by G J Ogden
“Wake up, Major,” Maria hit back. “Kurren doesn’t want justice; he wants to finish off the rest of GPS. They’re just loose ends to him.”
Then Maria took a pace forward, but she was still several meters away, so Page allowed it. He wanted to hear what she had to say.
“And you don’t really believe I abducted his family, do you?” Maria went on. “Are you really that stupid? He only cares about rescuing himself from embarrassment. He’ll parade them as another symbol of his victory. Or he will his sons, anyway; I doubt he’ll let his wife live. She’s just a traitor now, like the rest of us, and the ‘defectors’ as you call them. They won’t face justice; they’ll face execution!”
“I… don’t believe that,” Page answered, but the image of the pile of bodies out on the outcropping flashed back in front of his eyes, making him stammer the words.
Maria took another pace forward, but this time it was more purposeful and menacing. Page clicked back the hammer on his sidearm and thrust the barrel towards Maria with equal purpose. Maria halted, but she was close enough that Page could see the fire in her eyes.
“And what about you, Major?” she said with increasing venom. “How does killing innocent people sit with your sense of duty? Does it make you feel proud? Or are you just another of Kurren’s devoted cronies, who was in on the plan from the start?”
Page resented the accusation, but again he let Maria speak. Curiously, though, she now sounded more despondent than angry, as if she realized trying to reach him was hopeless.
“You’re not even going to admit it, are you?” she continued, after it was clear Page hadn’t risen to the bait. “You’re just a coward, like your foul General. A coward, hiding behind a pretense of honor.”
Page’s heart rate had steadied and the fogginess in his mind was also clearing. Maria’s sentiments matched Aster’s and both had recited them with equal passion. What’s more, Page could think of no reason why either would choose to lie, knowing it would not change their situation. But he needed to be sure; he needed to know why Maria Salus, one of the UEC’s brightest and best, would turn against everything she had been taught and trained to believe. The same things that he had been taught and trained to believe.
“He won the war,” said Page, coolly. “Five years ago, you were ready to do exactly the same. I read your file Commander Salus, and I studied the Planetsider mission, so I know your pivotal role in the operation to destroy GPS back then. So, tell me, what makes him any different to you, or me?”
Maria stepped forward again so that she could now see Page’s eyes more clearly in the dim light of the cave.
“Steady now, Commander,” Page warned, threatening her again with the weapon like it was the tip of a spear.
Near the mouth of the tunnel, Ethan rubbed the back of his head and pushed himself groggily up into a seated position. He looked for Maria, but could not see her. Disorientated, he stood up, steadying himself against the wall of the tunnel. He called out, but his voice was weak and uncertain.
“Ethan, stay where you are,” Maria shouted, calmly.
Ethan heard her voice, but not the words. He began staggering towards where he thought the sound came from, towards the gently sloping incline that led down into the darkness where Maria and Page had locked horns.
Page’s eyes flicked past Maria’s shoulder and he saw the ranger approaching.
“You leave him of this,” said Maria, jabbing a fist towards Page. “This is between us – GPS and UEC. The planetsiders are nothing to do with it.”
“You changed that when you came here,” said Page. “You made them Kurren’s enemies too.”
“Kurren’s enemies are your enemies, lapdog,” Maria taunted, though she was curious as to why the soldier had phrased it that way.
Ethan staggered closer and saw the armored soldier pointing a weapon at Maria’s chest. His muscles tensed and locked up and his heart began to beat harder in his chest.
“Stay where you are, planetsider,” Page called out to him, his voice level but also forceful. “Commander Salus and I are just having a little talk.”
“Do as he says, Ethan. Just rest up for a moment, okay?” said Maria, reinforcing Page’s instructions, with equal coolness.
Ethan realized that the only person who was panicking was him. His head throbbed and his legs still felt unsteady so he chose to do as Maria instructed, and patiently observe, at least for now. He hobbled back a few paces and rested against the cold stone wall of the cave, eyes moving from one to the other.
