by P. A. Piatt
They signed off, and Fortis passed the information about Kilfoy on to Warrant Officer Pell before he turned his attention back to the computer.
After his discussion with Hawkins the previous night, Fortis had ascended to his customary perch on the roof of the command mech. He achieved a sense of calm in the quiet darkness overlooking the camp, and it cleared his mind and allowed him time to think.
It was then that he decided he would send a detailed report of everything that had happened over the first week of their deployment.
First week? It feels like a year.
Fortis sensed that events were spinning out of control, that maybe he had overlooked some vital bits of information.
He hadn’t debriefed Hawkins and his team about their mission and what they had discovered at the colony. The actions of the GRC were troubling, to put it mildly, but he had no solid evidence that they had deployed the test tubes for the purpose of capturing the team as they carried Kilfoy through the jungle.
Kilfoy.
The news of her injuries had been like a kick in the stomach, and he was relieved to hear that she would recover.
In the darkness, Fortis admitted to himself that what he needed most of all was guidance from his chain of command. He was trained as an infantry platoon leader, with the goal of someday commanding a company of Space Marines. None of his training had showed him how to deal with crimes against humanity committed by a major galactic corporation.
He addressed the report to the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sobieski. It was a gross breach of military protocol leapfrogging his company commander, Captain Reese, but Fortis wanted more than a sarcastic one-liner in response to his report.
Fortis started slow, but he soon warmed to the task. Before long, everything around him faded away as he lost himself in the story of his first full week as an officer in the International Space Marine Corps.
* * *
“It’s time we discuss our plan for dealing with the Space Marines. Are you and the other mercenaries up to the task?” Beck’s voice was thick with sarcasm.
Paden Nesbitt considered the GRC executive seated at the table across from him and fantasized about jerking him out of his seat by the collar. He’d worked with Dexter Beck long enough to be immune to his taunts, but Beck had recently grown waspish and pointed with his criticism.
Nesbitt was aware the Precision Crafted Soldier project hadn’t progressed as fast as the GRC wanted it to. The GRC scientists had over-promised what they could deliver, and no amount of training would be able overcome the shortcomings of the test tubes. The next generation of test tubes were already under development, so the short-term focus for the project had shifted to grooming the current generation to become prison guards for the mining colony.
“I’m sure a thousand test tubes can handle a half-strength Marine company,” he replied. The corner of Beck’s mouth twitched at “test tubes,” but he said nothing. “The real questions is, is it necessary?”
“Necessary? They recovered an escaped miner.”
“Did they? The last report I saw said the individual was unidentified.”
Beck rolled his eyes and sighed. “They tried to penetrate the colony, Nesbitt. They killed a sentry and eluded your trackers. Or have you forgotten already?”
“I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t think our first reaction should be to wipe out half a company of Marines. What do they know? What could they know? They can’t even identify the guy.”
“Are you afraid, Nesbitt? I can request a replacement for you if you don’t have the stomach for this.”
Nesbitt shot to his feet. “Fuck you, Beck. This isn’t about stomach, it’s about being smart. You don’t think the Space Marines will get curious when more of their guys end up dead here?” He started to pace and punch his palm with the other fist. “They can’t send any more reports, so the Fleet won’t get any advance notice. In six days, they’ll leave and take their mystery man with them.”
“When he gets to the Fleet, he can make a lot of trouble for us.”
“Come on, Beck, think about it. They’re scheduled to leave in six days. There’s a burp forecasted eight days from now. The ISMC will not leave an entire division in orbit until they think the atmosphere is clear enough to investigate the claims of a man they can’t even identify.”
Beck looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure I agree.”
“Look, by the time this story percolates up the chain of command, they’ll be on their way to wherever they’re going next. The GRC board of directors will get a strongly worded letter which they will vehemently deny, and that will be the end of it. But if the ISMC loses another company of Space Marines out here, it might be enough to bring the division down to the surface. Do you want that?”
Beck crossed his arms and shook his head. “Of course not.”
“All right, then. I’m not saying we shouldn’t prepare. I’m saying we shouldn’t rush into something without thinking it through.”
Beck appeared unconvinced, but he nodded slowly. “We’ll try it your way for now, Nesbitt, but you and your men need to be ready to act if it becomes necessary.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty
Fortis fought off a yawn and took another sip of industrial strength coffee. Warrant Officer Pell twisted around and smiled at him.
“It’s been a busy week, LT.”
Fortis had stayed up past midnight working on his report and had gotten up early to go over it again. Then he’d asked Pell to read it.
“You sure you want to send it to Colonel Sobieski? You might make Captain Reese angry.”
“Based on Captain Reese’s responses to my reports, he doesn’t seem too concerned with what we’re doing. I need solid guidance, and if that means he gets mad, then he can get mad.”
“You’ll wait until Hawkins gets back to send this, right?”
“Yeah. I want to include his patrol report, too. I’m thinking it was a mistake to send them over there.”
“Are you talking about Kilfoy?”
Fortis nodded.
