by Black, Alan
"Used to be?" Forrester asked, quoting her own words back to her.
Misha shrugged. "Things change. So who is the one other?"
Forrester looked surprised. "One other what?"
"If I may quote, 'the service chose this spacecraft, specifically because of you and one other.' That is what you said, isn't it?"
"Oh, that one," Forrester smiled. "All I can say at this point is that the Marshal Service has an undercover operative on board the Kiirkegaard. No don't worry; it’s not in the APES. I don't think Marshal Service command thought we needed informants or undercover operatives in the APES. Until now, that is. No disrespect intended, but it was thought the information gathered would be of low value."
"It’s what you don't know that can kill you," Misha muttered.
"What? Yes, that should be the Marshal Service motto. Is that an APES saying?"
"No," Misha said. "That was what my daddy crammed into our heads from the first time we walked out the front door. DropSix is not like Heaven Three. Much of it is unexplored even after eleven generations on the planet. Strange things can still come out of the dark if you’re not careful."
"I’ve heard the lower altitudes can be somewhat dangerous even for a heavy gravity world," Forrester said.
"True enough. You can only reach sea level by using high pressure equipment anyway. Standard atmosphere is only found in the high mountain regions. We've only sent a few drones into the oceans to see what or if any life exists in that chemical soup. But, there are still vast uncharted areas."
"Doesn't sound like a nice tourist spot," Forrester smiled.
"No it isn’t. So, who is he?" Misha asked.
"Who is who?" Forrester looked puzzled.
"You know who I mean, Gan. You’re good at changing the subject, but you mentioned an undercover operative."
"Yes, I did. But, it doesn't have anything to do with you. We were getting reports of pilfered equipment. It was nothing more than simple theft. So, the AMSF asked us to investigate to find who was buying. They felt they could clean their own house, but they wanted us to help nab any civilians involved."
"So, to catch civilians you put someone undercover on the Kiirkegaard?" Misha looked puzzled.
"Yep," he said. "It’s easier to find the buyer if you watch the seller. And before you ask, AMSF command knows about our operative. Britaine doesn't. And no, I am not going to tell you who it is. I won't compromise this individual's mission."
"You know, Gan. I think I may be able to give you a new direction to take in that investigation. However, anything I tell you is fully recorded and forwarded to my command. This is all open exchange of data."
"It might be better if you keep our conversations just between us," Forrester said. "If you suspect APES are involved, you don't know how far up the line of command any corruption might have spread."
Misha nodded. "True, but I will not go around my leadership. There may be high level commanders involved, but I doubt it. I’ll run this whole conversation past Fourth Ottiamig if we get out of this mess. This is just speculation, but we need to take a closer look at Trooper Singletary of my squad if there is any theft, black marketing or fencing going on."
"We?"
“Yes, we. Singletary is my responsibility. I have had suspicions from the start, but I haven’t had time to investigate. I guess I need to make time.”
"I can't do much right now, though," Forrester smiled and wiggled his fingers around his bonds. "Can you tell me why you suspect this Singletary might be involved?"
Before she could answer they heard the hatch begin to cycle open.
Chapter Forty-Three
Bound as she was there was nothing Misha could do to protect herself against anyone coming through the hatch. Never-the-less, her muscles tensed and she twisted her neck around to see who was coming through the hatchway. Half expecting to see Jackson or Bilideau, she was surprised to see Takki-Homi and Aardmricksdottir step into the room. She could see two other APES standing in the hatchway watching the corridor, but she couldn't swivel her head around far enough to see who was where.
Takki-Homi silently leaned Misha forward and tugged at her bonds. Without a word, he slipped a utility knife from his jump-sneaks and slid it between her hands. The blade slid cleanly through the bungee cords.
Misha started to say something, but he signaled her to be silent. He also shot a warning look at Forrester to keep quiet. He pointed at her glass-pack. Misha realized she still had an open comm line. She tapped the unit to shut down any outgoing comms while he quickly sliced along the cords cutting her legs free.
