The XO was having none of it, and she glared at Spartan while replying.
“Yes, Spartan, I’m well aware of the rules governing Private Contractors in military theatres. You are still a civilian though. You gave up your commission in the Corps a long time ago.”
General Rivers shook his head in annoyance.
“Spartan and Khan are both senior members of APS and will be given the same respect and authority given to Marine Corps ranks of an equivalent seniority.”
The General came to Jack and sized him up. He had a great deal of experience with Teresa and Spartan, but he’d only met the boy a few times. He knew little about him, other than the dossier he’d scanned briefly while transferring over to the ship.
“Son, you have no formal military training, do you?”
The young man was of a similar height to Spartan but much less broad, and with dark hair and a darker complexion, no doubt due to his Hispanic mother. Even so, his face was hard edged, and he looked a good deal older than he actually was.
“No, Sir, but I’ve plenty of experience with the Jötnar, and with company special operations.”
“I see. Well, according to my paperwork that still makes you an operative for APS. You are granted the same privileges as any Marine Corps private and that goes for any of your other... Assistant Team Leaders,” he looked over to Spartan, “...or whatever you call them!”
The General took a step back and checked the rest of those he had requested were present. He looked a little confused, but the door opened and in walked two more officers. One wore in Marine Corps overalls and the other the smart uniform of a Navy Captain.
“General, apologies, we‘ve been supervising the transfer of spares from ANS Beagle,” said the Marine Officer.
General Rivers looked less than impressed with her response.
“You are?”
The young woman stopped and saluted, immediately recognising the seriousness of the situation. Her tunic was only half tucked in, and it looked like she must have run all the way there.
“Lieutenant Colonel Maria Barnett, I’m the senior commander of the two embarked Marine Corps companies.”
“And you?” General Rivers continued as he looked at the Navy officer.
“Captain Vinson, General. Commander of Devastation’s air wing.”
“So you’re the CAG?”
“Sir!”
The General took a deep breath before speaking.
“Captain Thomas has already laid in the course to our destination, and we are underway. We will be meeting with Commodore Lewis and the rest of the Orion Taskforce for a rescue mission. I will pass on the exact details when we are closer to the objective. For now, all we have is that a Marine Corps platoon has been scattered, and there are casualties on one of the moons. It looks like they were hit by an explosion of some kind.”
The XO looked at him with one slightly raised eyebrow as if questioning him.
“There is more, though. Our scout drones are returning images and details that are well, quite frankly - they are astounding. Long abandoned settlements have now been found on two of the planets, and we suspect we will find more. The debris fields we detected upon arrival seem to be the remains of constructions, presumably man-made. It is clear to me that people of unknown origin have already beaten us to this place. The good news is it seems they left. The bad is that something is still here, and it attacked our marine unit.”
He brought up a static image of part of the moon. It showed a cratered surface, as well as the outline of the craft the marines had taken to the surface.
“These images were taken by the last shuttle down. Within an hour, this entire area was subjected to an orbital bombardment that covered over a square kilometre.”
A murmur spread amongst those in the small group watching the briefing. General Rivers took a few paces in front of them and continued.
“That’s right. We’re talking firepower that is equal to the entire arsenal of Commodore Lewis’ taskforce. There is a chance this was nothing more than a meteor storm or impact, but in the meantime, Commodore Lewis has withdrawn his flotilla at the request of Admiral Anderson until we can fully assess the situation. His ships were already spread out when the attack happened, as they were conducting scout operations. He has launched drones to scout the area of space around the moon itself, but will not be close enough to start a rescue for another seven hours. I have been in touch with the marines, and they are making their way to a secure LZ, prior to their evacuation.”
The General paused and let that information sink in. As he waited, the XO nodded, and she continued the briefing.
“As you can see, this is one of those great days in history, and the one many of us have wondered or dreamed about.”
She then pointed to the image of the planets in the New Charon system.
“It is true that we have discovered the remains of intelligent life on another world. Is it from our own species? My opinion is this is probably something to do with our early colony ships sent from Earth hundreds of years ago. Who knows, though? That is for the scientists to discover, and right now is of little concern to us. You are Alliance Military, and you all have a job to do.”
General Rivers was still slightly surprised at her abrupt nature but said nothing. Although he was in overall command of the operation, it wasn’t his ship, and he was well aware of the subtle differences between ships and their crews in the Navy. It was important he disassociated himself from the day-to-day running of a warship and concentrated on the strategy for this mission. He lifted a hand to indicate he wanted to continue, and the XO moved back, but not without looking more than a little displeased at being interrupted mid-flow.
“Thank you, Commander,” he said politely and turned to the rest of those in the room.
“Our ETA is in twenty-six hours, so there is a chance all of this could be over by the time we get there. Even so, we will be ready for any and all eventualities, both on the ground and in space. I will need three platoons of marines, ground support and air cover for the operation. Spartan and his APS team will be coming with us.”
