by P. A. Piatt
“And that concludes your tour of Eros-28.”
Although he had perked up when Drager said “bars,” Corporal Ystremski had a half-scowl on his face. “This is better than being buried underground?”
“Give it a week, Corporal. Then you’ll beg to come up here.”
Fortis and Drager laughed, and Ystremski snorted. “If we’re stuck here for a week, all of these monkeys will be begging to come up here just to get away from me.” Several of the Marines standing within earshot nodded their agreement.
“Anyway,” Drager continued. “If you want to walk around the city, I’ll show you how to get outside the facility. But please remember that at least one third of the city is asleep at any time between shifts. There’s no crime and there are always colonial police on patrol. Those are the guys in the orange jumpsuits. If you get lost, look for this platform. There are four main roads that crisscross the city; all you have to do is find one and follow it until you see the tower.”
* * * * *
Chapter Nine
The comms terminal at Governor Czrk’s elbow warbled, and he pressed the flashing button to answer.
“Governor, it’s Chief Schultz.”
“Hello, Chief. What’s on your mind?”
“Pardon the interruption, sir, but there’s been another overdose.”
“Oh? When?”
“It’s hard to say until the autopsy is completed, but it’s recent. After the sifter, for sure. My men found the body buried under a dirt pile in an alley, but the skin wasn’t scoured away like he’d been out in the storm.”
“He? Do you have an identity?”
“No, sir. We ran his prints and DNA against the database and got no hits. He’s a freeloader.”
“Well, at least we don’t have to report this one to corporate. Are you sure it’s an overdose?”
“He’s got needle marks on both arms, and there was a rubber hose tied around one of his arms.”
“A junkie freeloader.”
There was a long silence on the line before Schultz replied.
“Governor, I saw the body when they brought it in. There’s more to it than an overdose, I think. He’s got some bruises on his face like he was beat up, and it looks like he was strangled, too. His wrists are chafed.”
“Chafed?”
“Yes, sir, chafed. The doctor said it looked like he was tied up shortly before he died.”
“Hmm. That’s odd.”
“Yes, sir, it is.”
“Anything else?”
“Not right now. Doc has started the autopsy, so maybe we’ll know more when he’s finished. I thought you’d want to know.”
“Yes, thank you, Chief. Let me know the results of the autopsy.”
* * *
Captain Brickell smoothed his utilities one final time and cleared his throat before he rapped on the door three times.
“Come.”
Brickell opened the door and found Colonel Kivak Sobieski standing over a desk covered with musters, readiness reports, and supply requisitions. The colonel’s perpetual scowl looked deeper than usual and dark circles under his eyes gave him a skull-like appearance.
“Sir, Captain Brickell.”
“I know who you are, Captain. What do you want?”
“We have a situation, sir. With the recall, I mean.”
Four hours earlier, General Gupta had set Alert Condition Bravo and ordered a complete recall of all Ninth Division Space Marines from Eros-69.
“A situation? What situation?”
“Ah…well, sir, one of my platoons, Third Platoon, isn’t on Eros-69.”
“Where are they?”
“They were sent to Eros-28. They’re there now awaiting extraction.” He placed a copy of Fortis’ message on the desk in front of the colonel.
“Eros-28? Eros-28 isn’t a liberty planet. Who sent them to Eros-28?”
“The orders were signed by the Battalion admin officer, sir. Captain Reese.”
“Reese?”
“Yes, sir. We were mustered in the hangar getting ready to board the transports when Reese showed up and told Third Platoon they had been replaced by the division band. He sent them to another hangar to board a transport to Eros-28.”
Sobieski threw down his pen and leaned across his desk.
“You allowed the division band to replace one of your platoons?”
“Sir, I—well…it was the division band. The general’s band. The Battalion admin officer signed the orders.”
Sobieski blinked. “Wait a second. You said Third Platoon?”
Brickell nodded.
“Who’s the platoon leader?”
Brickell cleared his throat. “Third Platoon is commanded by Lieutenant Fortis, sir.”
“Fortis. That Fortis.” It was an indictment, not a question.
“Yes, sir, Second Lieutenant Fortis.”
Sobieski dropped his chin to his chest and slowly shook his head. When he looked up, his eyes flashed with anger.
“WILLIS!”
Staff Sergeant Willis, the colonel’s administrative aide, entered the office.
“Yes, sir.”
“Get that idiot Reese up here. Now!”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
The colonel straightened up and pointed at Brickell with a stiff-fingered motion known in the ISMC as “knife hand.”
“Go down to the Aviation Department and arrange for a transport to retrieve Third Platoon. I don’t care how much ass you have to kiss or kick, just get it done. Do you understand me, Captain?”
“Sir…uh, I just came from Aviation. There aren’t any transports available; everything they’ve got is tied up with the recall. The air boss told me that a request to divert a shuttle would have to be approved by the general himself before he could release anything.”
Sobieski’s neck turned purple, and the veins in his forehead popped out. When he spoke, his voice was level and threatening.
“On top of everything else going on, I have to go to the general to request a transport to unfuck your mistake?”
