Sullivan Saga 1: Sullivan's War (23 page)

Dean shook her head. “I hope so, General. But even if this attack is successful, we may still have a rebellion on our hands. This may give them something to rally around.”

“Perhaps. But I’d rather they not see us defeat the rebels with their own eyes. I’d rather it happen remotely, where the ugliness of war will not be so… vivid.”

Dean stood up from her chair. “If anything goes wrong, Geary—if your men are captured or identified—I will have your stars.”

Geary smiled again and saluted as she left the room, followed by her advisors. As soon as she was gone, the smile faded into a scowl. Geary turned to the military officers around him. “Now, gentlemen,” he said, “let’s get back to more important work.”

16

FRANK ALLEN WAS tense with anticipation. The experimental ship had entered hyper-hyperspace only a few hours previously, and ever since then, Allen’s senses had been tuned to pick up any indication that one of the entities was present. He was thankful that Dale Hammond, the same pilot from his first trip into hyper-hyperspace, was at the helm. It helped to have a friendly face around.

Hammond looked over at Allen and grinned. “Why are you so jumpy?”

Allen hadn’t told Hammond about his encounter on the way back from Damaris. He decided to lie. “It’s just that I have to go tell Sullivan about Mr. Alexander’s death. He’ll think I wasn’t doing my job. I did let Harvey into the penthouse, after all. I did put Kate in danger. I don’t know how he’ll take that.”

“When we were coming back from Damaris, after you and Sullivan rescued Kate, I got to know him a little. I wouldn’t worry about it. I think he knows the kind of man you are. He knows you did everything you could.”

Allen nodded. “I suppose so. Still, it’s not good news to have to deliver. He’ll have to delay his work on Faris and come back to Silvanus.” Allen got up and stretched. “I’m going to get a little shuteye. When does my shift start?”

“Twelve hundred.”

“All right. I’ll be back then. See you in a few hours.”

Allen stepped out of the cockpit and into the rear of the ship. He passed the galley and lounge, but as he was about to step into the cabin and crawl into his bunk, he faltered. Sitting on the bottom bunk was Liz Wagner. She smiled when she saw him.

Allen steadied himself against the hatchway for a moment then entered and closed the hatch behind him. He sat in the swivel chair next to the desk and swallowed a few times before speaking.

“Are you the same one? The one who came to me before?”

Liz nodded. “It’s good to see you again, Frank.”

Allen shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t say the same. I was anticipating this, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I suppose you want to talk about the other ship that passed this way recently. Sullivan’s ship.”

“We noticed his passing, yes.”

“You have to understand that I told them about your wish to be left alone. And it’s only because of difficult circumstances that I’m here now.”

“We know, Frank. We can see it in your mind. And we spoke to Sullivan when he passed.”

“You did? What did he say?”

“He was apologetic. He told us how important it was that he get to Faris quickly, about the rebellion and his desire for justice.”

Allen swallowed again. Looking at Liz, he could feel himself beginning to tear up. “And is that good enough? Do you—will you—allow it?”

“You’re still in pain. I can feel that. If you like, I will take another form.”

Allen bit his lip and shook his head. “No. It’s all right. I’ve had some more time, and I think I can handle it.”

“Come over to me, Frank.”

Allen got up and moved to the side of the bed. He sat and cradled Liz in his arms.

“You asked a question,” she said.

“Yes.”

“We have decided to allow Sullivan—and you—to travel in hyper-hyperspace until your goals are accomplished. These ships will allow you to stay one step ahead of your adversaries.”

Allen broke the embrace with Liz. “You mean Sullivan’s adversaries. This isn’t my fight.”

“Are you so sure?”

“I’m positive. Once we take care of Harvey, I’m done. I’ll stay on with Kate if she’ll have me, but I have no intention of going to war with Edaline’s military.”

“But isn’t that why you joined the Bureau? To fight injustice?”

“You’re right. When I was young and naïve, that is what I thought. I know better now.”

“What do you know?”

“That even the Assembly is corrupt. Even the people who we elect to serve our best interests are only looking out for themselves. It’s that system that ultimately led to your… to Liz’s… death. But I’m done fighting it. I’ll just live with it as best as I can.”

