DusktoDust_Final3 (25 page)

“
Well, he
’
s a real piece of work,
”
he said flatly, referring to Captain Burleigh.

Letsego didn
’
t seem to be in the mood to talk, but he responded.
“
He
’
s a prick.
”

“
You
’
d think he
’
d at least listen to you for a second.
”

“
You
’
d think.
”

The tension grew in the room. There was clearly something that was bothering Letsego, other than the fact that his own boss now thought he was a criminal. David wasn
’
t very good at beating around the bush.
“
If you
’
ve got something to say, then say it. But remember I just saved your ass. If it hadn
’
t been for me you
’
d still be sitting on that rock, probably dead.
”

Letsego
’
s voice was strained.
“
I know you are the reason we are still alive.
”
He paused.
“
It doesn
’
t mean I have to like it.
”

“
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
”

“
It means that if it weren
’
t for you I wouldn
’
t be in this mess to begin with.
”
He stood up and paced to the cell door.
“
If it weren
’
t for you I wouldn
’
t be a criminal in my own military. If it weren
’
t for you all of my men would still be alive.
”

“
So that
’
s what this is about?
”
David said, sitting up.
“
You think it
’
s my fault that your man died?
”

“
He had a name!
”
Letsego said icily. His fury was building.
“
Kalil Jankowski. And it is your fault he
’
s dead. You killed him!
”

David stood up.
“
Now wait a damn second. I know I
’
ve killed people in my day, but your man is not one of them.
”

“
The flashbang, you asshole!
”
Letsego charged David, pinning him against the wall. He placed his forearm against his neck.
“
It blew up right in his face. You should have seen it. Blood everywhere. He died a slow, painful death.
”

David stopped struggling against the Peacekeeper. A lump formed in his throat. He hadn
’
t known.
“
You
’
re saying the flashbang killed him?
”

“
That
’
s exactly what I’m saying.
”
He pinned David harder against the wall.
“
And do you know what the punishment is for murdering a Peacekeeper?
”
David didn
’
t respond.
“
Death.
”
The word rolled off of Letsego
’
s tongue, and then he dropped the smuggler to the deck.
“
You
’
re lucky I don
’
t believe in jailhouse justice.
”

David landed on his hands and knees, coughing after having his throat crushed. Letsego had returned to his bunk and lay down, staring at the ceiling. Once he recovered, David climbed back up on his own bunk.
“
You want to know something?
”

“
I don
’
t want to talk to you, Carpenter.
”

“
That
’
s fine. You just have to listen.
”
He was still breathing heavily.
“
I
’
m not so different from you. I was a soldier once, a Marine. I used to have the same ideals that you have. That there is absolute good and absolute evil in the galaxy. I used to believe that there was a right and wrong answer to everything. But trust me, I
’
ve seen war. I
’
ve seen death, and you know what I
’
ve learned from it? Nothing is absolute. There is always a gray area.

“
You think that I am evil, that I am just a smuggler on the other side of the law, that I am a murderer. Well, maybe I am, but this murderer saved your ass back there. Do you think if I were truly a manipulative, selfish person I would have let you bring me on this ship?

“
And you think you are the only person who has lost someone? That your loss for some reason is far greater than anyone else
’
s. Well it
’
s not. I may be a criminal, a smuggler, and a low life, but my partner died on that asteroid fighting the same enemy that you are fighting.

“
You think I
’
m a monster, and maybe in some ways I am. But what does that make Windcorp? What does that make the Federation? I
’
m willing to fight them. I
’
m willing to put my life on the line and stand up against them like you are. I haven
’
t fought for a noble cause in a long time, but what you showed me on that recording is true evil. If there was ever a black and white in the universe, this is it.
”

David let out a long breath.
“
There, I
’
m done. I
’
ll get off my soapbox. Hate me if you want, but this fight isn
’
t over.
”

He lay down. The words had come to him fluidly. He didn
’
t know why he cared so much about what this Peacekeeper thought of him. He had hardly known the man two days. But his words had been true. At one point in his life, Staff Sergeant David Carpenter had fought for peace and justice in the galaxy. Maybe it was time that he embraced a worthy cause again. And from what he had lived through in the past days, this was definitely a cause to fight for.