Lieutenant Colonel Barnett took immediate exception to this.
“Sir, I don’t understand. Why are...”
General Rivers lifted his hand.
“Spartan and his team have decades of experience, including trench time in the Marine Corps. You would be well advised to listen to what he and his Jötnar friends have to say. They might be civvies now, but they are equal of any units in the fleet. Use them, and use their knowledge.”
He then spread his gaze around the group.
“We don’t have much time, so check your secpads. I’ve pre-planned the entire operation, but there is time to make modifications if any of you have useful suggestions. We will meet on the stern landing ninety minutes prior to the operation. That is all for now, to your stations.”
As quickly as Spartan and Khan had arrived, the room seemed to empty incredibly fast. In less than thirty seconds, it was just Spartan, Khan, Jack and the General remaining. A number of Marine Corps officers had quickly left; much to the surprise of Spartan who thought they might want to speak with him. Jack moved a little closer to Spartan, now unsure what was to happen next.
“Jack, go and speak with the marines outside and find the others. They already know you are being put in charge of the Team. Get them ready, and make sure they have everything they need.”
Jack looked at him and then to Khan who bared one of his oversized teeth at him. He considered asking more, but with the General around, it seemed prudent to leave. As he reached the door, Lieutenant Colonel Barnett walked back into the room. He watched her with a great deal more than a passing interested, until he was outside and the door closed. Barnett glanced in his direction as the door shut the last few centimetres and then proceeded forwards to the three men.
“General, Spartan,” she said almost apologetically to each of them.
“I recall both of your actions in t
he Corps. I just wanted to let you know I’ve cleared you for operations on our landing craft. All of your APS team have been given equivalent status to the marine platoons. You have access to our equipment and systems, and that of goes for your Jötnar as well.”
Spartan nodded politely.
“Thank you, Colonel, it is appreciated.”
She saluted the General and left the room.
Once satisfied they were alone, the General beckoned for them to come to the front where he laid out a larger secpad.
“As you know, we lost contact with the Colonel on this moon. We now have contact but are still unsure as to what exactly is happening out there. The Defence Secretary has stated that this moon and its artefacts are to be secured as soon as possible.”
“I thought this was a rescue mission?” Spartan asked.
General Rivers nodded as he displayed a surface map of the moon.
“It is. We cannot start any work on the moon until it is safe, secure and under our control. I intend on landing rescue parties at their location to start evacuating our wounded. We will then conduct a thorough sweep of the area. The Corps of Engineers is already in the process of bringing habitation modules through the Rift.”
“They found something?” asked Khan.
General Rivers tapped a button that showed a heavily cratered surface. Dust and smoke still drifted about as if a major battle or storm had just been fought. In the middle of the site and amongst the many craters was a sharply pointed object. It stuck up at least four metres.
“What the hell is that?” asked Spartan.
“That we do not know. The video feed came directly from the recon drones carried by the Colonel. Johnson and his people have looked over the data and confirm it isn’t ours. Best we can tell is that it is buried under the surface and is not natural.”
Khan scratched his head in confusion.
“I thought a ship tried to bombard the site? Why would it bomb its own people?”
General Rivers closed the device and looked at them both seriously.
“Now that is the real question.”
* * *
Spartan walked along the narrow corridor inside ANS Devastation and try as he might, he just didn’t feel part of the ship’s complement. It didn’t make sense, of course. His unit had been given the same privileges as the embarked marines, but there was still something different. The first thing was that nobody saluted him. He’d left the Marine Corps as a Captain. It wasn’t a high rank, not after a decade’s service, but his outspoken nature and more than a few enemies, made it certain he would never move any higher. Bizarrely, by forcing his hand, he was now higher placed than many of the officers he’d fallen out with in his time with the Corps.
Something isn’t right. He thought as he continued the long walk to his designated quarters.
It was the gravity, he was convinced of it. No matter how advanced the technology, it just never seemed the same as when he was on solid ground. He spotted movement up ahead, and his eyes were instantly drawn to two Jötnar and a marine sergeant who they seemed to be having an argument with. He increased his pace and moved directly alongside the three of them. The Sergeant was bruised down the side of his face, and he also seemed to be wearing a bandage on his left elbow. Spartan sighed. It looked like the Jötnar had been in trouble again.
“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded.
The marine lifted his hand and spoke first.
“Hey, there’s no problem here. We just went two for two in the training hall with one of your boys here. I was just handing over their prize,” he said, with evident annoyance at having some kind of a bet.
Spartan looked at the Jötnar, who although twice his bulk, seemed nervous at his gaze. They had good reason to. Spartan had fought their kin back in the War when all Biomechs had been the blood-enemies of humanity. It was rumoured he’d even defeated at least two of them with his bare hands.
“A bet, have you been looking for a fight again?” he said angrily.
