Warriors For The Working Day

Chapter Nine
By
(UCSBdad)

Disclaimer: Stolen about equally from the Henson Co., David Drake and a bit from George MacDonald Fraser. Shakespeare is in the public domain, I hope. In any case, no money changes hands here. Rating: T due to language. Time: Some twenty-five plus years after Peacekeeper Wars.

Redd nodded, but said nothing.

Aida went on. "You have a most impressive advocate in Surgeon-Major M'Boya. He has bombarded me with case studies on the effects of physical duress, the doctrine of diminished capacity and others too numerous to mention."

"I could refresh your memory, Vice Marshall, if you wish." M'Boya rumbled from the end of the desk.

"No need." Aida said. She stared hard at Redd. "I must advise you, Lieutenant, that at my level, there is a political dimension to be considered. I find myself in a new universe where my kind of humans are unknown and where the human Laws of War do not apply outside of my own command. Accordingly, I find myself unwilling to bring charges in this case as I cannot predict the political ramifications that would follow."

However, Lieutenant Redd, I will advise you that if a duly constituted government were to charge you with a crime, I would have to very seriously consider handing you over to them for trial. In the meantime, you are to be considered a prisoner of war. Do you have anything to say?"

Redd had obviously been expecting the usual fate of renegade Peacekeepers; a trip out the nearest airlock. She gulped, looked around and finally remembered to be grateful.

"No, ma'am. Nothing to say, ma'am. Thank you." She said in a rush.

"If I may speak?" Dr. M'Boya interrupted.

"Like we could stop you." Rudy muttered.

M'Boya ignored him. "Lieutenant Redd is still my patient. The long term effects of her injuries are unknown. In addition, I find the treatment of children as prisoners of war to be repugnant. I see no reason that they should be transferred to a prisoner of war camp to be put…"

Aida waved M'Boya into silence. "To begin with, we have no prisoner of war camps. Such prisoners as we had on the other side were either released or joined us. I'm not inclined to build and staff a camp for the benefit of Lieutenant Redd and a few children."

Aida gave a long hard stare at M'Boya. "I believe that putting them under the custody of Provost Sergeant McGarry, at least while they are aboard ship, is the most reasonable solution. Their permanent status can be considered at a later date. I am sure that Dr. M'Boya will provide me with advice on that. Am I correct?"

M'Boya was about to reply, but Aida kept going.

"That being the case, this panel is adjourned. Doctor, you may return your patient to the sick bay."

M'Boya hustled Redd out. The Guards lieutenant left, mumbling about having the minutes put in the record at once.

That left Aida, Kathleen, Rudy and me sitting alone.

"That worked out quite well." Rudy said with a satisfied smile.

"Dammit, Rudy." Aida barked, "We didn't do this for the sake of your damned plots. The woman did murder innocent people by the shipload and planetful. That she did so under extreme duress is something that a duly constituted court martial should consider. And I wasn't kidding about the politics I have to consider. I have no wish to antagonize any of the endless factions out here, most of whom I know nothing about. Too many renegade Peacekeepers are like that lunatic Lutjens. But some are rebelling against what they see as corruption at the highest level of the Peacekeeper High Command. I can't afford to make a mistake and I may still have to hand her over for execution by some wronged party."

Rudy smiled. "True. Quite true, Aida. But Lieutenant Redd has seen our brutal military side, the brutal, victorious side, I might add, and now she's seen that we can be merciful. It shouldn't be too hard for a skilled operative to convince her that an alliance with Human Forces Command would be in the best interests of everyone."

"Just make sure she volunteers, Rudy. "I don't want her to be volunteered."

"Perish the thought." Rudy replied primly.

Aida stood up, ready to leave, but Rudy wasn't done.

"By the way, Aida, I think I have Aeryn's legend worked out."

That caught my attention. "I am not a legend. My husband deserves to be one, but…."

I noticed that everyone was smiling at me. What the frell was wrong with human languages? What had I misunderstood now?

