Theogony 1: Janissaries

by Chris Kennedy

  Calvin held it up where the Russian spy could see it. “Do you know what this is?” he asked.

  The spy looked at it critically. “It looks like a child’s toy pistol.”

  “It does,” said Calvin, “but it is actually the most powerful pistol that you have ever seen. It is not a projectile weapon. It is a laser pistol. I’d like it a lot if you’d try to escape, that way I could have Night shoot you.”

  “Ha!” the spy exclaimed. “If you had functioning laser pistol, we would know. That is child’s toy, nothing more.”

  “The XO and I are going to take the spy to the Vella Gulf,” said Calvin to the platoon. “Everyone else can go back to the hangar and debrief. We’ll fill you in on the details when we get back.” He looked around to see everyone’s heads nodding. Calvin’s next call was to the ship. “Solomon, Calvin,” he commed. “Please send down a shuttle to the landing area at Master Chief’s cabin.”

  “Where are we?” shouted Joyce Young as they brought her onto the Vella Gulf. “How did we get here? What was that thing?”

  “Everything will be made clear in a few minutes,” replied Calvin. He spoke to the ship’s AI through one of the receiver/transmitter pairs scattered throughout the ship, “Solomon, Calvin. Could you please scan the woman with us and make sure that she doesn’t have any weapons or anything else on her that we need to know about?”

  “Certainly sir,” the AI replied, his voice coming from speakers hidden in the walls. “Scanning...done. My scanners indicate that the woman with you has three weapons: a knife in her left boot, metal wire for a garrote in her other boot and explosives in her earrings. Although you didn’t specifically ask, you would also probably want to know that she has two electronic imaging devices on her person. One is probably disguised as a pen, and the other is in the third button down on her jacket. I am currently jamming the transmitter, although it is very unlikely that the transmitter has anywhere close to enough range to transmit to the receiver she left in her hotel room.”

  “By ‘electronic imaging devices,’ do you mean cameras?” asked Calvin.

  “If you want to simplify them, yes, they are cameras,” replied Solomon. “She also has an audio recording device on her key chain.”

  “Night, could you please remove the weapons and surveillance gear from Miss Young?”

  “It would be my pleasure,” he replied. He pulled out his knife to cut the laces in her boots and took them off. He then cut off the button with the camera and removed her pen and car keys from her pockets. He wasn’t particularly gentle as he searched her, but neither did he go out of his way to abuse her. It was just a thorough, professional search.

  “I’m tired of playing games,” Calvin said. “Would you like to tell me your real name?”

  “My name is Joyce Young,” repeated the Russian spy. “You can see that on my driver’s license.”

  “If that’s the best you can do, we may have to take you outside without a suit and see if you can breathe vacuum,” threatened Calvin. “Solomon, what is this woman’s real name?”

  “This woman has had many names,” the AI replied, “and usually uses three or four of them at a time. The name that she was born with is Irina Rozhkov.”

  The woman slumped. “No one knows that name,” she said. “Either your intelligence network is very good, or you drugged me to find that out.” She made a biting motion, and then a look of puzzlement crossed her face.

  “I took the liberty of using the transporter to remove the poison that Miss Rozhkov is trying to take when I scanned her,” Solomon announced. “As she was tied up when you brought her onto the ship, I assumed she was a prisoner. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, that is correct,” agreed Calvin. “Thanks.” He switched to his implant. “Arges, can you meet me on the bridge?”

  “Yes, in two of your minutes,” Arges replied.

  “OK, let’s go,” said Calvin. He began walking to the bridge with Night escorting the Russian. They entered the bridge to find Arges already there. It didn’t take long before she made a startled sound. Calvin wasn’t surprised; she was a spy, after all. She was supposed to notice things that were out of the ordinary.

  Ignoring her reaction, Calvin spoke to the Psiclops. “Arges, I know you can watch what is going on in the DUCC, but can you transmit into the DUCC as well?”

  “Do you really want her to see and hear that?” the AI asked via implant.