The minutes ticked by and the silence in the room continued. David
’
s mind wandered. He tried to avoid any thoughts of Alana. They were too painful. He thought of Prospect, the place that he considered a second home, and the place that the Federation wanted to conquer. Could he really stop them? Was it really worth it? He honestly didn
’
t know.

“
What was her name?
”

David turned, startled.
“
What?
”

“
What was her name?
”
Letsego repeated.
“
Your partner
’
s.
”

David stared at the ceiling.
“
Alana, Alana Ramirez.
”

Letsego nodded.
“
I
’
m sorry.
”

Images of Alana crept into David
’
s mind and the pain returned.
“
Thanks,
”
he managed to say. He really didn
’
t want to talk about her.

He wasn
’
t so fortunate.
“
I can tell you two were close,
”
Letsego continued.

David sighed, giving in.
“
We were. We
’
ve been through a lot together.
”
He thought of all the tight spots they had gotten into.

Letsego got uncomfortable.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
he eventually said.
“
I
’
m sorry I didn
’
t save her, too.
”

A variety of emotions flowed through David
’
s mind. He wanted to be angry, but how could he blame Letsego for Alana
’
s death. Especially, after he had killed one of the Peacekeeper
’
s men.
“
It
’
s not your fault,
”
he said.
“
It was mine. She told me we shouldn
’
t have taken the job, and she was right.
”

The room fell silent, and for David with the silence came the pain. He had finally admitted it. He had killed Alana, not Castle, not Windcorp. His decisions had killed her. And he had to live with that.

Letsego sensed his pain.
“
Did you really mean what you said?
”
“
About what?
”

“
About fighting the Federation.
”

David thought about it. The past two years of his life had been spent fighting for himself. Since the Marine Corps had abruptly left him adrift, he had convinced himself that there was no grand ideal worth fighting for, worth risking your life for. But now he wasn
’
t so sure.
“
If what you showed me on that recording is true, then the Federation is an imminent threat to Prospect and anyone on it. Possibly everyone in the galaxy.
”

“
It
’
s true. I saw it with my own eyes,
”
Letsego assured him.
“
But why do you care? You have nothing invested here.
”

“
You
’
re right,
”
David said flatly. Alana had been the only person in the galaxy who he truly cared for. Without her, nothing else mattered.
“
And that is exactly why I am willing to fight them.
”
She would want him to. She would want him to stand up for what was right.

Letsego didn
’
t totally understand, but he didn
’
t have to.
“
Either way, there is no question in my mind that the Federation is on its way here.
”
He sat up.
“
We have to get Burleigh to look at that recording.
”

David laughed.
“
And how do we do that from here?
”

Letsego shrugged.
“
I have no idea.
”

Just then the cell door opened. Two PKs entered.
“
Get up,
”
one of them directed.

David continued to lie on his bunk.
“
Why, we just got here?
”

The PK was not interested in playing games. He grabbed David
’
s arm and pulled him to his feet.
“
Someone wants to see you.
”
He turned David around and slapped cuffs on him.

David looked to Letsego, who was also being put in handcuffs.
“
Great. Maybe I can talk to them about some better accommodations.
”

The PK didn
’
t find the smuggler amusing. He shoved him out of the cell and led him down the corridor. Letsego and his escort followed.

The PKs led the two prisoners through the labyrinth of corridors and lifts within
Defiance
. It had been a long time since David had been on a star cruiser and the experience brought back memories. A handful of his years in the service had been spent stationed on a ship like this. That was one part he didn
’
t miss. Life on a capital ship could be cramped, monotonous, and boring. That did not appear to be the case today.

The guards led them through a hatch marked
“
COMMAND DECK
”
. Soon David found himself and Letsego standing in a large office, in front of a large desk, with an oversized plush chair behind it.

As David waited in silence, he heard the door open behind him. Captain Burleigh marched into the office and took up a position along the right wall. David glanced at Letsego, who kept his eyes front, ignoring the officer. Well, if he wasn
’
t going to say anything, David was.

“
What the hell is going on here, Captain?
”
he demanded.

“
What
’
s going on is you are about to be held accountable for your crimes.
”

David laughed in disbelief.
“
Our crimes? That
’
s what you
’
re worried about right now? Captain you have no idea what is really going on here. Your ignorance should be a crime.
”

“
Carpenter, not now,
”
Letsego said from beside him.