“Sir, Kilfoy knew the risks when she became a Space Marine. From what I’ve heard, it was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. Besides—” Pell chuckled, “—she’s already been immortalized in a song. No matter what happens, her legacy will live on.”
“What do you mean?”
“The guys have composed a song about her. They call it ‘The One-Legged Lady of Pada-Pada.’”
Fortis threw back his head and laughed. “‘The One-Legged Lady of Pada-Pada?’ I have to hear this.”
“You will. They’re still working on it, but I think they’ll have it done soon.”
Suddenly, Fortis groaned and buried his face in his hands.
“LT, what’s wrong?”
“Her legacy. Leg-acy.”
Warrant Pell slugged him on the shoulder.
* * *
Hawkins entered the troop compartment-cum-operating theater and found Kramer slumped in the corner, sound asleep. On the deck in the middle of the floor, he saw they had laid Kilfoy out on a makeshift hospital bed. She turned her head when he entered and he saw her eyes were open.
“Hey, Kilfoy.” Hawkins kneeled down and took her hand in his, careful not to dislodge the IVs. “Good morning.”
“Hi, Gunny.” She managed a croak and then gave a painful swallow. “Water.”
Hawkins shot a look at Kramer and then saw a hydration pack next to Kilfoy. “Just a little, okay?”
Kilfoy nodded and sucked greedily on the straw until Hawkins pulled it away. She let out a contented sigh.
“Thanks, Gunny. I thought I would die of thirst before Sleepy-Head woke up.”
Hawkins smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like someone beat me all over with a log.”
“How about your leg?”
“What leg?”
Hawkins winced and nodded. “Doc said he thinks you’ll make a full recovery.”
>
Kilfoy squeezed his hand, and tears ran down her temples. “With one minor exception,” she said between ragged breaths.
“I’m sorry, I’m making things worse. My bedside manner isn’t worth a damn.”
Kilfoy chuckled. They held hands and sat quietly for several minutes. Hawkins thought Kilfoy had fallen asleep.
“Thanks for saving my life, Gunny.”
She squeezed his hand with surprising strength, and Hawkins felt hot tears well up in his own eyes.
“Just another day in the Corps,” he said.
“Where every day’s a holiday,” she replied.
“DINLI,” they said together.
* * *
“Command, this is Hawkins.”
“Go ahead, Gunny.”
“We are loaded up for the hike back to base. I don’t have an ETA for you.”
“Roger that. You want to talk to the lieutenant?”
“Negative. Just pass the word to him. Hawkins out.”
* * *
All the Space Marines in the camp stopped what they were doing and applauded as Hawkins led the patrol through the minefield belt and into the base. Weinberg joined Kramer and the stretcher bearers as they carried Kilfoy to the command mech, where Weinberg had set up a medical ward in the troop compartment. Fortis smiled as they passed him, and it heartened him to see Kilfoy give a thumbs up before they took her inside.
Hawkins, Lily, and Winaki stopped in front of the lieutenant.
“Welcome home, Gunny. Well done.”
Hawkins nodded wearily. “Let me get cleaned up, and I’ll come and see you.”
* * *
Beck watched the video two more times before he picked up his handset and buzzed Nesbitt.
“How many men did your trackers follow in the jungle?”
“Brinks said they had three distinct sets of footprints. Maybe four. Why?”
“I just watched a video from one of our cameras that showed a patrol of at least ten Space Marines returning to their camp from the north. They were carrying a stretcher.”
“Ten Marines with a stretcher? I’m sure Brinks would have noticed that many troops. That doesn’t sound like the guys he chased.”
“Huh. Makes me wonder what else they’re up to.”
“They’ll probably shoot more grenades into the jungle and rile up the bugs.”
“We can only hope.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Fortis and the trio of Marines met up on top of the command mech. Warrant Officer Pell and Corporal Ystremski joined them.
Hawkins recounted the patrol while Fortis took notes.
“The insertion was easy. We followed the pre-planned route and laid up as planned. Kilfoy launched the drone to reconnoiter the colony and discovered a large force of test tubes were there, estimated at four hundred. That’s when I called you. Then we entered the colony.”
Fortis looked up from his notepad and nodded. “Continue, please.”
“Me and Lily dodged the sentries and made it into the colony undetected. The door opens into a long passageway cut through the stone, with doors on both sides at various places. There were no signs, and the only door we tried led to a restroom.
“We heard some screaming further down the passageway and investigated. We intercepted an old man and dragged him into the restroom, but he couldn’t give us any useful information.”
Lily chortled. “He was a madman, sir. Too long underground.”
“We continued down the passageway, with Lily in the lead. He saw one of the GRC mercenaries heading our way and that’s when we aborted the mission. When we got outside, I ran into a sentry and had to kill him to escape. We hid the body under some leaves and hauled ass out of there.”
“How did they detect your presence?”
Hawkins scratched his chin. “My guess is that they held a muster, discovered they were missing a test tube, and went looking for him. We didn’t bury him, but it surprised me they got onto us so quick. Anyway, we linked up with Kilfoy and Winaki and started back. That’s about the time I made my second report.
