“M590 didn’t go smoothly, then?” Rivers asked.
He wouldn’t even look up at Taylor, as he poured a glass of hard spirits into a glass in front of him.
“No, but you knew it wouldn’t,” replied Taylor sternly.
He looked up with shock in his face.
“I wasn’t to know what was on the surface of that world.”
“But you had a hunch it wasn’t going to be a friendly sort of place?”
He nodded.
“Then why send so few?”
“Because we can’t afford to send any more. We have teams working across dozens of systems investigating uncharted territory.”
“But when you knew that team was in trouble, you still sent just twenty marines, why?”
“A calculated risk.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If two squads were enough to save those already down there, then good. If they were not, then the risks were far too great to send more.”
“So that is all this is, a numbers game? Those are people’s lives you are talking about.”
Rivers slammed his glass down, stepped back from his chair, and pressed a button on the wall beside it. A hatch slid open to reveal a panoramic window that looked down on Earth.
“Look at it. Just look at it. Everything we do is about making that world liveable again, or finding some substitute. Both of which we have so far failed to do! But don’t think for a moment that I don’t care about the lives of the men and women that risk their lives in this work; I may not be a fighter, or a marine, but I give everything I have to give to this, the same as you.”
Taylor was shocked and began to feel sorry for him. He hadn’t realised Rivers was so emotionally involved in it all. He had always come across as a machine-like computer of a man that didn’t show much emotion. Rivers slumped back down into his seat and poured another glass for himself, as well as one for Taylor. He slid it across to the Colonel. Taylor took the glass, for this encounter hadn’t turned out how he expected at all. He expected it to be confrontational, but it was now something else entirely.
“When you took over as President you said you could save this, but you can’t, can you?”
He was already shaking his head.
“I still believe there is a way, but right now it is beyond our abilities. Irala would have managed it. The technology the Aranui had was hundreds of years beyond our own, maybe even thousands. They turned hostile worlds into habitable ones; I know they did. I saw the evidence with my own eyes, but how they did it was a mystery.”
“But the Aranui are gone, and so is their knowledge, their tech, everything.”
“No, no it isn’t.”
Taylor looked confused.
“There are still parts of them left out there. Just like the Pauri Tao, that weapon you went in search of. The Aranui left things all across the universe. Hidden from Bolormaa, and we must find them.”
“The spear I get, but what reason do you have for believing there is more?” Taylor was doubtful and suspicious.
“Because Irala told me.”
For a moment he wasn’t convinced, but as he studied Rivers’ face, he could see he was not bullshitting.
“Why is this the first I am hearing of it? Why aren’t we out looking for this stuff?”
“What do you think our research teams have been doing?”
It clicked in Taylor’s head. They’d been told they were looking for mineral resources for scientific research, all the while they were hunting for something very different.
“You see it now, don’t you? You see the Aranui were once on the brink of extinction. In fact they are now extinct. But the point is, they hid and protected their secrets from the enemy. They hid those things so that their own people could uncover them in the future, but that is on us now.”
“And Irala told you this? No bullshit.”
“You will remember that he was exiled for what he did for us. What we are looking for was never meant for our eyes, and yet we need it. Irala gave me some clues as we worked together, but even he was unsure of many of the details. You know this from the search for the Pauri Tao. It was a treasure hunt, and one that many believed was nothing more than a myth, and yet it wasn’t. You know it wasn’t.”
“But that was one famous thing. Sure, plenty didn’t believe it existed, but the stories were there. People knew them. What are you talking about? Some myths that nobody else was ever told?”
“I have to believe Irala was right. I have to believe it.”
“Why?”
There was a long pause as if he was holding back.
“Just spit it out. We are way past such nonsense.”
“Because if the Aranui tech isn’t out there, then there is no hope.”
“What you are telling me is that you have no way to fix this?”
He sighed and nodded in agreement, staring off in the distance in an almost dreamlike state. Taylor took a seat as he realised how grave the situation was.
“There must be some other way for us to go on living?”
“That depends how you define living. We can go on living in bunkers and space stations, but with ever dwindling resources. I fear that if we go on like this for too long it will be no life at all. Man was meant to walk on solid ground and breathe fresh air. All this advancement that has taken us to the stars is all well and good, but it was supposed to allow us to find other worlds like our own. It seems the more we branch out, the less we have.”
“Jesus, it is bad,” said Taylor.
He had expected to have to push Rivers to do something, but there was nothing more the President could do that he wasn’t already doing.
“There is a way to save our world, and others. Irala knew that. We just have to find what they left behind.”
“And M590?”
“I had my suspicions that the Aranui were once there,” he said, activating a 3D projection screen on his desk.
“This certainly confirms my suspicions. They were there all right.”
“But why? It’s a nightmare. A world filled with hordes of bloodthirsty creatures.”
