He paused and now his eyes flickered up. "The commander. Yes." Then they dropped right back to his tablet as he made notes. "You hold the rank of major, correct?"
"Yes."
"Granted via field commission by your ship's captain and confirmed by the Marine branch of the ESS, correct?"
"Yes."
She began a tactical calculation of how quickly she could get to him and tear that tablet out of his hand if only she could get out of the cuffs. The restraints were almost the biggest insult of the entire matter. Despite the thoughts she was having at that moment, she had no history of violence or insubordination. Did they really believe she was going to try something against them?
They already knew all of this. Why were they going through with this satirical process? It was all this was. It was a giant farce. Or a giant joke, and she was the one being played.
The worst crime Andy had ever committed was, apparently, being born.
It didn't matter that she'd had absolutely no hand in choosing who her parents were. She hadn't even known who her father was until recently, and neither had she had any hand in the fact that her father's people were now waging war on the ESS. In fact, she had been fighting against the Arkana just as much as anyone else.
Maybe more.
"You know why you're here, correct?"
"Yes." She chose to not elaborate on it unless he specifically told her to. He was the one who wanted to act like she was five years old.
He glanced up again. "Please state it."
Andy blinked once, deliberately. "I have been arrested on suspicion of collusion with the Arkana just prior to the battle that left the Star Chaser incapacitated in the C19 Nebula."
After the battle, there had been a lot of questions about how the Arkana knew about the Star Chaser's mission. Those questions had instantly swirled to the idea that there might be a "mole" on board the Star Chaser. Her half-brother, who was full-blood Arkana but working on her side, was too obvious. Andy's loyalties, however, were questioned by everyone who did not serve with her, by all those who did not know her.
Everyone including the intelligence branch of the ESS—a department whose name she was presently doubting.
His eyes lingered on hers longer at that moment than they had since he'd walked in here, and he seemed to be waiting. When she didn't offer up anything, he finally spoke with an aggravated tone. "Is there anything you would like to say on the matter?"
"I would never betray the ESS or my Marines," Andy said simply.
The annoying little man made a noncommittal sound in his throat before making a few more notes. She thought he was going to turn around and leave, but instead, he pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. That surprised her, but she kept it to herself. It irritated her as well, because she didn't want to have to look at his face any longer.
"I am Lieutenant Fitzwallace," he introduced himself flatly. "I will be handling your questioning today."
They couldn't have at least sent a grown up? She thought it, but yet again, managed to keep the words from escaping her mouth. Instead, she just stared across the table at him and tried to guess which number came before the "teen" in his age.
Andy wanted to ask if they could at least take these ridiculous restraints off, but she already knew the answer so she didn't bother. She knew she was innocent, and so she would just have to wait it out. He would ask questions, she would answer, and she would get through it. She was sure her captain was not pleased with the groundless arrest of his Marine commander and would be working to free her.
She just had to wait it out. She had been in worse situations than this.
That didn't stop her from wishing it was just a few hours ago...
2
Eighteen Hours Earlier ...
1230 Hours
It had taken over a week for the crippled Star Chaser to get to Starbase Eclipse. It had to be towed most of the way before limping along the rest. The ship's engineers—those who weren't in sickbay—had been hard at work, but the damage to the ship was far beyond what they could repair out in space. They needed a starbase with heavy ship repairing capabilities, which was what brought them to the Eclipse.
Every engineer—in sickbay or not—was visibly relieved once the ship was in dock. They were all nervous mothers scared about the state of their baby.
Although, it wasn't like everyone else was in a better state. They were all tired and haggard, worried about how bad the damage was and whether the ship was going to support them long enough to get to a starbase. Would the ship be able to be repaired at all? Would they have to scrap her? After their near-death experience in the nebula, panicked thoughts were running rampant.
For his part, however, Anath was grateful the captain had deemed him not to be a threat and he wasn't sleeping in the brig anymore.
Several members of the crew still eyed him warily, but after his fighting with them and being injured, most were treating him with civility and, sometimes, even friendliness. He was able to interact with people and see things for himself, in addition to the information told him by his half-sister. Andy looked fairly strung out herself, but relieved now that they were docked.
Anath knew the crew had all been granted leave on base while the engineering staff of the Eclipse worked to fix the Star Chaser. Andy had told him those who were recovering were being transferred to the base's infirmary while repairs were underway.
Sadly, Anath was confined to the ship. He knew he might end up being moved around like a piece on a game board to keep him out of the way of the engineers, but he was Arkana and thus they couldn't let him loose. Anath knew well enough that it wasn't out of concern for the station but for him; the people on Eclipse may not be as tolerant. It was actually...nice that the human captain of the Star Chaser was concerned for Anath's welfare.
Today, his sister was kind enough to delay going on base for leave to eat lunch with him in the mostly intact mess hall.
