“As you can see, we have activated the Spacebridge to Orion Major. It is the provisional name given by the Senate to this newly discovered region of space. There are already rumours in the media about this project, but nothing concrete has been issued...yet.”
He looked back from the Rift and to the projected model of ANS Beagle.
“We were in the middle of this discussion when I heard you had arrived, Spartan. If you are interested, I have some work on the other side of the Rift?”
He gave him no time to answer before he moved over to Teresa.
“It’s been some time, hasn’t it, Ms Morato? I take it you’re still watching his back? Remember, don’t let him and the General go off on one of their adventures!”
Teresa grinned at his comment. It was well known that the two of them had been part of the rescue party involved in freeing untold numbers of prisoners and slaves on Prometheus.
“Your timing is fortuitous, if not because things are developing in Orion at a much faster rate than we expected. I have been authorised to use this station as a research and command centre for the entire Orion sector, as we continue to explore, expand and exploit the region. To facilitate this, I will need military, civilian and private sector involvement. We’ve already discovered a number of very interesting moons and artefacts that I think we can all benefit from.”
As they considered his words, he indicated to the group of marines.
“I think you’ve all met the General.”
From the corner of the group, the form of the battle-hardened General approached. Spartan hadn’t seen the man for some time, and the years had certainly taken their toll on him. Even so, he was still physically fit and commanded a presence in the room that even the Admiral couldn’t match.
“Admiral, I’ve just received the report from Colonel Daniels. Have you seen it?” said the General, without even acknowledging the others present. He handed over his secpad and waited patiently. Admiral Anderson examined it for what seemed like an age before finally speaking.
“Well, this is incredible. Colonel Daniels has landed a company of marines onto the largest of the moons...and they’ve...found something.”
General Rivers looked at the group briefly and laid his eyes on Spartan. His expression changed instantly to pleasure, and he stepped forward and embraced him as only two men that had faced the rigors of war together could.
“Spartan, I thought you’d retired from all of this?”
“Yeah, me too.”
“General, I requested the assistance of Spartan’s APS Corporation in the Orion sector. We have military forces, but the protection of facilities and personnel is a task APS is well suited for,” explained Admiral Anderson.
The General laughed at his words.
“I think you’ll find that in reality what you mean is you’ve found something, and sending in private security will double our numbers in the field, without having to redeploy most of the fleet and Marine Corps!”
Admiral Anderson shook his head.
“Well, that is one way to look at it. Anyway, you have all been cleared for this project, and I would remind you that anything you hear in this station is classified. Only the senior members of the Senate, the Defence Committee and our senior military commanders know all the details, and that is the way it will stay. If anybody doesn’t want to go further, please state this now.”
There was a short pause, but not a soul moved.
“Very well, then. I asked you all here to finalise the initial stages of exploration and exploitation. This news from the moon doesn’t change anything, other than increase our need to establish a strong presence in Orion.”
He walked over to one of the many computer displays and hit a button. Most of the assembled personnel turned their attention to a civilian heavy transport that was entering the Rift entrance of the Spacebridge. It distorted and then vanished as though it had never existed. Admiral Anderson spotted their interest; even noting the General was intrigued.
“Yes, even as we watch, more ships are travelling through. Commodore Lewis already has access to a small taskforce, and seven civilian vessels are in the vicinity of the bridge to enlarge ANS Beagle to provide a longer term exit point.”
“So the plan is no longer a short-term exploration mission of six months? What’s changed, and why do you need civilian security involvement?” asked Spartan.
The video display changed to an encrypted data stream direct from the CIC of ANS Dragon. It showed helmet footage from a squad of marines as they waited inside a shuttle.
“I think this video will explain things more clearly. Let’s just say that Orion has many secrets, some good and some, well...less so,” said the Admiral. “It was packaged and sent directly from Commodore Lewis less than an hour ago.”
The view took Spartan back to his days in the Marine Corps, and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment to not be there with the marines. The side door opened, and it took a few seconds for the exposure unit of the cameras to adjust to the bright light as opposed to the darkness inside the shuttle. The marines stepped out and looked around the landing area. It was a small open space, much like a crater, and perfect for the safe landing of people. Two of them moved out of camera shot, and it took a moment for the blurred feed to stabilise as the marine turned around. A large series of mountainous structures filled the screen, but it wasn’t the geography that drew a gasp from the assembled military and scientific personnel. It was the fact that as the image became clearer, they could see that the formations were actually shaped and carved directly into the rock.
“Are you seeing this, Sarge?” asked the marine in the video.
“Keep moving, marine!” came back the gruff reply.
A calmer voice appeared, and Spartan quickly recognised it as coming from Colonel Daniels; a man with whom he’d also served with in the past.
“1st Squad stay with the shuttle, 2nd and 3rd Squads with me. We need to reach the source of the transmission.”
