The Marine's Queen (21 page)

“
Consider me gone, Vin. You’re in command.”

Vin stared at him for a long moment before answering. “We’ve fought a lot of battles together, Joe.”

Joe nodded. Vin was more than his second-in-command. He was a brother, not in blood but in deed.

“
I feel like you’re going to fight this one without me. And, Joe, it looks like a suicide mission.”

“
Perhaps.”

A peal of laughter drew their attention to the two women digging through some of the packages in the hold.

“
I don’t know about you, Vin, but I can’t go back. I can’t just survive every day and be content. If there’s even a slight chance I can keep part of this new life we’ve discovered, I must take it.”

“
I understand.”

“
And how could I live somewhere in safety and know that Callie had to face her enemies alone?”

Vin shook his head. “But do you know how to fight the enemies she has? I’m afraid they’re the same kind of foes we faced at our court martial. What can men like us do against liars and sly politicians?”

Joe touched the new pistol strapped on his belt. “Liars and politicians die as easily as other men.”

Chapter Ten

Joe adjusted the volume of the hyperspace communicator. “They’re talking about you.”

Callie leaned over his shoulder, her unbound hair brushing his arm.

He turned his head so a few wisps tickled his cheek.

“
Who’s this General Drant?” Callie asked as she came around to the copilot’s chair. She tapped the key to turn up the volume on the communicator where the general issued crisp orders to the men under his command.

Joe admired the clinging body sheaf Callie wore before answering. Life on Giroux would be really interesting if Callie dressed the way she had since they’d parted ways with Yalo and Vin. “Drant is the officer in charge of all active army units.”

“
Even yours when you were active?”

“
Recon marines were a force onto ourselves. But we worked with his units at times. Usually our orders came directly from the ministry.”

“
Do you know him?”

A new message came over the receiver. The voice instructed all patrol units to report any sightings of Callie’s small cruiser and gave the coding for her distress beacon. All information was to go directly to Drant’s headquarters on an encrypted frequency.

“
I wouldn’t say I know him,” Joe answered when the message ended.

“
Would he know you on sight?”

“
I assume he would. Our likenesses would have been given to all military and security personnel when we went missing.”

“
Surely they assumed you were dead.”

“
I don’t know. We had no access to interplanetary communications after we crashed.”

Callie stared out the front viewing screen. Darkness and stars stretched into eternity in front of them. “Do you think Drant is trustworthy?”

“
I wouldn’t know how to tell?”

“
Perhaps I can contact him before going home. He can provide protection for me.”

“
I’m your protection.” A strange emotion rose in Joe, something hot and unpleasant.

“
I know that, Joe.” She gave him a confused look. “But I don’t know what I’ll find at home.”

“
If we contact the regular army, it’s only a matter of time before one of them recognizes me.”

“
I know, but if I suddenly reappear on Giroux safe and sound, they’ll be asking a lot of questions. If I have the army take me home, I can make up a story and avoid mention of you. At the same time, I’ll be able to tell someone in authority about my suspicions.”

Joe started to protest, but she reached over and put her hand on his arm. Her hand had been so soft when he first met her. Now it was browned and hardened with calluses.

“
You can sneak into Giroux and join me there. I should be safe with an escort from Drant. You can stay out of sight until they leave.”

“
I don’t want you away from me.”

“
My way will get us both home without incident. Where is Drant’s headquarters?”

“
Ice Station Six.” Joe couldn’t order her to forget this crazy plan. It was much easier to lead men into battle than work with a woman.

“
We’ll land on the civilian port at the station, and I’ll make my way to the army post. I’ll tell a story about being rescued by a merchant ship and buying my way to the station.”

Joe’s mood darkened as hers brightened. Her reasoning was clever, and he had to admit it might work. But he wouldn’t be able to defend her while she was with the army.

“
Callie, Minister of the Army Smeltz is the one who lied about us. He threw us to the void. That makes the entire army suspect to me.”

“
The entire army can’t be corrupt.”

“
But it could be fatal discovering which part is and which isn’t.”

“
We’re going to have to take some chances, Joe, and gamble a little.”

He punched in the coordinates for Ice Station Six. Gamble with Callie’s life? Damned if he liked how this was going.

* * * *

Callie refused to sit or even shuffle her feet. Beneath the multilayered silk robe she wore, a few droplets of nervous perspiration gathered between her breasts. Hopefully, no one looking at her face would see anything but the cool expression of a queen. Though she didn’t see them, she suspected there were video feeders keeping an eye on this room.

She consciously tried to slow her racing heart. Had she left her courage in the street with Joe? He watched the army facility from somewhere outside the sprawling installation. She touched a finger lightly to the new earrings she wore. Each contained a tiny microphone so Joe could hear everything that happened during her meeting.

