1 Day Later, April 15th, 2265. 08:00 CNS Vigilant – Marine Boardroom 2A
The looks Admiral Nelson and General Mizrahi wore on their faces could send an unprepared individual’s soul flying out of their body. Rumors and innuendo had spread the moment the operation’s forces returned to their vessels. Fights broke out between the regular Marines, and fellow Naval members, and SpecFor operators. Often ending with the operators beaten the hell up.
Fleet Command wasn’t helping the situation any by its obfuscation and reluctance to comment on anything. They were simply inflaming the situation. Thankfully no one had been murdered on any of the Confederate vessels but too much blood was spilled.
It had gotten so bad on the Vigilant that all SpecFor personnel was relocated to a hangar for their safety. They were forbidden from leaving the hangar until they reached St. Mary’s station, and then they’d only be able to leave once their actions had been fully reviewed.
John cleaned up the moment he returned to the ship and began pulling all data from the SpecFor operators. He knew which ones were guilty of crimes and those that weren’t. His purpose this morning was to round up the traitors and arrest them. The sooner they did that, the better, according to the young Lieutenant.
“What a fucking mess this is,” Admiral Nelson said, “How in the hell did they think these would be legitimate orders?”
“Sir, they were given by their superiors. They just didn’t think,” John answered calmly.
“Fleet Command doesn’t want us to move. Officially they are still reviewing things,” General Mizrahi said, “The Colonel Jamison I remember was a good and honorable man. What he’s turned into I cannot say. Are you sure you’ve finished your review?”
John nodded, “I haven’t slept a wink. I had my VI review all of the relevant data. While they were able to turn off their IFF they weren’t able to shut down all of their tracking services. Naval Intelligence came through with us in the end in this case. Plus, their techs weren’t allowed to touch those suits.”
“Arrest them, I’ll be informing Fleet Command. I want a double and triple check of all operators completed before we reach St. Mary’s,” Admiral Nelson said, “If we make a mistake here, we can correct it before we get back.”
“Gear your platoon up. I expect no casualties on this,” General Mizrahi pointed at John, “None, Lieutenant.”
“Understood. I’ll bring Omega and Bravo platoons with me since they are on duty,” John saluted and left the room.
John left the room calmly but then began to sprint down the corridor once the door to the boardroom closed behind them. General Mizrahi was about to ignite a firestorm in the fleet. The lack of any clear leadership from Fleet Command forced his hand. More than that, he wasn’t willing to allow traitors to walk shoulder to shoulder with those that were still loyal to the Confederacy and its ideals.
09:10 CNS Vigilant – Secondary Hangar 5C
The three sets of doors that allowed entry into the hangar that the SpecFor forces called home opened suddenly. Sixty-five marines in power armor walked in three abreast. Weapons weren’t drawn but they quickly had the attention of all operators in the room.
John strode forward and boomed over the loudspeakers, “All SpecFor personnel is to form up and gather by platoon immediately.”
There was a noticeable lack of compliance with John’s order.
“If I have to ask again, we will drag you violently to your platoon. Form up NOW!” John angrily yelled.
When the Marines in the power armor began pointing at different members and got into a ready position the point was made. They got up from where they were and arranged themselves by platoon. Each platoon was standing next to fellow company members.
“Platoons belonging to Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot battalions, move over there,” John said, “With two exceptions. Second Lieutenant Michael Wilson and Lance Corporal Jersey Wilkins.”
The guilty looks on many faces spoke volumes to John. What surprised him was how surprised the members of the innocent battalions looked. If John was reading the room correctly, they had no clue what had actually happened.
“Alpha platoons step forward and spread apart. Hold your identification card up,” John said as he pointed at his Marines.
Arianna, Paul, and Vanessa began scanning IDs. The guilty were told to step back. The innocent, John shook his head when he thought about that, the ones not guilty of fratricide were told to move to another place.
This repeated for the members of Bravo and Charlie battalions. The two other commanding officers of the Marine platoons then came up to John. A quick discussion needed to be made.
“What do you want to do with them?” First Lieutenant Driscoll asked, “I don’t like keeping the truly innocent from the ones that just chose to ignore the orders and said fuck all.”
“We can separate them here. Just put up a containment field,” Third Lieutenant Baxter said, “That way they are still here but they can’t talk or communicate with one another.”
“Good idea, that’s what we’ll do. I’m not convinced that they won’t be charged with facilitating unlawful orders or conspiracy,” John said before the trio separated.
John then pointed at the SpecFor marines in front of him, “You are all being charged with multiple counts of murder, following an unlawful order, and aiding or abetting an enemy. You will be remanded into custody where you will be kept in solitary confinement until we reach St. Mary’s station.”
John turned and pointed at the two SpecFor operators that were separated, “Lieutenant Wilson you are being charged with failure to maintain command. Corporal Wilkins your charges are a violation of a corpse and theft. You both will be allowed to speak to counsel on the way home.”
