Reavers (Book 3) (35 page)

“Problem was, our squad leader had gotten fed up with the two of us,” Morio continued.  “Frank for his hobby, and me for my silence.  Had the two of us assigned to cleaning up the mess hall between meals.”

“I was watched like a hawk - the squad leader was determined to put me out of business,” Frank muttered.  “He was even worse while the academy prepared for the ceremony.  I set up the delivery of the goods, but with the squad leader following my every step, I couldn’t pick them up myself.”

“So Frank asked me to pick up the shipment for him.”  Morio chuckled.

“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” Diana asked apprehensively.

“I picked up the goods without any problems,” Morio gestured silently.  “I followed Frank’s instructions to the letter and made all the deliveries.”

“Deliveries?  Plural?” Kindra asked.

“Not much gets past you,” Frank said with a smirk.  “The ceremony was a big thing to the academy.  In addition to the chef’s order, I had seven others to fill that day.”

“So the ceremony finally happened,” Morio continued.  “The Administer made a wonderful speech, and the guests all had a wonderful time.  Everything was perfect.”

“Until the cake,” Frank said with a groan.  “The retiring instructor had a bit of a sweet tooth, and the chef had whipped up a gigantic cake for him.  As the instructor made a heartfelt speech about his service and his thanks for the incredible send off, the chef’s staff carved up the cake and passed out slices to each and every dignitary, admiral and master.”

“After a final toast by the Administer, they all eagerly tried the creation of the renowned chef.”  Morio paused as he started laughing.

Frank joined in the laughter as the three girls waited for the punch line.

“Well?” Diana pressed.

“You know those seven other deliveries?”  Frank said between chuckles.  “Well, one of them was for the head of Medical.  It was a special ingredient for one of his private medicines.”

Frank broke into complete laughter, unable to get another word out.  Diana turned a firm stare on Morio.

“It was a powerful laxative,” Morio gestured as he laughed.  “The head of Medical had an odd fixation with them.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kindra asked as she started to laugh.

“I wish we were,” Frank said as he swiped away a tear from his hearty laughter.  “About five minutes later, everyone at the ceremony was overtaken by the powerful need for a stall.”

“That’s horrible!” Diana said.

“It gets worse,” Morio gestured.  “All this was happening a few days before the academy had its trials.  Every division of troopers was busy working on training for the grueling tests.  While the Administer had been making his speech, the divisions had been finishing their training for the night.  By the time the ceremony guests made it to the nearest stalls, they were all taken.  The only available stalls were several decks away, with huge crowds of troopers in their path.  Not everyone . . . made it in time.”

“It was a disaster.”  Frank shook his head.  “The Administer was beyond furious.  He called in the academy ethics review commission.”

“Who?” Zia asked.

“Special troopers who dedicate themselves to searching and destroying bookies,” Morio gestured.  “They search academies for anything questionable.”

“Took the ERC two weeks to track the problem to Morio and me.”

“What happened?” Zia asked in a concerned voice.

“Naturally, Frank was good at his hobby,” Morio said without words.  “They found only hints he was involved, so he got a stern warning.”

“And you?” Diana asked hesitantly.

Morio lowered his head and sat silently, not moving in any way.  Everyone else turned their attention on Frank.

“Nobue was the head of the detail assigned to the problem,” Frank said in an annoyed voice.  “He had vehemently tracked us down and had built a strong case against us.  Even though it had been an innocent mistake, he had made it look like the whole thing had been deliberate.  When he finally discovered his younger brother was the one implicated, he was crushed.  All his hard work landed firmly on Morio.”

“But . . .” Diana said.

“I knew how to cover my tracks.  Morio didn’t.  He took the blame for the whole mess.”

“Couldn’t you have said something?” Kinda asked.

“I wanted to, but the squad leader had already built up a case against me.  If I admitted I had any part in it, I would have been dismissed from the academy.  And that was a best case scenario.  It would have been the end of me.”

“So you let Morio take the fall!” Diana shouted.

