Recon Marines III: The Marine's Doctor (20 page)

The curses from the civilians from
behind their masks sounded loud and discordant compared to the
quiet violence of the soldiers. But now as they tore the breathing
mask off the last doctor, the soldiers seemed to slow also. Those
in the training room who had been gassed first started to fall.
They died hard, gasping and clutching at their throats. Some tore
away their skin, blood splattering on the glass and across the
floor. The two soldiers in the lab died last, making efforts toward
the door. But too late.

The vid ended a minute later when the
last soldier stopped his agonized thrashing. Pender shut it down,
swallowing heavily. “I’ll send this to the onboard memory,
sir.”

“
Didn’t anyone come back
to check on them?” Molly asked. “Someone was bringing them supplies
and surely they stayed in contact with their cohorts.”

Mak looked at the bodies scattered
about the lab, now able to put faces to the dried up corpses.
“Probably someone did come. They would have known about the gas and
when no one answered their hails they would have scanned for life
signs.”

“
But they left all this
evidence behind for us to find. They’ve covered their tracks so
well until now.” Molly gestured around the lab. “We have their
faces and we’ll be able to pull up identifications from their
files. I recognized some of their faces already though I can’t
remember all their names at the moment.”

“
They left it as a trap,
same as the previous ones, and the most deadly of all. Anyone
walking in here would have died before they could use the info they
found.”

“
They didn’t count on you
being here.”

Mak didn’t point out how lucky they’d
been. If he’d noticed the gas a half a minute slower, the rest of
them would have died. “How long until you’re done here?”

She looked out into the training room.
“We’ll need samples from the bodies. Probably another two hours in
here. I’m not sure how long it will take to go through all the
offices.”

“
I’ll send Andy to help
you. Tell Pender what he can do also.”

“
What are you going to
do?”

“
I’m going to set
charges.”

“
Charges?”

“
I found a small supply of
the gas in a safe beneath the supply room.” Mak didn’t tell her
what he would have to report to the general. There’d been enough to
conquer a number of army outposts. “We can’t take all these
computers with us either. This evidence can’t fall into the wrong
hands. Once we leave the atmosphere I’m going to blow it up. I’ll
ask your father to have someone do a flyover and check for residue.
They might have to post a warning though I doubt anyone comes
here.”

Molly nodded, looking around. “That’s
better than leaving these bodies here.”

Mak left her as she used a thick
needle to start taking samples from deep in the body of one of the
soldiers. The arid conditions had left the bodies so dry that the
skin crunched as she pushed the tool through it. He found Box and
sent him to assist Molly. They couldn’t leave this place soon
enough for him.

****

Molly sat in the copilot’s chair as
her father listened to Mak’s report. Her father’s grim expression
matched what she felt and what she sensed in Mak’s even
tone.

“
You destroyed
everything?”

“
Yes, sir,” Mak said. “But
I’m requesting a flyby to do a full atmospheric scan for gas
particles. The explosion should have burned it all off, but some
could have vaporized into the air.”

“
I’ll see it done. Have
you learned anything from what you’ve collected, Molly?”

“
The facility had been in
use for around fourteen years. They entered these men into the
program when they were around twenty years old. Extensive training
and hormonal supplements were used. At least some genetic
maneuvering was attempted though we haven’t evaluated the
effectiveness of it.”

“
What is your evaluation
of the soldiers you saw, lieutenant? Would they have made a
respectable fighting force?”

“
Dad!” Molly couldn’t
believe he’d asked such a question. The entire enterprise was cruel
and criminal. “Tell me they wouldn’t have ever been part of the
army. Did you know this was going on?”

“
No! Of course not! We
suspected but had no proof.” Her father ran his hand over his face,
looking tired. “But if we’d found them before they killed their
handlers, we might have tried to use them.”

“
Father, that wouldn’t
have been ethical.” Molly felt Mak staring at her.

“
What would you have us
do, Molly?” her father asked. “Kill them? Imprison
them?”

“
No. No.” She reached over
and took Mak’s hand. “They were victims. We might have been able to
help them by reversing some of what was done to them. Psychologists
could have helped them find peace.”

Her father’s expression softened
though he looked even more exhausted. “Maybe we could have helped
them rather than use them.”

Mak squeezed her hand. “They might not
have wanted to be normal after feeling so powerful.”

Molly wondered if anyone else would
recognize the grief in Mak’s eyes. Did all the Recon Marines carry
such a heavy emotional burden? This mission only added to it.
“Everyone wants to be normal.” Including her. As a child genius
with a powerful father, she’d never been an average kid.

“
Send me your data, Molly.
I have people looking into the various messes you send me with each
new discovery. We’ve identified the men lost in the first two labs
you investigated.” Her father smiled, making an obvious effort to
lift the mood. “Now you take care, girl, and obey the lieutenant.
He’ll keep you save. Now let me have a few words alone with
Mak.”

“
I’m not a little girl,
Dad.” Molly blew him a kiss. “I’ll be fine.”

Once out of her father’s view, she
blew Mak a kiss too. He lifted his eyebrow at her, but his eyes
glowed with warmth that sated a part of her she hadn’t know was
hungry.

****

Mak looked back at the general after
Molly left the bridge. “Sir, I’m worried about how dangerous this
mission is proving.”

“
Are you incapable of
protecting my daughter, marine?”

“
I’m not sure,
sir.”

General Drant snorted. “If you can’t,
who can? We need this done in secrecy. If these experiments are
made public, people could turn against the Recon
Marines.”