Liz’s eyes saddened. She held out her hand and put her palm over his heart. “That’s not what’s inside here. That’s not the Frank Allen that Liz loved.”

Allen shook his head as tears began to stream down his cheeks. “Liz is dead. And that Frank Allen died with her. I’m sorry, but I just can’t keep fighting. I can’t. I can’t.”

He wiped the tears from his eyes then dried his face on his sleeve. When he looked up again, he was alone.

17

TO MANY, FARIS was an example of everything that had been done right. The first settlers had been careful to keep the environment pristine, the cities clean and the inhabitants satisfied with life. As a result, they had been able to keep out the less savory element that had gone on to inhabit many of the other non-Stellar Assembly planets. In fact, if one didn’t know, the level of prosperity on Faris would lead one to believe that it was, in fact, an SA planet. The only reason it wasn’t was because the people of Faris didn’t believe the SA went far enough in protecting the environments of the inhabited planets. If they joined the SA, they would have to conform to the Assembly’s environmental standards. On every other planet, those standards would mean a tightening of regulations. On Faris, they would mean a slackening, allowing corporations to come in and exploit the planet’s resources.

Faris, in addition to having strict environmental standards, endorsed as free a society as possible. Within the semi-socialistic economic structure, the people enjoyed a level of freedom unmatched by any other planet. Poverty and hunger were unknown, and crime was almost non-existent. With Faris’s constitution forbidding any private money from being spent to either endorse or slander candidates and strictly-enforced anti-lobbying legislation, political corruption was minimal. Most of the citizens of Faris supported this system enthusiastically.

The ideals of the Farisians being as they were, the government—and the people—were more than happy to offer a refuge to those escaping the tyranny on Edaline. Many Edalinians had joined Faris’s society and were living quite happily on their new home world. But for four thousand Edalinians, escape from Edaline’s tyrants was not enough. They sought to overthrow the planet’s government and put in place a free and fair system.

The mining camp that Allen arrived at had been abandoned for nearly a decade when the refugees from Edaline first started coming to Faris. Faris’s government had shut it down after it determined that further mining in that area would have had too-detrimental an effect on the environment. Open pit mines were out of the question, and what was left was a single, straight shaft boring down into the ground at a fifteen degree slope.

After they’d dropped out of hyperspace, Allen had messaged ahead to the rebel camp that he was en route. Sullivan met him at the landing port at the edge of the camp. The ships that had once transferred the ore to the smelters elsewhere on the planet had been replaced by a handful of aging freighters and small passenger ships, the few vessels the rebellion had managed to acquire.

“Frank,” said Sullivan as the other man stepped out onto the tarmac. They shook hands, and Allen looked around at the complex.

“Hello, Rick.”

“Is everything all right? What brings you here?”

“I think we should talk in private, Rick.”

Sullivan turned to the two men beside him, part of the complex’s security team, and nodded. “It’s all right. He can be trusted.”

The men departed, and Sullivan followed Allen back into the ship.

“Have a seat,” said Allen, after leading Sullivan into the ship’s lounge.

“You’re worrying me.”

“Let me first say that Kate is fine.”

“But?”

“But… Mr. Alexander… Harvey killed him.”

Sullivan’s expression hardened. “How?”

“It was an accident, I think. He hit him a couple of times with an electroshock weapon. Mr. Alexander was in good shape for his age, but his heart gave out.”

Allen removed his tablet. “I’d placed listening devices in every room of the penthouse for security. Do you want to listen?”

Sullivan shook his head. “No. That’s all right.”

“It seems Harvey was looking for you. He didn’t believe us that you’d already gone to Faris.”

“I see.”

“He probably still thinks you’re on Silvanus. I think he’ll be waiting for you to come after him.”

Sullivan stood. “I’ll be ready to go in an hour.”

Allen nodded. “I’ll let Hammond know.”

A DAY OUT from Faris, Sullivan and Allen sat down to work out the plan. Harvey believed one of two things: that Sullivan was, indeed, on Faris, despite his earlier doubts, or that Sullivan was still on Silvanus. If he believed the former, they could surprise him. He’d expect to have months before Sullivan returned. If he believed the latter, then he’d already be prepared.

