Fire from Ashes (Honor & Duty Book 4)

by Sam Schall

  “How is she?”

  “Honestly?”

  Talbot nodded.

  “I’m not sure.” She lifted a hand before he could interrupt. “Loco, I’m not trying to avoid your question. I honestly don’t know.” She needed to explain better. “You’ve seen Angel when she’s preparing to face the enemy.”

  He nodded.

  “That was her this morning, before the meeting began. She did what she needed to do, just like she always does. It culminated with Okafor removing Hale from command of SecDiv. That’s when you and Sergeant Kuznetsov were sent for. I was dismissed shortly after that and, other than a few comms from the colonel, I haven’t seen or spoken with her since then.”

  Talbot finished his beer and climbed to his feet. Connery watched as he walked into the small kitchen and placed the bottle on the drainboard next to the sink. When he turned, she arched a brow in surprise to see the mix of concern and approval reflected in his eyes.

  “Faith, thank you.” Now he lifted a hand to keep her from interrupting. “Angel needs people she can trust and you’re proving to be one. It happens I trust you as well and consider it an honor to serve with you. You’re a good Marine and a damned fine Devil Dog. I’ve told you this before but I’m going to repeat it. You keep an eye on her. Let me know if you think she needs me – or if you need me. Angel’s special. She’s hurting right now and that means she might not always think things through.”

  “Understood, Kevin. So far, however, she isn’t taking chances with herself or with the Devil Dogs.” And she planned to keep it that way. “You can do something for me.”

  He looked at her in question.

  “You need to be honest with her. We both know she has concerns about Major Laboe. We also know she is discounting them, or trying to, because he isn’t Sorceress and they don’t have the kind of relationship she and Sorceress have – had. But I have been hearing some grumblings from the ranks. You know as well as I do that if I’m hearing rumblings so is Angel.”

  Talbot frowned. “I’ll have a talk with him tomorrow.” From the sound of his voice, it wasn’t a conversation he looked forward to. “Faith, one more thing. If you need to talk with anyone and I’m not around, tag Master Sergeant Anderson. Reaper knows Angel as well as I do.”

  “Thanks. I will.”

  Talbot nodded, apparently satisfied. “Sorry to have barged in.”

  “Any time, Loco.” She meant it. They were Devil Dogs and the good of the battalion, including the good of their CO, trumped all.

  ASHLYN LOOKED up and frowned as her desk unit signaled an incoming e-mail. Before reaching for it where it rested on the desktop, she frowned and checked the time. Then, seeing who it was from, she frowned a second time. Nothing good came from messages received close to midnight, especially not when they came from FleetCom’s chief intel officer.

  For a moment, she considered ignoring the message. After all, he hadn’t marked it urgent. Besides, she still hadn’t finished her report for Okafor, a report due in a matter of hours. As it was, she would be lucky to get any sleep. Tempting as it was to act as if the message hadn’t come in, she couldn’t. Even if her curiosity didn’t tell her to see what the man had to say, duty did.

  But that didn’t mean she couldn’t get a fresh mug of coffee first.

  Nor did it stop her from going upstairs to check on her son. Jake lay in bed, his favorite stuffed animal next to him. He had grown so much since her return from Tarsus. But that was nothing compared to how much he’d grown during the months leading up to her court martial and then her two years at the penal colony. Sorkowski and the others had cost her so much and they had yet to pay for it. They would. She knew it intellectually but, at times like this, it was hard to believe emotionally.

  “Are you all right?”

  She started nervously at the soft voice behind her. Before answering, she closed Jake’s door. Then she turned and, smiling wryly, shook her head to see her sister standing a short distance away. Kate was the youngest of her siblings and the only one not to go into either the Navy or Marines. Instead, she was a geologist. Her work often took her away from Fuercon. But when the call home came, she complied and Ashlyn was glad. She had a feeling things were going to get much worse before the war ended and she wanted her sister as far from the fighting as possible.

