Man of War (Rebellion Book 1) Page 5

  He headed directly to the middle of the structure, where a centralized administrative station sat ahead of the elevator tube that carried people up to the offices. It was early morning, and the area was relatively quiet. He was thankful for that. In the middle of the day, there would be hundreds of people crowding the floor, either waiting for a scheduled appointment, transferring from one loop to another to cross the settlement, or enjoying a work break by socializing.

  "Captain St. Martin," the receptionist said when he reached the station. She was dark-skinned and chubby, with a big, welcoming smile and bright eyes. "Welcome back. How was the mission?"

  Gabriel tried to remember her name. "Good morning." He paused. "I'm sorry. It must be the slipspace fatigue. I can't remember your name."

  "Danai," she said.

  Gabriel shook his head. "Danai. I can't believe I forgot a pretty name like that. I came back; that's about as good as I ever hope for. I heard Colonel Graham is here on Alpha?"

  "Yes, sir," she replied. "He's in one of the visitor offices upstairs."

  Gabriel smiled. He had been worried the Colonel would still be asleep. He slipped the satchel from his shoulder and handed it out toward Danai. "Can you do me a favor and make sure that he gets this."

  "You can deliver it to him yourself," someone behind him said.

  Gabriel turned slowly. He knew that voice.

  "Captain," Major Vivian Choi said.

  Gabriel stood at attention. "Major," he said, saluting.

  "Relax, Captain," Choi said with a warm smile. She was a handsome woman in her fifties, her graying hair suited to her matronly face. She was wearing similar dress blues to his, though her jacket had a lot more decorations on it. "We've been waiting for you to get back."

  "You have?" Gabriel asked, releasing his stance.

  "You sound surprised. Why wouldn't we be relieved to get our best pilot back from his sixty-fifth mission?"

  "Sixty-eighth," Gabriel said. He was sure she was happy that he had returned. He wasn't convinced the reason was purely personal. "I almost didn't make it back at all."

  "Thank heavens you did. Is the data recorder in that satchel?"

  "Yes, ma'am. Like I said, I was going to send it up to Colonel Graham."

  "I think he'd prefer if you delivered it yourself. Come with me, Captain."

  "Yes, ma'am," Gabriel said, following her as she headed for the elevator.

  He waved to Danai on the way past, who gave him a quick wave back. He would have rather left the recorder with her and made his way over to see his father. The less time he had to spend on Alpha, the better.

  They stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind them. Major Choi turned to face him, her mouth open to speak. Gabriel decided to beat her to the punch.

  "Forgive me for being blunt, Major, but does your impatience over my return, and Colonel Graham's presence on Alpha have anything to do with the rumors that we're going to be leaving this system and abandoning the resistance on Earth?"

  TWELVE

  "Where did you hear that?" Choi said, her face turning to stone.

  "I'm not going to rat out my sources," Gabriel replied. "Is there any truth to the rumor?"

  "There is always some truth in rumor," Choi said.

  "Playing coy, Major? Whatever is going on, you can fill me in. I don't have the power to change any of it anyway."

  "Not directly, no. But you have the respect of your superiors, and that still counts for something."

  "Did you just compliment me?" Gabriel asked.

  "I did. I'm not only interested in that data recorder, Captain. Your presence here is important to me on a personal and a professional level."

  "Why?"

  "Personally? You should know why. Beyond that, because your father saved my life when I was only a little girl, along with the lives of my brother and my parents. Professionally? Because I need all of the support, I can get."

  Gabriel didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

  Her eyes fell on the data recorder. "If you got the information from Captain Sturges, then yes, what he said is true. I'm trying to stop it."

  Gabriel was silent. He couldn't believe that this argument was going to come up again. "Does it have legs?"

  "Strong ones, unfortunately. A lot of the population is tired of living this way."

  "A lot of the population has only lived this way."

