The Marine's Queen

by Susan Kelley

  The other women moved closer, Riba laying a hand on Callie’s shoulder. All of them surrounded Joe and Callie, crowding closer and closer, wrapping their arms around whomever was beside them. They stood in one big hug with Joe and Callie in the center.

  Helpless anger and endless grief burned Joe’s throat. The burning traveled through him until it centered behind his eyes. He blinked. The first tears he’d ever shed spilled over and rolled down his face.

  * * * *

  Joe pulled loose from Callie’s hug when Vin came outside. She held back, letting the marines have their time together. Joe took a quick swipe at his eyes, confirming the unbelievable. Her marine was crying.

  Grief bowed Vin’s proud, strong, shoulders, but his eyes remained dry. Worse than dry. Bleakness to rival the hellish white desert leached all color from his gray eyes.

  Callie couldn’t hear them speak, but Joe shook his head at Vin’s words. Vin gestured wildly with one hand. Joe stepped toward him in a manner that looked threatening.

  Vin glared at Joe, the only real defiance any of the men had ever shown their leader, but he saluted before stomping away. Joe called after him, but Vin kept going.

  Callie joined Joe, threading her fingers through his.

  He pulled her hand up to his chest but still watched Vin with narrowed eyes. “We better keep a watch on Hadrason.”

  “Do you think Vin will try to kill him? That would be murder.”

  “He wants him dead.” Joe shrugged and then looked at her. His own expression had reverted to his usual professional soldier look. “He has nothing to lose.”

  Callie could never forget the agony in Vin’s face as he watched Yalo die. Even through her own grief and horror, she’d thought Vin suffered more than a human could bear.

  “Do you want to take her body back?”

  Callie appreciated Joe’s sense of duty and responsibility. It helped to think of immediate problems. “No. She had no close family.”

  “Except Vin,” Joe added.

  “And the baby,” Webb said from the doorway behind them.

  “Baby?” Joe and Callie said at the same time.

  “Yalo confided her condition to me a few days ago.” Webb’s eyes filled. “She was so overjoyed.”

  “Did she tell Vin?” Guilt piled on Callie. Why had Yalo thrown herself in the way, knowing she endangered her unborn child?

  “I don’t know.” Webb shook and his head and trudged back inside his office.

  “Do you still think it would be murder if Vin killed Hadrason?” Joe didn’t wait for an answer. He strode after Vin.

  “Spirit Father, help us.” Callie wept. Her friend was dead in her place and now Vin or Joe might throw away their opportunity at a new life by seeking vengeance. She hurried after Joe, determined to kill Hadrason herself if she must to keep the marines from the crime. But the two men had disappeared into the trees.

  * * * *

  Joe caught up to Vin at the edge of the frothing river. The water kept the sound of his approach from Vin’s ears, but his second-in-command knew he came. He put his hand on Vin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  The inadequate words hung there, unaccepted and unwanted.

  “She carried my child,” Vin said after long moments of nothing but crashing water.

  “I know.”

  “She only told me yesterday.” Vin sank to the ground, his legs wobbling as if he had taken a mortal wound. “For a few hours, I was a father. A tiny life, a tiny part of me, lived.”

  Joe squatted on his heels beside Vin. He watched and waited.

  “Is there really this all powerful being, Unon, who sees and knows everything? Why must he be so cruel to us? A tiny bit of paradise dangled before me and then was snatched away. It would have been kinder to have never known Yalo, to have never loved her. To have never made a child.” Vin’s voice broke. He dropped his face into his hands. Shudders rippled across his shoulders, but when he lifted his head, his eyes remained dry. “I wish to die and haven’t the courage to throw myself in the river.”

  Joe’s helpless guilt clogged his throat. He’d always felt it when he lost a man, but now his dead were a woman and a child. Vin’s child.

  Vin stood up and edged forward so his toes lined up with the sharp drop-off to the river. “Do you think they bred that into us too? This will to survive and never give into death even if we want it to take us?”

