Man of War (Rebellion Book 1) Page 6

  Gabriel climbed out, joining the handful of passengers on their way into residential. The younger man was one of them, and he stared at the tablet as he walked, nearly knocking into a woman with a child. His face turned red, and he apologized as he shuffled past them.

  An engineer or an astronomer, Gabriel guessed. They were the ones who tended to have their faces pointed down instead of out, more interested in calculations than other people. He moved with the line, through the archway, and onto a long, wide concourse.

  Residential was carved into the rock beneath the chasm, and so it was more open and natural than the central hub and one of the few places to trade gray, metallic walls for multi-colored stone. The bottom level of the concourse was designed for socializing and shopping, with some storefronts, restaurants, and pubs in simple stalls along the floor. In the early days, the NEA had tried to bypass the token economy for more of a communist-style arrangement. It had failed miserably. The Magellan was a United States colony ship, and despite the fact that most of its passengers had been part of the military, they had adjusted more easily to a new life that was as close to their old as possible.

  Gabriel crossed the lower level, taking in the smell of cooking meats and the colors of fresh vegetables laid enticingly out along the thoroughfare. It was all transported in fresh from Beta Settlement on Taphao Thong daily. The meats were grown in vats of nutrients, the vegetables on hydroponic farms. All of it was made possible by the water and chemical rich atmosphere of the planet. He had to admit that as much as he hated the more chaotic and busy nature of life in Alpha Settlement, he did miss the food.

  He paused at a stall and picked up an apple. "How much?" he asked, holding out his thumb to transfer the money from his account.

  "For you, Captain? It's free," the merchant responded, giving him her best smile. She was young and pretty, and might have elicited more interest from him if he were in a better mood.

  As it was, he barely noticed her flirtation. "Thanks. Enjoy your day."

  He savored the taste as he walked. The NEA didn't have the resources to waste on printing kitchen equipment for Delta Station, leaving his regular diet as ninety-percent nutrient packs: a dark, foul-tasting liquid that contained everything a healthy soldier needed. They would also get occasional shipments of things like cocoa and coffee, but it never lasted long.

  He climbed the steps near the center of the concourse up to the second level. Residential was composed of cutouts in the rock, with most of the spaces consisting of three or four small rooms and assigned based on need. As the population had grown they had continued building up to the five levels they had today, though the signs of further excavation were obvious in the corner of the area. The population was still growing, which meant residential had to grow with it.

  Gabriel made his way to the back, eating the entire apple, core and all, as he did. Gabriel had spent his childhood in the same, simple two-room space near the front of the concourse where Theodore had been living since it had first been excavated. Gabriel approached it with a growing sense of anxious trepidation. He never knew who he was going to get when he came to see his old man.

  He was surprised when the door to the home slid open before his reached it. He was even more surprised when General Alan Cave ducked through it.

  "General," Gabriel said, coming to attention and saluting.

  "Relax, Gabriel," Cave said. "I'm not here in any official capacity. I just stopped by to pay an old friend a visit."

  Gabriel relaxed his posture. Alan Cave hadn't even been a member of the military when he had boarded the Magellan back on Earth. He was a government contractor at the time, who happened to be in the right place when the order to launch was given. It was Gabriel's mother who had gotten him allowed past the barricades, eager to save every person she could. The act of sacrifice had made General Cave and Theodore fast friends, and over time the man had joined the military and used his intelligence and charisma to rise through the ranks and eventually become their CO.

  He was a tall, lanky, gentle man, with a tight crop of curly gray hair, dark skin, blue eyes, and a soft but powerful voice. He wasn't a soldier, not in the traditional sense, but he was an exceptional motivator and leader of men. He was well into his eighties and still as fit and hearty as ever.

  "How is he?" Gabriel asked.

  "Pretty good, today," Cave replied. "He remembered my name. It's been a few weeks since that happened."

  "Do you come to see him often?"

