by Daniel Gibbs
Doris stiffened again and brought her arm up, which was when David saw her hand was gone as well. It was all he could do not to break down in tears; the sight of a young woman, no more than twenty years of age, already missing three limbs, deeply affected him.
“Thank you, sir.”
David inclined his head and began to turn away, a tear already forming in his eye when her voice stopped him.
“Sir, it's okay.”
Forcing himself to turn back around, the tear falling down his face, David answered her, “How so, Private?”
“I’ll be back on my feet in a week with prosthetics, and Doctor Bhatt’s already told me I'd be able to receive grafted limbs, flash-cloned for me in a year. I’ll be back in the fight and useful inside of four weeks, sir. My only regret is that I won’t be there for you when we go after Seville again.”
David stood there, stunned. How can she be so upbeat, after losing three-quarters of her limbs… what do I have to complain about? Pull it together, David. “You focus on getting better, Private. I’ll focus on Admiral Seville,” he said, summoning a smile.
“I will, sir. I’ll be better soon,” she continued. “This cause is worth fighting for, no matter what the cost is.”
“Yes, it is, Private. Thank you for reminding me of that fact.”
Tural interrupted them. “And Private Hunter needs to get ready for her physical therapy session today. If you’d follow me, General?”
“Of course, Doctor. Private, an honor to meet you. Carry on.”
“Godspeed, sir,” Doris said as a goodbye.
“Godspeed, Private.”
As Tural led him away, David whispered, “What’s her prognosis, Doctor?”
“Excellent, sir. It’ll take some time, but she’ll be fine. Just think, there was a time when we couldn’t do anything except fit a prosthetic and hope the person would learn to adjust.”
“I suppose that’s a good point, Doctor. Medical science has salved some of our wounds. But not all.”
“No,” Tural admitted. “Some patients are too far gone when they get here. I think that’s the hardest part about trauma surgery. I have to make the call as to who can be saved, and who we should allow to pass on so others get help.”
David glanced over Tural as they walked. “I don’t think I’d want that responsibility, Doctor.”
“How is it different from commanding the ship in battle? Different sides of the same coin.”
“I don’t want to be deciding exactly who lives and who dies. That’s God’s job, not mine.”
Tural laughed. “Allah, who works through my hands, decides who lives and dies. I am only his instrument, and I try to do as much good as I can.”
David nodded. “I think that applies to most of us, Doctor.”
“Shall we go to the next patient? He’s on a ventilator, but his girlfriend serves on one of the ships in the fleet. She’s been spending a lot of time at his bedside, and I think it would mean a lot to her.”
“Lead the way.”
Calvin’s office was deep in the bowels of the ship—Marine country—and like the other senior officers onboard the Lion, he had his own space. Ostensibly to support the administrative component of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, the office space was a concession by CDF ship designers. Alone in the office, he sat back in his chair, the lights dimmed, lost in thought. The door chime rang, which he ignored. It buzzed again and again. Finally, he barked, “Come in! You better have a damn good reason for disturbing me too!”
The hatch swung open, and in walked David. “The general wants to talk to you… that good enough?”
“I guess,” Calvin replied.
“Come on, not even a trademark Demood wisecrack? I set it up for you,” David said while shaking his head. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Yeah… I mean, no. Have a seat, sir.”
“What’s eating you, Cal?”
“You got to ask?”
“Pretty sure it’s the same thing eating me.”
“I’m tired of my Marines dying. I’m really tired of it. We couldn’t even get to the damn fight before a third of ‘em got wiped off the face of the universe. I’ve been doing this for decades. I’m sick of it. Do you know my wife wants to have kids? I keep putting her off,” Calvin said before his voice trailed off.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want them to grow up and join the Marines just like their daddy and then I get to bury them too!”
David was silent for a moment, a rueful look on his face. “Cal, I get it.”
“The hell you do, sir.”
“Why do you think I’m not married?” David asked, not waiting for an answer before he continued. “Because I don’t want to put someone through what my mom and I went through after my dad was killed.”
“There’s something different about engaging the enemy on the ground, directly in front you. There’s also something different about seeing those around you die in your arms, their lifeblood spilling onto you and while there’s nothing you can do to save them.”
“I’m not here to debate whose job sucks more, Cal.”
“Then why are you here, sir?” Calvin grated out.
“Because I can tell when a friend is hurting, and I want to help.”
You can’t do a damn thing for me. “That’s nice, I guess. Can you bring my Marines back?”
“No, I can’t. But I can do everything in my power to make sure we win the next engagement, and part of that is making sure my MEU commander is in the game.”
“I’ll do my job, sir,” Calvin said as anger rose in him. Who the hell does this little pissant think he’s talking to? I was killing Leaguers when he was still in grade school.
“I know you’ll do your job, Cal,” David replied, leaning forward. “I’m here to help my friend.”
“Thanks.”
There was a pregnant pause in the conversation before Calvin decided to pick it back up. “I read over the op we’re running with the reporter. Pretty ballsy.”
