The following morning Hutch and Scarecrow stepped through the hatch to the Rear Admiral’s office. Reynolds was waiting for them, along with an unknown Marine officer.
“Gentlemen, this is Marine Major Douglas Peterson. He’s the CO of the three assailants. Major, this is my CAG, Captain Alan Hutcheson, and Major Cooper’s fiancé, Commander Steve Richardson.”
“Captain, Commander.” The major saluted, then offered his hand. Hutch hesitated, but finally shook. Scarecrow remained aloof.
“Commander Richardson, I would like to offer a formal apology for what happened to your fiancé. I’m very–”
“Save it,” Scarecrow said, his voice firm. “Those were your Marines.”
“They’re not Marines, Commander. They may wear the uniform, but they certainly don’t walk the walk.”
“They are not all knights who ride a horse …” Hutch said.
“CAG?” the major replied.
“It’s an old medieval proverb. It means there are those who espouse honor, but don’t necessarily practice it.”
“What do you plan on doing with them, Major?” Scarecrow asked.
“Steve, Lieutenant Watson, the ring-leader, died early this morning,” Reynolds said.
“… That’s too bad,” Scarecrow replied, his face stern. His sarcasm was evident.
“If you are your father’s son, and I know you are, you don’t mean that.”
“With all due respect, Admiral, how would you know if I’m my father’s son?”
“I knew your father well. We attended the Air Force Academy together. He was a good friend. I … wept when I received the news he’d passed away. I was heartbroken that I wasn’t able to attend his funeral.”
Shock and surprise wafted across Scarecrow’s face at Reynolds’ declaration.
“I don’t think anyone in this room will shed a tear for the Lieutenant,” Hutch said. “I know I won’t.”
The major nodded in agreement.
“The other two are convalescing, and according to the doctor, both will eventually recover.” Reynolds said.
“What’s going to happen to them?” Scarecrow turned back to the major.
“A Big Chicken Dinner, if I have anything to say about it,” Hutch said. The major cast him a surprised glance.
“When they’re sufficiently recovered, they’ll be brought up on charges and be court-martialed,” the major replied. “They’ll spend the next 20 years in a Solar Warden prison.
“We have those?” Scarecrow asked.
“Yes,” Reynolds replied. “There’s a consolidated brig on LOC, and a smaller one at the Mars Base. Crime is rare in the Program, so we don’t have many inmates.”
Commander …” Peterson hesitated. “The Admiral and I did some digging, and we discovered that this isn’t the first time these three have been involved in an incident like th–”
“These three have done this before, and no one noticed? No one reported anything? Are you suggesting Major Cooper’s attack could have been prevented? Have you seen what they did to her?”
“Commander, I give you my word of honor, on my life, I had no knowledge of their previous actions. The complaints never made it across my desk. I did receive a complaint from your Major Cooper in a communique minutes before she was attacked yesterday. That was the first I knew about any of this, I swear. Someone in my chain of command swept the previous incidents under the rug, and I wasn’t aware of them at all.”
“How many other attacks have there been?” Scarecrow wasn’t convinced of Peterson’s sincerity.
“Three. Over a four-year period.”
“And what, exactly, do you plan on doing about that?” Hutch asked.
“I’m going to launch a full investigation, and when I do find out which of my officers is responsible for ignoring the complaints levelled against these three, they’ll be prosecuted to the full extent of the uniform code of military justice. I’ll see to it personally they end up rotting in a brig cell right next to the other two. I can assure you of that.”
“Steve, we have a very thorough vetting process that all of our personnel undergo in order to be accepted into the Program,” Reynolds said. “You know that. You went through it, as did all of us. When this sort of aberrant behaviour is detected the candidate is immediately disqualified.”
“We don’t know how they managed to slip through the cracks, Commander,” the major said. “Unfortunately, it appears our screening process isn’t perfect.”
“Tell that to Major Cooper, trapped in a regeneration pod down in sick bay,” Scarecrow replied.
“Commander, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened to Major Cooper. But I assure you, the two surviving offenders will be prosecuted. I will find out who let them slide for so long, and they too will be brought to justice. You have my word on that. And I am a knight who believes in practicing the honor I espouse.” He glanced at Hutch.
Peterson held his hand out once more to Scarecrow, who hesitated as Hutch had done before him. The tension was palpable, until Scarecrow took the major’s hand and shook it.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I’ll send you all my reports concerning the investigation, so you can follow its progress.”
“Thank you.”
“And what about the first sergeant and his men, Admiral?” Hutch turned to Reynolds.
“They were released this morning.”
“Really?” Scarecrow’s countenance, stern and irate up until now, broke into a smile. “That is good news. What prompted that?”
“The doctor’s preliminary report,” Reynolds replied. “In it he states he couldn’t distinguish which injuries were responsible for the lieutenant’s death–those from Major Cooper’s self-defense, or her Marine’s alleged retribution. The entire platoon is being tight-lipped about the whole incident and will only admit the three offenders merely ‘fell down.’” He cast a wry smirk at Scarecrow. “The corporal is still in a coma. The private is out of surgery and when questioned, claimed he doesn’t remember anything after he was rendered unconscious by the first sergeant in the passageway. Apparently he was guarding the hatch to the women’s head when he was approached and challenged by Lieutenant MacPherson. He chased the Lieutenant after she heard Sandy call for help. Both of them ran into the first sergeant and his platoon. They took the private with them while MacPherson led them back to the women’s head, where the first sergeant and his men rescued the major.
“There are no cameras in the women’s head, so we don’t have a visual record of what actually took place between the time when the major was escorted to sick bay and the security team arrived to take the three assailants into custody. And for some unknown reason, the internal sensors don’t record anything in the women’s head during the events in question. Even when the corporal regains consciousness, it’ll be his word against over a dozen other Marines, and that’s not enough evidence to proceed with courts-martial. So the first sergeant and his men are free to go.”
“I think I’m going to buy them all a round of drinks,” Scarecrow said, smiling. “Maybe two.”
“I’ll get in on that,” Hutch said as he slapped his pilot on the back.
“Well, I can’t say it enough times, Commander. I am truly sorry for the attack on Major Cooper. You’ll be receiving a formal apology from my office, a copy of which will be forwarded to Command, along with my full report on the incident. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would like to check on the two perpetrators, and then I have to see to my men’s deployment at the Mars Base.” Peterson saluted and left.
As the hatch secured, Scarecrow turned to Reynolds, hesitating before he spoke.
“Please tell me about your friendship with my dad …” he asked, his voice quiet, a look of eagerness on his face.