Man of War (Rebellion Book 1)

by M. R. Forbes

  "Just to be clear, General, you aren't mad that I brought her?"

  "Should I be?" he asked.

  "No, sir. She's earned my trust."

  "That's good enough for me. You're a hero, Donovan. You and Diaz both. You may have just changed the entire face of this war." He paused again, lowering his voice. "I hope it isn't too late."

  "Too late for what, sir?"

  "We'll talk about it later. You need to see Iwu. We have a lot of work to do, and this changes everything." He shook the rifle. "Give me the short version."

  Donovan spent the next few minutes briefing General Rodriguez on everything that had happened from the moment they had erected the needle. The General remained silent throughout, stroking the top of the weapon like the priceless artifact it was. His eyebrows went up as Donovan recounted in more detail how Diaz had killed the armored Dread, and a smile crept across his face.

  "So we came back here. Everything was fine until Captain Reyes turned into an asshole with Ehri, like he's the only one whose family was killed by the Dread."

  "I'll deal with Reyes. He won't be leaving the base again anytime soon. I know the Dread are sweeping the area right now because of his stupidity."

  "Do you think they'll find us?"

  "No. I sent Suarez up to collapse the vent just in case they decide to get too curious. It'll take a few hours to open it up again, but it's worth it."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Now, have Iwu clean you up and pass those threads over to Carlson so he can peek at it under his microscope. Here." He picked up the rifle. "Get this over to him, too. Tell him not to do anything to make it stop working, but we need to know everything we can about it, especially how it can get through the enemy's armor. Bek'hai, you said?"

  "Yes, sir." Donovan took the rifle from Rodriguez. "What about Ehri, sir?"

  "You trust her, and she looks like she trusts you. She'll stay under guard until you can escort her. I want to know everything she knows. I've been waiting a lifetime for an opportunity like this."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Dismissed, Major."

  Donovan opened the door and left the room. He didn't see the wave of frightened concern that passed over General Rodriguez's face behind him.

  FORTY-ONE

  Donovan found Chief Science Officer Carlson in his usual location.

  Face down on his cot in the barracks.

  He had decided to drop the rifle and the alien clothing off first, grabbing a new pair of greens from Corporal Gosh in supply and carrying them with him to the bottom floor of the bunker. He didn't disturb Carlson right away, instead taking his time in getting the black cloth off his body. The pants were easy. The top wasn't. He grimaced in pain as his tugged at it.

  "Whoever you are, and whatever you're doing, can you please stop?" Carlson said, his voice muffled from being buried in the pillow. "We have a separate room for that."

  "Either shut up or help me get this off," Donovan said.

  Carlson rolled over. He was an older man, a little pudgy, with thick gray hair and a large nose. He was disheveled in a button down collared shirt and slacks beneath an old and stained white lab coat. "Donnie. You made it back." He shifted back and forth a few times to get enough momentum to pull himself from the cot.

  "Diaz and I both made it," he replied.

  Carlson made a motion to give him a hug, but Donovan put up his hand.

  "You wanted me to stop groaning, remember?" He turned so Carlson could see his back.

  "Why aren't you with Iwu right now?"

  "The General wanted me to bring you this." He pulled at the clothes. "And that." He pointed to the alien rifle, resting on an adjacent empty mattress.

  "Is that-"

  "Yes."

  He forgot about Donovan, reaching for it. "How? What?"

  "I'll tell you all about it later. The General said to examine it, but whatever you do, don't break it."

  Carlson picked it up like it was an egg. "I don't believe it." He turned toward Donovan. "You're the damn messiah."

  "I wouldn't go that far. Are you going to help me finish getting out of this, or what?"

  "Right. Sorry, Donnie." He smiled as he put the weapon back down. "I got a little excited. Geez, I still can't believe it. I've been here since we found the place, and I never thought I would live to see the day."

  "Is that why you spend so much time sleeping?" Donovan asked.

  "I'm not sleeping. I'm thinking."

