Issue In Doubt by David Sherman Read Free Book Online Page A

you.”
    A corner of Talbot’s mouth twitched, as close as he’d allow himself to a smile at how smoothly the Marine staff sergeant put that overbearing squid in his place. Talbot looked every bit the former recruiting poster Marine he had been.
    Madison glared at Harrell, but went stone-faced when his eyes flicked to Talbot and he recognized that he wasn’t going to get any satisfaction from the Marines over that enlisted man’s impertinence.
    Neither Madison’s question nor Harrell’s answer meant anything at this point; Schonland had already been debriefed by Hobson and the Joint Chiefs. There had been no sign of spacecraft—or atmospheric craft either—in Troy’s space. So far as the Monticello ’s sensors could tell, Troy was a dead world, not home to any sentient life, and its space was empty of anything not to be found in any similarly lifeless planetary system.
    “Did you see any structures?” Raub, the exobiology representative, asked Harrell. “I mean alien structures, that is.”
    “No, sir. Only what was left of the human structures built by the colonists. Damage ranged from severe all the way to totally demolished.”
    “And you’re speaking for all the survivors when you say that?”
    “Yes, sir. Force Recon Marines take careful note of our surroundings. Nobody saw anything that wasn’t obviously human-construction. We have the vids from all eight squads. None of them show anything that could be an alien structure.”
    “So where did the aliens that attacked you come from?” Raub’s Ichabod Crane-like face jutted forward on his thin neck, obviously hoping for something that would give him a clue about the aliens. “Did they have any, what do you call them, dug-in fighting positions?”
    “Sir, every alien any of us saw was on his feet and running at us.” Harrell shook his head in wonderment. “We have no idea where they came from. None of our detectors picked them up, either, until right before they attacked.” He held up his hand. “Excuse me, sir. There were two snipers that fired from inside human buildings. Otherwise, all of them that we saw were in the open.”
    Raub shook his head, but in disappointment rather than disbelief.
    De Castro cleared his throat and asked, “Your squad was the only one that was able to secure any alien artifacts and bring them back?”
    “That’s right, sir.” Harrell took a deep breath to quell the tremble that suddenly threatened to overcome him. “The others had to withdraw under heavy fire.” He hung his head for a brief moment, then continued in a strong voice. “The only other Marines who got close enough to an alien to get their weapons or equipment died in hand-to-hand combat.”
    De Castro nodded in sympathy. “I understand, Sergeant—Staff Sergeant.” He corrected himself, remembering that to Marines a “sergeant” had three stripes and no rockers, a sergeant with a rocker under his chevrons was properly addressed as “Staff Sergeant.” “You have my most profound sympathy.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    Secretary Hobson looked around the room. “Does anybody else have any questions?”
    In murmur or strong voice, they all answered, “No.”
    “Then you are dismissed, Staff Sergeant.”
    “Aye-aye, sir.” Harrell stood, came to attention, said, “Thank you sirs, ma’am,” and marched out of the room.
    Hobson looked at Colonel Dyess and nodded—the Force Recon commander wouldn’t be needed for the rest of the meeting, either.
    Dyess stood. “Thank you, sirs and ma’am.” He followed Harrell out.
    When the door closed behind the two Marines, Hobson turned to Raub. “What do we know about the aliens, and what were you able to learn from the items that brave Marine brought back?”
    Jacob Raub, the NAU’s top expert on extraterrestrial lifeforms, made a face. “Not a lot. At least not much of interest to anybody who isn’t an exobiologist. The harness is made from leather from an animal that we can’t identify,