“
No, this man is one of the most incompetent officers I
’
ve ever dealt with, and trust me, I
’
ve had some bad ones. Somebody needs to know what
’
s going to happen if they don
’
t listen to what we have to say.
”

“
You are out of line, Mr. Carpenter,
”
Burleigh growled, taking a step towards him.

“
You don
’
t get to pull that shit on me, Burleigh. I
’
m not one of your Peaks. I don
’
t report to-
”

“
Attention on deck!
”
one of the PKs bellowed. Burleigh snapped to attention, as did Letsego, as best he could with his hands cuffed. David continued to stand at ease.

In marched three Peacekeepers. The first was a woman who wore the insignia of a commodore. She was flanked by two men, a major and a command color sergeant.

“
As you were,
”
she said, and the military personnel in the room relaxed. She turned to Burleigh.
“
Alright, Captain. What was so damn important?
”

“
Ma
’
am, I have two individuals here who have committed multiple felonies. I would like to take Staff Sergeant Letsego to general court martial and Mister Carpenter to trial. Major Hastings has all the paperwork. He said you would be able to arraign them today.
”

“
Very well.
”
She turned to the major, who handed her a tablet. She began reading through it.

David felt this was getting out of hand.
“
Ma
’
am, if you will listen to me-
”
The commodore held up her finger, cutting him off. Five minutes later, when it appeared she had fully read through whatever documents they had against David and Letsego, she looked up.

“
All right gentlemen,
”
she said to the prisoners.
“
I am Commodore Andrea Long, Deputy Commander of the Tango Sector. Admiral Beleruis is currently on leave so that makes me
Acting
Commander. This is not your trial. That will come later so please do not argue with me. I
’
ve had a long day.
”
She looked down at the tablet.
“
Both of you are facing some very severe charges. Staff Sergeant, you are accused of two counts of disobeying a lawful order from a Peacekeeper officer, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of participating in illicit and criminal activities.
”
She turned to David.
“
Mr. Carpenter, you are in a much worse position.
”

“
Ma
’
am, you have to-
”

She cut him off again.
“
Let me finish. While in UN space you are expected to adhere to all Peacekeeper regulations. You are being charged with one count of possessing false identification, one count of smuggling, three counts of resisting arrest, four counts of attempted murder, and one count of murder in the first degree.
”
Her face was condemning.
“
If even half of that sticks you will be going away for a very long time, Mr. Carpenter.
”

“
Ma
’
am, I am by no means a saint. But there is something going on right now that is bigger than any of this. You need to hear Staff Sergeant Letsego out.
”

Commodore Long frowned.
“
Captain, do you know what he is talking about?
”

Burleigh fidgeted.
“
Ma
’
am, they have been spinning stories to get themselves out of this mess.
”

Letsego broke his silence.
“
Sir, I gave you credible intel of a direct threat to Prospect. However, you failed to look at it.
”

Long looked at Burleigh.
“
What intel is he talking about, Captain? Where is it?
”

“
Ma
’
am, it is evidence. It will be addressed in the court martial.
”

“
With all due respect, ma
’
am,
”
Letsego said.
“
If you don
’
t look at this now we may not have a court martial.
”

“
I don
’
t like your tone, staff sergeant.
”
She paused.
“
Tell me what this intel is and maybe I
’
ll indulge you.
”

Letsego cleared his throat.
“
It
’
s best for me to start from the beginning, ma
’
am
…”
Over the next five minutes, Letsego summarized the events of the past week. Listening to the story from another perspective reminded David of how farfetched this story sounded. From the events in the Skull Pit, to the Mr. Black, to the alliance between the Federation, Windcorp, and Black Crescent, it all sounded ridiculous.

“
So you
’
re telling me,
”
Commodore Long said when Letsego was finished,
“
that you broke out of Peacekeeper custody, tracked Carpenter into a Windcorp mining facility, and stowed away on a Windcorp ship all on a hunch?
”

Letsego fumbled for a good answer.
“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
was all he could come up with.

“
And in doing so, you uncovered an alliance between Windcorp and the Asiatic Federation, and witnessed the trade of some sort of super weapon? What exactly is this weapon they had?
”

“
I don
’
t know if I can accurately describe it. Words don
’
t do it justice. You need to see what it can do, ma
’
am.
”

“
The intel you have, is that what it shows?
”

Letsego nodded.

“
Where is it now?
”
She asked Burleigh.