Vark said, "Comms clear. That was the only signal I see coming out of here. I doubt if anyone else had the sense to monitor your comm signal, but you never know." She smiled at Forrester, "Spies in the AMSF, huh?"
Forrester grimaced, but Vark smiled and said, "Not to worry, not my problem. I never liked Singletary anyway."
"Thank you both," Misha said to Takki-Homi and Vark.
Before she could say anything else, Forrester interrupted, "What about me? This deck is getting a bit uncomfortable for an old man and these cords are pretty tight."
Takki-Homi grinned at Misha. "What do you say, Trey? Should we cut him loose or just leave him tied up here where he won't get in the way?"
Misha grinned back. "I think in the spirit of inter-service relations, we should cut him loose. Hang on to him. I’m sure you don't want to have to rescue him twice."
Forrester said, "Hey! I can take care of myself."
Takki-Homi nodded, "Doing good so far today, huh?"
Misha faced her two seconds, "Okay. I need to know the situation, but first: are we secure here or should we abandon the day office for another location?"
Takki-Homi said, "With your permission, Third?"
"It’s your op, Taks. I am just the rescuee at this point."
Takki-Homi nodded. "Then it is time to get the hell out of dodge before the bad guys come riding back."
Charlie Squad's Trooper Riffler stuck her head through the hatchway and rapped her knuckles lightly on the steel wall.
Vark said, "We’ve got to go now. Can you move, Third or do you require assistance?"
Misha said, "I can move fine. I wasn't tied that long. Forrester has been wrapped up a while. Give him a hand." She gestured for Takki-Homi to lead the way. She watched in amazement as Aardmricksdottir simply picked up Forrester and slung him over her shoulder.
She followed Takki-Homi into the corridor where Charlie Squad Trooper One Gaineretti waited to lead the way. Other than two APES from Foxtrot Squad laying face down on the decks, the corridor was empty. Takki-Homi signaled Gaineretti to move. The trooper checked the hatchway out of APES country and stepped through. He next signaled Aardmricksdottir to move forward with Forrester and Riffler to follow.
Takki-Homi grabbed one of the two Foxtrot troopers, dragging the man to his feet. Misha could see that it was Spaznitski. She looked down and saw the other was Trooper Seven Becker. Both men looked the worse for wear, but they looked like they would eventually heal. Takki-Homi stripped Spaznitski's glass-pack from his pocket and literally threw the man into the day office. He swept up Becker and repeated the process. He then dragged the hatch closed and spun the lock. He looked at Misha and spoke in a half whisper, "Might as well code the lock to keep them in there for now."
Misha nodded and spoke the codes to voice print the lock to operate only on her command. She set the lock to hold for the next hour, not as a permanent lock. If something happened to her, it would take a vibromolecular cutting torch to get the two men out. She followed Takki-Homi's direction and left APES country, hustling to catch up to Aardmricksdottir and the others.
Chapter Forty-Four
Aardmricksdottir set Forrester gently to his feet on the deck, smiling at the older man. He was smaller than she was, but he must have packed muscle somewhere because he was a lot heavier than he looked. She stretched her back and stepped out of the way so the others behind her could move into the sm
all space.
Takki-Homi led their small team to an odd-shaped space. Due to the tiny variances between spacecraft and any deployed APES units, there were always a few odd-shaped spaces left over. This space was behind Easy’s squad bay. With the front of the squad bay lined up with the others, it left a gap between its back steel wall and a metal bulkhead of the spacecraft. A hatchway led into this small space. She wondered how Takki-Homi had known about this particular space as the only hatch into it was through spacer country.
Vark knew such spaces existed, but usually they were unattainable, as there wasn't any hatchway to reach them. Sometimes the accessible spaces were not much bigger than crawl spaces left around the edge of an APES container or bay. Sometimes the spaces were large enough for APES or spacers to make private use of the extra room. Who used the room was often dependent upon which service had a hatchway entrance to the space. As she looked around it was obvious someone had been using the area as a private playroom. She blushed profusely and turned her head away from McPherson when the Third entered the room. Her pale complexion gave away her emotions. She could only nod at Takki-Homi as he slid the hatch shut behind him.
