by Daniel Gibbs
“It’s an occupational hazard, Admiral,” David said, determined not to show any overt weakness.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed about, after all. All soldiers have to live with death hovering over their shoulder.” Seville took a drink and put his glass down. “Hopefully, we can soon exorcise that specter, or at least reduce it.”
“It will be a proud moment for us all when peace is restored,” Sheila said. She exchanged glances with David before continuing. “A just peace that we can build on to something greater.”
“A reunion of all mankind under one banner is our ultimate goal,” Zehnya Antonov stated. “Humans together under a banner of brotherhood and solidarity.”
“Brotherhood and solidarity must ultimately mean tolerance toward each other’s differences,” Dr. Tural said. “Otherwise, what you have is not brotherhood; it is the tyranny of the majority or whomever holds power.”
“There are things that can be tolerated and things that cannot,” Strappi said. “A united mankind cannot easily tolerate those who wish to divide it; such is an oxymoron and can lead to that very division.”
David cleared his throat. “Our two… branches of humanity have very different ideas about the state, Colonel. We, the Terran Coalition, collectively believe that freedom is the cure to most things that ail us. The state should offer a framework for its citizens to thrive within, but not control their lives.”
Seemingly undeterred, Strappi pressed on. “In the League, by defining the roles of our citizens and the rules they must follow, we give them freedom to thrive.”
“But who decides what can be tolerated and what cannot?” Dr. Tural asked. “Does any person have the wisdom to do such things?”
“Our people trust the State with such duty. The State, after all, represents the accumulated will and knowledge of the people.”
“And if the State is ever wrong?” David asked pointedly.
“The State is the embodiment of the people. It can’t be wrong,” Strappi insisted. “And it is preferable to allowing the superstitious to decide such issues. For instance, you, Dr. Hayworth.” He looked to Hayworth, who glanced up from his food. “Even in the League, your brilliance is known, as is your refusal to hew to the nonsense of those around you. Unlike them, we would not treat you as a moral inferior to be badgered or pitied, but as a man of rational thought and brilliant invention.”
Silence reigned over the table for several seconds, with uncomfortable glances everywhere. Hayworth finished chewing on a mouthful of salad and looked intently at Strappi. “How would you treat me, Colonel Strappi, if I refused to aid your government’s R&D projects but insisted on having my own? How would you treat me if I proclaimed publicly that Committee Chairman Pallis is a senile old warmongering idiot and that the entire Social and Public Safety Committee should be tossed out on its ass?”
Strappi’s face contorted, but before he could speak, Jenner intervened in the discussion. “It appears, ladies and gentlemen, that there are quite a few things still dividing our sections of humanity,” he said carefully, “but we can still live peacefully regardless of this.”
“We live in hope, Minister,” David answered quietly.
“Oh, I think the Colonel has brought up something important,” Hayworth said, drawing a nasty look from David. “The League offers a Faustian bargain.”
“What the heck is that?” Calvin whispered toward David.
“Deal with the devil.”
“They supposedly offer their citizens everything yet operate a data and AI driven police state that monitors all aspects of everyone’s life. You can’t walk too fast in the League without getting in trouble,” Hayworth continued.
“And the Terran Coalition doesn’t have its own rules and controls, Doctor?” Strappi said. “In a society that’s predominately religious, aren’t you a second-class citizen? The only difference is that the League’s rules come from the state, while yours supposedly come from an imaginary figure in the sky.”
Jenner cleared his throat loudly. “I think we should all move on.”
“Agreed,” David said, letting out a sigh. “My mother always said to avoid politics and religion at the dinner table.”
The injection of humor into the tense situation seemed to do the trick. After a few well-placed chuckles, Hayworth and Strappi were silent, while the others made small talk. For the rest of the dinner, which consisted of a main course, followed by desserts and coffee, they avoided the touchy subjects. David decided by the end of the dinner that while he’d never trust Seville and he couldn’t stand Strappi—after all, League political officers were hated even by their own—Jenner seemed to genuinely want peace.