  “Yeah, I do,” Calvin answered. He chuckled to himself. Answering questions that hadn’t been asked would hopefully cause the spy some distress as she tried to figure out how they were communicating.

  The DUCC came on the center four screens. Calvin found it somewhat disconcerting to see the president that much bigger than normal. He hoped it had the same effect on the spy. From the looks on the faces of the people he could see, it was obvious that his face was now on their monitor. He could also hear several people say, “What the hell?” simultaneously.

  “Sorry to interrupt sir,” said Calvin, “but we have a bit of a problem.”

  “And what would that be?” growled the president. Apparently, he still didn’t like being interrupted in his fancy ‘secure’ meeting room, especially by Calvin.

  “We found a Russian spying on one of our training exercises,” said Calvin. “She also has been targeting members of the platoon, using sex to get close to them.”

  “Do the Russians know you have her?” asked one of the men at the DUCC conference table. Calvin thought he was the head of the CIA, but wasn’t sure.

  “No sir, we don’t think so,” replied Calvin after quickly confirming it with Solomon, “but most of the squad does. Apparently, she also has a history with some of the members. Our Korean representative had to be restrained, or she would have killed her.”

  “I recognize her,” said the same man to the president. Calvin decided that he must be the CIA head; he was positively drooling at the thought of getting his hands on her. “She is one of their top operatives and someone we’d very much like to have a talk with.” The way he said it made Calvin think ‘torture session’ rather than simply ‘talk.’ The man continued, “Mr. President, can we have her brought down to our headquarters to debrief her?”

  The president ignored him. Looking at Calvin, he asked, “I take it that you have a plan for her?”

  “Yes sir, I do,” Calvin replied, “I’d like to take her with us as an observer.”

  Several people in the DUCC began shouting things like, “you can’t be serious” and “have you lost your mind;” Night was much more succinct. “No fucking way,” is all he said.

  “QUIET!” shouted the president, regaining control. Once everyone had calmed down he asked in a dangerous voice, “And why exactly do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “Well, first let me say that I agree with most of your advisors,” said Calvin, “in that I think it is an incredibly dangerous idea. It is, however, the one that has the biggest payoff. Let’s face it, who are our two biggest adversaries at the moment? They’re the same ones we’ve had for nearly the last 70 years; they’re Russia and China. When we go off with the Psiclopes and come back, do you think that there is any way that either of them is going to believe what we say or be interested in participating with us in forming a single world government?” He paused and saw several heads shaking. “You all know more about politics than I do, but I find it awfully unlikely that’s going to happen. Having just fought a war with China, it’s going to be difficult for either of us to trust the other. I think that there’s at least a chance with Russia, though.”

  The president shrugged, “I agree that it’s more likely that Russia would play along than would China, but I don’t think that it’s very likely that they will join us, either. They’re still mad about the war and, like you said, we haven’t trusted each other in 70 years.”

  “Yes sir, I agree,” said Calvin, “and yet we want to form a single world government that includes them.” He was very careful not to say that th
e Americans ‘needed’ to form a government, thereby letting the Russians know that they were required for some reason, which would give them leverage. “This is our one chance to at least get a fair hearing from the Russians. We can use this agent as a conduit of information to them.”

  Ignoring the comments from around the table that greeted that statement, the president said simply, “I agree; do it,” ending all discussion on the point.

  “Yes sir,” said Calvin, signing off. The screens went blank.

  He changed to his implant and called Top. “Top, if I send down a shuttle, can you bring Mr. Jones and meet me in the platoon’s ready room on the Gulf?”

  “Be right there sir,” Top replied.

  Calvin looked at the Russian. “Well, if nothing else, it looks like you’re going to get a chance to live a little longer anyway.”

  “That is only good if I am to be a hero of the Russian Federation,” she replied. “I would rather die than be a traitor to it.”

