Beyond Earth- Civil War

by Nick S. Thomas

  "How the hell did things get this bad?" he muttered to himself.

  He was under no illusions that they were in a recovery period following the catastrophic destruction Bolormaa had caused. But he hadn't known that progress was not being made. It is what weighed on him most, that their prospects for the future were looking dire. He heard voices and giggling in the corridor, and assumed that others of his squad were awake. That was a relief. He needed something other than his own mind. It was driving him crazy. He leapt from his bed, pulled on his uniform, and stepped out of his door. There was nobody in sight, but he could still hear the laughter and chatting.

  A door along the corridor opened, and a woman staggered out. It was no one from his unit. She was pulling on her dress and trying to get her heels back on. She looked dishevelled and was still giggling incessantly. Clearly drunk. A man appeared at the door as she ambled back, and they kissed passionately. That was when he realised who it was.

  "You didn't see anything."

  He turned quickly to the source of the whispered voice. Sommer was leaning over his shoulder.

  "But...that's CJ, and the First Lady?"

  "Yes it is, and do you know the kind of storm that would be kicked up if anyone knew? So she was never here, and you never saw anything. You hear me, Corporal?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "That could..."

  "Yes, it could. So listen to me again, Corporal. You saw nothing. You don't share this with anybody, you hear?"

  "But, the President must..."

  Sommer grabbed him and shoved him back in to his quarters, slamming him up against the back wall.

  "The President has more than enough on his plate right now. You will not risk the safety of us all by letting this slip. Not a word, you hear me?"

  "Not even to the Colonel?"

  "Especially to the Colonel. The less he knows about this the better, or he is an accomplice."

  "Which we both are now, Sir."

  She sighed. "Yes, we are, but that is a price we are going to have to pay."

  "Good night?" Benik walked past the open door.

  Newman huffed. Benik would assume the noises had come from him and Sommer.

  "Five minutes, and this is going to be a thing. He can't keep his mouth shut."

  "Good, if that is what is necessary to protect this little secret. If anyone asks, the noise was us, and we had a good night."

  "But it's a lie, and completely against the rules."

  "Yeah, and in the scheme of things, insignificant. We blew off a little steam after a long day, you got that?"

  He could tell she wasn't going to take no as an answer, and she was his superior after all. She left without another word, and now Newman only felt worse, yet another problem swirling around his head.

  "Up, all of you, up, we've got work to do!"

  Taylor paced through the corridors. Newman couldn't believe the Colonel was even awake enough to walk, and yet there he was. He reached Newman's door and stopped with a smile.

  "Like to fraternize with an officer, do you, Corporal?"

  He continued on.

  Newman sighed once more. He wouldn’t live this one down, and he wasn't even guilty of what he was being accused.

  "Another great day in the Corps," he said to himself.

  * * *

  "Everyone listen up!"

  Taylor stood before a projection screen of one of the largest colonies on Earth. It was below the surface in Nova Scotia, Canada. The rest of their team sat on chairs on the docking bay floor as he explained what was going down. Maintenance crews went about their work beside them. There was no care for privacy, even though it was a mission briefing.

  "You are all aware that riots have broken out in some of the colonies, but things have now escalated. The Mayor of Nova Scotia has been taken hostage by organised elements within the colony. As you all know, Nova Scotia is the largest colony in North America, and as such, what happens there, usually follows elsewhere. Well, things are getting pretty bad down there, I am sorry to say."

  "What's their problem?" CJ wandered in late.

  "A lot of things. Living underground for over a decade, with no hope of returning to the surface, or finding somewhere remotely decent to live is pretty depressing. On top of that, new laws and changes to existing ones the President has introduced have not been popular." He pointed to Sommer to go on.

  "Chief among the reforms the President is making is the call-up age for service to both the Corps and to industries relating to the scientific research project that is known as SAVE."

  "That's right, and they aren't too happy about it," replied Taylor.

  "Would you be?" CJ asked, "Being told you have to serve, no matter what? Where is the freedom in that?"

  "If you think any one of us has freedom anymore, you are dreaming. We must serve and work together as one. There is no freedom while things are the way they are."

  CJ groaned. He clearly didn't agree, although his current situation seemed to prove Taylor's point.

  "What is our role in this, Sir?" Newman asked.

  "That is what I was getting at. Local police and militia forces have been overwhelmed. The President has authorised the marines to go in. We are to free the Mayor and arrest the ring leaders that have detained him."

  "Isn't that a recipe for disaster?"

  "You think so, Private?" Sommer asked Benik.

  "I do, Sir. Sending troops against civilians, it doesn't tend to end so well."

  "These aren't civilians, not anymore."

  "Then what are they, Colonel?"

  "Those who have taken up against the people are terrorists."

  "But surely they are just desperate."

  "Bullshit! With their cushy little lives down there, what have they got to fear? What do they give back?" CJ asked.

  "These are civilians. They may not carry rifles and wear a uniform, but they do their part like everyone else," insisted Newman.

  "They did, but not anymore. This is rebellion."

  "And so it falls to us? Why us?"

