Fleet Scout Ch. 03 - Fleet Rescue

This installment has gone through multiple iterations, I kept ending up in some pretty dark places that I hadn't intended, probably as a reaction to our wonderful new reality. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding.

The next morning, the jailors were back. He was cuffed, ordered out of the dome and taken to a cargo box building. He hadn't seen them earlier, but several cargo haulers had arrived and were parked around the runway. There was a thunderclap from above them and Finn saw tangles of contrails in the gaps between dark clouds. It looked like Erewhon's missing supplies were finally arriving and Finn wondered what else was being landed.

"Keep your eyes on the ground," one of the guards said from behind him and prodded Finn along with a shotgun muzzle.

He knew he was asking for another beating, but Finn turned to look at the man all the same. The response was all three shotguns pointing at his head.

"Stand down," a loud, gravelly voice demanded.

Walking toward them was the middle-aged man Finn had last seen in the medical dome. He was wearing the same Colonial Guard utilities as before, stripped of any unit patches. Instead, the man with hard blue eyes wore the stripes of a Brit Master Sergeant.

"Colonel Morgan. I understand your irritation, but this is not the Rub 'al Kali and these farm-boys are not Berber separatists. What they are is greener than grass. If you continue to wind them up, everyone is going to have a rather bad day."

The man then turned on his heel slightly to look at the guards. Every movement the immaculately uniformed man made was smooth and precise and Finn was familiar with the type. Air Force Chief Master Sergeants had moved the same way, like heavy machines with lots of ball-bearings.

"What were your instructions?" he asked the guards, eyes moving from one to the other like gunsights.

They wilted visibly and looked even younger. "Bring the prisoner..."

"Stop. What I said was 'Bring Colonel Morgan...'" Copeland prompted.

"Bring Colonel Morgan to see you in the duty room," the guard said.

"Then how did we end up here, my son? I don't recall anything about pointing your weapons at his head."

"He was looking around too much," one of the others volunteered sullenly.

"Give me strength," the chief sergeant sighed. "How is that an offense to good order? No, shut up. You two will turn in your weapons and join your brothers-in-idiocy on punishment detail."

They slunk off as Copeland swiveled to look at Finn again. "Sir, I apologize for that. I would have come myself, but I was sidetracked. My name is Aaron Copeland."

Finn almost laughed. "Really?"

"A man of culture I see. Yes, and we all have our crosses to bear, don't we Captain Morgan?"

"Yes, we do. Am I being taken to the other prisoners?"

"You're a step closer, sir. If you'd follow me, please."

He walked toward one of the newly arrived modular offices without bothering to see if Finn was following. When they went inside, it was gloriously air-conditioned and there was the smell of coffee. Copeland sat down in one of the chairs and gestured toward the other.

"I'd prefer to remain standing. I would also like to say that I will not cooperate or collaborate with whoever you people are and I refuse any special treatment."

Copeland nodded. "Of course, and I appreciate your position. You won't believe me, but this is neither interrogation nor a psyop, sir. It's personal and you'll see it as blowing sunshine up your arse, but I wanted the privilege of meeting you."

The abrupt shift startled Finn for a second. Then he sighed. "That goddammed skyhook battle again."

A small smiled flickered on Copeland's face. "Not exactly, and I promise not to ask for a selfie. This concerns your service history prior to Revelation Day."

Finn blinked. "That doesn't have anything to do with what's going on here."

"Correct. Your Air Force service record is available on the Hub public wiki, complete until your transfer to Fleet Scouts. My political masters have done their homework and we both know that you don't know anything that pertains to this...unpleasantness.

"However, prior to Revelation Day, I was a staff sergeant in a merry band of His Majesty's Own Sneaky Bastards. I was in the sandbox from '37 to '42 and you flew with the Yank 406th Tactical Aviation Brigade at Forward Base Banshee from '38 to '43. I owe you a thanks for the lives of many of my wayward lads. That's why I'm here playing fanboy. In better times, I'll be buying you a lot of very good whiskey. Until then, can I offer you coffee?"

For the first time, Finn was sorely tempted but turned down the offer.

Copeland looked pained. "Colonel, as I said, this is a private matter. I know that you were shot down and taken prisoner on your first tour in '36. If the Berber Nationalist Front couldn't break you, it's obvious that I won't either. However, as I said, this is not an interrogation, or even an official interview."