  Joe resisted wrestling Vin back from the danger. “I think we honed that instinct ourselves. We’ve been through too much to die easily.”

  Vin stepped back and turned his bleak gaze to Joe. “I’m going to kill him, sir. If you want to stop me, do it now.”

  “Don’t do it, Vin. We have a chance to be cleared. It may not seem like it now, but you can find happiness again.”

  “Happiness?” Vin brushed by Joe, heading back toward camp. “I’d rather not experience that elusive, temporary emotion again. The pain of losing it isn’t worth it.”

  * * * *

  “The last few weeks were the happiest of her life. She died doing what she wanted in the arms of the man she loved. Our grief is for our loss. Wish for Yalo the comforting arms of the Spirit Father.” Callie threw a handful of applenut blossoms on the pyre.

  The other women did the same. The marines fisted their hearts, and the Giroux soldiers followed their lead.

  Vin walked forward and touched Yalo’s pale hand, his eyes as cold as the approaching night. Callie shivered when his soulless gaze passed over her. He took the torch Jak held and lit the coal beneath the pine branches.

  In moments, the fire blazed high around Yalo’s body. Callie didn’t wipe the tears that ran down her cheeks. The day cooled as the sun painted purple on the mountain tops. The fire burned low until only glowing embers remained. The other women drifted back to their homes, followed by the Giroux soldiers.

  Jak stood beside Callie, his silent comfort warming her. “Let’s go inside, your highness. You need to eat something and get off your feet. It’s been a tiring few days.”

  Callie nodded her agreement and started toward Joe.

  Jak stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Let him alone. They’ll stay with their comrade, your highness. Time for you to comfort your friends.”

  “You’re right, Jak.”

  The cold nipped at her cheeks and nose as they hurried toward the warmth. She wondered how the marines could stand the drop in temperature. She glanced back once more. They stood like monuments of wars gone by, unmoving and immovable in their loyalty and honor. Their low voices drifted toward her as they began to sing. Yalo would have been pleased to have them honor her so. The silhouette Callie knew to be Vin dropped his chin to his chest.

  Becker and two other Giroux soldiers waited by the door to the common building. They stared at the marines, their eyes wide with wonder and unbridled admiration.

  “Captain Sontu.” Callie wondered how much of the marines had already rubbed off on her soldiers. And they’d all liked and respected Yalo. “Double the guard on Hadrason.”

  “You expect a rescue attempt?”

  “No. An assassination.”

  * * * *

  They watched him. Joe assigned mixed teams of one of his men and two Giroux soldiers to keep an eye on Vin. They all wanted Hadrason dead, but the cost was too high.

  Joe took his turn alone. He wished he was with Callie, doubting she slept this night either. The last time he’d entered the common building, all the women sat at a long table talking quietly of Yalo while the children slept in their mothers’ arms. It hurt to look at the baby.

  This night should have been Joe’s chance to renew his physical bond with Callie. He ached to hold her instead of standing out in the cold dark. His thoughts froze as the door to Vin’s small house opened with the silence of a grain of sand rolling down the side of a dune.

  Vin sprinted to the temporary brig they’d made of a supply shed.

  Joe cursed. He’d expected stealth, not a flat out charge.

&
nbsp; Vin ripped the door from its hinges, exhibiting the uncommon strength all the marines possessed. Hadrason flew out through the battered door as Joe slid to stop.

  Vin pounced on top of Hadrason, raining bone crunching blows at the man’s ribs and face. Blood splattered in a wide circle as Joe tackled Vin.

  Hadrason screamed, but the two marines fought in grim silence. Joe’s peripheral senses told him most of the camp had arrived to witness the brawl. He forced all his concentration on defending himself against Vin.

  Vin broke away from Joe and glided into the offensive posture of the ancient hand to hand fighting techniques the marines used with expertise.

  Joe met him blow for blow, absorbing the rage and grief fueling Vin’s attack. Vin was good, his hands and feet moving faster than a normal person could follow or block. But Joe wasn’t a normal human.

