Different Paths (10 page)

Iaido thought for a second before shaking his head.
“There wasn’t an Operation Lodestone, at least not for Omega Squadron.”

“I assure you there was such an operation and it
was the only mission Omega ever failed.”

“We never failed to attain the mission objectives.
Hell, even on Gilese when we lost the whole squadron we still held the pass.
The price was high but tactically it was still a victory. We held the pass as
ordered.”

The President nodded. “What you say about Gilese
is true but that was the remnants of Omega Squadron, basically the Second and
Third Companies. We lost the entire First Company during Operation Lodestone.”

Iaido’s look of disbelief was obvious. “I find
that hard to believe. I was with Omega since its christening. Don’t forget I
was the old man in the squad.”

“How do you think you became the old man?” the
President asked.

Iaido shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Let me ask you another question, what happened to
your brother Hector?”

“He was killed in an accident. Two cruisers exited
hyperspace at the same time and ran into each other, both ships and crews were
lost.”

“Did Hector ever travel solo or on another
military transport?”

Iaido shook his head. “No.”

“Then how did he die in a starship crash and not
you?” The President paused before he added, “What you believe about your
brother’s death are lies. We implanted those memories to help you overcome the
loss of Hector and the rest of your pod-mates. Trust me on this.”

“Trust is earned not given and after Gilese you
haven’t earned that right.”

The President nodded. “Point taken but whether you
believe me or not, the fact remains that the few survivors of Operation Lodestone
are being systematically killed.”

The holo-gram shifted from the image of the
President to a list of over a hundred names, all but four were marked through
in red. 

“Over the last several months, there has been a
rash of un-solved and mysterious deaths. Their only connection is Operation Lodestone,
somehow they were involved. Maybe as an intel officer or a shuttle pilot but
they were connected. Of the four left alive, only Major McDowell really knows
what happened.”

“Why don’t I remember anything about this
mission?” Iaido asked.

“According to Sgt. Major Spenton’s report, you
were severely injured when you single-handedly dispatched a patrol of Lemurians
that was blocking your squad’s escape route. When you three finally made it to
the shuttle, you were more dead than alive. Medical records show that you had
so many wounds, the med-techs were amazed that you were walking at all. You
suffered massive blood loss and a severe concussion. They placed you into a
regen-tank as you slipped into a coma.”

“I still don’t understand what one mission, if it
happened at all, has to do with this.”

“Something happened on that mission, something not
in the official report. With your memories modified and the Sgt. Major dead,
only Major McDowell has the answers.”

Iaido pondered the implications for a moment
before asking, “Can I assume that you were the officer in charge of planning
the assault?”

“Yes. We had good intel that the Lemurians were
planning an assault on Earth and we sent in our best troops to forestall their
attack. We didn’t expect you to fail.” The President’s hands made the quotation
marks to signify his sarcasm as he said ‘best.’

“Plan for failure, hope for success. Isn’t that
what you taught us in training?”

“True, every mission has a chance of failure but
Omega had such a knack for achieving the impossible. After all of your
successes, we got so used to you winning that we became overconfident. But back
to the point at hand, shortly after your return from the mission Major McDowell
made several accusations against the Coalition Intelligence Agency. Stating
publicly that the military was given mis-information and he went as far as
accusing several high ranking officers of collaborating with the Confederates.”

“Was there any truth to his accusations?”

The President shrugged. “Nothing was ever
substantiated.”

Iaido rubbed his chin as he digested what he was
told before asking, “How long before Gilese was Operation Lodestone?”

“One year.”

“So the Major was under investigation before Gilese
but was still left in charge of Omega?”

The President nodded. “His accusations weren’t
without basis and a full military tribunal was called but never convened due to
the debacle on Gilese.”

“And since the Major disappeared during Gilese,
you needed a scapegoat.” Iaido nodded. “Now I understand why you had me charged
with an article 94 - sedition.”

“Yes. After the debacle of Gilese, the masses
needed someone to blame for the loss of so many of our troops and you were it.
It wasn’t personal, just politics.”

