Andromeda’s Choice (38 page)

Satisfied that the leaks had been plugged, and refreshed by whatever stimulant had entered her bloodstream, McKee stood. Then, having crawled out of the hole, she struggled to her feet. The wounds hurt, but not as badly as before. So, by gritting her teeth and uttering every swear word she knew, she managed to hobble over to the slope. The remote was ready, in case there was a need to blow the last row of mines, but it quickly became apparent that McKee could throw the device away. All of the explosives had been detonated by a direct hit. And the huge star-shaped crater overlaid most of trenches two and three as well.

As for the Naa, there wasn't much left to look at. Just bloodstained snow and a scattering of body parts and weapons. Farther downslope, the corpses were piled in drifts. And beyond that, out on the plain, she saw what had to be hundreds of craters and a carpet of bodies that stretched for as far as the eye could see.

The energy bolts had ceased to fall by then, and as McKee removed her helmet, Hasbro appeared at her side. “I knew you were alive,” he said. “I could see your icon on my HUD.”

“And the others?”

“Everybody who made it to the FOB survived. Twenty-seven people in all. Vickers's missing though.”

“That's too bad.”

“Yeah.”

McKee looked out over the desert. As the sun arced into the west, a crack appeared in the overcast and a single ray of sunshine touched the ground. “So we won.”

Hasbro was silent for a moment. And when he spoke, his voice was grave. “We survived.”

McKee nodded. And that, she decided, would have to do.

It ain't over
till it's over.

YOGI BERRA
Standard year 1973

PLANET EARTH

A shaft of sunlight slanted in through an arched window to splash Tarch Hanno's old-fashioned desk with gold. But even if the furniture in his generously proportioned office harkened back to an earlier era, there was nothing retro about the ghostly-looking matrix that curved in front of him.

Still, a report was a report, no matter how it was delivered. And this one was from a case officer named Maximillian Rork—the man in charge of the Andromeda McKee investigation. The image on the center panel of the matrix had short hair, eyes that stared out from under craggy brows, and a nearly lipless mouth. It opened as Hanno touched the screen, and the voice that came out of it had a deep basso quality.

“The following report pertains to a subject known as Andromeda McKee and the investigation detailed in BMP file 87.21.06. Because McKee was present during the Mason assassination, and acted in a manner that could suggest prior knowledge of the attack, I received orders to initiate a Class I Reliability Review.”

Hanno took note of the words “could suggest prior knowledge of the attack” and nodded approvingly. McKee was under suspicion, but she was also a war hero, and it was important to keep that in mind. The report continued. “In order to carry out the review, it was necessary to recruit a legionnaire who could get close to McKee. I placed him under the supervision of the BMP's sole agent on Algeron. Unfortunately, the agent was assassinated before he could provide us with backdoor access to the Legion's personnel records or make any progress where the McKee review was concerned. The investigation into his death continues.

“At that point, I sent a second agent, but both agent two and the legionnaire assigned to gather information about McKee were killed during a major battle on Algeron. McKee and twenty-seven other people survived. Subsequent to that, McKee's battlefield promotion to second lieutenant was confirmed, and her name has been submitted for another decoration.”

The PR people will like that,
Hanno mused.
The war hero gets promoted. Perfect.

“With those facts in mind, I am requesting further orders,” Rork continued. “The original question remains unanswered: Did McKee participate in the Mason assassination or not? The investigation uncovered no evidence to suggest that McKee has any knowledge of the Reliability Review, murdered agent one, or is plotting to overthrow the government. So should I continue the investigation? Or consider it to be closed?”

Hanno made a jabbing motion, and the video froze. What to do? Order Rork to continue or close the investigation down? Lady Constance Jones and the Department of Internal Security were still trying to crush the increasingly dangerous Freedom Front, and they were the ones who claimed credit for the Mason assassination. So why did he continue to have misgivings where Sergeant, now Lieutenant, McKee was concerned? It was a hunch, that's all . . . A feeling that something wasn't right. But his hunches had been correct in the past.

He touched a control. “This is a memo for Maximillian Rork. You will continue to work on Reliability Review 87.21.06 until you succeed or receive further orders. There has to be more information about Lieutenant McKee out there. Find it.”