Recon Marines III: The Marine's Doctor (2 page)

When none came forth, Mak stood up to
address the general. “You haven’t introduced the woman beside you,
general.” Mak hated to remind him. The general was getting on in
years. Wasn’t there a certain age when people started losing their
memories?

Instead of being angered or offended
at the reminder of his forgetfulness, General Drant smiled. Not a
half smile, but a wide grin. “I wasn’t aware you didn’t know her
already, Marine, though I heard you came to her rescue earlier
today. This is Dr. Molly Drant, the scientific leader of this
little genius group. She holds more degrees than I can
name.”

Mak didn’t dare the next question. Was
Molly related to the general? That’s what sharing of last names
usually meant. He saw the same challenging look in their eyes, but
such an expression could be learned.

Drant swept his once again stern stare
around the table. “You’ll be leaving at midnight, offering no
information to anyone on this station. No call flashes home to
family or friends. No telling someone in the café or the barracks.
No one except for me, and a few trusted aides will know where you
are and why you’re there. Go get your gear ready and fill up at the
mess on the last fresh food you’ll have for a while. Lieutenant
Mak, stay for a moment so I can finish giving you the
facts.”

Relief spread through Mak. He wasn’t
accustomed to wandering at will to all parts of the world even if
there was a major military base in this port. When he served with
the Recon Marines, they never saw the outside of their isolated
barracks the two times they’d been on this giant spinning station.
He studied his teammates as they filed from the room. They seemed
acquainted and friendly with each other. Dr. Drant looked across
the table at Mak, sweeping her sharp gaze over him. Something in
her eyes gave him the impression of being measured.

“
Sit down, soldier,” the
general said as the door closed behind them. “Now that we’re alone,
let’s speak clearly.”

“
Yes, sir.” Mak wondered
if one of the people who’d been in the room had lied since the
general had waited until they were alone to clear things up. He’d
learned in the last few months as had his Recon Marine brothers
that civilians and many members of the military spoke less than the
full truth quite often. Yes, speaking clearly suited him just
fine.

“
This fellow you saw in
the vid is a big embarrassment for the military. It will bring up
things best left in history. We’ve kept these images from the media
waves, but if they get out or more of these giant-like men come to
light, it could cause problems for you and the other Recon
Marines.”

Mak understood the biological and
genetic sciences behind the Recon Marines’ creation more than any
of his brothers. Science had always been his specialty, and he’d
delved far into the DNA studies of him and his fellows. “Someone
will think we’re like that man?”

“
I know you’re not, but
the media can make people believe anything to get a good story.
We’re sending this small team of doctors and scientists to make
sure there aren’t more of these dangerous experiments out there.
Your orders aren’t to confront them. Report immediately to me if
you find anything like what we saw in the vid. I’ll send help to do
what needs to be done.”

A year ago Mak wouldn’t have
understood that the general meant to kill anyone they found. “Why
do you need me, general?” Mak had thought the killing would be
asked of him.

Drant frowned and leaned toward Mak.
“Because I can’t trust the rest of that bunch to follow my
orders.”

“
Sir?”

“
Corporal Box might gladly
kill anyone you find, probably even you if he could. But he’s just
a brainy scientist playing at being a soldier. Kory Pender just
wants to fly and is a damned good pilot, but I doubt he’s ever
killed anything. The three doctors will want to study what they
find before killing it no matter how dangerous it is.”

“
You’re letting them go
but you don’t trust them? Not even Dr. Drant?”

“
Her the least of all. She
thinks she can take on anything.” Drant pulled a tablet to him from
across the table. “Now that brings me to this. I want to swear you
back to active duty on a temporary basis. Just until this mission
is done and you track down every research facility these traitors
used for their genetic experiments.”

Mak’s heart slammed against his ribs.
Back in the army? Back to following orders he didn’t understand or
agree with?

Drant tapped the tablet and pulled up
a screen. “Now, son, I know you’re feeling leery about this, but
you have my personal promise that this is only for the duration of
this particular endeavor. I want you in charge of the military
personnel so that Box and Pender must obey your
commands.”

Mak did trust the general. Somewhat.
He took the tablet in hand and read the contract. It left open the
end date of his re-enlistment but said it must be renewed after six
months if his service was to continue. He wished he had Joe or Vin
by his side to advise him.

“
And one more thing, Mak,
the most important part of your mission.” The general handed him
the stylus to sign the contract. He waited until Mak did before
speaking again. “I want to clean up this mess, but the reason I
brought you in is to protect my daughter. If Dr. Drant gets injured
in the slightest, Lieutenant, you can consider your assignment a
failure. You saved her once today from those robbers. She means
more than the entire Galactic Empire to me. You understand me,
son?”

****

“
Did you know your father
was bringing this man aboard?” Helen asked Molly as they joined
Hector at a table in the officers’ mess hall.

Molly looked at her longtime friend
and colleague, wondering if Helen disapproved of Mak’s presence,
perhaps even his existence. “You’ve been at every briefing that I
have. I haven’t had dinner with my father since I arrived. We knew
another pilot would be assigned.” But it didn’t have to be a Recon
Marine. The marines were so deeply classified that she’d never even
seen a picture of one. Lieutenant Mak didn’t look as she’d expected
but the fight earlier in the day confirmed his physical
abilities.

“
Think of the
opportunity,” Helen went on, ignoring the food on her tray. “We can
study a genuine Recon Marine and not just look at the guesses
written by others.”

Hector dug into his plate of seasoned
rice and vegetables. He’d been Molly’s assistant for almost three
years and she still didn’t understand how he could eat so much food
and never gain a pound. He paused long enough to offer his opinion.
“I’ve heard some bad things about the marines. Can we trust him?
How can any of those guys be normal?”