“Minister, you seem to be invested in this peace process. If I may, why?” David asked of Jenner as the other officers talked amongst themselves.
“The truth is, Colonel, I lost two children to this war. Both of my sons,” Jenner said with more than a trace of sadness.
David sat back slightly in his chair. Great, I just stepped in it.
Before he could respond, however, Jenner continued. “I don’t blame you for their deaths, nor anyone in the Coalition Defense Force. After all, we fired the first shots of the war.”
David’s eyebrows shot up; the League had always claimed that the Terran Coalition had attacked first.
“I was under the impression that the League felt we started the war, Minister,” David said neutrally.
“There is fact and then there is truth, Colonel. We both know what the truth is. I’m tired of war, and the faction I represent within the League Social and Public Safety Committee is tired of war too. We’re here to forge peace. I hope that your people share that goal,”
“While I’m sure there’s a person or two in the Terran Coalition that can’t see past the hatred for the League, I think nearly everyone else prefers a just peace with honor,” David said.
“I hope your leaders are of the same mind as us,” Jenner said, and raised his glass with a smile.
“Perhaps the best way to deal with this is just put a couple of weary soldiers in the same room and let them come to a compromise.”
Jenner laughed. “The war would be over in fifteen minutes.”
David smiled and took a sip from his glass. Soon the dinner was over, and it was time for the League contingent to leave. Seville spoke from his end of the table. “Colonel Cohen, I must commend you on being an excellent host. We will take our leave now, but know that this gesture on your part is truly touching to me.”
As Seville and his officers stood, David and his did as well. “Thank you, Admiral. I wish you a good journey, long life, and good health,” he said without a trace of sarcasm. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Sheila rolling her eyes at him.
Seville too kept a neutral expression. “You as well, Colonel.” While he and his officers headed for the hatch, David walked over to stand beside it, shaking the hands of all as they left. When Seville reached him, he paused. “Colonel, do you mind if I pay my final respects to Captain Barrigo? I found her conduct in captivity to be… inspiring. Always staying true to her oath to resist.”
David looked to Tural, who nodded. “A moment, Admiral.” Tural walked over to the wall monitor with David and Seville following. He tapped a key on it and said, “Patch to medical bay.” After a moment, the image of a nurse popped up. “Nurse, is Captain Barrigo available?”
“Yes, Doctor. One moment.” The nurse moved out of the image. Some moments later, Barrigo stepped into the view.
Seeing her, Tural said, “Adriana, this is Admiral Seville. I’m not sure you’ve met.”
“We haven’t,” Barrigo said.
“I would just like to thank you for playing a role in the peace to come, good captain,” Seville said. “And please, do give greetings to your father on my behalf?”
“Greetings to my father?” Barrigo seemed to think for a moment. “Oh, yes, of course, Admiral. I would be honored.”
“Thank you, my dear. May you have
a pleasant life.” Smiling, Seville nodded to Tural and began to walk over to David, who had been watching quietly.
“I’ll be along shortly to check on your status, Adriana,” Tural assured her, after which he turned the monitor off.
As Seville exited the room, Sheila walked up to David. “What was all that about, you think?” she asked quietly.
“I’m not sure, but it was weird.”
David and Sheila, along with the TCMC honor guard, walked silently back to the shuttle bay with the League contingent. As they boarded the shuttle to return to their ship, Seville was last to board. He looked back at David. “It took me a few minutes, Colonel. I recognize your name now.” Seville touched under his right eye, which was obviously artificial. “I’m quite sure your father would be proud of you.”
David’s face clouded over. “I like to think so,” he said.
“A man... fighting only to defend his home and family. No ideology, no beliefs, simple self-defense of what one cherishes.” Seville cracked a smile. “Far purer motives, I would say, than some have fought for. But I must be off, Colonel. Have a pleasant day and thank you for your hospitality.” He stepped into the shuttle fully, watching David intently as the shuttle doors slid closed.
