Breach of Duty, page 6
Or maybe CIS called him back and he was involved with them now. CIS was the one agency Erhart had no contacts in. He couldn't guess what they knew of his operation.
It was best to be prepared. Erhart typed a message to his contact. "Prepare arrangements. Will advise if necessary."
6
ISV Shadow Wolf
Approaching New Virginia, New Virginia System, Terran Coalition
22 July 2462
The planet of New Virginia was once the furthest settlement of the Coalition's "second wave" colonizations from Canaan, augmented by the arrival of more ships fleeing the consolidation of what became the League of Sol back on Earth. From orbit, the continent of Jefferson was a brilliant collection of green-forested mountains with white snowy caps, wide fields of green and golden prairies, with gray clumps of towns and cities.
While Cera, Yanik, and Henry manned the bridge, Samina, Brigitte, and Oskar were present to get their first look at Henry's homeworld. "It reminds me of Jinnah," Samina said, recalling seeing her homeworld when her family escaped it. "Just with less smoke."
Henry could hear the old pain in her voice, that of a child losing her home. "I'm sure your world's going to get liberated soon."
She nodded. "But I've got nothing there now."
"We are receiving a signal from the Tylerville Spaceport," Yanik said.
Henry nodded, knowing what was expected. He spoke aloud. "Tylerville Control, this is the Shadow Wolf, requesting landing clearance."
The voice that crackled back belonged to an old man. "Well, if it ain't the prodigal son," the man drawled.
"Good to hear you again, Mister Holstrom," Henry said politely. "I thought you'd retired."
"Call me Jeff. Everybody does," came the response. "And retirement didn't agree with me, so I came back. Anyway, I figure you've come home to see your Uncle Charlie, eh? Best damn repair tech I ever knew. Just don't tell him that. Give him my best."
"I plan on it, Jeff," Henry said. He allowed the nostalgia to show on his face. "He'd be happy to know you were still keeping watch over things."
"I'd hope so! Sometimes I'm the only thing keeping these folks from crashing into the mountains!" There was a chuckle on the other end. "Good to have you home, Jim Henry. Your landing course is ready. Commence in two minutes."
Seeing the look of some of the others, he said, "That was old Jeff Holstrom. He's worked traffic control here since before I was born. He's what my mother calls a 'character'."
"I think I know the type," said Oskar. "It is refreshing to see one live so long." Immediately, his look turned sour with a frown.
Henry was kind enough to turn away before frowning himself. Between old Jeff Holstrom and Oskar's remark, it was impossible to not think about Charlie. I knew he didn't have long left. I guess I hoped he'd be around a bit longer. His eyes gradually focused on the display as small gray splotch of Tylerville became more prominent.
Home again.
The Shadow Wolf settled into its rented hangar with ease. Aboard, the crew prepared to disembark with two exceptions.
"We can remain here and watch the ship," Oskar offered to the others, Brigitte standing beside him. "As much as I'd like to see this world for myself, it's probably for the best we remain aboard."
Tia nodded in agreement, as did Henry, who regretted the necessity. The Terran Coalition had some legal mechanisms for ex-Leaguers like Oskar to be allowed to visit or live on Coalition worlds, but it required time and an investigative process by the Coalition's CBI— Coalition Bureau of Investigation—that the crew never applied for in the case of the two ex-Leaguers. The last thing they wanted or needed was someone arresting them as spies. I should've talked to al-Lahim about it. We were going to come back eventually.
Everyone else left the ship via the middle starboard hold's gangway. A Coalition-model aircar, at least twenty years old, was already in the hangar. A woman with graying hair wearing a black blouse and long skirt was waiting beside it. Mary Henry stepped up and embraced her son. "It's good to see you again, son," she said. "I've been praying for you."
"Good to see you too, Mom," he answered. He looked back at the others. "I think you know everyone except our new Engineer's Mate, Samina Khan, and Miriam Gaon, Astrogator's Mate." With an open hand, he indicated Samina where she was standing between Pieter and Piper.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Khan, Ms. Gaon," Mary said politely. Miri replied with a polite nod while Samina smiled back and blushed at the attention. "Is this your whole crew?"
