“Interesting,” he said, when I’d finished. “What do you plan to do afterwards? Declare yourself ruler of the galaxy?”
“Hell, no,” I said, angrily. I didn’t want the job and I knew no one who could be trusted with it, even if the UN’s experience suggested that interstellar government couldn’t work. “We just end the war — without the Peace Force, the UN can’t fight the war — and declare peace. We pull the infantry off Terra Nova and prevent further invasions, from anyone.”
I didn’t bother with emotional appeals. Erwin would either go along with it or he would refuse. If the latter, we were in serious trouble. If something happened to me, now, the entire plan might be blown out of the water.
“It might work,” he agreed, finally. “You know, of course, that some form of interstellar trade will have to continue?”
“Yes,” I said, flatly. I suspected that Heinlein, Williamson’s World and maybe even Iceberg would corner the market on interstellar freighters, but that hardly mattered to me. Freighters couldn’t be used to wage war. If we prevented anyone else from building warships and didn’t launch any invasions ourselves, interstellar society wouldn’t collapse under the weight of the war.
“And there’ll be a bloodbath when the locals realise that the Infantry no longer has access to orbital weapons,” Erwin added. “What will you do about that?”
“Withdraw them as quickly as possible,” I repeated. “I don’t think we should be supporting them any longer than it takes to withdraw them. The local resistance fighters might even back off and allow us to pull them off the planet, along with any collaborators the UN created over the years. God knows, we can even try them for war crimes.”
“If I agree to help,” Erwin said, “that’s my price. I want genuine war crimes trials for the infantry. I don’t want my Marines contaminated by their…attitude to war.”
“I understand,” I agreed. Personally, I would take some delight in finally seeing General Hoover and the rest of his staff brought to book for war crimes against civilians. They’d probably use the following orders defence, but that meant little to me. They shouldn’t have followed the orders in the first place.
“Did they have any choice?” Erwin asked, when I said that out loud. “What would have happened to them if they had refused to follow orders?”
I scowled. “Point taken,” I said. The Generals would probably have been reduced in rank. The common Infantrymen would be court-martialled and shot. They hadn’t had much choice… but I still wanted to hurt them for what they’d done. “Will you help us?”
“I’ve been in the service for thirty years,” Erwin said. His voice darkened. “I’ve seen hundreds of my friends lost, their lives squandered, because some moron back on Earth screwed up and sent them to die. I know other Marines who feel the same way too, but really… what could we do about it? The Brotherhood couldn’t help us.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you trust the Brotherhood?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I trusted the Senior Chief, and yet… there was no way to know who was really on the far end of the computer network. The Brotherhood seemed to be composed of shadows and little else, although I was unsurprised to realise that Erwin was a member. His friend had probably invited him to join as well. “I think that I’d prefer to keep them out of it if possible.”
“A wise choice,” Erwin agreed, slowly. He looked down at his hands for a long moment. “I believe that most of the Marines would join without hesitation, if given an opportunity. Do you want me to speak with them?”
“Not now,” I said. “I want you to talk to them after we leave Botany. I don’t know where Andrew’s sympathies lie and I don’t want to risk opening communications with him yet.”
“I think he would have made an excellent Marine,” Erwin said. He grinned, suddenly. “If you tell him I told you that, I’ll have to kick your face in. You could probably convince him to join afterwards, but at the moment… well, he’s just got to worry about his men and Botany. It’s going to be a hardship posting.”
I made a mental note to review the files as soon as I could. “I understand,” I said. “Thank you.”
“One final point,” Erwin said. “What about the Captain?”
I hesitated. I hadn’t been allowing myself to think about that, but he was right. The Captain would be the ideal leader for our conspiracy, except his family tied him to the UN and the status quo. I would have followed him anyway, but how could I ask him to lead us against his family? His family had gotten him the command and ensured he kept it, despite his unconventional outlook and methods. He wouldn’t want to wage war on them, or even, as I intended to, prevent them from waging war against anyone else.
“Nothing,” I said, shivering inside. How could we remove the Captain from power? I knew that there was no choice, but to relieve him, somehow, yet…I couldn’t move against him. I’d have to cross that bridge sooner or later, and yet I hoped it would be later. Perhaps something else would intervene. “We can’t risk telling him anything.”
Erwin nodded and left.
I spoke to the Senior Chief that evening and compared notes. I hadn’t realised just how much the non-commissioned ranks saw of the ships, or how they worked. The Senior Chief knew hundreds of people who might be willing to help us, if approached properly. The Brotherhood might even be used to vouch for some of the recruits, without trusting them completely. He agreed with me that it would be a bad idea to approach the Captain, although he insisted that the Captain was not to be harmed.
“It may not come down to a mutiny now,” he said, “but if it does, you can remove the Captain without hurting him. Don’t even think about killing him.”
“I understand,” I said. I didn’t want to lose the Senior Chief and I understood. Captain Harriman wasn’t someone who could be killed without hesitation. “I won’t hurt him if it can be avoided.”
He scowled at me, but accepted the point. “Very well,” he agreed. “One final point, then. I think that you should speak to Sally. She needs something to keep herself going.”
“But…” I began, and then shook my head. I’d already decided that we wouldn’t approach any of the Ensigns, but I’d known Sally back when I’d been an Ensign myself and knew she could be trusted. More to the point, she was growing more and more withdrawn by the day and might even be considering jumping ship. I needed her and not just to supervise the Ensigns. It was at times like this when I missed Kitty. She would have known just what to say. “I understand, Chief.”
Sally almost laughed at it when I finally approached her. “You’re telling me that you intend to overthrow the government?” She asked, when I told her — in general — of what I was planning. I didn’t mention either the Marines or the Senior Chief. Her laugh would probably have earned her a demerit under other circumstances. It was high-pitched and hating. “John, it’s nice of you to care, but…”
I looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time in a while. She was sullen and withdrawn in many ways, her eyes dark and filled with shadows. She was teaching newcomers what they needed to suppress her career and go onwards, while she remained behind, a permanent Ensign and then a lowly officer on a fuelling station or a transport. I saw the rage boiling behind her eyes and the frustration that might turn to violence. Sally had nothing to live for — now.