Teresa turned to Spartan as the marines around them erupted in excited shouting and arguments. “What the hell are they?”
Spartan said nothing. He just stood there dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that there were more of those things still around. Based on the massive strength and capacity for absorbing damage he could already see the threat they posed. Finally he spoke.
“They must be a new weapon the Zealots have been working on, they are stronger and more dangerous than any man I’ve had to face, we’ve got a big, big problem.”
A marine officer pushed through the throng of people, handing out papers before reaching Spartan, he looked at Teresa and then back to Spartan.
“Sergeant Spartan?” he asked. Spartan nodded, saying nothing.
“I have papers from Captain Mathews. It says you are to join these marines on the Santa Cruz as part of the new Commando Company. You need to be fast, they are shipping out in twenty minutes.”
“Commando Company, what about me?” asked Teresa.
The officer showed her the list, she spotted her name on the paper. “That’s me,” she said.
“Ah, yeah, it says you’re to go too, you need to report to your new commander when you get to the Cruz,” he said before turning to head back to the mass of marines.
“Wait!” shouted Teresa as she grabbed the officer’s arm. He turned but looked flustered at being grabbed.
“Which commander?” she demanded.
“Um, General Rivers, he is taking command of the ship for something special. Don’t ask me what, I’ve no idea,” he said as Teresa made to interrupt him.
“That’s it?” Spartan asked him.
“He’ll tell you more when you get there I’m sure,” he said before finally turning and rushing off.
“General Rivers, why is he in charge of one ship, Spartan?”
“Who knows, we’d better hurry though or we’ll never find out!” said Spartan as they made their way to the transport level and the waiting shuttle. Scores of marines were already on board and they had to queue just to get on. After a short wait they climbed aboard and headed to their designated positions. Spartan noticed many more marines rushing about on the Santa Maria, some were heading to their quarters and others went to waiting shuttles.
“I thought this was over, we’ve done enough fighting to last a whole career!” Teresa said as she buckled herself into her seat.
Spartan turned his head in disagreement as he pulled the harness down tightly.
“No chance, this is just the start, and from what I’ve seen it is about to get very bloody,” he said with a grimace.
“All crew to their stations, we leave for the Santa Cruz in sixty seconds,” the pilot announced over the loudspeaker system.
The crew were already closing the door and going through the safety procedures prior to leaving the main hangar section of the ship. From inside the shuttle Spartan couldn’t see outside into space yet, but he could see several of the other shuttles preparing to leave. One of them must have just arrived from one of the warships, as it brought dozens of injured marines sprawled out on bloody stretchers. The marine transports seemed to be able to do just about everything.
For a brief moment Spartan felt a pang as he realised that he was leaving his home but then he remembered what it was actually like inside. He could manage without it. Teresa smiled at him, noticing he was lost in his thoughts, before lightly thumping his arm.
“I bet you’re wondering about your decision to join up now right?” she asked him.
Spartan thought back to the courtroom and the choice he had made. Right now, he wasn’t so sure on his decision. Still, it wouldn’t be long before his first year was up, only nine more to go.
“Well, I wasn’t, but now you’ve got me thinking about it!” he said with a mischievous look.
THE END
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Siege of Titan Page 19
