Star Marine!

by John Bowers

  At the next gate she boarded a starship she also couldn't see. She'd been told it was a battle cruiser, but was still blindfolded and didn't see again until she was safely in her cabin. Only then did Griffen remove her blindfold and allow her to look around. There was nothing to see, of course; she wasn't permitted to leave the cabin and it had no portholes. Food was brought in, sanitary facilities were built in, and she lived with Griffen for thirty hours until the rendezvous with the Federation starship, which took place several light years from any star.

  This time Griffen took her to an airlock; once again she was blindfolded, and only when the inner door had closed behind her did he remove it.

  She looked through a connecting tube toward the airlock of the Federation ship, and saw another woman standing there with a Space Force officer beside her. For just a moment she felt disoriented, as if she were in a house of mirrors — surely this was a reflection of herself and Griffen. The woman at the other end of the tube was her height, had red hair, and though she couldn't tell for sure, appeared almost a clone of herself.

  Griffen nudged her and they began to walk. The other pair also started forward, and as they drew closer, Regina held her breath. The other redhead's green eyes were fixed on her face, and it was like looking into a mirror. The resemblance was truly uncanny.

  They stopped six feet apart. The two military officers glared suspiciously at each other. Neither spoke, and Regina wondered what was supposed to happen now.

  She looked at the redhead, the real Scarlett Wallace, and felt an unexpected kinship, as if she were meeting a long-lost sister after many years of separation. She could only wonder what the other girl felt toward her. Regina allowed herself a tentative smile.

  "Welcome home, Scarlett," she whispered.

  "Who are you?" Scarlett asked in a heavy Texiana accent.

  Regina almost laughed. But tears stung her eyes instead, and she was tempted to give the other woman a hug.

  "You'll find out all about me," she said. "As soon as you get home."

  "You're a Feddie!" the redhead sneered. "Ah know all about Feddies."

  Regina shook her head. "No. You don't know everything. But you will, some day."

  Scarlett nodded. "When the wah is ovah."

  "That's right."

  Scarlett looked at Griffen. "Majah, if you'ah finished heah, Ah'd like to git on boahd a Confederate ship. Ah've had mah belly full of Feddies."

  Griffen nodded and smiled. "Right away, Miss Wallace." He looked at the Space Force officer again, and they nodded coldly to each other. Each man released the woman he was holding, and the girls brushed each other as they changed sides. Regina felt the kiss of Federation flesh as the Space Force officer took her arm. For just a second she was almost overcome with emotion.

  "Scarlett!" She turned quickly, and the Sirian belle looked back. "Be patient with Field Marshal Vaughn," she said. "He's been through a terrible ordeal."

  Scarlett Wallace wrinkled her nose.

  "Vaughn!" she sneered. "He's such a pig!"

  Without another word, she turned and accompanied Griffen back to the Confederate ship. Regina watched her go, and couldn't stop the hot tears that spilled down her cheeks.

  Tuesday, 13 November, 0232 (PCC) - Orbital 9, Orbit of Terra

  Peter Miller was waiting at Orbital 9 when Regina Wells stepped off the tiny shuttle that had transferred her from UFF Hong Kong. She stared at him with eyes that had seen far more than she'd ever wanted to see, and for just a moment was tempted to slap his face. But she'd signed on, she reminded herself, and had been an adult when she did. Miller was just trying to get a job done, and used whatever persuasion he needed to accomplish it.

  "Miss Wells!" he said gently, relief evident in his voice. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you, safe and sound."

  She believed him. He looked ten years older than when she'd last seen him. She could only imagine the grief her father had put him through; as President of the Federation, Henry would know all about her mission.

  "Are you feeling all right?" Miller asked as he took her arm and led her from the docking gate. "Do you need any medical attention?"

  "No," she said quietly. "I would like to get some civilian food. I'm sick of Sirian food and the stuff on board ship could cause a mutiny."