“Yeah, if she’ll agree to it.”
“If she doesn’t, put a gun to her head.”
“Please tell me you’re joking, Cal.”
“Halfway,” Calvin replied with a smirk. “She seems to like you. Going to convince her?”
“I’m going to do my best. If she won’t, we’ll figure something else out, but I think she will.”
“You promise me we’re going to put the hurt on Seville and his butchers, David,” Calvin said, staring at David intently. “No matter what it takes, we destroy his fleet, capture the station, kill the admiral, and drink some of that Saurian ale crap over his body.”
“We’re going to do it without giving in to dark impulses.”
“He gets in my sights, I’m putting him down like a rabid dog.”
David sat mute for several seconds, apparently not sure what to say. “Don’t get lost in the hate, Cal. Remember, what makes us the good guys is we’re not like them.”
“Yeah, that sounds good and all… but right now, I want to erase as many Leaguers as I can and hope to hell it makes me feel better.”
David stood up. “I’m going to go talk to Angie. Get your team together and prepare. I want to see you up in the CIC before we launch the attack to review strategy.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
“Godspeed, Cal,” David said as he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Calvin to continue to stew in the dark recesses of his mind.
22
Angie was working on a report for GNN. While cut off from the rest of the galaxy, she was doing the editing and cutting of the footage herself to pass the time. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the bell rang on her hatch. Not expecting any company, she settled herself and called out, “Come in!”
The hatch swung out, and David strode through it. He was frowning, something outside of his regular style. “Hello, Angie.”
“Hello, General,” Angie replied. “What brings you down to my little cubby hole?”<
br />
“I was wondering if we could chat for a minute.”
“It’s your ship, so I’m kind of obligated to, aren’t I?” Angie said, with some level of condescension in her voice.
“Have I ever treated you like that?”
“Not directly. Though I suspect beneath your velvet glove lies an iron fist.”
David frowned and glanced to the side. “I’ve tried to create a professional relationship with you built on respect.”
“You don’t come down here unless you want something, General. What is it?”
“To start with, I’ve got some good news. We’re lifting EMCON, so you can make a report back to Canaan.”
“There’s a but coming here. I can feel it a kilometer away,” Angie replied.
David again averted his eyes. “Yes. We need you to deliver a particular message in your broadcast.”
“Which is?”
“That the fleet is battered, many of our capital ships are damaged beyond repair, and intensive efforts are underway to save the disabled ships and their crews.”
“That’s a lie,” Angie blurted out.
“It’s not a lie. It’s deceiving the enemy.”
I can’t believe it, after all this time, he wants to use me like this? “That’s crap and you know it, General,” Angie said as her eyes flashed anger.
“I wouldn’t ask if we had any other options.”
“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain it to me?”
David shook his head. “You know it's classified.”
“If you want my help, you’re going to explain it to me.”
“I could compel you to assist me, under the War Powers Act,” David replied, but his tone indicated his heart wasn’t in the statement.
“I won’t dignify that with a response,” Angie said, her jaw set as she folded her arms in front of her.
“I’m sorry,” David began, gesturing to one of the chairs in the small office. “May I sit?” At her nod of acceptance, he sat down and faced her, making eye contact. “We believe there’s a faction within the League’s government that wants to send out its fleet to look for us. If they do, it gives us a window of opportunity to attack Unity Station. It’s a narrow one, and we’d have to act very quickly. This is the only play we have; Seville has gotten too many reinforcements for our existing fleet to win without losses so high we’d be unable to keep fighting.”
Angie leaned forward. “A pyrrhic victory?”
“Exactly. You’ve been hanging around us for too long… picking up the lingo.”
Angie snorted. “You’re not off the hook, General. You still haven’t explained what you think my report can do.”
“We’re guessing, but the intel guys think the League’s Social and Public Safety Committee wants a quick win. Seville, whatever else he is, knows his strategy. He wants us to come to him. If we release a news report, especially from a source that is decidedly straight down the middle without pro-CDF ties… it’ll be taken as valid by the League’s intelligence analysts. It could be the final straw in them sending out the hounds, as it were.”
“You’re telling me that going against everything I believe in, lying to the viewers, and breaking the code I live by, is the only way we’re going to win?”
David looked away for a moment, but Angie was gratified that he returned his gaze to her and again made eye contact. “Boiled down, that’s exactly what I’m saying. While we’re on the subject, I’m breaking the law and going against what I believe too.”
“Way to put a girl on the spot, General.”
“I don’t ask this lightly. We lost nearly fifteen thousand people two days ago.”
“Fourteen thousand, eight hundred sixty-two, to be exact.”
“Too many. We can’t leave here without their sacrifice counting for something.”
“But what about the moral cost? What if the lie comes out?”
“I can’t think about tomorrow. I’m focused on today. If it comes out down the road, so be it. We’ll clean up the mess then.”
