“That’s just the way we talk to each other sometimes.” Jack shrugged and smiled.
“That is the way you talk to your squad leader, with such familiarity and contempt for his leadership position?”
“We are old friends.”
Visser scrolled across her tablet and presented another hologram. This was from the bunkhouse on training moon, taken just days before the training squad’s battle with the Chits. It was the moment Jack accused Torent of stealing his family’s watch. Jack was challenging Torent. The pair were snarling at each other. The fight quickly erupted.
“You don’t look very friendly,” Visser said, sitting back in her chair. The hologram paused with Jack and Torent fully engaged in their fistfight. The image flickered. Jack could make out the figure of Bill Harts sitting on his bunk. It had been Harts who had created the bad feeling between Jack and Torent by stealing Jack’s watch and planting it on Torent. The hologram showed the delight on Harts’s face as Jack and Torent slugged it out.
“That was a long time ago,” Jack said, slumping back angrily into his own chair.
“I’ve compiled a lot of hologramatic surveillance data from onboard the Scorpio. Having studied the data, I’ve been able to quickly establish that you and Commander Finch were not friends.”
It was true. Jack had hated Finch. The Commander of Cobra Company had been an arrogant idiot. He was a poor tactician. He had a poor understanding of the Marines under his command. And in the end, Jack had discovered that Finch was a coward.
“No, sir,” Jack said firmly. “We were not friends. He was my commanding officer.”
“Did you like Commander Finch?”
“To be frank?” Jack asked.
Visser fixed Jack with her cold blue eyes. “Be frank.”
“No, sir. I did not like Commander Finch. He was not a good officer.”
“Your commanding officers don’t last very long after meeting you, Marine.”
Jack felt his heart in his mouth. If the agent suspected Jack of killing an officer, the penalty would be a slow and painful death. It was true that his training commander had died during the battle of training moon and Finch had died... Jack pushed the thought of Finch’s death from his mind. His story was that Finch had gone missing, which was at least partly true.
“Sir?” Jack said as mildly as he could. “I liked Lieutenant Crippin. She was a good instructor. I was sorry when she was killed. She was a good Marine.”
Visser tapped her tablet and played a hologram of Crippin’s death. Jack looked away as the fine, whip-like plasma threads slashed at Crippin and Sergeant Hacker as they fought a battling retreat. Jack had been there and had seen it from afar; he couldn’t stand to watch it again.
“And now Commander Finch has been lost. You were the last person to be seen with him. Have you got anything to add to your report?”
“No, sir.” Jack felt his chest tighten. If Agent Visser had hologram recordings of his training camp bunkhouse fight with Torent and the deaths of Crippin and Hacker, they must surely have recordings of Commander Finch and his last moments. If he was going to get called out for lying, it would be now. He would be in serious trouble, and certainly face another flogging that would tear up his already badly scarred back, but he would probably not face the noose. Reyes, on the other hand, would stand trial for the murder of an officer. Such trials were short, sentences brutal, and execution of the sentence was usually carried out on the same day. Jack held his breath.
“So we have to accept your account and your account only, as there were no other witnesses. You and Commander Finch performed a reconnaissance of the Chitin position. On your return to the Marine landing craft, Finch lost his composure. I’m quoting from your report now, Marine. Finch lost his composure when it was clear the Scorpio was leaving orbit and that he then ran off through the sand tree structures of Kratos, yelling for the Scorpio to come back. You then encountered maintenance technician Sarah Reyes piloting a Chitin suit. An eventful reconnoiter.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Anything to add to the official report?” Visser sat up slowly. She stood and leaned on the table, leaning in closer to Jack. “Last chance, Marine.”
“If I think of anything important...” Jack began.
“Everything is important in my investigation, Marine.” Visser turned and walked toward the door.
“You didn’t ask me about Bill Harts,” Jack called out, quickly adding, “sir.”