“
We’re nothing like these
men we’ve seen. Nothing like the man we saw in the vid fighting
Vin.” But did he lie to himself?

“
But you are, son. I know
you have the highest intelligence quotient among your kind, so
you’re smart enough to know that your origins are too similar to
these monsters you’re hunting for people to ignore it. The best
thing for everyone is for us to clean up this mess before anyone
else knows about it.”

“
Yes, sir.” Mak wondered
if the world didn’t deserve to know of the terrible things being
done by these criminals.

Drant sighed. “Do careful recon on
your next objective. If you need additional troops send a message
before you take the doctors in. Do you know where you’re
going?

“
We found communications
with Mossy, a planet in the Miller quadrant.”

“
Far beyond regular
military patrols. How long until you arrive?”

“
Seven days,
sir.”

“
One more thing,
lieutenant. Do you find my daughter lovely?”

Mak sensed the trap in the question
but he could only answer honestly. “Yes, sir.”

“
All fathers believe their
daughters are the most beautiful children in the world. Did you
know that?”

“
I have no children,
sir.”

“
My daughter has never had
much time for men. Too busy trying to cure the world of its ills.
Not many men who aren’t intimidated by her intelligence or by my
position. She has little patience with dullards or
cowards.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
But you’re neither, are
you, lieutenant? You’re bright, courageous and more handsome than a
man has a right to be.”

Mak said nothing, having learned some
questions weren’t meant to be answered.

“
You disobeyed my order
about not touching my daughter, didn’t you?”

“
Yes, sir.”

Drant cursed, calling Mak a few names
he was unfamiliar with. “I should have you thrown in the brig when
you return.”

“
Molly thought your order
unlawful.”

“
You son of a space dog,
did you tell her what I said?”

“
I couldn’t allow her to
think I didn’t return her regard, sir. I couldn’t be dishonest with
her.”

Drant turned away from the screen,
giving Mak his back for almost a full minute. When he turned back,
his visage was sterner than ever. “I’ve asked you to keep my
daughter from harm.”

“
Yes, sir. I promise my
life before hers.”

“
Oh, I don’t doubt you
there, soldier. But are you aware that some serious injuries aren’t
of the physical nature?”

“
I believe I understand
that, sir.”

“
She’s never let her heart
become involved with a man. Don’t hurt her. That’s an order from
her father.”

“
I won’t.”

Drant shook his head. “You haven’t an
inkling of what you’re promising.”

The screen went blank but the
general’s anger remained behind. Mak wished he had an inkling of
what the general was worried about. What the hell was an inkling? A
type of measurement or number? What did Drant see in Molly that
told him of Mak’s disobedience? Or did he see it in Mak?

Mak mulled over it while he programed
in their flight path for Mossy. The doctors would be busy on the
long flight, but there was little for the soldiers to do besides
fly the ship and the onboard AI did most of that. Box often made
himself useful in the lab with his scientific background. Seven
days and six nights to get to their destination.

The time wouldn’t be wasted. He
intended to do some training with Pender and Box. If he couldn’t
depend on them at their present level of ability, then it was up to
him to raise their skills to a minimum competence. And those six
nights?

Pender would handle most of the bridge
duty during the sleeping hours. Mak had other plans. He needed to
figure out what the general noticed when he saw Mak and Molly
together.

Chapter Twelve

“
Ease back on the gas
drive at five thousand feet,” Mak instructed Box.

The corporal tensed but followed
directions as the ship dropped toward the unnamed moon’s surface.
They had already landed twice, not so smoothly, and practiced
takeoffs. “Now?”

“
Now,” Mak
said.

They landed with only a small jolt
this time. Box sighed and shook his head. “You and Pender make it
look so easy.”

“
You’ve only had three
practices and this landing is more than acceptable.”

“
Why do I need to know
when the autopilot would do it perfectly without me?” Box went
through the powering down procedures.

“
Things can happen. The
autopilot could be damaged any number of ways.” Though Mak hoped
they wouldn’t run into pirates this far out of the main trade
routes. “I advise you to always use the auto when it’s functioning.
It can make adjustments for outside pressure and select a level,
firm landing zone quicker than you could calculate for the
readings.”

“
Do you always use
autopilot?”

“
No.”

“
Why?”

“
It can’t calculate and
adjust quicker than I can. Let’s go see if Pender has everything
ready.”

They found Pender leaning rifles
against the wall beside the door. “Good landing, sir. I have
everything.”

Mak picked up one of the vests used to
practice warfare. He hadn’t worn one since he was a child. The
Recon Marines had trained with harsher methods after age eight. He
checked all the weapons to make sure they were fitted with the
light strobe rounds. They would each have a pistol and rifle. Mak
wouldn’t wear his camouflage so the exercise would be
fairer.

“
Where are you going?”
Molly asked as she and Dr. Shear came out of their lab.

“
We’re doing a little
training.”

“
Really, lieutenant, is
that necessary? Andy and Kory are not green recruits. It’s only two
more days to Mossy.” Dr. Shear shook her head. “Let’s get on with
it. I’m already nauseous from all the landings.”

Molly smiled, having heard of Mak’s
plans from him the night before when she joined him in his cabin.
She seemed to understand his need to train his men, for their
protection and hers. “How long will you be?”

“
A few hours. We’ll remain
here while everyone sleeps so we’re well rested. Before we leave in
the morning we’ll send out the last communications. Two hours into
tomorrow’s flight we’ll be out of range of any wave
hubs.”