Reason For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 1) (12 page)

“Secure that weapon Corporal!  I thought this was a secure Legion base and not a playground.”  Valerie snapped at him.  She really was in no mood for anything at this point.

“Yes. Er. Yes, Ma’am it is a Legion Base.  Mountnessing Base.”  The Corporal babbled as he tried to disentangle his rifle and set it in its proper place.

Valerie looked around her with cold eyes.  The other gate guards and the two Privates were all staring at her.  Officers of a Major’s seniority did not just wander through a ranker’s entrance.

“Is it not still customary to salute an Officer?”  She demanded, her voice with as much warmth as the wind off a glacier.

A chorus of “Yes, Ma’am’s” and salutes followed quickly as the soldiers responded.  She looked back at the Corporal.  He had sorted his rifle out and was standing ram rod straight in front of her.  Perfectly at attention and saluting her, his left arm was rigid at his side with her ID still clasped in his hand.

Valerie waited five full seconds before raising her own arm in salute.  The soldiers moved into flawless parade ground at ease and the Corporal stepped aside out of her way.

“Please go through, Major,” he offered.

“My ID, Corporal.”  His eyes widened and he thrust it out to her.  Valerie didn’t take it, she looked at it for a few moments.  “I suggest you check it.”

The Corporal looked like he could almost melt into the ground.  He grabbed the Datapad from his belt and inserted the ID.  He swallowed and held it out to her.

“Your thumb please, Major.”  Valerie placed her thumb on the Datapad so it could read her biometrics without saying anything.  It beeped green and the Corporal handed her ID back to her.

“Thank you, Corporal.”  Valerie said and he saluted her again.

“You’re welcome, Ma’am.”  She could tell he wanted to say something to apologise but thought better of it.  Valerie returned his salute, turned and entered the base.  In all likelihood she could have gotten away, in those circumstances, without needing to have him check her ID and not run the risk of the alarm already having been raised.  The soldiers may well remember more someone they hadn’t checked, rather than having an officer insisting on correct application of the rules, as would normally happen.

There was also the base main security computer to consider.  It tracked everyone who entered the base, where they went and when they left.  It would have raised a flag if someone entered without being scanned in.  Security Central would have contacted the gate, who would have told the story of a Major coming in from an unusual route.  Given her rank, an officer more senior to her would have been sent.  She would have to been interviewed by a Colonel or higher. 

An officer like that would have been annoyed at having to waste her time on such a trivial errand.  She would, in all possibility, have tried to make Valerie’s life as difficult as she could get away with in pay back.  That wasn’t going to happen now.  What she needed to do, was to get changed into her uniform so she wouldn’t look so out of place.

Mountnessing was the Legion’s premier ground base in the Pantheon and as such, was truly massive.  Two entire Legion Army Divisions were permanently based there, along with two groups of Atmospheric Close Space fighters, totalling 288 planes plus various support craft.  The Navy maintained a vast array of transports to move personnel to the various stations in orbit.  The Legion Commandos had their own Battalions attached to the Army Divisions.  To move all these people about efficiently, the base had a transport network made up of hoverbuses running established routes for the junior officers and rankers.  A Major was entitled to use one of the personal hovercar taxis scattered around the base.  Valerie sent a request to Traffic for a car.

One must have been only round the corner and arrived in minutes.  Painted bright yellow to make them stand out on the base, they were driven by Army Privates or Navy ratings fresh out of basic training.  It allowed them to familiarise themselves with the base and gave them experience in dealing with senior officers.  Valerie showed her ID to the driver and climbed into the back.  The Taxi had a seat for the driver and a passenger, which was very rarely used, in the front with six in the back, where most people sat, three facing front and three facing back.  Valerie selected one facing forward and settled herself in.

“Where to, Ma’am?”  The very young, female driver asked.  She probably joined the Army on or just after her eighteenth birthday and could not have been long out of Basic.  Despite this, her question was asked in a strong, confident manner.  On any other day, it would have pleased Valerie to see such men and women entering the service.