"Are all the outgoing comms still off?" Takki-Homi asked.
Everyone double checked their glass-packs and nodded. Vark slid behind Gaineretti's bulk. The man was shorter than she was, but wider by a long yard. Vark's mind kept saying, "Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Just let me slide into the cracks." She shook her head trying to clear it. She knew she shouldn't be here. She should be with her squad. She thought, "I tried to tell Taks to leave me behind." She couldn't help but replay the rescue of McPherson again through her head.
Takki-Homi assigned Gaineretti and her to take care of any guards in the corridor. She froze when confronted by Becker. The man was as close to an incompetent as an APE can be and still not have died in combat, but she simply froze. She had never frozen before, even in actual combat. Gaineretti stepped up to Spaznitski and simply head butted the man to the ground. Becker had almost reached his comm unit when Gaineretti reached around Vark and slapped the man to the deck. Gaineretti hadn't even looked at her as he stepped over the two bodies to signal all clear.
Vark cursed herself knowing she wasn't ready for command. "What am I doing here? Who was I kidding when I thought that I could lead? I couldn't even keep my squad together when the shit hit the fan."
She reached a hand up and put it gently on Gaineretti's shoulder. She wanted to apologize for her actions in the corridor, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. She wouldn't have been surprised if the long-time veteran had shrugged her hand off, but instead he reached up and patted her fingers. His head gave a slight nod, but he didn't speak or turn around.
Takki-Homi turned to McPherson, "Now what, Third?"
Before McPherson could speak, Vark spoke. "I’m sorry." She hung her head, hiding behind Gaineretti.
McPherson looked at her. There wasn’t much room, so Gaineretti had nowhere to move to get out of the way. "Excuse me? Sorry for what? Pulling me out of the fire back there? You have a peculiar sense of what you should apologize for."
Vark shook her head. How could she explain to these people? She thought she might as well just confess and be up front. She stood up straight and slid past Gaineretti. "No, sir. I guess for all of it. I shouldn't be in a command position here."
McPherson looked at her baffled. "Why not, Second? If anyone’s been making mistakes around here it’s me."
Vark replied, "You don't know, sir. I froze back there." Gaineretti placed a strong retaining hand on her elbow. She shook her head at him. "Thanks, but I have to be clean about this. I froze back there trying to get you out. I don't know why. I just did." She tried to look in McPherson's eyes but couldn't.
McPherson nodded as if she understood. Vark couldn't imagine how this woman could understand. McPherson was a bonafide war hero. The Third said, "Am I still tied up in my day office?"
Vark didn't answer, thinking that surely this was just a rhetorical question, but Gaineretti answered for her.
"No, sir. Free and clear," he said.
McPherson smiled, "That's right and remember I like it that way. Were there any casualties on our team?"
"No damage at all to our team, tho’ I may have broken a nail back there," Gaineretti reported.
McPherson looked at Vark forcing her to make eye contact. She spoke in a soft voice. "Vark, have you ever struck another APE with the intention of doing deliberate damage, other than in training?"
"No, sir, why would I do that?" Vark sputtered.
McPherson smiled, "Trooper Gaineretti, same question."
"Me, sir?" Gaineretti asked. "Why would you think such a thing of me?"
Takki-Homi snorted, "Maybe she heard you did stockade time for laying out those three spacers on Amos Station or the time on Thackery where they had to drag you-“
Gaineretti interrupted, "Wait a minute, Taks. As I recall you were with me on Thackery. And Riffler, do you remember when she put half a squad of drunken warehouse box wranglers down when they tried to see what was under her uniform that time on Bennigan Prime?"
Riffler held up her hands, "Leave me out of this. That was self-defense and you know it."
"Easy people," McPherson laughed. "My point to Second Vark is there are differences between throwing punches at someone you consider your own people and throwing high explosives at a distant alien. Deuce Taks, maybe it would be a good idea that no one ever gets promoted to a second-level commander without a few bar fights under their belts. Whadda ya think?"
