***
Late the next morning, Waters stood at attention with hers and Pond’s report floating over Fink’s lavish desk, small lettering glowing away in front of his stomach. He was standing as well, big arms folded behind his back, unfolding them now and then to wave a hand at the letters, making the digital pages turn. Riddick stood at attention beside Waters, his fists a little too far forward, and the angle of his feet too narrow, but overall doing a wonderful job of standing still. The posture must’ve seemed like a quiet game to him, an opportunity to study his new acquaintance who, for the most part, ignore the Furyan.
Fink said, “You’re right, Waters. Your report begs more questions than it gives answers. I thank you for confirming rumors as facts, though. It’s something but it’s not enough. I’m going to have to send you and your squad back on fresh legs. We need more answers. The Necromongers are too much of an enigmatic threat. The masses have already fled to New Mecca and other worlds. People don’t know whether to stay put or search for safer grounds.”
“There may be no safer grounds.”
“I know, which is why we need to create the safest grounds, preferably here on Earth. We’ll have to send an ambassador to Quintessa as well, and get some straight answers out of these Elementals you mentioned.” He looked at Riddick. “This alien you brought back--”
“Riddick, sir.” Waters knew better than to interject but she didn’t like how Fink referred to Riddick like some beast.
“This alien isn’t quite like us humans but he doesn’t display any remarkable traits that give me pause. Why did you bring him with you?”
Her knee-jerk answer was that she hadn’t been able to bring herself to just leave the kid there. The last thing her superior cared to hear about was maternal sentiment. “I wasn’t sure about taking him until Aquarion expressed interest in him. Maybe Furyans mature slowly and he won’t display more traits until he’s an adult.”
Fink studied Riddick again and crinkled his nose. “Maybe you should’ve let the Elemental take him. They clearly know more about both Furyans and Necromongers.”
“I tried to get answers from her, sir.”
“I know. I read your report verbatim.” He pressed a holographic button on the side of the document, causing the document to wink out of existence, then he turned around and gazed out the wall-sized window. HQMC’s grandeur sprawled out under a tree line that expanded as far as the eye could see. “When you return to Furya, take the alien with you and dump him back where he belongs. That will be all, Waters.”
She wanted to scream at Fink, but she kept her voice level and controlled as her blood boiled. “With all due respect, sir, may I make a suggestion?”
He looked over a shoulder, scowling away. “Let’s hear it.”
“Enroll him in the Marines.”
He turned fully around, eyes narrowed. “What for?”
“He possesses covetous traits we’d love to see in every soldiers. He can become an asset.”
“He’s not an American citizen, much less from Earth.”
“I don’t see that as a problem, sir.”
“I don’t like or trust him.”
She took a calming breath, barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes. “He doesn’t know any languages but what little English my squad and I have taught him. He’s a fresh mind waiting to be molded, and he learns quickly. You couldn’t ask for better soldier material.”
You don’t tame a Furyan...
Fink gave Waters a measuring look. “It sounds like you’ve grown attached to the alien.”
Waters felt her face redden. “He’s just a kid.” Despite how Riddick put her on edge from time to time, she felt like she’d rescued some orphaned child. He was an orphan, just a kid. He was so innocent--far from helpless, yes--but so innocent and curious, and Waters felt like she owed him for having spirited him to Earth, along with made him undergo so many disconcerting experiences. The least she could do was keep him safe and give him a future.
Fink glanced at Riddick, then met Waters’ gaze, which had to be borderline pleading. “There’s something about him I don’t trust one bit. He looks like he thinks he’s in control of the situation when he couldn’t be more wrong.”
It was true Riddick looked very confident while he stood at a sloppy attention and bore into Fink with his attentive gaze.
“But I must admit I’m curious to see if you’re right about him having traits lying dormant. That Elemental wouldn’t have been so eager to take him off your hands for nothing.”
Have you never heard the stories?
Oh, what was she getting herself into? Aquarion’s words were frustratingly cryptic.
“Acquire adoption papers, a social security number, everything. Enroll him in JROTC and make a hard-core Marine out of him.”
“Yes, sir!” Her heart soared at the minor victory, but at the same time she felt a sense of foreboding. Was keeping him really the right thing to do, or should she have handed Riddick over to the Elementals? No, she was glad to have him, and she would make sure he molded into a fine soldier.
“But, if he starts causing any trouble whatsoever, he goes right back to his planet, and you’ll be taking full responsibility and liability for all his actions. I’ll be watching closely.”