  "At least twice a week. It's tough to see him like this. I imagine it's a lot tougher for you. Even so, I owe him a debt I can never repay. This is the least I can do."

  Gabriel wasn't sure how to take the second part of the General's answer. It was Theodore's influence that had gotten him pulled from the freezer and inserted into a surrogate in the first place. He owed his father for his life, even more so than a child of a traditional pairing.

  He suddenly felt guilty for making such infrequent visits that he had never run into the General before now.

  "I was over in the hub earlier," Gabriel said, shifting the topic away from his father. "I joined a meeting with Major Choi and Colonel Graham."

  "Oh?" Cave said. "So you know about the plans to remodel the Magellan again?"

  General Cave's choice of words didn't go unnoticed.

  "I do," Gabriel replied. "I assume you're opposed to the idea?"

  General Cave hesitated before answering. "The Council is concerned with the level of resources being dedicated toward militaristic ends while the population continues to expand. You know that we can only grow so far before we reach a maintenance level. We're getting close to it now. We're exploring every option."

  "That isn't a no," Gabriel said.

  "It isn't," Cave agreed. He put up a hand before Gabriel could speak. "Look, I know how you feel. And I certainly know how your father feels, even if he can't say so himself. The fact is we have to consider everyone in the settlements. We can't barter the future of the human race on the promises made by dead men."

  "Not all of the men are dead. You're one of them."

  Cave laughed. "So is the Old Gator. Who else is left? Sturges. Siddhu. Patel. Maybe a dozen others who were adults when we arrived in this system. The past is dying. The future still has hope if we're brave enough to see it. Even if that means breaking those promises. We can refit the Magellan, take the civilians to a new planet, and then come back and continue our fight. It won't take more than ten, twenty years."

  "Twenty years? There may not be a resistance in twenty years."

  "I know. Believe me, I do. The messages have been fewer and farther between with each passing year. It was getting harder to ignore the truth before the reports on the E-type. Even I can't ignore it anymore. I don't want to betray the trust your father had in me, but there's more at stake here."

  Gabriel couldn't believe what he was hearing. First Colonel Graham, and now General Cave? It was as if all of their leaders were losing their faith and courage at once. After fifty years they were ready to let the aliens have their home, and everyone left on it.

  "I can see you're disappointed by my answer," Cave said. "I understand why, Captain, and I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You're your father's son, and you should be damn proud of that." He reached out, putting his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

  Gabriel looked up at the General and nodded, fighting to keep the disappointment from showing. Cave released Gabriel's shoulder, straightened his jacket, and started walking away.

  "I'm sorry, too," Gabriel whispered, too low for Cave to hear. If only he had spared a few seconds worth of power for thrust, he could have brought his fighter back to Delta and stayed oblivious to everything that was happening down on Manhattan.

  He would rather be ignorant than feel disappointed and betrayed by the people he had spent his entire life looking up to.

  He took a moment to gather himself before approaching the door to his father's home. If on
ly he could tell his father about any of this. If only his mother had made it to the starship on time, or Jessica hadn't died.

  The door slid open, and the smell of fresh urine wafted out.

  Gabriel had never felt more alone.

  FOURTEEN

  Gabriel entered the small home, every step he took tempting him to turn his heel and walk back out. He could hear motion in the back of the living quarters, where the heavy smell of sick piss was making the air in the space hard to breathe.

  "Come on now, General," he heard his father's nurse, Sabine, saying. "We need to change your pants. You've wet yourself again. It's a good thing General Cave left before you did."

  Gabriel remained in the front of the quarters to wait. There were two bedrooms at the back of the excavation. His father's door was on the left and open, though he couldn't see his father or Sabine through it. His eyes shifted to the one on the right. That had been his room once, long ago. He was sure it was in the same condition as he had left it when he had headed off to NEASF Officer Training fifteen years earlier. He doubted his father had ever even opened the door after Gabriel had closed it on the way out. Theodore St. Martin believed in a person's right to privacy, almost to a detrimental degree.

