Terminus (Fringe Worlds #1) (28 page)

Chapter 43

Maker woke up in a hospital bed, only this time it wasn’t in some field medic tent. He was in an actual sick bay aboard a ship. He sat up, stretched, and for a second contemplated getting out of bed, but then decided against it. Resting had been underrated in his book of late; it was about time he played catch-up.

He was still lying there, thinking of everything that had happened, when Fierce came in half an hour later.

“You’re awake,” the Augman noted. “How are you feeling?”

“You tell me,” Maker said.

Fierce smiled. “I’d say you’re doing great for a guy who almost got asphyxiated, roasted, and pulverized. That said…”

“What?” Maker asked after the Augman didn’t say anything else.

“Remember back on Terminus, after the jwaedin stung you? I scanned you and got some odd results, so I thought the equipment down there was faulty. But I’m getting the same readings up here.”

“Speaking of here,” Maker said, “where are we?”

“We’re still on the
Mantis
.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Roughly two days – and stop trying to change the subject.”

“Okay then, Doc. Just tell me – what’s wrong with me?”

“That’s just it. There’s
nothing
wrong with you.”

Maker frowned. “And that’s a problem?”

“Not if you’re a gene-job, like yours truly. But you’re not.”

“No, I’m just an ordinary human.”

Fierce shook his head. “Human, maybe. But far from ordinary.”

“If you say so.”

“Well, your body says so. For instance, you’ve got the cleanest bloodwork I’ve ever seen. No waste products, no toxins, nothing. That just doesn’t happen in nature.”

“That’s just from being in the Marines. It purifies you.”

Fierce laughed. “I get it; you don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine. Just be grateful that I’m your doctor and insisted on being the one to treat you while you were out. Who knows what Captain Henry’s people would have done if they’d found out.”

“So where’s the rest of the crew?” Maker asked, sitting up. “I should go check on them.”

Fierce gave him an odd look. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Maker asked in surprise.

“There are two guards posted outside your door. You’re under arrest, pending charges of treason.”

*************************************

Since he couldn’t leave, Maker’s crew eventually came to see him after Fierce gave the okay, all of them piling into his hospital room at the same time, including Erlen.

Adames was the first one in and actually gave him a hug as the others crowded around his bed. “Gant, you’ve got to be the craziest SOB in the Marines! I’ve never heard of anybody making a hyperspace jump outside a ship –
any
ship – before!”

“What?” asked Maker, confused.

“You don’t know?” asked Loyola.

Maker was completely lost. “Know what?”

“You barely made it through the shield in time,” Diviana said. “In fact, we thought we’d left you and Erlen until we dropped out of hyperspace and there you both were, floating next to us.”

“Yeah,” said Wayne. “Normally you’d expect anything outside the ship to get left behind, but something – either the EMP or the Vacra weapon – completely distorted the jump field. The end result seems to be that anything within the ship’s shields got dragged along for the ride when we went into hyperspace.”

“Well, I don’t recommend it as the ideal way to travel,” Maker said.

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” said Loyola with a smile.

Maker frowned, a new thought occurring to him. “What about you guys? Are you all okay?”

“We’re fine, sir,” Snick said. “The doc here checked us out shortly after we made the jump.”

“No,” Maker said, shaking his head. “I meant, in terms of everything that’s happened. Has anyone told you what the Corps is going to do to you?”

There were several sidelong glances, and a couple of eyes turned down to the ground.

“Nothing,” Adames finally said. “They’re not going to do anything to the rest of us. Browing has basically pushed the story up the chain that – like him – we were just loyal soldiers following orders. Anything you did, you did on your own.”

“Perfect,” Maker announced, “and that’s exactly what I want all of you to say if asked.”

“But–” Diviana began.

“No ‘buts,’” Maker said. “My military career is definitely done after this and I’ll probably spend the rest of my life in prison. There’s no reason any of you should have to suffer through that. All I ask is that someone look after Erlen.”

They all turned to look at the Niotan, who had climbed onto the bed and placed his head in Maker’s lap.

“I’ll do it,” Wayne said.

“We’ll all do it,” Fierce corrected. “But I don’t think he’s going to let you go anywhere without him – even prison.”

Everyone had a hearty chuckle at that.

“So, tell us what happened,” Diviana said. When Maker seemed a little perplexed, she added, “After you got taken to the bridge.”

Maker nodded, having practically forgotten that no one knew the complete story but him. He told it in rather succinct fashion, painting with a broad brush and leaving out many of the minute details. Even so, when he finished, they all just stared at him.

“That’s incredible,” Wayne said, clearly in awe.

“Probably more lucky than anything else,” Maker said. “Lucky the EMP took out their armor, lucky they were
in
their armor at the time, lucky their psychic didn’t seem to focus on me–”

“Oh,” Diviana interjected in surprise. “You don’t know.”

“Know what?” asked Maker.

“Back during our skirmish at the camp,” she said. “I was mentally able to pinpoint their psychic among the Vacra. He stopped being a problem before we even left.”