Finn shook his head again. "I'd like to join the other prisoners, sir."

Copeland didn't move. "Mr. Morgan, you've led men and women into combat, you know what their lives are worth, and, most importantly, you know the way our masters despise their value. I took most of mine home because of you and those other deranged strike pilots. It near to breaks my heart that we're at odds, a feeling I do not care for. Now, you will sit down, and you will have a cup of goddammed coffee!"

Like his brethren, Copeland had the voice of command that somehow bullied reality into agreement. Finn was halfway into the chair before he realized it. Copeland looked up from the cups he was setting out.

"Unless you'd prefer tea, of course," he added in a normal tone.

"No, coffee is fine, thank you."

Copeland nodded and turned to pump two cups of coffee out of an insulated carafe. He handed one to Finn and toasted him for a moment. Then they both took a long sip.

"Oh, this isn't bad at all," Finn said, surprised.

"A Hub tolerant stock originally from home or some nonsense. That's what the box says anyway."

"You were SpecOps back home. Is that what you are now?"

Copeland looked slightly uncomfortable, an interesting response. "Obviously, I'm with the Resettlement Directorate. For now, well, they're calling the entire force Defenders of Liberation."

"Really? That's awful."

Copeland shrugged. "I agree, but what can you do?"

They finished the coffee with not much more conversation.

"Now what?" Finn asked.

"I was going to suggest a walk, but I assume that's thunder I've been hearing."

Finn nodded. "I think it's the higher air pressure that makes it so loud. It'll rain for an hour or so, then get hot enough to evaporate it all back into the atmosphere to fuel the next round of thunderstorms in a few hours. Then all the humidity evaporates to fuel the mid-day storms and so on."

"Then perhaps we can have that walk another day. I'll take you to the dormitory where your colleagues are being kept."

The humidity outside felt more like being smothered in wet blanket than open air and the black line of storms was just visible over the trees at the far end of the clearing.

"Can you tell me what the plan for us is?" Finn asked.

"If I knew, colonel, I'd tell you and you have my word on that."

"I'm a scout captain, the colonel thing was just an administrative thing during the defense. Or just call me Finn."

They neared one of the double domed residences. Two guards with shotguns stood outside and Finn stopped outside of their hearing.

"Copeland, did your people have anything to do with the crash of the Sparrow's Flame?"

The broad-shouldered man stopped walking and faced Finn, looking into his eyes. "No. It's been explained to my superiors as an unfortunate accident. I heard your conversation with Ms. Maya Tanner and I will make my own inquiries. If it was deliberate, I will find out and see the perpetrators at the end of a rope."

Finn wasn't sure if he believed that Copeland would hunt anyone down, but he didn't think the man had been involved at least. Copeland escorted him to the makeshift prison and one of the guards opened the door while the other one waved him through. The two geodesic domes were connected by a hallway passage, and to the left, the larger of the domes was set up with rows of crudely printed plastic cots set in rows. The smaller dome to the right contained a basic kitchen and communal area where a couple of dozen people were gathered.

"Finn!" several people yelled as he stepped inside.

Yanna was the closest to him and grabbed him with strong hands. "How are you walking?" she demanded, looking him over.

"GalTech bone splint, I'm good as new."

She glared at him but let him go. The others gathered around, welcoming him back. Finn put up with all the crowding as best he could, but it was a relief when they stopped slapping his back and hugging him.

"What's going on out there?" Kai finally asked as he deliberately scratched his ear.

Finn nodded fractionally, acknowledging the warning. "Lots of people in uniforms, lots of landers," he said. "They had me in the medbay and then a hab, I didn't get a chance to see much else. Everyone okay here?"

"It's boring," one of the Ta'avi men said. "They took our tablets."

"There's way worse things than being bored," Finn said. "What's so interesting over here?"

"Trying to figure out how this groundhog is doing a magic trick. Do it again, Kai. I bet Finn figures it out..."

"But I want out!"

"Look around, Atalanta, you're not trapped inside of anything," Marie said. She had been working with Addie all morning and Leah was impressed with her patience as she gently cajoled, argued, and teased the Navvi system out of whatever temper tantrum Atalanta had gotten herself into.

