Steel World (46 page)
Authors: B. V. Larson
“He wants to join us? When?”
“Immediately.”
The primus stared at Graves, and he stared back at her. Although she didn’t glare at him, I could tell she was highly displeased.
“All right then,” she said. “We’ll do it your way. We’ll wait for the tribune.”
We didn’t have to wait long. The tribune showed up within a few minutes. I was impressed. Graves had to have a lot of pull to get the man down here from the command deck so fast. After all, the tribune had several primus-level subordinates and over fifty centurions to worry about. As a recruit—I was almost beneath notice.
The tribune looked small compared to Graves and I, but he carried himself with quiet confidence. You could tell he was in charge of the situation the moment he stepped into the room.
He didn’t answer the chorus of greetings from the officers. Instead, he looked at me, Graves, then the primus. He nodded, as if confirming a suspicion.
“Don’t let me stop you,” he said, taking a seat at the side of the oval table. “Carry on.”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Primus Turov cleared her throat, worked on her tapper and shuffled a computer scroll that was stretched out on the table in front of her. “Well, we’ve been discussing the fate of Recruit James McGill. Really, it’s an embarrassing situation.”
“Embarrassing for whom?” asked the tribune.
“For Legion Varus at large, I would say. This man killed a Galactic—one of a species we’d never encountered. What a grim first-contact that was for all involved. He was subsequently sentenced to be executed for his crimes. The Galactic involved witnessed the proceedings and left, satisfied. No further charges have been filed in the matter by the Galactic, fortunately.”
The tribune had begun to frown, and now his frown had deepened. “Let me see if I understand you: a Galactic was murdered by one of our troops?”
“Yes.”
“And why was I not informed of this diplomatic breach?”
The primus cleared her throat. “We handled it as quickly and quietly as we could. It was an accident, after all, and the Galactic in question was not permed. He was offended but mollified by my quick action.”
“I repeat: why was I not informed?”
“The matter is complex and not easy to—”
“Enough,” said the tribune. The primus looked shocked at being shut down, and her voice trailed off.
The tribune turned to Graves. “Explain what happened, Centurion.”
“The situation played out essentially as Primus Turov explained.”
“Why was I not informed?”
“I assumed the primus was operating with your approval. I had no idea she had not informed you, sir.”
If looks could kill, the centurion would have been struck dead by the primus’ eyes. But he seemed to take no notice of her and feigned great interest in his tapper.
“I have a recording of the proceedings involving the Galactic here, sir,” Graves said. “Should I transfer the video to your account?”
“By all means.”
Primus Turov, who’d been angry, now looked alarmed. “You recorded the interchange?”
“All trials are recorded. It is standard procedure.”
“This wasn’t a formal trial—it was a very delicate matter! One which I handled to the satisfaction of everyone.”
The tribune looked annoyed. Already, his tapper was receiving the video. He reviewed it while the rest of us sat in stony silence.
“Hmm,” he said, nodding his head. He turned to me. “I see you weren’t satisfied by the verdict, Recruit. You attacked your superiors in the final moments.”
I was still standing at attention. “I was taken by surprise, sir. I felt I was the one under attack and threat of death. I took what I saw as appropriate action.”
The tribune nodded again. “Appropriate action… Just as you did when you met up with the Galactic, eh? Also, another thing occurs to me. Why are you standing here talking to me if you were executed days ago?”
The primus leaned forward, seeing an opportunity. “That’s why we are here, sir. Centurion Graves took it upon himself to revive this murderer, defying my orders.”
“Murderer?” asked the Tribune. “I’ve heard that term tossed about liberally today. What makes this man a murderer?”
“First, he killed the Galactic,” she said, ticking off her fingers. “Then he attempted to kill me when I ordered him executed. Finally, he murdered this centurion from the bio unit.”
“Centurion Thompson? Ah, now I see why you’re present. He murdered you?”
“Yes,” she said angrily.
I was becoming angry myself. In my mind, I hadn’t murdered anyone. I opened my mouth and began to make a retort, but Centurion Graves jumped into the conversation.
“If I may, sir,” he said. He held his hand up toward me, and I shut up. It wasn’t easy, but he had been my superior for some time now, and I managed to control myself. “This committee has already ruled the demise of Centurion Thompson to be a case of self-defense as she was threatening him with deadly force.”
“Is that true?” the tribune asked Thompson.
She looked defensive. “I don’t actually recall. My mind wasn’t backed up. But the fact is, I died at his hands.”
“And so you want him permed?”
“I want justice to be done. This man is dangerous.”
The tribune eyed me seriously. “You know what I see here? I see a natural born killer. A man who takes action without hesitation. A man who defeats his enemies, and defeats death, with regularity.”