Vark stared, "You too, Third? You've been in a bar fight?"
"Well, I wouldn't call them fights as much as physical disagreements. After all, a girl has to protect herself from drunken APES, right Riffler? We even have to protect ourselves from those who’re wearing very thick beer goggles. Besides, I would’ve thought that a beautiful woman like you would have had your share of unwanted advances."
Vark was surprised. Sure there was always someone with a loud mouth or grabby hands but there was always someone else to take care of it for her. She didn't have to… then it hit her. Yes, someone always came to her rescue when she found herself in those situations. When she thought it through, her rescuers almost always seemed to try something with her later. How could she have been so blind? She caused bar fights, but had never had to deal with the consequences. Vark said, "It's not just that. I wasn't as ready for this command as I thought. I couldn't keep my squad together like Deuce Taks. I couldn't even get the armor ready for dirt drop without getting extra help. You’re just going to have to relieve me of command."
McPherson said, "Nope. And I don't really have the time to dance around the subject with you. You will have to do what you can as best you can. Just try as hard as you can. We’ll sort the rest out later. It’s tough luck and bad timing, Second. It bites, but we've got bigger problems just now."
McPherson spoke to Takki-Homi. "Give me a sitrep."
Vark was sure a demotion was in her future as soon as this situation was resolved. She decided if she wasn't command caliber, then at least she would be the best trooper she could be. With the pressure off, she knew she could relax and focus on what was important to the situation. She listened carefully. Takki-Homi gave McPherson a rundown of everything he knew. He explained that as far as they could tell by comm traffic, Colonel Britaine still had the flight office locked. The XO, Major Paradise, controlled the engine room. He nodded at Aardmricksdottir when he mentioned Vark had put a lockout code on all the APES armories. She was pleased at McPherson's smile, but she knew it would be short lived. The manual of arms stated the only intention of the lockout codes was for use in her capacity as the senior armor repair technician. It wouldn't take long for another armor tech to crash through her codes.
Takki-Homi told McPherson they also put lockouts on weapons lockers and expendables storage. It should keep the number of weapons being used to a minimum if the APES couldn't get to their combat gear. The
y should be able to minimize casualties on both sides if they could keep the number of lethal weapons down.
"What about Kiirkegaard's crew?" McPherson asked.
Takki-Homi replied, "Most of the crew has gone to quarters and locked themselves in. It’s confusing out there. I can sympathize with them not wanting to get caught between what they see as officer squabbles. Not that I agree with them. I’m just reporting what I hear. Most of the enlisted and non-flight officers dislike Britaine enough to not support him. They also fear what might turn out to be a mutiny enough to not support it."
"What about our APES?" McPherson asked. In spite of herself, Vark winced. She was trying not to feel guilty, but she knew some of her own squad had not followed her lead.
Takki-Homi looked at Vark, catching her grimace. "It’s not good news, Third. Six squad leaders are supporting XO Paradise with most of their squads. They are Bravo, Dawg, Easy, Fox, Hotel and Kilo, plus a few individuals from various squads."
Vark raised her hand. "Some of those individuals are from my Joker Squad. That would be Spakney, Putinova, Dallas and Yorkvina. I couldn't convince them to stand down."
McPherson looked puzzled. "Where does Beaudry stand? I was sure he would pick any side that was opposite to me.""
"You know, I would have thought the same thing," Vark replied. "He surprised me, but he told Spakney to…well, politely put, he told Spakney to shove it rather forcefully, sir."
"Good for him," McPherson said. "Also, I wouldn’t have expected Jackson to jump sides. You’re friends, Taks, what gives?"
"Sir, he lost family on Guinjundst. I think he’s let his anger at the Binders overcome his good sense. Target fixation, if you know what I mean." Some people in combat suffer target fixation when they lock onto an objective and miss the things going on around them. They would bear down so hard on the enemy in front of them that they would miss a flanking motion.
Takki-Homi continued, "He also seems to have personalized the situation. I think he blames you that he isn't killing Binders at this very moment, you know?"