He protested.
“
This is all a ruse to take the spotlight off them, ma
’
am.
”

“
Get the intel
now
, Captain. Or you will be facing a court martial, too.
”

Hesitantly, Burleigh left the office. The group waited in silence for him to get back. He returned carrying Letsego
’
s Windcorp helmet.

“
It
’
s on the memory card in there, ma
’
am,
”
Letsego said.

“
Put it on the vid screen,
”
she directed.

Burleigh, no longer protesting but clearly not happy, walked to the data console and put the helmet data card into the card reader. Instantly the feed from Letsego
’
s helmet appeared on the wall sized vid screen behind the commodore
’
s desk. For the second time, David watched the terrifying events that had taken place on the Black Crescent asteroid.

“
What is that?
”
Long said as the vid screen showed Castle lifting up the Titan weaponry.
“
It looks like some type of rock.
”

“
It
’
s alien weaponry, commodore,
”
David said.
“
More formidable than anything in the Peacekeeper arsenal.
”

Long kept her eyes on the screen.
“
It doesn
’
t look threatening.
”
Letsego and David didn
’
t comment. The room was silent as the vid progressed. There was a near audible gasp when Castle fired on the first prisoner.

“
What was that?
”
exclaimed the major, his surprise evident.
“
A death ray?
”

Commodore Long held up her hand.
“
Let it play all the way through.
”
She was mesmerized by the screen.

They all watched. David could have dropped an anvil on the floor and no one would have turned away. They watched Castle execute another prisoner with the Titan rifle. And then they watched the alien grenade go off. That was the most terrifying part. The red smoke consumed the prisoners, leaving there bodies little more than skeletons.

The vid concluded with the forced alliance that Mr. Black formed with Prime Minister Chen. Then it cut to black.

No one said anything for fifteen seconds.

“
Those weapons,
”
the major finally said.
“
They are from Prospect? But where? No colony has ever reported finding evidence of any type of ancient civilization on the planet.
”

“
There
’
s a first for everything,
”
David responded.

“
How does it work? What is that red substance?
”

“
If Mr. Black is telling the truth, it is Rockworm,
”
Letsego said,
“
applied in some way that our scientists have not released yet.
”

“
But that
’
s impossible,
”
Captain Burleigh said.
“
Rockworm can
’
t be used as a weapon. It
’
s just dust.
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter,
”
Commodore Long said sharply.
“
It doesn
’
t matter how it works. It doesn
’
t matter where it
’
s from.
”
She looked at Letsego.
“
How much of this weaponry does Windcorp and the Federation have?
”

Letsego looked at David.
“
How large was the cargo hold of the Windcorp transport?
”

“
At least twice the size of two ore shipping containers,
”
David estimated.

“
Mr. Black said that was only half of the alien relics that Windcorp had unearthed,
”
Letsego added.

It wasn
’
t the answer Long was looking for.
“
But what does that translate to in weaponry? What kind of fire power can they bring to bear on us?.
”

Letsego looked at David.
“
Carpenter?
”

David analyzed the facts for a second.
“
In the vid, Mr. Black mentioned that Windcorp had tested this stuff both in the atmosphere and in vacuum. It doesn
’
t matter if he was talking about genuine Titan weaponry like we just saw, or tech reverse engineered by Windcorp. One warhead tipped with this stuff could easily take out a capital ship. All of your craft are made out of metal and this Rockworm basically feeds on metal according to the video.
”
He looked up at the commodore.
“
Ma
’
am, whether all of the Titan weapons could fit in the cargo hold of the
Catalyst
or there are massive caverns of the tech beneath some Windcorp mining facility, I think you need to face the worst case scenario; equipped with this stuff, Windcorp and the Federation easily have enough fire power to take Prospect and destroy every ship you have in orbit.
”

After a long pause, Commodore Long nodded.
“
That is what I was afraid of. I sadly came to the same conclusion.
”
She paced around her desk and paused, deep in thought.

When she looked up it was like a switch had been flipped. Her stoic demeanor was gone, replaced by a sense of urgency.
“
Color sergeant, what is our current count for the fleet?
”

The senior enlisted Peacekeeper did not have to reference any documents.
“
The
Aurora
just returned yesterday from refit, ma
’
am. That brings us to eight interdictors and four cruisers. Among them we have thirteen interceptor and five
‘
boat squadrons.
”