by Sam Schall
“Now, Ash, before we get started, let’s get a couple of things out of the way.” Okafor leaned back and smiled. Gone was the imposing commandant. Now she was the concerned senior officer, not quite a friend but someone who understood what Ashlyn was feeling.
“All right.”
“You and I are going to talk, just talk, for a few minutes. Then we’ll be joined by some other folks who need to hear what you can tell us about Tarsus and about what happened on your last mission.”
“Ma’am.” She swallowed hard and then licked her lips. Didn’t any of them understand that she couldn’t say anything until her people were freed?
“Ashlyn.” Okafor waited until she blew out a breath and nodded for her to proceed. “Nothing you say will leave this office. I promise you. Nor will anyone present say anything until I give them the okay to do so. But, if that’s not enough to convince you, think about this. Every one of the four who will be joining us worked tirelessly to prove your innocence and to bring you home. You and the others have a number of champions. Some gave up their commissions. Others were beached and others, like myself and Major Santiago, managed to work behind the scenes while staying on active duty.
“We have built very solid cases against some of those involved in bringing you and the others up on charges. However, we need to know what you can tell us to help put the final nails in their proverbial coffins. It isn’t enough that we’ve managed to clean house under the new Administration. We need to bring those responsible to justice, a justice they denied you and those who served with you.
“But it is more than that.” Now the general got to her feet. Worried, Ashlyn watched as Okafor moved across the office. She stopped at the window and looked outside. Even with her back to her, Ashlyn could see the anger and worry in her former CO’s posture. “I won’t get into all of it right now. It can wait until everyone is here. But know that this is necessary, not only to protect you and your people but everyone you were each willing to lay your lives down for.” She turned back and there could be no mistaking just how serious she was.
“As long as you understand that, right now, my loyalty has to lie with those who were sent to that hellhole with me, ma’am.”
Okafor nodded and returned to her seat. “Since they are at the center of everything right now, let’s get this out of the way.” She leaned forward and reached for a leather folder resting on her desktop. Without opening it, she placed it in her lap and folded her hands on top of it. “I’ve spoken with Dr. Ahern and it’s my understanding that he’s agreed to release you to limited – in his words, very limited – duty.”
Ashlyn nodded. As she did, her heart beat a bit faster and she hoped her nerves didn’t show.
“And I assume you still wish to return to Tarsus with the Marines we’re sending to bring your people home.”
Another nod because she didn’t trust her herself to be able to speak just then.
“Then be prepared to report to the Magellan day after tomorrow as part of the Marine contingent assigned to secure our people on Tarsus and transport them back home. Hopefully, it will be a quick turn-around. However, while there, the records for the prison are to be secured and examined by members of the JAG who will be accompanying you on the mission. The senior JAG will make the determination of whether or not any members of the prison staff should be returned here to face charges, military or civilian.
“And that brings us to part of why you need to tell us what you can about Tarsus. If there are any you know who should be brought back, help us start building the case now. That will let the JAG issue sealed warrants to take with them.”
Ashlyn sat back in her chair, not sure whether to be relieved or not. She couldn’t deny that she’d had her doubts since Tremayne first raised the possibility of her people being pardoned. After all that had happened, it was easy to believe her people were being used to get her to agree to help fight the Callusians. After all, she’d seen them used as pawns against her before. She’d have fought harder to prove her innocence if they hadn’t been involved – and if the JAGs prosecuting her hadn’t threatened to try for the death penalty against her people if she didn’t basically let them convict her. Now she was being asked to trust the same system that had done its best to betray and then forget about her and her people.
But it was more than that. After the attack on the capital, she’d tried to believe that FleetCom would keep its promise to return to Tarsus for the others. But part of her had known how easy it would have been to use the attack as a reason not to send a ship. Her people could have been written off as acceptable losses. Hell, that’s what the previous administration had done. But now, hearing how the Magellan would be heading out in two short days – and that she’d be on it – she could almost allow herself to finally accept everything her parents, Tremayne, Pawlak and even Talbot had been telling her.
But the presence of the JAG officers bothered her. She couldn’t deny it. The JAG rarely sent officers into space. Ships’ commanders could hold disciplinary boards or could confine anyone under their command until the accused could be returned to a spaceport to stand trial. That not just one but several JAGs would be accompanying them on this mission was worrisome.
“Ash, look at me.”
Until Okafor spoke, Ashlyn hadn’t realized she’d turned away from the woman. Now she turned back, not trying to hide her thoughts from the woman she’d once served under. Next to her mother and Tremayne, there were few in the Corps she trusted as much as she did Okafor.
“I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now. I’ve been a POW. I’ve had to live through that hell. But I’ve never been betrayed by my own like you and the others were. You have to believe that those responsible will pay for what they did. You have my word on it, not only as Commandant of the Corps but as your friend. I promise the only reason the JAGs are going on the mission is so all the legal ins and outs are followed.”
“Ma’am, I do trust you. I just don’t have a hell of a lot of trust for the system right now.”
And that was putting it mildly.
“And I don’t blame you. That system betrayed you. Now let it work to get a bit of vengeance for you and the others.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She’d at least try to do what the general said.
