The Terran Mandate (10 page)

He squeezed the release trigger on the
left control handle and shoved it forward. Releasing the trigger, he pulled the
handle back and the left leg groaned with grinding metal as it slowly stomped
back, moving him another step away from the Marines getting ready to shoot him.
He could hear the servos on the left side of his Cat whirring as they struggled
to stabilize the damaged leg. Clutching the weapons controller, he eyeballed
the missile team as best he could and pulled the trigger. A blanket of blue
fire enveloped the team in a glowing ball. Walker looked away, his face wet
with tears and sweat. He let out a quivering sigh when he saw the Marines from
the first detail pick up and run.

His maintenance chief's body was still
lying next to the carrier, unmoving. He clutched both control handles, working
them in concert to walk the Cat back out of the compound until the chief's body
was hidden from him behind the carrier. He cranked the Cat around until it was
facing away from the compound and stopped. Reaching up to the console above
him, He grabbed a wide red handle mounted on a large swivel and yanked it
forward. Two jets straddling the side of the Cat lit up as two small wings
flipped out above them. The Cat lifted off the ground, slowly at first, and
then picked up speed until it was 200 feet in the air. Working the control
handles, he steered the Cat in a long jump towards the low sandy ridges outside
the compound. The ground shook hard when the Cat landed, the hydraulics easing
it into a crouch as they absorbed the impact. He punched a button in the center
display to confirm that the stabilizers were on line and then dialed in a
heading on the thin strip of navigation controls along the top of the console
deck. He flipped a switch and eased back in his seat as the autopilot took over
and moved his Cat forward in a steady walk away from the compound.

Letting out a long sigh, he looked at
the patch on his leg, relieved to see the blood from his wound had not soaked
through. He reached into the medical kit and pulled out a small bottle of
water. He ripped open a packet of antibiotics, washed them down with the water
and let both drop to the floor. He briefly eyed the packet of pain killers and
closed the lid.

Through the canopy, he watched the far
horizon ebb into a dark blue haze as the brightest stars began to twinkle in
the shimmering air. He felt a warm haze infuse his body and struggled to keep
his eyes open. As his mind raced to unravel the meaning behind what had just
happened, he fell asleep as his Cat stomped and whirred across the desserts of
Shoahn'Tu, carrying him to the safety of his comrades.

The Enforcer

Colonel Dekker tucked his cover under
his left arm and pounded on the wall with the palm of his hand three times.

Through the closed door, he heard
General Lane say, "Come." Dekker took a breath and waited until he
was sure his mind was settled before he swung the door open and stomped up to
Lane's desk. He clicked the heels of the black resin dress boots he had shined
to a mirror polish. He raised his voice, as if the General were standing ten
feet away instead of sitting behind the desk in front of him, and said,
"Colonel Dekker reporting as ordered sir." He stood as still at a
statue and stared at the wall.

"This is the Marine Corps, Ben, not
the SS. At ease." Dekker didn't move. General Lane came out from behind
his desk, kicked the plastic chair on the other side at Dekker and said,
"Siddown!"

With a steel edge in his voice, Dekker
said, "Aye aye sir," and sat down, sitting straight enough to keep he
back an inch away from touching the chair's back.

Returning to his seat, General Lane
said, "We don't have time for this shit, Ben. I know you think I left your
guys hanging the other day, but we don't need to go through all that again, do
we?" The two men sat in silence as Dekker continued to stare at the wall.
The image of the Marine he had put to sleep forever pushed its way into
Dekker's mind.

General Lane smiled like a politician.
"You did a damn fine job, Ben. You should know that."

Dekker wanted to believe the General
believed his own words, but he knew better. Dekker lowered his gaze to General
Lane and said, "Yes we did. And we would have done it better if we'd had some
help."

General Lane closed his eyes and nodded.
Looking at Dekker as if they were discussing the weather, he said, "I
know, Ben. You're not the only one who makes mistakes around here. I screwed
the pooch. Alright?"

Dekker's mouth opened slightly and he
cocked his head to the side. "That's right sir, you did. But I guess I
don't have a lot of room to talk about it, do I?"

Lane raised an eyebrow. "Sure you
do. Do you want to?" He folded his hands and leaned back.

"I guess not. None of us could have
known about the Second Brigade."

"But -" General Lane prompted.

"But somebody did."

"I agree. And we're going to find
out who it is." He beamed the politician's smile again. "I
promise."

"Thank you, sir. Is that it,
then?"

"I called you in here to talk about
something more important. We may not have to worry about doing better next
time."

Dekker eased back into his chair.

"Had a visitor yesterday,"
General Lane continued. He leaned forward, beaming. "One each General
Godfrey of the Terran Guard."

Dekker squinted. "The Red Bitch
herself?" he asked.

"That's right. She was bouncing off
the walls about troop dispositions and the Highlands." Lane turned back to
pull the tablet from a desk drawer and slid it towards Dekker.

"I want you to take a look at this,
Ben. Tell me what you think."

Dekker picked up the tablet and tapped
the screen. His pulse quickened as he scanned the text confirming everything
Godfrey had said: the stand down, consolidated lines, retention of ranks and
units, integration of command, and, most importantly, safe passage to the
Highlands.

Dekker looked up to see General Lane
smiling - again. "This ends the war. I think we'll want to be careful
here. Keep the battalions in place. Keep the Paladin someplace safe to make
sure they mean it. But, if we can trust her - ." He frowned. "That
part's kind of tough."

General Lane stood back up, keeping his
fingertips on his desk and said, "Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought,
too." He walked around the side of the desk, watching Dekker from the
corner of his eye. "But we have a problem."

"Oh?"

"Not everybody agrees. We have
enough parity to make it work. I don't think she can screw us too badly here,
but you and I both know we can't win this thing. "

"True. Who's pushing back?"

