General on another hand, was fine with what happened, he considered this more as a chance to absolve himself from the guilt that he had been carrying so long. He was angry but not at Henry, rather himself. Too many dead soldiers wore on his soul for his decision, but Morad was a mistake, a set of unfortunate circumstances. “You had to hold their attention while we transported Smith’s division behind their backs.”
Henry looked up and glared at him. This was not how he remembered Morad. A gruff voice spoke, “Didn’t Smith’s division attack the Sanan Peninsula?”
General sighed. “That was only a distraction. Only a minor part of the division attacked the Sanan Peninsula. All the others were transported behind the backs of Anskers you clashed with. But, worst of all, they were late!”
Henry was discovering things that he had not know till then, “What do you mean?”
“Smith’s division should have attacked while you were distracting the Anskers, but regrettably, they were late, and the battle was already over by the time they arrived. They only succeeded in destroying the Anskers who had survived the battle. It was too late for our soldiers; they were killed, but you” He stopped and cleared his throat. “And worst of all they were late because of General Smith, who was allegedly waiting for some equipment. It was barely after the General’s death that I found out the real reason.”
Henry breathed in, “And what was it? Why were all my men killed?”
He looked into the distance and only shook his head. It appeared that he was embarrassed talking about the truth.
“Answer me, please. I think, I deserve to know the truth.”
He walked over to him, sat next to him, leaned forward and said, “You deserve indeed. Brigadier, but the truth may be cruel and painful, I hope you understand.”
“I do.”
“Smith was late… because that bastard was giving into his primal instinct; he was raping an innocent lieutenant. All under the auspices of the position he held.”
Henry was furious and probably would have killed Smith if he was alive. “Raping? Seriously? While we were starting at death?”
“Yes, but then Smith cared a damn. The Lieutenant, however, was different. She killed herself six months later because she considered herself responsible for the death of our men. She was hardly responsible as you and I would know by now; if anything, she was a victim much like your comrades in that battle. I know all this because, she sent me her diary, which described in detail all of Smith’s infamous past and his dastardly behavior with most of the lady officers around him. He was a literal personification of hell for those ladies.”
Henry couldn’t believe what he heard. “Is Major Vallery mentioned among those women?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you do when you came to know the truth?”
He sighed. “Nothing… The General was dead. Major Vallery was already sentenced and transported to Hades. It was too late to do anything because it would have exposed and endangered his family, even though they weren’t guilty of anything. His wife, Sara, was similarly mentioned among the victims of his odd behavior.”
They sat silently.
“Did you, therefore, make it possible to find the truth? I mean Vallery doesn’t seem to be chance discovery, after what I have heard.” Henry said after.
“It was executed by my team but I personally took care of putting Major Vallery on the list, so that you could take her from Hades.”
Henry realized that the General was an honest man and done everything in his power to set things right. “General, I have been wrong. You were not responsible for my men’s death. I think you are as much immersed in guilt as I was about that episode.”
“Don’t mention it Broncon. There was very little I could do, but I had to do it nonetheless.”
“And now I’m glad that the Major killed him! That crap! If he was still alive, I would have discharged an entire clip into his head. Also, I… I apologize for my behavior General. I am ready to face charges for assaulting a senior officer.”
The General placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “It’s all right, Brigadier. Any other circumstance, I am sure you would have been a different man. This one episode, I think I understand. I am sure about one thing, though, if General Smith were still alive, I would personally made sure that he was imprisoned and transported to Hades. That dirty scum bag.”
General once again walked towards the window; this time Henry followed. A little red bird was jumping around on the sill. They watched the tiny bird in silence, a small distraction from the topic they were discussing. It only remained there for a few minutes, as it flew away once it saw the two huge figures, almost next to it.
Henry took that as a cue to come back to the basic point which started this revelation. “General, permit us to go on this mission. You can let your crew find the survivors and your granddaughter, but they would still not have uncovered what happened there. There’ll still be so much to be understood on Godeena. I think that we at least have to try.”
For a moment he was silent, and then he asked Henry, “Can you tell me the name of that little red bird that just flew away?”
“I think it is called a Kirkiku, and it is one of the native species of this island.”
“It’s beautiful!”
“Yes, but I would still…”
He raised his hand in the air. “Be careful! I don’t want to be responsible for your death or any of our crew, even if they had a colored past. That planet has taken too many good soldiers; almost another Morad in the happening.” He then turned towards Henry, “Alright, you know the realities and from here it is your choice. Anyway, I’m glad I met you, Brigadier Broncon. I feel I am free of burden. I am sure it’s clear to you that nobody should know anything about this conversation.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you, General and I will ensure that our mission is justified in all sense.”
“I don’t doubt it. Be careful. Don’t make the same mistakes.”
Before he opened the door, he added in a commanding voice, “And you don’t have to accompany me to the cruiser. I’ve got enough of escorts anyway!”
Henry laughed, which was the first in some time since the discussion on Morad, “I noticed them, General.”
