First Admiral 02 The Burning Sun (34 page)

Looking round, Marilla knew she was in the wide, spacious corridor outside the Observation Deck. However, no sooner had she identified her surroundings than Sownus spoke chillingly again.

“Follow me, Technician Thapes,” he ordered brusquely and strode with his ungainly waddle to the Observation Deck door.

Like a chastised child, Marilla followed the few dozen yards to the large grey force-shielded doorway. The Observation Deck on the Aquarius had been one of Marilla’s favourite off-shift destinations. Despite its huge size and capacity, Marilla found that she could be alone with her thoughts as she marvelled at the immenseness of space and her own insignificance amongst that vastness. Now, that same Observation Deck, so long a source of solitude and enjoyment, was taking on an aspect of dread and terror.

“You go first Technician Thapes,” Sownus said darkly, “say nothing and speak only when spoken to, clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Marilla stammered nervously, her mind afire with the terrors of what lay beyond as the force-shielding of the once-friendly Observation Deck door cleared allowing Marilla entrance.

Steeping warily through the entrance, Marilla was met with a sight that made her mind flinch with dread. A pathway was created for her flanked on both sides by all thirty-four Intelligence Officers and Technicians aboard the Aquarius, standing in the ‘At Ease’ position.

Their backs ramrod straight, heads up, eyes fixed straight ahead, feet slightly apart and hands behind their backs they stood like silent sentinels. Faces she knew from Duty Shifts stared coldly into the distance as she stepped gingerly into the Observation Deck. Beneath the bright lights, the familiar, friendly and comforting landmarks of the Deck now seemed menacing and oppressive. The foliage seemed denser and lurked menacingly over the walkway in front of her. At the end of the walkway, a stern-faced First Admiral Caudwell waited his hands behind his back.

“Go on,” the stern voice of Sownus broke through her dread.

Stepping forward cautiously, Marilla, her mind crawling with visions of disciplinary punishments, stepped cautiously forward and began to advance along the avenue of stony-faced Intelligence personnel. Swallowing her terror down, Marilla shuffled forwards towards the looming figure of First Admiral Caudwell. Once more she interrogated her mind as to what she had done to deserve this and came up with no real explanation. But, the fear and dread she felt as she advanced through the ‘walk of shame’, as she imagined it, was very real to her and weighed on her like a huge, crushing burden. Looking around, the still silent figures held their discipline, avoiding her gaze and giving her no comfort or indication of what this was all about. For what seemed like an eternity she walked and stuttered as best she could towards the imposing figure of the First Admiral.

Stopping before First Admiral Caudwell, Marilla looked at the stern-faced young human, with the ice-cold grey-blue eyes, and prepared herself for the worst. Dishonourable discharge was the option that kept racing through her mind. But, she couldn’t for the very life of her think why she was being disciplined. And, why, she thought, would she be disciplined in front of the other Intelligence staff?

“Intelligence Technician Marilla Thapes,” a hard voiced Billy Caudwell intoned, “it is customary for subordinates to stand to attention when in the presence of a Senior Officer.”

“Yes, sir, sorry sir,” Marilla replied in a subdued voice pulling herself to the regulation attention position, fixing her gaze on the large plant that stood behind First Admiral Caudwell and waited for the axe to fall.

“Very well,” Billy Caudwell began “Intelligence Technician, Senior Grade, Marilla Thapes, in recognition of your conduct in the recent detection and containment of the Bardomil emitter weapon, I award you the Duty Conduct Medal First Class.”

“What?...Hey?...” Marilla gasped, feeling a slight pressure on her shoulders as something passed over her head.

Stunned, an open-mouthed Marilla looked down and saw a tear-drop shaped silver medal hanging from a blue and red ribbon around her neck.

“Turn around, Senior Technician Thapes,” Billy Caudwell said to the confused and astonished Marilla whilst gently guiding her round to face the ‘walk of shame’.

“Senior Grade?” Marilla mumbled in confusion still transfixed by the medal, which she held carefully in her trembling left hand as it hung around her neck.

The Duty Conduct Medal First Class was one of the highest awards in the Alliance military for exemplary conduct, dedication to duty and outstanding achievement. Very few such medals had been awarded, and this was the first to be awarded to an Intelligence Technician.

