Christopher Nuttall - A Learning Experience

“For every attack we can trace back to a country, we will go after that country’s leadership,” he concluded. “We’re not interested in trying to force them to surrender, we’re not intent on claiming land for ourselves, we’re merely interested in punishing them for supporting terrorism. None of the arguments against sparing a country’s leadership will hold any ice with us. Such attacks will be avenged.

“There are those who will say, perhaps out of fear, that we are overreacting. But really, is our way not better than slaughtering thousands of innocents?”

“It certainly seems that way,” Gunter said, finding his voice. “But I know many governments will disagree.”

“Of course they will,” Steve said. “It isn’t sporting to go after your fellow leaders. It might give the bastards ideas.”

He paused, then went on. “This attack killed over fifty American citizens, citizens who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he added. “Does it seem right to let it go unavenged?”

“I don’t think so,” Gunter said. “But I think you’ve opened up one hell of a can of worms.”

“I know,” Steve said. “But we couldn’t leave it hanging either.”

“And that’s all that happened,” he concluded, as he sat next to Mariko. “The government is being interrogated now, while the rest of Iran seems stunned. They’ll react, sooner or later, but not for a while.”

He paused. “Am I a hypocrite?”

Mariko considered it for a long moment. “I don’t think you preached against war and devastation while unleashing war and devastation, so you’re not a hypocrite,” she said. “It’s no sin to change your mind or even admit that you might have been wrong.”

“I’m not good at that,” Steve admitted. Flexibility might be one of the watchwords of the Marine Corps, but he knew they couldn’t be too flexible. “I was prepared to burn Iran to ashes before Mongo…”

“Gave you a speech telling you that you were being a damn fool,” Mariko said, without heat. “And he was right.”

Steve sighed. “Whatever happened to girls that always supported their men, no matter what?”

“They only existed in fevered male imaginations,” Mariko said, dryly. “And besides, wouldn’t you prefer me to tell you when you’re being an asshole?”

“I suppose,” Steve said.

They sat for a long moment in silence, then Steve opened his mouth. “I didn’t really think through what I was doing, did I?”

“There comes a time when you have to act, rather than think,” Mariko said. “I’ve handled operations when the plan, as detailed as it was, suddenly went to hell and I had to improvise on the spot. And you’re very good at reacting to the unexpected.”

She paused. “But you’re also in a position where you have ample time to stop and think about what you’re doing,” she added. “And that is what you will have to do from now on.”

“I’m not going to run for President,” Steve said, suddenly. “After we hold elections, I’m going to find a place to set up a homestead and stay there. Someone else can take the reins for a while.”

Mariko reached out and touched his hand. “Wherever you go, I will be with you,” she said, softly. Her hand felt very warm against his coarse flesh. “Why don’t we set out as traders?”

Steve had to admit he was tempted. There was a whole universe out there, after all, and starships that could support a small number of humans indefinitely. They could take a small amount of trade goods and move from system to system, selling their wares. No one would know or care about their lives on Earth, assuming they cared about Earth at all. Instead, they’d just be two aliens among uncounted trillions.

“We could do that,” he said. But there were other problems, other issues. Did he have the right to take even a small trading starship for himself. “Once Earth is ready to defend itself, we could leave.”

“Oh, Steve,” Mariko said. She shook her head slowly, then reached out and pulled him towards her for a kiss. “You’ll never allow yourself to put down your work.”

Captain Perry/Shadow Warrior , Earth Orbit

Kevin couldn’t help feeling nervous as Captain Perry returned to Sol. They’d been away for over two months and anything could have happened in that time. The Horde could have launched another attack, another alien race could have arrived… or all hell could have broken loose on Earth. It was a colossal relief, when the ship finally slipped out of FTL some distance from the moon, to exchange signals and counter-signals with Shadow Warrior and confirm that everything was fine.

He looked down at his display as the ship entered orbit around Earth. A number of dead satellites and pieces of space junk were gone, plucked out of orbit and taken to the moon to serve as raw materials. In their place, there were a handful of inflatable space stations and a couple of odd-looking spacecraft. It took him several moments to realise that they were intended to transport large numbers of colonists to the asteroid belt. And they were built with purely human technology.

Smiling, he keyed his display. “All hands will need to go through debriefing before starting shore leave on Earth,” he said. “Please don’t try to leave before then, as you also need to be briefed on conditions on the planet itself.”

He looked over at Jackson and nodded. “You have the bridge.”

“Aye, sir,” Jackson said. “I have the bridge.”

Kevin stood, walked through the hatch and down towards the teleport chamber. Flying back to Earth had felt quicker than travelling into unknown space, although he knew there was no real difference. Perhaps it was the effort of digging through the vast quantities of data they’d recovered from the alien world. The scientists had barely been seen outside their cabins and research compartments, where they had been working their way through technology the aliens considered primitive and pre-contact humanity would have considered incredibly advanced. In the meantime, Edward Romford and his staff had been working out the details for hiring troops from Earth. They seemed to believe there would be no shortage of volunteers.

He paused outside Carolyn’s door — they’d become closer on the return flight, although he still hadn’t managed to talk her into bed — then shook his head and walked on until he stepped into the teleport chamber. Inside, the teleport operator was already inspecting the system, as if he knew precisely how it worked. Kevin nodded to him, stepped up onto the pad and sent the command directly through the interface. The silver haze rose up around him, then faded away, revealing Shadow Warrior’s teleport bay.

“Steve,” he said. His brother was standing by the hatch, a grim half-smile on his face. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too,” Steve said. “Quite a bit has happened since you left.”

Kevin eyed him, worriedly, as Steve turned and led the way out of the compartment. His brother looked… tired , as if he had been working far too hard. Normally, Steve was brimming with energy, ready to do whatever he thought he had to do. But now… he was acting as if he had no energy at all. But Steve said nothing more until they were back in his cabin and the hatch was firmly closed.

“Take a beer from the fridge,” he said. “And pass me one while you’re at it.”

Kevin opened the fridge and discovered a handful of bottles of beer, rather than the cans he’d been expecting. Each of the bottles was marked with an image of the moon, etched into the glass, and a name he didn’t recognise.