“I hate all these vain procedures, but they must be so. Goodbye, Broncon.”
“Goodbye, General.”
*
Henry stood for some time as he heard the motors of the cruiser, and thought about everything that the General had said. He then went to the window and watched the cruiser take off. He didn’t say a word when Vallery and Nancy entered the office.
Curiosity soon overcame them, and Nancy asked, “What happened?”
Because Henry did not respond to her question, Vallery came close to him and shook him. “Will you tell us what happened? Are we or are we not going to Godeena?”
Henry said, “We’re going. Of course, we’re going! Do you doubt my diplomatic abilities?”
Nancy frowning and assert, “By the way, how could you refuse a General’s command? You virtually destroyed everything you had trained and educated yourself for at the Academy. You weren’t really normal then.”
Henry turned to Nancy. “Nevertheless, I am here, am I not?”
Nancy was still not sure how Henry pulled it out. “It isn’t clear to me how you persuaded him to change his decision. I thought such things were impossible!”
Henry laughed, “Nothing is impossible!”
“Now we have to seriously get down to training the prisoners,” Vallery joined in. “At the moment only the Sergeant cares about them.”
Henry gave her a grateful look. “In all this mess I’d almost forgotten about them. I would like to talk to Major Nancy alone, so why don’t you go and visit the Sergeant and take over command? The instructions for today’s training are there on the desk.”
Vallery nodded, took the papers and left.
After Vallery left
, Henry asked Nancy, “Does this mean that there is no time for our running race?”
Nancy smiled. “No, but at least I will give you the pleasure of escorting me to my cruiser. We’ll postpone the race until you come back.”
“Okay, we’ll race next time, but remember you still have to lose weight.”
“Even in this state, you’ll be huffing and puffing just to catch up with me, leave alone me losing weight and leaving you miles behind.”
Henry nudged her gently. “My old Nancy is back.”
“Don’t you want me to change?”
“On the contrary, I adore you as you truly are.” He came close and kissed her on her forehead. “Don’t change yourself at any cost.”
She looked at him. “Even keep my weight as is?” Henry laughed his heart out.
She was a bit hesitant to leave and once again gave into her emotions. Her heart was shattering, she wanted a real kiss. She knew that he did not feel the same way about her, but her heart could not accept what her mind understood. She kept her feelings to herself, “So, shall we leave? I suppose my deputy is impatient already.”
Henry noticed that Nancy was holding back her tears and thought it was because of that moment of separation. He knew that she was a sensitive person, and these things affected her. He was happy to have her as a friend, and her friendship meant a lot to him. “Let’s go. It wouldn’t be fair to keep him waiting. So, what if you are the boss?”Both smiled and walked out of the office.
*
The cruiser took off an hour later, and Henry’s gaze followed it until it became merely a dot on the horizon. They hadn’t said a word until Nancy started to go up the ramp, and even then they only shook hands and exchanged farewells quickly. The ramp was then pulled in and the cruiser door was closed.
As Henry was watching the dot on the horizon, his thoughts were broken by the loud thunderous voice of Sergeant Colburn coming from the drill ground. He jogged towards them at a gentle pace and was, enjoying the chill in the morning air.
Vallery noticed him. “Is that morning exercise to warm up?”
“You may take it so, but the main purpose is to speak to our thunderous Sergeant there.”
Henry called for Colburn, who was making the prisoners run around. Some of them were lying on the ground, helplessly tired, unable to jump over the obstacles.
“Sergeant, can you come over here for a moment?”
“Yes, Sir.” And the Sergeant ran towards Henry, “You need me, Commander?”
“Yes.”, Henry gently leaned on his shoulders and moved a couple of steps away. “You have to reduce the intensity of the training. Some of them aren’t that young anymore.”
Colburn looked at him, taken by surprise. “But you personally ordered me to press them a little.”
“Yes, that’s true, but that was to bring them shape for handling weapons; not to physical build. Our fight has to do more with using weapons and that is what we need to focus on. I don’t think anyone is good at using weapons as you, and that is what these guys need to be trained at. We have to get deadly as using our weapon.”
Colburn smiled at the unexpected compliment, “You think so commander? My weapon skill?”
“Yes, absolutely. Is there any weapon you can’t handle?”
He raised his brows and after thinking for a short while responded, “Well, I’m not sure. I guess I know most of them in not all.”
“I agree. So from today you’ll start exercises with weapons which will be at your discretion to recommend.”
“Sure. But I think that that’s going to take some time.”
“That’s why we’re here, and we have to start with the weapons at the earliest. But first, get them all here. I have to give them some information!”
“Right, Commander!”
Colburn went to summon the prisoners, and Henry approached Vallery, who was watching his instructions with interest. “Is it sensible for me to tell them that we had the expedition almost called off?”
She looked at him with surprise and asked him two counter questions. “That depends on. How much do you want them to be loyal to you, a little or not at all? And are you ready to take over the role of leading men who are quite inflexible due to their past?”