  If he hadn't, he would have known of his wife's plan to stay behind and guide the others to the Magellan when the Dread came. As it was, he had only learned of her betrayal once they were well underway. A betrayal that had only led him to love her more.

  Gabriel blinked a few times, trying to wipe the stories of the past from his thoughts. He was almost successful, until his traveling gaze fell on the far wall. It was smooth, solid stone, painted white. A projector affixed to the ceiling directly above the wall was beaming a near life-size photo of his mother against it.

  He had seen the image a million times before. He had grown up with the vision of her timelessly placed against the wall whenever they weren't using the system to watch a video, or communicate with someone else in the settlements. For some reason, maybe because of what he knew was happening with the Council, the sight of her face nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  She was standing in a field of marigolds, wearing a simple blue dress that hung loosely from her athletic frame. Her red-gold hair lay in a braid over her right shoulder, and her blue eyes squinted involuntarily in conjunction with a wide, white smile. Her face was heart-shaped and filled with life, and just looking at it made her selfless compassion obvious. His father had always called her an angel, and Gabriel had never had reason to doubt it.

  He clutched at her crucifix without thinking, gripping it beneath his shirt. The necklace had been delivered by one of the families she had saved, dropped into his father's hand with a simple, painful message.

  "I love you. I'm sorry. Get these people to safety."

  Theodore St. Martin always did what his angel asked.

  Gabriel clenched his fists. As far as he was concerned, his mother had meant all of the people on Earth. And now they were considering abandoning them. It was bullshit. Plain and simple.

  "Oh, Captain St. Martin. I didn't know you were here."

  Sabine's voice pulled Gabriel out of his anger. He looked at the nurse, forcing a smile. She was only fifteen years old, still in training to become a full member of the medical staff. She was rail thin, her face innocent. Gabriel could barely remember being innocent anymore.

  "How is he?" he asked, his voice a whisper that made Sabine shrink away from him.

  "He voided in his pants again," she said. "It's been happening more often the last few days. I was going to get Doctor Hall to come and look at him."

  "Is he lucid?"

  "I just gave him his medicine. It always steals some of his strength, but he screams in pain without it. If you want to talk to him, your timing is pretty good."

  Gabriel nodded, looking back at the bedroom. He wasn't sure he wanted to go in there. Especially not with the way he was feeling.

  "Are you okay, Captain?" Sabine asked.

  "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking. I just got back from a mission, and I think I'm still a little shaken."

  "Do you want to take anything? I have a benzodiazepine that might help."

  "No. Thank you. You're going to get Doctor Hall?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Can you give me ten minutes?"

  "Of course, sir."

  "Thank you, Sabine." Gabriel took a couple of steps toward the bedroom before pausing. "Sabine?"

  "Yes, Captain?" the girl asked, stopping at the front door.

  "Did you give my father the benzo?"

  "Yes, sir. A pretty high dose, in addition to the painkillers. General Cave's visit made him pretty upset. I think that's why he wet himself."

  Gabriel turned the rest of the way around. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What did he say to him?"

  "Oh, I don't know, Captain. He made me stay up front, and he spoke softly so I couldn't hear."

  Gabriel wondered what Cave might have said. Had he told Theodore of their plans to convert the Magellan back into a transport and give up the fight for Earth? Why would he do that?

  "Thank you, Sabine," he said again, spinning around and moving more purposefully into his father's bedroom. He had a sudden need to speak to his father before the meds took full effect.

  FIFTEEN

  "There isn't anything going to bust that armor of theirs, sir," Theodore St. Martin said in his signature Cajun drawl, his eyes flicking back and forth as he sat at the edge of his bed. "That nuke was a direct hit. I swear it hit that coullion dead on."

  He was silent for a moment while the other person in his waking dream spoke.

  "No, sir," Theodore replied. "I ain't saying we should give up, but we need to get these people out of here. If Command is going to call an evac, now's the time to do it." Another pause. "Already called? Yes, sir. I'm on my way."

