Ships of Valor 1: Persona Non Grata (23 page)

General Adam Campbell was the man called when ambassadors failed. The GSI situation had brewed to that level. Arion put out the request, which was quickly seconded by the Commonwealth and then acknowledged by several others. His official title was Ambassador General of Humankind, at Large, but he was widely associated with the Galactic Union making him persona non grata on Terra much like myself. I was in grand company.

I had never thought about it before, but the General’s history had never placed him on Terra. Looking back, he usually avoided most planets entirely preferring to conduct business on Legion ships. It dawned on me his style of brokering peace left everyone dissatisfied. If all parties are unhappy with a situation, then no one feels the other side got the better deal. However, because of the long-term effectiveness of this method, he personally had created a lot of enemies. Rather than people hating each other, they hated him.

Having been in the Legion for so long, and the host of his meetings I viewed his pragmatic approach of diplomacy as normal. I hadn’t realized his residence on Luna was not exactly self-imposed exile, but more of a safety precaution and safe haven. The idea of him going to Terra was terrifying to the more politically savvy of our group. This was compounded by the fact his usual traveling companions, the Legionnaires, were not allowed with him.

Using quite a bit behind the scenes influence, I had secured rooms at the Cadre Club for Hayes, Em, and myself, pending his arrival. His celebrity status created quite the media storm. Despite my love of aud, vid, and music, I’ve never been fond of just listening to or watching the news. I always found it predictable or depressing. The other issue was I was never in one place long enough for it to matter. The Legion gave me mission briefings on what was actually important as compared to the tripe that normally permeated the media sources. When I began my training with the General, he taught me I needed to learn how to sort through the mounds of garbage and interpret it to get a feel for what was really going on. The way he described the process was very similar to my crew chief buddy’s description of feeling the bird.  I tried to apply that mental model and it clicked. The emotional feel of the news, not just what was being reported, but was being left out provided a structure I could almost envision.

Hayes was an old hat at sorting the news and actually helped me understand a lot more of what I was seeing and read between the lines as we watched the all-day coverage from our shared suite. I hadn’t thought the rooms could be much better than where
Heart
had put me up previously but I found myself mistaken. I had previously given up my bed when Hayes had stayed with me at my hotel, but at Cadre, we were given individual rooms with a shared living area containing a full-scale media center and even a kitchen.

As Hayes finished healing her mood improved dramatically. I discovered she had not been taking any of the painkillers
Heart
had prescribed hinting her attitude was a direct result of her injuries. Apparently, she gets mean when she’s in pain. I could definitely understand that. I was an insufferable jack when my arm was healing up. When it finally reached the point where I couldn’t notice her limping she was damn near pleasant to be around, with only her version of pet names reminding me of the previous insults. I decided to forgive most of the previous meanness as pain as we waited for the General’s arrival.

Although the trip from Luna to Terra is relatively short, the General never had genemod for gravity acclimation. It wasn’t something required for his specialty when he entered the service and he had never bothered. Six times normal gravity would be rough on his elderly frame. I assumed the Empire would have an angrav chamber to offset it, but they aren’t perfect and the media would likely demand some candid shots in public.

The General did something slick, though. He announced the staff he was bringing along and where he would be. He made sure the list would be broadcast as much as possible. One of the staff members was former Legionnaire Ari Gadsden. When asked about the treaty regarding the banning of Legion on Terra, he told them, “Captain Gadsden comes or I don’t.” I found an ancient and much younger picture of myself plastered over every feed imaginable. It was hard to imagine me ever looking quite so young and fresh faced. I looked positively optimistic in the photos compared to the view I usually saw in the mirror.

Less than two hours after the news started airing with my image the comm unit on my hip started screaming. I clicked it on and heard
Heart
say. “Captain. I may have deviated from orders.” I could hear the remorse in his voice tempered with the relief of talking to me, but he didn’t quite have the emotional maturity to handle both issues at once.

Thinking back to when I woke up with my bum arm, I repeated the words told to me by the General about revisiting decisions that can’t be changed. “I am sorry, Ari. I was so angry.” I cut him off and let him know he had nothing to be sorry about. Moreso his anger was justified. I don’t know what I would have done in his place, but he was restrained compared to what he could have done.

There are no good or bad emotions, but emotions can drive us to do good or bad things.
Heart
had stepped into some gray area, but not quite into the dark. I let him know that was the reason why family was so important. It kept us firmly anchored on the light side of things but when someone goes after those anchor chains it’s understandable why we snap. Not excusable but understandable.