"All of your Marines make a dash for it off the ship?" Anath asked as he bit into the grilled cheese sandwich the Star Chaser's chef had made for him. Meal choices had been pretty limited, all things considered, but the Arkana was glad this one was still available. It had quickly become one of his favorite dishes from Earth. The Arkana certainly didn't have anything like it. Food for his people was...not very adventurous. They were all convinced they had so many better things to worry about.
Warrior or scientist.
It was something he had always questioned, although he had certainly never given voice to it. It was why he had chosen to remain with his half-sister once he had found her. The Arkana liked to believe they were so much more advanced, continually adjusting themselves and "improving" themselves, but to what end?
Their society was limited, especially now that he had knowledge of its origins.
Humanity was so varied, for better and for worse. It was vibrant. Anath couldn't get enough of it.
"Oh yeah," Andy laughed, poking at her own meal before she ate it. It took him a moment, but then he remembered it was called chicken. It looked kind of boring, but she seemed to like it. "A battle like that, then being trapped in a ship we weren't sure was even going to keep us alive long enough to get to the base ..." She shrugged. "They need to let off some steam."
"Let off some steam?" he repeated. He had heard this phrase used before but had yet to ask for an explanation.
She looked up and blinked her dark eyes, then laughed. She looked so different than him. It was hard to imagine they were related. He was tall and slender, with snow-white hair and skin, only the blue of his eyes breaking the monotone. She was dark, with darker skin and dark eyes and dark hair. She was shorter and bulkier. But strong.
"It's an ancient Earth expression," she said. "I don't really know exactly, but something to do with venting off steam to keep something from exploding."
"I see," he said, looking at the half eaten sandwich in his hands. He wasn't sure what steam had to do with anything that might explode, but
Earth was a very different place than Arkana, despite having birthed it. Like any child, they had grown beyond. "Interesting. I can see the parallel for your people."
She smiled. He didn't think she knew she did it, but every time he or anyone referred to the Marines as "her" people, it made her smile like someone would about family they were fond of. He certainly wasn't going to point it out, since it might make her stop.
"We work hard, we train hard, and we fight hard. So when we have a chance to relax, we...relax hard." That made her laugh again. "I know that sounds contradictory, but we somehow make it work."
"I wish I could be witness to it," he said wryly.
"I wish that too," she said with sympathy. "We both know it's for the best, though."
He nodded with a sigh and another bite of sandwich. Once he swallowed, he said, "I know it is. I don't feel like being chased down by an impromptu militia on the starbase or end up in the brig there, but it would be nice to get off the ship."
Andy nodded. "Yeah, I get that," she said. "Maybe the next place we stop will give you a chance. If we stop at a colony or something, we could take you somewhere away from the main city areas that would be the most trouble."
Anath suddenly started laughing. "Yeah," he said. "You know back home, I was hailed as royalty. I guess that would be the comparison to your history. I could go anywhere and do almost anything I wanted, as long as it didn't conflict with Father's wishes or rules, of course. But otherwise, I was free to do anything. It's strange to suddenly be so...hampered."
She nodded again. He almost teased her about her head falling off, but he didn't. "I can understand that," she said. "I can't really imagine what it would be like to kept on such a short leash. And honestly, no offense, but I don't want to find out."
3
1400 Hours
Not long after lunch with her brother, Andy had a meeting with the captain and first officer. It was their semi-regular 'how much trouble is the ESS in' meeting, as the captain liked to call it. She kind of wished he would stop, but he was the captain and got to say what he wanted.
As she walked through the corridors, avoiding the workers wearing the Starbase Eclipse uniform who were repairing damage—some of which had been caused by Marine weapons fire—she thought a lot about her conversation with Anath. There were practical thoughts, like about how he wanted to get off the ship. She wanted to help him find a way to do so; she could understand the cabin fever. And then there were outright silly thoughts, like about how apparently she'd have been a princess if she'd been with her father.
Not that she had ever been a girl with princess fantasies, but it was a little snippet of thought she couldn’t avoid or at least be amused by.
She walked into the captain's ready room to find both command officers already there. She nodded respectfully and took her seat.
Captain Wallace chuckled. "Let's make this quick before the Eclipse engineers chase us out. Until they came on board, the only one who could order me around was Doctor Martin."
Commander Shailain and Andy chuckled along with him, but then they got to business.
"The defenses at Baccem continue to hold," Shailain said. Baccem was one of the first major skirmishes of the war, where the thirty-third and two other Marine detachments had defended a city from the Arkana. Had they gotten that city, they would have been able to repair and construct their own spacecraft within ESS space. "They have sent the technological specifications as well as some materials to other production planets who have achieved varying levels of success in implementing it. The Arkana have not managed to capture any of them."
"That's the good news," Andy said, looking at the tablet she had brought with her and pulling up Marine reports she'd received. "I've heard from the sixteenth and the twenty-fourth, both in Hanaran space. Both were unable to keep the Arkana from taking major agricultural planets. They can now supply themselves with food as well as cut off some of our food supplies."
Shailain looked up from the tablet she'd been reading. "Are there other agricultural planets in that system?"
