-Thomas Anderson. An Unbiased Look at the UNPF. Baen Historical Press, 2500.
The shuttlebay was packed with all of the Marines and their equipment. My starship was firmly behind me, if nothing else, and while I had issued firearms to everyone in the know, I probably wouldn’t need the Marines onboard. They had their own mission. I’d listened to the bitching and had been relieved to hear that most of it focused around the use of a common shuttle, rather than one of their assault boats. The Master Sergeant had overruled the objector by pointing out that an assault boat near EarthStar One would be a red flag for the defenders; indeed, the only way we could get a shuttle there was through my request for an urgent interview with Admiral Rutherford. By the time the defenders realised that they were under attack, it should already be too late.
“Don’t worry,” the Master Sergeant said, shaking my hand. “You just make sure you live up to your promises, understand?”
I nodded. The Master Sergeant had had his own price for joining me and I fully intended to pay it. The thought of operating without political supervision was intoxicating, but…I looked down at my timer and winced inwardly. Thirty minutes before Zero Hour. Even now, my friends and allies would be gathering their forces, preparing to seize control of the starships and mutiny against their commanding officers. I hoped that everything went to plan. We had most of the Marines on our side, but those who weren't with us, or those we couldn’t risk contacting, were a dangerous unknown factor. I might have to convince them to play with us, or force them into surrendering. I hoped it wouldn’t be the latter. The Master Sergeant wouldn’t take it calmly.
“I will,” I promised. “Don’t fuck up, all right?”
He snorted. “An asteroid crammed with worthless paper-pushers who’ll shit themselves when they see us carrying weapons,” he said, with a grin. I wasn't so confident. He was taking twenty-one Marines to assault a target that had no less than two thousand personnel and, despite his confidence, I feared that something would go wrong, right at the worst possible moment. “Don’t tell me my job, Captain. You tend to your knitting and I’ll tend to mine.”
“Deal,” I said, watching as the Marines filed onboard the shuttle, pushing and jostling at each other. I couldn’t understand that either. They were going off to die in a cause few of them believed could work…and they were laughing! One of them was telling a filthy joke about two whores he’d met at Luna City, a mother and daughter team, and the others were just about wetting themselves laughing. “Good luck, Erwin.”
“I taught you well,” the Master Sergeant said. “You’ll do fine.”
A moment later, he boarded the craft and I turned and left the shuttlebay, before watching them depart. Realistically, we’d been committed as soon as I’d started to reach out to my former classmates and ask them to join, but now…now I felt committed. I knew what I had to do now, before all hell broke loose in orbit, and I touched the pistol at my belt. It felt clunky and reassuring in my hand.
The shuttlebay doors hissed closed and I walked back towards Officer Country. By now, the Lieutenants and crewmen who were in the know would have secured their assigned compartments, preventing any spies from reporting to their superiors. I’d run enough drills, even counter-boarding drills, to keep them from realising that this was anything else, until it was far too late. I just had to deal with a particular loose end myself. It wasn't something that I could trust to others.
I swung past the communications room and inspected the three crewmen on duty carefully. Crewmen were not normally allowed to carry weapons without special permission – something that I was counting on for the other starships – but the Master Sergeant had trained them and the Senior Chief was sure that they were trustworthy. I locked the communications console anyway and restricted the ship to internal communications only. A warning now could do terrible harm to our cause.
Heinlein’s books had taught me how to proceed. I’d built up cells on each of the starships in orbit, the ones assembled for the invasion of Williamson’s World. I’d determined that that invasion would never be launched, although it was quite possible that the plans had been shelved for the foreseeable future anyway. The cells would, in turn, infect the trustworthy crewmembers on the starships – with hardly any links to me – and prepare to seize control. Heinlein’s attack on Earth worked in our favour. There was so much confusion that no one would notice anything out of the ordinary until it was too late, I hoped. Orders had been streaming out of EarthStar One for days now, only to be countermanded seconds later, much to my relief. Devastator had been ordered to prepare for a flight to Heinlein – perhaps to retaliate for the retaliation – and I’d feared they would order us to accompany her, before I was ready to make my own move. It would have disrupted my plans considerably.
I glanced down at the timer one final time and stepped into Officer Country. I’d been in this particular cabin before, back when Jason Montgomerie had been Political Officer, but I had tried to avoid it ever since Deborah had taken up the position. In theory, a Captain had the right to inspect any part of his ship, but in practice not even a Captain would dare to irritate the Political Officer that much. Jason’s collection of expensive wines had gone with him, presumably helping to console him for the loss of his position, and I had no idea what Deborah had moved in herself. I keyed the door chime and braced myself as the hatch hissed open. This wasn't going to be pleasant.
“Captain,” Deborah said, looking up from a datapad. There was a faintly mocking tone in her voice. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Doubtless,” I said. I judged that no one had given her any advance warning at all. It shouldn’t have been possible – everyone who knew in advance had had ample opportunity to do far worse than tell her – but who knew how the human mind worked? Some of the men who’d ordered the carnage on Heinlein liked spending time with their wives, mistresses and children. They were even kind to dumb animals. “Do you have a moment?”