Molly picked at her fruit salad.
Unlike Hector, she watched her caloric intake and fought weight
gain whenever she was in port. It was one reason among many of more
importance that she liked being out in the field, exploring newly
discovered planets for medicines and finding means to battle new
pathogens. And losing weight with the vigor of searching jungles
and alien climes. “My father trusts him. I’m sure the numerous
psychiatry courses you’ve studied will help you figure this guy
out. Soldiers are soldiers, no matter how they were
born.”

Helen snorted. “At least he’s a
handsome cuss. He didn’t impress me with intellectual
chatter.”

“
We were only with him for
a few minutes, Helen.” Molly had noticed Mak’s good looks and he’d
shown off his physical prowess against the four men earlier. Four
men whose purpose remained a mystery even after vigorous
interrogation. She set that worry aside. They’d be safely in space
in a few hours. In a relatively small space with a legendary Recon
Marine. She’d been raised around the military and had met many
handsome soldiers through her father. It would take more than Mak’s
pretty face and rippling muscles to make an army man appear
attractive to her. “They were designed to be
intelligent.”

“
Intelligent by military
standards or ours?” Helen asked. “Oh, well. If we run into anything
like that monster in the vid, we’ll be glad to have him with
us.”

Molly shivered a little. The huge
man’s physical endowments hadn’t frightened her as much as the look
in his eyes. Cold and emotionless, the killer eyes of a poisonous
snake. “The Recon Marine in that vid didn’t do so well.”

Mak wasn’t a big man, no more than six
feet tall and lean despite his muscles. He looked fit and acted
with impressive fighting skill, but none of that would help him
against a behemoth like in the vid. She didn’t expect to find any
more of the unnatural humans out there but if they did, one man,
Recon Marine notwithstanding, couldn’t protect them.

Chapter Two

Mak saw little of the civilians as
they loaded their supplies. He and Pender went through preflight
checks on the newest model ship sitting on the tarmac. Mak would
have preferred a ship with a few more hours in its history but this
specially outfitted science vessel impressed him with its
luxuries.

Kory Pender sat in the copilot’s seat,
competent and knowledgeable despite his youth. “Do you want me to
program the destination into the navigation, sir?”

“
Go ahead. Get clearance
from flight command for fifteen minutes from now.”

Pender stared at Mak, his mouth
hanging open but no words coming forth. Mak nearly smiled, proud
that once again he understood someone’s expression. The young man
wanted to say something but was afraid to question a superior
officer. “Did you have something you wanted to say,
Pender?”

The ensign swallowed and looked down
at the controls. “Well, sir, I’ve been the pilot for the doctors
and Corporal Box before. They usually tell me when we’re ready to
go not the other way around.”

“
Call flight command,
Pender, fifteen minutes.”

“
Yes, sir.” Pender smiled
for some reason that eluded Mak.

Mak rose from the comfortable pilot’s
seat and walked toward the back of the ship. He passed the weapon’s
locker, the combined kitchen and lounging area, and the three
bedrooms. The women shared one, Mak had his own and the other three
men bunked in the crew quarters. The laboratory took up the rest of
the upper deck and beyond it was the elevator to the lower storage
deck and the propulsion room. He found the corporal and the doctors
in their lab talking among themselves.

“
We’re off base in just
under fifteen minutes.” Mak had delivered the warning in person
rather than use the ship wide audio. Civilians needed special
treatment rather than rigid military handling. But he regretted his
soft thoughts as he stood in the sterile confines of the science
work areas. The setting reminded him of his youth when the Recon
Marines underwent test after test.

“
We’re not ready yet,
lieutenant,” Dr. Drant said over her shoulder. “We’ll let you know
when we have everything settled into place.”

“
Doors close in less than
thirteen minutes. Anything not on board at that time will be left
behind.” Mak walked back toward the bridge. Voices rose behind him
but he didn’t listen. Probably they were excited about the
expedition.

Someone hurried after him. Light
footsteps, one of the women. “Lieutenant, stop please.”

Mak turned and faced Dr. Drant. She
wore clinging pants and a tight shirt of the same drab colors as
his military attire. But she didn’t look like any soldier to him.
“Yes, doctor?”

She put her hands on her hips.
“Perhaps you didn’t know, but I’m the head of this mission. We work
on my timetable.”

Mak copied her stance, setting his
hands on his hips. He’d seen civilians stand so before. Perhaps it
was an accepted posture for discourse. It certainly wasn’t used at
any time in the military. “General Drant assigned me command of
this ship.”

Her eyes narrowed. “This is my
expedition.”

Mak recognized anger though he was
certain he’d done nothing out of turn. “Yes, sir, and it departs in
twelve minutes.”

“
This ship leaves when I
say it leaves.”

“
Yes, doctor, as long as
what you say coincides with my orders.”

She closed the distance between them,
the look in her eyes as determined as anything Mak had ever seen in
the general’s air. “We need to start off this mission as we intend
to go on. I give the orders.”

“
The general made his
orders very clear to me, Dr. Drant. What part don’t you understand?
Perhaps I can explain it to you.” Oddly, his reasonable tone lit a
fire in her eyes.

The greenish color darkened to
something closer to brown. She clenched her fists and her body
quivered. Mak stared at her, fascinated by the color rising from
the collar of her shirt and staining her cheeks. Her scent drifted
to him with the rise in her body heat, something clean like
sunshine on a lawn. She poked him in the chest. “I’m in
charge.”

Mak didn’t believe she meant the
physical contact to be aggressive though what else could it be? She
had a sturdy body, but she couldn’t mean to fight him for
leadership. It didn’t hurt when she jabbed him with her finger
though he could do the same thing to a grown man and knock him down
or crack his ribs. “Ten minutes. I suggest you complete any loading
in the time you have left.”