One Good Soldier

Secret Servicemen, Thomas and Koodie.

As soon as they were alone, both Admiral Walker and the president started to talk, but the admiral quickly ceded the floor to her commander-in-chief.

'—I know what you're going to say, Admiral, but I don't give a flying damn. I'm going down to that planet, and I'm going to find my little girl and bring her home.'

'With all due respect, sir, you aren't. I know what you're feeling, but we will not allow it.'

'We?'

'Sir, there's not a single senior officer in this fleet who would allow you to go down to that planet, even if you order them directly, even if you do have snap-back QMT wristbands.' The STO had been nodding in agreement with his CO, until a withering glare from the president caused him to tuck in his chin like a plebe being dressed down.

'Knowing we have a way to whisk you away to safety is why I didn't object when you insisted on coming aboard. But it's one thing to know we have got some of the strongest armor and SIFs in the entire fleet between you and harm's way. It's quite another to let you go down to a hostile planet. Unless you're ready to relieve every officer serving in this fleet, you are not going down to that planet, Mr. President.'

Moore looked about ready to explode. He glanced at his bodyguards, but they didn't flinch, nod, or wink. They'd been with Moore for too long and seen him do what he damned well had to and Secret Service be damned. Moore looked back at the admiral.

The STO snapped to attention, and spoke. 'Mr. President, we cannot allow the enemy a chance to capture you. It is simply unthinkable, sir. It could completely compromise our attack.'

President Moore looked ready to chew through a bulkhead until his wife laid a hand upon his clenched arm, breaking his intense glare at the officers.

'Alexander, they're right. And you know it.' Something passed between the husband and wife, and President Moore relaxed ever so slightly. Sehera turned to the Secret Service men. 'Thomas will get her for us, won't you?'

'Yes, ma'am.' Thomas and Koodie stepped forward and nodded.

Abby, we expected this.

Sir.

Move out on our other plans.

Yes, Mr. President, his AIC responded and then added, or is that General?

'Might I suggest we send along a squad or two of AEMs or mecha?' Walker asked.

'No, Admiral,' President Moore said. 'That would draw too much attention. As long as you make a menace of yourselves elsewhere, that should provide all the diversion . . . they need.'

'CO! CDC!'

'Excuse me, sir.' Walker tapped a button on her comm. 'Go, CDC!'

'CO, long-range sensors have picked up two friendly AIC handshaking signals.' Walker turned to Moore inquisitively but said nothing.

'Might be DeathRay and that CIA agent, Alexander,' Sehera interjected. 'Talk to them!'

'Admiral, can you connect us?'

'Not sure. CDC, can you connect us to the two signals?' Walker asked.

'Hold on, CO.' Moore and Walker passed glances back and forth during the brief seconds they waited for an answer. Walker didn't think they were close enough to get a connection with the AICs. Limits were usually about a light-minute with no large repeaters. The Blair had plenty of amplification, but the little AIC on the other end didn't. 'Sorry, ma'am. They are too far away.'

'Keep at it, CDC. I need to know as soon as you connect to them.'

'Mr. President?'

'I say we start getting this attack under way.'

'Agreed, sir. We'll jaunt in and attack in five minutes, sir,' she said as she snapped a picture-perfect salute, trying to keep the relief from showing on her face.

'So, Nancy, uh, nice place here. And, where did you get these mecha?' Jack asked. They had landed just outside New Tharsis at a fairly nice farmhouse. The hangar in the back acreage of the farm housed two Seppy Gnats.

'Oh, well, I've squirreled away Seppy dollars for years, and I have several safe houses spread about the planet. This is one of the better ones. The mecha are actually part of a requisition error made on an order to the manufacturer. They delivered two more than they were supposed to down at the spaceport in New Tharsis. I happened to be a shipping clerk by the name of Carrie Thomas there about five years ago. I needed to do some training in these, so I managed to get them here. There's also an Orca drop tank out back. The logistics was a little more complicated than it sounds. The point is, I have them. We can use them. Think you can fly one?' Jack tried not to laugh. Nancy had managed to infiltrate the Seppy acquisition system so