  "Because we are the best, Olsen, and we are the most elite team at the President's disposal. He can't afford to send in thousands of troops to quell this rebellion. Even if he had that kind of numbers, it would be a disaster. We need to stamp this out before word spreads. A small unit, we go in hard and fast, and end this. Any questions?"

  "The plan, Sir?"

  "All communications have been lost, Sergeant Menard. Camera feeds are down. Maps of the facilities and our intended landing zone can be found on your Mappads, as well as the last known location of the Mayor. Besides that, we don't know much."

  "So we're just going to go in, and hope for the best?"

  "Let's not forget what we are dealing with here. This is not an army. These are disgruntled civilians."

  "A mob?"

  "Yes, Corporal, possibly."

  "You know what a mob has achieved historically, don't you?"

  Taylor sighed. "Yes, but these are not organised, and when we hit those in charge, it will crumble. I don't believe for a moment that the civilians down there wanted things to escalate this far. This was a protest. You think they really wanted to take the Mayor hostage? Do you?"

  "I wouldn't like to say. I've seen a lot of ill will towards the powers that be down on Earth. I can imagine a lot of people getting behind something like this."

  "Like you? Would you have?" Sommer asked.

  "No, Sir, just saying what I've seen."

  "Look, I don't like this any more than the rest of you. It sucks. We are fighting fires when we should be out there on worlds like M590, trying to find ways to take us all forward. Sadly, there are some short-sighted folks out there, and they must be dealt with."

  "Dealt with? Don't you think that is a little totalitarian, Sir?"

  "Maybe, Benik, but that isn't for me to say. These are our orders. Load up, and let's get this done so that we can get on with the work we should be doing."

  CJ had his hand up to as
k a question.

  "What is it?"

  "Me and my team? We weren't informed about this operation."

  "With good reason. We will have plenty of work for you to do, but you have another think coming if you think I am going to deploy you to deal with civilians."

  "Handled one pretty well last night," he muttered with a smirk.

  Newman looked to Sommer with a look of stark concern, but she shrugged it off.

  "CJ, you are a blunt instrument, and this situation requires a little more precision, surgical precision. When there is some dirty work to be done, you'll be the first called up. Any more questions...All right, let's load, and get this done!"

  They rushed aboard their craft, and Munro circled it, making final flight checks as he always did.

  "Don't we have people do to that?"

  "Just let him do his thing, Corporal. He's very meticulous."

  They took their seats. Taylor's squad on one side, Menards on the other, though Sommer was sitting opposite Taylor, as she usually was, beside Newman. They both looked uncomfortable, as if not wanting to make eye contact. That almost made Taylor smile. Munro was making his way down the lines towards the cockpit when he noticed the awkwardness.

  "That the look of regret or shame?"

  Holm cracked up. The Swedish member of Taylor's squad was always the joker, but he set the rest of them off. Even Weber couldn't help but join in.

  "How's it feel to be the officer's bed sheets, Corporal?" Holm asked.

  "Don't mind them. We all need to blow off some steam occasionally. Good on you," said Taylor.

  Newman tried to take it in his stride, but he still didn't feel comfortable with it. More than anything he felt bad about having to keep the truth from Taylor. He'd tried to be as truthful as he could his entire life, and this was eating at him. He knew the story of what happened with CJ and the First Lady could be a crippling one, but also wondered what damage it would do if left to fester.

  "All right, all right, let's get this thing in the air," said Taylor.

  They soon settled down, but many of them still had huge smiles on their faces. That was when he noticed there was one who didn't, Olsen. She looked distinctly unimpressed.

  It hasn't really struck me before, but is that jealousy? I’ve never considered her anything but a comrade-in-arms, because I stick to the rules. Or I used to.

  "Sir, if I may ask a question?"

  "Come on, Corporal, you should know by now that things run a little different around here. I may be in charge, but we are friends, and we are brothers. Speak freely, but always remember that you'll be judged on it, too."

  "Okay...it’s just that...well..."

  "Spit it out."

  "It’s...is it always like this around you, Sir?"

  "Like what?"

  "Well...chaotic. It seems like you step from one disaster to another. Not ones of your making, I mean. But is this what your life is?"

  Taylor didn't know how to respond. He didn't really know any other way than the one he led.

  "Pretty much. This has been life ever since I joined the Colonel," said Sommer.

  "And...do you enjoy it?"

  "Wow, we are getting philosophical," replied Taylor.

  "Pretty heavy, don't you think?" Menard asked.

  "No, no, it's a fair point. Everyone deserves to know what they are getting themselves into. There are good times, more than a few, and even the bad ones. Well, when you have friends by your side, they don't seem so bad. It's a good life, if it doesn't kill you."

  Newman smiled. It wasn't quite the answer he expected, but it gave an insight into Taylor's character that he had always been curious about. More and more he was seeing him as a man, more than a hero on the pages of a book. To know he wasn't so different to the rest of them was comforting.

  Chapter 9

  They all watched the viewscreens over the cockpit as they entered Earth's atmosphere, despite nothing to see except a purple tinted haze of smoke, dust, and cloud swirling about. There was zero visibility, and even as they reached a thousand metres, they could see nothing. They all knew that was the reality of life on Earth now, but it was the train wreck nobody could look away from.