"We've got a couple who are remaining aboard ship," Henry said. "It's better that way."
"Oh, I see." Mary nodded in understanding. "Well, everyone's invited to dinner. We've got family from across the planet coming. Tylinda tells me Shawn will even be here."
Tia tried to remember Henry's other relations. "Shawn?" she asked.
"My cousin, my Aunt Tylinda's youngest," Henry answered. "He's a major in the CDF."
"They've got him on some station a couple jumps away," Mary explained. She turned her attention to Yanik. "I've done a little work on that passak, like you asked. I'm hoping you'll enjoy it."
Yanik nodded his head respectfully. "It is rare to find a human so capable of preparing our food dishes, Mrs. Henry. I look forward to it."
"Captain, you and Felix go on. We'll get taxis." Tia knew that the aircar would only take a couple of them.
Henry answered her with a nod. Felix stepped up with him and accepted a hug from Henry's mother. "It's good to have you home, young man," she said to Felix. "It's been too long."
"Yes, it has, ma'am."
"As for the rest of you, the bus service should be by soon," Mary said. "I sent the request in as soon as you landed."
"Tylerville has a bus service now?" asked Henry, his voice betraying his surprise at the idea.
"It's fully automated too."
"I bet that didn't go over too well," Felix remarked. "People in Tylerville prefer things that bring jobs."
"It's funded by a grant from the government in Richmond." She was referring to New Virginia's planetary government. "It was either automated buses or no buses, so people accepted it. It still made a few jobs in the end."
"And helped with others, I figure." Henry made that remark before settling into the air car's front passenger seat. Felix sat in the rear, and Mary climbed into the front seat. The engine came to life with an electronic whir. The vehicle lifted about half a meter off the ground, turned, and accelerated. They watched it depart the hangar.
"She's very nice," Samina observed.
"She is," Tia replied.
All eyes turned toward the approaching hum of another aircar. This was quickly revealed to be a predominantly blue airbus with the letters "TMTA" in white on the side. They approached the door and it slid open. A computerized voice stated, "Welcome to the Tylerville Mass Transit Authority system. Please board the vehicle in a single line and take care to not impede fellow passengers."
They obeyed, finding seats around the bus. A few were large enough even for Yanik. Once everyone was seated, the bus pulled out of the hangar. "Destination: Tylerville Hospital. Estimated time of arrival: ten minutes twenty-five seconds."
"I like this," said Samina. The others voiced agreement.
The Tylerville Hospital was average as far as hospitals in the Terran Coalition went. The walls were white and the floors tiled with a surface that reflected the overhead lights. Numbered signs for each room. A nurse's station for every section. Lab-coated doctors and blue-clad orderlies worked alongside nurses in burgundy-colored nurses' uniforms. The nurses had a belt in which they carried the various medical sensors necessary for their work.
The Coalition's medical technology was the envy of the known galaxy and, due to the combination of public and private interest in its use, even the smaller medical establishments like Tylerville Hospital had access to some of the best care in the Coalition. Virtually every condition could be treated here.
But treatment was not the same thing as a cure.
Henry entered room number 416 behind his mother. The flatscreen vid display was silent. The whole room was quiet save for the gentle trilling of the medical equipment. In the bed, a lone occupant remained unmoving.
Just seeing Charles Henry in this condition was painful for Henry. His uncle had always been the biggest man in the room, metaphorically speaking, a presence of strength and fortitude. Now he was emaciated, small, as if the life were leaking from him. There was no shine or luster to his bald head and few of his hairs remained. He was sleeping peacefully, at least, and showed no signs of being in pain.
"When does he wake up?" Henry asked. His voice was reserved, low, as if he were afraid he would wake up his uncle by speaking too loudly.
"He's rarely awake," Mary says. "The doctors can't guarantee he'll ever wake up again."