  “Just checking on him.” Ashlyn smiled and led her sister away from the little boy’s room. “Are you just getting in?”

  “Yeah. Don’t tell Mom or Dad. They still act like I’m sixteen and under curfew.”

  Exasperation and affection filled Kate’s voice and Ash chuckled softly. She knew exactly what her sister meant. She might be a battle-hardened veteran but, once home, she was their parents’ little girl and nothing would ever change that.

  “Tell me about it.” She linked arms with her sister and they walked slowly down the corridor in the direction of Kate’s suite of rooms. “We haven’t had much time to talk since you got home. How about we take a few hours away this weekend and have some sister time?”

  For a moment, Kate narrowed her eyes. Then, apparently seeing nothing in Ashlyn’s expression to worry her, she nodded, a smile on her lips. Ash grinned and gave her shoulders a squeeze. There were things for them to discuss but they could wait. She did want time to relax and simply enjoy being with her sister. They didn’t get time alone with just the two of them often and she planned on enjoying it.

  “I’d best get back to work. Okafor wants a report in the morning and I’m nowhere near done with it.”

  Kate reached out and stopped her. “Ash, is everything all right? You and Mom both were a bit off this evening before I left for dinner.”

  Ashlyn mentally kicked herself and made a note to talk with their mother. They both needed to be more careful around Kate. She had always been able to tell if they were worried or upset about something. Considering how she was still trying to wrap her mind around everything that happened to Taskforce Liberator, not to mention Okafor’s little change in the Corps, it was no wonder Kate wondered if she was all right.

  “Everything’s fine, Katie.” She gave her sister’s shoulders another quick squeeze. “Okafor is just making some changes. They will be very good for the Corps and for Fuercon but, for a while at least, it means more work for a lot of us, Mom and me included.”

  “Ash.” She reached out and grasped Ashlyn’s hand before Ash could walk away. “Talk to me. I know you’re hurting right now. We all are. Lucinda was part of our family. You can’t keep your emotions bottled up inside of you. You need to talk them out, if not to me, to someone.”

  Ash closed her eyes. Then she nodded. Kate was right, but she was also wrong. The question was how to convince her of that.

  “Katie, you’re right. I am hurting. I miss Lucinda. Even when we weren’t stationed together, I always knew she was there, that she had my back. She was my best friend, my sister by choice. But I can’t let my emotions out right now and I can’t explain all of the whys about it to you. Part of that is because of what the Corps may or may not do after what happened to the taskforce.

  “Part of it is also because what happened to Luce strikes too close to home. It reminds me too much of the Arterus mission and what happened afterwards. The only thing keeping me from doing something foolish is the knowledge that Okafor and others won’t let this be a repeat in any way, shape or form. Beyond that, I made a promise to Luce to look after her family and I can’t do that if I do something foolish and wind up back on Tarsus.”

  “I understand, I think. But I am here if you ever need to talk.”

  Ash smiled and reached for her sister’s hands. “I know, kid, and I promise I’ll take you up on it.” She gave Kate one more hug and stepped back. “Now, I really do need to get back to work.”

  And see what Santiago had to say.

  Mug of freshly brewed coffee in hand, Ashlyn once again settled behind her desk a few minutes later. She stared at the notice of Santiago’s email. Then, hoping she wouldn’t so
on regret it, she opened the message. For a long moment, she stared at it, not quite believing her eyes. Then an almost feral expression settled on her face. He most definitely wouldn’t like her response. She didn’t care. If he wanted her help, he was going to have to do something for her.

  Maybe, just maybe, she would finally be able to put some of her personal ghosts to rest and, in doing so, she might be able to help get the information FleetCom needed to finally get to the bottom of the Midlothian’s connection with the Callusians.

  Still smiling like a cat about to pounce on its prey, she sent her response, outlining exactly what she wanted in return for helping him the next morning.

  Satisfied, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She needed to put Santiago’s request out of her mind and worry about his response to her demands later. She had other things to worry about, like finishing her report for Okafor. Then she needed to turn her attention to the new regiment, her regiment.

