Both MSS agents were seated at the table by the time Kydd lowered himself into the steel chair. Corly eyed a viewscreen. “According to your P-1 file, you submitted affidavits claiming that your real name is Ark Bennet—and that you were snatched off the streets of Tarsonis by a rogue recruiter. Is that correct?”
Kydd took a slow, deep breath as he chose his next words. He thought about the former version of himself, the one that had gone for a stroll in the neighborhood called Hacker’s Flat back on Tarsonis, and understood what he had been looking for back then. He’d been looking for a chance to live life outside of the obligations he’d been born to, beyond the cocoon of safety in which his family preferred to live, and earn a place in the world rather than simply inherit it.
“I filed affidavits in which I claimed to be Ark Bennet,” Kydd admitted. “That much is true.”
Corly raised an eyebrow. “And the claim itself? Is that true as well?”
“No,” Kydd said, trying to appear remorseful as he looked down at the tabletop.
“So you lied to Major Macaby?”
Kydd looked straight into his interrogator’s eyes. “Yes, sir.” Kydd swallowed the lump in his throat. “I did.” He shifted his eyes toward Orin.
There was a moment of silence as the MSS agents glanced at each other. It wasn’t the response they’d been expecting.
Kydd’s mind swirled with worry. Did they believe him? Did they already know the truth? Was his father watching them right now? He pretended to cough as he glanced around the room. If there was a camera, he couldn’t see it.
Corly leaned forward. “Why did you lie?”
“Why? I wanted to get the hell out of the Marine Corps,” Kydd replied matter-of-factly. He continued, gaining confidence as he spoke. “I’d heard that a rich kid was missing, and based on the description they gave of him, it sounded as though we have a similar appearance.”
“Yes, there is an uncanny resemblance, Private.” He paused for a moment as he examined Kydd’s face. “Although you look leaner, tougher almost. So what changed?” he asked as he looked back at the screen. “Why are you coming clean now?”
“I’ve had time to think it through. I mean, how far would I get?” Kydd inquired cynically, as his eyes came back into contact with Corly’s. “To Tarsonis? Where the family would denounce me?” He laughed incredulously, for dramatic effect. “I mean, is the family still looking for this kid? How long’s it been? Months?”
“There are quite a few bounty hunters out there trying to nab the hefty reward offered by the family. Damn shame we’re not eligible for it, because Sergeant Orin and I are feeling pretty close to finding our man.” Those words sent a chill down Kydd’s spine. “So yes, even now, the search is still ongoing. We have nearly a hundred leads to comb through.” He pressed some buttons on the terminal. “You may be surprised to learn that your profile was assigned a relatively low percentage rating for a match. But then again, Sergeant Orin and I know that the computers are programmed to assume that all of our military recruiters are law-abiding citizens.”
Kydd felt relieved, but was careful to keep the emotion hidden.
“But,” Corly continued, “allowing for the possibility that some recruiters will break the law to make quotas, we ran a retinal scan and compared it to the one the Bennets gave us.” He looked squarely at Kydd. “You’re a match, Private.”
The floor seemed to drop out from under Kydd. He felt dizzy, nauseous. His voice quivered as he spoke. “Regardless of what you think,” Kydd pleaded, “I’m in this for good, and you can’t take that away from me. I have a great record, I’m the best at what I do, and my platoon needs me.” He paused to muster his resources, which seemed to be fading. “Those men and women—those are my brothers and sisters out there.” He punctuated his words by jutting his finger in the direction of the barracks. His eyes moistened. Embarrassed, he looked down at the table.
“What he says is true,” Orin said calmly, as he spoke for the first time since they had entered the office. He twirled a wand stylus in his fingers. The larger sergeant’s deep, resonant voice was a sharp contrast to Corly’s. He had brown skin, and his piercing blue eyes had shifted to Corly by then. “He does have a helluva record—and he is a skilled sniper. In fact, the commanding officer of Firebase Zulu put him in for a medal.”
That was news to Kydd. A medal! It was hard to believe. Here was further validation of what he already knew inside. He was good at something, and the military was his home.
“So, where does that leave us?” Corly asked.
Kydd’s eyes shifted desperately between the two sergeants.
Orin was silent for a moment, and when the noncom spoke, his eyes were slightly out of focus as if seeing himself in another time and place. “Lying to get out of the Corps was wrong. But Private Kydd admits that—and all of us make mistakes. And sometimes, if we’re real lucky, somebody cuts us some slack.” He looked squarely at Kydd. “You’re a credit to the Confederacy, son, and you exemplify everything the marines stand for. Private Kydd, unless Sergeant Corly here disagrees, I believe you’re free to go.”
Kydd looked immediately at Corly, who nodded sagely and smiled. “You’re a lifer, boy. Pure and simple.” He pressed both hands on the table. “This case is closed.”
The young soldier surprised everyone—himself included—by letting out an audible sigh of relief. He recovered quickly and was grinning from ear to ear as he stood up and shook hands with the men who saved Private Ryk Kydd.
Three days had passed since the raid on the Kel-Morian base, it was about 2000 hours, and the HTD was crawling with pilots, marines, and rangers. A lot of them went bar to bar up and down the main drag, looking for the perfect watering hole, but never finding it.
The single exception was Three Fingered Jack’s, which was so packed that it was difficult to get in or out. A blue haze hovered over the tables, the buzz of conversation made it difficult to hear, and a live band added to the cacophony of sound. Raynor, Tychus, Harnack, Doc, Ward, and Kydd were seated at a large round table at the center of the room. Other members of the 321st were present as well, along with about fifty ex-POWs, and about half of the pilots who had rescued the whole bunch of them from the disputed zone. It was a very rowdy crowd.
But when a vehicle delivered Captain Hobarth and her medical aide out front, a path magically opened up before her, and everyone broke into applause as she shuffled back into the main room. Then, once she raised a skeletal hand, the noise died down, and it was Three Fingered Jack himself who handed the pilot a mic. “First,” the captain said hoarsely, as she looked around the room. “I want to toast the brave soldiers who led this dangerous mission. Here’s to our heroes, a group of fine men and women whose name shall be echoed for generations to come—our very own Heaven’s Devils!”
The crowd cheered. By that time Speer’s on-the-scene reporting had been seen throughout the Confederacy—and the entire crowd was familiar with the STM platoon’s new nickname. Thunderous applause resonated throughout the room as everyone who wasn’t already standing came to their feet and turned to face the table where the soldiers were seated. Tychus grinned broadly, Raynor looked embarrassed, Harnack struck a pose, Kydd gazed around in awe, Zander frowned disapprovingly, Ward stared at his hands, and Doc was too high to know what was going on.