  Choi smiled. "Funny, isn't it? Most of the New Earth Alliance has never set foot on Earth. Hell, most of the NEA has never even seen Earth. They're in love with the fairytales their parents tell them about how wonderful it was. I'm not saying it wasn't wonderful, especially compared to this, but isn't that the reason we keep fighting for it instead of packing up and heading out? The grass isn't greener in another system. Life is going to be harder than we want wherever we go."

  "You're preaching to the choir, Major. I don't keep risking my life because I was drafted. I care about what happens to the people on Earth."

  "I know you do. That's why I need your support."

  The elevator stopped at the top floor, the doors sliding open.

  "What about Colonel Graham?" Gabriel asked. "Is he on our side?"

  Choi didn't have to speak to answer. Her face wrinkled, and she shook her head lightly. Gabriel felt a slight chill at the response. Graham was one of the last people he could ever imagine giving up the fight.

  "Mind your words, Captain," Choi said as they crossed from the elevator to the outer corridor at the edge of the dome. Small viewports in the side gave him an impressive view of the Magellan, sitting vacant and lonely at the edge of the chasm. "Graham is going to be on the offensive. I know you have your father's temper sometimes. Don't let him bait you."

  "I'll try."

  They rounded the dome, reaching a pair of wide doors guarded by an infantryman in dark fatigues and carrying a rifle. His presence was purely symbolic. There had never been a violent incident in the NEA settlement.

  "Major. Captain." The soldier saluted as they approached.

  "Spaceman," Choi said, returning the salute. "Is Colonel Graham still in the visitor's office?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Thank you."

  Like everything else in the settlement, the offices of the New Earth Alliance Space Force were spartan, designed with a bare minimalism where every piece of equipment existed because it had a specific value and purpose. The main reception area was nothing more than a flat table affixed to a central support pillar, with a small hinged panel to allow the receptionist to get into a lightweight chair behind it. A small tablet sat on the table in front of him, while a second chair occupied the corner for people to sit in while they waited.

  "Spaceman Owens," Major Choi said, approaching the desk. A smaller man with a bald head and glasses sat behind it.

  He stood and saluted. "Major Choi." He saw Gabriel behind her and saluted him as well. "Captain St. Martin. Congratulations on your mission."

  "Thank you, Gene," Gabriel said. He had known Owens since childhood. "How are you feeling?"

  "I have good days and bad days," Owens replied, in reference to his heart condition. It was the reason he had been relegated to desk work. "Today is pretty good so far."

  "We'll take what we can get, eh Gene?"

  Owens smiled. "Absolutely."

  "Spaceman, we're here to see Colonel Graham," Major Choi said.

  "Of course, Major. He's been expecting you. Are you bringing Captain St. Martin in with you?"

  "Yes."

  "I should go and inform him, ma'am. He doesn't like surprises."

  Choi chuckled. "There's no need to warn him that I'm coming. I'll take full responsibility for his bluster."

  Owens didn't look happy about the idea. He motioned towards the hallway behind him. "Second office on the right, ma'am."

  "Thank you."

  Gabriel followed Choi past the desk. They didn't have to go far to reach the visitor's office. The door was closed, but he could hear Graham
tapping furiously on his tablet behind it.

  "Mind my words?" Gabriel whispered. "You're going to get him riled up before I say anything."

  "That's the idea," Choi replied. "That way he won't blame you."

  She knocked on the door. The tapping stopped.

  "Come in," Colonel Graham said. His voice was rough and hoarse, as though he had been born screaming at people and had never stopped for a breath of air. Gabriel knew the Colonel well enough to know that probably wasn't far from the truth.

  Major Choi opened the door. She entered first, with Gabriel right behind her. Graham's eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

  "Colonel," Choi said, as both she and Gabriel saluted him.

  Graham got to his feet. He was a large man. Over two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick frame. He had a long forehead with a wisp of black hair laid flat on his scalp, brown eyes, a flat nose that had been broken a few times, and a crooked smile. He was an imposing figure who had driven cadets to tears on more than one occasion.