“You’re right,” said Maria, returning to Page’s question. “I was ready and willing to destroy GPS, and to win the war. I was ready to do my duty, just like you, because I believed it was the only way. It was either us or them; same as it had been for generations. Right or wrong never came into it, because there was simply no other way to survive. Either we killed them or they killed us. That’s what we were taught, right?”
Page said nothing, but was listening intently.
“But, do you know what, Major Page? The truth is that there was another way, a way that would have given us hope for the future.” Maria glanced over at Ethan, who was still watching anxiously, and then looked back into Page’s eyes. “I know how you feel right now; I felt the same. I was so focused on doing my duty and the mission that I didn’t care who it hurt.” She opened a hand and extended it towards Ethan. “I deceived him into helping me. I even manipulated him into loving me, just so that we could use him as a tool to help kill thousands. He helped me to see I was wrong, and so did Diana.”
Ethan’s eyes fell. He knew it was true, but it was still hard to hear Maria admit it so openly.
“Despite all this, and despite what I did to him, Ethan still had hope that things could be different!” Maria continued, almost not believing it herself. “And so did Diana Neviah. She could have used the warship to destroy the UEC, but she didn’t. She’d had enough of fighting. Eventually, even the pig-headed relic Thomas Archer understood.” Maria laughed, remembering Kurren’s broadcast that claimed Maria and Diana had twisted Archer’s mind. “If you really think that anyone could manipulate that obstinate oaf into believing anything then you’re more of a fool than your beloved new master.”
Page again felt a twinge of anger and shame as Maria taunted him about being Kurren’s pet.
“But Kurren’s ego and small-mindedness put an end to it all. He killed Archer, he destroyed GPS, he’s even killed his own people, and now he’s here to kill me, and the rest of the survivors. Your General is nothing but a murderer, Major Page. So tell me, what does that make you?”
Page kept the weapon aimed at Maria, and glanced again at Ethan, who was still propped up against the cavern wall. The planetsider was looking back at him with an intense curiosity, as if he was an exhibit in a museum. Page had heard of the planetsider called Ethan, of course, even before he’d read the classified mission briefing. It was hard to keep such a huge event a secret, at least amongst the officers, and especially when one of the officers involved was General Kurren’s brother, Commander Christopher Kurren; a man not known for his subtlety. Page also knew of Maria Salus, not least because she was an exceptional pilot and the youngest cadet to ever gain a commissioned rank, but the Planetsider mission was famous precisely because of Maria’s unique accomplishment as the only pilot since the refinery incident to fly to the planet’s surface and return again. Page respected Maria, just as he had respected her partner, Chris Kurren. But she had defected and she was charged with treason. He knew it was his duty to bring her in, but the fragments of doubt that had been floating around his subconscious since his very first meeting with the General had crystallized over the last few hours to become solid and clear. He realized now that he was on the wrong side of this fight – he was the enemy. But to go against his orders and his training he needed Maria to give him more; he needed her to prove what he felt instinctively to be true.
“I’m just looking to do the right thing, Commander,” Page sa
id, steadily.
The reply surprised Maria, and she felt some of her anger towards Page ebb; enough to allow him to continue.
“But, many believe what Kurren and Kuba have told them,” Page went on, “that you are a traitor, that you conspired with the enemy and turned Governor Archer against his own people,” Page swallowed hard before adding the next part, but he wanted to confront her with everything, “that you even seduced him.”
Page could see the skin on Maria’s face burning with rage at this last accusation, but still she bit her tongue.
“If I let you go, you’re asking me to disobey a direct order from my General. You’re asking me to become a traitor myself.” Page then lowered his weapon so that the barrel now pointed at the rock in front of Maria’s feet. “I need you to make me believe it’s the right thing to do.”
