by Sam Schall
With Ortega on one side and Talbot on the other, she watched as the former guard-captain stumbled to his feet. He took two steps forward and then sank to his knees. Breathing in something very close to sobs, he crossed his ankles and then spread his knees. Then, as he sat back on his heels, he lifted his arms and linked his fingers behind his head.
“Up on your knees, Haritos. I didn’t say you could sit back,” Ashlyn snapped. As she did, she remembered the pain of having to kneel like that, sometimes for what seemed like hours, before the guards would pull her to her feet for whatever they had planned next. “Head up, eyes on me.”
Sweat trickled down his face and she could almost smell his fear. To her surprise, it didn’t make her feel any better. As much as she wanted revenge, she did not want to turn into the sort of person Haritos and Coreal were. But she had a point to make and, if she did it right, the former guard-captain might be able to give them some of the information they needed to unravel all that had been happening on Tarsus. More importantly, they might finally know if the vents there bore any relation to what happened to her and her people on Arterus.
“I hope you’ve realized you aren’t going to weasel your way out of the charges against you.” She waited until he nodded once. “However, against my recommendation, the JAG has said it will consider a lesser sentence if you answer, fully and truthfully, Captain Ortega’s questions. However, one lie, one misrepresentation, one failure to be totally honest and all bets are off. Do you understand?”
“I want my rep here for this.”
“Fine.” In fact, she had anticipated that. Haritos might look beaten but she knew him too well. His ego wouldn’t let him believe they truly held the upper hand until forced to. Well, she was about to force him to understand just how hopeless his situation was. “Captain Ortega, you’ve got your answer. He wants his representative with him when and if he meets with you.”
“That’s his right, Captain Shaw.” Ortega looked at him as if he was no more significant than some annoying insect about to be swatted. “Since he hasn’t arranged for representation and he won’t be brought before a judge until next week some time, we’ll leave him and let him consider his options until then.” She nodded for Talbot to secure the hatch back in place. “How long do you think before he’s screaming to talk to me?” She grinned and an unholy light shone in her eyes.
“Not long,” Ashlyn replied. “He’s a bully and a coward. You saw him. He doesn’t want to admit it but he’s already beaten.”
“More than you think, ma’am.”
Ashlyn looked at Talbot in question.
“You two were already turning away as I secured the hatch. You didn’t see him piss himself.” He shook his head, disgusted. “How do you want to handle Coreal?”
Ashlyn thought for a moment. Somehow, she had a feeling they would frown on her going a few rounds with the man. She also knew he would not be as easy to break as Haritos. Not that it mattered. She had a few things to say to the former commandant. Perhaps that would be enough to loosen his tongue.
“I’m not going to ask him anything. I have something to say and that’s it. If he wants to talk after that, it will be up to him.” Then, seeing their concern, she blew out a breath. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to do anything stupid. Nor am I going to rant and rave at him. I give you both permission to drag me away if you think you need to. But I have to do this. Not just for me but for the others as well.”
They didn’t look convinced but they didn’t try to stop her either. Instead, they followed her down the row to Coreal’s cell. Talbot used the security panel to open the security hatch. Unlike Haritos, Coreal looked at them, hatred in his eyes. He stood and took three steps in their direction. Before Ashlyn said anything, Talbot did.
“Stop!” The gunny’s voice echoed up and down the corridor. “I believe the order is assume the position.”
Coreal, dressed in the same sort of yellow jumpsuit as Haritos, stared at Talbot in disbelief. For a moment, he stood where he was. Then he dropped to his knees and assumed the same position Ashlyn had so many times in the past. Defiance radiated from him and Ash knew she had been right. He would be much more difficult to break than Haritos had proved to be.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“Quiet!” Ortega snapped. “Captain?”
Ashlyn stepped forward until she stood close enough to the security field to feel it dancing along the skin of her arms and face. Looking at Coreal, knowing he would never see another day of freedom meant the world to her. Even so, her stomach churned. She knew first-hand how quickly things could change. That was why she knew they needed everything he could tell them about his operations on Tarsus as well as any other questionable activities he might know about.
That knowledge would add yet another nail in his proverbial coffin. She wanted to make sure it was nailed tight. He could not be allowed to escape justice.
“This won’t take long.” She made a show of looking him up and down. “I wanted to see for myself how you liked being the one in custody. I promise I’m going to be at your tiral. If it is the last thing I do, I’ll make sure everyone knows who and what you are. You’ll have no secrets by the time I’m done. Everyone in the system and beyond will know you’re more than a sadistic son-of-a-bitch who gets off on tormenting and torturing those who can’t fight back. They will know you are a traitor and a slaver.
“Coreal, you’ll be lucky if the court gives you the death penalty. Frankly, I hope they sentence you to one of the penal colonies. I think it would be most appropriate if you had to return to Tarsus as a prisoner. Think about it. Some of those you’ve taken such pleasure in tormenting will be there to welcome you.”
He blanched at that and she smiled slightly. Good. Maybe he wasn’t as sure about beating the charges against him as she thought.