  "Of course. We'll get you fed immediately. I won't be debriefing you until we return to Washington City —"

  "I'm going to see my father first," she told him firmly. "You can have all the debrief you want, but first I've got to see my dad."

  Miller was somewhat taken aback, but could hardly disagree.

  "Of course," he said simply. "The President is anxious to hear from you."

  The orbital shuttle landed in Washington City two hours later. An FIA hovercar was waiting, and Miller directed the pilot to the White House. Federation Security agents met them on the roof, and Regina was whisked into the executive mansion as if she might be kidnapped at any moment. It all happened so quickly that when she reached the oval office her head was still spinning.

  Henry Wells stood as the diminutive redhead stepped through the doorway and stopped, staring at him as if he were a ghost.

  "Gina?" he whispered.

  Regina had held her emotions under iron control for many days, but now she lost them. Tears spilled down her cheeks and her heart caught in her throat.

  "Daddy!"

  She ran to him and he met her beside his desk. Father and daughter threw their arms around each other, and the President of the Federation wept openly as he pressed his only child against his heaving chest. Regina sobbed brokenly for nearly a minute, and then he helped her to a divan where they sat side by side. He looked her over carefully, touching her face, her hair, her hands. She looked a little the worse for wear, but seemed to be in one piece.

  "Did they hurt you, baby? Did they?"

  She shook her head. She would never tell him everything that had happened — she didn't think he could bear it. For the rest of his life she would protect him from the full truth.

  "No, Daddy. I was just scared. I thought they would shoot me, or — or h-hang me, or something!" She burst into fresh tears.

  Later, after the tears had subsided, they sat alone in the office, just the two of them. The immediate words had been said, others could wait, and still others must remain forever unuttered.

  "What happened at Periscope Harbor?" she asked him. "They told me we lost."

  Henry nodded sadly. "It was an unqualified disaster. We suffered nearly seventy-five percent casualties."

  She closed her eyes with horror at the figure, then shook her head slowly.

  "They knew the plan in advance," she told him. "Every detail. They were counting on a slaughter."

  "They got it. When did you find out?"

  "Just a few days before it started. I tried to get the message out, but Major Davenport — he was my contact man — they followed him. They caught him and killed him. I was told later that the message was never transmitted."

  "If it was, we never got it."

  Regina stared at her father in silence for ten seconds. She took a deep breath, opened her lovely mouth, and spoke the words Henry had never expected to hear.

  "Daddy, I know who Mister Lonely is."

  Henry stared at her, confused.

  "That was part of the message that Davenport tried to get out," she said in a rush. "I learned his name the night before I was captured. They knew I had it, and they hypno-blocked me so I couldn't remember it. But just before I left, Adoph invited me into his office for a few minutes. He had holos on the wall, and in one of them … he was standing next to Mister Lonely."

  "Are you talking about Orville Sutton?"

  It was Regina's turn to look confused.

  "Who is Orville Sutton?" she asked.

  "Mister Lonely," Henry said. "We got him. He's dead."

  Regina shook her head slowly.

  "I never heard of him. But he's not Mister Lonely."

  Henry sat r
ooted in surprise. Slowly, he took his daughter by the shoulders.

  "Who is it, Gina? Who is this Mister Lonely?"

  White House, Washington City, DC, North America, Terra

  Lester Rice looked up, startled, as his door burst open. Four Federation Security agents boiled into the room and took up positions around his desk, glaring at him. Before Rice could catch his breath, through the open doorway strode Henry Wells and his beautiful daughter. Rice stared for just one second, then leaped to his feet with a smile on his face.

  "Gina!" he bellowed, and rounded his desk to greet the redhead. "You're home! Thank god!"

  Henry blocked his path and Rice stopped in confusion. Henry wasn't smiling.

  "Les, do you realize how goddamned stupid I am?" Henry asked in a low, menacing voice. "A while back you asked me if Gina had found out who our leak is. Do you remember that?"