Frank nodded; the movement was slow.  She jumped to her feet and glared at him.  Morio put a hand on her shoulder.

“He didn’t escape unharmed,” Morio gestured.  “My career was all but destroyed by Nobue’s actions.  In his zealous pursuit he had made it sound like the perpetrator was some sort of terrorist.  When he found out I was responsible, it was too late for him to take any of it back.  Nobue blamed Frank entirely.  He split us up and dedicated himself to ruining Frank’s career as he had inadvertently done to mine.”

“He sent me to another division and placed me under Atsuya Yokoi.”  Frank seemed to hiss as he mentioned Yokoi.  “On Nobue’s behalf, that man made my life unbearable.  I paid my debt.”

Zia placed a sympathetic hand on Frank’s.  Diana slowly returned to her seat.  The two jovial men had gone silent, no doubt deep in reflection about the terrible mishap.

“That leaves just one question,” Kindra said.  “How did someone like Nobue get to be one of the heads of Military Intelligence.”

“Well, that’s simple,” Sanderson said.  “The Shard invaded.  War has a way of shaking things up.  When the dust cleared, Nobue was in the right place at the right time.  Plus, he already had that ‘holier than thou’ attitude that is perfect for a MI leader.”

Everyone turned to find the proper man standing in the doorway to the bedroom of his quarters.  Not one of them had noticed his presence.

“How long have you been there?” Kindra asked.

“The entire time.”  He shrugged.  “Cain couldn’t have told a better story himself.”

“Who?” Frank asked.

“Hold on,” Diana said quickly.  “How did you get over there?  You left this morning.  How’d you get back in without any of us noticing?”

As they all surveyed the room, they realized Diana had a point.  Sanderson’s quarters consisted of four rooms.  A bedroom, a personal stall, a kitchen/dining space, and the main multipurpose room the four from Hellacus had converted into their own sleeping quarters.  The multipurpose room connected the other three to the main corridor.  For Sanderson to be standing in the doorway to the bedroom meant he had walked in the main entrance, passed all five of them, and ended up at the far end of the room without a single one of them noticing.  In fact, Frank and Zia were facing the doorway to the ship’s corridor directly.

“And they said
I
was good,” Kindra said with a smile.

“Just something I picked up,” Sanderson said nonchalantly.  “I’m sure you’d put me to shame if you tried.”

“Maybe in the old days, but that was a long time ago.”

“So, did you enjoy our tale of woe?” Frank asked, slightly annoyed.

“Woe?” Sanderson asked as he took a seat next to Kindra.

“What else would you call it?” Diana asked with a downcast expression.

“Personally, I’d call it hilarious with a sweet ending.”

“Sweet?” Kindra asked in surprise.

“Well, sure.”  Sanderson smiled.  “The two of you managed to maintain your friendship, despite all that happened.  You enjoy your
ruined
careers and seem to talk of Hellacus fondly.  And to top it all off, both of you managed to find partners who love you for who you are.  What more could you ask for out of life?”

Morio and Frank looked at him in confusion as they thought it over.  They had never thought about it like that.  Abruptly, Diana leaned over and kissed Morio.

“He’s got a point,” she said with a soft smile.

“So where were you all morning?” Kindra asked Sanderson.  “When you weren’t eavesdropping, of course.”

“Standard debriefing.”  He shrugged nonchalantly.  “Yamakawa loves to analyze my mission reports mercilessly.  I get the distinct impression he doesn’t like me.”

“Nobue?” Frank asked with a grin.  “Hate someone for looking better than he does? 
Nah
.”

Sanderson chuckled as Zia sat upright.  She stared straight ahead with a look of deep concentration on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Frank asked.

“We’re moving,” she said in mild surprise.

“Moving?  You mean we’re headed somewhere?”  Kindra asked.

“Impossible,” Sanderson said leaning toward the girl.  “I’d have been notified this . . .”

