The Thin Blue Line (The Empire's Corps Book 9) (v5.1) (8 page)

She took a sip of her hot chocolate, then looked up at him. “Is that normal?”

“I used to dream of worse,” Glen said. Dreams could be significant, he knew, but they could also be randomised nonsense. He’d watched entertainment flicks as a child, only to dream about them in later years. “Having nightmares after a traumatic experience isn't really uncommon.”

He smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. “I find that talking about it can help,” he added, softly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know,” Helen said. “They said ...”

She broke off, her face twisting into a bitter grimace. “They said they’d kill my parents,” she added, after a moment. “But they’re already dead, aren't they?”

“The people in the warehouse are dead,” Glen said. He was privately surprised that Helen had survived. The Nihilists had never been reluctant to kill children, let alone teenagers, in the past. They wanted to kill as many people as possible before they died themselves. “And we can try and help your parents, if you help us to find them.”

Helen eyed him, trying to keep her face blank. Glen could read her, though; she simply didn't have any real experience in trying to lie to a law enforcement officer. She’d probably been taught not to trust officers, or anyone connected to the Empire’s authorities, something that wasn't entirely uncommon for spacers. Independent spacers, in particular, dreaded attracting official attention, with good reason. Helen’s parents wouldn't want to risk being charged with negligence on flimsy evidence and having their daughter taken away.

Glen cursed, inwardly. It was hard enough to enforce the law without the vast majority of the Empire’s population regarding the bureaucrats – and the police officers who enforced their will – as implacable enemies. And it was impossible to placate the bureaucrats. They were happy to do whatever it took to ensure that everyone toed the line, or upheld standards that simply didn't apply to everyone. Spacers, in particular, often ensured that their children had a better – or a more practical – education than planet-born children. But the bureaucrats regarded trying to keep children out of the educational system as a form of defiance, one to be stamped on as quickly as possible.

“I don’t know what’s happened to your parents,” he said, carefully. “But if they’re in trouble, they won’t be found unless you help us to find them.”

Helen looked down at the table, obviously torn between the desire to keep her mouth shut and her fear for her parents’ safety. Glen watched, hoping the Civil Guard never got it into their head that Helen could be a valuable source. They were authorised to use everything from starving a suspect to outright torture to extract information, if they felt the need. And Glen knew he couldn't protect Helen from them, not if they had good cause to suggest that he wasn't doing his job. They’d insist that Helen be turned over to them and Patty would be unable to object.

But all he could do was wait and see what she said.

“My parents command a freighter,” Helen said, finally. “They were talking about going out beyond the Rim, now their contract with the shipping firm has expired. And then they took a contract to ship items to Terra Nova.”

Glen frowned. The weapons?

“We had to take some staff onboard too,” Helen said. “I don’t think they liked me very much, because they kept glowering at me whenever they saw my face. But then they insisted I went down to the planet with them and they kept me in the warehouse and ...”

She started to cry. Glen silently filled in the gaps as he stood and walked around to give her what comfort he could. Helen’s parents had picked up the weapons, probably from one of the less-controlled worlds on the edge of the Core Worlds, and transported them to Terra Nova, accompanied by a team of Nihilist commandos. And then, to make sure that her parents kept their mouths firmly shut, the Nihilists had taken Helen as a hostage and transported her down to the planet. Somehow, Glen rather doubted she would have remained alive for long after the Nihilists had finished with her. Helen’s value as a hostage had been shrinking rapidly ever since the weapons had been moved to the surface.

But it still didn't explain how they’d managed to get the weapons down without being detected.

Someone must have been slipped a very considerable bribe
, Glen thought, although he knew the answer had to be more complex. He doubted there were more than a handful of officers on the orbital towers or spaceports who could have made sure the weapons slipped through without being inspected.
Or did they manage to subvert an entire team of inspectors
?