They continued forwards, along what looked like a dry riverbed. The ground and hills around them were colourless, much like the surface of many moons, but the bright glow of the gas giant in the sky overshadowed everything, even the distant sun. Their movement was confusing to all of those other than the marines present. It was a classic low gravity world, and the marines were forced to use the odd skipping movement to make quick and safe progress. A few more minutes, and they came to an obstruction; much like a wall, but this was a natural barrier like a dam. The Colonel appeared, and his lightly armoured PDS suit, with its unique striped camouflage, looked odd against the dull grey background. He bent his knees and jumped up, easily reaching three metres before grabbing at the barrier and pulling himself up.
“What are they looking for?” asked Teresa.
None of them could tear their eyes from the screen as the display shook violently. When it settled down, it was clear the marine must have jumped to join his commander. He looked up and over the ridge to see something that shocked the assembled group. A large group of thickly armoured buildings littered the ground. Many were damaged with holes in their walls or roofs.
“How did we not see this on the way down?” asked the marine.
“Look at the angles. You can only see this part of the terrain if you approach down this riverbed,” said Colonel Daniels.
The marine continued to turn his head slowly, panning across the skyline and taking in the site of the damaged structures. It was then that he fixed his gaze on something metallic that was broken up across the ground.
“Sarge, is that what I think it is?” he asked.
In the pause before anybody else spoke, the marine tapped a button and the camera shook. The optics shifted, and the depth of field changed as the lens zoomed into the object. It was massive, probably a hundred metres long, dark grey, metallic and smashed beyond recognition. He fixed on something hanging out of one of the holes. It was about two metres tall and a similar colour to the vessel. Then
it moved. He gasped with excitement and horror as he recognised what he was seeing.
“It’s alive! Sarge, there’s somebody down there!”
The camera shook again, and the man and the other marines broke out into a fast hop over the broken ground. The images became confused as they bounced over the ground, but it was clear enough for those watching to make out the shapes of the small bunkers and buildings.
“Is it me, or do they look like long abandoned military fortifications?” asked Spartan.
General Rivers nodded in agreement.
“Not abandoned though. Look at the damage. I’d say there’s been fighting here.”
The marines were over half way to the debris when the moving shape vanished into cover, and the object itself vanished in a bright flash. It forced the exposure control of the camera to change, and the image turned bright white. When it returned, the image was sideways and facing away from the object. In the background were the sounds of shouting.
“Marines, fall back!” shouted the Colonel in a cool and dispassionate tone.
The image was now stationary and gave a clear view of the ground and one of the bunkers. Two marines ran past the camera and off to the right.
“To the shuttle!” shouted the Sergeant.
A blurred shape of an armoured man came from the left. His armour was thicker than the marines but beautifully crafted with no exposed cabling, wiring or connections. The armoured head was shaped almost like a bug with a pair of antennae pushed up from the back. A dark black visor ran where the eyes should be. He ran up to the camera and bent down to look at the lens, turned his head and raised his right arm. A double-barrelled weapon system seemed integrated into the armour. As the warrior lifted the weapon, a dark shape smashed down into him. It must have been massive because it filled the screen. Gunfire crackled in the background, and in less than a few seconds, the dark object lifted up out of view to show the crushed and broken body of the armoured man, and then the feed went dead. The image froze on the last still as if somebody had deliberately paused it. Admiral Anderson turned back to the group.
“What the hell was all of that?” asked Spartan.
General Rivers shook his head in dismay. He had already stepped up to the display and reversed the video to the section showing the debris in the open area prior to the blast.
“It looks clear to me. There are a number of people already on this moon. Look, they are the same height and build as us, but this armour and the weapons are not Alliance. Maybe somebody else got a rift generator working before us?
“Maybe, but I doubt it,” replied the Admiral. “Those fortifications looked old, at least a few decades, maybe more.”
“Well, we did start this operation based on intelligence recovered from Hyperion. Didn’t you see legions of Biomechs on the other side of the Rift before it was destroyed?” asked Intelligence Director Johnson, directly to Spartan.
The question took Spartan back to the last battle of the War. The fighting had occurred around a secret archaeological site from which a massive rift generator had been sited. Unfamiliar Biomechs and war machines had arrived through the Rift, and though it had been destroyed, he had seen what was on the other side. Few believed what he and his comrade Kowalski had seen, but he knew it to be true. On the other side was a great cavern filled with enemy warriors.
“Surely this isn’t related to the enemy of Hyperion? They were destroyed.”
“Well, why do you think this region of space was selected to start with? We have known for some time that the rifts generators, the Anomaly in space, the Zealots and ultimately the Biomechs are all intimately linked. There is no way they could have built up such a massive and successful infrastructure on their own, without us knowing about it. What if what we’re seeing on this moon is part of the puzzle? Maybe there are others out there, and they have been behind the Zealots and their Uprising?” asked Johnson.
