by Jan Domagala
“We agree, sir. Alex suggested that they had kidnapped Garrison’s family and were forcing him to do their bidding under threat of death to them,” Jake said.
“We can disprove any claims made by the Marines’ commander by simply returning them to their home, surely, sir?” offered Gina.
“We will have to tread carefully here people. Genotia is an Independent World and therefore not our jurisdiction. Any involvement in this could appear as an invasion of their territory.”
Jake looked at his people and they all wore the same expression; they would not stand by and allow this to happen.
“Then we go in dark,” he said.
Sinclair looked at him, his brows knitting together, a sign he was not pleased.
“What do you propose?” he said, his voice even and calm.
“We need to find out what happened to Garrison’s family. If the Orion Cartels still have them we need to find where they took them and free them. We need to find out what they wanted with his research, what they have planned and if they have a viable sample of whatever Garrison was working on, then we need to destroy it. We don’t want them proceeding, just think of the trouble they could cause with what they already have,” Jake said, confident that the General would not stand in their way.
He paused whilst he thought about the plan and Jake looked at him trying to gauge which way he would go.
“If you do this you will have to do it alone, I cannot sanction further resources to this campaign. I have a security summit to organise and all our time will be spent on that. You realise what that means don’t you?” he said finally.
“If we get caught you’ll disavow any knowledge of our activities,” Jake said coldly.
“So we’re on our own then?” Joe said.
Mack looked at him and then Gina before turning his gaze to Jake. They were all resigned to it; they had to do this no matter the cost.
“All we need is already on board the Pulsar, sir,” Jake told him.
He had seen the resigned expressions on the faces of his team and knew they were of the same opinion. This act would not go unpunished. Doctor Garrison had been forced to do something that had repercussions that could reverberate throughout the galaxy if it were not stopped. This incident was exactly what the Wildfire Initiative was set up to handle but in this case their hands were bound by legalities. They had no actual proof of the act, no physical evidence to prove what they already knew and without that they could not act. That did not mean they would not act though.
“Then I’ll say good luck,” Sinclair said, his expression as ever, unreadable. Jake thought he saw a faint trace of a smile though as they all got up to leave.
“Thanks, sir, I think we’ll need it,” Jake said then with a glance to the others he said, “Let’s go.”
He knew Sinclair couldn’t order them to do this so it was left to them to volunteer and they had, just like Jake knew Sinclair wanted.
The one truth that came out of their debrief though was that they were going up against both the Genotia Home Guard and the Orion Cartels depending on the former’s reaction to their returning the Marines to their homeworld. The odds were against them and they would have to face them on their own.
The consequences of inaction though were unthinkable.
This thought was uppermost in Jake’s mind as he left the Ready Room.
As they walked back to the Pulsar Gina asked, “What do we do about the Marines and Major Thorn, Jake?”
Keeping his gaze forward as he strode on, his steps as determined as his demeanour, he said, “I’ve a proposition to put to them.”
13
I
“You want me to do what now?” Alex said.
Jake thought he was clearly not hearing what had been said to him or he thought they were mad to ask.
“I want you to come with us to the Independent Worlds Sector to find out what involvement the Orion Cartels had with the events on the station. I think you need to know if Doctor Garrison had been forced to alter the serum as much as we do. Also, if there’s even a slim chance that his family are still alive, having been taken hostage then my intention is to try and rescue them.”
“We don’t know for certain they were taken,” Alex said.
“We can find out though,” Jake said with a wink.
Alex looked at him askance; he didn’t know Jake that well, at all really, so he had no idea what he was up to.
“Okay, I’ll bite, but how?” Alex said finally.
“Come on and I’ll show you,” Jake said.
“Excuse me but what about us?” asked Talbot.
“Do you guys want to go home to your families and loved ones?” Jake asked.
“Of course we do, what kind of question is that?” Talbot replied defensively.
“The best kind, it gauges your determination to get home because the road won’t be easy. You can bet by the time we get you there Colonel Black has submitted his report and that report will have you listed as either killed in action or working for the other side. Either way you won’t get an easy reception.”
“What Jake means is, we can’t just knock on their front door and say ‘are these yours?’” Joe said simplifying it for them.
“We can’t contact them to inform them of your survival either for that would be an admittance of our trespass on your station,” Jake added.
“What do you intend to do then?” Talbot asked with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I have no idea, but we’ll work something out,” Jake replied with a rakish grin.
“Oh, here we go again, doin’ things on the fly,” Gina said with a shake of her head.
“Come on, our ride is waiting,” Jake said as he turned around and headed for the door.
Talbot looked at the others and then at Alex but before they could say anything Mack put a consoling arm around his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry these things very rarely go wrong.”
“What about that time on Tartaran?” Joe said with a grin.
“That was a one off,” Mack told him.
“A one off, are you serious, if it hadn’t been for...” Joe was about to say, but Gina interrupted by slapping both of them upside their heads and said, “Not helping guys.”
Talbot looked at Gina, his eyes wide and said, “Are they always like that?”