She smiled in triumph. “I always have a moment for…what?”
Her face went deathly pale as I drew my pistol and pointed it directly at her head. She’d probably never even seen a gun before she’d taken up service with the UNPF, let alone had one pointed at her. The Master Sergeant’s drills had included threats to shoot us or pistol-whip us if we didn’t learn fast, but no one dared use those methods with ordinary infantrymen. They might even sue the UNPF for their treatment if they found that they’d been tested beyond their means. Deborah probably believed the nonsense the UN used as anti-gun propaganda.
“Stand up,” I snapped. An unpleasant smell told me that she’d wet herself in shock. I saw an argument forming in her mind and gestured with the muzzle. “On your feet, now!”
She obeyed, shaking. A large dark stain marked her uniform. She’d had it expertly tailored for some reason beyond my comprehension and it was now ruined. Her staff would probably have to tell her that it was now unusable and that she would have to buy a new one. I pitied them. Jason had had no servants, but Deborah had brought two maids with her, and both of them had shown signs of mistreatment. The Doctor had told me, in confidence, that Deborah seemed to enjoy hurting them.
“Do as you’re told and you won’t be harmed,” I said, softly. I wanted to scare her – I wanted to hurt her – but I pushed that aside. “Turn around and face the wall. Place your hands on your head, now!”
I stepped forward as she complied, pulling out the small pair of handcuffs I’d recovered from the Master Sergeant before he left on his mission. A moment later, I’d snapped them on her wrists and sent her falling to the deck. I doubted that she could escape, but just to be sure I pulled out a small needle and injected her with a heavy sedative. I’d considered killing her at once, but we might need her later, although I doubted it. Besides, we could always kill her later.
“Bitch,” I muttered, as she collapsed into a heap. The sedative was normally used for serious injuries or accidents where there was only a limited supply of oxygen. She’d be out for days unless s
omeone injected her with the antidote. “Just stay there and…”
“No,” a new voice said. “You stay there.”
“Muna,” I snapped, irritated. I spoke harshly to cover my shock. How the hell had she gotten behind me? I must be growing old. The Master Sergeant would laugh his head off. So would everyone else, for that matter. “What are you…?”
I turned. She was pointing a laser pistol directly at my head. “Don’t lift your pistol,” she said, her voice deadly calm, although her hands were shaking. “Please, Captain; put it down on the deck, gently.”
There was no choice, but to comply, I realised. “Muna,” I said, softly. “You don’t understand…”
“I think I do,” Muna said, coldly. “You came here to put her out of commission, but you didn’t kill her. You sent the Marines away on some mission for you personally. You’re either planning to go renegade or you have something more ambitious in mind.” She saw my expression. “Captain…what are you planning?”
I sighed. “Listen,” I said, far too aware of the laser pistol in her hand. There was no dodging a laser beam and it would be lethal if it passed through my head. The Master Sergeant’s words of contempt for the weapon echoed through my mind and I almost smiled. It didn’t matter how crappy a weapon was if it were being used by someone who knew what they were doing, did it? “This war is going to destroy us all.”
“Maybe,” Muna said. Her voice seemed to grow even colder. “And yet you’re planning…what?”
“We can take the starships and Earth’s defences,” I said, carefully. I wanted – needed – to convince her. “We can force the United Nations to come to terms with the colonies…for God’s sake, Muna, how long do you think it will be before we are ordered to destroy an entire planet? How long do you think it will be before Heinlein hits Earth hard enough to kill the entire population?”
“I don’t care,” Muna hissed. There was a bitterness in her tone, something emerging from her veneer of discipline. I’d never seen her lose control before. “You’re committing treason!”
“Why does treason never prosper?” I asked. I had to reach her somehow. “Because if it prosper, none dare call it treason! How many have to die before you will act?”
“You don’t understand,” she said. “What do I care if the whole damned population of Earth dies? What do you know about my past? I was born into a tribe that thought I was nothing because I was a baby girl! I was sold to my first husband when I was seven! Raiders killed my husband when I was nine and they took me as a whore – oh, but I was no longer virgin by then. My husband took me at once and what did he care how badly I was hurt? They used me and abused me until I ran to the UN Compound and they took me in. They were the only people who helped me!”
I saw tears in her eyes. “Pierre didn’t try to use me; he didn’t try to rape me. He had me checked by the doctors and…I could never have children! My husband had seen to it that I would never give him the healthy boys he craved. The raiders hadn’t cared what happened to me. They kept me on and taught me how to read and write, and then he called in a favour and got me a place at the Academy. The United fucking Nations saved my life. If I’d stayed there, I’d be dead by now, or wishing I was.”
Her hand trembled, but she held the pistol steady. “I believe in the United Nations,” she snapped. “What do I care how many people suffer? I just wish they’d destroy the cursed place I was born and seed the land with salt!”