Maria looked into his eyes and in the dim light of the tunnel they looked black; but unlike the eyes of the maddened his shone back at her with life and hope, as well as anticipation and expectation. “I think you already know it’s the right thing to do, Major,” she said, recognizing the conflict inside Page; conflict she once had to confront too. “But it doesn’t matter what you or I think, it only matters what you do.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” asked Page.
“You don’t,” Maria replied, without hesitation, “but this isn’t about me, Major, it’s about you. You have to make a choice. All I will say is that I once had to make the same choice.”
“Do you regret it?” said Page. “Your choice, I mean.”
Maria’s head fell forward. “I regret what it has cost. But do I regret choosing this path? No.”
Maria looked up and again met Page’s eyes, which flickered and twitched in the darkness as the choices and consequences of his decision raged inside his brain like an electrical storm. Then Page lowered his weapon, engaged the safety and returned it to its holster. He closed the remaining distance between them and his face caught the light.
“I already regret my part in this,” he said, solemnly. “But despite my doubts, I did nothing. And now people are dead.”
“You’re doing something now,” said Maria. “You can’t undo what you’ve done. Believe me, I wish that were possible, but none of us can. All you can do is change what comes next.”
“I want nothing more to do with Kurren’s war, Commander Salus,” Page said, straightening as if to attention. “If you will accept my help then I’m with you.” Then he looked again at Ethan. “I will stand with you both.”
Maria acknowledged the response with a respectful nod of her head. Enough had been said already. “Come on, help me with Ethan.”
“It’s okay,” said Ethan with an enormous sense of relief that the standoff had ended peaceably, “I’m fine.” But he only managed to take one step toward them before dizziness forced him to pause, and drop to one knee to prevent himself from falling flat on his face. “Or perhaps just give me another few minutes,” he said, attempting a smile.
Page stepped closer and offered his hand. Ethan looked up at him with a mixture of suspicion and interest – the blue armor was certainly distinctive, and also quite intimidating. Ethan took the soldier’s armored hand, and was hoisted to his feet. “Thanks.”
“I’m sorry about hitting you,” said Page. “I have some meds that will help with the pain.”
Ethan rubbed the back of his head, and then the side of his neck, thinking about the last injection. “No thanks, I’ve had my fill of funny colored capsules for now.”
“What about the others?” asked Maria, remembering the reason they had entered the tunnel in the first place. “There was a small squad positioned on the rocks outside.”
“They ambushed my unit shortly after I arrived. I was caught in a grenade explosion and got separated,” said Page. The image of the bodies came back into his thoughts, and he looked down. “I don’t know how many you had out there, but when I got back to the plateau, they were gone. Some were killed. I didn’t count how many.”
“Some, but not all?” asked Maria.
“It’s possible a number were taken prisoner,” said Page. “Any that surrendered will have been transported back to the space port where we landed.”
“For what reason?” asked Ethan, feeling a sudden chill. Page looked at him and the expression on his face said it all.
“No time to worry about that now,” said Maria. “Let’s get back inside and figure out our next move.”
“Wait, there’s more…” said Page. He wanted to look away, but forced himself to maintain eye contact with Maria. “There was a UEC officer, a Lieutenant Aster.”
Maria felt her stomach flutter; Page had said, ‘was’.
“I followed him; it’s how I found this place,” Page went on. “But he saw me and…” Page hesitated.
“And you killed him?” said Ethan, finishing the sentence.
“I tried to reason with him, but he kept coming!” said Page, talking rapidly, guilt-ridden, but also fearful for how Maria and Ethan would react. “He shot me, but my armor saved me. But he wouldn’t stop! He ran at me and fell from the plateau. I tried to stop him… I’m… I’m so sorry!”
Maria held up her hands, trying to calm the soldier down, “Okay, Major, what’s done is done.”
Page looked away. “It’s not okay. It’s blood on my hands.”
There was silence for a time and then Ethan spoke. “You didn’t have to tell us. You could have just let us assume he was killed or captured in the assault. That you chose to do so shows how you’re different to Kurren.”