Sheila looked to David and said, “You look tired. Shouldn’t you take some down time? We’re due to jump into Canaan soon.”
David glanced at her with his expression betraying his relief. “I plan on it, XO. Put our relief on the bridge and get some rest. We need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
28
Later that evening, David reviewed reports in his quarters, wrapping up the copious amounts of paperwork required for the trip. He was relieved to be out of his formal dress uniform. The ship had jumped about an hour previously and was in a standard parking orbit of Canaan, closely escorting the Destruction and the transport. He had tried to sleep but had found himself unable to get his mind off the meeting with Seville and the conversation over dinner with Jenner. It had entered his mind to ask Dr. Tural to prescribe him something to help him unwind, but then he’d be groggy the next day, and he didn’t want to have to explain the side effects. At least, that was normally what happened when he took something to bring sleep.
Looking over personnel transfer requests, he kept absentmindedly playing through the night’s conversations in his mind. Noting that he would never invite Hayworth to another diplomatic function, David kept going over Seville’s comments, looking for weaknesses and strategies. He believed that you had to truly study an enemy and get into the enemy’s head to be able to counter them effectively, and Seville was to be handled no differently, peace treaty or no.
Something bothered him about the evening. He couldn’t put his finger on it; he was pretty sure that Jenner was genuinely interested in peace. Seville, on the other hand, oozed a kind of fake charm that put every gut feeling David had on battle stations. He replayed his interactions with Seville over and over, and something struck him as odd about Seville’s request to talk to Captain Barrigo. Something just wasn’t right; his mind zeroed in on the phrase “And please, do give greetings to your father on my behalf?” He navigated on his tablet to the guest list for the reception on Canaan for the League peace mission.
Going through the list, he quickly determined that Barrigo’s father was on the guest list. “So why would Seville want to give his regards to her father through her?” David wondered out loud to no one in particular. He quickly decided to go down and talk to Barrigo again. He jumped out of his chair, reached for his normal uniform, and quickly put it on. He brought the comm device on his wrist up to his mouth. “Cohen to Tural,” he said into it.
A moment later, he received an answer. “Dr. Tural here. What can I do for you, Colonel?”
“Are you in the medical bay monitoring Captain Barrigo?”
“No, I left Dr. Bhatt in charge.”
“Meet me in the medical bay, then, Doctor.” David left his room and walked down the passageway quickly. He brought his comm device back up and made another call. “Cohen to bridge.”
The command duty officer answered. “Bridge, go ahead, Colonel.”
“Bridge, monitor all communications by the League ships. Quietly.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Cohen out,” David said and continued walking with purpose; he got into a gravlift and took it to deck seven, which housed the main medical bay. Sheila was waiting for him outside of the lift.
“What’s going on, sir?” she asked. “The command duty officer called me and alerted me to your orders. Is something wrong?” she added with a look of concern on her face.
Sheila followed David as he glanced over his shoulder at her. “Something’s going on. Seville’s comments were off. I couldn’t put my finger on it for most of the time, but it just felt wrong.”
“What felt wrong?”
“Seville’s desire to contact Barrigo. Why? She’s going to be at the ceremony and reception; they could talk there. And ‘giving his greetings to her father?’ Javier Barrigo’s supposed to be there too,” David replied.
Sheila looked at him, clearly bewildered. “Maybe Seville’s not attending?”
“He’s on the list as well. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s the head of the military detachment to the mission. No, I think that was some kind of code...” David trailed off, his mind racing as he bounded through the passageway.
Sheila tried to get in front of David to slow him down, but he blew right past her. “Code for what? Listen to yourself, David… I think you’re getting paranoid just because… why? Seville maybe thinks he won’t get to see Barrigo and her father, so he calls her while here and asks for her to say hello for him? Yeah, its weird, but we can’t go derailing the peace process.”