Visser stopped in her tracks. She turned and walked around the table. She grabbed Jack’s collar and pulled him close. “I don’t know what happened on that moon, but if I find out you are hiding something from me, we will meet again. You will be sorry if we do.”
Visser dropped Jack back into his chair and left the room. The door remained open, swinging gently on its hinges. Jack hadn’t received orders to leave the debrief room. He swung back on his chair, hands behind his head, and looked out through the open door. Hopefully, someone would spot him and tell him to leave. Until then, he was under orders to stay where he was.
Agent Visser obviously had no evidence against him, or Reyes. If there was a holoimage showing Reyes attacking Finch and the resulting fatal stab wound, she would be executed for causing the death of an officer, whether she was comatose or not. She would probably be medically revived long enough to hear the sentence and maybe long enough to experience some of the horror of her brutal execution. They would not wait for her to fully recover before ending her life.
Jack needed to speak to Reyes. She had no way of knowing the account that Jack had given. It was true, at least steeped in truth. Finch had lost his cool and been lost under the sands of Kratos. His body might be recovered one day, but it would probably be impossible to tell how he had died, thanks to the corrosive nature of the thin Kratos atmosphere. His body was probably already corroded away to dust. But if Reyes woke and gave a story that deviated from Jack’s in even the slightest, they would both be under investigation.
Fleet Intelligence was as brutal as they were thorough. Jack would have to get to Reyes first. The corridor outside the debrief room was quiet. Jack stood up from his chair and quietly walked to the open door. He risked a peek out into the corridor. It was empty.
“If anyone asks,” he said to himself, “I’ll say I thought the interview was over.”
Jack walked out of the interview room. The Scorpio was a big ship and it would take him a while to get to the med bay. If he was lucky, Reyes would be awake and waiting for him so he could speak to her before Agent Visser did.
Jack moved quickly and quietly.
2
The white walls of the med bay were supposed to suggest cleanliness, but now they just showed the grime that covered every surface of the ship. The clear composite panels that separated various sections of the med bay had the streaked and milky appearance of any unwashed clear composite surface.
The nurses’ station was unoccupied, only plastic cups of stale coffee on the table top gave any signs that it was ever occupied. Jack passed by.
The beds behind the clear composite panels were occupied by the sick and wounded of the ship’s company. A ship the size of the Scorpio had so many personnel that an understaffed med bay always had more bodies than it could deal with.
Walking along the line of compartments, Jack looked for Reyes. She had been in a coma when they had been rescued by the Scorpio. Most of 6th squad had been brought to the med bay for treatment after the Battle of Kratos Fuel Station. Jack had only been treated for dehydration and a touch of hypothermia. Torent had received extensive treatment for a heavy laceration to his left shoulder. Reyes had been rushed away as a medical emergency. She’d been in the med bay for several days.
At the far end of the paneled corridor, Jack saw two Marines from Adder Company standing on either side of the entrance to Reyes’s compartment. They were in utility uniform with a pulse pistol strapped to their right leg. The heavy white baton each held was their main weapon of deterrenc
e. Jack knew that anyone attempting to pass the Marine guard would be beaten back by those batons. The pulse pistols were the final fatal alternative.
The Marines noticed Jack’s approach. One tapped his baton against his boot, while the other held his across his shoulders.
“Sup, Marine?” the guard with the shoulder-slung baton called out to Jack.
“What’s A Company doing down here?” Jack called back and continued to walk forward.
“Following orders,” the boot-tapping Marine answered.
Jack stepped up in front of the guards. They brought their batons forward in a swift and synchronized move. They pointed the polished tips forward toward Jack.
“That’s far enough, Marine.”
Jack held his hands up. “Just wanted to check in on my friend.”
The boot tapper pushed his baton into Jack’s shoulder. “No visitors.”
Jack looked past the Marines to the comatose Reyes. She was hooked up to a diagnostic machine, and her face was covered by a breathing mask. Her chest heaved in time with the beeping machine.
“Let me in for a second, eh, guys?” Jack used his best diplomatic smile.