“Nah!” she said, then with a deadpan look added, “Most times they’re much worse.”
As she walked after Jake, Talbot looked at them all and shook his head. He beckoned the rest of his men and shook his head saying, “I wanted my career to last a bit longer than this.”
Jake had heard the interchange between them and couldn’t help but smile. He knew his team would react like they had, they joked around at every opportunity especially when it was at another soldier’s expense. When the time came to fight though, he knew they would have his back, he also knew he would not want anyone else by his side. They were not just his teammates they were his closest friends too.
He led them back to the Pulsar and they boarded the ramp onto the bridge.
“Artie prep for take-off,” Jake said.
“Copy that, sir,” replied the AI.
When everyone was back on board the AI closed the ramp securing the bridge.
“Prepare for immediate take-off people, we’ve got work to do,” Jake told the assembled group.
Alex said, “You said you’d be able to find out if Doctor Garrison’s family were taken hostage.”
“Correct,” Jake agreed.
“You made other claims too, one was about us,” Talbot said.
“I’ll get to you in a moment Private; first I must fulfil my earlier claim to Major Thorn. Artie how close to Genotia do we need to be to do a successful scan of the planet?” Jake said.
“What do you want me to find, sir?” the AI asked as it completed a successful take-off.
“We’re looking for a certain family on the planet. We need to know if they have been forcefully removed.”
>
“That is not an easy task, sir. Would it suffice if I could locate them for you or confirm that they are not on the planet?”
“That would do Artie, how close do you need to be?”
“For a pinpoint scan I would need to be in orbit, sir.”
“Okay Artie, plot the course and make the first jump,” Jake said.
II
Genotia
The Pulsar emerged from the hyperspace window on the edge of the system that Genotia belonged to.
“Okay Artie, activate the stealth shield,” Jake said, still on the bridge monitoring the progress of their journey. It had taken a few jumps to reach their present destination, as Genotia was several sectors out of Colonial Confederation space. He refused to leave until the present mission was completed; he was under enormous pressure with this one. He had no backup and if he messed up then those lives depending on him would be forfeit. It would give the Confederation plausible deniability if they were caught or killed, but that was negative thinking and something he couldn’t afford to encompass. He had to remain positive, confident if he wanted to succeed. Failure was simply not an option; he had to succeed.
“Stealth shield activated, sir. We are invisible to all their sensors.”
“Take us in to sensor range and begin scanning for Doctor Garrison’s family. His DNA should be on file from his time with Col Sec, as should his fingerprints. It’s probably best you begin the scans at his address, which should be on record also. Once you’ve established where he would have been you can scan for his family’s identifying signs and then, well you know what to do,” Jake said. He stopped abruptly as he realised he was giving orders to something that knew better than him how to proceed.
“Copy that, sir, starting scans now,” the AI said. There was no ego to bruise with the AI so, although it was aware of Jake’s slight embarrassment, due to its emotion evaluation matrix it ignored it because to mention it would make matters worse.
“We here already?” a voice asked from behind him. Jake turned to see Alex standing there.
“Yes, we’re scanning now for any sign of the Garrison family. Once Artie has their details he’ll be able to find them if they’re not on this world. We just have to look in the right place though.”
“Remarkable,” Alex observed softly as he came to stand next to Jake in front of the forward viewscreen. Jake saw his eyes go wide as he looked at the view, Genotia. His homeworld, there was awe there and something else too, longing maybe.
“You think you’ll never see it again don’t you?” he said realising what he was witnessing.
“Since I was made the leader of the War Dogs and they saw what I was capable of, no one looked at me the same again. When they realised we could never be normal again they tried to kill us; that was before Doctor Garrison persuaded the government to try his new serum.”
“I know the history of events that led to today Alex, but you’re not like it was documented. You exhibit greater control over your ‘fight or flight’ response than you’re supposed to. According to reports, you’re supposed to react violently against any threat either real or perceived. I’ve seen you exhibit greater control than that. I’ve seen nothing that would make you a threat to civilisation, so what’s the deal here?”
Alex looked at him and his head drooped as if he’d been found out. When he looked at Jake he saw a relief in his eyes.
“I was never like the others. The serum had a different effect on me; in fact we all had varying degrees of effect. I mean we all had the same physical effects, in as much as it increased strength and speed, but some went completely bat shit crazy when a threat presented itself. Unfortunately we were all tarred with the same brush.”
“Sir, there is no sign of the Garrison family on the planet below,” Artie said breaking into the conversation.
“What do we do now?” Alex said hearing the report.
Jake looked at him and a smile slowly spread across his handsome face.
“I have an idea, you’re gonna love this,” he said.
III
Colonel Black walked into the office, holding himself erect and proud, as he knew there was no one to disprove his claim of what had happened on the station.
His only worry was that it had taken longer than he had expected to see the General. He would have thought that after filing his report he would have been summoned to see the big man at his earliest convenience instead of sitting on his hands for this long. He had begun to think that something had happened but he could think of nothing that could dispute his version of events. He had seen the station destroyed; there could be no witnesses so his version would be the only one. He would have the final word.