  "Hell, isn't it? To see everything that we lost again?"

  "I avoid coming down here whenever possible, Sergeant. It's just too sad," replied Sommer.

  Taylor was in agreement, but had no words.

  "I barely remember what it was like anymore. I remember running through fields, playing baseball, and...not much else. I've seen pictures of what it used to be like, but I don't remember it even looking that way."

  "We'll get it back, one day," said Sommer.

  "After all the things we've heard lately, you still believe that?"

  "Sure, because like you said, Colonel, while we work together, we are unstoppable. This rebellion, or whatever it is, that is the biggest obstacle to progress at present. We have to work together."

  "You're asking a lot of people without explaining why. I get what we are doing because I have seen it from the other side now. A few weeks ago I'd have said all this was bullshit."

  "Hard, isn't it, Sergeant? Trying to explain how the dangers we now confront are perhaps as dangerous as Bolormaa was. But there is no face to put to that danger. Bolormaa gave us a rallying cry, what do we have now?" replied Taylor.

  "Here we go," said Munro.

  He shut off all the lights and moved to ultrasonic to show him their path. As they reached the surface, the dust and cloud finally began to break, and it was not pretty. What used to be green fields and woods were now an ash and dirty wasteland. There were still rivers and lakes, but they were almost as black as the ground, only giving off a slight shimmer to reveal that they were water.

  "If hell exists, this is what it must look like," said Newman.

  "No, I've been to hell...this isn't hell, but it's close," said Taylor.

  Munro was heading straight for one of the larger lakes. Everyone knew why, but it was still unnerving.

  "You still believe that this can be undone?"

  "Of course, Corporal, I have to believe. We all do, or what is there to fight for?" replied Taylor.

  They plunged nose first into the water. They continued on to the lowest depths so that they were almost scraping the bottom before Munro brought them level and through a tunnel. They went on for a hundred metres, finally rising back up, and breaking through the surface. They landed on a skimmed section of rock that had clearly been made as a landing pad. Taylor sealed the visor on his helmet, and the others soon followed suit.

  "Let's go, go, go!"

  They were down the ramp in no time at all, but it was peaceful, with no sign of life.

  "What is this place?" Newman asked.

  It was a large cave complex, but lights running along the walls were still working.

  "An emergency access tunnel for the colony, not on any of the blueprints."

  "So who knows about it, Colonel?"

  "Only a few key officials."

  "And the Mayor, could the hostage takers have gotten it out of him?"

  "The Mayor? Come on, he wouldn't be trusted with a secret like this."

  Newman was surprised, but he didn't question it. He was on his guard at all times. He knew there should be nothing to fear, but the cavern was eerie and more than a little off putting. It looked like the kind of place where monsters lurked in the dark, and he didn't like it at all. It wasn't long before they came to a large doorway, three metres tall and ten metres wide. It looked like a blast door.

  "Looks bomb proof." Newman tapped on it.

  "It is." Taylor punched in a code at a control box nearby. The vast door split in the middle and slid open, revealing that it was metre thick reinforced steel. Another matching door was thirty metres ahead.

  "Environmentally seal?" Benik asked.

  "Yeah."

  They stepped inside with a tonne of space to spare as the doors sealed behind them. Taylor watched the environmental ga
uges on the Mappad of his suit and finally prised open his visor, the others soon following suit.

  "The colonists here seriously have no idea about this place?"

  "None, Corporal. Come on." Taylor punched in another set of codes, and the next door began to draw back. They were in the air purification chambers below the colony, and nobody was in sight.

  "Purification is autonomous. The area gets a monthly routine check, and that's it."

  "Smart."

  Newman expected a much more gung-ho approach from Taylor. This was quite a surprise to him, but a good one. Taylor led from the front, and at the far end of the room he called for the elevator.

  "These hostage takers, they must have expected some response?"

  "Probably for the President to give in, Sergeant."

  "Why?" Babacan was surprised.

  "Because most people believe he is a pussy?"

  "Is he?"

  "No," Newman replied confidently.

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "Newman looked to Taylor, but he just offered out his hand as if to let him go on.

  "Most people don't understand President Rivers. He is not a good speaker, nor a very charismatic man, but he is one of the great men to have ever lived. He is just on a different level, intellectually. Maybe he isn't the best leader, but he has what it takes, and he isn't weak. He will surprise us all yet."

  Taylor was impressed.

  "That is Corporal Newman, always thinking above his station," replied Benik.

  "That is rich coming from you," snapped Olsen.

  Newman was surprised to see her come to his defence. He thought she was still upset with him. The elevator reached them. It was a huge platform, large enough for a hundred people. They climbed aboard and started to ascend.

  "Corporal, what do your friends call you?"

  "Lee, Colonel."

  "Well, Lee, I think you're going to have a long career here, if we survive that long."

  It was the best compliment he had ever received, and he carried himself just a little taller and prouder as a result.

  "Don't stroke his ego any further, Sir. He's already sleeping his way to the top," said Holm.