The Marine guards turned stony cold and took a step forward, their batons pressed into Jack’s chest.
“Walk away, Forge,” the boot-tapper said, “unless you want me to smack you on your turnip with this highly polished chunk of timber.”
Jack hesitated for a second. He’d been called by name. “Do you know me?” Jack asked.
“Jack Forge,” the guard said. “The whole battalion knows about you.” There was a hint of a smile. “You took down a Leviathan.”
“Just being good Marine,” Jack said modestly. Then he leaned in as if to take the pair into his confidence. “Why not let me in for just a moment?”
The pair pushed Jack away with their batons. “Orders are what they are, Forge. Now sling it or get cracked.” The guard brought his baton down against his palm and gripped it. “Hero or not, if my orders are to break your skull, I will.”
Jack stepped back with a grin. “As you were, guys. No need to check if I’ve got more brains than guts.” Jack pointed toward Reyes. “If she wakes up, will you let me know?”
“Leave now or I’ll tell Major Cruz you are trying to circumvent his orders.”
Jack took another step back. He smiled and nodded. The guards stepped back to the entrance of Reyes’s compartment. The boot-tapper resumed his tapping, and the other swung his baton back over his shoulder. Jack looked past the guards at his comatose friend in her grimy little compartment.
Jack needed to speak to Reyes before anyone else, especially the agent. He couldn’t see her taken from the hospital just to be executed.
3
The bunkhouse was quiet when Jack arrived. Some Marines were asleep in their coffin-sized bunks, while others quietly played cards under a small electric light. Jack slipped by and climbed into his bunk.
Jack had been in the debrief room for hours. Sitting and talking had never been so exhausting. He knew he’d been playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Agent Visser. She clearly suspected him of having had something to do with Finch’s disappearance, but she didn’t have any proof. The Marines recorded every moment of their operation on hundreds of sensors, scanners, and cameras, but the destruction of the Chitin Leviathan must have disabled the data collection somehow.
Jack grabbed his small personal tablet. He accessed fleet channels and searched for reports on his mission to Kratos. The fleet transmitted all data on any victory they had over the Chitins. The destruction of the Leviathan would be big news.
Jack found a story on the Battle of Kratos Fuel Station. The image on the headline was a computer graphic of a Leviathan being destroyed. The fleet should have a record of the actual destruction. The news channels would have been plastered wall to wall with movie and holograph data of the battle and in particular, the climactic destruction of the massive enemy craft.
No matter how much Jack searched, he couldn’t find a single recording from the battle. The only reason why the fleet and the Gov news agency wouldn’t be casting the whole battle, Marine fatalities and all, would be because they didn’t have the data.
Jack turned off his tablet and closed his eyes. The image of the Chit Leviathan being destroyed filled his sleepy mind. The energy from the blast must have knocked out the data recording from all the Marines and their landing craft.
All Jack had to do was get to Reyes and make sure she didn’t give herself away. He closed his eyes and let sleep wash over him.
The claxon alarm sounded and woke Jack from his light sleep. Sam Torent shouted into the bunkhouse.
“On your feet, Sixth Squad.” Torent stood in the muster point outside the stack of bunks.
Climbing down from his bunk, Jack was only vaguely aware. His actions were automatic and instinctive. He was a Marine and the call to action overcame all sleep and reluctance. He formed up with the depleted 6th squad in the muster point.
“Suit up, arm up.” Torent walked quickly along the line of Marines. “Muster on the Marine deck. Double-time, Marines. Move it!”
Jack pulled on his meat suit and grabbed his pulse rifle from the rack. He ran to the Marine deck without knowing what he was running to. But this was war and at any time, they could be called to action. He was expected to follow orders and perform his duty at a moment’s notice. He ran to the Marine deck, ready for anything, expecting anything.
6th squad formed up in minutes. A moment later, the company commander entered the Marine deck with a clean uniform and an upright gait.
“Commander on deck,” Torent called the Marines to attention.