John then turned to face the remaining operators, “Please note that we are still investigating what happened at the station. Farther criminal charges could be coming. Should you choose to confess to a crime we will take self-admission of them into account during the penalty phase.”
“Finally,” John said pointing to the Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie members that weren’t being arrested, “Don’t get too comfortable. We know none of you murdered any Marines. You are far from innocent. You will no longer be able to communicate with them. We will be splitting this bay into two. Were I any of you, I’d pray to my maker before coming to us to confess your sins.”
The charged were then escorted to the brig. The two groups of battalions were separated then a new containment field split the hangar in two. John then ordered the field to be turned opaque and to block out sound from traveling between the portions of the hangar.
John watched as the last charged members were led out. He stood there next to his command staff as the Marines began exiting the hangar. How had things come to this? How on Earth did Fleet Command think this plan of theirs would work? Despite earning an overwhelming victory, along with utterly decimating Dr. Norman’s organization, John felt nearly nothing for that accomplishment.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just space them all? I doubt any Marine will want to work with any SpecFor personnel that was deployed,” Darryl said.
“We have to show that we’re better. Can’t succumb to their methods,” Derrick countered.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Do we though?” Erica asked, “They butchered us without a single thought.”
“Makes me wonder what it is I’m fighting for,” John said quietly and forlornly, “I really thought we were better than this. Sadly, we are anything but. Let’s get back and get out of these suits. Y’all deserve some rest and relaxation.”
“What about you, sir?” Erica asked.
“No rest for the wicked.”
7 Days Later, April 22nd, 2265. 12:45 CNS Vigilant – John’s Quarters
John worked three days in a row with nothing but a twenty-minute nap. He was then ordered to have a proper night’s rest. And now here he was in the same state, three and half days later working on no rest. He rubbed his eyes as he took a short break to stretch and get a drink of water.
Fourteen more SpecFor operators on the Vigilant were arrested. None had murdered any friendlies, but they were present when unlawful actions occurred and either said nothing or didn’t properly report them after the fact. In John’s mind, there was no way forward for anyone in SpecFor that was assigned to this mission, even the ones truly innocent.
Fleet Command had still not officially sent any commands or commented on the situation or results of the Nyx Prime operation. Word had spread what General Mizrahi and Admiral Nelson approved here. By this point, virtually all Naval or Marine ships had forced SpecFor to move into a hangar or storage room with the majority of their members being confined to the brig.
In numerous cases, the captains of the vessels presumed the guilt of those members and simply sent everyone to the brig and that they’d figure things out when they arrived at the station. John felt strongly against such actions, but as he wasn’t the captain of said vessels, he couldn’t tell them to do otherwise. Through some miracle, no assaults, or worse, had been reported.
Some SpecFor vessels did try to leave the flotilla. Those attempts were rebuffed, and they were told in no uncertain terms that they would be fired upon were they to break away from the fleet. When the ships began moving apart warning shots were fired across the bows of the offending ships. That was the only time Fleet Command did step in and say that all vessels were to return to Manchester.
John was continuing to read through reports when an incoming message popped up on his screen. He set his tablet down and pressed the button on the screen. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“How’s it going, Director?”
“Things have been a bit manic lately,” Director LeCroix appeared to have aged several years in the month since John had seen him last.
“That’s a very polite way of putting it,” John laughed.
“Fleet Command is most put off with those of us in the fleet taking unilateral action.”
John grunted, “They can take their hurt feelings and shove them right up their fat asses. Did they honestly think the Naval and Marine soldiers onboard these vessels would break bread with the ones that murdered their compatriots for incomprehensible reasons?”
“I’m not on their side. We’re rather puzzled by that too,” Director LeCroix sighed, “We’ve reviewed your evidence and none of us, nor the JAG lawyers that reviewed the charges, believe that any of your recommendations are wrong. I presume your review is finished?”
“Oh hell no. I’m finishing up my second review of the data. My hope is that by the time we get back to St. Mary’s I’ve run through everything three times.”
“About that, Fleet Command wants you and your platoon arrested for the pair of attacks you pulled off.”
John let out a loud belly laugh, “Yeah, good luck with those charges sticking. Why are they so damned quiet about everything that’s happened?”
“Internal fighting. Admiral Karlsson’s newly assigned members have taken a hands-off approach to this operation. As such they want nothing to do with this nonsense.”
“So, he’s finally acting as the adult in the room, but he’s surrounded by irrational toddlers,” John sighed as he leaned back in his chair, “What a fucking sideshow this has turned into.”
“On the topic of charges, I am letting you know that while I personally advised against them you are going to be formerly charged upon return to St. Mary’s. Hundreds of Marine and Naval soldiers are too for what I believe are insignificant reasons.”
“Dare I ask what for?”
“They include two charges of failure to obey a lawful order, two counts of dereliction of duty, and thirty-two accounts of insubordination because of your outburst last month.”