Without any warning, the P.A. sounded an odd melody.  The proper man’s eyes went wide as Kindra looked at him.  Before he could explain, the purpose of the tone became evident as the Wall pierced the edge of the room.  Military Intelligence was relocating a command ship that oversaw a dozen operations.  Sanderson didn’t miss the fact the ship was jumping without advanced warning.  He tried to swallow against a suddenly dry throat.

“Something’s happened,” Zia said in a distant voice.  “Something
bad
.”

Marie couldn’t help but feel anxious.  The ship had arrived at its destination a while ago, but she still didn’t know what was going on.  The Core Industries Private Security Force wasn’t helping.  They had kept their mouths shut the entire trip.  What was worse was that she’d lost track of Liz.  While the clinging did wear thin at times, it was a comfort to know her friend was so close.  No matter what was happening around them, they’d see it through together. 

For the last few hours Marie had sat alone in the cramped living space that had been set-aside for the two, waiting for any news.  Abruptly, the doorway slid open and an armed man gestured for her to follow.  Following him through the corridors of the ship, Marie kept a lookout for Liz.  The narrow, ugly corridors of the ship gave it away as a CI trade ship.  Their focus was entirely on speed and cargo space, with the comfort of the crew a distant third.  Oddly enough, the corridors were completely free of boxes and other obstructions.

CI must have sent this ship specially.  It was far more common for the corporation to order one of their ships to take a detour from its trade route.  The fact they would let a ship travel through the Commonwealth without being loaded with freight was an dark omen.  When they reached the cargo bay, the armed man came to a stop.  Gingerly poking her head in through the open hatch, Marie was instantly pulled off balance and fell backwards into the corridor.

“And you all make fun of me,” a familiar voice said from within the cargo bay.

“That’s because when
you
fall over it’s because you’re smashed,” Tyra said with a smirk.

“She has a point, Doug,” Humphrey mumbled.  “If you want to be left alone, it’s best not to give them ammunition.”

Marie pushed herself off the floor plating and turned around to find Liz moaning softly.

“Be careful!” Marie said as she helped Liz stand.  “You can’t just grab onto me like that.  I was completely unprepared.”

“Isn’t she the one who’s supposed to remind you to watch your manners?” a hostile voice asked.”

“Be nice, Erin,” Liz said.  “Marie has gotten better.  She hardly ever slaps people on the back.”

“Although I’m willing to make an exception,” Marie said, eyeing Erin as she joined the others.

“Looks like the whole gang is here,” a man Marie didn’t recognize said.

“If that’s the case, then who are you?” Marie asked directly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your old friends!” Penny said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.  As Marie continued to stare at the man blankly, Penny sighed.  “He’s Frank Springate and I’m Penny Williams.  Or do late additions from the SW not count as old friends?”

“Don’t be silly,” Liz said warmly as she hid behind Marie.  “We couldn’t forget you.”

“His specialty is stealth,” Ronald said nonchalantly.  “It’s expected for him not to make a lasting impact.”

“I thought that was infiltration specialists . . . hold on,” Penny puffed out her cheeks and stomped over to face Ronald directly.  “My specialty is stealth, too!  Are you implying he’s better than I am?”

“
Humphrey
is quieter than you are,” Rhea said, restraining a chuckle.

Penny’s expression settled halfway between hurt and frustrated.

“Don’t take it the wrong way,” Humphrey mumbled.  “She was insulting me, not you.”

“I’m taking all this idle banter to mean everyone else is as clueless as to why we are all here as I am,” Mr. Springate said, putting a reassuring hand on Penny’s shoulder.

“We have a few ideas, none of them any better than guesses though,” Tyra said.

“That’s more than we’ve got,” Marie said.  “What happened to you?”

“We were attacked by a Weaver,” Ronald said flatly.

Rhea and Humphrey turned startled glances at Tyra and Ronald.

“Looks like you weren’t the only ones,” Erin said.  “So CI’s lackeys are picking us all up because of a Weaver?”

“Don’t give them so much credit,” Rhea said, annoyance coating her words.  “No one picked me up.”

