Article 23

by William R. Forstchen

  "I still can't believe he killed himself," Justin said.

  "I can," Thorsson replied, leaning against the wall of the lounge and nursing a scalding cup of coffee. The burn out of Mars' orbit had finished half an hour ago and Thorsson had called the crew of Somers forward to the lounge to talk things out.

  The ship was heading back to Earth, with a stop at the Academy to drop off the cadets and Thorsson. Hemenez had been placed in acting command of the ship until its return to Earth Base One, with Seay as acting second pilot. Rumors were already spreading that, given the "bad luck" name of the ship, and its age, chances were the old Somers would never sail again, at least under USMC colors, and would be sold off as a high-speed transport.

  "What happened to the Captain, sir?" Livollen asked.

  "He was already far over the edge of paranoia when you people came aboard and for that I must apologize. Let that be a warning to all of you young officers, when an old hand like O'Brian here brings you a warning, you darn well better sit up and take notice."

  O'Brian nodded his thanks from the corner of the room. He, of everyone involved in the incident, had wound up taking the hardest punishment, the dark swatch on his shoulder indicating where his stripes had been pulled off for his outbreak in the courtroom.

  "Not the first time," O'Brian announced cheerily when Justin tried to console him. "Hell, young sir, you might be pulling my stripes yourself someday."

  The days after the end of the trial and the full exoneration announced for all cadets, enlisted personnel and officers who had resisted MacKenzie had gone by in a confusing whirl. As Thorsson had implied, heads had rolled over the incident, and were still rolling. Zhing had taken early retirement, Lewis had resigned, and Singh had suddenly been recalled to Earth for an "administrative review." It was rumored as well that there had been an overhaul in the Office of the Director Service Personnel, with sharp questions being asked about the review process that promoted captains and gave them command.

  As for the press, Justin found he simply couldn't understand it. On the one hand he was being hailed as something of a hero, especially by the Mars press and the pro-separatists leaders. That in turn had created something of a backlash in conservative quarters, with some wondering if the service had gone too soft and Justin was being overly praised for his actions. Before Singh had left he had called Justin in and suggested that in the long run his career with the service was now dead no matter what any court might say. He had led a mutiny, and regardless of the justifications that stigma would always surround his name. No officer would ever fully trust him in the future.

  Thorsson in turn had laughed at Singh's comments, replying that Singh was a generation on the way out.

  "Concerning Captain MacKenzie's suicide," Thorsson continued, "it was tragic, but in a more traditional sense it was, perhaps, the only avenue left to him. It was a shame that marine guard was wounded trying to disarm him; there was a time when a man went quietly to his office, wrote a letter of apology, and then ended it."

  Justin looked at Thorsson in surprise for implying support for the idea of suicide.

  "Just talking about an older time, which MacKenzie's mind functioned in," Thorsson said. "MacKenzie's world came apart long before you people ever set foot aboard his ship. I wonder if having so many of you young cadets around might have triggered something buried deep within. A memory, a fear from when he was young. Be that as it may, once the unraveling started it couldn't be stopped, sort of like when you crack open an intricate machine and all the little springs start leaping out. No matter how hard you try you can't get them back in and trying to fix it just means more leap out.

  "He built a justification for what he did and I think he actually believed it. It is a rare person who will do evil, knowing they are doing evil. Such characters belong in bad fiction; they rarely appear in real life. Most such people somehow believe they are doing right no matter how twisted they are. Even Hitler. He did not look in a mirror, cackle and say he was evil. No, in his twisted mind he believed he was doing right. Even the men and women of the Black Cell who destroyed most of New York and Moscow early in the 21st century thought they were doing right, even though millions died.

  "No, I'm not connecting MacKenzie to those nightmares of humanity, all I'm saying is that he was disastrously disturbed. In that courtroom I could see it in his eyes when the recordings started to play. Poor Mr. Colson was revealed as a liar, and MacKenzie as a failure of a captain who did not follow the most basic steps of trying to analyze Colson's lies before acting. I don't think he even saw that in many ways he had set Colson up to be the initiating spark of his desires for vengeance. Once that was revealed, the way he seized Matt no longer seemed like a captain heroically defending his ship, but rather the actions of a bully out of control. His treatment of Hemenez and Zhing was deplorable and again looked more like a bully trying to have his way rather than a captain attempting to reach the truth. I dare say that if those recordings were ever reviewed in more detail there might be some darker aspects of MacKenzie revealed. I hope they are just simply destroyed.

  "So, in that moment I think MacKenzie realized what he was and the internal collision of those two sides was played out. When he left that room there was only one answer for him find a gun, which tragically happened to be in the holster of a marine, and end it."

  "And Colson?" someone asked.

  "He's on his way home on the same ship taking Singh. I accepted his resignation just before we departed. Poor lad, I don't think he wanted to endure the ride back to the Academy. I think I should add that I reluctantly accepted the resignation of Senior Cadet Petronovich as well. Petronovich felt he should have resisted the captain as the rest of you did, and for that he apologizes to you all."

  "Colson a poor lad?" Madison interjected. "He almost killed Matt, myself and a lot of others with his tales."

  "He had the potential of a good officer in him, otherwise we never would have accepted him, family connections or no family connections."