Iaido’s hands clenched unconsciously at the
thought of being used as a pawn. Of course, part of his mind realized the
rational aspect of sacrificing a pawn to achieve an objective and as much as he
hated to admit it, the President’s explanation made sense.

“All this is interesting but you still haven’t
explained why you need me?”

“As I said, I need the best. I have checked the
records of your hunts and once again, you have never failed a job. I’ll even
sweeten the pot. I will triple the bounty if you also retrieve an old book of
mine that I am sure the Major still has, an original Mark Twain.”

Iaido rubbed his chin. “Hmmm… one and a half
million for the Major and this book? Any ideas on his location? Any leads?”

“If I knew that I wouldn’t need to hire you. Does
this mean you’ll take the job?”

“I would be a fool not to but given our past I
must insist on half up front.”

The President chuckled. “I didn’t know we
programmed you with a sense of humor.”

“You didn’t. It developed over time, just as my
skills have evolved and my patience has lessened over the years.”

One of the goons stepped forward and placed a
cred-stix on the floor next to the emitter before stepping back.

“Here is the original bounty; two-hundred and
fifty thousand credits as a down payment. When you have completed the job,
activate this emitter and one of my associates will arrange the transfer. By
the way Achilles, after you get the information from the Major that we need I
would prefer that he not return to Earth; if you get my meaning?”

Iaido nodded. “Understood.”

The two goons backed out of the room as the
holo-emitter powered down and the room fell into darkness.

Eve stepped out of the passageway. “So, my dad and
Amy are dead?”

Iaido knelt down next to her and stared into her
sky blue eyes. “Yes dear, I’m sorry. I really didn’t want you to find out this
way.”

Tears filled her eyes as she said, “It’s okay. I
knew they were gone, I dreamt it. But where will I go now?”

Iaido pulled the young girl into a hug. “You will
come with me. I will look after you until we get this sorted out. Now gather
your things, only what you can carry in one bag and do it quickly.”

Watching the young girl scamper off to pack her
belongings, Iaido retrieved the items left by the man that had sacrificed his
company during the war, caused the death of his brothers and incarcerated him
for eight years.

But those were all personal issues and this was
business. He had been hired to do a job and he would do it to the best of his
ability…as always.

Chapter 9

Iaido scanned the street for anything out of the
ordinary before turning to help Eve out of the taxi.

She glanced around in wide-eyed wonderment at the
mass of people which crowded the plaza before she asked, “Where are we?”

Iaido pointed to a sign with Japanese writing on
it. “I have an appointment at my Sensei’s dojo.”

Eve looked up with a furrowed brow and asked,
“What’s a sen-say?”

“It is an ancient term of endearment that
translated from Japanese means, ‘wise old man’ or teacher.”

“What’s a do-jo?”

“It’s a Japanese term which literally translated
means ‘place of the Way’. It is a training hall for warriors. My Sensei teaches
the Way to any who want to learn the Way.”

Still looking at him with a puzzled look she asked,
“What is the way?”

Iaido chuckled. “That my dear is a good question.
Men spend their whole life seeking the answer. I cannot truly answer it, for I
too seek the Way.”

He pointed at a holo-display of two men engaged in
a sword fight and continued his explanation, “My Sensei is a master in Kenjutsu
and the leading authority on Bushido; ancient Japanese swordsmanship and other
martial arts. When I’m in town, I work out here.”

Eve accepted the information and fell in behind
Iaido as they made their way through the crowd.

Iaido couldn’t help but be impressed with the way
Eve was handling all the chaos in her life these past few days. Maybe she was
in shock. Or it could be that her partial Sylvan heritage aided her somehow.
Either way, it was beyond him.

Diana was waiting for them at the door to the dojo.
Iaido immediately noticed that lines of worry which marred her beautiful face. “Hiya
doll. What’s wrong?”

“We’ve been hacked.”

“When?”

“Sometime in the last hour. They were good, real
good but they still left footprints.”