The room she’d been led to when she presented herself at the gate was as bare and nondescript as a sand dune. Two metal chairs sat in lonely disuse against one windowless wall. She ignored their questionable comfort and watched the door in front of her.

She didn’t have a timepiece, so she had no idea how long she’d waited before the door opened. The muscular man who strolled toward her carried the air of command as obviously as Joe did.

“
Sorry to keep you waiting, your highness.” The man ducked his head and put his fist to his heart. “General Drant at your service. I was in the map room, coordinating the search for you. For some reason, the officials on your home world only reported you missing two days ago.”

“
I appreciate your efforts on my behalf. Please pass my thanks to all your troops who’ve spent time looking for me.” Callie stored the information about the tardy report of her disappearance.

“
Certainly. You’re held in high regard by the entire army. If not for your elixir and the discount you give us, many of the men couldn’t serve on interplanetary missions.”

Callie’s tension eased. “I know the importance of what you do, sir.”

“
Is the rest of your party with you, your highness?”

“
No, but they’re safe.”

Drant frowned. “I believe you have a story to tell. Let’s find a comfortable place to talk.”

“
Thank you.” Callie followed the veteran soldier, silently rehearsing her fictional account of her rescue. Though her instincts were to trust this man, she wouldn’t tell even him about Crevan Four.

A young soldier brought iced water as the general and Callie took seats in comfortable chairs. The cozy room appeared to be the general’s private study. They sipped the cold refreshment as Callie spun her tale about a crash and a timely rescue by a merchant ship.

“
That’s an amazing story,” Drant said when she’d finished. “You were lucky.”

“
Lucky?” Callie leveled her best glare on him. “Sir, we were attacked. I don’t call that luck.”

Drant’s face darkened, and he sputtered an apology. “I meant you were lucky to land safely and to be rescued. Pirates or worse could have attacked you once you were helpless on the surface.”

“
Worse is what put us there.”

“
Pirates are worse, your highness.”

“
Worse than rich mine owners that parade as civilized gentleman when they are in fact as morally deficient as any pirate?”

Drant frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“
Are you familiar with the mine owner, Geoff Hadrason?”

“
I’ve had dealings with him,” Drant said with a reserved tone.

“
Hadrason would have me for his wife, no matter my wishes on the matter.”

Drant took a moment to fit the meaning of her words together. His lean jaw went tight. “That bastard tried to force a marriage with you? He forced your ship down?”

Callie hid her smile at the general’s outrage. Her instincts about the man were proving correct.

* * * *

Joe leaned against a wall of the pub. He tugged the furred hood of his heavy coat, trying to cover more of his face. The off-duty soldiers that strode into and staggered out of the drinking house paid him little attention, but they made him nervous. He had to stay put though, or the thick walls of the army post would block the signal from Callie.

His queen had Drant eating out of her hand. He’d already promised her an escort to Giroux and vowed to investigate the attack on her ship.

“
What of your staff? Can I offer protection for them?” Drant asked.

“
They’re in hiding until this threat is squelched,” Callie answered. “I’ve hired sufficient guards so I’m not worried about their welfare.”

“
Then I’ll tell Captain Edow you’re ready to return to Giroux. He’ll see to your safety once you’re there.” Drant’s deep voice carried easily through the tiny microphones.

“
Thank you. Now there’s one other item I wished to discuss with you, general. I hope you’ll keep my inquiries confidential.”

“
No, Callie.” Joe wished he could reach across space and stop her.

Her voice came loud and clear. “What do you know about the court martial of the Interplanetary Recon Marines?”

* * * *

Drant leaned back, his eyes widening but quickly narrowing. “What would a lady such as you know of the recon marines?”

“
My father discussed their creation with me when I was old enough to understand.”

“
Your father spoke against the science that designed them.”

Callie knew Joe was fuming on the other end of the microphone. He’d ordered her not to bring up the marines when she spoke to Durant. As if he could issue her an order! “He did speak out and try to stop it, but he also defended the marines years later when a movement started to destroy them.”

“
I remember. Why do you ask about them now?”

“
I heard they’ve been recently court-martialed.”

Drant growled under his breath. “Sacrificed is more like it.”

“
What was that?” Callie asked, though she’d heard him fine.

“
They were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.”

“
So they’re in prison.”

“
No. They died in a crash on their way to the Nye Moon.” Drant stared at her with speculation. “At least we assumed they died. No one has ever found any signs of their accident.”

“
Was their conviction just and warranted?”

“
I wasn’t there, your highness. I believe it was arranged for me to be away when they were brought to trial. When I learned of it, I planned to protest and investigate the charges, but it was too late. They were already dead.”