  Joe let Vin take the offensive until rivulets of sweat ran off both their faces, then he struck back. Despite Vin’s skills and physical prowess, Joe was the leader for a reason. None of the Recon Marines had ever beat Joe in hand to hand combat, and Vin wouldn’t today.

  The small clearing heated with the rising of the sun. Vin blocked Joe’s first three jabs, but he couldn’t block the kick to his thigh. Vin stumbled, and Joe moved in to land a chest strike and an open palm slap to the ear. Vin went to his knees, and Joe finished him with a restrained fist to his temple.

  Joe straddled his second-in-command, sitting on Vin’s chest and putting his knees on the unconscious man’s arms. As he struggled to bring his breathing back to normal the sounds around him intruded.

  Hadrason whimpered from where lay curled up. The other marines formed a half circle around Joe, and the women watched from behind them. One of those warm emotions filled Callie’s eyes. Joe thought it was sorrow. “Could you give us some privacy, my queen?”

  “Sergeant Becker, take Hadrason to the doctor’s house,” Sontu ordered. “Four guards at all times. The rest of you, return to your duties.”

  Callie ushered the women and children back into the common building.

  The other marines edged in and knelt around Joe and Vin. Joe cautiously let Vin rise to a sitting position.

  “You should have let me kill him, sir.” Vin looked weary and bitter.

  “To satisfy your revenge?” Joe made his tone hard. “When have we ever killed for revenge? What honor is there in killing a beaten man?”

  “Honor!” Vin snarled. “What do I care of honor?”

  “Obviously you care nothing of your own. But what about us? Your cowardly attack reflects on all of us. We still have hopes for a life among these civilians. Did you consider us at all? Did you consider the men who fought at your side for years? Did you think of the men who bled defending your back? Did any thought of your brothers float to the surface of the ocean of self-pity you’re swimming in?”

  Vin blinked and then dropped his stare to the ground.

  Joe let the silence stretch. It was up to Vin now.

  “I’m ashamed,” Vin said. “I’ve dishonored myself and you. My actions were selfish and thoughtless. I’m sorry, sir.”

  Joe nodded. “Apology accepted. Now let’s get out of the dirt.”

  They all stood. Joe winced inwardly at the stiffness already spreading through his muscles. Vin had to feel worse.

  “Sir, I….” Vin glanced at the hilltop where Yalo’s ashes still smoldered. “Sir, I can’t stay here. I can’t….”

  “I understand, Vin.” Joe wondered if the losses would ever end. “That military ship will be here soon. Take whatever you need and go. Don’t tell us where you’re going, but I recommend even further away from the Galactic Alliance’s control.”

  The rest of the men stood silently around them. Joe looked at each in turn. “Any of the rest of you want to go? To stay is to risk life imprisonment.”

  They all shook their heads.

  “It’s best if I’m alone.” Vin looked again at the thread of smoke snaking into the blue sky. “I don’t want to be around anyone.”

  Joe found this farewell different than losing one of his men to battle. It hung as an incomplete goodbye with no belief that Vin moved toward a better place. Kam, Roz and Mak muttered words of little sense. They walked away to give Vin and Joe time alone for words only the two of them could share.

  What could one say to a man, a brother, who until a few weeks ago was the person closest to him? A strange lump grew in Joe’s throat and words failed him.

  “Sir … Joe,” Vin managed, his voice rough. He extended his hand.

  “I know, Vin.” Joe gripped Vin’s hand with both of his.

  Sontu ran from the control center. “Sentinel, the Galactic Warship has entered orbit. They’re bound to pick up the smoke on their sensors.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “How long until they get here?” Callie couldn’t shake the lethargy weighing her down. Yalo dead, Vin gone. All her fault.

  Joe sank down on the doctor’s bed. Webb had volunteered to sleep with the Giroux soldiers in the barracks. More guilt racked Callie as she remembered Joe hadn’t slept the previous night. She blinked back tears, not wanting Joe to see her crying.

  He didn’t look at her when he finally answered. “They’ll wait until morning. Sontu sent them a message saying everything was under control.” Joe pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his dusty boots. He stretched out on his back and closed his eyes.

