Traitor's Duty

by Richard Tongue

   “This act of aggression….” the figure began, but Logan cut him off.

   “We can talk about ancient history all you want, but you and your crew don’t have the time. I want to get medical teams over to you right now, and some engineers from our tender to try and patch you up enough to limp for orbit.”

   “I will not surrender.” He turned, then said, “Hale, prepare for ramming speed.”

   “I don’t want your surrender, I just want a cease-fire! This whole damn battle shouldn’t have happened in the first place. We leave things as they are and let the diplomats sort out the details later.”

   “I have to defend this system…”

   “All you’ll be is component atoms if you carry on with this.”

   Another man stepped in behind him as the Cabal commander said, “I repeat, if…”

   The screen went blank for a moment, and when it cleared again, a different figure – with far less ornamentation on his uniform, was present. “We’re willing to stand down, Captain. Send your medical and rescue teams. I have disabled our defensive/offensive systems, and am willing to trust your intentions.”

   “What happened just?”

   “My predecessor has been taken ill.”

   “I see,” Logan said. “Our support teams are on the way. No Espatiers, though if you do something stupid…”

   “You don’t need to threaten me, Captain. I am aware that our situation is dire, and that we don’t have any options remaining to us except to hope for mercy.” Pausing, he added, “Our dead will be avenged, though. Have no doubt about that.”

   Ryder, moving over to his side, said, “Mutiny?”

   “Looks like it,” he replied, “Don’t get ideas. I just hope he’s wrong about the vengeance.” Resting back in the command chair, he continued, “Now we’ve got to try and put all the pieces back together. What a god-damned mess.”

  Chapter 8

   Marshall looked at the approaching ship as it grew closer on the shuttle’s viewscreen, his eyes drinking in every detail of the hull as they closed for docking. Caine, at the pilot’s seat, attempted to concentrate on her flying, but kept glancing across at him, a smile on her face. He knew that he’d missed Alamo, but until this moment, he hadn’t quite realized how much she meant to him. Now he was seconds away from boarding her once again, and he struggled to collect himself.

   “Now on final approach,” Caine said. “I think we can let the computers handle the post-flight, can’t we? I don’t want to miss this either.”

   “Fine, fine,” he said, as the shuttle coasted in towards the docking bay, hooking itself into the elevator airlock as it began its ride inside the ship, a hissing noise growing as the pressure rose on the far side. He tugged at his uniform and walked into the rear section, standing in front of the airlock. Cunningham had already unstrapped himself from his couch, and clapped him on the back.

   “Relax, Danny,” he said.

   “Easy to say.”

   A green light winked on, and the hatch slid open, the ramp coming down. He looked around the hangar bay, a couple of dozen people standing at attention, all of whom he recognized. Quinn with his wife, Tabitha Dixon, standing next to him in front of the flight crews and technicians, Ryder over on the far side with all but the on-duty bridge watch, Logan at the head of the group wearing a suspiciously-new dress uniform, Weitzman, Spinelli, Ivanov from the deck crew, Chief Washington, all of them had turned out to meet him. He took three steps down from the shuttle, and took a deep breath.

   “It’s good to be back.” He looked at Logan, and asked, “Permission to come aboard?”

   “As if you needed to ask,” Logan replied with a smile. He pulled a datapad out of his pocket and passed it across, continuing, “I took good care of her, and with the help of the Popovich I’ve even filled up the gas tank. Really, though, she isn’t mine.”

   “Logan, I’m happy to keep things as they are.”

   “I’m not. Take it.”

   “Go on, Danny,” Caine said, moving down from the cockpit airlock. “It’s a gift.”

   “In that case, as of this time, this date, I am hereby assuming command of this vessel. Have the duty officer record this in the log. Captain Winter, I relieve you, sir.”

   “I stand relieved,” Logan said, his smile growing. “And never have I been happier to see anyone in my life, Captain.”

   “Condition report?”

