Fire from Ashes (Honor & Duty Book 4) Read online

  She looked at him and nodded. “Angel? Is she all right?”

  “She’s hurting but pushing through it. You know Angel. She attended every funeral or memorial service she could for the Marines who died on the mission. She is also pushing the Devil Dogs, trying to keep us busy so we don’t have too much time to think about what happened and get mad.”

  A slight smile touched Anderson’s lips. Then it was gone, and worry clouded her expression. “Kevin, stay close to her.” She reached for his hand and held it tightly, her concern for their friend clear. “Has she said anything about Lucinda’s death?”

  He shook his head. The colonel hadn’t said anything, and he hadn’t asked. He hadn’t wanted to cause her any more pain.

  Adamson didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, as if making up her mind, she nodded once. “I can’t go into details yet. But you need to know this much at least. Lucinda died when one of the power plants on the Sobek blew. The explosion had enough power that it caused the part of the landing bay Lucinda and two others were in to collapse. They were trapped in the rubble. The rest of the squad managed to get them out. They were on the shuttle and away from the ship before it blew. Lucinda died before the shuttle got back to the Campbell.” She looked away but not before he saw the tears pooling in her good eye. “Kevin, if Tremayne had been able to get her ships there three hours sooner, Lucinda would still be alive.”

  It hit him like a sledgehammer. Three hours? God, no wonder the colonel looked like she wanted to kill someone. She pushed as hard as she could to get the taskforce to leave the home system sooner than it had. That delay had cost how many lives? Did FleetCom understand how lucky it was she hadn’t gone public with that information or that she hadn’t gone on the warpath? The fact she hadn’t proved she trusted Okafor to make sure Lucinda Ortega and all the other fallen were avenged.

  He wasn’t sure he could do that.

  “Connery told me it had been a matter of hours.” He cursed himself for not taking the younger woman at her word. He owed her an apology. “And you? When were you injured?”

  “Most of this happened in the last battle.”

  He knew there was more to the story but, before he could ask, he heard someone approaching. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed his guess. Anderson’s doctor approached and that meant their conversation was over.

  “MJ, get some rest and don’t worry about Angel. I promise I’ll keep an eye on her.” He rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be back later. Comm me if you need anything.”

  “One thing,” she said, stopping him before he could leave. “Tell Connery I want to see her.”

  He promised to pass on her message. Then, as he made his way to the nearest lift to take him to the ground floor, he began putting together his arguments to present to the colonel to convince her to finally let go the burden of guilt he knew she carried. It wouldn’t be easy. It never was. But it had to be done, not just for her but for the Devil Dogs. The battalion functioned better when their CO wasn’t beating herself up for something she had no control over.

  “MA’AM, would you mind telling me what in the hell is going on?” Connery asked softly as they made their way back to the conference room.

  An hour earlier, Okafor’s aide entered and apologized for the interruption. Then she hurried to Okafor’s side. Bending, she whispered something in the general’s ear. Okafor listened, her expression betraying nothing. Then she nodded once, telling the lieutenant that she would take care of it, whatever “it” might be, before dismissing the young woman. A few moments later, she excused everyone except Elizabeth, telling them to be back in an hour.

  Taking advantage of the break, Ash returned to her office. She spent a few minutes on the comm with Lucinda’s sister, making sure the family was all right. When she ended the call, she asked Connery to make sure O’Rourke’s, Lucinda’s favorite restaurant in the capital, sent dinner to the family that evening. With that much accomplished, she turned her attention to the first of almost a dozen reports that had come in since she last checked her email.

  Now, hearing the corporal’s question, she wished she had an answer.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” She paused before the door and pressed her palm against the lock plate. A moment later the hatch slid open. “But, knowing the commandant, we will learn soon enough.”

  As the hatch slid shut behind them, Ash glanced around. With the exception of Okafor’s aide and several Marine privates laying out food and drink, no one else was present. The lieutenant prepared to call the others to attention and Ash waved her off. Thanking her, the young woman suggested they help themselves to food and drink before the meeting reconvened.