  The results of his frightening fight with Vin colored his chest and ribs with red and purple bruises. He sighed, a long, deep sound. Grief? Exhaustion?

  Callie sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her hand lightly over his battered ribs. He opened his eyes to half-mast.

  “It’s my fault, Callie. I shouldn’t have let you and the other women in the room with Hadrason. Now we’ve lost Vin too.”

  “Oh, Joe, you’re wrong. I’m queen. I’m ultimately responsible. If I hadn’t harried off after you without better protection, none of this would have happened.”

  “Hadrason would have found a way to take you. Don’t try to assuage my guilt by saying it’s your fault. I let you down too. I’m the Sentinel.” Joe leaned up on one elbow, his powerful will radiating from his blue eyes.

  “How about if we share the guilt.” Callie reached for him and he welcomed her, pulling her down on top of him.

  She worried about his bruises, but he didn’t flinch or act in any way discomforted. She gave herself up to his kisses and eager hands. After they made love, Callie clung to him with hands desperate to memorize the feel of him. Neither slept except for short naps. Twice more they turned to each other and spoke with their bodies.

  When the first brightness of dawn touched the windows, Joe rose and began dressing. He stared at her for a moment after he finished. “Callie, I….?”

  She held her breath, waiting for his words of love.

  “Callie, don’t involve yourself in this. I’ll never forget you. Please do as I ask if you have any care for me. It will be easier for me if you’re not present at the hearings.” He turned and left, his back straight from habit and pride.

  Callie lay in the quickly cooling bed, alone with her love.

  * * * *

  Joe and Sontu greeted Edow and his small entourage of twelve well-armed soldiers.

  “I dispatched a unit to capture Hadrason’s ship,” Edow said as Joe led them down from the hilltop where they’d landed.

  “I doubt they’ll put up much resistance after more than two days and nights with minimal power for heat and cooling.” Joe spoke absently, his mind still turning around the expression on Callie’s face when he left her at daybreak. She’d wanted something from him. What hadn’t he given her? His loyalty, his blood, his very life had been hers since the day he’d climbed into her wrecked ship.

  “How did you build all this in such a short time?” Edow asked as they entered the central clearing and he saw all the cottages.

  “You’ll understand in a moment.” Joe led them toward th
e barracks. “Captain, could you have your men wait outside. This if for your eyes only.”

  Edow gave the order and followed Sontu into the building. He stumbled when he saw who stood before him.

  Joe closed the door and stood beside Edow. “These are the last of my men, Captain. Mak, Roz, Kam.”

  “I thought they were all dead except you.”

  “I apologize for letting you believe that, sir. They were needed here to guard the other women. Now that Captain Sontu and some of his soldiers are here, my men will surrender to you and go back to challenge the charges against us.”

  Edow shook his head. “You could have kept them hidden or let them escape before I arrived.”

  One of them had escaped. Joe sent a silent prayer to Unon for Vin. “We’re confident in our innocence, sir. We want to live as free men, not fugitives.”

  Edow snorted. “You amaze me, and you’re very strange. Where’s Queen Callie and Hadrason?”

  “Hadrason is in the supply shed, and the queen is packing,” Sontu answered.

  “I’d like to see the layout of your camp before I speak with the prisoner and the queen,” Edow said. “Where’s your command center?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. Unless you tell me a good reason why you need to see anything but us and your other prisoner, the rest of the facilities are off limits to you and your men.”

  “Come now, I’m not your enemy.”

  “The security of the queen is my primary concern. I know enough military law to know you have no jurisdiction to search this camp.”

  Edow gave a stiff nod. “I was only curious. Let’s get underway then.”

  Sergeant Becker appeared in the doorway. “Sentinel, the crew of the mining ship has surrendered to the military.”

  Edow spun back toward Joe. “How do you know that? My own men haven’t contacted me yet.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. You don’t need to know our methods.”

  “Hell’s fire,” Edow swore, and then he grinned. “I can’t believe my superiors didn’t try to hold onto you guys.”