“You know as well as I do that they will be more than eager to show you
“Just think about it, Coreal. Think about being with the same prisoners you took such pleasure in abusing. I feel confident at least a few of them will still be on Tarsus by the time your trial ends. Can’t you just imagine what they’ll do to make sure you feel welcome?”
“You can’t!” He started to rise and then stopped, looking worriedly at Talbot.
“I can’t but the court can.” She took one last look at him and prepared to turn away. There was one more thing she needed to say first. “Dante Coreal, remember this. You did your best to make my life a living hell while I was on Tarsus. You did so knowing your actions were in violation of the Military Code of Conduct as well as who knows how many military and civilian laws. Now think about this. I’ll be at your trial and, if they sentence you to death, I will be there when you draw your last breath. You are an embarrassment to the military and to Fuercon and the sooner you are dealt with, the better.”
With that, she turned and walked off. She had done all she could. The rest was up to the JAG and any others who wanted to lay charges against the man. She’d trust the system, for now, to make sure justice was done. If not, well, she wasn’t the woman she’d been before being sent to Tarsus and the new Ashlyn would do whatever it took to protect her people.
« Chapter 19 »
Ashlyn rolled onto her side and cursed softly as an insistent buzzing work her. She’d gone to bed less than four hours earlier. Whoever was on the other end of the comm-call had better have a darned good reason for waking her. Then, as several possibly explanations – none of them good – hit her, she reached out activated the comm unit for voice only.
“Shaw,” she said as she sat up.
“Sorry to disturb you, Captain Shaw,” Captain Carlisle began. Something about his voice warned her she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“What can I do for you, sir?” Much as she wanted him to get to the point, she couldn’t. One simply didn’t order a ship’s captain to do anything, at least not if she wanted to see another promotion.
“We’ve had a chang
e in status. Report to my ready room in ten.”
“Aye, sir. Shaw out.”
Worried, Ash climbed out of bed and headed into the small head adjoining her quarters. A much too quick shower would clear her head even if it wouldn’t answer any of her questions. A change of status could mean almost anything. The only thing she was sure of was that they weren’t in imminent danger. If they were, Carlisle would have brought the ship to General Quarters. But that still left a number of other scenarios.
God, he could have at least given her a hint about what was going on.
She’d just finished dressing when a soft knock sounded at the door. A moment later, Gunnery Sergeant Talbot stepped inside. Ash shook her head and one corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile to see him. How could he look more rested than she felt? She knew he’d gotten no more sleep than she had because they’d been talking until she was ready for bed. Yet he looked like he had managed a good eight hours down.
“Captain?”
“You know as much as I do right now, Gunny.”
She turned to the mirror and quickly checked her appearance. As she did, she drew a deep breath, stilling her emotions. She couldn’t let her mind jump to conclusions. She didn’t have enough information about what was going on. But with Major Pawlak, as well as most of the Devil Dogs, still on the surface, she was the senior Marine officer onboard. That meant she had to act the part, at least until Pawlak could catch a shuttle back to the ship.
“All I know, Gunny, is that I’m to report to the Captain’s ready room. He said we’ve had a change in status,” she said as she turned away from the mirror. “What are you doing here?”
“The XO sent instructions that I was to accompany you and await any orders you might have after the briefing. Seems I’m senior non-com right now.”
Ash smiled slightly. He sounded as disgruntled about being the ranking Marine non-com onboard as she felt about being senior Marine officer.
“By any chance has Major Pawlak reported in since we called it a night?”
“Negative, ma’am.”
Ash blew out a breath. She’d hoped their CO could give them at least a hint about what was going on. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to try to contact him either. Not when she was already in danger of being late reporting to Carlisle’s ready room.
“We’d better go, Gunny. Hopefully, whatever’s going on isn’t going to kick us in the teeth.”
“Roger that, ma’am.”
Barely more than ten minutes after being awakened by Carlisle’s comm, Ashlyn entered the ready room off the bridge, Talbot on her heels. She nodded to those already gathered. Then she took the seat Carlisle indicated. As she did, the communications chief brought up a live freed from the surface. It didn’t surprise Ash to see both Pawlak and Lieutenant Liu on the screen.
Once his steward passed around mugs of coffee, Carlisle took his place at the head of the table. As he did, Ashlyn frowned slightly. Concern darkened the captain’s expression and that, in turn, worried her. Ash had seen that expression before, including in her own mirror before every combat mission she’d led. It was the look of an officer who knew death was on the horizon.
But that didn’t make sense. The ship wasn’t at GQ and there was nothing about Pawlak and Liu to indicate there’d been any trouble on the surface. Then another explanation dawned on her and she swallowed hard. Had the capital been attacked again?
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Carlisle began. “Approximately fifteen minutes ago we received an encrypted message from FleetCom. All ships in the fleet are to go to alert status. This is not a drill.” He paused, sipping his mug of coffee. Ash wondered if he was giving them time to accept what he’d just said.
“According to the message, word has reached the capital that Cassius Prime has been attacked. One of our courier ships entered the system while the attack was taking place and managed to get off a transmission, complete with sensor and video data. Unfortunately, FleetCom has since lost contact with it. Even more troubling is the fact that there have been no transmissions or traffic intercepted from the system.”