  Justin stirred uncomfortably at the mention of family connections, for after all, wasn't that how he had gotten in? Thorsson saw him start to lower his head.

  'There are some exceptions to that rule," Thorsson added, "but they never survive scrub summer, Mr. Bell, or what happened aboard this ship."

  Justin blushed but said nothing.

  "But, as I was saying. It's not fair for me to discuss Mr. Colson with his fellow classmates. Let me just close the issue by saying he is now a young man with a terrible burden to atone for. I'd like to think there's enough mettle in him to see his mistakes, to make amends and get on with his life."

  Justin could see that for Matt and Madison that idea would be a hard pill to swallow.

  "I think we've all learned a terrible and valuable lesson aboard this ship, one that will be studied by the Service for years to come. All of you should look into your hearts and ask what you did right and what you did wrong. Concerning what you did wrong, learn to correct it; concerning what you did right, take pride in it, but not glory. This was a horrible tragedy in which, in an ultimate sense, there were no winners."

  Justin nodded in agreement. He could perceive that in a way he was the center of attention in the room and all he truly wanted at the moment was to slip back and be an anonymous plebe-year cadet like the rest of his friends. He wondered if the Academy would ever be the same again.

  "Now, lets just say the next watch is free time, but at 0700 hours tomorrow we are back on Academy schedule," Thorsson said with a grin.

  "I just happened to bring along a complete update on all assignments and study guides. Malady is beside himself thinking you people have slouched off on your physical training, so we'll start with a two-hour workout. Heaven knows I need it after being cooped up on that Eagle for ten days. I'll then give a daily two-hour class on Fleet Procedures, followed by study for the rest of the day."

  Muttered groans greeted his comments.

  "You're dismissed until tomorrow morning
."

  The group came to attention as Thorsson went to the door to the forward section. As Thorsson came to Justin, he slowed.

  "I heard that Captain Marcioni asked you a question that troubled you, Justin."

  "What was that, sir? There were so many questions I really can't remember much of anything now."

  "Whether or not you feel that you are entitled to bear the honorable name of your father."

  Justin flushed and lowered his head.

  "Well, son, do you?"

  Justin finally nodded his head. "I think so, sir."

  "I know so," Thorsson replied, placing a hand on Justin's shoulder. "I know so, and I'd be proud if I ever had a son like you, as I know your father is proud of you now."

  Thorsson squeezed his shoulder and then departed. Justin, eyes full, smiled when he saw that Thorsson left the door to the forward section open after he had passed.

  The group started to break up. Off in a corner he heard Matt going into another one of his tall tales, with Livollen and Smith drifting over to listen. Justin stopped at the edge of the group and for a moment the two caught each others eyes. Matt grinned and shrugged, but there was the slightest look of acknowledgment, an almost whispered thank you, and Justin, smiling, backed away.

  "Care for some coffee?"

  Justin saw O'Brian coming, and he gladly took the cup and sipped on the straw.

  "I think I might stay on with you Academy folks," O'Brian announced. "This getting bounced around from ship to ship is growing old. So I asked old Thorsson and he said the transfer will be through by the time we dock if I want it. He said no one else would want me anyhow."

  "Well, we'd sure want you," Justin said with a grin.

  "That would be just fine, Bell, I'll make sure you pull extra kitchen duty so we can talk over old times. You should see the things I can whip up when there's gravity under my feet."

  Grinning, Justin stepped away, not sure where to go next. His old cabin seemed too cramped, so he started forward. Seay was coming down from the flight deck, and with a smile extended his hand. Again there was the comment about a job well done and again Justin didn't know how to respond.

  "Remember, we jump again the week after we get back. You up for it?"

  "Sure, can't wait!"

  Brian clapped him on the shoulder and continued aft.

  Stopping at the door to the forward section he hesitated. There was a flash memory of standing at the doorway, bursting through and seeing Matt drifting in the airlock and then there was MacKenzie. For a brief instant he wondered if a ghost had come aboard the ship, he could so clearly see him, pistol raised, screaming at him and then firing.

  He drifted up the stairs to the flight deck and saw that someone was in the command chair.

  "Permission to come on deck and observe, sir," Justin announced.

  Hemenez turned and smiled.

  "Come aboard, cadet, but someone's already in the co-pilot's seat."

  Justin was surprised to see Tanya and he started to back away as if to leave.

  "Bell, maybe you can do me a favor. I need to take a break. I think you and Leonov here are capable of standing watch awhile. OK?"

  "Yes, sir, I think so."

  Hemenez unstrapped from her chair and floated out, moving carefully as she maneuvered her arm that was still in a sling.

  "I know I can trust you and Leonov with the ship, just page me if anything comes up."

  "Yes, sir."

  Still smiling, she drifted past him. Justin looked over nervously at Leonov; she motioned for him to take the seat and strap in.

  For several minutes Justin said nothing, studying , the array of instruments and control screens. He wasn't quite sure of all of them, but he figured Hemenez wouldn't leave the bridge if things weren't under control with all automatic sensors working correctly.

  Finally he looked up out the forward view screen. To his surprise he felt Tanya's hand slip into his. He looked over at her and she smiled.

  "Beautiful night," Tanya said.

  Justin nodded, unable to speak. It was, indeed, a beautiful night, and far off, a glowing dot in the sky marked their course to home and the Academy.