Andy nodded. "Yes, and they're on high alert. Hanaran planets are some of the primary suppliers of foodstuffs that the ESS stocks on ships and starbases. In their environment, their produce is better able to withstand long-term storage in space. They aren't the only suppliers, but they are some of the biggest. There's at least three other planets with high output. The sixteenth and the twenty-fourth have relocated to cover them, as have the second and the fourth, both of which are not just ground troop detachments but also have a wing worth of fighter planes."
"Jets across the ESS have been getting upgrades," Shailain said. "Their modified energy weapons have proven less effective against Arkana ships, but with data from the Star Chaser, they have made improvements."
"That's something," Wallace agreed. "I'm sorry to report that the Sun Catcher, the Nova, and the Astral have all been destroyed. The first two lost all hands, but the Astral managed to jettison its escape pods. Half of them made it to the planet below in Ronnor space. The crew has since been picked up by other ESS craft."
Andy rubbed her temple for a moment. "That makes sixteen ESS ships lost in less than a year. Our only successes are keeping what we have. We’re not making any forward progress."
Wallace sighed but looked at her with understanding. "Sometimes protecting what we have is the most we can get," he said. "The loss of one lessens us all, but we can't roll over and give up to the Arkana. To do so would be to dishonor those sixteen ships and the people who were lost with them."
"Yes, sir," Andy agreed with a nod. “Has R&D had any luck with the information Anath supplied regarding the weaponry?"
"Yes, and they are optimistic about it," Wallace informed her. He tapped a few commands into the console on his desk in front of them. The screen behind him lit up, shut down, lit up again, and then turned into a zigzag pattern of multiple colors. Wallace looked behind him and shook his head. "Another thing not working," he murmured, tapping some more commands Andy assumed were to shut it off. It didn't work, and Wallace just left it. "Point is, his information is proving useful. Production is not quick, but they have managed to create a few prototypes that were deployed on the first available ship. They were more effective than our regular weapons have been."
This was good news at least. "I suppose it doesn't need asking, but are they figuring out how to apply this to ship weaponry?"
Wallace nodded. "Of course. Handheld weapon effectiveness is one hundred percent when we don't have to use them at all because the ship fought them off. If the weapon upgrades continue to prove effective, more ships may be deployed with fighters. With effective weapons, they have been successful against the Arkana. They don't seem to have any force comparable, and it gives us an advantage."
"We can use any advantage we can get," Andy said with a small smile.
"Yeah,” he agreed. "What is it you Marines say? Oorah?"
The Marine smiled again and nodded. "Yes, sir. Oorah."
"Good," he said, picking up a different tablet. "I am glad to be able to inform you that there are available Marines to replace those you've lost in recent engagements. You'll be able to bring your numbers back to normal. Doctor Martin informs me that at least two who ended up in sickbay won't be returning to active duty for months yet, if ever."
"He informed me of this as well, Captain," Andy said solemnly. "I'm sorry to lose them. They are both good people as well as good soldiers. I've been told that they can be cleared for stationary duty, so they will be moved into administration and logistics."
"Oh, good," Wallace said. "I am glad the ESS won't be losing them entirely. We can use all the help we can get."
That was a statement impossible to argue with.
"May I ask, sir, if there's any news from the diplomatic corps?" Andy asked after they had taken a moment to think about everything. "Have they had any luck securing any alliances or treaties?"
One of many factors working against the ESS in this wa
r was that the Arkana were not just after them, but any species that stood between them and Earth. Any species that wasn't Arkana was fair game because the Arkana were determined to be the superior species. They had been genetically engineered by xenophobes in the early days of alien first contact, and it was an origin they'd never grown out of.
However, many species under attack weren't ESS allied, so they did not share plans or information with the ESS. This benefitted the Arkana. The ESS diplomatic corps was hard at work trying to at least secure temporary alliances with these species so everyone was working on the same side.
"Not yet," Wallace said. "The Kriori aren't even responding to the call, but the B'hal-nar are talking, as are the Wellyin. We can't find the Colirnoid."
Given Andy's first experience with that race, she wasn't complaining.
Finally, she stifled a sigh and nodded. "I guess all we can do keep fighting the good fight, Captain. Right?"
"Correct, Major," Wallace said with a small smile. "Dismissed. And for the love of everything, get on base and take some time off."
4
1515 Hours
Roxanna's guilty pleasure was shopping. She adored it, although she didn't run around telling all the other Marines that.
Andy was different, of course. They had been working together for a long time and had developed a strong respect for each other. Roxanna's empathic abilities allowed her to know who she could truly trust, and Andy was one such person. She knew how much the Selerid liked to shop during her time off and had agreed to go with her on one such excursion during their leave time at Eclipse.
The two women meandered down the promenade, looking at the various shops that lined the walkway. The center was open, looking down to the bottom level where there were more shops and restaurants. Civilians intermingled with ESS personnel in uniform—and out of uniform—and there was a general melee of people that was...pleasant, if chaotic to Roxanna.
Earth Space Service Space Marines Boxed Set Page 31