“There are a couple more things before the others join us,” Okafor continued. “We have all been making assumptions where you’re concerned and I apologize in advance for that.”
“Ma’am?”
“We’ve assumed you’d want to stay in the Corps and that you’d want to return to the Devil Dogs. I even had your orders drawn up to that effect. But it dawned on me that no one had ever actually asked you what you wanted.”
For a moment, all Ashlyn could do was look at the general in disbelief. She’d been so afraid they wouldn’t let her return to duty. Now Okafor was telling her that they’d assumed all along that she’d not only want to remain in the Corps but would want to return to the Devil Dogs. The way it sounded, they’d even cut her orders to that effect. Now Okafor wanted to know if they’d been wrong.
“General, I’m a Marine. One of my biggest fears since being returned to the capital and having Senator Tremayne ask me if I’d be willing to accept a pardon and return to duty was that it was all a trick. Three things kept me going while I was on Tarsus. The first was the knowledge that as long as I lived, the guards focused most of their sadism on me and not on my people. The second was the need to survive so I could see my family, especially my son, again. The third was the determination to do nothing to bring shame on the Corps or the Devil Dogs, no matter what the court martial results had said.
“When the attack on the capital happened, I knew I had to do whatever was necessary to keep the senator alive. I think the only thing that kept me going was instinct, at least at first. It would have been easy to slip away during the confusion to either hide or go after those responsible for sending me and my people to Tarsus. I’ll even admit I considered the latt
er on more than one occasion. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. The system and the Corps didn’t betray us. The people who manipulated them did.”
And maybe one day she’d really believe all that.
“So, the answer to your question is to ask another question. If I stay in the Corps, will I have some time after returning from Tarsus to spend with my family? My son has suffered enough as it is. I can’t leave him for long, not so soon.”
“Ash, I’ll be honest. We need you. We need you on the front lines again, leading our people just as you did before that last mission. But, that said, the doctors are adamant that you have the time you need to receive treatment and fully recover from what happened to you. You also will need to be brought back up to speed, not only on the current state of affairs but on your training. So, unless something else unexpected happens, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be on-planet for at least a couple of months.”
“One more question, if I may.”
“Of course.”
“Ma’am, no one who has ever been a Devil Dog wants to move on to another unit. You know that.”
Okafor nodded, a smile touching her lips. She’d been a Devil Dog earlier in her career. So she understood what it meant to be chosen to join the First Marine Division.
“But I will not return to the division unless I know for sure that Major Pawlak and the rest of the Dogs want me.”
Shaking her head, a smile touching her lips, Okafor got to her feet. Wondering what she was up to, Ashlyn watched as the general moved to the door to the outer office. Once there, Okafor paused and turned back, motioning for Ash to join her. Knowing better than to keep a senior officer, much less the Commandant of the Corps, waiting, Ashlyn climbed to her feet and hurried in her direction.
Okafor opened the door and stepped through, Ashlyn on her heels. Without a word, the general moved through the outer office. She ignored her aide asking if she needed anything. Instead, she left her suite of offices and walked purposefully down the long corridor. When she paused before a set of double doors, Ashlyn looked past her and swallowed hard. She didn’t know what waited behind the doors and wasn’t sure she wanted to.
Without knocking, Okafor opened the doors and stepped inside. The moment she did, a man’s voice snapped out the order for everyone to come to attention. Ashlyn followed the general, her eyes going wide. The conference room was filled with more than a dozen men and women, all of them Devil Dogs.
“General Okafor, were we right?” Major Pawlak asked once she’d put the group at their ease.
“We were.” Now she grinned at Ashlyn and motioned her forward. “I’ll paraphrase but basically she said she wouldn’t rejoin the Devil Dogs unless she knew each and every one of them agreed to it.”
Pawlak looked past the general to where Ashlyn stood. “Is that correct, Captain?” he asked, his expression as neutral as she’d ever seen.
Damn, she wished she knew what he was thinking. Unfortunately, he’d always had the best poker face in the outfit.
When in doubt, fall back on protocol.
“Yes, sir.”
“So, Major, can you think of any way to convince her that her return to the Devil Dogs is exactly what the outfit wants?” Now there was no mistaking the humor in the general’s voice.
“I believe so, ma’am.”
A broad grin replaced his perfect poker face. Then he turned and signaled to someone. Almost instantly, six men and women stepped forward. Each face was more than familiar. Ashlyn had served with each of them, had hit the battlefield with them, mourned their losses and celebrated their victories. Non-coms and officers, they had helped shape her into the officer she’d been until her court martial.
“Captain,” Gunny Talbot began. He marched forward and stopped. His right hand snapped up in a perfect parade ground salute that he held until she returned it. “We represent each squad, platoon, company, battalion and regiment of the division. It is our pleasure to inform you that the Devil Dogs not only want you back but we demand it, assuming you wish to return. You are one of us. You are one of the best of us. No way do we want to lose you to another division or, worse, to civilian life.”
“Captain, I’m here on behalf of First Regiment,” a dark haired woman continued as she stepped forward.