  "Yeah, right."

  Carlson grabbed at the alien cloth, helping Donovan wiggle out of it. The motion opened the wound again, and blood trickled warmly down his back.

  "Don't waste your time with me," Carlson said. "Go see Iwu. I'm going to bring this down to the lab and get my people working on it. I'm glad I've been sleeping so much lately. I don't think I'll be resting again for a while. I'm so stoked."

  "I thought you were thinking?"

  Carlson laughed. "Shut up."

  Donovan didn't put his shirt on, leaving his top half bare while he made his way back up one level to the infirmary.

  "Where's Doc Iwu?" he asked George. The blonde-haired tween was one of the Doctor's four assistants-in-training.

  "Hey Donnie," George said. "You've got a little blood on your side there."

  "Thanks. That's why I came to see Iwu."

  "She's in the back with Diaz. Let me take a look. Maybe I can help you? Take a seat over there."

  He pointed at a small stool in the corner, near the racks of carefully labeled and organized medications that had been grabbed from anywhere they could find them.

  Donovan sat down, turning his back to the boy.

  "How does it look?"

  "Hold on, I need to clean it out." He opened a few nearby drawers, removing some cloth and disinfectant. "This is going to sting."

  "I'm used to it."

  George worked at cleaning the wound. Donovan winced but didn't make a sound. The stinging was nothing compared to crawling through the tunnel.

  "It's deep, but superficial. I imagine it's a bit sore?"

  "You could say that."

  "I'll stitch it up and get you a sling. Rest the arm for a week and you should be fine."

  "George, don't take this personally because you're a good kid, and you're working hard at this, but I'd really like Iwu to take a look at it."

  "I understand," George said. "Nailah's been teaching us that confidence is one of the most important traits of a good Doctor. You have to be sure that what you're doing is right. Which I am."

  The slight turn on the statement wasn't lost on Donovan. "A little bit of arrogance doesn't hurt either, does it?"

  "Nope. Nailah should be out any second. Diaz is in better shape than you."

  "Doctors also need to not ogle their patients," Donovan said.

  The door to the private examining room started to open. George lowered his voice. "I'm working on it, but between you and me, Diaz is gorgeous."

  Donovan got to his feet. "Just wait until you reach puberty."

  Diaz came out of the room first, smiling when she saw Donovan. She also had a fresh pair of greens on, though her alien outfit was still in her arms. "I'm glad Rodriguez didn't keep you too long," she said. "What did he say?"

  "I'll tell you later," Donovan replied. "Is Ehri okay?"

  "Why are you so worried about her? She's fine. It's probably boring for her in the fridge, though. There's nothing to look at, and nobody to interrogate."

  Was that a hint of jealousy he was sensing?

  Doctor Nailah Iwu was behind Diaz, and she also gave Donovan a wide, bright smile. She was an elegant woman, tall and thin, highly educated and well-spoken. "Major Donovan Peters," she said. "It looks like George has already started my work for me?"

  "I'll catch up with you later, amigo," Diaz said, surprising him by leaning up and kissing his cheek. She left the room before he could respond.

  "He has a laceration across his right scapula, ma'am," George said. "It's deep, but none of the m
uscles were cut. I recommended stitches, but Donnie wanted you to look at it first."

  "George knows what he's doing, Major," Iwu said.

  "I'm sure he does. It's just important to me that I'm ready for duty as soon as possible, and you can't argue that you're a master with stitches."

  She laughed. "I've had too much experience. Come on back, I'll take a look. George, you too."

  They followed her back into the examination room. It was necessarily low-tech, as it was difficult to keep the more advanced medical machinery operating with the limited resources they possessed.

  "Sit facing away from me," Iwu said, patting the padded table.

  Donovan did as he was asked. He felt Iwu's cold hands on his skin a moment later.

  "George's prognosis is completely accurate."

  "I told you so," George said.

  "George," Iwu chided.

  "Sorry, ma'am."

  "Let me stitch this up. Keep the level of your arm below your head for the next week and you should be fine."