  Calvin smiled. “Well, then, we won’t have any problems, because I’m not asking you to be a traitor to your country. If anything, I want you to think bigger and look at the good of humanity in general. Let me ask you a question. Where do you think you are right now?”

  “There is no telling,” the spy replied, her Russian accent growing stronger as she got more excited. “You drugged me. You could have taken me anywhere. I may be dreaming whole thing. A lieutenant commander that can call up president? Is not likely.”

  “Let me show you something.” Calvin paused and then said, “Solomon, show the view from outside the bridge on the screens, please.” The screens flipped on to show the view of the lunar landscape.

  “So, you have taken me to a valley in the desert?” Rozhkov asked.

  Calvin shook his head. “No, you’re a little further from home than that. You are currently in the Tsiolkovsky Crater on the far side of the moon. The hills that you see in the distance are actually the side of the crater. You are onboard an alien spacecraft.” He indicated Arges, still standing patiently nearby. “This is Arges, a member of the Psiclopes race. Three of the Psiclopes have asked for our help in taking them back to their planet. They had this ship, but no one to crew it; we are departing for their world in about two months.”

  “And you expect me to believe this?” asked Rozhkov.

  Calvin shrugged. “I hope you will believe it, but I don’t necessarily expect it. Come with me, and we’ll see what we can do about it. Night, would you please join us too?” He led the two of them through the ship’s corridors to the platoon’s ready room. Top and Mr. Jones were just arriving. Judging by the quick intake of breaths from both Jones and Rozhkov, he realized they knew each other. No surprise there.

  He looked at Top. “Miss Rozhkov is going to be staying with us for a little while until we determine what we want to do with her. She is still not sure that she believes she is on the surface of the moon. I’d appreciate it if you could dig her up a suit and take her for a walk outside. You could also show her some of our new weapons to help her believe us.”

  “Got it, sir,” replied Top. “What do you want us to do with her after that?”

  Calvin considered briefly and then said, “How about bringing her to Master Chief’s house in about an hour? I should be ready for her by then.” He looked back to the spy. “In case you have any ideas about trying to take one of the weapons, they won’t work for you.” He showed her his palms and the metal contacts on them. “The weapons are hardwired into us. If you don’t have the right hardware in your body, they won’t work.” He smiled. “I just didn’t want you to get any ideas.”

  Top led Rozhkov and Mr. Jones from the room.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” said Calvin to Night, “but never had the time. What’s the story with you and Wraith? I know that there’s some history there but haven’t wanted to get into your private life. Unfortunately, it’s now become part of the platoon’s business, and I’ve got to ask.”

  “Yeah,” said Night, sighing, “I figured we’d have to have this conversation.” He paused a moment. “Several years ago, there was a classified joint U.S./Republic of Korea mission into North Korea. It doesn’t matter what it was for. Wraith was on it. Her leader stepped on a land mine that killed him and another one of her team, putting her in charge. The mine also wounded the other person on the mission, who happened to be an American. She refused to leave him, but bringing him along slowed her down, and she was captured. The North Koreans brought in both Chinese and Russian interrogation advisors to help break her and get everything they could from her.”

  “I was picked to lead a squad to try and get her back. Before I could get there, though, they had abused her badly. Really badly.” He shuddered. Calvin didn’t want to know what could make a man as hard as Lieutenant Train shudder. Night continued, “I got her back, as well as the body of our soldier who had died at the North Koreans’ hands, but they had her for three days. Three long days. Wraith has scars beyond the ones you can see and would cheerfully kill every North Korean and Chinese person on the planet if she could, as well as most of the Russians. She’ll kill Rozhkov without hesitation, and will enjoy doing it. Hell, I’d happily do it for her if I thought it would do her any good...” He trailed off, lost in thought.

  “What’s the deal with you and her personally?” Calvin asked after a long period of silence, when he saw that Night wasn’t going to continue on his own. “There seems to be more to it than that.”

  Night sighed again and looked down at his hands. “She loves me,” he said quietly.

  “Beyond the whole officer/enlisted thing, why’s that a problem?” Calvin asked.