   Quinn stepped forward, and said, “No damage from the battle, sir, and I had a chance to do a quick overhaul at Carter Station. She’s ready for anything, and supplied for an extended cruise.”

   “Crew status?”

   “With the exception of three on the bridge and two in engineering, you’re looking at them,” Logan replied. “We’d better have a quiet talk as to why, but we’ve only got a crew compliment of twenty-nine, including our three fighter pilots.”

   “All volunteers,” Dixon said. “Every single one. And the only reason there aren’t more people here is that Logan didn’t ask anyone with families to come along.”

   “What about our guest?”

   “Ensign Cooper dropped him off ten minutes ago. Apparently he didn’t put up any sort of a fight, and I’m not really surprised about that. The game was up and he knew it.”

   Shaking his head, Cunningham said, “I still don’t understand what could have got into Frank’s head to make him do something like that. Treason, desertion, mutiny…”

   “I can explain it,” Logan said. “We’d better speak privately, then I’ll have him brought in.”

   Nodding, Marshall turned back to the waiting crowd, “Words can’t describe how it felt to see all of you again, to see this ship appear in the system, and how proud I am of each and every one of you. We’ve got a hell of a long road left in front of us, but with a little luck we’ll all get to the other side in one piece. Let’s get to work.”

   Logan waved Marshall into the deck officer’s cabin, sitting down behind the desk with a sigh. Cunningham, Caine and Ryder stepped in with them, crowding the confined office, a resigned look on Ryder’s face.

   “Problem, Lieutenant?” Marshall asked, then after seeing her rank insignia, continued, “I’m sorry, Senior Lieutenant.”

   “Logan promoted me when we got back to Sol. Quinn as well. You aren’t going to like the rest of it.”

   “Danny,” Logan said, struggling to find the words, “You were sent here illegally.”

   “I know,” he replied. “We found out a few weeks ago, but by then were committed to battle. Not much we could do about it. How far have things gone back home?”

   “The President is in the process of being impeached, and the Vice-President is using it to hold up the peace treaty in the hopes of starting a war with the Cabal. Enough Fleet officers are involved that I can’t trust anyone not in this room, and Intelligence is sitting this one out.”

   “A coup?” Caine said, almost yelling. “There’s a god-damned coup going on back home?”

   “Oh, it’s a very constitutional one. They’ve got the President on charges of corruption, dead to rights, but they’re abusing the situation for their own ends. People have already died, Deadeye,” Logan said, shaking his head. “We had to leave Maggie Orlova and Kristin Harper behind. Last I heard, they were on the run. Chambers as well, my Political Officer.”

   “Who is on our side?”

   Shrugging, Logan replied, “My guess is that we’re up against the Progressive senior figures, a few people with the Vice-President, and some key Fleet officers. I really don’t think that there are that many of them, maybe no more than a hundred, but they’ve managed to tangle themselves up in the power structure. The problem is that they’ve managed to wrestle control of the agenda.”

   “So go public!” Cunningham said.

   “No,” Marshall replied. “For the same reason that we didn’t tell the whole fleet about our littl
e discovery. If this got out, it could bring the whole government down, and then we’d get our war – with one hand tied behind our backs. We can’t let this get out.”

   “Which means we’re fighting them off with one hand tied behind our backs,” Caine said.

   “Not now we’re here,” Logan said. “We’ve got a task force behind us.”

   “What task force?” Cunningham replied. “Have you seen the damage reports? We had to abandon Griffon, and neither Wyvern nor Dragon are going to be in condition to do anything for months. You did about two weeks’ damage to Thermopylae yourself, and Gilgamesh got pasted as well. None of that would have mattered that much if we only had to win a straight victory – we’ve got plenty of resources here to put everything back together again. If it comes to a battle, though, it’s just Alamo.”

   “All this way…” Ryder said.

