Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 17 (a)

Richard Tilston-Horn was just shy of his 60th birthday and had served in Commonwealth Intelligence for 44 years. At age 11 he was entered into the Duke of York's Royal Military College at Dover following the death of his entire family in a terrorist attack. If it seemed a poor choice to some, it wasn't to him. For generations the Tilston-Horns had served in the military. His mother upon her death was a Vice-Admiral in the Commonwealth Navy, his father a former Navy/Marine surgeon until he took up politics and became a Senator representing the U.K in the world capital of Stratford in East London.

Still, entering a military boarding school at 11 was not easy. He endured intimidation and bullying. Extended family did their best to support and love him but it was little solace. He missed his parents badly and his sister Susan (Sally to the family) was a loss so great it left an enormous hole in his heart. A year younger than him, she had been smart and ambitious and dreamed of going to the stars.

Horn could not remember what he had wanted to do or be before his family died. He just knew that after it happened, he wanted to be able to ensure it never happened again. To do that, he needed to know those who would do such things. This required "intelligence" as an Inspector from Scotland Yard told him. This made an impression on him as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from the same wounds that had killed everyone he loved.

In time Horn learned that intelligence meant more than simple education. It was a vocation. While he learned math, science, history and languages, he also became informed about the collection, analysis, packaging and dissemination of intelligence gathering. His interests in cryptography, clandestine espionage, profiling and a whole host of other areas related to being a spy. This got him noticed by his instructors. It also served to elevate him from the bullied to the revered by his classmates as his disguises and clever devices were celebrated for their ingenuity.

Shortly before his 16th birthday, a man and a woman from the Commonwealth arrived to talk to him. As he sat down before them, he tried to decide if they were military or civilian and couldn't tell. They were business-like in attire and demeanour. Since he'd not been told of their arrival, he couldn't do the usual amount of snooping. His personal AI handshake identified the man as Pickersgill and the woman as d'Artois. The department they were listed with was Public Works. Ostensibly this was a Commonwealth department responsible for infrastructure but it did have a national security component. Young as he was though, Horn knew the names he was given were fake and where they came from.

"You have each taken names from agents who served in the Special Operations Executive in World War II," said Horn. "By my calculation you must be from Commonwealth Intelligence. The big question for me is why you are here."

"We're here to see you," said Pickersgill. "As you know, at age 16 if your marks allow for it, you can enter apprenticing or university programming. We would like you to come to our school."

"Which is it? Apprentice program or university program?" Horn asked.

Pickersgill and d'Artois looked at one another and she replied: "It's both."

And so at 16, Horn left his friends at military school and entered a new school that had no name but was located at the Commonwealth Force Training Area – Gimli. It was a sprawling area but to the people there it was known as The Camp.

While many different military exercises occurred on the site, it hid within its operations an incredibly sophisticated intelligence university and commando training center.