Ignotus
Page 35
As if on cue, something akin to a miniature drawer opened on the hexahedron. Glancing inside, Maker saw a pair of shining objects, which he reached in and grabbed. His eyes widened when he saw what he was looking at: a set of captain’s insignia.
“It was pretty easy to push through the promotion when everyone thought you were dead,” Lafayette stated. “Even the sternest detractors of the infamous Maniac Maker weren’t willing to block the posthumous promotion of a soldier who died in battle.”
“What are you saying?” Maker asked incredulously.
“What does it look like?” the admiral shot back rhetorically. “Congratulations, Captain.”
Maker shook his head. “No…it can’t… I mean, I’m not dead. It won’t stick.”
“Of course it will,” Lafayette assured him. “It’ll simply count as a field promotion. And I’ve got a bunch of testimonials saying that you earned it.”
Before Maker could ask what he meant, an image of Adames’s head appeared to the right of Lafayette.
“I’ve served both with and under the command of Gant Maker,” Adames’s image said, “and I can assure you there’s no finer soldier, officer or enlisted, in the military. He…”
As the hologram of his NCO continued speaking, another face appeared – Wayne, this time.
“Lieutenant Maker is a peerless officer and an unparalleled leader. He’s personally saved my life on multiple occasions, endangering himself in the process…”
While Wayne continued speaking, an image of Diviana appeared. Like the two before her, she began spouting a laundry list of Maker’s attributes and merits.
“Wait a minute,” Maker interjected, at which point all the images other than Lafayette disappeared. “Did they all record messages like that?”
“Every member of your team did,” the admiral confirmed, “as well as Browing, Chantrey, and Planck. Most surprising, of course, was this one.”
Much to Maker’s surprise, Skullcap’s face appeared.
“I have been on the battlefield with Maker, both as a friend and a foe, and under either circumstance I can report there is no warrior or soldier more worthy of leading others into battle, or more competent to do so. In addition, he is a shining example of compassion, bravery, and valor. He represents the best of what makes you human. Failure to promote him is a disservice to your military and your species.”
Ending the insectoid’s endorsement, Lafayette commented, “Well, he’s obviously not shy about saying what he feels. But the long and short of it is that this is a promotion that is well-deserved. There are also some other accolades that will be coming as well – medals and all that – but I figured you’d want to wear the rank right away.”
“And that’s why you sent the message cube,” Maker surmised.
“Yes,” the admiral stated. “Not exactly proper use of the device, but what good is it to be a general officer if you can’t have a little fun every now and then?” He winked at Maker as he finished speaking, causing the latter to grin.
“Well, seeing as I had to ‘die’ just to make captain,” Maker said with a smile, “I’m unlikely to ever find out.”
“Hmmm,” Lafayette droned. “I’m starting to get that feeling in my gut.”
“What feeling?” Maker asked.
“The one that I got the last time we had a conversation like this – where you talk like a chess pawn, but make moves like a queen.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”
“That’s what you always say, but I’m on to you now,” the admiral said, causing Maker to laugh. “Anyway, I understand you’re still officially under the weather so I’ll sign off now, but we’ll talk again soon.”
“I look forward to it,” Maker stated.
Lafayette nodded, and then the hologram disappeared.
Maker sat there for a moment, thinking, then turned on the comm. It took him only a minute or so to get Adames on a secure line.
“So guess what I’m looking at right now?” he asked the NCO.
“New orders from that message cube that came for you?” Adames guessed. “So tell me, what’s next on the agenda for us?”
“It wasn’t orders,” Maker said. “It was captain’s bars.”
“What?”
“I’ve been promoted.”
“What braindead idiot nominated you for captain?” Adames blurted out jovially. “Heads are gonna roll over this.”
Maker chuckled. “Thanks, but I’ve seen the testimonials. So was all that your idea?”
“Yes and no. I pretty much orchestrated everything – got people to record their statements while you were shuttling to various places with Skullcap – but it really all started with Chantrey.”
“Chantrey?”
“Yeah, your girl gave me a tongue-lashing like you wouldn’t believe – completely humiliated and embarrassed me with respect to how I’ve been supporting you.”
“Sorry about that, Hector. I’ll talk to her.”
“No, Gant. She was right. I wouldn’t be wearing these extra stripes if you hadn’t fought for me. The same goes for everyone on our team. Who knows where any of us would be if it wasn’t for you? Recording those testimonials was the least we could do. We sent them back with the Vacra after we thought you were dead – even got Skullcap to record one as well – but in all honesty, I really didn’t think anything would come of it. Glad to know I was wrong.”
“Yeah, wonders never cease,” Maker said. “Well, I’m still officially laid up, so I’ll let you get back to the business of running the ship.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Adames replied, snickering as he disconnected.
Taking the cube, Maker left the office. He found Chantrey still on the couch where he’d left her.
“So,” she began, “anything important – that you can talk about, that is?”
Maker shrugged. “Apparently I’ve been promoted to captain.”
He showed her his new rank, which she oohed and aahed over for a moment.
“So when did these arrive?” she asked.
“They came in the message cube,” he explained. “Apparently there’s a hidden drawer on this thing.”
He was in the process of showing her where the rank had been contained when, unexpectedly, another secret compartment opened on the exact opposite side of the cube.
Maker and Chantrey stared at each other for a moment, both plainly surprised. Maker then turned the box so that he could get a good look at the contents. It took him a moment, but then he recognized what he was looking at and started laughing.
Chuckling almost giddily (and thinking he’d have to explain everything to Chantrey later), he reached into the compartment and pulled out the item it contained (which had obviously been planted by Lafayette):
A black chess queen.
THE END
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