His question was the one none of them had wanted to ask, but it needed to be answered. There were many questions left unanswered from the War, and few had answers that seemed helpful. Admiral Anderson shrugged at his question.
“The simple answer is, we don’t know. These people could be from ANS Beagle or less likely from another rift that has been built. Until we know more, this is all speculation. I think you can see the gravity of the situation though. In a matter of days, we have both discovered a new star system ripe for exploitation and also made contact with an unknown people. Who are they, and why are they on this moon? Do they have any connection with us or the Biomechs?”
“But I have another question, Admiral?” asked Spartan.
“Well?”
“That armoured man, assuming it is a man, was running from something, and it wasn’t our marines. What the hell was it that crushed him and why?”
General Rivers turned from the feed and to the group.
“That is for us to find out. One thing I do know is that the Senate has already voted on making this system part of the Alliance. We need land for our people and resources. New Charon is the greatest planetary discovery since we first colonised Alpha Centauri. That means we have carte blanche to explore and secure every site in the sector. If we want this territory, then there is a chance we will have to exert our authority here.
“General, if there are already people on the moon, doesn’t that mean it’s already been claimed?” asked Teresa.
Admiral Anderson shook his head in disagreement.
“It doesn’t really matter now. Either way, they know we are there now, and the official policy of the Senate is that we have no interest in giving up this discovery. I have been ordered to secure several sites and to make first contact with these people. We will try to establish some form of communication with them, but be under no illusions, New Charon is now part of the Alliance.”
Spartan looked over to Teresa, and he knew instantly that she was uncomfortable with the situation. He looked at the video display and the group of military people around him with both pride and confusion.
We’ve arrived in a new world that may already belong to somebody else. Has anybody even thought about whether we should even be here? He thought.
“What about Daniels and his marines? Have you heard back from him? What about Commodore Lewis and his ships?”
This caught the attention of General Rivers, and he spoke before anybody else could interject.
“That was the first thing I thought, Spartan,” he said while looking at the others with barely concealed contempt.
“The Commodore detected a vessel on approach to the moon and withdrew his vessels to one of the thick debris fields orbitting the moon, prior to the action we’ve just seen. That was the last we heard from either the ships or the ground troops.”
He paused for a moment, but Spartan was instantly reminded of the missing ships at Hyperion. He couldn’t see anything positive about this situation.
“I have redirected ANS Devastation, as she only recently entered through the bridge. She will be here soon and will stop at the station to pick me up. Interested in coming along? I could do with an experienced eye, and knowing our luck, Daniels and Lewis will have ended up is a shitstorm, as usual!” he laughed in a way only the senior military commanders seemed to be able to get away with.
“I’m not military anymore, General,” Spartan answered.
The General shrugged.
“So what? You’re military cleared, and you run security services for the Alliance, don’t you?”
Spartan nodded slowly, but he knew where this was going.
“Good, then consider your Corporation hired to provide auxiliary services for the Marine Corps. I think you’ll find there is going to be plenty of work to go around in Orion.”
Spartan turned to Teresa, and she quickly nodded.
“It’s Daniels, if anybody can get him out of this mess, it will be you two. At least this way we get a foot through the door, and help out Daniels at the same time.”
Spartan look
ed back to the General and shook his hand.
“Good, get your kit, we’ll be leaving within the hour.”
General Rivers left the two of them and started speaking with the Admiral. It was clear they were having a difference of opinion, and as Spartan watched, he was secretly pleased it was something he no longer had to be involved in. Looking about, it was clear from those in the room that exploration and exploitation was the number one priority, even at the possible expense of another people. Maybe he was wrong, but the fate of the small group of marines seemed far from any of their minds. While the others talked excitedly about what was happening, Teresa moved close to Spartan.
“What are we doing here?”
Spartan looked at her and thought back to the planets he’d landed on and the enemies he’d faced in the past. First were the Zealots, the religious fanatics who’d resorted to suicide bombings and terrorist attacks through to the Echidna Union and their biomechanical creatures. Nothing had ever prepared him for the potential of meeting a new species on another world. His gut instinct told him this had something to do with the War, and if that were true, then who knows what they might find.
“I don’t know, but something tells me we’ll be seeing a lot more of Orion soon. If we’re going to expand into this territory, then APS is going to be there. If we don’t go, then somebody else will.”
Teresa sighed at his comments. They both looked at the Admiral, the General and the host of other senior officers. It was clear something big was about to happen, and for even just a moment, they both wondered if they were actually the good guys this time. Spartan looked at her and smiled.
“Hey, whichever way it goes, they’re gonna need a lot of security out there, and we are the best.”
Another ship, this time one of the Crusader class warships moved through the Rift, but only Spartan and Teresa seemed to notice it this time. She looked back at him.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) Page 11