Angie shook her head. “David, I’ve been on this beat for long enough to know the Mister Goody Two Shoes routine of yours isn’t just an act. Why are you doing this?”
David glanced down at his feet. “Because I have to. The League must be defeated. Whatever it takes.”
“And if I say no? Would you force me to at the point of a gun?”
Fire shone in David’s eyes. “That’s a line I won’t cross. If you say no, we’ll figure out something else. Or more likely, we’ll have to pack it up and head for home. At the rate Seville is gaining new ships, he’ll be able to overwhelm us in six months. This is a one and done opportunity.”
“So if I don’t go along, I’ll single-handedly cost us the war?”
“No. You’ll cost us a chance for a major victory and set the war back. Even if you agree, we still have to win. That’s far from a foregone conclusion.”
“Do you realize the choice you're forcing me to make? I either stay true what I know I should do and cause unimaginable consequences, or I sacrifice my beliefs and ideals.”
“Angie, I don’t envy your position. All I can say is I know what I’m asking. I ask nothing of you I haven’t already had to do myself.”
“And if it goes south? Who takes the blame, your officers?”
“Of course not. I would. I already entered objections from my senior staff into the ship’s log. They’re covered if we fail. I’ll do the same for you.”
“If I agree, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“We’ve got a plan to make the broadcast look as if it’s under duress. Marines armed with battle rifles and stun rounds will interrupt your report and make it look good for the camera.”
“Pure propaganda, in other words.”
“Yes.”
To his credit, he’s being honest with me. At least I think he is. “I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I can’t live with myself if all the people who died fighting yesterday did so in vain. Especially if I can help. Someday, though, David, this is going to come back to haunt us.”
“I’ve run up a large bill with God. I fear the day He calls it in.”
Angie closed her eyes. “When do you need me?”
“Now.”
“Then let’s go before I change my mind,” Angie said with a false sense of bravado. Conflicted inside, she knew to help the military pull off what would be the most significant victory of the war was something she had to do. At the same time, turning her back on the truth was incredibly difficult. I’ve made a career out of being an honest broker and holding influential people to account. That goes out the window with this move. Isn’t lying against the Ten Commandments? Why am I even asking myself that… wow, I’ve changed.
David stood and held the hatch open. “Ladies first.”
“I can handle opening the door, General,” Angie replied, still not willing to let go of the earlier comments.
“Never said you couldn’t. My mother raised a gentleman and holding a door open is a mark of respect.”
Angie walked out of the room without another word, trying to focus her mind on the task at hand and her wildly conflicted emotions, not the least of which was the level of respect and admiration she had for David. In the months she’d been on the ship, she had grown to like how he did things. How he treated his crew and those around him was refreshing. Conflating it with his behavior just now was a difficult task.
After confirming via the communications logs that David was in his day cabin, Taylor made his way up to deck one and knocked on the already open hatch.
David glanced up from his desk and waved him in. “Come on in, Lieutenant.”
Taylor came to attention before David’s desk. “Sir, permission to speak freely?”
“Of course. Have a seat.”
Taylor sat down and stared straight ahead, almost past David. His heart was pounding in his chest. “Sir, I’d like to request permission to
join Colonel Demood’s assault force.”
David raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I’m not inclined to grant your request, Lieutenant. You’re a vital part of my bridge team, going above and beyond the call of duty you signed up for and have executed to the highest ability the position of my flag staff leader. I plan to note in your official record that you performed in the most exemplary of manner these last few days.”
Taylor swallowed hard. “Sir, with respect, the hard work here is done. My relief from the second or third shift can handle the comms duties during the battle.”
“How about this, son… tell me why you want to go.”
Hearing David address him as “son” almost brought a smile to his lips. He was only ten years older. “Sir, I’m a communications guy… I’ve avoided combat my entire career. My wife was a Marine. She died in combat, on an op.”
“So you think by volunteering you can somehow make up for that?”
“Not make up for it, sir, but maybe… even the scales. I’ve always taken the safe road. I need to stand up, I need to be counted. I shot expert in basic. I know how to fight; ask Colonel Demood. He and I spar regularly, and I give as good as I get.”
“The fact remains, you’re the single best communication, computer, and encryption asset I have on this vessel. Sending you into harm's way, from the perspective of what is best for the ship and the fleet, would be foolhardy at best.”
“Well, sir, I’d be an even better asset supporting the Marines directly, helping them hack the systems of Unity Station. Maybe I could even gain access to its weapons arrays or shielding. Help swing the battle toward us from within that station.”
Taylor could see David was considering his proposal by the way his brow had furrowed and the look of contemplation he wore. “That’s somewhat compelling, Lieutenant. There’s something I have to say to you, and this is more of a personal matter. Have you ever taken a life?”
Taylor shook his head. “No, sir.”
“You will on this mission. I don’t care where you are or what you’re doing. At some point on this mission, you’ll kill another human being. That’s something that sticks with you for the rest of your life. There’s no putting it behind you. You make peace with it, but it stays with you. Are you prepared?”