  Just the thought of all she had to do to bring the Seventh up to battle-ready status made her head hurt. She had to fill the vacancies left in the Warlords after the last mission. She had to replace equipment. She needed to review officer and senior non-com assignments. Most of all, she had to talk with MJ Anderson, not to mention Talbot and Connery, about her plans for the three of them.

  Somehow, she had to make it all work before the division shipped out and that, she had a feeling, would be happening sooner than anyone expected.

  15

  “ASHLYN, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?”

  Elizabeth stepped inside her daughter’s bedroom and closed the door behind her. Hearing her mother’s voice, Ash inhaled deeply and held it for a moment before exhaling. She should have known Elizabeth would realize something was going on. For the past week, they had ridden into the city together. The fact she had changed their plans without explanation, and on a day when they were both supposed to start with a briefing with Okafor, had set off all her mother’s warning bells.

  Ashlyn didn’t answer right away. Instead, she checked her appearance once last time in her mirror. She wore MARPAT, as she did most mornings. Her dark hair was pulled back into a short braid. She wore just a hint of makeup, more to hide the shadows under her eyes than anything else. But it was the look in her eyes, a look she knew would send Elizabeth into full mother-mode, that was different. She looked ready for battle.

  “Ash?” Elizabeth’s tone was all mother and Ashlyn fought the urge to roll her eyes.

  “There’s something I need to do before reporting to duty this morning, Mom. That’s all.” She did her best to smile. From the way Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed, she knew she’d failed.

  “Ash, don’t make me pull rank.”

  This time she did roll her eyes. “Mom.” She turned and, seeing Elizabeth’s concern, relented. “I had a message from Rico Santiago last night. He wants me to have a word with our guest.” She didn’t explain further, trusting Elizabeth to understand who she meant. “I told him I would be glad to if he did something for me in return.”

  Now Elizabeth inhaled sharply. As she exhaled, she once again narrowed her eyes and then she crossed her arms. Gone was the concerned mother. In her place was the concerned and not very happy senior officer. “And why does he want you to speak with our guest?”

  “I don’t know.” But she could make a fairly good guess.

  “You said you wanted him to do something in return. What?”

  “Are you asking as my mother or as my CO?”

  “Both.”

  Ashlyn couldn’t help it. She shook her head and laughed. For a moment, Elizabeth looked at her, anger flashing in her eyes, then she chuckled. It wasn’t often their dual roles intersected like that. They worked hard to keep the personal out of the professional. But recent events had made it harder on them both to separate the two aspects of their relationship.

  “My guess is he wants to use me as leverage with our guest. I offered him safe passage and made sure his presence on-planet wasn’t made public. In return, he was supposed to give us what intel he had. From what we’ve learned in our earlier briefings and from what Rico’s said privately, that hasn’t happened. And, after what happened to Taskforce Liberator, you know as well as I do that Rico’s not going to wait any longer. It’s put up or get out time for our guest.”

  Elizabeth nodded.

  “As for what I asked in return, it’s simple. I need to lay my demons to rest and he can help me do it without breaking regs or risking going back to Tarsus.”

  “Just don’t do anything foolish.” Elizabeth began to turn to leave and stopped. “Will you be back in time for the briefing with Okafor?”

  “I will.”

  “Do I need to take Jake to school?”

  “No.” A smile softened Ashlyn’s expression as she thought about her son. “I’ll drop him on my way.”

  Elizabeth nodded once and left the room. As she did, Ashlyn dropped onto the edge of her bed. That wasn’t how she’d planned on starting her morning and it had put her behind schedule. At least Elizabeth hadn’t tried to stop her. She needed to think about that later but, for the moment, she put it aside.

  As she stepped outside a few minutes later, Jake skipping ahead of her, Ashlyn bit back her smile. Corporal Connery leaned against the side of a waiting aircar. Seeing Ash approaching, Connery stepped forward and reached for her briefcase. Then she smiled at Jake. Ash grinned as her son gave Connery a quick hug before running back to grab her hand.

