Steven Kent - The Clone Redemption

The master chief stood at attention, his eyes straight ahead, his chest out, his arms at his side. “Nothing, sir,” said Oliver. It was a lie, and he knew that Yamashiro could see through it; but lying was within the parameters of his mission. Before leaving Earth, the SEALs had received special orders.

“You know nothing about it?” asked Yamashiro. He stood and stared angrily into Oliver’s eyes, looking for any sign of nervousness, then he walked around the SEAL. “I think you and your men have been poaching.”

“Poaching, sir?” asked Oliver.

“Hunting without permission,” growled Yamashiro.

Oliver did not respond.

Captain Takahashi, who sat in a corner of the office watching the interrogation, silently shifted in his chair.

“I will not tolerate vigilantism on my ship,” Yamashiro grunted. He did not raise his voice.

“ ‘ Vigilantism,’ sir?” asked Oliver. “Was somebody breaking the law?”

“The missing men are all Yakuza .”

“Permission to speak, sir?”

“Speak,” said Yamashiro.

“What are Yakuza ?” asked Oliver.

Yamashiro looked to Takahashi for help. The captain said, “Gangsters.”

“Lieutenant Tatsu Hara is missing,” said Yamashiro.

“Hara?” asked Oliver.

“The intelligence officer who spoke at the briefing yesterday.”

“The man with all the brantoos?” asked Oliver.

“Yes.”

“And the curled hair?”

Yamashiro glowered.

“And the dark glasses?”

This time, Yamashiro did not respond at all.

“Was he a gangster?” asked Oliver.

“You were seen in the Shin Roppongi bar last night,” said Yamashiro.

“Me, sir?”

“You were seen.”

“What makes you think it was me?” asked Oliver. “With all due respect, sir, there are three thousand Navy SEALs on this ship, and we all look alike.”

Yamashiro growled, and Takahashi giggled. Yamashiro whirled around to face his son-in-law, and snarled, “Do you think this is funny?”

Takahashi fought back a laugh, and said, “Yes, sir. I do.”

“I see no humor …”

“Admiral, when we left Earth, you were given orders that you have not shared with the rest of the crew. What makes you so sure Master Chief Oliver is not following special orders as well?”

“Is that the case, Master Chief?” growled Yamashiro.

Oliver, his gaze still straight ahead, said, “This sailor has received no special orders, sir.” He hated lying; but he preferred it to disobeying orders.

“But you would not be able to tell me if Admiral Brocius gave you a direct order, would you?” Yamashiro asked, then he turned back to Takahashi, and asked, “What kind of orders?”

“Orders to enforce Unified Authority regulations,” said Takahashi. “Orders to do whatever he sees necessary to ensure we accomplish our mission.”

“This is not a Unified Authority ship,” Yamashiro grumbled.

“But the SEALs are on loan from the U.A. Navy.”

“Admiral Brocius is the only officer who would have authority to issue those orders,” said Yamashiro. He turned to Oliver, and yelled, “Did you meet with Admiral Brocius? Tell me.”

“It could have come from the Linear Committee,” Takahashi said. “It might be an executive order.”

“Do you think the orders included assassinating members of my crew?”

“Naturally,” said Takahashi. “They may include assassinating you if necessary.”

Yamashiro sighed, and said, “Maybe so. At ease, Master Chief.” He walked behind his desk. Before he sat down, he asked, “Do you believe I have shown good judgment as a commander, Master Chief?”

“Yes, sir,” said Oliver.

“We did not need those men, I suppose. Hara was a useful officer,” said Yamashiro, then he muttered the words, “bootleggers and extortionists.”

The admiral sat down and asked the SEAL to sit as well. Only when Oliver was seated did Yamashiro begin speaking. He asked, “Master Chief, what do you know about colonizing planets?” There was a notepad on Yamashiro’s desk. He picked up the stylus and focused his attention on the small screen.

“They didn’t cover colonization in special operations, sir,” said Oliver. “I do have men who specialized in survival training.”

“Survival training?” asked Yamashiro.

“Supplementing limited resources by living off the land, locating and purifying sources of water …building shelter …camouflage. Some of it could be useful.”

“We may need them for protection as well,” said Takahashi.

Yamashiro grunted his agreement, and said, “Master Chief, as you know, we’re sending all nonessential personnel down to the planet. We will not need your SEALs to complete our mission. I want to leave them with the colony.”

“Yes, sir. I’ve thought about that, sir, and I believe that would be a mistake, sir.”

Yamashiro looked up from the notepad for a moment, his eyes on Oliver; but the SEAL did not meet his gaze. “You think I am making a mistake? Just yesterday you recommended sending all nonessential personnel to New Copenhagen.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“Not entirely, sir. I still believe we should establish a colony. I have had second thoughts about the size of the colony.”

“Everyone left aboard this ship will die,” said Yamashiro. “A-361-B will be a Kamikaze mission.”

“Yes, sir,” said the master chief. “Sir, resources are going to be scarce on New Copenhagen. It may take years before the colony becomes self-sufficient. I’m concerned about overpopulating the colony.”

Yamashiro placed the stylus back on the notepad, and said, “Who do you think we should leave on the colony?”

“Not me or my men, sir. I believe we have nothing to contribute to a colony.”

“Master Chief, once we program the broadcast coordinates into the broadcast computer, we can fly that mission with a skeleton crew,” said Takahashi. “We won’t need you on this mission.”

“What would we contribute to the colony? If the objective is to preserve life …to continue humanity, Admiral, we’re clones. We’re sterile.

“One hundred of my men have been trained in basic survival tactics. They may be useful. They can serve as peacekeepers, they know how to build shelters and purify water. They can contribute. The colony will need farmers, not saboteurs. They didn’t teach us farming in SEAL training. We don’t belong in your colony.”

Yamashiro sighed and rubbed his eyes. Takahashi made a whistling noise that sounded like a bomb dropping, and said, “You’re a cheerful fellow.”

“Do your men agree with your assessment?” asked Yamashiro.

“To a man,” said Oliver.

Yamashiro let a moment pass before asking, “What do you suggest we do?”

“Leave our survival specialists on New Copenhagen.”

“And you think I should take the rest of you to A-361-B?” asked Yamashiro.

“Yes, sir,” said Oliver.

“You don’t want to live?” asked Takahashi.

“Sir, we were created to help ensure the survival of the human species. We want to do what we were created to do, sir,” said Oliver. “You will not need us in your colony, Admiral. Life in your colony does not fit our mission.”

A smile flickered across Yamashiro’s lips and vanished while his eyes remained cold and hard. His irises were such a dark shade of brown that they appeared to be black.

“In my colony? It may not have occurred to you, Master Chief, but you are not the only man in this fleet who is willing to go down with this ship. I have no intention of hiding on a planet while my ship is destroyed.”

“You mean my ship,” said Takahashi. “I command the ship; you command the fleet.”