As it was, Valerie cared little for the driver and only wished to get off the planet as quickly as possible.

“Officer’s Mess, Commando Bravo,” she ordered.

“Of course, Ma’am, please input your ID for verification.”  The driver said, pulling away.  The Commando Battalion sections of the base were restricted and to ease entry for senior officers, they could have their access levels checked in the Taxi.  Valerie slide her ID into the reader and it blinked green.

The Taxi whisked along the priority lane, speeding past the hoverbuses as they trundled along from stop to stop.  Towering up in the middle of the base was the heavily fortified Space Port.  With anti-grav, every vehicle could take off vertically, this changed the way such places were built.  The large, land intensive airports, with their multiple four kilometre long runways used on the Home World, were long gone.  People still preferred being able to see the sky, that part of human nature hadn’t changed since they had left the trees, so many buildings were only a few stories tall.

Around the Space Port were the administrative buildings for the various branches of the Legion, these were only the local offices.  The main HQ’s for the Army, Commando and Navy were in the centre of Zeus itself, each having a three kilometre tall shining tower.  These massive structures contained the command and support staff controlling a military organisation that protected the twenty-five systems making up the Pantheon, along with various peace keeping and ‘showing of the flag’ missions, throughout the Boundary and Origin systems. 

The taxi passed the various buildings until it came to the gated entrance of Commando Bravo, Mountnessing.  The current barracks of 14th Battalion, 193rd Marine Regiment.  Armed sentries from the Battalion stepped forward, glancing at Valerie to check her face against the notification from Central.  The slackness from the Pedestrian gate was not in evidence here.  These soldiers knew their business and were fully prepared to carry it out.  Once the soldier was satisfied, she stepped back, saluted Valerie and waved the taxi through.  From there it was only a short trip to the Officer’s Mess.

The Taxi turned down a wide oak tree lined road, with large sprawling greens on either side, leading up to the Mess itself.  It was designed to mimic the ancient manor houses of the European aristocracy, before the Industrial Revolution on Earth.  The building was constructed of grey stone blocks, large wooden windows, with Roman columns out front and simulated battlements on the roof.

Pulling up at the main entrance, the driver jumped out smartly and opened Valerie’s door.  Nodding curtly to the driver, Valerie shouldered her bag and headed inside, where she was met by a Steward in her spotless white jacket with silver trimming.  Like the gate guards, the Mess were also aware of Valerie’s arrival.  The Steward made no comment on Valerie’s dress and simply greeted her as she would any other officer.

“Welcome to the Mess, Major, what can we do for you today?”

“I need a room to change my clothes before I head up to Furioso.”

“Of course, Ma’am.” The Steward said with a smile and indicated to the wide central staircase further in.  “Please follow me and I will show you to a room.  Would you like me to carry your bag?” 

“No.”  Valerie replied, shaking her head and only adding a thank you a few moments later.  The Steward led Valerie up the stairs to the first floor.  There were other officers moving about and Valerie’s clothes attracted a few odd looks which she ignored.  She was taken to an ornate door of dark wood that matched all the others.  A discreet card reader was built in so that just the slit was visible.  The Steward entered a card, the door unlocked and she opened it for Valerie before stepping back out of the way.

Nodding to the Steward, Valerie stepped through the doorway and the Steward closed the door behind her.  The room included all the amenities of a hotel, comfortable bed, desk, large VI Screen on the wall, windows looking out the front of the building and an ensuite shower room.  The Mess had large, multi-room suites for officers staying for days or weeks.  This room was designed for an over-night stay if an officer was passing through, or spent too long at the bar downstairs and did not want to bother with the trip home.

Dumping her bag on the bed Valerie sat down heavily next it and buried her head in her hands with her elbows propped on her knees.  For the first time since she left the tunnels she was alone and it took all of her self-control not to be overwhelmed.  She wanted to fall to the floor, curl up in a ball and forget all the world in her pain.  Her shoulders shook and she screwed her eyes tightly shut, trying so hard to hold it together.

