Junkyard Dogs 1: The Scrapyard Incident (24 page)

"Good idea,
Hawk," said Harris.

The two officers
took the suit of battle armor and headed for the bridge.

Chapter 41

New Ceylon Orbital Station, Smuggler's Lair,
October 9, 2598
.

Irene went down
the short corridor towards the women's restroom facilities. Two observers had
still not returned to report and members of the Resistance were gathered into small
groups scattered here and there in the smuggler's lair. Discussions were taking
place all over the room and some of them were rather heated. Irene had just
left a table where Kresge was leading a small, intense conference on
counteroffensive options. After she had finished in the restroom, as she went
through the door back into the corridor, she thought she heard something. She
stopped and listened more closely. There it was again...the sound of someone
sobbing quietly...a woman? Praying? She went closer to the sound, a short
distance further down the dark corridor, and called out softly.

"Who's
there?" The sound stopped. She took a few more steps towards where the
sound had been coming from and called out again. "It's okay, I won't hurt
you." She saw a small shape huddled against the wall. A tear-stained face
turned upwards.

"You're the
woman
who just came in a few hours ago, aren't you? Hanna,
wasn't it? What's wrong, dear?"

"I don't
know if I can tell you. You'll hate me."

"It can't be
that bad. Come on, get up and come with me. Let's go somewhere warm where we
can talk." Irene held out her hand to the woman and helped her get up. She
put an arm around the smaller woman's shoulders as they made their way back to
the big room and found an empty table next to the wall between two large
shipping crates. The woman was shivering.

"Sit,
Hanna." The smaller woman sat. Irene grabbed a blanket from a stack on a
nearby table and draped it over the woman's shoulders. "Okay, let's talk.
Start at the beginning."

Hanna turned
troubled eyes towards Irene and took a ragged breath.

"Have you
ever been lied to by someone that you trusted?"

Irene's first
thought was that the poor woman was having some kind of man trouble.

"Oh, yes. I
think that's happened to everyone, my dear."

"I mean a
really big, horrible lie?"

"I don't
know about that. In my line of work, I run into people who tell some pretty big
lies." Irene couldn't help but think about the very people who had created
their sanctuary.

"Have
innocent people been killed because you believed the lie?"

Irene was taken
aback. She frowned.

"Now, that I can't say.
Whatever are you talking about?
What is it that has you so upset?"

"How can I
get you to trust me? I know...important things. But you must believe me, you
must!"

"There,
there, calm down. Just let it out. What must I believe?"

"That I'm a
good person and I'm not a killer and I want for this nightmare to end without
anyone else getting killed."

"You seem to
be carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders!"

There was a
silence that dragged out for several long moments. Finally Hanna seemed to come
to a decision. She looked down at the table.

"Can you get
the Commander to come over here? He should hear what I have to say too."

"You're sure
it's that important?"

"I'm absolutely
sure."

Irene called out
softly to the guard on watch standing nearby.

"Fred, can
you run and get Oskar? Tell him that it's important."

"Right away, Irene."

Kresge came over
to the table a few minutes later.

"Okay, you two,
what is it that's so important?"

Hanna drew a
ragged breath.

"My name is
Hanna Jordan and I am a follower of the Veritian Way. I came here with the
invaders that are in control of this station." She bowed her head.
"Now maybe you'll kill me...maybe that's all I deserve."

Irene felt like
moving away but something made her resist the impulse. This careworn woman had
the look of sincerity and though she claimed to be with the enemy, she didn't
appear very threatening.

Oskar looked
intently at Hanna.

"
We
don't kill people without good
reason. What do you want? What're you doing
here
?"

The woman looked
up at them and the two leaders could see that she was in misery.

"The men who
have taken over the station are members of the Veritian Brotherhood," said
Hanna.

"The
Veritian Brotherhood?" said Oskar. "That explains a lot. Maggie said
something about their strange hair just a few hours ago. This isn't good. Those
people are absolutely nuts! You say you were with them?"

"You mustn't
compare the Veritian Way to the Veritian Brotherhood. This...this abomination
that has been set in motion by Ezra and his gang has got to be stopped."

"I couldn't
agree more," said Kresge.

"I know what
you're thinking, about the hatred and violence, but we aren't like that, not
those of us in the Veritian Way. We practice peace and brotherhood. We live
simple lives and we follow the commandments. 'Thou shalt not kill' is one of
those commandments!"

"What
happened?"

"It was Ezra
and his group. They came to our village on Heard's World a few weeks ago and
asked for our help."

"Is this the
same Ezra we keep hearing about, the one that's in charge of this
invasion?" asked Kresge.

"Ezra Hellfire Brimstone.
Yes, he's the leader of this
group of the Devil's servants. Only his real name is Lester Dobbins. He made up
his new name when he became the leader of the Brotherhood about a year ago.
They told me and my husband, Caleb..." Her face contorted in pain for a
couple of seconds and she paused for a moment for the wave of emotion that came
over her at the thought of Caleb to pass. "...They told me and Caleb that
they needed our help against a band of pirates that were preying on their cargo
ships."