“At ease, Marines.” The commander walked down the squad’s line. “I haven’t had chance to meet you yet. You will get to know me in time. I’m Commander Griff, the new Commander of Cobra Company.”
Griff walked back along the short line. “A fighter patrol squadron has disabled a Chitin Kraken. That Kraken has crash-landed on an asteroid. The Scorpio is the closest ship to the asteroid and you are the best squad in my company, so you are going to go down there and secure the Chit craft. Fleet want to get their hands on any Chit tech that survived. There may be some Chits that survived the crash. If they did survive, you will kill them. Questions?”
Torent stepped forward. “Squad leader, sir. How many Chits can we expect?”
“Kraken craft are thought to have a crew of up to ten Chitins. Our data is still a bit patchy since the Leviathan went down over Kratos.” Griff looked along the line of Marines until he spotted Jack. He stepped up to Jack.
“Forge?” Griff asked.
“Sir, yes, sir.”
“Good work taking down that Leviathan, Marine. Glad you are on our side.”
“Sir, thank you, sir.”
“Listen up, Marines,” Griff shouted. “Stay alert, listen to your squad leader, and get the job done. Landing craft standing by.” Griff turned to Jack. “We are still a bit short of co-pilots. Can you assist?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” Jack shouted, filling with pride and excitement. “Thank you, sir.”
“Move out, Marines. I’ll see you when you get back.” With that, Griff turned on his heel and walked off the deck.
“You heard the commander. To the landing craft. Move out.” Torent waved 6th squad toward the landing craft ramp.
Jack stepped up alongside Torent. “Why didn’t they make you company commander?”
“I’ll get there,” Torent said, pushing Jack forward. “Griff is a good officer. He was a commander in the Libra Battalion before she went down.”
Jack stepped onto the ramp. “I heard he was a hero at the Battle of Hades Lava Lake. At least he goes in with the troops sometimes.”
Torent followed Jack up the ramp. “They say he saved most of Birch Company. They say he’s good.”
Jack pulled on his helmet and opened a channel to Torent. “We’ll see,” he said.
“You sure you can fly thi
s thing?” Torent asked, closing the landing craft ramp.
“You know how to fire that pulse rifle?” Jack walked to the cockpit.
“When I make commander, you will show me the proper amount of respect, Forge.” Torent stepped into his alcove and strapped himself in.
“Yes, boss,” Jack replied and then listened to the pilot for instructions on the final pre-flight checks.
4
The landing craft touched down on the asteroid and Jack was sorry that the short flight was over so soon. Torent called 6th squad to form up outside the craft. Jack unclipped his restraints and grabbed the pulse rifle from its holder next to his seat. He was down the ramp and formed up with his squad in moments, the disappointment that the flight was over replaced by excitement at the job ahead.
Torent was down on one knee and studying the horizon with his field scanner. Jack knelt next to him. A deep furrow had been gouged out of the asteroid surface where the Chitin Kraken had skidded across it, carving its way through ice and rock before reaching its final resting place.
Terry stood behind Jack and Torent. “Where’s this kravin ship, eh?”
“About two hundred meters that way.” Torent pointed along the deep furrow.
“Why didn’t you put us down next to the kravin thing, Jack?” Terry nudged Jack in the back with his knee.
Jack stood up and faced Terry. “What if there are Chit soldiers alive in that wreck? You want them to blast us out of the void before we land?”
“Think you are so smart, don’t you, Forge?”
“Stop your spat, you two.” Torent stood and pocketed his field scanner. “Jack, take Osho and Gas. Advance toward the Kraken on the right of this furrow. I’ll take Terry and Bubble and advance down the left. Noise and light discipline, Marines. Keep quiet and hidden. Go.”
Jack led the way. His suit’s enhanced data overlay showed him the position of Torent and his team. The position of the Chit craft was highlighted, although it was currently out of sight, its position having been identified by the orbiting Scorpio.
Jack Forge, Fleet Marine Boxed Set (Books 1 - 9) Page 18