  Five minutes later, Okafor entered the conference room, Elizabeth just behind her. This time, before Connery could call them to attention, the general shook her head and told them to remain where they were. Then she glanced around and Ash guessed she was taking a mental roll call. Nor did she have any doubt what caused her to frown. Once again, Hale had not appeared when he was supposed to. The question became what Okafor would do about it.

  “Lieutenant, has there been any word from Brigadier General Hale?” Okafor asked her aide.

  “Negative, ma’am.”

  Okafor leaned back, her expression thoughtful. She seemed almost too calm and Ashlyn knew that was not good, at least not where Hale was concerned. “Colonel Santiago, would you be so good as to use your resources to locate him. Once he’s done that, Colonel Shaw, I think it would be more than appropriate for you to dispatch a three-man squad of Devil Dogs to escort the brigadier general here? Let’s make sure he hasn’t lost his way by any chance.”

  Ashlyn fought her smile. Before responding, she thought of a slight twist on the general’s “request” and decided to suggest it. “Ma’am, it would be my pleasure. However, if I may, I would recommend one member of the team come from the Warlords. I do believe that might help get your message across.” Besides, they needed to know the commandant was not going to let what happened to them go unpunished.

  Okafor’s grin told Ash all she needed to know. “An excellent suggestion, Colonel, and I will add one of my own. Corporal Connery, I would like you and Master Gunnery Sergeant Talbot to represent the Devil Dogs. I will leave it to you to choose someone from the Warlords. My only recommendation is it be a senior NCO who won’t be intimidated by the brigadier general.”

  Connery stood and braced to attention, and Ashlyn saw her doing her best not to smile. “Yes, ma’am. Permission to step out to contact the Master Guns?”

  “Before you do, Corporal, I’m sending you General Hale’s current location,” Santiago said. “I will update you if there are any changes.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She turned her attention back to Okafor. “Commandant?”

  “Dismissed, Corporal.” She waited until Connery disappeared through the hatch. “All right, Rico, where is our errant Marine?”

  “In his quarters, ma’am.” He glanced down at his comm and then turned his attention back to Okafor. “It appears he took a walk, ma’am, and then returned to his quarters. He’s been there for the past half hour.”

  “Interesting. We’ll leave him to his escorts. In the meantime, there are several matters I’d like to deal with before he arrives.”

  Worried, Ashlyn set her coffee mug on the table and leaned forward. As she did, she noted her mother was the only one who didn’t look concerned by what Okafor said. In fact, if anything, her mother looked slightly shell-shocked. But that didn’t make any sense. When she tried to catch Elizabeth’s eye, the woman gave a slight shake of her head. Whatever it was, she either couldn’t or wasn’t ready to discuss it now.

  And that did nothing to reassure Ash.

  “Admiral O’Malley, Admiral Tremayne, we won’t keep you much longer,” Okafor began. “I do appreciate your input, but I don’t want to risk setting your recovery back, Kieran. If you trust me to discipline Hale and make sure he is ne
ver in the position to cause harm to another of our missions, I promise I will do justice for your people.”

  “I more than trust you, Helen.” Anger and pain reflected in his eyes. “I would appreciate knowing what sort of punishment you hand down.”

  “How about a full recording of the meeting?” she asked in return.

  “Even better.” Now he grinned, a predatory grin that sent a shill down Ash’s spine, especially when it was matched by Tremayne.

  “Miranda?” Okafor asked.

  Ash leaned back and glanced at her comm when it vibrated in her hand. A slight smile touched her lips to read Connery’s brief text. The corporal, Talbot and Sergeant Gregori Kuznetsov were on their way to “help” Hale find his way to the conference room. Satisfied, she waited, listening as the others spoke. Tremayne agreed with O’Malley. As long as she knew what action Okafor took against Hale, she was more than happy to leave it to the commandant. Okafor asked a few more questions of them. Then she glanced at her own comm and a slight smile touched her lips. Then she promised she would do right by all those injured or killed from Taskforce Liberator. Apparently satisfied, Tremayne helped O’Malley to his feet and they left the room. Now it was only Marines which, as far as Ashlyn was concerned, was how it should be when Okafor dealt with Hale.