“Give it a rest,” Humphrey mumbled.  “That lisping Weaver snuck past your ITU buddies with no problem.  You’re lucky I’m on good terms with CI - they looked like they wanted to
shoot
you.  Not that I can blame them, after the fuss you made when they asked you to come with them . . .”

“Make your jokes later,” Tyra interrupted before Rhea could respond.  “This is serious.  I’m guessing from the lisping crack that the same Weaver attacked both of us.”

“I’m not sure if that’s good news or not,” Mr. Springate said, rubbing his chin.

“What do you mean?” Penny asked.

“Which is more disturbing to you?” he asked no one in particular.  “The idea of a group of Weavers, all of them dead set on seeing us bite the big one.  Or a single Weaver with the connections to get to each of us and escape from the ITU.”

“Actually, the most disturbing thought to me is the fact we’ve been picked up by Core Industries,” Rhea whined.  “I just know Cain is going to rub my nose in this.”

“Do we even know what
this
is?” Doug asked earnestly.

“Don’t be stupid, Dougie,” Marie said.  “Of course . . .”

She instantly went silent as Ronald made a quick gesture.  All of them followed his wordless instructions and followed his gaze to the far end of the cargo bay.  About a dozen men were entering, each one making sure not to make eye contact with the gathered group.  They were all dressed in the uniform of Core Industries’ PSF.  With a nod from Tyra, the troopers moved into formation and waited.

“Good to see the academies still turn out a good lot,” one of the men said.  His voice was ragged and slow, as were his features and gate.  “I had been worried that all this post-invasion nonsense would ruin the quality.”

“I’m glad we meet your approval,” Tyra said tersely.

“I suppose I deserve a bit of rudeness,” the man said.  “After all, none of you knew where you were headed, and I was forbidden to say a word.”

“Forbidden?” She asked.

“Oh, yes.  Master Hooten was
very
clear on that.  We weren’t to let a single soul know what we were up to.  In any case, I’m afraid I have to undertake one final grim task before we break company.”

The squad of troopers tensed.

“Oh, relax,” the man said quickly.  “I’m a doctor, not a warrior.  You could no doubt disable me before I finished saying my name, if need be.  The grim task is that I have to administer a treatment.”

“What kind of treatment?” Tyra asked apprehensively.

“A gravity treatment.”  As the man spoke, the PSF crossed the room and handed each trooper a small package.  “Thankfully, the crew and I will be leaving as soon as we drop you all off.  Unfortunately, you won’t get off so easily.”

“I remember Cassandra mentioning these,” Penny said examining the contents of the package.

“She didn’t give details, but I gather it hurts - badly.”  Erin winched as she pulled out a syringe.

“I suppose it’s all relative,” Humphrey mumbled.  “It can’t hurt any worse than being crushed by your own skull.”

“So what do we do?” Ronald asked, resigned to the task.

“Most of it is self explanatory,” the ragged man said as he headed to leave.

“You’re not going to assist us?” he asked as a raised eyebrow.

“I’m a doctor, not a sadist,” the man said with a small smile.

As the hatch to the cargo bay sealed behind the PSF, the squad looked over the packages.  The instructions were made up of friendly looking caricatures that explained everything in mime, no doubt designed to be understandable by any age.  A shiver ran down Marie’s spine at the thought of a small child, one that hadn’t even learned to read yet, having to self-administer the horrid treatment.

The experience was worse than any of the imaginary scenarios that had run through Marie’s mind when Cassandra would dodge the subject of gravity treatments.  It was beyond painful, so much so that even the best troopers of the group were caught unprepared.  Even the hardened Ronald had buckled to the floor, clenching his teeth in silent agony as large beads of sweat dripped off his brow.  Compared to the others, that had been graceful.  As they all slowly recovered from the worst of it, a loud clanking sound filled the cargo bay.

“Looks like they are letting us out,” Ronald said as he forced his teeth to unclench.

“Are we sure this is better than a Weaver attack?” Erin asked weakly.