Henry nodded, not hiding the pain he felt at hearing that. Coming all this way wasn't enough to guarantee he'd get to speak to Uncle Charlie again. That he'd get to say goodbye.
To deflect his thoughts from this pain, Henry looked to his mother and asked, "Where's Dad?"
"Thomas is at work," she said. "Once his shift's over, he'll be here."
He nodded. "It'd take a lot to keep Dad from his shift." He thought of his father's years of working at the plant, where high-grade wiring was made for use with heavy equipment. "He's still chief supervisor?"
She nodded. "He'll retire from that job; he keeps refusing management."
"While Uncle Charlie let the Spaceport Authority promote him, then kept working with the maintenance teams anyway." A sad smile crossed Henry's face. "Our family seems to love hard work."
Mary laughed. "That's what your father and uncle have always said." As she spoke, she took up a point beside the bed, allowing Henry the recliner seat from which he could kneel forward and take his sleeping uncle's hand. His only reply was a nod as all of his thoughts went to his dying uncle and how much Charlie meant to him.
Across the street from the hospital was a parking lot to service both the hospital and a couple of adjacent buildings, primarily medical offices. The lot was half-full at this time of day, leaving plenty of spots open.
One such spot had a sedan aircar of a dark blue color. It didn't stand out to people moving by. In this case, it was certainly a feature for the car's occupants, who would rather go unnoticed if at all possible.
They were patient. They had to be. Their job demanded patience. They had to sit for hours on end with nothing but portable food and coffee to sustain them, their attention focused on their subject. Sometimes it was to see where they went, what they did. Sometimes, as it was now, it was only to keep eyes on them.
With the benefit of specialized eyeglasses, they could zoom in where their eyes were focused, like binoculars of old. This allowed them to see into the room on the fourth floor of the hospital where, even now, their subject was barely visible, leaning forward toward the occupant of the bed.
"Surveillance team, confirm subject is present?"
One of the two brought up an isolated commlink, one that only worked on specific channels. "Confirm, Control. Subject is in sight. We can move in on your orders."
The reply was immediate. "Order is not given. Continue surveillance."
7
Graham Creek Park was one of the smaller local parks of Lawrence City, primarily funded and used by the neighborhoods of St. Jude's, al-Hambra, and Tikvah. The titular creek was no deeper than five meters and never wider than fifty meters. To either side, the parkland was full of trees and bushes, with both paved and unpaved trails, including a trail for devoted cyclists. A few bridges spanned the creek to allow access to either bank.
On one of those bridges, Hale walked up to Xu. He was staring off down the creek as if she weren't there. "It's a beautiful world," he said.
"It is." Hale stepped up beside him. "It's no wonder our ancestors named it for the Promised Land. Although that might have been the desperate need for a garden planet."
"Desperation is when faith can be the strongest." Xu set his hands on the railing. "We might have lost everything over the Laffey. God gave us a second chance."
"I heard you were wearing the patch now," Hale noted. "Back on the Laffey, you didn't seem so observant."
"I wasn't. I wasn't even Confirmed."
"Ah. And now you are."
"You're Lutheran, right?" Xu asked. When she nodded, he continued, "I never saw you with the patch. Why don't you have one?"
"I did when I was a new recruit," Hale said. "But as an officer, I came to see my faith as a private thing. If you ask me, the patch thing might bite us one day. It could be something to divide us."
"I don't think so. I think it reminds us all that we're united by our tolerance as much as our faith. We all have roads to Heaven."
"Roads that are mutually contradictory in some cases," she reminded him. "Maybe right now, against an enemy like the League, it's a proud profession, but in the future, it might announce we have differences someone can use against us."
"That's cynical of you," Xu said. "I'd think you have more faith than that."
"Faith isn't the same thing as naivety." Hale leaned against the bridge. "And we both know the CDF isn't perfect. Branch rivalries already exist. Just look at the one between administration versus field forces."
"That's why we get rotated in and out of each."