He held up his hand to stop the protests that had begun.
“We need people like James McGill. Don’t you two see that? Legion Varus is a rough outfit. Many have tried to tame this legion and all have failed. I’m displeased with all of you—except for the recruit. It is your job to guide and nurture the natural attributes of the recruits Earth sends us, not to perm anyone who annoys you. Let me remind you that we need people who think outside the box—people who win against the odds.”
Everyone was silent for a moment. The tribune stood up and began to pace. He put his hands behind his back and walked around the room, passing behind the other officers. Even Graves looked uncomfortable.
“I’m overturning your ruling, Primus. But against my better judgment, I will not demote you. Not this time.”
“What? Demote me? What possible—”
“Not for perming a promising recruit, that’s bad, but insignificant compared to your other violations of legion policy. You did not inform me of the incident with the Galactic. That kind of matter is beyond your office—hell, it’s beyond mine, as well. I should really inform Hegemony.”
Primus Turov met his eyes. She nodded as if in sudden understanding.
“But you won’t inform Hegemony, will you?”
“No,” he said. “And that’s why I’m letting you off. The shit-storm would be tremendous. I feel the same reluctance you must have felt to kick it upstairs. I’m going to bury it, and you will all swear to bury it with me.”
“Consider it done, sir,” Graves said.
The other officers agreed quickly. But then their eyes all fell together upon me.
I shrugged. “What Galactic? I don’t remember any such thing.”
I’d meant it as a joke, but they all nodded seriously.
“Keep in mind,” the tribune continued, “despite our silence, this might not be the end of it. The Galactics often pause for a long time—even years—before deciding to proceed on an issue. The Empire is unbelievably vast. There are more layers of bureaucracy than we can even imagine. Our best scholars and contact-specialists tell us their decision-making process is slow and ponderous—but it is also very thorough. Just because they haven’t raised the issue yet doesn’t mean we’re in the clear.”
“Perhaps we should carry out the original sentence properly,” the primus said, seeing an opportunity.
I felt my gut twist. The woman wanted to see me dead at all costs.
The tribune shook his head. “It won’t matter. Galactic Law doesn’t work that way—no legal system does. You can’t shoot someone and then throw away the gun, hoping that simple act will absolve you of your crime. The Galactics think of humanity as a single entity. Anything done by any member of our species inflicts guilt upon all the rest. The charges will be against all Earth, not an individual, if they come.”
The meeting adjourned on that troubling note, and we each went our separate ways.
* * *
We exited the ship months later, riding lifters down into the atmosphere. Coming home on leave was strange. We carried our rucks to the terminal where we were surprised by a waiting throng of relatives and friends.
My parents hugged me, and my mom cried. It was strange to see them again. I’d been out in space nearly a year. How could I go back to sleeping on their couch after I’d been killed over and over again on another world?
I decided in the end that I’d just do it. That was how you returned home: you just
did it. Thinking too much was never a good idea when dramatic changes were thrown at you.
None of the old friends I’d left behind had ever heard of Legion Varus, but they were impressed anyway. They were even more impressed when I told them stories of battling lizards, dying in combat, and breathing canned air for a year. Everyone knew about Cancri-9. They’d all played the game
Steel World
, and they couldn’t believe I’d fought there for real.
After a few days, squaddies from my unit began to contact me. We all had similar problems: we felt a disconnect with our families and old friends.
Carlos put it best, I thought: “They’re all a bunch of wannabes and lamers.”
Yeah, that was about right. I met him at a bar in Philly, and we drank like we were still aboard ship. A few others joined us, including Natasha, and for a time it was like we’d never been apart.
“How long do you think we have?” I asked finally, breaking the jovial mood for everyone.
They stopped laughing and stared into their beer mugs.
“I heard they have a new contract already,” Natasha said. “They’re just dickering about the price.”
I nodded, having heard the same thing. Legion Varus always had a job to do out in space. There was always another mess to be cleaned up, another rival to be put down.
I wondered where I would be next year. Since the question was impossible to answer, I up-ended my brew and guzzled it all down.
The End
From the Author:
Thanks Reader! I hope you enjoyed
STEEL WORLD
. If you liked the book and would like to see it become a series, please put up some stars and a review to support it. Let new readers know what’s in store for them.
P.S. Star Force fans, book nine will be out next!
-BVL
More
SF Books by B. V. Larson:
STAR FORCE SERIES
(
In chronological order)
An Army of One
(Novella published in
Planetary Assault
)
IMPERIUM SERIES
The Black Ship
(
Novella published in
Five by Five
)
OTHER SF BOOKS
Visit
BVLarson.com
for more information.