“First I want their total trust and second I’m totally ready to take the role of leading these men, Major Vallery. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think to want the role.”
“Then tell them the truth, Brigadier. No need to keep anything from them. On one hand, they know what is awaiting them if they go back to Hades; while on the other, few of them are soldiers and they would know very well those emblems on the sides of that cruiser.”
“I’m not going to lie to them, but I’m glad that we’re both aligned in our thinking.”
The Sergeant lined them up and called out, “Brigadier, the prisoners are ready!”
As Henry approached the soldiers, a sharp voice called out without permission, “Why did the General come here, Brigadier?”
The Sergeant turned towards the prisoners, “Who said that? I’ll cut your tongue out if you speak out of turn.”
“Sergeant, it’s alright this time.” Henry raised his hand and when he looked at him, nodded. “It’s all right. I think they should know about the General’s visit especially that it pertains to a mission they have enrolled for.” Henry watched their faces and kept an eye on Lara Bitnick, the one who had asked the question. “The General came here to stop this operation and return you all to Hades.”
All the prisoners stared at each other. They first started murmuring which only grew louder. The statement surprised not only the prisoner but even the Sergeant who was too stunned to react.
Just then Lara’s shout overpowered the rest, “Why?”
She was standing with her legs stretched and her hands crossed. The nickname Furious stood for her perfectly. He raised a hand in the air to calm them. He didn’t try to control them which was very much in his power to do so. They were soon calm and were waiting for his explanation. “Supreme Headquarters decided so.”
“And what did you do, Brigadier?!” Lara interrupted even before Henry could complete the full message. Henry noticed that she was angry probably from the prospect of going back to Hades.
“I refused to accept it.”
She stared at him, not believing his response, “Isn’t that a little risky for your position?”
“It was but then I am a Brigadier and I have a responsibility towards you.”
“But you still haven’t answered my question, why did they change the plan?”
Now Henry was furious. “Who said that they changed the plan? The plan stays till I have let it go.”
Lara stepped back at the sudden onslaught from Henry.
Henry and pointed his index finger at each of them said, “Why did I choose you for this task out of seven hundred thousand prisoners? Why was I chosen to lead you? Why am I the only one who survived the massacre at Morad? These are many questions and we will be wasting our time answering them.”
The lone survivor of Morad was a legend by then and everybody knew about it, including Lara. “You… you are the one who survived the massacre at the Field of Death?”
“Yes, I’m the one.”
There was complete silence in the formation; they were watching him with a distinctive sense of awe. The legend they had heard of was right in front of them.
“But that isn’t the important part,” he continued. “They got a signal from the survivors of the first expedition on Godeena, and now they are launching another crew to get them from the surface. We still aren’t ready for the mission, and that’s why they had to hold our launch. The person stranded on the planet is the General’s granddaughter.”
Endy van de Mort commented out of turn, “Maybe he’s afraid that we might do harm to his lineage!”
They all laughed.
“Maybe or maybe nor, but I persuaded him to change his
decision…” Henry cleared his throat. “We will still go to Godeena.”
All of them were still wondering how a Brigadier could convince a General to change the order. Hierarchy mattered in the army.
“Generals don’t usually change their orders!” Lara said.
“He changed, though, and that’s enough for you’ll know. Now there are some problems. Let me ask you once again are you ready to go with me to that planet? Will you go trough the training and the preparations which are expected of you?” he looked at them one by one, “I would like you to each personally, confirms. If anybody wants to go back to Hades, I’ll personally ensure that your biogenetic resonance devices are removed, and you can go back. I know this is not what I said earlier but I now give you a choice. Whoever wants to go with me, move to my right side?”
Lara was the first to step to the right. She saluted and stood at military attention. “I confirm my decision to go with you.”
Following Lara, Mark Bontovic, E.T. Washington, Wilburn Mann, Berry Flint, John Stronghill, Flan Kerr, Karl Malton, Beny Hortans, Randy Schneider, Aurelia Braks and Miura Weng all stepped forward and took their positions on Henry’s right side. There were three prisoners who didn’t want to join but what surprised Henry was the fact that, Maria Conchez belonged to that group. “It’s obvious to me why those two don’t want to join but why not you, Maria?”
She looked at the prisoners to his right and then Maria looked him straight, “That planet is very dangerous. I’m feeling…” She stopped suddenly.
Henry had an uneasy feeling based on her response but before anything could happen, she collapsed, hitting her head hard on the concrete runway. He ran up to her knelt beside her unconscious body. He then picked her head up and gently rested on his lap. The place she had hit her head was already growing blue and a thin stream of blood trickled down her brow. From his pocket, Henry got a bandage and put it on her head. She suddenly opened her eyes and pushed Henry with an unexplained strength. Henry flew through the air as if he was launched from a catapult and fell ten yards from Maria. Only his fast reflexes and cybernetic implants saved him from serious injury.
Godeena: SF Novel Page 9