 “I had a feeling this was going to get nasty.”
Iaido rubbed his chin. “Diana I want you to meet Eve. She’s the Sgt. Major’s
daughter.”

Diana raised an eyebrow at that statement. “Iaido,
there is nothing in his files about a daughter?”

“I know. It’s a long story and I only know bits
and pieces of it.”

Diana knelt down so she would be eye level with the
young lady. “Hi Eve, I’m Diana.”

Looking back and forth between the two adults, Eve
finally said, “Hi.”

Iaido kept his voice low. “Eve, I need you to go
with Diana. You’ll be safe with her. I will be with you in a couple of hours. I
have a few things that I must take care of first.”

Seeing Eve nod, Iaido turned to his assistant and
leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Things are about to get rough, I can’t go
into everything now. Initiate lockdown procedures and get to the safe house.”
He handed her the scroll his Sensei had given him and added, “Also keep this
safe.”

Diana lifted the young girl into her arms and
disappeared into the crowd. Iaido had an uncomfortable feeling in his gut when
he saw Eve wave goodbye. Pushing all thoughts aside, Iaido entered the dojo.

The lobby was crowded. Only the workout floor had
any empty space due to the fact that only students and instructors engaging in
cleaning duties or actual training were allowed on the mat, no exceptions.
Several students and instructors were already sitting quietly on the sides of
the mat, awaiting their turn to perform. Iaido moved into the locker room to
change clothes, his mind filled with the implications the President had raised.
Taking his place among the other students, Iaido watched some of the senior
students perform katas for the visiting dignitaries.

Katas are prearranged patterns consisting of
kicks, blocks and strikes designed in a certain pattern to train the student to
react instinctively and without conscious thought. It was a formal way of
displaying the techniques of Bushido and the skills of the student.

When the last of the senior students completed
their performance, the Sensei clapped his hands twice loudly. Everyone bowed
low as was the custom of the dojo.

With a slight wave of his hand, the Sensei
signaled his youngest son forward. Leaning down, the Sensei whispered in his
ear and Sam scampered off to do his father’s bidding.

Rising slowly, the old man bowed to his audience.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored today to have a military legend in our
gathering.”

A murmur went through the crowd.

“Iaido Achilles Spartan step forward.”

Bewildered at his teacher’s opening statement, he
answered while stepping forward to stand where indicated. “Yes Sensei.”

“Achilles is no mere student of Kenjitsu but an
actual veteran of the war, one who used his blades in actual combat. How many
confirmed kills with a sword do you have Achilles?”

Never in his lifetime had he been asked in public
about his kill record. Most of his kills were still considered classified but
to lie was wrong and without honor; to not answer was disrespectful. Iaido was
in a quandary and hesitated.

The Sensei waved off the question. “Never mind. I
know it is over two hundred.”

The gathering gasped and the murmur grew as it
spread through the crowd.

Iaido could see the change in the way other
students looked at him now. He was no longer one of them, He was apart. He was
a killer.

The Sensei didn’t stop there. “I would guess there
is no one alive that could stand against you blade to blade is there?”

Feeling a slight rush of anger and embarrassment
at the Sensei’s words, Iaido couldn’t understand what he was doing but he
steeled himself to answer the question.

“No, Sensei. There are not many who could defeat
me.”

As the crowd gasped at Iaido’s bold statement, the
Sensei grinned slightly. When he clapped his hands again, Sam came running
forth with four stun bokkens.

Traditionally, bokkens are wooden practice swords
that students use to perform their katas or to wield during sparring. A stun
bokken was a modern version of the ancient practice sword. It was capable of
producing an electric charge that would incapacitate any limb stuck or render
unconscious those individuals touched on the spine or neck.

Sam presented Iaido a stun bokken which he
accepted with a short bow.

Then the young boy moved over to the three most
senior students who each accepted the offered weapons and stepped onto the mat.
With a loud shout, the Sensei ordered the kumite to begin. The three senior
students advanced slowly, holding their bokkens in the high aggressive
position, tip pointed skyward and the blades at their right shoulders while
they spread out to flank Iaido.