  "Major Choi, you're early. And Gabriel, I heard you got into a bit of a scrape on your run. I'm glad to see you here in one piece."

  "Thank you, Colonel," Gabriel said. He stepped forward, opening his satchel and pulling out the data recorder. "Mission complete."

  Graham smiled. Gabriel knew those were the Colonel's two favorite words. He didn't reach for the recorder, instead putting up his hand. "Normally I would take this from you and arrange to have it transported back to Alpha. Seeing as we're already on Alpha, you might as well bring it down to the lab yourself."

  "Yes, sir," Gabriel said, tucking it back into the satchel.

  "Thank you. Dismissed, Captain. Major, please, have a seat."

  Gabriel didn't move right away. Major Choi had obviously come early to time her arrival with his. She wanted him to be there.

  "Do you need something, Captain?" Graham asked.

  "Colonel," Choi said. "I'd prefer if Captain St. Martin participates in our discussion."

  Any sense of lightness that the Colonel had managed to project vanished from him in an instant. He clenched his jaw, his eyes burning a hole into Choi.

  "I see," he said, pausing.

  "Permission to speak freely, Colonel?" Choi said, not backing down.

  "Sure, why not, Vivian? I don't want to be accused of running away from a fight."

  "I didn't come here to fight, James," Choi said. "But I think Teddy's son has a right to be a part of this in his father's place."

  Gabriel took that as his cue. "If you don't mind, Colonel?"

  Graham looked at him, and then back at Choi. Then he sat down. "Fine. Speak your mind, Gabriel. We've known each other too long, and I respect you and your father too much not to let you."

  "The Major told me about the Council and the Earth-type planet. She said you support the option to leave Calawan."

  "I do. It may come as a surprise to you, Gabe, but not all of us want to spend our entire lives committed to a war we can't win. Let me rephrase that. A war we can't even fight."

  "I thought you believed in the cause."

  "I believe in the future of humankind. I believe that our civilization deserves to carry on beyond this." He waved his hand at the sparse office. "We've been living on borrowed time since we came to Ursae Majoris. We were never supposed to live this way. The Magellan was intended to carry us thousands of light-years away, not a handful. Yes, we have the printers and the compositors, and they've kept us up and running, but every year we spend more and more man-hours maintaining what we've got and fewer and fewer able to construct anything new. We can't let the technical debt keep piling up forever. Eventually, something is going to give, and we're all going to wind up dead."

  It was a good speech. A good argument. Gabriel could feel his opinion losing strength as he absorbed it.

  "There was a reason we decided to stop here instead," Choi said. "A reason we didn't keep going into deeper space."

  "Because we weren't ready," Graham said. "The astronomers hadn't come up with a viable system they were confident contained an Earth."

  "That isn't the only reason," Gabriel said. "And you know it."

  "You mean your father? Yes, he convinced the others to stop here so we could send back one of the scout ships. The goal was to see if there was any way to get anyone else out, not to start plotting some magical rebellion that was going to liberate Earth. I've supported your father in that for years. You know I have, Gabriel. I've been in charge of Delta Station since it was built, and I've dedicated all of my adult life to the mission."

  "Then how can you just turn your back on it?"

  It was the wrong thing to say, and Gabriel knew it as soon as the words left his mouth. Every remaining member of the Magellan's original population had some degree of survivor's guilt.

  "Turn my back on it?" Graham said, rising to his feet again. "Don't make the mistake of thinking this is an easy decision, Captain. Or that I haven't spent sleepless nights wondering if I'm doing the right thing. There is no good decision here. Whatever we do, we lose something important. I've been trying to ignore the facts for years. I sided with your father the last time the Council was considering moving on. We can't win this fight. We never have, not once, managed to so much as scratch an enemy ship. It's been fifty years, and we still have nothing that can hurt them. How do we fight that, Gabe? How do we sit here and ask all of these people who have never breathed real air, who have never walked around without a dome over their head, who have never seen daylight just to hang in there while we figure something out? We've had fifty years to figure something out. The scientists have found us a new home, and it's time to go and claim it."