“Colonel Black, so glad to see you, although I am a bit confused as to why you were the only survivor of your mission,” General Matthias said by way of greeting.
Black paused on his way in. Did the General know something, he wondered momentarily, but then the doubt was gone as he realised he was just fishing? There was no possible way he could know the truth of what happened on the station.
“Confused why, sir?” he said boldly.
“Your report states that Doctor Garrison was making the War Dogs into some kind of monster. You also state the presence of another ship, one that our records did not recognise, was also docked at the station. From this you assumed that the two were working together, that the good doctor was altering the War Dogs for the owner of this other ship.”
“That is correct, sir,” Black said as he reached the desk where the General sat.
“What evidence do you have to support these theories?”
“Evidence, sir, I’m not sure I understand,” he said beginning to doubt his own story now.
“What proof have you to substantiate your claims, I mean I only have your word for what happened on that station?” Matthias said, his eyes boring into him.
Black ran his report through his mind searching for any error, any chink in his armour that the General could have spotted. What was he missing here, what had he overlooked?
“Is my word not enough, General? I’m not sure what you’re implying here,” he said finally.
“Did you even attempt to learn who that other ship belonged to?”
“Am I being accused of something here, sir?” Black asked. He was not happy with how this interview was going. It was beginning to sound like an interrogation rather than his debrief.
“Yes actually,” Matthias said coldly.
Black steadied himself, endeavouring to remain calm, he was sure this was nothing more than a fishing expedition and they could know nothing. There were doubts to his story but as long as he remained steadfastly to it they could prove nothing, “And what, may I ask, are you accusing me of?”
“Falsifying a report and abandoning your men on a station you had set to destroy. How’s that for starters, Colonel?”
“That is outrageous,” Black said, his eyes narrowing in anger.
He saw the smug smile spread across Matthias’ face. What was he missing here?
“Is it Colonel, is it really?” said the General and he sat back in his seat to stare at Black.
What had he missed, there was nothing left of the station, he had made sure of that.
His eyes remained fixed on the man before him who was clearly trying to stare him down. This was a bluff; it had to be to see if he would break. They had doubts about his report so they were trying to wear him down to see if he would confess. It was not going to happen though, he would see it through, he was certain they had nothing.
He was wrong.
“Come in Major,” Matthias said and Black heard the door open behind him and several people enter the room. Daring not to look he kept his gaze fixed on Matthias’ eyes.
Then he heard a voice and his world collapsed.
“Hello Major, you forgot to say goodbye,” Alex said as he stepped up to Black’s side.
Black turned his head to look at him, not believing what he was hearing and
saw Talbot with the other soldiers standing just behind Thorn.
“Colonel Black, you’re under arrest for conduct unbecoming an officer,” Black heard Matthias say.
14
I
As Black was being escorted out of the office accompanied by three soldiers of the Home Guard, Jake heard Alex say, “General allow me to introduce Captain Jake Riley and his team, Lieutenants Mack Cooper, Joe Vance and Gina Torres. They were asked to investigate the lack of comms from Research Station Nine. Doctor Garrison was a close friend of Doctor Baxter at Col Sec and had it not been for his helping Garrison with the serum we would not have had the War Dogs and been able to win the war. They were only acting to see if they could help but when they arrived they found the situation to be a lot worse than they had feared. Had it not been for their intervention we would not be standing here today. Also they have found vital evidence that proves what happened on the station was the actions of a third party. We believe that Garrison was forced to alter the serum that caused the mutations by members of the Orion Cartels. We believe they took the Doctor’s family as hostages to force him to comply.”
Matthias looked at all of them. Jake and his team all stood before the desk at attention waiting for the result of the General’s evaluation of the situation.
“What evidence have you that proves Garrison was coerced into what he did?” Matthias asked.
“I’m afraid that’s classified, sir,” Jake told him, a bold move on his part he knew but one he had to play.
“I understand your ship is in orbit so it’s probably safe to assume the evidence would be on board,” Matthias began. Jake remained quiet allowing him to talk to see where he was going with it, risky he knew but again it was necessary for him to learn what he intended against what he could achieve.
“What’s to prevent me from taking a team up to your ship, boarding her and taking the evidence and the ship for myself?” he asked. Before he could say anything further he heard Gina say, “Hah! You could try.”
A stern glance from him prevented her from saying anything more.
“Really?” the General said raising one eyebrow. Jake could tell he liked Gina, she had guts, something they all knew and shared. He returned his attention to the General and said, “I don’t think you want to do that, sir. I understand you like to flex your muscles, to show us this is your turf, I get that. I also know we trod on your toes by invading your station, but technically the station was ours it was only on loan to you by our government so that point is null and void. The destruction of the station though wasn’t the result of anything we did and your men can attest to that, what we did was help get your men to safety. We also found out who the perpetrator of the foul deed was. All I ask is that you allow your Major to accompany us to try and rescue Garrison’s family. When we bring them home you and your men can have all the glory, you can gladly keep our involvement out of it. If we are successful though I am hoping that it will cement relations between your world and ours.”