Rudy assumed a more serious mien. "Sorry, Aeryn. Just a bit of tradecraft talk there, I'm afraid. Since you've insisted on going to the shadow depository where this Natira being may recognize you, we need to change who you are. To give you a new life history. A legend as we call it."

I wasn't sure I liked not being Aeryn Sun Crichton, but I could see their point.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

Everyone smiled.

In an arn I was standing in front of a mirror examining my "new" self. My hair was reddish brown and my eyes were a deep green.

"Don't worry." Kathleen said. "The colors will fade in a month or so."

"I do suggest a re-coloring just before we get to Droon, just in case." Rudy said. That prompted a chorus of "hmmms" from Aida and Kathleen.

Artificial flesh had been added to my cheeks and chin so that my face was now rounder.

I also wore a uniform much like the rest of the human soldiers aboard ship. Highly polished black boots, khaki trousers, a dark green jacket over a black high necked shirt, and an odd cap called a kepi on my head. The cap featured a highly polished black leather brim with a bright red headband and a light blue top. The cap was tilted rakishly over one eye.

"The chasseur kepi indicates you served in the Chasseurs d'Auricania." Aida told me. "Many of our people wear some sort of "tribal" gear to mark service in a previous unit, or show some sort of ethnic or religious affiliation. The Chasseurs were a division sized task force that held Auracania against all comers for a dozen years. Eventually Auricania got a negotiated settlement instead of an invasion. They did all right. We picked up a lot of the Chasseurs when they left Auricania and disbanded."

Aida tapped the insignia on my shoulders. "Your shoulder boards show the rank of lieutenant colonel. The backing color is blue to show you're infantry and it's bordered in gold to show you're part of the Marshall's Guard Regiment."

Aida then tapped the bottom of my left sleeve where three dench long strips of red had been sewn. "Blood stripes. Each one indicates a wound."

I raised an eyebrow. "I have a lot more scars than three wounds would account for."

Aida nodded. "True. But the only wounds that would count would be those you got with Marshall O'Donnell's Corps."

Before I could reply, she tapped the bottom on my right sleeve. Sewn there was an odd looking cloth insignia, a gold circle with red flames coming out of the top. "Combat Sappers Badge. It means you were assigned to a unit that got to force their way into heavily defended locality. Sappers are also referred to by the encouraging name of "the forlorn hope."

Next Aida indicated on odd half circle silver metal object above my right breast pocket.

"Since you were a commando trained Peacekeeper, we decided to give you drop infantry wings. That means to go into battle you'd be dropped on a hostile planet in an egg shaped one person entry pod. Drogue 'chutes and retro rockets would keep you from burning up when you entered the atmosphere and when you got low enough, the pod would pop open and you'd parachute the rest of the way to the ground."

"With people shooting at you from the moment you left your ship." Rudy added.

Next Aida ran her finger along a row of ribbons over my left breast pocket. "Mercenaries don't have much use for campaign medals, or awards for valor, or such like. They're in it for the money. The ribbon on your right shows you graduated from the Friesland Staff College. That means that you're not just a talented killer, but that you have a brain."

"The white ribbon with the red cross on it shows you qualified as a Healer in the one year course given at St. John's of New Jerusalem. Damned few combat troops would bother with that one, so it also says you're a bit of an eccentric."

"The last one, the green and yellow ribbon on the other end indicates you qualified as a trainer of brigade or regimental staffs at the Potsdam Academy."

"Aida, no one in this universe will know what these are."

Rudy replied. "The secret to success as an agent is to steer close to the truth, make all your lies believable and capable of being verified, and never going out of character."

"There's another thing, Aeryn." Kathleen added. "We have no idea how long the search for John might go on. Almost all of the people who know that Aeryn Sun Crichton is aboard this ship are the types that don't talk. The more people that know you're here, the more any bad guys who might be involved will stay away from us. However, another nearly anonymous human soldier won't be of any interest to anyone."