“What do we do now?” I told him we needed to carry on. We needed to work with the new problem in front of us. Not dwell with past choices. I also told him I was proud of him for making a choice, for being bold and making a call I hadn’t thought to make myself. “I do not know if we can undo what I have done.” Why should we want to, was my response. Yes, there was collateral damage, but all decisions have secondary effects. We cannot let ourselves get caught up in those. We should weigh them and we should absolutely try to minimize harm to others, but unlike GSI, he had shown he cared. That’s what made us different.

To do that, we’d need to be where the General was, and for that, I’d need my partner. I told him to get out of the Kermadec and come pick us up in Hong Kong. We were going to Arion.

Nothing wakes the locals like an office building sized ship landing near the golf course. I was so glad I got preapproval from the concierge because Cadre was not a bridge I wanted to burn for myself or the friends’ names I had dropped to get us in. As we entered
Heart
, I gave a silent giggle as Hayes repeated the routine I went through on my first boarding “Granted, Commander Hayes. You are always welcome aboard.” As soon as the hatch was sealed, I released Em from her carrier so she could wander the halls, and cautioned
Heart
about access and gravity while she was aboard. I was a hair worried about her condition.

“I am already tracking her Captain, and will ensure deceleration dampers are in full effect in any space she is located.” I thanked him and asked if he had made contact with the ambassadorial party or Luna yet. “Immediately after we spoke last. We have full credentials and should be arriving near the same time as General Campbell.” He paused. “Commander Hayes, I have set aside a stateroom for your stay as well. I was unsure who to contact in Arion, but you have full access to the communications suite should you need to speak to anyone.” She nodded her thanks and then realizing there wasn’t anyone present said it aloud.

We headed up to the bridge to see we were already airborne. “Captain on the bridge,” announced
Heart
catching both Hayes and me off-guard. Rather than the usual reflexive broadcast, this one seemed laced with happiness. I wasn’t quite sure if I was reading more into it than was actually there until my chair rotated to great me. “Ari, the conn is yours.”

Heart
wasn’t joking about the decel dampers. I hadn’t even felt us lift off. We were in the air and already at cloud level. I couldn’t tell how fast we were moving but I got the impression he had us on a leisurely path, basking in the reunion. I hadn’t felt this comfortable since setting foot on terra firma back in Auckland.

I hopped into my chair and ran through a quick diagnostic out of habit, then hailed the General’s ship,
The Island
. “My boy, I see you’ve found that misplaced sheep of yours. It’s good to see you both.” There was a bit of a twinkle in his eye. He seemed to be treating this mishap as some sort of grand adventure. I wish I could say the same. I apologized again for dragging him down, which
Heart
echoed. “Think nothing of it, boys. Had I been a hair quicker on the uptake, neither of you would have been in this predicament in the first place.” He said waving off the apologies. “I should have had young
Heart
there check the issue before we began. Would have saved us all manner of trouble.” I sniffed at that. He was right.
Heart
had spotted the logical error that none of us had seen because we were looking at the issue as presented rather than how it actually was. That, in turn, had resulted in the sequence of events bringing the General down to Terra. Ah, the irony.

“Gents, I’m going to get some shuteye before the real fun begins. I suggest you do the same. I’ll see you in Arion.”

The largest city I had ever been to was Seattle back before I joined the Legion. Seattle is massive taking up a quarter of the coast of North Am and dwarfing Luna City when it comes to square kilometers. On nights without clouds, the light from Seattle is enough to pollute all the way up into the Northern Reaches. Seattle was minuscule compared to Arion. As
Heart
flew over Europe there was still a marked difference between city and country until we approached Arion. At that point, it all became a city. Even as high up as we were, we could not see anything green on the horizon.

I knew we must be near because I saw Hayes begin to noticeably relax. For her, Arion was home, as much as Terra was for me. This was where her comfort was. Where everything was right, where everything felt natural. All the tension she’d been holding back bled away. I was waiting for
Heart
to comment about an endorphin spike but I think he had learned from watching me, so the comment never came.

When it came time for the approach request, Hayes called in for clearance with a crisp and confident voice. “
Independent Hospital Ship Heart
carrying Envoy General, Ari Gadsden and Lieutenant Commander Maxine Hayes. Request permission to land per transmitted credentials.”

