled his eyes openly. “Doesn’t mean I need to like it, Eliza, dear.”

  “I understand both of you have signed up for another tour,” David interjected, clearing his throat as he did.

  “It would be hard to walk away from government money for my research.” Hayworth crossed his arms in front of him. “So the agreement stands. I keep working on military applications for anti-matter, and they allow me my private projects.”

  Merriweather turned to the older scientist and batted her eyelashes. “Oh, and here I thought you wanted to keep an eye on me.”

  “Well, my dear, working with you is an… excellent benefit that makes otherwise dull work interesting.”

  It was all David could do not to bust out laughing. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. Maintaining our technological edge will be all the more important going forward.” He glanced around. “Where’s Major Hanson?”

  “Down at the medical bay getting a cut treated,” Merriweather replied. She smirked slightly. “He dropped an autospanner on his leg, and it took out a chunk. Nothing to worry about, though.” There was a pause. “Funny, though, something like that we take for granted today, but a few short weeks ago, I thought we were all going to perish.”

  There it was again, the feeling David had, and he suspected most of the people on the Lion of Judah, and really, the fleet at large was having. Why are we still here? How did it all turn out okay? The questioning never really stopped. “It's certainly a miracle.”

  Hayworth snorted. “Miracles do not exist. We got lucky.”

  “Lucky?” The tone of outright disbelief was evident in Merriweather’s voice.

  “Dear, you know I am not one to ascribe anything but scientific answers to what happens in this reality. So yes, the best way to describe our success is luck. Something good happened at the right time. Well, for us. Bad for the League.” Hayworth shrugged.

  David smiled. “Okay, Doctor, I’ll bite. I find it hard to label things to direct miracles, but it sure happened at exactly the right time. I dare say, five minutes later and the Terran Coalition would’ve lost the battle, and with it, the war. That’s got to figure in.”

  “Not at all. It’s only proof that, in the universe at large, improbable events happen. There’s no statistical or scientific evidence for a miracle behind those events.”

  Merriweather cleared her throat loudly. “Gentlemen, I don’t think we’re going to solve this today,” she said, her tone one of amusement.

  “As long as the good General here doesn’t try to get me into his church—”

  “—it’s called a shul, Doctor,” David replied with mock annoyance. “And for the last time, Jews do not try to convert others.” His mouth curled up into a grin.

  “And on that note, I have work to do,” Merriweather interjected, playfully rolling her eyes as well.

  After a few seconds, Hayworth continued. “You know, sometimes I wish I had faith in something besides science.”

  David’s head snapped like a whip, and he focused on the older man. “Come again, Doctor?”

  “I envy how people like you loo
k at the universe. Going through life, believing a higher power looks out for you. Taking solace in that belief, being close to others through it and hoping to see those who died before us, when we die ourselves.”

  An uneasy silence broke out. David wasn’t quite sure what to say. He makes it sound so rosy. In reality, at least over the last few months, it seemed as if faith caused more headaches, more fear than anything in his life. And yet, it was the one constant he had. The belief that God was there, and that His Mitzvot were guideposts to live one’s life by.

  “Did I break your ability to speak?” Hayworth asked with a chuckle.

  “No, I was thinking. If it makes you feel any better, sometimes I wonder what it must be like to go through life not worrying about what’s next. Only focused on the here and now.”

  “I suppose neither one of us will ever experience what the other goes through.”

  “Please don’t take offense, Doctor… but I hope never to experience a complete lack of faith in a higher power.”

  “None taken. The road I choose for myself is not easy.” Hayworth glanced at him. “I suppose I’d better finish up for the evening. I’m not a young man, and this grease monkey business gets to my joints.”

  “Of course.” David almost turned to go but decided not to. “Doctor,” he called out before he extended his arm. “Thanks for re-upping. I appreciate your contributions and friendship.”

  Hayworth took the hand without reservation and shook. “And I, yours. Here’s to many more successful missions, as the military types say.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” David said. As the scientist turned to walk away, he called after him, “Godspeed.”

  “Harrumph,” Hayworth replied, though the tone was decidedly good-natured.

  As Hayworth receded into the mass of personnel working through the engineering and reactor control area, David turned to go. He found himself glad the ship was almost ready to go. Back out into space, where I belong. But at what cost to his relationship with Angie? That question remained unanswered.