"Not always. Barton made his career sticking in Administration, and a bunch of officers like him. For that matter, Colonel Henry was field for virtually his entire career. If someone's good at one thing, the service sometimes sticks them to it instead of the rotation." Hale shook her head once. "That's my point, anyway, and my choice."
"Fair enough."
"You have a family now?"
Xu nodded. "My wife's name is Lily."
"In the service?"
"Former auxiliary support. Medical issues."
"Ah." Hale was familiar with that. Certain congenital conditions, or crippling injuries from childhood, led to drafting into the support and administrative services exclusively. "Any children?"
"Two." A gentle smile warm with paternal pride showed on Xu's face. "Carla and Samuel. I couldn't ask for better kids. We call them Carly and Sam."
"I'm happy for you."
"Thanks." The smile faded. "God's been good to me. It's why I decided to meet you here and give you this." Xu turned to her and handed Hale a dark clamshell container. Hale opened it and found the data chip inside. It was a standard transfer chip, meant for storing sensitive data and using it with secure systems isolated from the link network.
Hale reached into her pocket and pulled out a digital reader. Seeing Xu's worried expression, she said, "It's an isolated reader. Completely secure. There's no hardware for wireless linking."
"Right."
Hale finished inserting it and used the reader's touchscreen and holographic interface to go through the data chip's contents. Lists of personnel files appeared. She noted how many were marked as locked. The locked files had the marker "EF" as the code for their current assignment. "EF? That's an assignment code?"
"Not a common one either," Xu replied.
Hale turned off the reader. She'd seen enough for now. "Thanks again." She returned the chip to the case and pocketed it. "I'm thankful you've decided to help."
"Just following my conscience."
She heard the quiver in his voice. "I know you'd rather keep quiet; you've got a family. I'll keep your name out of it, I promise."
"Thank you," he replied, content with the promise. "And God help you."
Hale sighed. "Given what Erhart's capable of, God help us all."
Hale exited Graham Creek Park from its northern entrance, where the creek flowed into the Jordan. Along the south bank here, a long promenade followed the river marked by outdoor cafes, food vendors, and monuments to the Exodus. A parking area allowed for close helicar access.
That wasn't why Hale parked here. Aside from Xu, she had one other appointment.
She arrived at Cafe Roussillon at a brisk pace. The scent of Franco-Spanish cuisine was appetizing and she was reminded it was time for her lunch.
Her table was occupied, which did nothing to stop her. Hale not only recognized Major Renner, her old Laffey crewmate, but the branch insignia: CDF Intelligence. "Renner? You wanted to meet?"
Renner nodded. She had a cup of espresso on the table. Hale thought she looked a little uncomfortable. "Congratulations on your promotion, General Hale."
"The Promotions Board hasn't given the final stamp of approval; nothing's definite until then," Hale pointed out. "So what are you doing in Intelligence?"
"Communications," Renner said. "Passed advanced comms school with flying colors after the Laffey. CDF Intel liked what I could do and snatched me up. I've been working out of HQ ever since, tracking and breaking into League communications."
"Good for you," Hale said. "I'm glad you're doing so well. Funny how there's three of us Laffey survivors at Command now."
"I was here first." Renner laughed. Her expression softened. "Hasn't always been easy. The war's been tough on everyone. And staying behind the lines for so long doesn't do any favors to someone's reputation."
Hale nodded. It was a staple of military services, especially those in war, that the men and women in the field fighting tended to belittle the contributions of those "behind the lines." The Coalition rotated people in and out of administrative and field commands to combat this very thing.
But CDF Intelligence ran its own house. If they decided they needed you, they had you, for however long as they wanted.
"I don't care for that kind of division," Hale said. "We're all CDF, and we all serve in our own way. If intercepting comms and reading them is your thing, Intel's right to keep you where you are."
"Thanks. It means a lot to hear that coming from a decorated fleet officer." Renner sipped at her espresso. Despite her words, a frown formed on her face.