Lane sat on the corner of his desk and
sighed. "The Paladin."

Dekker scoffed. "Can't say I'm
surprised. Major Walker is a man of his own mind."

"It's worse than that, Ben."

Dekker heard a faint ring in his ears as
General Lane stepped to the porthole overlooking the MEF compound and placed
his hand on the wall. With his back to Dekker, he said, "I told the
Paladin about this plan last night."

"What did he think?"

"He went into a rage. I've never
seen him like that before. He was furious, going on about how the Terran Guard
are sworn to destroy us and every man, woman and child in the colony. He was
frantic." Lane shook his head and turned around, leaning his back against
the wall. "And then he resigned his commission."

"What?" Dekker asked, choking
the word past the lump in his throat.

"Said he would rather fight alone
and die to a man than give in to the tyranny of the Terran Guard."

"No." Dekker scratched the
back of his head. "He's a bit of a rogue, but he's not insane. This
doesn't make any sense."

Lane's eyes drifted to the floor.
"There's more." He sat back down behind his desk, propped his elbows
on top and cupped his fist in his hand. "He stormed out of here, mounted
his C -2B and started shooting up the compound."

Dekker tried to imagine Walker mounted
in the cockpit, leveling his guns. The picture wouldn't come together. It was a
picture that couldn't come together.

"I sent out a detail to try and
talk him down and he just gunned them down."

The picture still wouldn't form in his
mind, but he had already heard the rumors. Listening to his commanding officer
confirm those rumors brought a new reality to them. He tilted his head and
whispered, "My God." He rubbed his brow and let out a sigh. The two
men sat in silence as Lane's words swam through his mind.

"Where is he now?" Dekker
asked.

"We don't know. That's where you
come in."

Dekker took a deep breath and put his
hand up - a reflex, as if he were trying to stop an enemy tank barreling
towards him with its gun aimed directly at his face.

"I know, I wouldn't believe it if I
hadn't seen it for myself," Lane said.

"What does this have to do with
me?"

"You know him pretty well,
yes?"

Dekker shrugged. "Yeah." He
stared at the wall, remembering something from a lifetime ago. "He was my
Combat Trials Instructor. After that, he chose me to command his infantry
escort company. That was back in the days when the Cats had their own infantry
and a detachment from the air wing. My God, we were a sight to see." His
voice trailed off as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"As I recall, that was a position
of some prestige."

"Yes sir. You could spend your
entire life to become a regimental commander and have something to really be
proud of. Serving as the Paladin's Foot Guard - that was in a league of its
own."

Lane pulled his mouth into another
smile, more forced this time. He was officially the MEF commander, but the
truth was he was noting more than a regimental commander himself because that
was all they had left.

"No disrespect to the MEF
commander, sir," Dekker said.

"That's why I need you, Ben. You
know him better than anyone and this ceasefire doesn't have a chance with him
starting a one-man war with the Terran Guard."

"Oh, it won't be just him, sir. His
men are loyal to him. And him alone. If he goes up against the Guard, they'll
be right behind him."

"Yeah, I know. Before that happens,
I need you to find him and talk him down."

Dekker felt the room closing in around
him.

"I don't see how that's possible,
sir."

General Lane reached down to open his
floor safe. Dekker watched Lane's hands as they moved from the safe and placed
the blue control grip on the desk. "You know what this is?" Lane
asked.

Dekker's heart stopped cold.
"That's an STI grip," he said. "I didn't think we had any
left."

"Neither did anybody else,"
Lane said. "We found a satellite six months ago. I had some guys who used
to work for Orbital Assets Command take a look and they confirmed it has one
shot left."

"Well, hell, that right there could
make sure Godfrey plays ball."

Lane scoffed. "Yeah, except the
track is way the hell and gone in the middle of nowhere. Totally useless
anywhere around here. But - ." He raised his eyebrows and slid the device
across his desk. "If you can't talk him down, you can maybe lure him into
the track."

Dekker felt the world crash in on him.
He couldn't breathe. His hand began to tremble and he let it dangle next to
him, hoping Lane wouldn't notice.

"You want me to kill him."

"No. I don't. I want you to bring
him home. But if he won't come home - ." He glanced at the device before
saying anything more.

Dekker's hand started shaking again as
he picked up the device. He clenched his fingers around the grip hard enough to
make his knuckles white as he tried to force his hand to stop trembling.

It felt heavy and cold as he stared at
the faded blue plastic of the control casing and the cracked grip used to hold
it in place while the operator punched in drop coordinates. He stared at the
red trigger running the length of the grip.

"Call me for the codes if it comes
down to it, Ben," General Lane said, as if he had just given him an order
to pick up provisions or conduct an inventory of his battalion's supplies.

"It won't, sir," Dekker said.
He set the grip back on the desk and pushed it towards Lane. "I don't need
this." What he really meant was that he couldn't. He could find the
Paladin. He could talk to him. He could knock him out cold with a punch to the
face and drape him over his shoulder if he had to. But he couldn't even think
about killing him without his stomach turning.

"I hope you're right. But know
this. The MEF and the colony are depending on you to stop him."

Lane nudged the grip back towards
Dekker.

"If you don't," General Lane
continued, "I don't think any of us are going to survive."

He looked at the grip and then leveled
his gaze on Dekker. "If it makes it any easier, Colonel, consider it an
order. You're at liberty to take whatever action is necessary to stop the
Paladin. But you must stop him. Take it with you. Keep it with you. If you run
out of options, call me for the codes."

Dekker closed his eyes and picked up the
grip. His hands still trembled, but he didn't bother to try and hide it any
longer. He opened his eyes and turned the device in his hand as if it were a
loaded gun that he was supposed to point at his own head.