As the hatch slowly opened, a breeze of air wafted over them.  Marie took a single step toward the door.  Her foot felt like it weighed tons.  Even with the treatment, the world was hard to move in.  As the hatch pulled further back, the first hints of local scenery became visible.  They all had to shield their eyes as the light of the local sun filled the open cargo bay.

Apparently, sensitivity to light was one of the side effects of the gravity treatment.  As her eyes slowly adjusted, Marie realized it was about midday on the world.  Shadows were tiny puddles around objects, with the sun no doubt directly overhead.  As her eyes finally adjusted completely, she realized something was odd about the scenery.  To her surprise, everything had a subtle brown hue to it.

“Welcome!” a deep booming voice echoed around the cargo bay.

“Told you Cain would have something to do with this,” Rhea hissed as she continued to shield her eyes.

“Guilty as charged.  Now come on out and say hi to Jeirude!”

“Who?” Tyra asked as she forced her arm to return to her side.

“A medium sized rim world.  Main export is livestock.  Central imports are grains and construction materials.  Population stands at . . .”

“Save the profit analysis for someone who cares,” Humphrey mumbled.  “Is it always this bright?”

“That’s a side effect of the gravity treatments, I’m afraid,” Angela said apologetically.  “You get used to it eventually.”

“Is the brown temporary, too?” Marie asked.

The others paused for a moment and glanced upward.  To their surprise, the world lived under an auburn sky.  If Marie hadn’t drawn attention to it, not one of them would have noticed.

“Nope,” Cain said with a wide grin.  “I suppose you could call it rustic charm.  I have to admit I barely notice it anymore.  I kind of like it, actually.”

“And how long have you been here, exactly?” Ronald asked.

“Details later!  Right now we are being horrible guests.”

“We?” Rhea asked.

“Of course!  I’m here to fetch you and bring you all back to the house.”

“Fetch us?  You mean this isn’t some CI world?”

“I’m as much a visitor as all of you, but that all can wait.  For now, let’s just get
everyone
back safe.”

Before anyone could ask what he meant, a small secondary hatch opened in the trade ship.  Four strong looking men quickly entered the ship and quickly rolled out a stretcher.  Medical machines and various wires hid the face of the person in the stretcher, but Marie instantly recognized Hiroko.  She was running along side the wheeled bed, her eyes a deep puffy red.

“What’s going on?” Tyra asked, obviously hiding her irritation.

“We’re all headed home,” Cain said in an innocent voice.  “What did you think?”

“
Home
?” Rhea asked.  “How can anyone call this horrible planet anything but . . .”

“Be nice,” Humphrey mumbled as he thrust an elbow into her chest.  “We can’t all live on the ITU’s lavish homeworld.  In any case, I think Tyra
meant
our current mode of transportation.”

As if it had been waiting for a cue, the vehicle bounced violently as it ran over something in the road.  Marie moaned as she rubbed her backside.  In truth, the vehicle had been designed
exclusively
for transporting livestock.  Behind the driving compartment was a waist high barrier that ringed the rear of the vehicle.

No seats or any other considerations for human cargo were available.  What it lacked in creature comforts for its human cargo, it more than made up for in aromas.  The smells ranged from something vaguely similar to “wet dog” to the unmistakable odor of old feces.

“Brings new meaning to the phrase ‘standing room only,’” Doug joked.

“Best I could do.”  Cain shrugged.  “When I asked the locals if they had some kind of mass transit system, they all looked at me like I was speaking gibberish.”

“I meant the second party,” Tyra asserted.  “Who are they?”

Tyra gestured behind them.  Following a short distance behind the livestock transport was a much more solid vehicle.  Its markings gave it away as a medical transport of sorts.

“I spotted Hiroko,” Marie said.

“We
are
missing a few people from the old squad,” Ronald said thoughtfully.

“Looks like we’ve gained one, too,” Angela said with a warm smile.

Ronald looked at her in confusion until he got her meaning.