“Attention on Deck!” a clipped military voice called out.

In one smooth movement the ‘walk of shame’ snapped to the attention position.

“Present Arms!” the voice ordered.

Thirty-four left hands, including that of Karap Sownus, shot up to the salute position, fingers straight; forty-five degrees to the left eyebrow. For a moment, Marilla Thapes’ head reeled with confusion. Only a few seconds before, she had expected to be drummed out of The Fleet.

“You did say Senior Grade, didn’t you, sir?” a numbed and astonished Marilla Thapes turned and asked Billy Caudwell.

“I believe I did, Senior Technician,” Billy Caudwell started to smile, “and, I’m not usually mistaken in such matters,” he added, “it’s well deserved Marilla, now go and acknowledge your comrades; I hear they’ve planned quite a party for you.”

“Sir!” Marilla Thapes smiled broadly, the confirmation finally registering in her brain.

With her head held high, Marilla Thapes, stepped back through the saluting ‘walk of shame’ that had suddenly become a ‘guard of honour’. Smiling broadly, she stepped confidently with swelling pride in her heart through the ranks of Intelligence personnel towards the saluting Senior Officer. The Observation Deck now seemed a friendlier and more inviting place than it had a few moments before. But, it all seemed to pass in a blur as Marilla marched proudly through her ‘guard’.

“Congratulations, Senior Technician, Thapes,” Karap Sownus said formally as she halted in front of him.

“Thank you, sir,” Marilla beamed a smile that could light up several solar systems.

“Looks like I’d better keep an eye on you, or you’ll be after my job?” Sownus smiled jokingly as he dropped his left hand from the salute and offered his right in congratulation.

“Recover!” the military voice echoed around the Observations Deck and thirty-four left hands returned to the Attention position.

“No, sir, I think you’re quite safe there,” Marilla smiled accepting the proffered hand, “for the moment,” she smiled cheekily.

“Dismiss!” the military voice barked and a great cheer broke out as suddenly the beaming Marilla was swamped by her comrades.

Shouts of ‘congratulations’ and ‘well done’ punctuated the great press of bodies that pummelled her back and shoulders as she was swept away from a laughing Sownus. With the cheers and praise still ringing in her ears, a beaming Marilla let out a loud shriek of delight as she felt herself being lifted from the ground. Unbalanced, Marilla held onto her medal as she was hoisted shoulder high amongst the Intelligence Staff and carried away to whatever celebrations awaited.

As the cheering and celebration receded down the corridor, Billy Caudwell stood alone with his thoughts on the Observation Deck. This time, the Alliance and Earth had been lucky. There had been a Marilla Thapes with the intelligence to see the danger and the dedication to draw out the evidence and correctly identify the implications.

Next time, they might not be so lucky.

Epilogue

Planet Earth

Trotting down the well worn sandstone steps at the school gate, Billy Caudwell spotted Emma Wallace sitting on the wooden bench beside the bus stop. It had been four days since he had last seen her aboard the Aquarius with the Memory Shredder. For a moment he shuddered at the thought of the device that had robbed her of those few hours she had spent on an alien craft. Still, he considered, it was a necessity to help protect the secret of the Alliance and his own ongoing role in that great adventure.

Since the battle at Valnarim, there had been no further activity from the Bardomil. Several rebellions within the Empire had required military forces to be diverted from the Alliance frontier. The Ganthorans were also building up forces on the Bardomil frontier as part of their ongoing game of sabre-rattling. The Alliance was being left in peace, just as Billy had hoped. However, with all five of the big Star-Destroyers still under repair, there would be no probability of the Alliance being able to eject the garrisons from the two uninhabited planets that they had occupied. The Bardomil, despite crippling losses, still kept a toe-hold on the Praxos system.

At a personal level, Billy’s radiation burns were healing well. The Personal Environment Suit kept producing the low-level phoronic radiation that speeded up his body’s natural healing processes, whilst the image generator kept Billy’s appearance normal. The visit to Gilfillan Academy had been a huge success. The Head of Science, a tall, thin angular man who wore a black gown, had been so impressed with Billy’s knowledge that he had offered John and Elizabeth Caudwell a place for their son there and then. That meant, that at the end of the term, Billy would be leaving his home town to be a ‘boarder’ at one of the most prestigious and expensive private schools in Scotland.