   “We can certainly spare crew, though, especially from the scouts. Once we’re done here, John, I want you to go through the fleet for volunteers. Anyone who doesn’t mind throwing their career onto the scrapheap. No details,” Marshall said. “And no sales technique. I don’t want anyone pushed into something they’ll regret.

   “I think we can pick up a few,” Cunningham said. “Enough to give us a reasonable chance, if nothing else. Spares and components as well, get Alamo ready for action.”

   “Fighters and Espatiers too,” Ryder suggested.

   “Only the flight Alamo has already, and Cooper's platoon,” Marshall said. “We went to a lot of trouble to take this station, and I don’t want to just hand it back to the enemy without a fight. We’re going to be leaving this system stripped bare enough as it is.”

   “Sir,” Ryder asked, “May I ask who is going to relieve me?”

   “Relieve you of what?” Marshall replied.

   “My position, sir. There are several officers who outrank me for the position of Alamo’s Exec.”

   “Hmm. Logan, is she doing a good job?”

   “We wouldn’t have got here without her,” the agent replied with a smile. “And I certainly don’t want the damn job.”

   “Ryder, at least for the present, I need you where you are. Deadeye, you can take Tactical, and I presume you’re happy to revert to Supercargo, Logan?”

   “Always a pleasure to have next to nothing to do,” he replied. “I’ve thrown everything into a very highly classified report for you to go through on our trip home, though I’d have something strong around to wash it down with. Bad taste.” He paused, then said, “Theoretically, we’re operating under a Presidential order, but he didn’t have any authority to issue it. Which means everyone on this ship will be up on all sorts of charges when we get home.”

   “Understood.”

   “What do you want me to do, Danny?” Cunningham asked.

   “Logan, could you go and get the prisoner for me? Deadeye, Ryder, you’d better get up to the bridge and start pulling together some status reports, and see where we can integrate some crewmen.”

   “Right,” Caine said, and the three of them left the room, leaving Cunningham and Marshall alone.

   “This is going to be one of those unpleasant orders, isn’t it.”

   “You’ve got to stay behind,” Marshall said. “And this is not subject to argument.”

   “Danny…,” he began.

   “I mean it, John. For two reasons. The first is that I need someone good to take command here. You’ll need to push the repairs as fast as you can, try and get at least one of the battlecruisers ready for action, preferably both. If war breaks out this is the front line, and there just isn’t anyone I trust.”

   “Gorski…”

   “Is perfectly competent, but I don’t know him well enough to trust him with something like this, not when there is a better choice. The only other possibility would be Brownworth, and she’s Espatier. Good but not for this – it’ll be a fleet battle if there is one.”

   “What’s the second reason?”

   “Almost everyone who knows the truth is going to be shipping out on Alamo. I want to keep this as tight as possible. You’ll be the only one left behind, and if it all goes wrong when we go back to Mars, I need someone as a backup. I can’t give you any orders, but do what you need to do to make things right.”

   “That’s a hell of a hot seat to leave me in.”

   “Trust me, this one’s worse.”

   “What are you going to do?”

   “That depends very much on my conversation with Frank.”

   The door opened, and Cooper was standing outside with Logan, Frank Rogers in front of them both with a resigned look on his face. He walked into the office and looked around.

   “Quite an audience, Danny.”

   “You will address me as ‘sir’, Mr. Rogers.”

   “Is this a preparation for a court-martial?”

   “I’ve got enough officers of the right rank to call one right here and now. I suspect that the end result would see you in front of a firing squad. Give me a reason why not?”

   “Publicity?”

   “The Captain told you to call him ‘sir’,” Cooper said, a scowl on his face.

   “Get in here,” Marshall said. “John, Logan, you stay. Cooper, make sure we are not disturbed, and if I call, get inside instantly.”

   “With backup. Yes, sir,” the Espatier said, stepping back to allow the door to slide shut.

   “Quite an attack dog you have there,” Rogers said.