Maker nodded, once more impressed by Diviana’s skill set. All of them, in fact. Every member of his team had made outstanding contributions and proven their value. It had been a long time since Maker had felt it, but in that moment he was once again more than proud to be a Marine.

“Great job, everyone,” he said. “No matter what happens to me, personally, we all went above and beyond here. We saved lives, and got rid of the Vacra to boot.”

There were smiles all around until he got to that last statement, at which point he felt the demeanor of the room change.

“What is it?” Maker asked.

Adames sighed. “Shortly before we jumped, the
Mantis
detected a small craft leaving the Vacra ship – like a personal transport. It headed in the opposite direction, then jumped just as the nova bomb exploded.”

Maker’s hands balled into a fist. “Skullcap,” he said, staring off into space.

“You don’t know that,” Adames said. “It could have been any of them.”

“No, it was him,” Maker countered.

“How do you know?” asked Wayne.

“Because he’s like me – a survivor.”

Chapter 44

The court-martial was a very simple affair. It occurred in Captain Henry’s meeting room roughly a week after Maker regained consciousness. In addition to Maker himself (who was seated at a table that had been brought in), those present included Browing and Captain Henry, who was serving triple duty as a material witness, witness to the proceedings, and senior officer on board the
Mantis
.

It was his first time being in a room with Browing since Terminus. A week earlier, Maker probably would have throttled the man, but over the past few days his outlook had turned rather stoic. What was done was done; beating Browing to within an inch of his life wouldn’t solve any of Maker’s problems (although it might provide some level of entertainment and satisfaction). At some point, he had just decided that Browing wasn’t worth the effort.

On a vid screen was a three-person tribunal that would decide Maker’s fate. The panel consisted of Admiral Wong of the Navy (who sat in the middle, presiding), General Pallo of the Star Forces, and General Kroner.

They had already taken statements from everyone else, so it was just a matter of getting Maker’s version of events. He told his story with little fanfare or embellishment (except when speaking of the loyalty and devotion of his squad), starting from the day Kroner, Dr. Chantrey, and Browing had showed up on Ginsberg. The only thing he left out were certain vital facts relating to or regarding Erlen.

“So, as I understand it,” Admiral Wong said in summation, “you were recruited only to
locate
the Vacra, whom you found – and subsequently engaged, despite orders to the contrary.”

“Only because we felt another person’s life was at stake,” Maker added, trying not to twitch in his seat.

Admiral Wong continued as if Maker hadn’t said a word. “You then went on to have yet a second skirmish with them.”

“On that occasion,
they
attacked
us
,” Maker clarified.

“Son, we’re just summing up the events,” General Pallo said. “No need to be defensive. If it helps, we don’t think anything you did merits adverse action – up until the point of the nova bomb, that is.”

“Speaking of which,” Admiral Wong said, “I don’t think we need to detail the list of laws and treaties you broke by constructing that thing – we would be here for days. In short, we know what you did. We just haven’t been given an adequate explanation of why.”

The three general officers looked at Maker expectantly. He lowered his eyes for a moment.

“You already know about the sub rosa ship, right?” Maker asked. “And the deal that was made with the Vacra?”

“Yes,” General Kroner responded.

“And those officials involved, both military and civilian, will be punished to the full extent of the law,” Admiral Wong added.

Yeah, right
, Maker thought, struggling to keep the skepticism from showing in his face.

“That ship,” said Maker. “It had been out there for decades, serving as a platform for all kinds of illicit experiments and tests. That meant that the Vacra had access to generations of sub rosa tech and hardware. Conventional weapons weren’t going to cut it. We needed to fight fire with fire.”

“And when you activated it, did you realize you were putting Captain Henry, his ship, and his crew in danger?” General Pallo asked.

Maker cast an apologetic glance at Captain Henry, whose face was unreadable, before responding.

“I admit that it was a calculated risk,” he stated. “But I knew that the captain and his crew were highly competent, and they’d have enough time to get the
Mantis
back in working order. Moreover, stopping a hostile alien species who had possession of advanced weaponry seemed to be a higher priority.”

“Higher than the lives of everyone around you?” Wong asked. “Your squad? Captain Henry and his crew?”

“I was less concerned about individual lives,” Maker said, “than I was about the welfare of the human race.”

Browing raised an eyebrow and one corner of his mouth turned up slightly in an odd half-grin, as if he thought Maker was laying it on a little thick.

On the vid, the three general officers were whispering among themselves. After a moment, Kroner looked up and said, “We’re going to take a short recess. We’ll reconvene in an hour.”

Captain Henry and Maker came to their feet, saluting as the vid screen went dark. Captain Henry then left without a word. A moment later, Browing departed as well, leaving Maker in the room by himself.

Maker sat back down, reflecting on how the court-martial was going thus far. It was pretty clear that the tribunal was presently deciding his fate, and would render their decision when the trial resumed. Maker didn’t harbor any delusions about the outcome. He’d known that what he was doing was both criminal and dangerous, but had done it anyway. Now it was time to face the consequences of his actions.

He briefly debated stepping out and saying goodbye one more time to his squad. After all, he would probably be remanded into custody immediately following the tribunal’s ruling. However, he’d already said his goodbyes to everyone; no need to go through that tearjerker process again.