  “While we wait, let’s take care of a couple of housekeeping matters,” Okafor said. “Rico, I know it will take time for your people to go through the data Colonel Ortega managed to secure before her death. I want daily updates, more often if you feel you have something of import. We need to know not only why the enemy’s tactics were so different this time but also if there is anything solid tying them to Midlothian. If, by any chance, you come across future battle plans, that would be icing on the cake.”

  “Understood, ma’am.”

  “As for you, Ashlyn, you are to quit beating yourself up. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. In fact, you and your mother probably prevented the complete destruction of the taskforce and its personnel. The two of you, along with Lucinda and O’Malley, are the only reason we managed to save as many of our people as we did.” Okafor pinned her with a firm look, waiting until she nodded. “When he gets here and we are on the record, I want you to tell Hale exactly what you know and how you, as a Marine and as a senior officer, feel about his lack of action. Don’t step over the line, but also don’t hold back. Let’s see how he reacts.”

  “Gladly, ma’am.” Her only regret was she couldn’t step over that line. Hale owed her, not to mention the rest of the Corps and the families of the fallen, a price he wouldn’t be forced to pay because he had managed to stay just within the bounds of the regs. Damn him.

  “Once you have, we will see if he has anything of value to say. Then he’ll learn what happens when officers under my command fail to do their duty. Worse, who fail to support their fellow Marines.” Her eyes flashed, and Ash relaxed a little. That was enough to reassure her Okafor wasn’t going to let Hale off.

  It didn’t take long for Connery and the others to arrive with Hale. From the moment they entered the conference room, it was obvious Hale wanted to be anywhere but there. At least he was smart enough not to voice his objections to being brought back under what was essentially armed guard. Ashlyn knew her people well enough to know that, even though no weapons were visible, they were there. Apparently, Hale did as well. Part of her regretted the fact he hadn’t tried to make a run for it. Both Connery and Talbott, and probably Sergeant Kuznetsov, would have made certain he didn’t get far.

  If he suffered a few bumps and bruises along the way, too bad. Ash wouldn’t mind treating him to a few herself.

  This time, as Hale looked around for his seat, he found none. When Tremayne and O’Malley left, Okafor had instructed her aide to remove all unoccupied chairs. Ash hadn’t been the only one to smile when she did. The general was making it very clear Hale was not there as anything but someone about to be give a report and possibly receive discipline.

  Who said Marines weren’t good a psychological warfare?

  “Corporal Connery, if you would be so good as to man the comms panel again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Master Guns, Sergeant, I’d appreciate it if you’d hold outside the hatch until I send for you.”

  The two left the conference room and the hatch slid silently closed behind them.

  “Before we begin, please re-establish the link with Master Sergeant Adamson, Corporal,” Okafor said. She waited until the blonde’s image appeared on the holo screens in front of each of them. “Master Sergeant, do you feel well enough to continue?”

  “I do, General.”

  “Very well. Before we get started, there is one matter I need to deal with.” Okafor smiled and looked directly into the pickup. “Master Sergeant Adamson, as senior NCO for the Warlords, I wanted you to be the first to know that I have signed off on a posthumous promotion for Lieutenant Colonel Ortega to full colonel. Her family will be informed come morning and will receive benefits commiserate with the colonel’s new rank.”

  For a moment, Anderson’s mouth worked as she fought her grief. “Thank you, ma’am. The only reason any of us made it back is because of actions she and Admiral O’Malley took.”

  “As well as actions you took,” Okafor corrected gently. “Before her death, Colonel Ortega recommended a battlefield promotion for you to the rank of Sergeant Major. I have signed off on that as well. Congratulations, Sergeant Major Anderson. You have done your battalion and your CO proud.”