I spent all this time and effort getting them here, and then they screw me over with their usual antics. This is going to have to stop.
Two more marines arrived and moved quickly to the group. One of them extended a hand to the Jötnar and shook their great paws with obvious pleasure.
“Holy crap, you two, I’ve never seen combat like that before. Is that how you train back on Hyperion?” asked one of the corporals before noticing the suit-wearing Spartan.
The Corporal ignored him, and then something clicked. He looked back at Spartan, pointing his finger at him.
“Hey, you’re Captain Spartan, right? The officer that led the assault on Terra Nova.”
Spartan nodded but said nothing. The last thing he wanted was the adulation of rookie marines. Right now, he wanted respect and professionalism, no more and no less.
“Enjoy your chat, try and keep out of trouble. We have a big operation coming up soon. Understood?”
The Jötnar nodded and bizarrely to Spartan, so did the marines. He did his best not to laugh and stepped inside the quarters put aside for his team. It was bigger than the usual marine quarters, and easily capable of holding forty marines. But the space was necessary, as the Jötnar took up twice the space of most people. He spotted Jack sat towards the end of the room, speaking to somebody on the video comms unit. Jack heard his approach and turned to face him.
“It’s mother. She’s got news for us...from Hyperion.”
Spartan moved closer until he could see Teresa’s face on the display.
“Spartan,” she said happily, “I was just explaining to Jack about the new developments. Have you seen the news?”
Spartan shook his head.
“No, we’ve only just finished a short briefing with General Rivers for this op. What’s happening there, problems?”
Spartan noticed that Teresa was no longer in the room they had organised on ANS Beagle. In fact, he was sure he recognised the signing on the wall as being back on the station orbiting Prometheus.
“I thought you might have been busy. Our share price has just gone through the roof with the news. That’s why I’ve come back to the Prometheus offices. We need to bring in recruits, and fast.”
Jack looked to Spartan concerned. Spartan was still none the wiser, however.
“I don’t understand, what’s happening?”
Teresa nodded and then reached for something. Her image vanished, but she continued to speak as a live feed from the Alliance Network News came through.
“Here, just listen to the headlines.”
The video cut to an anchorman with images of a dark shape drifting in space. In the background, a diagram showed the layout of the star system that he instantly recognised as New Charon. The scrolling ticker line at the bottom said something about science teams were already on the way.
“Jack, what is it?”
He was answered by the voice of the anchorman.
“For those of you that have just joined us, this is a momentous day for mankind. In the last few minutes, we’ve received images from the successful rift experiment being conducted somewhere near Prometheus. If this information is correct, we are seeing our first looks at planets in a star cluster over a thousand light years away. The breaking news, however, is even greater. Alliance scientists have already located the remains of what appears to be a derelict spacecraft.”
The image moved in much closer to the cockpit view of a Navy fighter. Spartan suspected it was a lightning fighter, but he couldn’t be certain. The pilot was speaking, but it was too quiet and muffled to be heard. From the man’s cockpit, the derelict structure seemed massive, at least the size of a Navy capital ship.
“How did this get out?”
“The Senate released the video feeds a few moments ago, and they’re spreading like wildfire. Three mining companies who are sending exploratory vessels to the Rift within five days have already contacted me. Rumours of possible habitable moons and planets are getting a lot o
f interest, and one thing they all want is security.”
“Why?”
Jack looked up at his father with a whimsical expression.
“The derelicts. They think that if there were people there before, then they might come back. That makes it dangerous, ergo, they need protection.”
Teresa quipped in.
“True, but there is more to it than that, as always. With every company and contractor that wants some of the action in Orion, is another competitor. You remember the first incidents at Epsilon Eridani when the mining corporations arrived? It was violent.”
Spartan nodded and then remembered Hyperion.
“What’s happening with Gun and Hyperion? Are they okay?”
Teresa smiled.
“More than that, Gun and his High Council have been talking since you last chatted. Apparently, your news on the saboteurs trying to block off Orion, for fear of making contact with the enemy, got his attention. As always, he thinks it best to tackle any problem head on, and that’s why his Council has decided that they want a stake in Orion as well.”
Spartan shook his head at the news. Gun was an old friend and the first Biomech that had been freed from the mind control exerted on them by the Zealots and their allies, back in the Uprising. His name had come from his first meeting and violent struggle with Spartan on Prometheus, and the fact that the Biomech had been fitted out with a Gatling gun that was strapped to his arm. Now his old friend was the leader of tens of thousands of Jötnar, as well as an even larger number of freed Biomechs who had sworn loyalty to him and the Alliance.
“Somehow I don’t think the Senate will be very happy at the idea of Biomechs, even those we call Jötnar, looking to find new homes in Orion.”
Teresa reappeared as the video stream closed down. She looked to her left as she checked her personal secpad. It only took a moment before she looked back up to the camera.
Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) Page 14