Unexpectedly, the door to the room opened and Dr. Chantrey stepped in. Maker was more than a little surprised. He had seen little of her since his rescue, and when their paths
had
crossed, she hadn’t seemed interested in speaking to him.

“I’m still angry with you,” she said, taking a seat at the table across from him. “You could have gotten us all killed.”

“So everyone keeps telling me,” Maker said. “But the military is about to make sure that I never get a chance to do anything like that again.”

“So it’s looking bad?”

“It sure isn’t looking good. But I’m sure you didn’t come in here to chat about the life sentence I’m about to get.”

“Straight to the point as always,” she said with a smile. “Okay, I have a question – something in the way of professional curiosity.”

“Okay,” Maker said. “Shoot.”

“My expertise is basically human nature, figuring out what people will do in certain situations. And occasionally, finding the right man for any particular job.”

“Okay, I got that. So what’s your question?”

“You handpicked your squad for this mission. They weren’t the people I would have selected, but they all ended up being perfectly suited for the task. So my question is, how did you know who you’d need for this assignment?”

Maker shrugged. “I didn’t know who I’d need besides Adames and Diviana – or rather, someone like her.”

“A psychic.”

“Yeah, although her intel background was an unexpected bonus. I’d known a guy from Wayne’s homeworld, and he was the smartest, most inventive man I ever met. I needed someone with his kind of creativity.”

“And who better than someone with the same background.”

Maker nodded. “As to the others, Loyola was a prodigious marksman, and Fierce was a package deal with her. Snick was just an extremely competent combatant, but it was a skill set that I felt would balance us out.”

“Well, they probably worked out at least as well, and maybe a lot better, than the team I chose for you – the one you rejected when you were first offered this mission.”

“Hmmm…I thought Browing put that team together.”

“No, that was my doing. Now that you mention Browing, however, you shouldn’t be too hard on him. He kept his word and didn’t say anything about Erlen being ‘special.’ Neither did I.”

“Thanks,” Maker said, speaking more sincerely than he’d imagined himself capable of.

She seemed to be on the verge of saying more, but at that moment the door opened. Maker stood as Captain Henry came into the room, followed by Browing.

“They’re ready,” Henry said. He then gave Dr. Chantrey a hard stare, which indicated that she should leave. Although clearly not intimidated, she took the hint and departed, following which the room’s occupants all sat down. A few minutes later, the vid screen came to life.

The tribunal sat stone-faced for a moment, as if for dramatic effect, and then Wong – after ordering Maker to stand – began speaking.

“Lieutenant Arrogant Maker,” Wong stated, “you stand accused of various crimes which we shall waive specifying at this time, mostly because you admit to the activities you participated in. The law is pointedly clear about what should happen in this instance. Crimes require punishment.

“However, not every facet of the law can be examined in a black-and-white context. Sometimes the law we try to enforce is actually injustice, and occasionally an unlawful decision is actually the right course of action.

“Once, as a young officer, I was commanding a ship in battle that got cut off from the rest of the fleet. We were completely surrounded by the enemy with no way to escape. I requested that the fleet fire on our position – there were so many enemy ships around us that it would be impossible to miss. Our ship took a lot of damage and many of my crew died, but our willingness to sacrifice ourselves allowed the fleet to have a decisive victory.”

Wong paused for a moment, plainly reliving what was probably a bittersweet memory.

“In your instance,” Wong said, finally continuing, “you faced a similar situation and took steps to ensure that our side obtained victory. Rather than illegal, we prefer to call your methods unorthodox, and therefore acquit you of the charges.”

Maker was stunned. This was so far from the outcome he envisioned that he couldn’t speak.

“Moreover,” said Kroner, “since the Vacra are still on the loose – and possibly still in possession of sub rosa tech – we view your mission as currently incomplete.”

“I-I-I’m sorry,” Maker stammered. “Are you saying that you want me to go after them?”

“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Kroner stated. “We’re placing the
Mantis
at your disposal” – he looked at Captain Henry, who gave a curt nod of acknowledgment – “and Browing will be working with you, too.”

“Browing?” Maker mumbled, the man’s name tasting bitter in his mouth. “Wasn’t he in on that entire trading scheme with the Vacra?”

“He was just following orders, much like the members of your own unit,” Pallo replied. “Surely if we aren’t going to convict
them,
you wouldn’t expect us to do so with
him
.”

Browing stood up, extending his hand to Maker, saying, “It will be great to work together.”

Maker stared at the man’s hand like it was an asp covered in feces. He’d rather get stung by the jwaedin again than work with Browing. However, doing so would mean that he could continue his hunt for the Vacra – specifically, Skullcap – which was far more important to him.

With that in mind, Maker swallowed his pride and shook Browing’s hand. (He made a mental note, however, to kill the man at the first opportunity if Browing even looked like he was thinking of betraying him again.)

“Well, don’t just stand there like a babe lost in the woods,” Kroner said. “You’ve got your orders, Marine. Dismissed!”

Maker saluted, and then almost skipped out of the room, eager to give his squad the good news.

THE END