  Gabriel stood in stiff silence, working to control his anger. He could feel his fingers digging hard into his leg, trying to relieve some of the sudden tension he felt. It wouldn't do him any good to yell back at the Colonel, even if he did have permission. No. He had to push back with facts.

  "We have a home, Colonel," he said, at last, his voice somehow managing to come out flat and calm. "We still have people there. We know that the enemy used the healthiest and most intelligent as templates to update their genetics because centuries of cloning and modification drained away their diversity. It's the same reason the Magellan carried the frozen eggs and sperm of over a million people. It's the same reason I'm standing in front of you right now.

  "We also know they took others as slaves to do menial work that they believe is too demeaning or too dangerous to waste their kind or risk damaging their machines on. Finally, we know that the war on Earth isn't over. We've received this information from the remaining free humans that have continued to fight back against the Dread since they arrived, in spite of the fact that as you say, they never have so much as scratched the enemy.

  "You think our people are tired of their life? Imagine spending every day in hiding, afraid that you won't survive to see the sunset one more time. Imagine having to claw and scrape for everything you have, knowing it might be taken away at any moment. Imagine the effort it takes to reach out to the only people in the universe who might be able to help you. To the military that abandoned you. That gathered up their personnel, loaded them in a starship and escaped to the stars, lucky as hell they had a hero at the helm.

  "Daylight? Fresh air? What do those things mean in the absence of security? Those are our people down there, Colonel. People we swore to protect, and a war we promised to fight. Not win. Fight. Humankind may survive by fleeing further out into the universe. But what kind of legacy will we leave? And do we deserve to carry on with a history like that?"

  Gabriel drew in a deep, calming breath, unclenching his fists. His father's passion was more volatile and animated. He tended to stay more introverted.

  Both Major Choi and Colonel Graham stared at him. Choi had a big smile on her face. Graham was stoic though it appeared to Gabriel that his words had at least been heard.

  "Thank you, Captain," Graham said in a flat monotone. "I'll take y
our comments into consideration. Dismissed."

  Gabriel came to attention, saluting and then spinning to head out the door. Major Choi's hand ran gently over his own in support as he passed.

  He paused as the door slid open, turning back to Colonel Graham. "By the way, Colonel, I watched a Dread fighter blast one of their own orbital defense satellites to dust. The technology to defeat their armor exists. They have it. We need to discover it."

  He exited the room then, satisfied with the surprised looks on both Graham and Choi's faces.

  "He reminds me so damn much of his father," he heard Graham say as he headed away. "You knew he'd be able to push me."

  "I didn't know for sure," Choi said. "I had a feeling he could bring you to your senses."

  "I'm not quite there yet. Anyway, even if you can change my mind, it won't be enough to convince the Council."

  "That's the trouble with history and legacy. Time forgives all sins."

  THIRTEEN

  Gabriel stood at the edge of the platform, waiting for the pod that would carry him along the western loop, beneath the chasm to residential. He still had the satchel with the data recorder slung over his shoulder, having decided he would deliver it after he talked to his father.

  Well, tried to talk to his father, anyway. The last time he had stopped by to see him, his old man had remembered who he was but thought Gabriel was four years old and kept asking him for his mother. Gabriel had walked out when Theodore had started to cry.

  He couldn't stand to see a man like his father bawl like a baby.

  The pod arrived, and Gabriel climbed in, taking a seat next to a younger man he didn't recognize. The man smiled politely before turning his attention to his tablet, where a page full of gray numbers swam against a black background. The hatch closed, and the pod raced off, reaching the western loop before the man could finish looking over his page.