Ash sat back and blew out a long breath. Carlisle didn’t need to tell her who the invaders were. She knew the answer. The invasion, breakdown of communications followed by what could only be a picket was exactly how the Callusians operated. They’d sweep into a system, target the major defense platforms and, after destroying them, lay siege to the capital or one of the larger population centers. No warning and no demands. Just wholesale slaughter. Then, they would demand the system government’s surrender. Failure meant more bombardment from space, followed closely by ground forces with the sole purpose of securing the target and causing the most terror and destruction possible.
What made the attack on Cassius Prime worse was its proximity to Fuercon. Never before had the Callusians struck so close to home. Now the attack on the capital made more sense. It kept the Fuerconese military focused on the home system while the Callusians moved into position to take over Cassius Prime.
“FleetCom is attempting to confirm what happened to our courier ship as well as trying to obtain more intelligence about the attack on Cassius Prime. In the meantime, all ships are to return their assigned sectors, including this one. We will be leaving orbit as soon as we have personnel shifted between ship and surface to maintain control of the penal colony until reinforcements can be sent out from the home system.”
“And the truce?” the XO asked.
“Officially, there is no change. However, FleetCom has said that it expects the President to declare the truce over and to issue a formal Declaration of War just as soon as we have secondary confirmation of what happened and who is responsible.”
A ripple of reaction ran around the table. From her place to Carlisle’s left, Ashlyn watched the others. Most wore expressions that ran the gamut from surprise to satisfaction. But it was Pawlak’s expression that had her wondering what else Carlisle might have to say. There was something about her CO that warned her there was more, much more to what was happening than they knew so far.
“Captain, you mentioned that we would be breaking orbit as soon as we shifted some personnel. Can you elaborate?” the XO asked from her seat opposite Ashlyn.
“Major Pawlak?”
“Yes, sir.” Pawlak looked down and Ash wondered if he was consulting notes. “FleetCom included orders for the Devil Dogs with their orders for Captain Carlisle. The DDs are to return to the capital with the Magellan. Lieutenant Marshall and his Marines will transfer planetside to relieve the DDs down here. When reinforcements arrive from the home system, the lieutenant and his people will return to the Magellan.”
“Lieutenant Marshall and his people are preparing to transfer down as we speak,” Carlisle took up. “Shuttles should be dropping within the half hour, Major.”
“Very good, sir.” Pawlak turned and said something to someone off-camera. Then he turned back, his expression serious. “The first shuttle returning topside will be carrying half a dozen prisoners, including the former commandant of the prison and former head guard. Lieutenant Liu will be returning with them. The other JAG is going to remain here to continue the onsite investigation. Gunny, I want guards on the prisoners 24/7.”
“Yes, sir,” Talbot said from where he stood behind Ashlyn’s chair.
“Captain Shaw, you have command of the Devil Dogs for the return trip home,” Pawlak continued.
Ash sat up, her eyes going wide. “Sir?”
“You heard me, Ash.” Now he grinned. “Lieutenant Marshall is a fine young officer, but he doesn’t have the experience or the reputation to run this prison until reinforcements get here. So I’ll be remaining with them. Take the Devil Dogs home and get them ready for war, Captain.”
“Until you get back, sir,” she said.
“Have someone collect my gear and send it down with the shuttles, Captain. I’ll do my best to brief the Devil Dogs down here, but will leave it to you to brief the entire team once you break orbit.”<
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“Understood, sir.”
God, what else was going to happen?
“Captain, with your permission, I need to get things moving on this end.”
“Of course, Major. The first shuttle will drop in half an hour.”
“We’ll be ready, sir.” Pawlak nodded, his expression calm and confident. “Ash, we’ll talk before you break orbit.”
“Yes, sir.” Before she could say anything more, the video feed ended.
“All right, we have a lot to do. As more information comes in from FleetCom, it will be passed on. In the meantime, get your departments prepared for immediate departure. Dismissed.”
Ashlyn waited as the others filed out of the ready room. Then she turned to Talbot, a thoughtful expression on her face. There was so much to do, more than she felt ready for. Not that she had any choice. The major had made it very clear that she was to step up as his XO and make sure their orders were carried out. Fortunately, she knew she could count on the gunnery sergeant to help.
“Gunny, this is going to be a lot like when you were wiping my nose back when I was still a green second lieutenant,” she said. “I won’t lie. I need your help. You know the team and you are certainly more up-to-date on what’s going on.”
“Cap, you know what to do,” he assured her. “You just have to trust yourself. But don’t worry. I’ll be glad to kick your rear – respectfully of course – if you start to screw up.” His grin did more to reassure her than anything else could have.
“All right, Gunny. Just don’t be surprised if I kick back.” She grinned in return. Even as she did, she knew he was wrong. The last two years had taken their toll on her and it was going to take time to learn to trust herself and her superiors again. “Go see if you can be of any assistance to Lieutenant Marshall and his people. Have someone pack up the major’s things and get them on the first shuttle down. I’ll make sure the captain has everything set for the prisoners.”