  "No sling?" Donovan asked, looking over at George.

  "I don't think that will be necessary."

  George shook his head and looked away.

  "Do you want something to bite down on?" Iwu asked. Stitches weren't a good enough reason for them to waste painkillers or numbing agents on.

  "No, thank you."

  "Suit yourself."

  He could hear her moving behind him in quick, precise motions as she prepped the stitches.

  "Here we go," she said.

  He felt the first stab and closed his eyes, recalling his conversation with Rodriguez as she closed up the wound. The General had called him a hero. That was something to be proud of, and the part of the meeting he wanted most to hold onto.

  He couldn't. Instead, his mind kept going back to a single statement the General had made and wondering what he had meant.

  "I hope it isn't too late."

  FORTY-TWO

  Gabriel was back on Gamma less than two hours later, after making up an excuse for Colonel Graham about how he wanted one last ride in the fighter before turning it in. Graham was gracious in accepting the reason, even though it was within his rights to dress Gabriel down for his actions. Gabriel wasn't going to risk angering the Colonel, and so he arranged for the transport to return him to Alpha when he was finished on Gamma, ostensibly to visit his father.

  Lieutenant Curtis laughed to see him back so soon, and he was even more amused when Gabriel took a few minutes to relate his conversation with Colonel Graham. Once he had Curtis loosened up, he made his next move.

  "So, Lieutenant," Gabriel said. "I have it on authority that officers in the Space Force have the right to access any files stored on shared resources?"

  Curtis seemed surprised by the question. "I haven't heard of that."

  "Look it up if you aren't sure. Article seventy-one, paragraph three." Reza had shown him the law on his handheld. It was a real thing in the NEA law books.

  "I believe you, sir," Curtis said. "I'm not sure why you're bringing it up, though."

  "I need to make a copy of a file that I know is here on Gamma."

  "I thought you came for a tour?"

  "I did, but I also came to get the file."

  Curtis seemed unsure. "I'll have to talk to Doctor Shore."

  "Shore is a civilian," Gabriel said. "He has no jurisdiction over something like this."

  Gabriel watched Curtis' expression. Reza didn't think any of the members of the military were in on the conspiracy. That didn't mean he was right. Curtis was stationed with the science team full-time. If any of the Space Force were going to side with them, it would be him.

  "Look, it's not a big deal," Gabriel said. He made a face that he hoped looked somewhat pathetic. "I made a bet with the receptionist on Alpha. Danai. Do you know her?"

  "No, sir."

  "Well, she agreed to go out with me if I could prove the Eden mission was real, and that we really are going to get out of this system. I talked to Guy before I left, and he told me they had the report on their servers."

  "Why didn't you ask Guy for the report?"

  "Guy hates me," Gabriel said. "I only asked him to confirm it existed. You've probably heard I've been a little out of sorts the last few days."

  "There have been some rumors, yeah. They said you and your father were both devastated over the resistance giving up the war."

  "Exactly. I'm just looking for a little distraction; you know what I mean?"

  Curtis smiled. "I hear you, Captain." He bit his lip. "It's on the books, right?"

  "Yes."

  "You promise?"

  "Yes."

  Curtis nodded. "Okay. I happen to be friends with the head of IT here. Come on, we'll go stop by her office. She can get you what you need."

  "I assume you're referring to the file?" Gabriel asked.

  The Lieutenant laughed openly. "Yeah. I would prefer if you keep it to business with Felicia. I've been trying to get her to go out with me for the last three months."

  "Why won't she?"

  "You know those types. They can be hard to get to warm up."

  Gabriel didn't know. He smiled and nodded anyway. "Okay. I won't flirt with her. All I want is the file."

  "Follow me, sir," Curtis said.

  Curtis assigned one of his subordinates to keep an eye on things and then they made their way from the hangar to the loop station, taking a pod to the central hub. Once there, they took the elevator up to the second level. The door to the IT department was secured with a fingerprint scanner. Curtis put his finger to it, and it slid open.