“The jungle floor was dry, and we made good time. Lily pushed the pace to put some distance between us and that body. I called a rest stop and sent Kilfoy onto a little hillock to keep an eye out. It wasn’t a hillock, though. It was the domed roof of a bug hole, and that’s when she fell through.”
Fortis frowned and shook his head. “Bad luck.”
“I’ll say,” said Winaki.
Hawkins continued, “We patched her up, lashed together a litter, and played hide-and-seek with a team of mercenary trackers and a platoon of test tubes until dark. Kilfoy got up and walked for a while, but the shock and infection were too much. She was going to die if she didn’t get real medical treatment. That’s when I sent Lily here, and we headed for the mechs at Mine Shaft Number Two.”
“That’s an incredible story.”
“Yeah. It was a rough couple of days; I wish we’d gotten something useful from the colony.” He looked Fortis in the eye. “I think we should go back, sir.”
“Hmm. Let’s hold off on that idea for right now. The priority is to get you men fed and rested and get Kilfoy taken care of.” Fortis stood up. “While you’re eating, I’ll get all this added to the report I’m sending to Battalion, and then I’d appreciate it if you’d read it over before I send it.”
“Sobieski?”
Fortis nodded. “I’m telling them everything. They need to know what’s going on, and I’m not taking any chances that the information won’t get up the chain.”
“DINLI.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-One
Fortis poked his head into the troop compartment to check on Kilfoy and found Kramer standing over her with a frown on his face.
“Hey, Doc, how’s—”
Kramer cut him off with a raised hand and put his finger to his lips. He gestured to the door and followed Fortis out of the space.
“Sorry, Doc.”
“No problem, sir. She’s having some trouble sleeping through the pain, and I finally got her to go out. What’s up?”
“I stopped by to see how Kilfoy’s doing.”
Kramer started for the hatch leading outside. “Let’s take a walk, sir. I could use some fresh air.”
Outside, the Marines were busy with the endless task of holding the jungle back by slashing and burning, while others finished the last of Ystremski’s improvements.
“What’s on your mind, Doc?”
“It’s Kilfoy. Her infection is back and I can’t get it under control.”
“I thought you cut it all out?”
“That’s what I thought, too. I cut three inches above Hawkins’ tourniquet and I cleaned the hell out of the margins. Doc Weinberg irrigated the entire site for fifteen minutes with concentrated antimicrobial wash, and I used every topical and intravenous antibiotic I have. She seemed okay when we got back here, but thirty minutes ago the infection came back strong.”
As the corpsman spoke, Fortis heard the frustration and desperation in his voice.
“What else can we do?”
“I don’t know.” Kramer rubbed his face with his hands. “I think it’s bacterial, but without a lab to study samples, I can only guess. I could cut again, remove more flesh, but that’s a hell of a risk. She’s weak and her body hasn’t fully recovered from the first operation. More cutting has got to be a last resort.”
“Extraction is still a week away. Is there any way to buy more time?”
“With the equipment and supplies I have? Maybe.” Kramer shook his head. “Probably not.”
The two men walked in silence for a short distance.
“LT, do you think the GRC might help her? Maybe they have some useful information about infections, or a proper infirmary. They’ve been on Pada-Pada a long time. Did you notice if they had any medical personnel?”
Fortis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We can try, but I doubt if the GRC will help u
s. They weren’t very welcoming before, and now? Doubtful.”
Kramer grabbed Fortis by the sleeve.
“We have to try, sir. Kilfoy’s life depends on it.”
* * *
Gunny Hawkins leaned back in his seat and laced his fingers together behind his head. Warrant Pell, seated next to him, studied him carefully.
“If he sends that all hell will break loose,” he said.
Pell pursed her lips and nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”
“You have doubts?”
Pell leaned forward and put her hands on the armrests of her seat. “What is it about this report that’s incendiary? We found a guy wandering the jungle who calls himself Marcus Lily. We can’t identify him, but after seeing him in action, we’re convinced he was a Space Marine. He made some accusations against the GRC, but as a deserter, his credibility isn’t worth spit, and we haven’t been able to substantiate any of them. Besides, who the hell are we to investigate? We’re not Space Marshals, we’re Space Marines. We don’t do law enforcement; we kill bugs.”
“Everything you say is true.”
“The most damaging thing about this report is that Fortis is sending it to Battalion and not to Captain Reese.”
Hawkins chuckled. “The CO will shit himself when he sees that.”
“He’ll probably shit on us. We’re supposed to help young officers avoid mistakes, remember?”
They sat in silence for a second.
“Everything in there is true, so I’m going to recommend he send it.” Hawkins stood up. “Whether he sends it or not, I want to get back to that damn colony and find out what’s happening there.”
* * *
A loud buzzing shattered Nesbitt’s sleep and he blinked in confusion. The digital display next to his bunk told him he’d only been asleep for two hours. The communicator on the table beside him screamed for attention. He fumbled with it and found the Answer button.