  “Are you going to be able to pick me up today, Mom?” Jake asked as they climbed into the aircar.

  “I don’t know.” She pulled him close before telling the private piloting the aircar to stop first at Jake’s school. “Do you want me to?”

  “Uh-huh.” When he looked up at her with a sly smile, she chuckled softly. “We could go to the park if you do.”

  “I’ll have to see, sweetie. If I can’t make it, your Aunt Katie will pick you up. I bet if you ask her really nicely, she’d take you to the park.”

  “Aunt Katie’s fun, but not as much fun as you.”

  Laughing, Ash hugged her son close and promised to do her best to be there when he got out of school. Hopefully, he’d understand if she couldn’t make it. At least he knew she was there whenever she could be. She had so many bedtimes, birthdays, and other occasions to make up for. At least he didn’t seem to blame her for all those long months and years they were apart.

  “Ma’am, the Master Guns is not going to be happy,” Connery said an hour later as they stepped out of the aircar several blocks from their ultimate destination.

  Ash frowned and nodded. She had no doubt once he found out what she planned for the morning, Talbot would be in her office with more than a little to say about it.

  “Let me guess, he’s still got you on a short leash where I’m concerned.”

  Connery chuckled softly and then shook her head. “Not too short of one, ma’am.” When Ashlyn looked at her in question, the corporal sighed. “He worries about you, ma’am. He knows how hard this last mission was on you.”

  “And he’s only doing his job,” Ashlyn completed for her. “What did you tell him?”

  “That you were doing what you needed to and I would let him know if I thought you needed him.”

  Ashlyn waited as Connery opened the door to one of the many non-descript apartment buildings on the street. After stepping inside, she motioned for the younger woman to follow her to one side. “Thank you.” When Connery looked at her in surprise, she continued. “We don’t have time to go into it all right now. But I do trust you to have my back and part of that is letting Loco know if you are worried about anything. I do expect you to talk with me about it first.” She waited until Connery nodded. “What else did you tell him?”

  “That you needed him to be honest with you about the state of the Devil Dogs and especially about Major Laboe.” Connery looked a little uncomfortable with the admission.

  “Thank you.” She meant it. “Faith, you said exactly w
hat you should have. Loco is my senior NCO and I am going to rely on him even more over the next few weeks and months for reasons you’ll be read in on later today, reasons he doesn’t know yet. You are my aide, assuming you still want the assignment.”

  Connery straightened. “I do, ma’am.”

  “Good.” Ash smiled and started off. “Let’s deal with the next hour or so and then we’ll get down to the real work.”

  It took almost fifteen minutes to move through the various utility tunnels between the buildings to reach their final destination. Waiting for them by the service lift, Rico Santiago looked relieved when he finally saw them. Before he could ask, Ashlyn assured him they hadn’t been seen and certainly had not been followed.

  “Before we go up, are you going to do as I asked?” Ash waited, not about to get onto the lift until he answered.

  He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked uncomfortable, as if he didn’t want to answer. Ashlyn arched one brow. Then, frustration building, she turned on her heel, signaling for Connery to follow. If Santiago wasn’t going to hold up his part of their bargain, she had other things to do that morning.

  “Wait!”

  She turned back.

  “It’s set up, but I want you to think for a moment, Ash. What good will it do to see them?”

  “It will help bring me closure, something I thought you’d understand.”

  “I do.” He blew out a breath. “I’m not doing this well. I do understand, Ash, but I can’t and won’t let you do anything foolish either.”

  “Don’t worry, Rico, Connery here is going to make sure I don’t do what I want to.” She glanced at her wrist unit. “I have one hour to get this done, all of it, before I’m due at the Commandant’s office.”

  He gave her one last, long look and then nodded. She knew he wasn’t convinced but he didn’t have any choice. “Let’s go.”