“Sir…I—Captain Reese—”
As if on cue, there were three sharp raps on the door and Captain Reese entered the office.
“Colonel, you want to see me?”
Sobieski fired an angry glare at Brickell. “Brickell, get out of my sight.” He pointed to a spot in front of his desk. “Reese, get over here.”
As Brickell left the office, he heard Colonel Sobieski shout:
“REESE, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOU’RE FIRED! PACK YOUR—”
The shouting became a muffled roar as Brickell pulled the door shut. When he looked at Staff Sergeant Willis, the NCO shrugged.
“DINLI.”
* * *
Twelve hours later, Fortis slipped into the darkened transient personnel quarters and paused to give his eyes time to adjust. A VR holograph film hovered above the deck amidst a circle of chairs and the Space Marines hooted and clapped as a squad of movie Marines fought back a swarm of alien bugs. Fortis smiled in spite of himself.
A year ago, as a civilian, he would have watched the film and been enthralled by the heroism and fighting prowess displayed by the VR Marines. Now, after his recent experience fighting bugs on Pada-Pada, Fortis was amused by the portrayal of combat by people who’d never experienced it.
Ystremski was seated on the far edge of the circle, and Fortis walked around until he was behind the corporal. Ystremski saw him approach. Fortis motioned for the corporal to follow him and went into the hallway.
“Great movie you’re showing, Corporal.” Fortis smiled. “I hope they learn a lot from it.”
“It wasn’t my idea to give them the night off to watch a film, LT. It was either this nonsense or pornography; I’d rather be in the gym. So, what’s up? Something wrong?”
“I was up in the comms center when the response to my message to Battalion showed up.” He handed a folded sheet of paper to Ystremski.
From: Commander, Second Battalion, 1st of the 9
th
To: Platoon Leader, 3rd Platoon, Foxtrot Company
Your request for extraction is denied. There are no Fleet assets available to effect pick up at this time. Third Platoon will remain on Eros-28 until further notice.
Commanding General Ninth Division has ordered Alert Condition Bravo. All units are directed to maintain four-hour readiness posture until further notice. Third Platoon be prepared for no-notice extraction.
Sobieski sends
“Sonofabitch. The lads aren’t going to like this. What do you think this means?”
Fortis shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. Whatever it is, they’re not kidding around. Alert Condition Bravo means all liberty is cancelled. Those poor bastards are orbiting Eros-69 at four-hour readiness.”
“Lucky us, eh?” Ystremski chuckled as he handed the paper back to Fortis. “At least we know it’s not Reese fucking with us. Colonel Sobieski signed that one. Give me a minute to stop the movie and form up the platoon and then you can break the bad news, sir.”
Fortis stopped him before he could reenter their quarters.
“Nah. Let them finish the film. Nothing’s going to change between now and then.”
* * *
“Remain on Eros-28 until further notice.” Governor Czrk dropped the message on his desk and leaned back with his hands folded across his stomach. “I wonder what that means.”
“That they’re not leaving anytime soon,” replied Chive, without a hint of humor.
Czrk gave him an irritated glance. “I know that, thank you. But what does it mean? An entire division of Space Marines placed on high alert in the Eros Cluster. Is there a threat out there?”
“Maybe it’s a drill?” asked Drager. “Those guys are always training for something.”
Chive snorted. “This isn’t a drill. Not even the Space Marines are dumb enough to run a readiness exercise when they’ve got five thousand men on liberty on Eros-69. They’d have a mutiny on their hands.”
“Well, whatever it is, we need to be ready. Bob, make sure the comms center is listening to the standard comms frequencies and the tower personnel are available on short notice.”
“Yes, sir.” Drager stood up to leave, but the governor stopped him with a raised hand.
“One more thing, for both of you.” His eyes flicked between Drager and Chive. “They don’t know that we can read their messages. Right now, it’s our little secret. Let’s keep it that way.”
After Drager was gone, Chive stood up and folded his thick forearms across his chest.
“You have something in mind, Governor? Some plan you want to share?”
Czrk shook his head. “Not at all. The Space Marines are our guests and we should extend them every courtesy. Still, I’m curious about why they’re here and what has them on high alert. Maybe we can glean some information from their comms; it’s leverage. If Fortis discovers we’ve been reading their mail, he might switch to an encrypted mode we can’t break.”
* * *
Third Platoon took the news of the alert about as well as Fortis and Ystremski expected. There were some disappointed looks and a grumble or two, but mostly they accepted it without complaint. There were even a few smiles when Ystremski reminded them that three hots and a cot on Eros-28 beat the shit out of being trapped on the flagship with all the lifers.
Private Trapp raised his hand when Fortis asked if there were any questions.
“What’s the alert about, sir?”
“I don’t know,” replied Fortis. “I checked the latest news downloads while I was in the comms shack, but I didn’t see anything that warranted Alert Condition Bravo. After we finish here, I’m going to talk with Governor Czrk and let him know what’s up. He might have some additional information.”
PFC Philips raised his hand. “Are we stuck underground then, sir?”
Fortis traded glances with Ystremski.