Heart
and I were like a couple of kids flying together for the first time in weeks. As soon as the hailing channel was silenced, I heard him say “Independent?” with an obvious note of disdain and mock shock, while I simultaneously mouthed envoy general at Hayes. She looked like she was about to yell at the both of us when he interrupted her asking no one in particular. “The real question is why she pronounces lieutenant, left-tenant.” I told him Imperials did not appreciate the implication their officers were occupying the lieu, getting an actual chuckle from Hayes. I think I caught her off guard with the ancient stupid joke.

Her mood was quickly ruined when one of the air controllers gave her a “Welcome home Rattlesnake” over the private comm channel and I started laughing uncontrollably. Luckily,
Heart
was quick to react and did not transmit the ensuing argument, or my attempts to explain my vision of cockpits of vipers and shared call signs.

“Commander, the Captain’s call sign is also ‘Rattlesnake.’ That may explain why he is having difficulty breathing.”
Heart
attempted to explain over my gasping for air. His calm voice set me off even more. I knew Hayes and I were too similar, and between giggles, ended up making comments about her being mean as a snake getting enough dirty looks from her to last a career. As I recovered, I practically begged for the backstory on her handle, which she flatly refused to provide. I bet
Heart
aloud it was my original guess concerning her temper. “No bet, too high a probability.” The whoosh of the bridge door was barely perceptible over my laughter.

Our landing was uneventful and free from missiles. On the next pad over
The Island
and several smaller craft waited. I told
Heart
to keep his head on a swivel and be ready for takeoff on a moment’s notice. With as much good fortune as we’d had in the last twenty-four hours something was bound to go horribly wrong. “Aye, aye, Captain.” I debated whether to yell at him for the formality or not then realized he was likely keeping up appearances in front of Hayes, so settled for giving a dirty look to the closest view screen instead.

Hayes and I made our way down the ramp and were met by a limo bearing Imperial placards. The driver gave a crisp salute as we approached, and both Hayes and I returned it not sure who it was intended for. Before I had the chance to play the gentleman, the door was opened for us both and we were ushered inside. After driving around in the sloop for so long, I had forgotten how comfortable real seats could actually be. As soon as the door shut, Hayes was on her comm unit and presumably getting instructions from her superiors. That was not an issue I had to worry about so I enjoyed the ride keeping half an ear open for anything pertaining to the Legion, Luna, or myself.

The ride itself took not quite an hour. I’m sure there was sky above, but the buildings completely blacked it out. If not for dealing with Luna City and the constant lighting even through the day, I would have been disturbed by dealing with streetlights at noon. We eventually reached the city center which felt like it was the size of Hong Kong. Only as big as one of the largest spaceports in the world. I laughed at the thought. Hayes stared at me like I had lost my mind.

The deeper we got into the city the more I began to see the press. We were expected. Luckily, when the car finally stopped we were in an underground garage sheltered from the throngs of reporters and photographers right outside the building. We exited the vehicle and Hayes gave me a nod. “Clear skies, Gadsden.” I nodded back and responded with the traditional, soft landings before a handler took her away.

Another guide was waiting for me. “Captain Gadsden, if you’ll follow me. I’ll take you to your rooms, and then to Ambassador Campbell.” I followed him to the elevators feeling vaguely reminiscent of my return to Luna City and my first meeting with Lysha. I smiled at the memory. This time, I was the one making small talk to my slightly uncomfortable shadow. Rather than take too much pleasure at his pain I let him off the hook after a half dozen questions.

The room he showed me to was downright huge. I was almost certain it was larger than the warehouse in Auckland. The furnishings were of a minimalist bend but still nicer than I was used to. As I was staring at the entrance room, my guide told me the time he would be back, and I nodded assent. He was gone perhaps five minutes before I heard a chime at the door. Having learned my lesson from my previous time answering a door, I slid my one of my knives out and hid it behind my back as I palmed open the door.

Standing in the entrance was a sight I hadn’t seen in far too long. She was tall, having at least a couple of centimeters on me, and I’m no slouch. Gorgeous with brunette brows over sparkling blue eyes and auburn hair. She exuded power and confidence. “You going to just stand there or you going to invite a girl in.” She was most definitely in charge. Not questions, statements. Her presence was comparable to Sol itself and up until that point, I hadn’t known how much I had really missed her.

The sound of the knife hitting the ground didn’t even register as I reached out and kissed her.