   “Look, Captain,” Logan began, “You’re part of this little conspiracy, and while Captain Marshall might have a conscience about such things, I don’t. You are talking for your life, quite literally.”

   “You’re bluffing.”

   “It won’t take a firing squad. An airlock accident. And don’t pretend that your side hasn’t organized a few, because I’ve already seen the evidence. The charge is treason, and we’ve got you well and truly caught.”

   “Thermopylae…”

   “Had no significant damage,” Cunningham said. “Look, think of this another way. Convince us that what you were doing was right.”

   Shaking his head, he said, “This was meant to be a one-way mission. It was meant to fail. Either in the assault, or during the fleet battle. Preferably the first.”

   “Cooper was right,” Marshall said. “The Espatiers…”

   “Dregs of the training program. Expendable.” He looked up at Logan, and said, “All of them volunteered, Captain. And when they signed up, they knew that it might require them to sacrifice their lives.”

   “Not throw them away!” Logan yelled. “And who the hell decides what this greater good is, anyway?”

   “You’ve been to the Cabal,” Rogers said, turning to Marshall. “You know what sort of bastards they are, and that they have to be stopped. After the next election, there will be the majority in the Senate to call for a war, and we can’t have the lame-ducks sign us up to a peace treaty.”

   “That’s not how the system works, damn it! The Senate are the representatives of the people, and their job is to decide whether to ratify a treaty or not.”

   “The President has committed…”

   “Does that have anything to do with the treaty? In any way? Is he accused of treason, perhaps? Spying for the Cabal, or taking money to influence his decision.”

   “No.”

   “Then why not sign the treaty?” Sighing, Marshall said, “I have been out there, and unlike you, I’ve fought them for most of a year. We could easily lose this war, and then what? We’re subjugated under the Cabal, and everything we have fought for his lost.”

   “Not that it will matter if you toss it all into the dustbin,” Logan added. “The Senate could vote to bypass the impeachment and vote on the treaty, but there are just enough people opposing that to prevent the two-thirds majority. In the meantime, you come out here to fight a war of aggression, an
d with the greatest irony yet, collaborate with the Cabal to start it.”

   “What?” Cunningham asked.

   Nodding, Marshall said, “It’s the only way that this make sense. Someone leaked our plans, and that they would be pulling out of the battle line at the last minute.”

   “We’ve already found the data trail in Thermopylae’s systems. Everything is being copied and deleted; there’ll be no trace of it for anyone else to find unless we want them too.” Turning to Rogers, he said, “That is treason.”

   “My orders were to leave this system with news of the defeat. If the Cabal commander needed some encouragement to push a battle, I was happy to provide it. Once news that they had knocked out a fleet on a mission of peace had circulated, the majority for war would have been absolute.”

   Marshall looked across at Logan and asked, “All of this is documented?”

   “A nice smoking gun for us.”

   “Who else was in on this?” Marshall asked.

   “I won’t…”

   “One thing I can leak is that a Triplanetary officer has committed an act of treason. No-one needs to know where the dots connect,” Marshall snapped. “Co-operate and I’ll see that you are charged instead with cowardice in the face of the enemy. That’s a prison term. Or maybe I’ll just tell the Espatiers that you considered them as expendable rejects and let them take you on a tour of the asteroid.”

   “I didn’t want it to go this way, Danny.” He sighed, then said, “I’m operating under Presidential orders, all the way. Though talking to the enemy was my idea; I was improvising. Fleet Captain Hayes was in charge of this operation. Admiral Pierce didn’t know.”

   “Tramiel?”

   “He was the one who passed the orders to me.”

   Leaning forward, Marshall asked, “Will you testify?”

   “I was doing my duty as I saw it. I was willing to die in the line of that duty, and I’m willing to die now, for the good of the Confederation.”

   Nodding, Marshall said, “Get him out of here.”

   The door opened, and Cooper escorted him out of the room. Silence descended after he left, Cunningham sitting down on the edge of the desk.