  Anderson’s good eye filled with tears and she reached up to dash at them before they fell down her cheek. “Ma’am,” she began in protest.

  “It’s already done, Sergeant Major.” Okafor smiled again and then sobered. “Now for more serious business.” She turned her attention to Hale, “Brigadier General Hale, for the record, you are currently assigned as the commanding officer for Second Division, Fuerconese Marine Corps. Is that correct?”

  “It is.”

  “The Warlords are under your direct command?”

  “They are.”

  “And, until her death, Colonel Lucinda Ortega was CO for the Warlords.”

  “Correct.”

  “Colonel Shaw?”

  Ashlyn looked up. In that moment, Hale suddenly represented not only the tragedy that had befallen Taskforce Liberator but the conspiracy against herself. She hadn’t been able to defend herself or her people against the false charges leveled against them. This time, however, she would do everything she could to get justice for Lucinda and her people. She would be their champion just as Lucinda had been hers.

  “General Shaw.” She considered standing and then decided it was more of an insult to him to remain seated while he was forced to stand like a prisoner in the dock. “I’ve got a simple question for you. Did Colonel Ortega request reinforcements once Taskforce Liberator arrived in the Tenasic System and engaged the enemy?”

  For a moment, Hale didn’t respond. His mouth worked, and he glanced around the table at the openly hostile faces watching him. “I exercised my judgment as a Marine and as Second Division’s commanding officer, knowing the requirements of the rest of the division, in making my decision.”

  “Which answers my questions. She did request reinforcements.” She paused, considering her next question. “Did you or did you not deny her request? Or did you just ignore it and hope it would go away?”

  Hale’s eyes flashed, and he looked from Ashlyn to Okafor. “I object to being treated this way, Commandant, and especially by a junior officer. I was told this would be a debriefing about the mission. It suddenly feels as if I am on trial. Perhaps I ought to ask for counsel.”

  “That is your right, Hale.” Okafor sounded as if they were discussing nothing more serious than the weather. “However, if you do, I will adjourn this meeting and will ask not only Colonel Shaw, as the commanding officer of the Marine contingent sent to reinforce Colonel Ortega, but Admiral Tremayne as well as Admiral O’Malley to meet with JAG t
o determine exactly what charges should be drawn up against you for your actions regarding Colonel Ortega’s requests. I have no doubt that, at the minimum, you will be forced to defend yourself against charges that you failed to do your duty to fully support troops under your command.”

  Ash waited, watching the emotional battle play out over the man’s face. “Ask your questions,” he all but spat a few moments later.

  “Do I need to repeat my question, General?” she asked in return.

  He shook his head. “I did not send the requested reinforcements because, at the time, I did not feel they were necessary. I believed Ortega was overreacting to her first command situation.”

  Anger flared, burning deep inside of Ashlyn. She forced it down. She knew he was trying to bait her and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. But she would use his own admission to hang him, figuratively if nothing else.

  “And her second request? Or how about requests three through six?” She punched in a series of commands using her virtual keyboard. When she did, each of Lucinda’s requests appeared on the holo screens before them. “Were they overreactions, even in light of the losses the taskforce had taken?” Now she brought up the casualty reports attached to each request as well as the lists of equipment lost in the fighting.

  This time, Hale didn’t answer. Not that she blamed him. What could he say that wouldn’t dig an even deeper hole for him?

  “Sergeant Major Anderson, since the general doesn’t seem to have an answer, I’ll ask you. Were Colonel Ortega’s requests for reinforcements unreasonable or the actions of an officer panicking in the face of the enemy?”

  Adamson’s face looked out at them from the main holo screen, her expression hard. “Negative, Colonel. They were the results of a seasoned Marine officer who took into account not only the actions of the enemy and their consequences but also our own orders from FleetCom.”

  “Another question, if you’re up to it, Sergeant Major.” She waited until Adamson nodded. Ash had a feeling there was little, if anything, that would keep the blonde from having her say about what happened. “Were you aware of the colonel’s requests at the time she made them?”