  “Honestly sir, I’m a bad man,” said Night. “I’ve done an awful lot of things for my country that I’m not proud of. They needed doing, and I know I’d do them all again if I was asked. Still, they were not things that one Christian man does to another human being without being called to account for it later. When I die, I know I’m going to hell, and I’m never going to leave it. I’m good at what I do, and I know that the country and the world are better places for what I’ve done. Still, that doesn’t reconcile what I’ve done with my beliefs and, most days, I don’t like myself very much. If you don’t like yourself, it’s awfully hard to like someone else, much less plan a life with them. And me as a father? No way,” he said vehemently.

  He shook his head. “Maybe someday I’ll come to grips with it, but today isn’t that day. The more I talk to the Psiclopes, the more I hope that there’s a reason that I’m here. Maybe something to positively affect my karma somehow.” He stood up and walked toward the door. “Maybe my destiny is to do something that makes up for everything I’ve done to this point.” He sighed as he walked out the door. Without looking back he stopped and said, “It’s all I can hope for at this point.”

  Snoqualmie National Forest, WA, January 9, 2019

  Ryan handed Calvin a beer as he sat down with him at the kitchen table. “So,” Ryan asked, “how do you want to play this?” They had been discussing how to treat the Russian spy, but hadn’t made a lot of progress. “Several of us could take a long walk with her through the woods and maybe help her to understand...”

  “I’m sure you could,” Calvin interrupted, “but I don’t see how threatening or beating her is going to win either her support or her trust. She’s pretty fanatical, and I’m betting that she would rather die for her country than do anything that she thinks is going to betray it.”

  “Sir, she’s a spy,” said Ryan. “You can’t trust her, regardless of what she says. She’s a trained liar who is going to do her best to hurt our country, especially now that she knows about everything that’s going on.” He paused and then grumbled, “I still don’t think that taking her to the moon was a good idea...”

  “Maybe it wasn’t,” agreed Calvin, “but it was better than just killing her out of hand. We’re a lot better off if we can get her to see how Russia wins if they come in on our side and help u
s.”

  There was a long pause as both men thought about their dilemma. “I’ve got it!” Ryan finally exclaimed. “I’ll put on a pot of Mrs. Sommers’ elk stew.”

  “What?” asked Calvin. “How is that going to help?”

  “As the saying goes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” replied Ryan, getting up from the table and going to the refrigerator. “Maybe it will work on women too.”

  “Hmmm,” said Calvin, pondering the idea. “I know you’re always looking for a reason to have a bowl of Mrs. Sommers’ stew, but in this case, it might just be the right answer. Maybe the friendly approach would work best after all.”

  Ryan had the stew simmering on the stove when a knock was heard on the door. Ryan yelled, “Come in!” and Top, Mr. Jones and Irina Rozhkov walked in.

  Top sniffed as he walked in. “Hey, umm...is that Mrs. Sommers’ elk stew?” he asked. “It sure smells good...”

  “Yeah, she made some for me to bring up to the cabin, me being all alone up here,” Ryan said with a grin.

  Calvin interjected, “What do you mean? You begged her for three days to make it for you! You even said you’d pay her for it.”

  “Well, she said she felt sorry for me after you left,” said Ryan with a sniff. Turning back to Top, he said, “Anyway, I didn’t know how long you’d be and didn’t want to miss dinner, so I put a big pot on. There’s enough for everyone.” He handed each of them a bowl of stew, and they sat down at the table to eat.

  “So, Ms. Rozhkov,” began Calvin, “what do you think now?”

  “Please, call me Irina. I haven’t used Rozhkov in so long, it no longer fits me. As to what they have shown me, if this is a hoax, it is the best one I have ever seen. If this is drug-induced, you have better drugs than any we have been able to come up with in Russia...and we’ve spent many rubles to make better drugs. I would have to guess that there is at least a 90% chance that what you have shown me is the truth.”

  “Good,” said Calvin, “I...”