  "Dad," Gabriel said, entering the room and approaching his father.

  Theodore was clothed in his dress blues, his wrinkled shirt tucked neatly into a crisp pair of pants, his suit jacket slightly askew. His chair sat at a right angle to him, within easy reach should he decide he wanted to move.

  He wasn't moving right now. He was reliving a moment Gabriel had seen him relive before.

  "Dad," Gabriel said again. He wanted to pull him out of it before it got painful for both of them.

  "Reactor is online," Theodore said. "Thrusters are warming up, QPG nacelles set and locked. What's our load look like?"

  Theodore paused again, waiting for the answer.

  "General," Gabriel said, still trying to get his father's attention.

  "I can see them all coming in. You sure that many are going to fit? Look at the heifer down there. I don't recognize her. She got clearance to board?" A pause. "My wife? Where is she? Not on board? You kidding me, Sergeant? Well damn, boy. Don't just sit there, go and get her. This litter ain't leaving without its Queen."

  Gabriel felt his heart begin pounding harder. He didn't want to hear this. Not again. He knew what came after. The bawling. The tears. Why did he have to show up now? It would have been better to come once his old man was already sleeping. Sit with the corpse for a few minutes and take his leave. His conscience would be salved, but he wouldn't have to deal with the memories.

  "Damn it all," Theodore said. "We need to get these people loaded double-time. Sergeant, why are you still standing here? Orders? I don't give a damn about your orders. You find my wife, you hear me boy, or we're all going to die."

  He rocked side to side, as though he were feeling an explosion.

  "Took some flak to the armor. This ain't looking good. Who the hell is letting all these people through? Those are civvies out there, and this boat is for VIPs only. Two by two onto the damn Ark. All the right kinds to keep civilization going, just like we drilled. Can't you people get anything right?" A pause and his face reddened. "Where in the name of all things holy is my wife?"

  "General St. Martin, atten-shun," Gabriel shouted.


  His father froze. Gabriel knew it wasn't because of him. He stepped forward, throwing out his palm to slap his old man.

  Theodore caught his wrist, squeezing the nerve and making his whole hand go limp and numb.

  "Who the hell you think you're striking, boy?" Theodore said, his eyes suddenly alive and looking up at him. "Don't even think of telling me it's me."

  Gabriel shook his hand, trying to rid it of the sudden pins and needles. "Dad," he said, feeling a sense of relief. "It's Gabriel. Do you know me?"

  "Why in the world wouldn't I know my own son?" Theodore asked. "Of course, I know you."

  "How are you feeling?" Gabriel asked.

  "My legs are itching like crazy," Theodore said, reaching out to scratch limbs that weren't there. "Feel like I'm buried up to my balls in bullet ants. Hurts like a son of a bitch."

  "You need your stimulators," Gabriel said, looking around the room. He found the small pads on the nightstand and grabbed them. "I'm going to roll up your pant legs."

  "Whatever for?"

  "To help the itching."

  "I don't need you to nurse me, boy. I can take care of myself."

  "I know you can," Gabriel said, rolling up the left leg to reveal the scarred stump. He put the stimulator on it, and could see the relief in his father's eyes.

  "What kind of voodoo is this?" his father said, reaching out to roll up his other pants leg so Gabriel could attach the stimulator.

  "Do you know where you are?" Gabriel asked.

  "I'm old, Gabe. I'm not senile. Alpha Settlement, Calawan system."

  He was better than usual, but not completely straight. He didn't seem to know he had lost his legs. Gabriel put the stimulator on the right stump.

  "Don't know why they hurt so much," Theodore said. "Too much running, I suppose."

  "General Cave was here to see you," Gabriel said.

  "Alan? He left a few minutes ago."

  "What did you two talk about?"

  "Just shooting the breeze, son. He stops by a few times every week. Talked about all the bullshit he has to deal with. Bullshit I for one am glad to be out from under."