What Kathleen did not say was that if John were dead, the killers would be sure to stay clear of his widow and any of his friends. They wouldn't be so cautious about a bunch of humans who couldn't possibly know anyone named John and Aeryn Crichton.

Rudy smiled. "Now, shall we continue, Lieutenant Colonel de Castries?"

"That's me?" I asked.

Rudy nodded.

I began learning about my self.

I was Claudine de Castries, the daughter of a minor noble on the planet Oranais. Like many poor humans with pretensions of nobility, he had left his home planet to seek service as a soldier of fortune. He had not prospered and had died young, leaving behind a young daughter who was raised as a ward of the planetary government of Gascogne. Gascogne was not generous to the children of her fallen mercenaries and I had received a slap-dash education by human standards. At seventeen it was "suggested" that I should seek service elsewhere. I had then enlisted in the Chasseurs d'Auricania.

I had then….

Frell, frell, frell.

I had an unending parade of units, planets, comrades and battles to memorize. The only thing that kept me at it was that if I stopped, I started thinking about John. The more I thought about John, the more I thought about the possibility of his death. The probability of his death. The certainty….

Frell, frell, frell.

I kept working on learning my new background for another several arns, but I finally had to quit. I couldn't stop thinking about John and what he might be going through while I just sat and did nothing. I grabbed my kepi and walked out the door. I had no idea where I was headed for, but anything had to be better than this.

"Good day, Colonel de Castries. Out for a walk?"

I nodded as Rudy caught up to me and began walking with me.

"Sometimes when things get to be too much, it's good to just relax for a few moments." Rudy said solicitously.

I grunted a reply.

"I like to go to McGarry's Garden, myself."

The name was familiar. "McGarry? I've heard than name before."

Rudy grinned. "He's the Provost Sergeant. He's in charge of Lieutenant Redd and her pilots."

"Odd person to have a garden." I replied.

Rudy shrugged. "Mercenaries have little need for prisons. Serious offenders are usually executed. Serious offenders who aren't quite eligible for execution are just kicked out of the unit and become someone else's problem. That leaves the usual selection of defaulters. People who regularly drink too much, fight their comrades, damage equipment, and so on. For their sins they spend a week or two with Sergeant McGarry doing difficult work on minimal rations."

"And this involves a garden how?" I persisted.

"When Agincourt was overhauled a few years ago, she ended up with a small open space that had no apparent use. McGarry decided he needed a garden."

"Humans aren't born in space like Peacekeepers. A ship like this may be home to you, but not to humans. So they bring a little something of their planets with them."

"Ah! Here we are." Rudy said.

We walked out onto a long balcony. Half a deck below us was an area of some twenty metras by four or five metras. Most of it was covered in the green grass I remembered from Earth. In addition there were small trees, hedges and flower beds. I stood there for a microt remembering that Earth was, indeed, a beautiful planet. In the center was a small fountain made to look like a natural spring flowing from some rocks.

Two people were working in the garden. One was Redd, still dressed in a bright orange, one piece jumpsuit with a large letter "P" on it. She sat on a small stool, sprinkling some sort of liquid in minute quantities on the flowers in front of her. Redd had changed. She looked older now that she was off of her Peacekeeper medications, but she seemed to be out from under the great weight of her responsibilities. I decided she looked better.

The other one, less than a metra away from Redd, was a human who looked familiar.

"McAuslan is back I see." Rudy muttered.

"I thought he was a member of an elite unit." I asked. "They usually aren't the sort to be chronic disciplinary problems."

"McAuslan is unique." Rudy replied, shaking his head and smiling. "Apparently some odd and garbled accounts of Redd's adventures and problems have reached the ears of the hoi polloi in spite of Kathleen's warnings. It's a shame Redd doesn't understand Glaswegian, since McAuslan's small talk is designed to comfort and advise her."

Rudy stopped talking and we listened to McAuslan.