"Pirates?
How could you help?"

"My husband
was an engineer in the Federation Navy for six years. He worked on weapons
systems, specializing in beam weapons. They asked me to come along because I
have some medical training.
 
They needed
him to help install and tend the beam
weapons,
and me
in case anyone got hurt. They also wanted me to help with getting everyone
fed."

"So you were
recruited for a mission against pirates?"

"That was
just the beginning of the string of lies they told us. I don't know if you'll
believe me or not, but we never knew what was going on. They kept Caleb and me
on separate ships; I suppose they didn't want us comparing notes. I'm really
worried about him. I haven't spoken to him since we left home, and that was
more than three weeks ago."

"You never
knew about any of their plans?"

"No. I
wasn't allowed on the bridge of the ship and didn't know anything about what
they were really doing. As far as I know, neither did Caleb."

Her expression
grew sadder again. "He was on the first ship, the one that went back to
the Scrapyard...we haven't heard from them for too long. Something must have
happened to them."

"Easy...
Finish your story," said Kresge.

Hanna took a deep
breath and continued.

"We went
through two battles, though from what I know now, I suppose that they were more
like unprovoked attacks. I know it's hard to believe, but I didn't know
anything about the true nature of their mission until they told me to get off
the ship and I discovered that we were on the New Ceylon Orbital Station."

"You're
telling me you didn't know those attacks were directed at Federation Naval
installations and this orbital station until you got off the ship here?"
asked Kresge.

"I know it's
a lot to swallow. It's all so confusing. I don't know everything that's
happened, but I have been able to piece some things together. Shortly after we got
to the station here I overheard them talking and realized what they had done.
It was awful, the evil of it! All those innocent people dead and me a part of
it! I had to get away from them; I fear for my life! I fear for my very
soul!"

"There,
there," said Irene.

"I feel
absolutely awful!" Hanna began weeping again, softly.

"Hanna, look
at me," said Irene. Hanna looked up miserably. "Is what you just told
us the truth?"

"I swear by
the cross of Holy Jesus that I spoke the truth, only..."

"Only, what?"

"I haven't
told you everything." If anything she looked even more miserable.

"What
haven't you told us?" asked Kresge.

"Please, Ms.
Marshall, Commander Kresge, you've been so good and so kind. I had to tell you
about my place in all this before I told you more. I know it's hard, but you
have to trust me."

"
It's
okay, Hanna, what else is there?"

"I overheard
their plans for the Meridian Ambassador."

Chapter 42

UTFN Reclamation Center,
onboard the wreck of
FNS Terrier
,
October 9, 2598
.

Back onboard the
Terrier
, Carlisle helped Harris adjust
the battle armor to fit him properly, an activity that brought them into close,
even intimate, proximity. Each of them stole a glance at the other several
times during the fitting when they thought the other wasn't watching. Carlisle
tightened several of the internal support straps and webbings inside the back
of the suit while Harris loosened a few others on the front and sides. Harris
stretched and wriggled with each adjustment, making sure the suit remained
comfortable without being too tight or too loose. When they were both finally
satisfied, he removed the armor and hauled it back to the makeshift service
compartment. Hawkins looked up from the suit he was working on.

"Would you
get this ready too, Hawk? I think I'd better wear it."

"Aye,
Lieutenant,
shouldn't be too much trouble."

Carlisle watched
Harris from the command console as he returned to the bridge and crossed the
compartment to check the periscope again for signs of enemy turnover. She
looked down at her hands, struggled with her thoughts for a moment and came to
a decision.

"Lieutenant?"
she asked quietly.

"What is it,
Ensign?"

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Um... sure.
Go ahead."

"I...I want
to thank you for helping me through a...rough spot after I tangled with that
raider. I really needed that. It...It won't happen again."

"That's
okay, Ensign," he said, with a nonchalance he didn't really feel. He
thought quickly. "You'd been through... something pretty extraordinary.
Some kind of backlash was probably inevitable."

He continued to
look through the periscope, slowly scanning space in the direction of the
planet. Outwardly he appeared calm, but his heart was beating a lot faster than
it had been just a few moments earlier.

Realizing the
importance of the situation, Carlisle chose her words carefully and spoke from
her heart, something she hadn't done for a very long time. "Look... I'm
sorry I yelled at you...before," she said haltingly. "That was
unprofessional and insubordinate. It's my temper, sometimes I just can't seem
to control it. It's gotten me in trouble before. I'll...I'll do my very best
not to let that ever happen again. Please...except my apology.
And...please
don't be angry with me."

Harris peeked out
from behind the periscope with one eye at a drawn face and pleading green eyes.
Just for a moment he saw that same small and distraught warrior that he had
comforted a few hours earlier. The irrational longing feeling came back. His
chest ached. He discovered that the argument hadn't been important for quite
some time. He tipped his head sideways slightly, his body still behind the
periscope, but the small adjustment allowed her to see his entire face.

"I'm...not
angry with you, at least not anymore...Maybe I never was."