Like most of those present, she wore BDUs and combat boots. Her hair, so dark it was almost black, was pulled back into a braid. Her green eyes danced with excitement. Seeing her, Ashlyn’s throat tightened and her eyes burned with unshed tears. Damn, Pawlak and the general weren’t pulling any punches.
“Your boots have been impossible to fill,” the woman continued. “I swear if you don’t say yes right now, I’ll have the Gunny hit you over the head and we’ll hold you in the barracks until you come to your senses.”
“Ah hell, Luce, you probably would.” She laughed and shook her head. Then she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of those who had been waiting for her. These men and women had been some of her closest comrades. They’d been family in a way most would never understand. Now, it would seem, they wanted her back.
“I most certainly would. You’d be wise to remember that,” Captain Lucinda Ortega said simply. “Better yet, remember what I used to do to you back in the Academy when you tried to do something foolish.”
“Me? You’re the one who kept getting in trouble and trying to pull me into it with you.” She grinned, remembering their days together as roommates. Then she sobered some and turned her attention to Okafor. “General, you sandbagged me. That’s not nice to do to someone who is still trying to figure out which end is up.” She grinned to take any sting there might have been out of her words.
“I figured it was the best way to get you to really believe that not only the Corps but the Devil Dogs want you back, Captain.”
“And, in case you still have your doubts, Ash, I know one thing that ought to convince you.” Pawlak signaled to someone else.
At the sight of the small, bald man who stepped forward, Ashlyn laughed gaily. Pawlak was right. Reinhold Gerhardt, a former Devil Dog himself, was the tattooist who had inked every member of the DDs for years. Could he actually be there to redo her inking?
“Mr. Gerhardt, her doctor has cleared her for you to work your wonders on,” As she spoke, Okafor patted Ashlyn’s shoulder and then urged her forward. “Major, I’ll need you and Ash back in my office in an hour.”
“Not gonna be long enough, General,” Gerhardt said. “I’ll be needing at least two hours.”
“Come on, old man. I know your tricks. You can have it done in an hour and a half. That’s how long you have. Otherwise, you’ll have to finish later.”
“Always were a pushy thing,” he muttered before turning his attention to Ashlyn. “Off with that top, girl, if you’re wanting me to get to work.”
Laughing, feeling as if at least some of her fears had finally been removed, Ashlyn complied. After handing her uniform blouse to Talbot, she took the seat Gerhardt indicated.
“I assume this means you’ll be accepting your new assignment, Captain?” Okafor asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She looked around at the familiar faces, all watching her with expressions of approval and welcome. Now she could believe she was truly home. The only thing missing were those still left behind on Tarsus. But that would be corrected soon. She had to remember that.
“Good.” Okafor gave a satisfied nod. “I’ll finalize your orders then. Major, Captain, I’ll see you in my office in an hour and a half. In the meantime, someone get the captain a beer and show her just how glad we all are to have her home.” With that, Okafor pivoted on her heel and left the room.
“You heard the general, Gunny. Get the captain a beer and let’s get this party started,” Pawlak said. “But this is just a taste, Ash. The real party will be when we return from Tarsus with the rest of our people.”
And that was the best thing she’d heard in a long time.
Chapter Nine
“You�
��re sure?”
Even as he asked, he felt the color drain from his face. He had to have heard wrong. Or the information was wrong. Or he was having a nightmare, a very bad nightmare. That had to be it. That was the only thing that made sense.
“Do you think I’d be here if I was mistaken?” Major Thomas O’Brien demanded before tossing back his whiskey. “You may be retired and out of the loop, Admiral, but I was escorting a bunch of brats through the security complex when the attack hit. I saw her.” He shook his head, as if by doing so he could erase the memory. “Damn it, I saw her. She was with Tremayne and Talbot and she most definitely wasn’t being treated like a prisoner. If anything, she acted like she’d returned to duty. She was armed, for God’s sake.”
Alec Sorkowski forced himself not to react. He couldn’t let his former Marine CO see how much of a shock his news was. Unfortunately, O’Brien was right about one thing. He was out of the loop. Like so many, he’d been given two choices after the last election. He could retire and accept limited benefits and pay or he could face a full investigation into his command and the probable loss of his commission. Because he didn’t dare risk an investigation, he’d accepted the chance to retire. Since then, he’d become persona non grata. Oh, whenever he was forced to deal with anyone on active duty, they treated him with the respect his rank deserved, but that didn’t fool him. He knew they laughed at him. At least they did it behind his back instead of to his face. Damn them all.
And damn Shaw. It was all her fault. She’d been a thorn in his side from the moment she stepped foot onto his flagship two and a half years ago. She hadn’t fooled him one bit with her false respect and smug attitude. He’d been able to ignore her, thinking her O’Brien’s problem, until she began questioning their every order. She never let anything go, no matter how mine.
The fiasco of that last mission had been her fault. Everything had been so carefully set up. It had taken time and more than a little money had passed hands to make sure everything was the way he wanted in the sector. Then she’d come onboard and had started asking questions. Worse, she’d insisted on following their orders from FleetCom to the letter, no matter what he or O’Brien said.