“For now, yes. We’re supposed to be prepared for no-notice extraction, which means our stuff should be packed and ready to go.”
Fortis dismissed the squad, and Ystremski followed him into the passageway.
“It would be good for the men to get out of here for a while, LT. Even if it’s only out into that dusty excuse for a city to stretch their legs for a bit.”
“I appreciate what you’re saying, but I can’t just cut the guys loose without some way to get them back here on short notice. ‘No-notice extraction’ doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.” The lieutenant shrugged. “I’ll see what the governor has to say about all this, and then we can reevaluate.”
* * *
Spears, Choon, and West huddled next to the candlelight in the abandoned dome.
“Where’s Deale?” Spears asked. “Baird’s on shift, but Deale should be here.”
Choon answered. “Hard to say. Things are crazy at the plant right now. Maybe he’s working an extra shift.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Spears thought for a second. “There was another overdose not far from here. A drug dealing freeloader by the name of Moore.”
“Serves him right,” said West.
“Yeah, except I heard the colonial police aren’t sure he died of an overdose. There were marks on his body that make the police think he died somewhere else and his body was dumped.”
West shrugged. “So what? The colony is better off without him.”
Spears frowned. “You’ve been hanging around Deale too much. I don’t like the dealers any more than you do, but murder? That’s not good. Now the colonial police will be all over the place asking questions and poking their noses in where they don’t belong. Who knows, the governor might involve the mercenaries again.”
Choon made an angry noise in her throat, and West shifted uncomfortably. The mercenaries who masqueraded as industrial plant security contractors were a violent, heavy-handed force who didn’t hesitate to use brutality against the employees. Their appearance in the colony had been a sudden, unpleasant surprise. It had taken a plant-wide labor slowdown to force the governor to restrict their activities.
“If they can prove it wasn’t a simple overdose, the governor will blame us,” Spears continued. “This movement is hard enough to sustain without more accusations.” He stood and Choon and West followed. “I appreciate you two coming on such short notice. If you see Deale or Baird, try to get them aside and find out if they’ve heard anything. Otherwise, I’ll be in touch.”
* * * * *
Chapter Ten
Governor Czrk and Director Chive listened as Lieutenant Fortis briefed them on the response to his message.
“I imagine that’s not welcome news to you and your men, Lieutenant.”
Fortis gave a half-smile. “We’re grateful for everything you’ve done for us, Governor. The facilities are excellent, and the food is better than you admitted when we first met. It’s just…”
“It’s not Eros-69,” the governor interjected. The two men shared a chuckle.
“No, sir, it isn’t. But nobody is enjoying Eros-69 right now. As far as I know, Ninth Division has been recalled to the Fleet because of the alert.”
“What prompted this alert? Is the Eros Cluster in any danger?”
Fortis shook his head. “I don’t have any information about the reason for the alert, sir. The divisional recall makes me think we’ll be going somewhere else, though. If there was a threat approaching, the last place I’d put five thousand Space Marines is on nice fat transports waiting to get blasted.”
Chive surprised Fortis when he grunted in agreement.
The lieutenant smiled again. “Of course, that’s my parochial view as a lowly ISMC second lieutenant.”
Czrk spread his hands wide open on his desk. “Lieutenant, it’s our honor and pleasure to host you and your men, and I apologize again for the lack of creature comforts that are normally associated with liberty. If there’s anything I can do to make your stay here more tolerable, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Actually, there is something. We’ve b
een ordered to prepare for a no-notice evacuation, but it’s difficult for me to believe they would send a transport all this way and not give us a heads up it was coming.”
Governor Czrk nodded.
“I realize there isn’t a lot to attract the attention of my men in town, but they’ve expressed interest in the bars that Bob Drager described as your red-light district. I’d like to let them go out there, at least for a few hours, but there’s no way to recall them on short notice. Do you have any ideas?”
The governor thought for a moment. “Perhaps we could use the towers? If we came up with a specific horn signal they’d be able to hear it anywhere in the city. Would that suit your needs?”
Fortis smiled. “It definitely would, Governor. Thank you.”
Chive cleared his throat. “Governor, I recommend we put certain conditions on the Space Marines.”
Fortis felt the blood rise into his face, but he said nothing.
“Conditions? Like what, Mr. Chive?”
“In the interest of safety and public order, I don’t think it would be a good idea for the Space Marines to mix with large groups of our employees, especially those who have just completed their shifts.” Chive looked at Fortis. “No offense intended to you or your men, but some of our citizens can get rowdy as they wind down after a long day of work. There are also some anti-conglomerate sentiments among certain factions, a self-styled resistance movement. They might misinterpret the appearance of your Space Marines as a GRC power play.”
The governor glared at Chive, and his cheeks flushed. “Now hold on a second, Chive.” He turned to Fortis and attempted a smile. “It’s true, there are a few malcontents among the population, but they’re hardly a ‘resistance.’” He made air quotes around resistance. “We work under difficult conditions here, Lieutenant, and, in a population as big as ours, there are bound to be some people who are unhappy.” He looked at Chive before he continued.
