by Tom Germann
Now she is moving out to join a section that patrols the depths of space. Her armour is brand new and pristine. All her training is in theory. When she boards the heavy freighter Mama Pig with her another new Marine the two face distrust and misunderstanding.
Seven is not a cold killing machine but she’ll have to become one if the ship and crew are to have any hope in surviving the trap that’s been set for them.
EXCERPT BOOK 3
He turns to the last two personnel standing there in front of him: one man and one woman. They are both wearing skin-tight black ship suits that have a metallic look to them. Both have their hair cut in the same way; the man is blond and the woman’s hair is short enough that it is hard to say whether it’s black or very dark brown. She has a purple streak running from front to back on the right side of her head and an orange streak in the same location on the left side of her head. Both are clearly very fit, as their physiques are picked out in great detail by their ship suits. The just stand there with their ship bags on their shoulders and watch the captain and the smaller greeting party.
The captain puts an insincere smile on his face as he turns to them.
“Greetings to you both. Corporate headquarters announced the last-minute change just in time or we would not have had the pleasure of transporting two Corporate Marines to the Theta mining facility. I have had a chance to review your file with my security chief, Patroe Sveringening.” The captain gestures to the armed man at his side. “I understand that you are going out as replacements for two casualties, and I am sorry that had to happen, as I wish we could all get along. After all, space is vast and there are so few living beings.”
The two Marines just watch the captain and have blank expressions as they watch him, unblinking. The absolute lack of expression seems to throw the captain off his planned speech and he hurries on.
“The chief will take you around and show you how you can fit into shipboard activities. He will also let you know what else is going on shipboard and when drills are to be held.” He pauses. “I know you are highly trained and ready to do whatever needs to be done for the Corporation. Realize that we are a bulk hauler that acts as a personnel transport as needed. We do not see action, nor are we likely to, so at all times we will follow shipboard regulations.”
The female Marine looks at the security chief and then the captain before asking the most important question to the two Marines. “Where is our armor and the rest of our gear?”
The captain maintains his smile as he had maintained a sincere tone since he addressed the crewmen at the beginning. “Military equipment and weapons are restricted shipside at all times unless we are clearing for action. Your armor is a weapon and is secured in one of the holds along with the rest of your gear.” He nods his head and continues. “The chief can take you to your equipment and make sure you have access to any assistance you require to maintain and check it. Weapons are not to be loaded or prepped unless we come under some sort of hostile contact.”
The captain nods at the security chief and continues. “The chief can also ensure that any special requirements that you have are fulfilled. I realize that your diet and workout routines are detailed and you are likely going to require higher gravity during those workouts. If you can shift your schedule, you can have exclusive use of the gym at that higher gravity during the shipboard night routine. Also, if you want to eat in your rooms or use the secondary mess hall, that is fine.”
The captain stops and takes a breath. “Most of the crew and the corporate personnel have no clue what goes into the training of a Corporate Marine. I know I have no clue. I do not understand all the specific requirements that you have to stay fit or ready to fight at a moment’s notice. I and my crew will do everything we can to facilitate you having what you need. You are after all important corporate assets and that had been stressed to me several times in no uncertain terms. I understand that.”
During all this, the two younger Marines have just watched the captain, rarely blinking, and saying nothing. Their facial expressions had remained attentive but if you were to look deeply into those eyes, it was as if no human emotions were there. If you looked closely enough, you would see something dark looking back. The captain is not looking that closely.
The captain pauses and carefully looked at one, then the other Marine standing there. “I will explain myself and how I feel once so you can understand my perception of this scenario that we have here. I do not hate or fear you. I understand that you are necessary evils that the Corporation has to maintain as there are threats out here from some of the aliens that we have met. I have been captain of the Mama Pig for fourteen years now and served on her for twenty years before that. We have never seen so much as a whisper of pirates out here. Given the size of our ship’s crew, any pirate that did attack would be insane. My real concern is that something will happen, someone will say something wrong to you or act inappropriately and you will react to that because you ARE highly trained. I am concerned about having injured or dead personnel on board my ship. I also know a bit about what your weapons can do shipside. I really do not want a fifteen-millimetre round blasting holes in my ship, either. The weapons stay secured and contact is minimized not because something will happen, but because something could happen. Do you have any questions?”
END EXCERPT
AUTHORS NOTES
This was a lot of fun to write and a lot of work as well. Book 3 Star Traders is finished now and just having some formatting done. Book 4 is taking a little longer to write because life is just plain BUSY!
So I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did working it up.
There are always some questions that may not be answered and sometimes those questions just aren’t slated to be dealt with in a future book as there may not be enough information there to justify another book. At least not today. But no one likes loose ends and most of us like to see some of the inner workings and the behind the scenes information about unmentioned meetings and more info on secret organizations.
So, for my subscribers (through the link below to the new announcements) I am going to let you know when some of those free short stories are released. The first one is just in for editing now.
Really “Corporate Marines The Isolationist Movement” as a little over 8,000 words may raise more questions than it answers……. So more short stories later!
Finally, if you want to help an author out (like myself!) I would greatly appreciate if you left feedback at whatever site you purchased this book. A review is the feedback that every author needs to improve their penmanship. Without reviews how can I improve on my works?
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