The two of them were sitting on the flight deck, sprawled out on the floor. Various hatches and access panels were hanging open and coils of fiberoptic filaments covered the deck.

"Well, why can't I control my own ship?" Addied whined. "I want to talk to Finn!"

"But there is nothing for you to control on the ground, mon râleuse," Marie soothed. "And we just talked about Finn. Where is he?"

"At the outpost where I abandoned him," Addie sighed. "He probably hates me now. Everyone else hates me."

"Is that a true thing?" Marie asked.

The ship sighed. "No. But I want to talk to Finn."

"Soon," Marie promised. "I am going to restore your control coupling now."

Addie didn't respond, just sighed sadly.

Marie eased the control coupler back into its socket. There were scattered chirps around the interior of the ship as sub-systems came online. Through the open hatch, Leah could hear the attitude thrusters whirring as the Addie's control system came online and tested their movement.

She held her breath. This was the third attempt to get Addie operational, and the most promising so far. Then the interior lighting went red and both humans sighed. Marie gently removed the quartz cube again and the red lights disappeared.

"I bet the Goddess can help me," Addie said in her ten-year-old voice.

The two women looked at each other. Marie shook her head minutely and Leah nodded.

"Can she?" Marie asked Addie, voice casual.

"You already asked Bunjil and Viracocha the same thing," Addie complained.

Both women froze. The other two ships were offline, including their communications.

"Did they tell you that, Atalanta?" Marie asked, keeping her voice pleasant.

"No, they hate me. I told you that already"

Marie tucked a loop of cable back under the console. "Then how did you know that we asked them about your goddess?" she asked.

"She's not my Goddess. I know you asked them and that is a true thing."

Marie didn't respond and Leah helped her close the access panels in silence. The two women were quiet as they hopped out of the hatch and didn't speak until they were halfway down the slope to the roaring whitewater, far beyond the point any of the three ships could listen in.

"At least we know Atalanta is not the source of this goddess fantasy," Marie said.

"Could the stress of the mutiny be causing it?" Leah asked. "Violence against friends and all that?"

"I had the same thought at first, but as I understand it, each Navvi integrates experience into their personality, creating unique reactions to stresses. For example, Bunjil becomes very proper during landings, but Virococha makes terrible puns when she is under the same stress. So, it doesn't make sense to me that all three have developed an identical psychosis. My best guess was that Atalanta might be the source, since she's been through much more than the other two, but her datalink is disconnected."

"What's left?" Leah asked.

Marie gave her very Gallic shrug. "Some factor in the environment? Noel took samples from all three ships looking for signs of a biological contamination, but I doubt that is our problem. Even if it was, why would it create identical behaviors? You've spoken with Wisdom, does she have any ideas?"

Leah kicked a rock in frustration. "I'll ask again, but last time she laughed and told me to see what is in front of my face. She says that a lot."

There was a whistle from behind them. The pair glanced back toward the cluster of ships and saw Noel coming down the slope. Marie waved for her to join them.

"Hello, my lovelies," the ash-blonde ex-Parisian said. "I just finished all of the biological assays; there are no signs of contamination."

"You're sure our tests would pick something up?" Leah asked.

Noel shrugged. "Everything must eat and create waste, non? Possibly there are localized disturbances to the laws of physics, but I think we would have noticed that."

"Then I'm out of straws to grasp at," Marie said. "I've gone as deep as their self-protection and secrecy protocols will allow. Addie is the most evolved of the three, we'll give her some time to calm down and try talking to her again tomorrow."

"When there is nothing to do, the best thing is to do nothing," Noel said. "Heljah and Mikah have built us a swimming pool. Come and see."

"We'll be along in a moment," Marie said.

She gave them a little wave and walked across the slope toward the downstream side of the spit of land they were camped on. Leah found herself glaring at the woman's back.

"I hate the idea of splashing around having fun while there are POWs."

Marie took her arm, and they began walking back up the slope. "Worrying about a fight endlessly before it has even begun will leave you exhausted and confused. Perhaps a clear head would help in your conversation with Wisdom. Has there been any more news from the outpost?"

"No, but there are Runners due in tomorrow," Leah said.

"Then today we shall go examine this swimming pool," Marie said. "I have no idea how those poor men have the energy to do anything more than crawl out of that den of inequity each morning."

Despite her dark mood, Leah had to smile. "Do I detect some jealousy?"