"…mind you, auld yin, there's this tae be said for bein' in the nick, ye get yer room an' board, an' at your time o' life the wogs are nae gaun tae pit ye tae breakin' rocks, sure'n they're no? Ah dae ken whit it's like in a Pea Kay cooler, but ach! they'll no be hard on ye. An' ye never know, mebbe ye'll get a chance tae go ower the wa' again. They tell me ye've been ay-woll a'ready frae the Pea Kay. Jings, that's sumpin'. Aye, but- mah advice tae ye is, don't try it while ye're here, for any favor, becuz that big bastard McGarry's got eyes in his erse, an ye widnae get by the gate. Nae, jist you wait till ra wogs come for ye, an' bide yer time an' scram when their back's turned- they're no' organized at a', ra wogs. Weel, ye ken that yersel'. Aye, but ye'll no be as nippy as ye were…..ach, but mebbe it'll no be so bad. Whitever it's like it cannae be worse'n getting' liftit by the Marine Division in Gleska, no kiddin'. See them? Buncha animals, so they are. Did Ah no tell ye aboot the time Ah got done, after the Cup Final? It wis like this, see…."

I smiled when I saw the look of bewilderment on Redd's face. What the frell was it with human speech?

Well, I had been listening to human speech for decades now and I knew she was better off listening to even McAuslan than she would be listening to any Peacekeeper.

Rudy and I stood there for a while listening to McAuslan's nearly incomprehensible ramblings. When I finally went back to my quarters, I noticed I felt better and also closer to John.

Deep in interstellar space the next day, we rendezvoused with Scipio Africanus.

We had a conference with the senior officers of the Scipio Africanus. The conference wasn't long. Our plan was simple. The two ships would go into orbit over Droon and send our small party down in a lander. Kathleen, pretending to represent Vasa Corbellote, would go to the shadow depository with a small party of troops, including Lt. Col. Claudine de Castries. Once inside, she'd use the security codes we'd pilfered from Corbelote's mind to remove the documents he had stored and be on our way, with Natira none the wiser. If things turned to dren…..Well, we'd just have to see what we'd need to do.

Before I knew it, we were landing on Droon. The authorities hadn't liked allowing two heavily armed warships to orbit their planet, but apparently word that we were to see Natira quieted their fears.

I got a good look at our destination as we walked from the nearby landing ground. Apparently Natira was important enough for the planetary government to allow transports to land next to the depository. Kathleen walked to my right and six human troopers from the Special Operations Recon Team, all of whom I recognized, followed behind us. Kathleen decided that our escort should be troops used to using guile rather than brute force.

That said, I could have wished for a little more brute force. We all carried 1mm powergun pistols and instead of armor, the troops wore a khaki shirt, something called a Glengarry bonnet and an oddly patterned lower garment that I would have called a skirt had I not been told to never call it anything but a kilt.

The shadow depository was even larger than the one that John and I had raided so long ago. And, it was all turrets, gun slits and sensors inside what appeared to be cubic metras of concrete and steel. Natira must have felt unsafe after my last visit.

We were welcomed at the door by an attractive young Sebacean lady. She said she would take us to see Natira at once.

"I presume you'll want our sidearms?" Kathleen said.

The woman shook her head. "Not necessary. A warband of Luxans or a regiment of Imperial Charrids couldn't get in here and out again alive. Our defenses are impenetrable. Many of our customers hate to be disarmed, so we indulge them."

Well, overconfident enemies were the best kind.

On the other hand, there were well armed guards aplenty in the depository. If you knew what to look for, you could see well disguised gunports covering the interior of the depository. I also saw some markings on the floor showing that something heavy had been dragged over it. A vehicle or a mobile gun?

Natira herself was waiting for us in a large open space in the center of the depository. Around a fountain were comfortable looking chairs and couches. Nearby hovered servitors with trays of food and drink.