She came away from
the command console and pushed over to the periscope station, stopping close
enough to reach out and touch him. He looked into concerned green eyes for a
moment, frowned slightly and then averted his gaze, focusing instead on a point
somewhere over her left shoulder. He sighed before speaking softly and
sincerely.

"Look...I
think it's my own lack of experience and this feeling that I don't know what
I'm doing that made me question your plan. It's a good plan, really. Probably
the best we can do in a bad situation."

Carlisle suddenly
realized that one of the most disturbing things about the argument between her
and the Lieutenant was that she had not only come to like and respect this
young officer a great deal but that she desperately wanted him to like and
respect her in return. In fact, she admitted, maybe 'like' wasn't a strong
enough description for what she was beginning to feel towards him. Those
feelings, she also realized, were at least partially due to the fact that she
trusted him completely, something else she hadn't felt towards another person
for a long time. As she had done earlier when the two of them had been alone on
the bridge, she made an earnest attempt to help him focus his thoughts on what
was bothering him.

"Well...
It's not like there's a blueprint for this kind of thing," she said,
finally. She frowned in thought for a moment. "They hammer on this stuff
pretty hard at the Academy. I've learned that being a good commander doesn't
mean that you automatically know what to do.
Quite the
contrary, in fact -- especially in combat.
You do the best you can with
the information you have and, while any decisions you make are ultimately your
responsibility, you make the best use of your subordinates." She reached
over, put her hand on top of his where it still gripped the pommel of the
periscope and gave a gentle squeeze. "We've done pretty damned well out
here under your command so far, Lieutenant."

His eyes flicked
into focus on the delicate features of her beautiful face, the full lips of her
perfectly-shaped mouth, the slightly upturned nose, the exotic Clan markings
and...
those
incredible eyes! In that instant, his
entire universe consisted of nothing but that pair of remarkable sea-green
eyes, eyes that seemed as depthless as space itself. The strange sensation in
his chest intensified and the longing feeling threatened to overwhelm him. The
episode of just a few hours earlier, when he had comforted her and helped her
get through the intense bout of emotional overload, flashed through his mind;
he barely resisted an almost overpowering urge to reach over and stroke her
hair again.
 

"But...I
could be condemning you to death. I've never had to order anyone around in a
life or death situation before."

"You didn't
order me," she reminded him softly, "I volunteered."

"That almost
makes it worse."

"Why?"
Carlisle found her own heart was beating a little faster.

He couldn't seem
to stop himself from going further into uncharted space.

"Because
it...because it's you." His look became more serious, almost pained.

"Me?"

"Yes... I've
never met anyone like you."

She smiled but
looked a little doubtful. "I trust you mean that in a good way?"

He hesitated,
suddenly unsure of just how to
proceed
, a jumble of
thoughts cascading through his mind. How
did
he feel about her? Could he tell her? Should he? The military had strict
regulations regarding personal relationships with subordinates and he was, like
it or not, her commanding officer.
Best to alter the thread
of this conversation immediately.
Maybe if they got out of this mess...

"We could
all still die out here sometime in the next few hours, Ensign," he replied
finally. "I need to tell you... a few things, just in case something
happens to me..."

Her look was
serious, expectant. Where was he going with this? How should she respond? She
suddenly found herself fighting an irrational urge to kiss him.

He continued,
groping for the right words. "I...I think you have a lot of potential...
No, that's probably an understatement... Hell, you're the smartest person I've
ever met and yet you're so... I don't know, easy to work with, so...able to
explain things..."
 
He stopped,
frustratingly unsure of how to continue. This wasn't working; these weren't the
things he really wanted to tell her... Maybe if he just started over...

"I could say
the same about you, Lieutenant," she said, mistaking his silence as a cue
for her input. "You have a clear grasp of engineering, especially all this
historical material, and you're a good sounding board. I think we make a good team.
I've never had much luck being part being part of a team before. This last
little while, when we weren't getting along... was really hard." She
looked down. "As you've no doubt come to realize, I'm...different from
most people."

"That's not
an altogether bad thing."

She looked back
at him, still less than an arm's length away. The conversation halted as they
gazed into one another's eyes. Harris couldn't be sure, but it looked like she
wanted him to kiss her. Sense of duty warred agonizingly with desire. He was
still wondering whether not to act upon the feeling when he heard Hawkins clear
his throat. Both officers turned their heads to look at him and the moment was
lost.

"Be I
interrupting somethin'?" asked Hawkins, grinning.
  

Harris and
Carlisle looked back at one another and quickly drew apart, their embarrassment
obvious.

"No,"
said Harris. "We were just talking."

"Okay,"
said Hawkins, obviously unconvinced

Still somewhat
flustered, Harris checked the periscope again as Carlisle headed back across
the bridge towards her station. They were saved from any further explanation by
the arrival of the enemy.

"We have
turnover," Harris announced.

Immediately the
sense of tension returned to the bridge of the old ship.

"Give the prisoner
a couple of food tubes and some water. Then we have to get to our battle
stations."

"Let's go
get these bastards," said Carlisle.