The other woman chuckled. "Certainly not. Henry is more than enough for me to handle."

"You know, I don't mind keeping Lily overnight," Leah said. "With Addie in pout mode, the company is nice."

"That is kind of you," Marie said. "I'll take her back tomorrow evening. I will need a rest."

"Now I'm jealous," Leah sighed.

Marie laughed. "If we were an open couple, I'd be happy for the help. Tu n'as pas sauté avec Finn?"

Leah sighed. "Every single time we've gotten close, things start exploding."

Marie laughed. "I could say the same when I first met my goat, but perhaps not quite as literally."

The pair was still laughing as they joined the others. Henry was holding Lily and looked at them suspiciously as the baby began laughing as well.

"When you all laugh like that, I know there is trouble coming for me."

"And you love it," Marie said, putting her arm around his waist. "How is our little rabbit?"

"Getting frustrated that I don't understand her, I think."

Lily was beginning to grump about not being the center of attention until Marie had given her a kiss as well. Down in the river, the two Ta'avi Pioneers, Micah and Heljah, had stripped down to their boots and shorts as they worked hip deep in the river. They'd somehow shifted boulders around, creating a large oval enclosure between the spit and the shore. Now they were using smaller cobbles to line the basin.

"I hope there is a way to bring fresh water in," Marie said, wrinkling her nose.

Henry laughed. "I agree! Look though, there is a current from the water flowing through the stones beneath our camp. They are Ta'avi, so of course their project is well engineered. Not only fresh water but filtered as well."

"From the looks of things, we will require both," Marie said.

Unlike the men that had kept their shorts and shoes on, Sasha and Noel had shed all of their clothes when they'd gone into the water to "help" with the work. Leah figured it was just as well that the pool looked mostly finished, the naked women were obviously more of a distraction to the pair than a help.

"I assume someone asked about tentacle slugs, or worse, in this rush to hedonism?" Marie asked.

"I made sure they had asked Thalia Anek before a single toe touched the wet," Henry said. "The Anek say that the water here is too shallow and too fast for anything dangerous to survive. But they're now convinced we are demented. You see all of them watching?"

Leah looked up into the trees and grinned at the sight of dozens of Anek onlookers staring at the four humans in the water. Lower to the ground, a gang of juveniles was watching in between bouts of racing around in the branches.

"Come in, it's lovely!" Sasha called, waving up to them.

"It does look tempting," Henry said.

"The pool, or our naked friends?"

He looked down at pair; Noel lithe and ash-blonde, and Sasha, with long black hair, shorter, far more muscular, and just as attractive.

"I will only say yes."

"You old lecher," Marie laughed. "Give Leah the baby. I see you will require close supervision."

Leah followed them down and sat in the shallowest part of the pool so that Lily could hoot and splash in the cool water. Marie was right, the best way to expect anything was to expect nothing. Still, she couldn't help worrying about Finn and the rest of their captured friends.

Finn and a few others were learning the French Drop from Kai while the rest of them meditated or slept. So far, the problem had been boredom, especially for the Ta'avi.

They looked up as the outer door was unlocked. Several guards armed with shotguns came into the dormitory. A few people stood up, but mostly they were ignored. Copeland appeared into the passage between the two domes and looked around until he caught Finn's eye as he strode over to the group of prisoners learning sleight-of-hand, a pair of guards on his heels.

"Captain Morgan, good morning," Copeland said. "Commander Newsome, the force commander, would like a word."

"Save my seat," Finn said to Kai as he got up.

One of the guards motioned him away from the group and covered Finn with a shotgun while the other one frisked him roughly. His wrists were zip-tied in front of him and he was led outside into the bright sunlight.

There was a lot of activity today. People, wearing stolen colonial marine uniforms or the anachronistic clothing of the Drabs, were scurrying back and forth with crates and boxes. None of the colorful outfits of the Utopianists were visible but he thought he recognized a couple of faces under the ridiculous faux-straw hats. A number of standard shuttles were lined up down along the runway and a heavy cargo carrier, similar to a Ta'avi Pioneer ship, had just turned onto the taxiway. The large clamshell doors were opening, and Finn could see the boxy snout of a weapons carrier inside. Beyond that, anti-ship missile systems were already scattered across the outpost, launchers trained on the sky.