Natira had changed some since I had seen her last. She appeared to be skinnier, although with beings with exoskeletons it was often hard to tell. The main difference was her eyes. She now had prosthetic implants; dull grey orbs set in her blue-grey face.

"You are from Lord Corbellote?" She asked.

Kathleen nodded. "Our authorization." She replied, holding out a data cube to Natira.

"You will excuse me, but I have to hold the data cube close to my eyes to read it. My eyes are not what they once were." She said examining the cube from very close range. Her vision must have been very poor indeed.

"Your name is?" Natira asked Kathleen.

"Dalat Asmaly." Kathleen replied sharply.

"You say that as if I should know your name."

Kathleen snorted. "I hope not. I just made it up when you asked me. I'd hate to think I was using the name of someone famous."

Natira examined the cube for a while longer. "This is most irregular."

Kathleen made no reply.

"This is most irregular." Natira repeated. "Don't you think so?"

Kathleen shook her head. "I have no experience with shadow depositories. If you say this is irregular, I'll take your word for it. Does this irregularity in some way affect my mission?"

Natira appeared to be a bit hesitant. "It's just that Lord Corbellote has always come to the depository himself. He's never used a representative."

Kathleen nodded. "But he did make arrangements for the use of an agent. Hence the security codes I presented to you to establish that I am his representative."

Natira nodded slowly. "There is more. A ship arrived yesterday from a nearby pleasure planet. It was raided by unknown forces. All of the compounds on the planet were attacked and the inhabitants slaughtered. Many of Lord Corbellote's servants and family were brutally executed. However, his body was not found."

Kathleen nodded. "If he has powerful enemies, then he may have very good reason to be elsewhere. Gathering his own forces and such."

"He made no mention of this raid to you?"

Kathleen shook her head. "I have never met Lord Corbellote. If he said something to my superiors, they did not feel it was necessary to pass it on to me."

"Odd." Natira muttered.

"Not at all." Kathleen said sharply. "It is not our practice to ask for any more information of our clients than is needed for our mission. Nor do many of our clients wish to impart more information."

"But you did not know of this raid?" Natira continued.

"We do not provide anyone with more information than is necessary for our mission." Kathleen snapped back.

Natira looked rather surprised at Kathleen's outburst. Kathleen stayed on the offensive.

"If you do not intend to allow us access to Lord Corbellote's vault, tell us now and we'll be on our way. We cannot be blamed for this and our contract will remain in force. We will leave the matter to you and Lord Corbellotte."

Natira shook her head. "No, no. That was not my meaning. It's just that…"

"This is irregular. You've said that." Kathleen finished for her.

Natira glanced around her and then shrugged. "Please follow me."

She led us up a very wide ramp. At the top was a flat space that could easily have accommodated any of the vaults I had seen in her old depository.

Suddenly, the air shimmered around us and a large vault appeared in front of us.

"This is the vault." Natira said, nodding toward the vault.

Kathleen walked over and knelt by the vault. In front of her was a small keypad. She made sure her body was between the keypad and everyone else as she typed in a code. The door opened.

"Now you can go in." Natira said.

"Not likely." Kathleen replied. She took out a small device from her pocket and waved in gently in front of the open vault door.

"Now I can go in." Kathleen said.

All the way in the back of the vault was a box. No more than a motra on each side. Kathleen knelt over it and did something none of us could see. Then she stood.

"All done." She said over her shoulder. "Mr. MacNeill, I think Wee Wully can handle this by himself."

Wee Wully strode into the vault, lifted the box and tucked it neatly under one arm.

"If you are done, we need to return to my office to complete the necessary documentation." Natira said.

Kathleen nodded and we all followed Natira into a large, expensively furnished office in the center of the shadow depository.

All together it was a neatly done ambush. Kathleen leaned over Natira's desk to sign the documents. In an instant Natira had a gun at Kathleen's throat and the Sebacean woman had her pistol at my head.

"Now," Natira said coldly, "take your loot and leave alive. But leave Aeryn Sun to me."