  Rice frowned, then shrugged. "If you say so."

  "You asked me if she was the one who identified Mister Lonely. Remember?"

  Rice shrugged again. "Okay. Was she?"

  Henry shook his head slowly. "Lester, I never told you the leak was code named Mister Lonely."

  Rice stared at him in shock, his face draining of blood. His tongue traced slowly across his lips. When he spoke, his voice was strained.

  "What are you trying to say, Henry?"

  "Sit down, Les. We have to have a long talk. By the way, I'm placing you under arrest for the crime of espionage. The last time I looked, that still carried the death penalty."

  "Henry, I …"

  "Sit down, goddammit!"

  Rice sank into a chair that a security agent placed in the middle of the room for him. Another agent had drawn a sidearm and held it pointed at him. Henry sat in another chair along the wall and Regina perched next to him, staring at the man she'd known all her life as a Federation senator. Through the doorway now walked another man, Peter Miller. In his arms was a stack of printed documentation. He placed it on Rice's desk, picked up the top folder, and turned to face his dazed suspect.

  "I tell you what, Mr. Secretary …"

  "He no longer holds that post," Henry interrupted. "As of right now he's fired. You can call him Mr. Rice."

  Miller nodded obligingly.

  "Very well, sir. I'll make you a deal, Mr. Rice. We can either go through this entire stack of documents one by one, or you can just come clean. The evidence is here, so either way, the outcome will be the same. How do you want to do it?"

  Rice stared at Miller for a moment, then looked at Henry. Miller could be bluffing, he reflected, but Regina had just returned from Sirius. Her arrival had precipitated this meeting, so it was doubtful he could convince them of his innocence. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  "What would you like to know?" he asked. "How I did it? Or why?"

  "By now, I think we've got a fair idea of the how," Miller said, "though we will appreciate any details you care to enlighten us with."

  "I would personally like to know why," Henry told him. "I've known you for twenty years, Les. We've sweated through congressional business for years. I've confided things to you that my wife doesn't even know! You've slept in my home, eaten at my table. You even babysat Gina a time or two. I trusted you, Les!"

  Rice inclined his head to the side, peering narrowly at his old friend.

  "Henry, I always liked you. I came to love you, and I loved your family. But I am a Sirian since the day of my birth, and I will be a Sirian when I die. I can't change what I am, or what I stand for. That doesn't mean I think any less of you, but that's how it is."

  He began to talk then, about his childhood, his education, and his military service. He'd been born into a military family, instilled at a very early age with patriotism for the Confederacy. He'd joined the army at seventeen, had served on Vega from the beginning of that campaign, had been decorated for bravery. He'd never married, but pursued a military career, and two years after the Vegan war ended, had transferred into military intelligence.

  He'd been recruited shortly after that transfer to work as a mole inside the Federation. He'd been educated in Federation politics and came to Terra in 0200. False documentation had been provided, and other moles within the system altered his records in the national database to reflect that he'd been born and raised in Louisiana, instead of Texiana. He blended into the terrain, so to speak. Within two years of his arrival he'd run for a minor political office in southeast North America, then moved upward from there, winning his senatorial seat in 0207.

  That was when he met Henry, and their professional friendship began.

  "Orville Sutton," Miller asked. "Did you arrange that?"

  Rice smiled sadly. "It was unfortunate, but I had to do something. You were looking for the leak, and I had to give it to you."

  "You sacrificed him."

  "Don't make it sound so melodramatic. Battlefield commanders order men to their deaths all the time. I did it for the Confederacy. Sutton was a patriot. He knew the dangers when he signed on, just as I did."

  Rice turned to the President.

  "I'm sorry you had to find out, Henry," he said quietly. "But before you hate me too passionately, just think about this — wouldn't you have done the same thing for the Federation? Didn't Gina just do the same thing?"

  Henry stared at him for a long time.