He sighed, then put the thought aside. The investigators would have to do the legwork, tracing the weapons back through the system until they uncovered the people responsible for letting them through the security screening and down to the planet. And then they could be interrogated thoroughly until they spilled their secrets, one by one. But it was unlikely they knew very much. They probably had gambling debts or other weaknesses the Nihilists had used to subvert them.

“You’re not to blame,” he said, looking back at Helen. “You didn't know what they were going to do.”

Helen met his eyes. “So why am I here?”

“Because there is nowhere else for you to go,” Glen said. He took a long breath. “We can't leave you in the cells or hand you over to the Civil Guard. If you have to stay here more than a week or so, we can probably find you a foster family ...”

“On the surface?” Helen asked. Her face twisted in disgust. “I’d rather die.”

“I understand,” Glen said.

He did, although he didn't want to say why out loud. Most children on Terra Nova were insufferable brats who, if they were half as smart as they thought they were, would be rated as super-geniuses who could devise the next generation of phase drives or starship weapons systems. Most of them would spend fifteen years of their lives in the educational system, then graduate ... and discover they were utterly unsuited to any form of proper employment. It was no surprise to him that they tended to either fall back on the Basic Living Stipend, and spend their time turning out the next generation of useless civilians, or turn to crime. What else could they do with their lives?

And Helen wouldn't have fitted in at any of the local schools. As someone from a spacer background, she would be too smart, too independent-minded, for her teachers. She’d be held back, then probably marked down as a trouble-maker before she finished her first week in a planetary school. And she would probably be bullied, or worse. Glen wouldn't have dreamed of sending his children to a public school. He knew them too well.

But it was harder and harder to find a private school that was actually affordable ...

“I want my parents,” Helen said. Tears appeared at the corner of her eyes. “I want to go back to the ship and forget everything. I want ...”

“I know,” Glen said. He helped her to her feet, then half-carried her back to the bedroom. “I don’t know what will happen to you, but I will do my best to ensure you don’t have to stay on the planet.”

Helen looked up at him as he placed her on the bed. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Glen said. “Now ... do you want something to help you sleep?”

“No, thank you,” Helen said. “But please stay here for a while.”

Glen hesitated, then sat down beside the bed and turned off the light. “I’ll be here,” he said, as she pulled the covers over her head. “You go to sleep.”

He thought, rapidly, as she tried to go to sleep. What
would
happen to her? If her parents were tried and convicted of shipping illegal weapons to a planet where weapons were banned, they’d be lucky not to be transported to a penal world and dumped there without any way to escape. Their daughter would either be taken into care – which would mean a foster family, eventually – or exiled herself, sold to a planetary development corporation as an involuntary colonist. Neither one would end well for Helen, unless she was very lucky. Few of the indents had decent lives, even on well-developed colony worlds. They were always called upon to do the shit work.

Or have as many babies as possible
, Glen thought, bitterly.

He felt an odd surge of protectiveness that surprised him. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to apply for her guardianship himself, although it was unlikely the Child Support Services would give her to him without a fight. They’d think that an Imperial Marshal wouldn't make a good father, even though he made a good salary and had an apartment of his own in a reputable part of town. He had no wife, after all, despite the fact that children and teenagers were expected to spend at least fourteen hours a day at school, then afterschool care.

You’re being silly
, he told himself, as he heard the sound of snores from under the sheets.
You don’t know the girl, not really. You just feel protective because you saw her treated like a suspect by the Civil Guard. Patty won’t go to bat for you if you want to take her into your home – and even if she did, would Helen want you if she blamed you for what happened to her parents?

He stood, as quietly as he could, and crept out of the room, leaving the door half-open behind him. There was little point in going back to sleep, so he found his terminal and sat down in the kitchen, then accessed the private government communications network. The forensic teams had worked throughout the night, struggling to pull as much evidence as they could from the warehouse before they were redirected to yet another crime scene. Despite their haste, they had done a fairly good job. Most of the dead Nihilists had been identified, much to his surprise. But the Nihilists had probably classed the warehouse staff as more expendable than usual.

