Raid on Rigel

by Stephen Arseneault

  ~~~~~

  What's Next?

  * * *

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  THE SQUAD

  (Novelette 8)

  Dark Doradus

  Chapter 8.1

  * * *

  The CDF raid on Rigel had been a complete and crushing victory. As I walked around the venues at Alday port, the politicians, as well as the citizens, were sporting smiles. But I wasn't so giddy. The destruction of a colony would possibly set a dangerous precedent.

  With an attack from a similarly sized fleet, any number of our outposts could be wiped from existence with the enemy gone long before a relief fleet could arrive. I wondered if our century-old war was morphing into something new, something far more terrifying than our citizens were prepared to deal with.

  I answered an incoming hail on my comm. "This is Balls."

  "Good afternoon, Sergeant. I'm lieutenant Hobbs. I work for Admiral Shandy. He would like you to come in for a meeting about a mission we would like you to undertake."

  "What kind of mission?"

  "That will all be discussed in the meeting. Can I schedule you in for... two hours from now?

  "I'll be there."

  "Excellent. I presume you know the way?"

  "I do."

  "Will see you then. Oh, and only you please. The Admiral insists."

  "Not a problem."

  I made my way back to the warehouse to let the others know of the potential coming work. Excluding Xurpok, they were all out and about the port dealing with their own personal business. I had given Tanner, Collins, and Mendez a mission of finding more assault ship hulls for us to convert. They had found two within an hour and had signed contracts in hand to show for it. I had no doubt they were now out at the bars getting blitzed.

  I sat at a table across from our Corbo friend. "We need to find you a reason to exist, other than the hunt for your people, that is. You have any hobbies? Anything you enjoy doing?"

  "I enjoy killing Herzek and Maxans."

  I chuckled. "Of that I'm certain. Aside from that, you're smart, has to be something you could take an interest in."

  "Do you have a hobby?"

  "Me? No. All my extra brainpower is spent thinking about keeping all this running. I guess that makes this whole merc thing my hobby. How about electronics? Programming? Weapons design?"

  Xurpok nodded. "The last one. I do like the sound of that."

  I pointed at a console. "Through there you'll find all the archived information you could want on what we have. You know how we fight. You know how you fight. See if you can optimize what you use in your assaults. Not certain how you could be more effective, but I guess the potential may be out there."

  Xurpok gave a rare smile. "Thank you, Sergeant. I'll get to work on that immediately."

  The next hour was spent on coordinating efforts with Faulk and Waldorp. Schedules were set for our newest hulls. Conversions would begin in days.

  I made my way out into the main hall and to the Admiral's office. The lieutenant who had set up the meeting guided me to a conference room where a specialist was seated and working over materials on a wall display. The Admiral walked through the door seconds later.

  "Sergeant Balls. First I'd like to say thank you for your service and for your continued efforts as a merc. Your help with the Herzek has been outstanding."

  I sat forward. "Are they back? Is that what this is about?"

  The Admiral waved a hand. "No. No. This is primarily a recon mission. You are familiar with Alnilam?"

  "The center star in Orion's belt? Rumored to be a major military colony right in the middle of Maxan space... who isn't, sir?"

  "Are you familiar with our latest stealth technology?"

  "Only that something is always in the works."

  "That tech has been my primary focus for the last decade. Anyway, we're now at the testing stage and I'd like to give it a purpose."

  "Aren't there plenty of military craft to test this on? I don't understand why you would need me?"

  "I need you because I trust you, Balls. You've always been a man of integrity. And you get the job done. I respect that. Now, as I was saying, I'm in charge of that tech. And unfortunately we live in a very political environment today. There are those who are waiting for such tech to reach production so they might take control of it for their own purposes."

  "I have to ask, sir, how would you know that?"

  "I have spies, Sergeant. Every Admiral has spies. I almost wonder sometimes if we spend more credits on our political intel than we spend fighting this war. Anyway, I'd like to outfit your ship for a mission to Alnilam. Are you familiar with the recent astronomical phenomenon about the darkening of Doradus?"