  The office was open and basic, rows of desks lined up neatly in the front, with racks of computer equipment behind glass in the back. The servers had originally been on the Magellan, and by the looks of it, there was early activity to disconnect it all and return it to the starship.

  "There she is," Curtis said, pointing to a thin woman on the other side of the glass. She was with another tech, pointing at a neatly organized row of cables that dropped from the ceiling.

  Curtis went over to the glass and knocked on it. Felicia looked at him, made a less than enthusiastic face, excused herself, and exited the room ahead of a blast of cool air.

  "Can I help you, Lieutenant?" she asked.

  "Hi, Felicia. How are you today?" Curtis said.

  "I'm fine. I'm in the middle of something. Some of us have actual work to do."

  Three months, and this was as far as he had gotten? Gabriel had a feeling she wasn't cold. The Lieutenant was just annoying.

  "Excuse me, Felicia," he said, approaching them.

  "Yes." Her eyes fell to the name badge to his shirt. "Oh, Captain St. Martin." She smiled. There was nothing cold about it. "How is your father?"

  Gabriel glanced at Curtis, who responded with a shrug.

  "He's doing well, thank you for asking. I'm sorry if we're bothering you, and I don't want to take too much of your time. I was hoping you might be able to help me with something."

  "Really? I can't imagine how an IT girl would be able to help you with anything."

  She was still smiling, her expression soft. He had told Curtis he wouldn't flirt with her as a joke, but it seemed she wanted to flirt with him.

  "That's where you're wrong," Gabriel said. "I need to retrieve a file for Colonel Graham's review, but I have no idea how to locate it."

  "Oh? I can probably help you there. Which file?"

  "Astronomy's report on the Eden migration," Gabriel said. "Guy Larone wrote it."

  "Why don't you get it from Guy?"

  "You probably know he isn't a big fan of the military."

  She laughed. "No, he isn't, is he? If it's his private report, you'll need his permission for me to pull it."

  "Actually, he doesn't," Curtis said, trying to get back into the conversation. "Article... Which one was it again, Captain?"

  "Article seventy-one," Gabriel replied. "NEA law says I don't need permission, which is good because he
would never give it to me."

  Felician bit her lip. "I've never heard of that law."

  "How often does anyone need it? You must have a copy of the Articles you can pull up if you want to check."

  "You don't mind if I take a look?"

  "Why would I? I don't want you to get in trouble."

  Felicia led them to her desk. It was sparse, save for a photo of a man Gabriel recognized, standing with a younger version of her.

  "General Cave is your father?" he asked, suddenly feeling stupid for not putting two and two together. He knew the General had a daughter named Felicia.

  "Yes. He used to talk about you and your dad a lot, you know. He has a lot of respect for both of you. There was a time he wanted the two of us to meet, to see if we hit it off. Then he decided he didn't want me to be involved with a pilot." She was speaking as she was navigating through the Articles on a large touchscreen.

  "I can understand that," Gabriel said, his mind reaching back and inserting Felicia into a potential alternate timeline. She seemed like a nice enough person, and she wasn't hard to look at. "We don't tend to live very long."

  "You have. Ah, here it is." She scanned the lines, reciting some of the words out loud. "It looks legit. I've got you covered, Captain."

  She dove into a different part of the system, flipping through all kinds of data until she found what she was looking for. "Do you want me to push it to your account?"

  "Actually, can you give me a copy?"

  She reached down and opened a drawer, pulling out a small square. She tapped it against the touchscreen and then handed it to him. "Would it be possible for you to bring this back?" she asked. "We don't have an unlimited supply of these."

  Gabriel had a feeling from the way she was looking at him that she wanted him to come back more than she wanted the storage square back. "Sure. I'll do my best."

  "Great. Maybe we can get something to eat while you're here?"

  He looked at Curtis again. The Lieutenant was shaking his head. "I'd like that," he said. "It may be a while though with everything going on."