Free The Clone Sedition by Steven L. Kent Page B

Harris,” Hughes said, drawing my name out, giving it a patronizing tone, “you can’t possibly believe those attacks were connected with a spontaneous demonstration in the grand arcade.”
    He finally stepped behind his desk and sat down.
    Even though two chairs had been set out for us, Jackson and I remained on our feet. Jackson said, “I sure as speck see a connection. Those people consider us their enemy. I don’t know shit about Legions and devils, but I know war flags when I see them, and those banners qualify as war flags. Those people out there, they’re looking for a fight.”
    Hughes sighed, and said, “They don’t want war, Colonel. They know their situation. They know that you feed them and that you rescued them from the Avatari…rescued them twice.” He turned to me, and added, “General, they are loyal to the Enlisted Man’s Empire. They know what would have happened if you left them on Olympus Kri. They haven’t forgotten.
    “There are women and children out there…wives andsons and daughters. You cannot possibly believe these men would sacrifice their wives and children.”
    “Bullshit,” said Jackson. He wasn’t showing proper respect, but I had decided to give him a long leash this visit. I wanted him to make noise, and I wanted Hughes to see we meant business.
    Gordon Hughes may have been a war hero in his youth, but now he was a dried-up old man with white hair and wrinkles. His bloodshot eyes peered out from puffy red rims, and his lips were flesh-colored and dry.
    The corners of his mouth drew back in an ironic smile as he said, “What did you expect when you arrived, Colonel, a hero’s welcome? Perhaps you were hoping for the red-carpet treatment, Colonel. I’m sorry if we disappointed you.”
    As a sign of respect for Hughes’s office, Jackson and I had left our M27s back with our troops. Good thing. If he’d had his gun, I suspect Jackson might have used it. I saw murder in his eyes.
    He said, “No, Governor, when I save people’s lives I expect them to throw trash at me. Wasn’t that why we pulled your people off Olympus Kri, so they could crush my Marines with their garbage?”
    Hughes glanced at me for help. When I said nothing, he turned back to Jackson and asked, “Did you happen to notice the way those people are living out there?”
    Jackson said, “Maybe they would have been happier if we’d left them on Olympus Kri. They could have died in the comfort of their homes.”
    I decided to take control of the conversation. “How did six thousand New Olympians get to Earth?” I asked.
    Hughes turned to glare at me, the anger he felt toward Jackson still showing in his eyes. He asked, “Do you think I had something to do with it? Do you think I sent them?”
    He calmed down quickly. Jackson had riled him, but Hughes knew how to play the game. He said, “If I had to guess, I would say that they stowed away on a freighter.”
    “Six thousand men…that’s a lot of men to go unnoticed,” said Jackson.
    “Six thousand out of seventeen million,” Hughes reminded Jackson.
    I had already done the math in my head. “Small fraction,” I said. I believed Hughes when he said he knew nothing about the men who came to Earth.
    “Would you have stopped them if you knew about it?” Jackson asked.
    “They broke the law,” said Hughes. “Aside from questions of right and wrong, Colonel, I am against anything that prolongs our encampment on Mars. Just from a pragmatic standpoint, it seems obvious that their actions would be interpreted as provocation, yes? You see those men as seditious, a threat to the stable government you are trying to create, and your suspicions extend to the entire population of Olympus Kri.”
    Jackson started to say something, but Hughes put up a hand to stop him. He said, “I understand why you have reacted to the attacks as you have. You asked me a question, and that is my answer. I am against anything that keeps us trapped on Mars.”
    “But you