  "Why didn't you blow her cover?" he asked. "Or maybe you did?"

  "No, I didn't. I didn't know about her mission until after she was captured. You did a very good job of keeping that to yourself."

  Henry paled as he thought of the implications.

  "If you had known, you would've given her away. Wouldn't you?"

  "Henry, we're in a war. Of course I would have."

  Henry looked at Peter Miller, his face ashen.

  "Mr. Director, thank you for not telling me where she was. I would almost certainly have told this man."

  Miller dipped his head grimly. "In cases like this, Mr. President, everyone is always a suspect. Now you understand why."

  Bethesda Military Hospital, Washington City, DC, North America, Terra

  Wade Palmer received surgery aboard UFF Anwar Sadat to repair his wounded shoulder. The ride off the planet in the gun turret of the QuasarFighter had been the most agonizing trip of his life, and the jarring hadn't done his injury any favors. But he arrived alive and breathing, and when the task force pulled out of orbit and warped back to Alpha Centauri, he'd been stabilized and was expected to recover.

  He spent three days at Alpha 2, then was moved aboard a hospital ship for transport back to Terra. He arrived at Bethesda Military Hospital outside Washington City the same day Regina Wells came home.

  He lay in a hospital hoverbed with his pain blocked by hypnotics, staring weakly out the window, marveling that he was still alive. He could only wonder what had happened to the young Star Marine who'd pushed him into the gun turret, the corporal-turned-sergeant. He couldn't remember if he'd ever heard the man's name, but in six or seven hours that young Marine had taught him more about bravery than he'd ever expected to know. Wade could only pray he'd somehow survived.

  He looked up when he sensed movement by the bed, and grinned crookedly when he saw Dianne Love staring down at him with tears forming in her eyes.

  "You goddamned fool!" she whispered. "I warned you, didn't I?"

  He nodded. "You were right, Dianne. But I had to find out for myself."

  She looked at the electronic monitors by his bedside, and gazed at the bandaged shoulder.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "I don't feel much of anything. Just weak."

  "How bad is it?"

  "I'll still be able to make love to you," he said. "They tell me I'll have full use of it again. The miracles of modern medicine — I got hit with a 20mm. Damn near tore my shoulder off."

  She pulled up a chair and sat down, gazing at him with love in her eyes. Her long dark hair swung toward the floor as she bent toward him.

  "I wa
s scared to death," she told him. "Why in god's name did you go down to the planet? Didn't you know what was going on down there?"

  He nodded again. "It won't make any sense if I explain it," he said. "I don't understand it, either. I just had to go."

  "Did you settle whatever has been making you feel guilty?"

  "I think so. I killed some BC before they got me. It wasn't much, but I did my part. I think I'm satisfied now."

  "I hope so. Please promise me you won't go back out there again."

  He reached out with his left hand and placed it in hers.

  "I think I can safely promise that now."

  She smiled for the first time.

  "By the way," he said, "I had to leave in such a hurry that we never got everything resolved. You want to talk about it now?"

  She tensed, sensing that it might be difficult. But she'd been a turret gunner, and she was tough. She nodded.

  "While I was at Periscope Harbor, I had time to do a lot of thinking," he said gently. "A lot of things came clear to me that night. And I promised myself that if I ever got out of there alive, as soon as I saw you, I had to ask you a question."

  She frowned. "What's the question?"

  He stared into her eyes for only a second …

  "Will you marry me?"

  Wednesday, 28 November, 0232 (PCC) - White House, Washington City, DC, North America, Terra

  Two weeks passed before Wade was able to visit the President. When he did his arm was still in a cast, and he walked with a cane in his left hand. He was ushered into the oval office by a young woman in a Fed Security uniform, and Henry came around the desk to greet him.

  "Wade! It's good to see you! How the hell are you feeling?"

  "I'm much better, Mr. President …"

  "Whoa, knock off that shit. I'm just Henry to you. We go back a long ways."