Suddenly, it was too much for her, she surged to her feet, her hands curled into fists and she darted towards the old fashioned wooden wardrobe set against the wall opposite her.  Fully intending to put her fist straight through its door.  At the last moment she pulled her punch, her fist only gently touched the wood and took a deep breath.  If she smashed the room up, questions would be asked and she would be delayed.  She stepped forward, resting her forehead against the wood with her fists at her side.

A sob escaped from her, as all she could see was her families bodies, lying bloody and broken on the floor.  That image was seared into her mind’s eye.  She could not move, she was stuck in that moment and could not release it.  A strange sensation from her hands broke her out of it.  They felt wet and she opened her tear filled eyes.  Blood was dripping from her closed fists.  She opened them and turned them palm up to see blood oozing out of gashes.

She realised she had clenched them so tightly, her fingernails pierced the skin.  It surprised her that she felt no pain.

She straightened unsteadily and staggered into the ensuite.  Avoiding looking in the mirror Valerie ran her hands under the automated taps, washing the blood down the sink.  It was enough to allow her to bring herself back under control.  In her peripheral vision she could see herself in the mirror above the sink.  She knew she wasn’t ready for that, she would lose control if she so much as glanced at her own reflection.  The warm beam of energy from the dryer next to the sink took care of her wet hands.

The wounds needed treating even though the bleeding had almost stopped.  A drug cabinet on the wall had a good stock of various generic medicines, including a can of skinseal.  Trying not to get blood everywhere, Valerie sprayed each of her palms with the skinseal.  It sealed and disinfected the wounds in moments.  Valerie was going to put it back but thought better of it.  There was skinseal in a small medikit in her bag, along with a number of other medicines.  Such items would be very useful where ever she ended up and could even be traded, so Valerie cleared out all medicines in the room.  It would be unlikely the Stewards would question this.  They would be unhappy that they needed to re-fill the cabinet, but it wasn’t all that unusual for an officer transferring through, to pick up a few bits that they might need later.

Finally, Valerie did what she came here to do and changed into her uniform.  The civilian clothing went back into the rather full bag, leaving no room for her coat.  She didn’t even consider leaving it behind and strapped it to the top of the bag.

Once ready, Valerie turned on the VI also connected to the Central Computer Network.  Linking her own datapad to the screen, she brought up the flight schedules for the shuttles out to Furioso.  Luck was with her and there was one leaving in an hour with spaces available.  Quickly she booked herself a seat and requested a taxi pickup from the Mess.  It would have been very difficult for even someone of Valerie’s skills, experience and training to gain access to the Legions most secure Space Station, if she wasn’t on one of the approved shuttles.  Booking a seat and a taxi in her own name left a clear trail, but she entered the system the moment she gave the guard at the gate her ID.  From that moment on, she was being passively tracked and if anyone wanted to find her, it would take only a simple request to Security Control.

Valerie was still relying on time being her biggest advantage.  By now the authorities would have descended on her home and would have suppressed the fires.  It would still take them hours to sift through the wreckage and start to piece together what happened.  Being a Saturday would also help her.  Olympus was slightly bigger than Earth with a slightly slower spin so it ran on a thirty hour day.

Humanity, throughout explored space, had kept the Gregorian calendar year to allow ease of communications between worlds.  Each world then had its own individual calendar using different names for the months from the Gregorian to save confusion.  The calendars were all based around the seven day week, though each day would be longer or shorter for the majority of planets depending on their size.  Saturday and Sunday still denoted days away from work for Privileged professions.

All the senior officers in both the Police and Legion would be difficult to get hold of.  Most of them would be actively avoiding any contact with work.  It would slow communications and give Valerie more time to get off world.  Shouldering her bag Valerie headed out of the room.