“I still don’t understand,” said Allen. “Why would Harvey go after Mr. Alexander? He’s a hunted man, now. He won’t be able to live openly on any SA planet.”

Sullivan nodded. “My guess is that he’s done with lawful bounty work. After he takes care of me, he’s probably going to go to one of the rougher planets and offer his services to the highest bidder. He is very good at what he does.”

“But why? Why choose that life?”

Sullivan sighed. “I may have had something to do with that. When I first encountered Harvey, I killed his partner. I didn’t want to, but I had no other choice. I think that may have been the tipping point for a man who, let’s face it, was always skirting the line between right and wrong. I could see then that he was a dangerous man. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

Allen put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But you didn’t because you know what side of that line you walk.”

Sullivan shook his head. “Maybe. But my line is a lot farther out than most.”

“I’m beginning to believe that that doesn’t matter so much,” said Allen. “Everyone has a point at which they say they’ll go no further. What makes a man good or bad is not necessarily where that point is. It’s whether or not, upon reaching it, he stops there.”

“That’s a somewhat pessimistic view of morality.”

“Do you see yourself as a moral man?”

Sullivan sat in silence for a moment. “I don’t know. Do you see me as a moral man?”

“Well, have you stepped over the line that you’ve set for yourself?”

Sullivan nodded. “I have.”

“When?”

“Back when I was in the special forces, my commanding officer was a man named Price. One night, we raided an apartment where suspected dissidents lived. We cleared the apartment, killed two adults, a man and a woman. But there was a son. A teenager. Price ordered me to shoot him.”

“And you did?”

“I did.”

Allen shook his head. “I still say you’re a good man, Rick. Do you regret killing that boy?”

“Every day and night.”

“You stepped over the line, but then you stepped back. You’re a different man now. Maybe you’re a different man
because
of what you were forced to do. Without that, maybe you wouldn’t be here now, working to bring freedom to Edaline.”

“Justification is a dangerous thing, Frank.”

“It can be, yes. But sometimes it’s all we have.” Allen looked away from his friend.

“All I’m saying is that I’ve managed to convince myself that a lot of the things I’ve done were justifiable. I convinced myself that by committing a little wrong, I was benefitting the greater good.”

“And aren’t you?”

“I don’t know anymore. I still believe in freeing Edaline, I still want that. But the men I killed—the assemblymen, that freighter pilot Jones who sold me to Zednik—did they deserve to die? Harvey said my killings weren’t justifiable when I confronted him on Trenton. I argued my point, but if even a man like Harvey….”

“He was trying to get into your head, Rick. Whatever he said is meaningless. He doesn’t know you, but I do. Do you trust me?”

Sullivan nodded. “I’d trust you with my life.”

“Then trust me on this. You’re a good man in spite of—maybe because of—the things you’ve done in the past. Men can change. The important thing is that you learn from what you’ve done. If that’s justification, then so be it.”

Sullivan shook his head. “If that’s justification, then an awful lot of people have died so others could become better men. How many more will die because of me before this is all over?”

Allen leveled his gaze at his friend. “It’ll probably be more than you want. But you must do what must be done. Just do it knowing that you have my full support.”

Sullivan nodded. “Thank you, Frank. I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you.”

“Neither could I.”

18

ALLEN STUDIED THE map of Silvanus. “There’s a warrant out for Harvey,” he said. “He’ll be lying low.”

Sullivan leaned in to look at the display on Allen’s tablet. “There’s a warrant out for me, too. I’ll have to be careful.”

Kate put her hand in Sullivan’s. “But you’re under the protection of the Alexander name. My father had a lot of favors owed him.”

“Do you think one of those favors could get us access to the planet’s security database? If we can pick him up on any of the surveillance cameras, we may be able to narrow the search.”

Kate furrowed her brow. “I’ll have to check. My father was friends with a few higher-ups in the Bureau.”

Allen tapped on the screen of the tablet and zoomed in. “Kate, your building is here. This is the park. What are these other buildings in the area?”