  "You mean the snippets I've seen on the news channels? Something about it losing a quarter of its light?"

  "As of last week that would be 29 percent. And it wasn't a major concern until our raid on Rigel."

  "I don't follow. Isn't Doradus like massively far away, sir?"

  "In the neighborhood of one hundred sixty thousand light years."

  "And what would that have to do with Rigel."

  "We captured intel there that made mention of Doradus. It wasn't of interest until reference to a project at Alnilam was made as to the reason for the darkening of Doradus. I need you to test my tech by making a run to Alnilam to observe and to collect data. It will be a four week flight followed by a sixty-day posting."

  "Wow. That's a four month operation."

  "It is. But it is needed. I suspect we may find an answer at Alnilam as to why Doradus has darkened. If it's a weapon of sorts, we need to know about it and we need to know fast. So can I count on you taking a team out?"

  "Absolutely, sir. And what of this tech?"

  "Do you have a port where you can get work done discretely?"

  "Actually, I do. When would you want to start this?"

  "Today. It's important we know what the Maxans are up to and it's important this tech is tested in a real environment. If you go undetected we know it works. If not, I have faith you'll make a timely exit. Any data will at least tell us what we still have wrong."

  "I'll need time to acquire supplies. Four months is longer than we normally stock for."

  "I can have all the fuel and food rations you will need delivered to your warehouse in two hours."

  "The ride out to our repair station is six days."

  "The place you refer to as the rally point?"

  "I want to ask how you know that, but I don't think I want to know the answer. Yes. The rally point."

  "Good. I'll have my conversion team heading that way before this day is out."

  An electronic cube was pulled from a briefcase and set on the table. "You can sign this data cube with eye contact and your voice. And keep in mind this job comes with the highest of secrecy classifications. You will not be telling your crew anything about this discussion until after you have departed. And upon your return you will all maintain complete silence about not only what you have seen but also where you have been and who you've been working for. Tell anyone who asks that you went on a four month exploration run out to Polaris or something. Understood?"

  I glanced down at the cube. "Understood."

  "Good. Now, be on your way. Make preparations for immediate departure. And as I said, you can't tell your team what any of this is about until you have left the rally point."

  "Not an issue, sir. W
e're all professionals and you won't find a team that is more patriotic."

  "That's what I'm counting on, Balls. Now, go get to work."

  I opened a comm to Mendez.

  "Hey, Sarge. You should come out and join us."

  "No can do, Mendez. Are the clowns there with you?"

  "They are. And you know what? They can be funny, at times."

  "I take it you've already had a lot to drink?"

  "Uh, yeah, probably."

  "Grab the two knuckleheads and head back to the warehouse immediately. We have a mission that is of extreme importance. Can I count on you to get them back to the warehouse ASAP?"

  Mendez cleared her throat as she attempted to give her best impression of being serious. "Absolutely." She began to giggle.

  I rolled my eyes. "Put one of the meatheads on."

  Tanner said, "Boss, you coming down?"

  "No. But I need the three of you back at the warehouse pronto. We have an emergency mission. And I'm not screwing around here. You are to leave out immediately."

  "Absolutely."

  I closed the comm and hoped for the best. A comm was opened to Sammy, Danielle, and Diggs as I hustled back toward our home station. I paused for a brief moment as a new story was showing on a store display. It was being reported that Doradus, one of the brightest stars in the Large Megallanic Cloud, was growing ever darker.

  ~~~~~

  Once again, this Human is asking for your help! If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review on the site where it was purchased. And by all means, please tell your friends! Any help with spreading the word is highly appreciated!

  Join my email list! By joining, find out when the next exciting release is available or when a special might be being offered. Join at comments@arsenex.com. Visit the author’s website at www.arsenex.com for links to this series and other works!

  Thank you for reading my work! I hope you have a great day!

  Stephen

  Books by Stephen Arseneault

  * * *

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  p; Stephen Arseneault, Raid on Rigel