I found myself looking for words and failed. I hadn’t known – I had never realised – just how bad Muna’s life had been. I had thought I’d known, but I hadn’t understood, even though the Senior Chief had hinted at it…God, it felt like centuries ago. I couldn’t believe it. She was going to kill me and everything would come to nothing. Kitty would take over, I hoped, but I’d never see it. Would we win, or would we merely prolong the war?
“It won’t make any difference,” I said, slowly. “Muna, we can do something to avenge you…”
“What would it matter?” Muna demanded. “Could you give me back everything I’ve lost? I have no family, but the United Nations. I have no chance of ever having children of my own. I have nothing!” Her voice hardened. “I’ll wake her up and use her to get the warning out. The UN will react in time to prevent your forces from taking EarthStar One” – she saw my surprise, for she smiled – “oh come on, John, where else would you send them? I can nip everything in the bud.”
“You won’t,” I said, with absolute confidence. It no longer mattered anyway. “You’ll just cause a civil war instead of a quick and relatively bloodless takeover…”
“So what?” She asked, and pointed the gun directly at my forehead. I tensed and prepared to spring aside, even though I knew it would be futile. I even considered trying to jump her. “John, goodbye…”
She crumpled to the ground. I threw myself to one side a second later, but nothing leapt at me. I saw her body on the ground and, standing behind her, Sally, holding a stunner in one hand. I was never so relieved to see anyone in my entire life. I almost laughed aloud in relief.
“I thought that you’d been delayed,” Sally said, dryly. She bent down and checked Muna’s body, not gently. “I never thought that she would betray you like that.”
I ran my hand though my hair. “Never mind that at the moment,” I said, grimly. “She’s young and strong, so she’ll be out of it for only another half hour at the most. Get a pair of crewmen and put them both in the brig, separate cells, and make sure that neither of them are carrying anything dangerous. Once that’s done, join me on the bridge.”
“Yes, sir,” Sally said. She turned and left the cabin, but paused in the hatchway. “What did she say to you anyway?”
“Never mind,” I said, shaking my head. There would be time to deal with Muna later. I didn’t want to kill her, or sent her to Botany. There had to be another option, somehow. I checked my timer and frowned. The first mutinies should have begun by now. “You go deal with he, and then meet me on the bridge.”
I’d envisaged telling Muna the truth after securing Deborah, but now I’d just have to wing it. Lieutenant Carolyn Lauderdale, a member of the conspiracy, had been left in command of the bridge and she smiled in relief when she saw me. I was just as relieved to see her. I’d been having nightmarish visions of security forces on the bridge leading my people away in chains, but everything was normal.
“Report,” I said, as calmly as I could. “Have we picked up any coded pulses yet?”
“Only from three cruisers,” Carolyn said, grimly. I winced inwardly, although I knew that seven minutes wasn't really long enough to secure a ship, even with the Marines cooperating. The three cruisers that had secretly identified themselves as under our control had had the bridge crew thoroughly subverted. The others would take longer to secure. “Captain?”
“We wait,” I said, coldly. The icon for EarthStar One hung in the display, taunting me. Was it under our control, or had something gone badly wrong? I felt a feeling in the pit of my stomach I couldn’t quite explain. “Concentrate on…”
“Captain, I’m picking up a message from the Marines,” Geoffrey Murchison reported, quickly. “They’re saying…”
“Put them on,” I snapped. There was no need to worry about secrecy any longer. “Erwin, this is John.”
“John, they had troops in place waiting for something,” the Master Sergeant said. I could hear shooting in the background and cursed under my breath. Even Marines couldn’t take the entire station against armed opposition. There were only twenty-one of them, after all. “They’ve got us pinned down.”
I swore again. If they failed, it had all been for nothing.
“Erwin,” I said. I found myself grasping for words again. I’d thrown their lives away – for nothing. “I’m sorry…”
“Stow it,” he snapped. “Just make damn sure that all of this is worthwhile.”
The connection broke. A moment later, the icon representing EarthStar One flickered…and vanished.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
With the handful of a few exceptions, there were few who could claim to be truly loyal to the United Nations – indeed, the institution actively discouraged loyalty. Officers and men served for their pay checks and little else, while their political masters treated them as serfs and used them as expendable slaves. Discontent was widespread throughout the system, yet it required a rallying point before it could become a serious threat.
-Thomas Anderson. An Unbiased Look at the UNPF. Baen Historical Press, 2500.
“They took a nuke,” I realised, in shock. I’d known that the Marines carried scuttling charges for captured freighters, just in case the crews decided to try and take them back, but the Master Sergeant hadn’t mentioned taking one along with him to me. I hadn’t thought that one would be necessary, but he’d obviously had different ideas. Had he known that suicide was the only solution…or had he merely planned for all eventualities? “Why did they even have troops onboard?”
“It must have been the Heinlein assault,” Sally said, stepping onto the bridge. If anyone thought it was odd that a mere Ensign was addressing a Captain in such a manner, they said nothing. “If that panicked the people on EarthStar One, they might well have uploaded more security forces without telling anyone.”
Martial Law 1: Patriotic Treason Page 37