All former students
, he thought, as he scanned the files. That wasn't a surprise. The students had spent years in education, gaining their degrees, only to discover that they were worthless pieces of paper. The Nihilists had plenty of experience in spotting people who might join their crusade and kill as many people as possible, everyone from the sexually-frustrated to the emotionally deprived who thought nothing of going out with a bang.
But why were they at the warehouse in the first place
?

The handful of unidentified bodies were more interesting. They’d been killed by the Civil Guard, according to the brief autopsies, but they’d also been carrying suicide implants that had flashed their brains to ash, as well as destroying the implants themselves.
That
was odd, for the Nihilists, suggesting their leadership had been more interested in protecting their secrets than normal. Who had the unidentified men
been
?

They’re probably trained men
, Glen thought. The reports made it clear that they had been at the peak of physical fitness, something unusual for the Nihilists. Another oddity to add to a series of odd points that didn't quite make sense.
Were they mercenaries to train the terrorists in using their weapons or were they just there to safeguard the consignment?

He shook his head. The investigators would be heading to the homes and families of the identified Nihilists already, hoping to use them to track down their contacts. Glen knew the families had to be investigated, but he had a feeling that they would be useless. The Nihilists weren’t known for urging their members to keep their families informed, not when the families might have other ideas. Instead, it was far more likely that the families would either be abandoned or quietly killed. The Nihilists were a jealous faction. Besides, killing one’s own family ensured that one had nowhere to go.

Bastards
, he thought.

He poured himself a mug of coffee, then settled back to start pulling information from the datanet. Hardly anything moved on Terra Nova without leaving an electronic trail, although spotting the
correct
trail could be quite difficult. Glen would normally have left the task to the data-crunchers on the support staff, but if he was technically suspended from duty he might as well have a look and see if anything jumped out at him. The person who had rented out the warehouse, for example, might have left an electronic trail for the investigators to follow. Or Helen's parents might have left a trail of their own.

Should have asked her for the name of the ship
, his thoughts mocked him.
Some investigator you are
.

He shook his head, then buried himself in the data, only surfacing when it became clear that he was overloading his mind. To relax, he forced himself to access the local news instead, although it was far from relaxing. The news was heavily censored – the Governor had slapped strict controls on the media as soon as the Fall of Earth had been confirmed – but what little had gone through was a constant liturgy of horror. Terra Nova was slowly breaking down into anarchy ...

... And all hell was on the verge of breaking loose.

And you’re stuck on the planet’s surface
, he thought, coldly.
It might be time to leave
.

And there are also acts that are now considered permissible where they were once forbidden. In the past, homosexual sex was often forbidden – and sometimes punished by death. Now, homosexuality is recognised as yet another kind of sexuality, no more or less deviant than heterosexuality.

- Professor Leo Caesius.
The Decline of Law and Order and the Rise of Anarchy.

“We’re crossing the Phase Limit now,” Captain Rogers said. “I thought you might want to be on the bridge.”

Belinda nodded, then sat upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The flight to Terra Nova hadn't taken more than a day – the
Happy Wanderer
had a stardrive that was practically military-grade – giving her barely enough time to sleep and read through the endless series of updates from Marine Intelligence. She’d never visited Terra Nova – the files stated that no Marines were currently based there – but the briefings didn't paint a pretty picture. Terra Nova was threatening to go the same way as Earth.

Officially, Terra Nova had been humanity’s first major settlement outside the Solar System, back when the Phase Drive had been first developed. It’s development had been oddly-patterned, for reasons that the files didn't state, but by the time of the Unification Wars it had become one of the most heavily-populated colony worlds and a firm supporter of the First Emperor and his bid to unify the human race. Or, she noted cynically, the history books
claimed
it had been a firm supporter. It was astonishing how easily history could be rewritten to suit the victors.