“I don’t feel different,” said Page, clawing back some of his former composure. “I feel angry. Ashamed.”
“Let’s just focus on what happens next,” said Maria, suddenly feeling a need to move away from this subject. She knew exactly how Page was feeling, because she still felt the same way. Sometimes circumstances would distract her from it, and it was almost like forgetting, but like anesthetic, the numbness would eventually wear off. Looking at Page was like looking in the mirror, except his pain was still raw while Maria’s had sunk into her bones. “But I appreciate you telling me, all the same.”
Page met Maria’s eyes for a moment, nodded, and then looked away into the gloom of the cave. He breathed deeply and exhaled slowly.
“So, what is our next move?” asked Ethan, and they all looked at each other, blankly.
“Right now, our next move is to put one foot in front of the other and see where it leads us,” said Maria. “Come on, let’s get back inside.”
“You two go ahead,” said Page. “I’ll follow on, but there’s something I need to do first.”
Ethan looked confused, but Maria understood. “I’ll help you. He was under my command.”
“No, thank you, Commander,” said Page. “I need to do this on my own. It’s my responsibility.”
Page slowly drew his sidearm and handed it to Maria, who initially looked at him with a confused expression, before realizing what he was doing.
“You don’t need to do that, Major,” said Maria, giving him the weapon back. “If you were going to turn us in, you’d have done so already.”
Page nodded and holstered the weapon again. “I must admit, I’m surprised that you’re so willing to trust a Blue Boot like me.”
“Someone has to take the first step, Major, it’s the only way to build trust,” said Maria. “Diana Neviah taught me that.”
The soldier managed a weak smile, “Call me Karl,” he said, before glancing at Ethan and then pacing away back up the sloping tunnel, his boots clacking crisply against the hard rock.
“Where’s he going?” said Ethan.
Maria glanced back, just as Page disappeared through the tunnel mouth. “He has one last duty to perform, for Aster.”
Ethan finally understood, and for some reason he got the feeling that their odds had just improved.
Chapter 27
Kurren watched the monitor feed of the two transports arrivi
ng back at the space port, far sooner than he had expected them to return. He drummed his fingers on the table where the display monitor had been set up as part of their makeshift base of operations and considered the possible reasons for their early return, but his gut feeling was that something had gone wrong.
An alarm sounded on his PVSM and he silenced it quickly, before casually checking around him to make sure that none of the other soldiers had heard it. Kurren had recognized the specific sequence of high-pitched tones, and knew it signified a serious medical alert. He flipped open the panel, but before checking the data he first disabled any future audible warnings. He considered simply dismissing the medical alert without reading it; his finger hovered tentatively over the flashing red warning chevron, before curiosity, rather than concern, got the better of him and he touched the panel to bring up the information. Coolly, he read the analysis, but as he absorbed the words he felt nothing except a strange emptiness. It was an absence of feeling that in itself felt like something, though he couldn’t understand what.
He read the display for a second time: ‘WARNING: Onset of genetic deformation detected. Return immediately to zero-toxicity environment and proceed with purge’.
Kurren’s eyes twitched as he read the words again. He knew he should feel something. Fear perhaps? But he felt nothing.
He tapped on the box that read ‘RECOMMENDED TREATMENTS’ and read slowly.
‘FIELD TREATMENT: No effective field treatment. Immediately administer SAC3.
‘CAUTION: Side-effects – paranoia, drowsiness, partial paralysis, temporary memory loss, hallucinations…’
The list went on and Kurren read each line carefully, absorbing and understanding all the information, but without any of it producing an emotional response. He knew that he should be worried and that he should have a sense of urgency about dealing with this warning, but the approaching transports occupied his thoughts more, and then the image of Maria Salus entered his mind and he slammed his fist down on the table.
“Everything okay, sir?” asked one of the soldiers from across the other side of the command station.