Jay Allan - The Cost of Victory

Stark smiled. “The president can do whatever he wants. The more he struts around and plays a role, the less he interferes with our running things.” He paused for a second. “When he is no longer necessary, we can deal with him.”

Dutton smiled. “I suspect that will be your game, my friend. That plan is a little longer term than I am, I think.”

“I’m not sure I really believe you are capable of dying. You’re too grouchy.” Stark smiled for a minute, then he straightened in his chair, his face suddenly serious. “You are right about having some problems, however. The war was won; there is no doubt about that. But we still have Garret and Holm to deal with, and both have become even bigger heroes.” He paused, his brow furrowed in thought. “I’m not sure how to get rid of them now that we will be at peace.”

“We will just have to watch for our opportunity.” Dutton shifted slightly in his seat, trying to get comfortable – something that was becoming more difficult with each passing year. “We will need to be patient. And watchful. They must be carefully monitored.” After a brief pause, he added, “And I would put Erik Cain on that list as well. He does not have Garret’s rank, but he is enormously popular within the Corps, and he is famous on Earth too, thanks to that stupid press tour a few years ago.”

Stark frowned. “I think you are right. By all accounts, he is not a fan of government authority. I have a report here from his political officer…” He sifted through a pile of data chips on his desk. “…well, it’s here somewhere. Anyway, he complains quite vociferously about Cain’s disrespect for him, and he urges that he be dismissed from the Corps.” He looked up from his desk. “Of course, that is out of the question right now. Cain is the hero of Carson’s World, and his service record is spotless.”

Dutton’s eyes met Stark’s. “Yes. We will have to do something about that, won’t we?” He put his glass down on the desk. “We need a plan to sabotage Cain’s career.”

Stark’s eyes widened. “Alex ran into him on Carson’s World. She mentioned he acted strangely around her. She thought it was odd, but she wasn’t able to get anywhere with him.” He hesitated, thinking. “But I know something she doesn’t. Erik Cain is involved with Alex’s long lost older sister, a doctor in the Corps. Isn’t that an interesting development?” His expression hardened. “I think I will assign this to our sexy little Alex. She may be able to find a way to undermine him, maybe through her sister.” His mind was moving quickly now. “Indeed, if we can get control of Cain, we can get to Holm too. Cain is his protégé, and from what I hear they are almost like father and son.”

“That is interesting. Very interesting.” Dutton’s eyes fell to the desk as he considered the possibilities.

“On the topic of Alex, do you think I should appoint our little vixen to Carillon’s Seat?” Stark had usually decided what to do before he asked for advice, but this time he was really not sure.

Dutton laughed. “It might be worth it just to see Number Ten go apoplectic.” He paused while Stark let out his own laugh. “I would say do it or leave the Seat vacant for now. You really can’t move Samuels up, and Number Five is stretched to manage his current duties.” He smiled wickedly. “Alex is a capable operative. She did very well to keep the CAC out of the facilities on Carson’s World. If Li An had any evidence other than her word…” He snickered as he said word. “…she could get all the other Powers lined up against us. We cannot allow that to happen.”

“No.” Stark’s tone became very serious. “The secrecy of the site is not what it was. If the other Powers have evidence of what is there we will face a serious crisis. We can overcome Li An’s unsubstantiated claims – she’s been lying to everyone for fifty years, and no one is going to believe her. But if she gets proof we are in serious trouble.”

“You’re planning to use Samuels to get the Marines out of there, right?” Dutton had been surprised when Stark told him he’d managed to flip a high-ranking Marine…and downright shocked when he found out just how high-ranking. It was the first time Alliance Intelligence had pulled that off, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Marines were a fiercely independent and tight-knit organization. Stark had never shared how he’d gotten to Samuels, and Dutton didn’t ask.

“Yes. We’ll let them stay a while. Samuels will order the facility sealed up. We’ll have a delay, but we’ll get them off-planet and move our own people back in.”

“How about the colonies?” Dutton reached out for his drink, slowly lifting it to his lips.

“I plan to move forward aggressively with bringing them in line.” He rubbed his temples as he spoke. “It is time they learned their place. But we will have to move carefully. The military will be resistant. Samuels will be a big help there, too.”

Dutton glanced at the chronometer. “You really need to get going.” He stood up, slowly and with significant effort. “So we’ve closed a chapter, but the book goes on.” He smiled at Stark. “Enjoy the victory, but not for too long. We have a lot of work to do.”

Stark looked over at his friend. “Yes, Jack. We have a lot of work to do.” He stood up and shook Dutton’s hand, and the two walked out of the office and down the hall. “A lot of work,” Stark repeated softly to himself.

Cain sat quietly in the shuttle’s small but comfortable compartment. This wasn’t one of the cattlewagons he was used to riding back from an operation. He wore a platinum star on each shoulder now, and a private shuttle – and a plush one at that – was one of the perks.

He was alone, the only sound the soft whine of the ship’s reactor as it powered up for liftoff. He looked out the window at the neat rows of shuttles, stretching almost as far as he could see. I Corps was staying on Carson’s World indefinitely to protect the alien artifact, and the supplies to maintain a small army had started rolling in.

If he’d been in any danger of sleeping regularly, this campaign would take care of that. He’d led 3,617 soldiers down to the reddish dust of Carson’s World. Only 1,397 of them were still operating under their own power when it was done, and some of these had arms in slings and legs in casts. Sarah and her people had worked wonders, saving over 1,000 seriously wounded Marines from his brigade. Most of those would eventually return to duty, though a few would probably be relegated to desk jobs or training positions. Still, 1,181 of his troops would never leave this hard won planet, more ghosts to weigh on his conscience.

He was waiting for Sarah. They both had six months’ leave and a decade and a half’s accumulated pay of which they’d spent only a fraction. They were going to enjoy some time together and see some of the colony worlds, and they were going to do it in style. Seven years crawling through the slums of Outer New York and sixteen more on the battlefield…it rated a vacation, and a damned good one at that.

Still, Cain had resisted. The Third Frontier War was officially over, that much was true. The Treaty of Mars had been signed, and the Powers had ceased hostilities, at least for the moment. But the peace wouldn’t last, and Cain knew the smart move was to start getting ready for the next war.

But Holm had insisted that Erik and Sarah take some leave. He was very fond of them both, and he knew as well as Erik did that more trouble was coming. They would all face new dangers and challenges, and they needed to take whatever time they could have together, because the future offered no guarantees.