“Well, I’ll get the thirty-two charges down to a single one pretty easily. No sense in fighting that one either,” John said as he stared at the camera, “Dereliction of duty when I ordered my platoon to fire on SpecFor platoons I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Is this your way of saying you’ll take over this investigation from here so I can work on saving my ass?”
Director LeCroix sighed loudly, “You never make working with someone easy, Lieutenant.”
“Appreciate the heads up and being tagged out. I know what I’ll be doing now.”
“John, you’ve not tread carefully throughout the past couple of years. You need to have a deft touch with this. Failure to do so can land you out of the military, or worse.”
“I do appreciate the heads up, sir. I’ll be ready when I get home.”
15 Days Later, May 7th, 2265. 08:00 St. Mary’s Station – Military Docking Ring
The previous two weeks weren’t that different from the previous week. Though the focus for John was clearing his name from such salacious charges. There was a backup plan being worked on too should he not be able to clear his name.
That plan didn’t need much work but would result in proper scorched earth. John kept that plan locked up tightly in his mind. It was a backup plan and if he was being honest, he’d much prefer it stay that way. He was far too young to think about a new career or figure out how to break out of prison.
The insubordination charge ironically was the one that became the hardest to defend against. Getting the thirty-two rolled into one would be a simple act to accomplish. But to defend against that charge, especially with what John was accused of doing, was effectively impossible.
There was no sense in fighting that charge. He had spent the better part of two days working on the apology letter. He was still researching extenuating circumstances when they docked. But he believed he had sufficient justification for his actions. The meeting, a spontaneous idea but a brilliant one he felt, that he had with Dr. Kipling provided additional justification for his brief lapse in judgment.
For all of John’s genetic advancements, he was still human. His body’s ability to cope with mental and physical stress was greater than a baseline human, but his limit wasn’t infinite. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for any soldier in his position to react poorly to the attack on the station.
John snapped too when he received a friendly nudge from behind. The line was moving once more. He desperately wanted to get off the ship and see his wife. Just getting away from the military for a couple of days would be nice.
Disembarkation this time was more like going through customs. John could see numerous Marines being pulled to the side midway down the docking umbilical and given a tablet. Angry looks on their faces suggested they were brought up on charges. Virtually everyone that was on the surface received a tablet.
“Fucking hell, they did decide scorched earth,” John said to himself.
“Next!” the quasi-customs individual said.
John stepped up to the booth and handed his ID card, “Left line, right?”
The officer looked up at John with a curious look on his face, “Why do you say that?”
“Every person that went to the surface got served some charges. I was on the surface.”
“Uhm, I’m not sure what to say?”
“Left line though, right?”
The man nodded and handed his ID back to him.
“Weird how that works, no?” John said with a smile before the man.
He stood tall as he walked down the umbilical. There were eight officers manning this station. John walked up to an open officer and looked down at the diminutive individual.
“Here’s my ID, I presume you have the trumped-up charges for me?”
The man looked up at John with annoyance, “What makes you think you are being charged for something.”
“Not one person has looked happy to receive anything from y’all. I’m smarter than most people too so it wasn’t that difficult to put two and two together.”
“Name?”
“Lieutenant John Lief.”
The man looked down at his terminal, then back up to him. A loud sigh could be heard before a table was taken from the pile. The agent set it on top of his terminal before handing it to John.
“Official charges are contained on the tablet…” the man began to say before John cut him off.
“A bunch of insubordination charges, failure to follow orders, and dereliction of duty are the charges, right?”
The man once again looked up at John in confusion, “How did you know that?”
“Nothing else though?” John asked.
“Uhm, you are confined to your domicile. You may only leave it to come to work or a hearing related to these charges.”
“Good, here’s an official filing to condense the thirty-two counts to one,” John pulled a tablet from his backup and dug around for another, “Oh, and this one contains motions for dismissal on the lawful command and dereliction of duty. Since y’all are here I may as well get these added to the official record.”
“Sure…” the man slowly took both tablets and looked at them before setting them on the transmission plate of the terminal, “Motions have been accepted. You’ll have to have your preliminary hearing before they will be reviewed as part of the official record.”
“Cool,” John said before he walked away.
John made his way through the secure portion of the docking ring. Eventually, he made it to the commercial district. There was one stop that he wanted to make before going home. That was the best liquor store on the station. Whether he deserved a premium bottle of liquor or not, he was going to treat himself to one.
If for no other reason than to wash away the awful taste in his mouth. That was something that really bugged John. He had accomplished the impossible, or at least what he had thought impossible years ago. Dr. Norman was no more, but what the military leadership did throughout the operation soured how h felt about things.
Alice would have some tidbit of wisdom that would make everything seem sensible. Well, John hoped for that, his pessimistic self couldn’t help but voice his opinion to him. Nevertheless, John bought his liquor, a thirty-year-old Glenfarclas scotch, then made his way home.
The door to his condo opened and inside he saw Alice working on dinner, “Honey, I’m home!”