Stopping at the foot of the steps, Billy felt a strong reluctance to approach the seated Emma.

For a moment, he considered simply walking through the gate and hoping that she wouldn’t spot him. But, the urge to know if she still remembered how they had been together, for those brief minutes, before Lokkrien had interrupted in the classroom, was just too much for Billy to bear.

Taking a deep breath, Billy forced down the sick queasy feeling that he felt in the pit of his stomach as he approached Emma.

“Hi Emma,” he said as breezily as he could manage.

“Oh, hi Billy,” a slightly startled Emma turned in the seat and flashed her most insincere smile at him.

In that instant, Billy knew that she had forgotten everything and his heart sank down through his stomach and into his shoes. The old Emma had returned and, to Billy, it felt as if she had never really been away. Aboard the Aquarius, he knew that he had lost her, now he was losing her all over again, and it felt as if someone had just ripped out his heart.

“Are you waiting for the bus?” he asked dropping into a routine of small-talk that he was developing for Diplomatic Functions aboard the Aquarius.

“No,” she replied, “I’m waiting for Jim, my boyfriend,” she smiled nervously, hoping that no one would see her with the un-cool red-headed boy.

But, as she mentally shuffled in anxiety, Emma was troubled by a strange sensation that she was missing something. The dream, that she just couldn’t shake, and Billy with the burned and blotchy face impinged on her consciousness once more.

“Are you going somewhere nice?” Billy struggled to keep the conversation going.

Even speaking to her was torture for Billy. He wanted to rush forward, take her in his arms and kiss her. But, the sensible part of his mind told him that she would probably never respond as he hoped she would. Resignedly, Billy had to accept that the Emma who had kissed him in the stairwell had gone. But, like a puppy begging for one last treat, he tried to hold her attention for a few more precious seconds. Just speaking to her was painful, but it was the bitter-sweet, joyous pain that people never forgot for the rest of their lives.

“We might go down to the beach,” Emma smiled nervously, still unsure of why she was still talking to the red-haired boy.

“Well, you’ve got a good day for it.” Billy smiled weakly indicating the cloudless, blue sunny sky.

“Yes, we do,” she replied, “funny thing about that solar thingy last week wasn’t it?” she added.

“Yeah, somebody probably got a bit panicked, I suppose…” Billy began.

“Oh look, there’s Jim!” Emma interrupted and stood up waving to the small, yellow, open-topped car that sped up to the bus stop and halted with a squeal of tires, brakes and throaty revving engine.

“Hey babe, what’s happening?” the handsome, well-dressed driver of the vehicle announced his arrival to Emma.

“Sorry, Billy, I’ve got to go!” Emma chirped with relief and opened the passenger door of the vehicle.

Before clambering into the vehicle, she turned to Billy once more.

“Good luck with the new school!” she said brightly, with that edge of ‘hopefully-I’ll-never-see-you-again’ tone in her voice, before climbing into the car and slamming the door behind her.

“Yeah, thanks,” Billy smiled weakly as the car roared off in a cloud of road dust and petrol fumes.

“Who’s the ginger wierdo?” the handsome Jim asked Emma as they sped away.

For a moment, Emma Wallace felt a sudden wave of anger and wanted to slap the driver full in the face. But, as quickly as the feeling appeared, it vanished once more.

“He’s just some freaky guy in one of my classes,” Emma said dismissively as they roared into the distance.

Alone at the bus stop, Billy watched as the small, yellow car sped away with the passenger’s long blonde hair streaming out behind her in the wind. A few moments later, she was gone. Left with the silence of his own thoughts, Billy didn’t hear the bustle of late afternoon traffic that rushed past him. Feeling desperately sad, Billy took a deep breath, closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh that pushed his feelings back down into his shoes once again. Then, opening his eyes he put one heavy foot in front of the other.

With eyes downcast, he began the long, weary and lonely walk home.

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