Chapter 7


The clothes were ill fitting but, they had the one advantage that Jake was looking for. They were clean. When Moss had snatched him from the driveway, not only had Jake been working but, he had not had his morning shower. Moss had not realized the full implications of this until half way through the debriefing, at which point, he let it be known that Jake was not getting another ride until some water rolled over his body.

It was not a point that Jake felt like debating. He knew there was not much of a shower that was waiting for him back at the station and, as he had suspected, the Consulate had some excellent water pressure. All that was left was to raid a few items from a closet full of donated goods, that had never been distributed, and Jake was all set.

After Jake got out of the shower he was still playing with his dog tags when he found a young Marine Lance Corporal waiting on him. Her name turned out to be Betsy Fry. She was just a kid with the freckles to prove it but, she turned out to be a pretty fair Marine. There did not seem to be a bit of shyness, and probably no modesty either, in a single bone of that girls body. As Jake got dressed she stood around at parade rest.

As Jake put his own shoes back on he asked the girl, “so you got stuck baby sitting me? I guess Moss doesn’t like handing every detail.”

The girl kept her military bearing, “I do as I’m ordered sir.”

Jake tossed his towel in a hamper and told the girl as he got ready to walk out, “contrary to popular opinion, corporal, I’m not a Major anymore. You can call me Jake.”

She still kept her military bearing, “I wasn’t aware that you were a Major, sir. USMC?”

“No, army,” Jake said as he stopped at the door to the hall. He then nodded, “well, forward march Corporal.”

It was of no great surprise to Jake that getting out of this place was just as tedious as getting in. Corporal Fry was at the front desk signing him out which, apparently, included quite a number of forms. As she did that, Jake stood around and watched the video monitor up on the wall. On it, Jake saw a familiar face standing in front of a familiar looking building. The face was none other than the reporter Jessica Walsh. She was easily recognizable to just about anybody in this colony. Jake had actually met her a couple of times as well as giving her a few bytes.

The building she was in front of was the real surprise to Jake. He had not been on world long enough to really get that used to many of the buildings here but, this particular one happened to be the one that he was standing in. Between Walsh and the building was another familiar face. This guy was standing behind a podium and answering the questions of any number of shouting reporters. Jake actually felt privileged when he did not have to meet with that guy this morning. It was none other than the US Ambassador, Charles Whitman.

When Fry came back up to Jake she had her hand out, “I’ll need your visitor’s badge now sir.”

Jake handed it over and, as he did, he nodded to the screen and asked, “what’s that all about?”

It took a second before the young Marine realized what he was talking about. Even when she did, it appeared to Jake as if she did not want to reply. She did finally say, “there’s all kinds of stuff going on Major. That’s probably about that UN Commission. They got here this morning on a starship from New Sydney.”

Jake thoughtfully nodded and only needed one word to sum it all up, “Germans.”

Fry went back to parade rest and replied, “that would be about the size of it sir.”
As if on cue, the image on the screen changed to yet another podium. This one was obviously set up at the airport. The scroll beneath it proclaimed it to have been shot earlier. The man behind the podium now was none other than the local German garrison commander, Johan Horst.

The German Colonel had a pretty neutral accent when speaking in English and the man put it to good use on the stump. Jake still had to think the guy came off as an arrogant prick though. His good command of the English language did not help him there, not one little bit. Earlier this morning, when the recording was shot, the guy sounded extra arrogant, “no matter who the United Nations sends to this world, I can assure you that those responsible for this dastardly attack, will be brought to justice. The German Federal Republic is not in the habit of letting such outrages go unpunished. Our citizens will be avenged.”

Despite her military bearing, Corporal Fry began to show signs of discomfort. She asked Jake, “permission to speak freely sir?”
“I told you I’m a civilian now Corporal,” Jake reminded her, “so go ahead and just ask.”

She was still nervous when she asked, “think there’s going to be a war sir?”

“Let’s hope not Corporal,” Jake told the young girl. He might have said the exact same thing had he still been in uniform. Jake could see the irony in that but, this time, what he said was the truth. He had no idea if the German’s would make a move after the Family Day attack at the palace. Jake was pretty sure that, if he were sitting in Horst’s shoes, he would probably do something. There was also a very real possibility that Horst might be compelled by those above him to take action. Jake could not answer for either of those possibilities.
The young marine looked much more like a young girl when she was this nervous. Even so, she did keep her mind on her job, “do you want me to call for your ride, sir?”

The image on the screen changed one more time. Jessica Walsh was back on and she began summing up the details of the story. Jake glanced out the glass doors and saw the reporter for real. He then told his escort, “naa, that’s ok Corporal. I think I got a better offer.”