“Or it’s a pre-arranged signal for her to attempt some kind of sabotage on our ship,” David pointed out. “Either way, I have to be sure. I need you on the bridge to make certain nothing untoward happens.”
Sheila glared at David. “You’re actually going to accuse Adriana Barrigo of being a League agent? Because of... this?” She stepped in front of him again and blocked an internal bulkhead door, forcing him to look at her and stop walking. “Listen to yourself, David! You’re sounding like one of those nutjobs who rant on the holonets about ‘spies’ and ‘saboteurs’ being everywhere!”
David set his jaw. “Listen, Sheila... it doesn’t feel right. All of my instincts are telling me something is wrong here.” Seeing she wouldn’t be budged, David drew in a sigh. “I’m not going to call up Seville ranting and raving about treachery, okay? I’m not going to jeopardize the peace process just in case I’m wrong about this. But remember, she’s been a League prisoner for almost a decade now. There have already been cases of long-time POWs being recovered and turning out to have become League sympathizers. Who knows what kind of brainwashing or psychological conditioning they could have subjected Barrigo to?”
“But what purpose would it serve?” Sheila asked. “The League is already succeeding against us militarily. They don’t need some fake peace offer.” Her eyes met his. She had begun to consider what he was saying.
“They may be winning on the battlefield lately, but every time they start another spring offensive, they gain for a while, and then we push them back, typically after the Saurians donate some ships to us under that lend/lease program they run. Or a Matrinid battle group happens to find a League battle group in its space and destroys it. Our allies may not be fully involved in our war, but they help us enough to keep the League in check.” David paused, his gaze drilling into her. “Canaan is under-defended due to this summit coming up. The only ships there are mostly laid up in the docks; their crews reassigned or on home leave. The Home Defense Fleet will be on standby, but all the League needs is a few shots to annihilate entire cities and kill millions. Think about what would happen if they successfully attacked Canaan? Our morale would collapse. It would bring the war directly to our c
apital and prove that no one is safe.”
Sheila took a half step back. “Promise me you’ll do nothing we can’t take back, David.”
“I’m not nuts. You’ve trusted me for years, Sheila. Trust me one more time. I just want to have a conversation with her and have the doctor do some further tests,” David said quietly.
Sheila stepped to one side to let him pass. “Orders, sir?” she asked, equally quiet and subdued.
“Get to the bridge and get Colonel Demood and some Marines down to the medical bay. I want two sentries posted from now until we get her off the ship,” David said with the voice of command he had worked to perfect.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be on the bridge.” Sheila turned to go and began to walk off before she stopped and turned back toward him. “David, I pray to God with everything in me that you’re wrong.”
David looked back at her. “So do I, Sheila…so do I.”
David continued forward at a pace that was nearly a run toward the medical bay; he reached it before Calvin and the Marines. Walking into the room, he glanced around quickly, looking for the medical personnel. Taking in the scene, he immediately knew he had been right; Barrigo was gone, and the on-duty medical personnel, including a nurse and Dr. Bhatt, were on the ground unconscious. He rushed over and checked the pulses of both and found them to be strong and steady. David picked up the nurse and placed her onto a nearby vacant bed, starting the diagnostic program. As he did this, Doctor Tural strode into the medical bay. “By Allah, what happened here, Colonel?” Tural asked, alarmed.
“I found them like this, Doctor. Help me get Dr. Bhatt up.”
The two men picked up Bhatt and put him into a bed as well. David looked to Tural. “Can you wake one of them up, Doctor? Barrigo is gone, and we need to know what happened.”
Tural checked the vitals of Bhatt and looked at David. “I believe I can wake him with no adverse effects.” As David watched, Tural injected Bhatt with a vial of liquid. After a few moments, the older man began to wake.
David stepped close to Bhatt’s bedside. “Dr. Bhatt. This is Colonel Cohen. Can you hear me? Who attacked you?”