“What better a place to hide secrets, don’t you think?”
Taylor sighed, understanding what that meant. They had to go back there.
“When do I leave?”
Rivers looked surprised.
“No, not you, Colonel. You were expressively ordered not to get involved with these operations directly. You are too important.”
“More important than the twelve marines we lost on that shithole of a planet and the two that are in med bay?”
“Yes, more than the marines that undertook that mission, a lot more. It’s not pretty, but that is a fact.”
Taylor groaned. He didn’t like to hear it.
“The single, biggest reason the Alliance needs you is because you are the fabric that keeps the races together. You are the one that made peace with the Krys and brought the Cholans back on side. There are enough divisions in the Alliance these days, without you we would sink.”
“I think you overestimate my worth.”
“Are you a genius?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t know. I have spent my life studying, researching, and trying to understand all manner of things. That used to be for business and then for science. And now for this, as well as running the Alliance. I have studied every political system the civilised worlds have ever known, and I know what keeps them together or lets them fall.”
“And yet you say we are on the edge?”
“Yes. I am a scientist, and remember that. Just because I can explain why something happens, or even predict how something will happen, it doesn’t mean I have the ability or means to affect every element. No, I need you to keep the fabric of the Alliance, and more than that, to rally them to this work. M590 is a planet of interest, but not the only one. The war cost us dearly, as you know, and things haven’t exactly improved since. So many people lost, so many civilians, s
oldiers, and politicians decimated. We need new blood, new recruits of soldiers from other worlds. Our call-up age is going to have to change. We are simply not getting enough recruits in to the Corps.”
“Conscription is a mistake. It only lowers standards.”
“I am not going to disagree with you, but it has been done at great times of need throughout history. Not that it yields the best results, but because there is no other choice. Right now we have called up men and women at twenty for three years.”
“And what do you have in mind?”
“Reduce it to eighteen and require five years. And we must offer better incentives for these men and women to stay on after their service, too.”
“Eighteen?”
“War has been fought by eighteen-year olds for centuries, and we aren’t even at war.”
“And marines are still dying.”
“I am sorry about that, but these are the harsh realities of life, and you know that better than any of us.”
Taylor grimaced at how true that was. He’d seen more death and destruction than any Human to have ever lived. That was not an accolade he ever imagined possible. A buzzer rang out at the door to the office, and somebody walked through casually soon after. Taylor recognised the man instantly. It was William Jones, the man who had helped him end the war, and distant relative of the best friend he’d ever had. But Jones was not in uniform anymore. He wore the well cut and tailored suit of a politician. He was aide to the President now. Taylor could not think of a better man for the job, but he still missed his friendship.
“Mitch, good to see you,” Jones said in a friendly tone.
It was if they hadn’t been apart a single day as they shook each other’s hands, but Taylor pulled him closer and hugged. Jones looked a little uneasy at first, but soon accepted it.
“How is this life treating you?” Taylor stepped back.
“It’s not as glamorous as you might think, nor as easy. But we are doing good work and making progress.”
Taylor’s faced scrunched up as he grimaced and sighed.
“What, you don’t believe me?”
He turned to Rivers and could see the reason for the doubt.
“He knows.”
“Knows what?”
“Everything,”
Jones groaned.
“He had to know.”
“Hey, take it easy. I’m here to help,” said Taylor.
“I don’t doubt that, but your kind of help is never the subtle kind,” replied Jones wearily.
Taylor laughed.
“You know what’s at stake here, right?”
“You know I do.”
Jones wasn’t convinced enough.
“You need to lighten up, or you’ll give yourself a heart attack before we can ever see this through.”
“If we see it through.”
“We will. We always do.”
“I wish I had your faith.”
“It isn’t blind. While good men and women keep fighting and struggling on, there is hope. Same as it’s ever been.” He turned back to Rivers.
“Mr President, what would you have me do?”
“Reach out and find support. We need soldiers, pilots, crews, and ships. We have to continue our quest for the Aranui resources, expand it as far and wide as we can, and quickly. I will do what I can here, but I need you to look elsewhere. Go to the allies you have throughout the Alliance and get them on board.”
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“When was anything you ever set out to do easy?” Jones asked.
Taylor nodded in agreement.
“Would be nice just occasionally, though, wouldn’t it?”
“No, you’d get bored.”
Taylor smiled. It was nice to see Jones lightening up a little.
“We need new blood. We need support. You are the best ambassador we have, and the best chance. You may not be the best diplomat or the best speaker, but people believe in you, and people will follow you. We need to thoroughly investigate M590, as well as a great many other locations that have been flagged over the past weeks and months. We must have the resources to investigate them all.”
Taylor turned to leave when Rivers called out.
“Oh, and one more thing, Colonel.”
“Yes, Sir?”
“How many marines do you have at your disposal?”
“Not enough.”
“I hear the survivors of M590 more than proved themselves up to the job. A Corporal Newman in particular has been noted as taking command of the mission. He sounds like a man you need, and so does his squad. I am assigning them to you.”
“Rookies?”
“They aren’t rookies anymore.”
Taylor shrugged, as Jones was not wrong.
Chapter 4
Two days later.
Newman lunged forward, but Olsen dodged, thrusting and smacking him in the face with her training baton. It flashed with light to signify the impact as it touched the padded helmet he was wearing. The screen behind them lit up to project how much damage it would have done.
“You can’t cut with the Assegai,” he protested, as if implying she had cheated.
“The one Taylor and his team have got can.”
“But not the things we get issued with.”
“Maybe not, but it still broke your nose.” She pointed to the screen.
He didn’t look too pleased.
“I don’t even get why we have to train with this crap. What are we, back in the dark ages?” Benik complained and half-heartedly thrust towards Giles.
“You are kidding me?” Olsen asked, “You saw Taylor hack through dozens of those Vargs.”
“Vargs?”
“That’s what those creatures are being called now,” said Giles.
“Sounds like bullshit to me.”
“I don’t care what you think, and neither does anyone else.”
Everyone was silenced. Giles was a straight talker; even so nobody had expected him to be quite so sharp. Combat had changed them all, for better or worse. Benik looked about to the others as if to find some support. As if he had been greatly offended and expected someone to come to his rescue, but there was no sign of it.
“Not everything is fun and games and about having a laugh. It’s time to get serious, or get dead,” added Giles.
They were silenced as the grim reality of recent events came back to them. After so much training, and fruitless and mind-numbing missions, the prospect of having to fight seemed like a dream. It was though they were training for a fight that was never going to happen.
“We aren’t at war,” complained Benik.
“Wrong!”
They recognized the roar immediately. Colonel Taylor was standing in the open doorway to the training facility. No one moved a muscle. They had grown up on his reputation and with his face on the news every day. Not only that, they knew his notoriety for not playing by the rules. Taylor was known for even striking his superiors when he felt the need. He may not have accepted the role of Commandant, but everyone still treated him as if he had. After a long and uncomfortable pause, he finally spoke again.
"I've been there when the whole world thought they had seen an end to war. I saw it when the Krys came, and again when I was awoken into this world. Do you know why I was brought back to this life? Hundreds of years later and at a great cost?"
He began to pace back and forth.
"I was brought back because people had become soft, just as they had before the Krys war. Thinking you can relax and slacken off when there is no war is a sure fire way to lose your head. There will always be war. There always has been, and there always will be. Maybe you are lucky enough to live in those gaps in time that are peaceful, but I doubt it. When the enemy comes for you, they will be prepared, because they knew what was coming, but will you? Will you be ready to fight and win? Or will you bitch and whine like little kids? Because that it what I am hearing right now."
Benik looked sheepis
h, especially as he could see that everyone in his unit felt the same way.
"What happened down on the surface of that shithole M590 wasn't nice, but it’s nothing compared to what you will see in your lifetimes, depending on how long you live."
Benik was shaking his head.
"You don't agree?"
"Sir, I never thought this job was going to be easy, but we haven't had an enemy to fight in a decade. Who is there for us to fight?"
"Is that not what everyone said before Bolormaa? You were all sitting pretty, living your perfect little lives until she came and fucked it all up. Bolormaa was bad. She was all kinds of terrible, but she is just a long line in assholes that wants to ruin your life. War is coming again, and likely in your lifetimes. The Alliance has never been in a more vulnerable position, and neither has Humanity. Hell, we don't even have a planet to live on. We are spread thin, an easy target. Somebody is going to see that, and when they do, you’d better be ready to fight for your life."
Benik took it well. The sheepish look had gone from his face as he began to believe Taylor.
"You know what I learnt in all my time as a marine?" He paused to see if anyone would dare attempt an answer.
"That as a marine we must use every weapon to our advantage, every tool in our toolbox. The rifles we carry are the finest the Alliance has ever had, but what happens when you run out of ammunition? What happens when so many enemies flood you that you can't reload in time? When your weapon malfunctions or is destroyed? When you face an enemy with armour so strong that the ammunition you're using won't even scratch it?"
He drew out his Assegai.
"There was a time, my time in fact, when such barbaric close in fighting was a thing of the past. Relegated to the dark ages. And yet, as technology has improved, armour has improved, and once more we find ourselves at close quarter with the enemy. And the man, or woman, who has training and is expert with this, is King."
"You really got to use it that often, Sir?" Benik asked.
"I did. Trust in your firearms, and your fellow marines. In the gunships and fire support, but when things heat up, and you find yourself all alone with nothing but an Assegai and the will to survive, be ready to trust in this, and this."
Beyond Earth- Civil War Page 5
