Reinstated

by Elliot Watts

  Reinstated

  Federation Corp.

  Elliot Watts

  Copyright © 2018 by Elliot Watts

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Thanks so much

  About the Author

  1

  Alert lights pulsed, filling the sleeping bay in a dim aqua blue glow. A faint alarm mixed in with the droning of the ship's engines. The soldiers might be inmates now but they still treated them with dignity. They had arrived at RMPC-28.

  Remote Mining Penal Colonies were places where incarcerated military members (from all branches) reflected on past behavior and learned to reintegrate into society. Few inmates ever seemed to make it back home - so, basically a supply of free labor with built-in work ethics.

  Sure, stories of inmates that rehabilitate exist. Most stayed at their RMPC because it was all they knew how to do anymore. More than likely, they felt history tainted their name anyway, so why change things. Perhaps they were more comfortable in that environment.

  Like any other government conspiracy theories, there are plenty of smoke screens. New leadership brings policy changes and budget cuts. Lost paperwork and redactions by exiting policy makers kicks up enough dust to blur the truth. Things become lost in the shuffle with the latest headlines. Inmate lives are small in the big scheme of things.

  Robots and AI do a lot of the grunt work, but something always needs human intervention. Some poor sap managed this military post. Odds are they failed out of officer school and given a 'second chance', or had nothing better to do with their lives so they volunteered out of boredom. Either way, inmates and crew never seemed to escape the low gravitational pull of these rocks.

  Lyle Asher slept for close to six months with nothing but nightmares. Many things weighed heavy in his mind, but loss of his Staff Sergeant rank was not the one he worried most about.

  He missed his family. Even though he hid money and assets away that will allow his family to live better than some, the organization he had fought for stole his freedom.

  He had hoped that when he woke, his incarceration was just a bad dream. He would hold his wife and kids and smile. His fears, grounded in a truth, caused him to grind his teeth as he reported to a desolate place with no way to escape this sentence.

  Asher might not have committed the crime, but he knew Federation Corp.'s judicial system moved fast in forward but even slower in reverse. He needed a miracle to get out of this situation. Such rarities tend not to end up on an asteroid at the ass-edge end of the Milky Way Galaxy.

  Asher sat up in his stasis pod and took it all in for a minute. How did I end up here? he thought to himself.

  Sometimes, following orders land you time on a rock like this or dead. Asher and his squad went down together but are still alive. They're a tight-knit crew that always get the job done.

  Inmate Delaware pulled himself out of his stasis pod and planted his feet on the ground. "You'd think sleeping for six months straight would make you feel refreshed."

  Inmate Johannes popped his head out of his pod, sniffed, tilted his head. "Does anyone else smell Cheetos?"

  "God, Johannes. Do you ever not think about food?" Inmate Chavez glared at him in disbelief.

  "I'm just sayin'." The other soldiers gave him a blank stare. "What?! Does no one else smell that?" Johannes pressed at his nose with his fingers. "I think my shit isn't working right."

  "Sergeant Dixon, request permission to radio the medics for Johannes to be evac'd out?" Inmate Walker pretended to hold up a handheld radio. "I don't think he's gonna pull through." The inmates laughed.

  "Request denied... and don't call me 'Sergeant'."

  Walker dropped his arm. "Roger that."

  The group did a collective sigh. The Federation Corp. may have stripped their ranks but the respect and order was still intact.

  Asher stood. "Let's get ready. This rock isn't gonna mine itself."

  The inmates gave an enthusiastic, "Hooah!" Everyone picked up pace and got ready for the day ahead.

  2

  Asher and his former squad walked at a pace that showed their dread of reporting in to their new duty station at RMPC-28. One couldn't blame them, but their speed increased to double time instinctually when amber alert lights flashed.

  Asher's crew filed into the docking bay of the Patriot. Something was wrong. Everyone on board was present, even the commander of the cargo vessel. Captain Greesley stood on a platform at the front of the bay behind the ships second in command, Lieutenant Kamara. The crew and inmates fell into rank and file.

  Lieutenant Kamara pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew hard. "Attention!" The room snapped to attention and became dead silent with all eyes on the Lieutenant. She stepped aside and Captain Greesley came forward to address the audience.

  "At ease." Everyone shuffled to parade rest - all eyes fixed on the Captain. "Not that time matters for most of you, for obvious reasons... We arrived at RMPC-28 72 hours ago." The inmates looked at each other with puzzled faces.

  "We've hailed the mining outpost without success. The situation doesn't look good," Captain Greesley’s stare made each former soldier want to stand taller. "Protocol dictates that after 72 hours of failure to contact an RMPC, all crew and inmates are to be woken and ready for further action. We're waiting for a response from Federation headquarters for our next steps. Be ready. That is all." He walked off the platform and out of the room.

  The room filled with a loud buzz. "At ease," stated Lieutenant Kamara. "Nobody goes anywhere."

  Asher turned to his former squad.

  "What do you think's going on, Sergeant Asher?" asked Walker.

  Chavez leaned forward, turned her head and glared at Walker in expected disbelief. "How the hell would he know, Walker? He woke up at the same time as you and me. He's not psychic... are you?" She panned to Asher.

  "No need to be psychic to see that shit has hit the fan."

  "Comm difficulties?" said Delaware.

  "Hard to miss a huge cargo vessel sitting outside your window," said Dixon.

  "Places like this have redundancy systems for their redundancy systems for important things like communications," said Asher.

  "So, what does that mean?" said Johannes.

  Chavez sighed, "It means it's deliberate. Someone hears us, but they're not answering... on purpose."

  Former Sergeant Tallahassee, now in charge of the squad behind Asher's squad muttered, "Mutiny."

  Asher and his squad glanced at Tallahassee.

  "We don't know that." Delaware shot back at Tallahassee.

  A former soldier from the squad behind theirs spoke up, "That's right, we know jack shit. Could be aliens for all we know."

  Both squads laughed. Chavez shook her head. "We've got a believer."

  Asher turns his attention again to Tallahassee. "Don't be spreading rumors, it could cause unrest."

  "I'm not concerned about people getting their panties in a wad. Me and my crew can take care of ourselves."

  "Jeez, just my luck, eternal damnation on a floating rock in space with these numbnuts next to us." Chavez rolled her eyes.


  "These nuts would make your nights a whole lot more fun," another inmate soldier from the opposing squad heckled.

  "Watch your mouth." Delaware bowed his chest.

  "Or else what?"

  Delaware pushed up his sleeves.

  Asher put his hand on Delaware's shoulder. "At ease, Delaware. Let it go."

  Delaware faced forward and let out a long breath.

  Petty quarrels like this wouldn't bring Asher any closer to seeing his family again. Time to focus.

  3

  About two hours passed before command returned to the cargo bay. After crew and inmates came to attention, Captain Greesley once again stepped forward on the platform. "At ease."

  "We've received orders from Federation Corp. Headquarters. Given light of the current situation they believe mutiny occurred on RMPC-28." As everyone at the assembly turned to each other, the murmur became louder. "At ease." The room got quiet again.

  "Today could well be your luckiest day ever," Captain Greesley continued. "The Federation Corp. board is giving you inmates the deal of your lifetimes... You have the choice of receiving a full pardon which comes with full reinstatement at your rank before incarceration and temporary assignment to this vessel to aid in our current critical situation, or you have the option of serving out the remainder of your life in prison sentences which will start with a trip back into stasis until this whole situation is under control."

  "What do you mean, life? I only have 10 years." An inmate pointed at the captain.

  Another inmate stepped forward. "I only have 12!" The buzz in the room became a loud rumble.

  Asher couldn't believe what he had heard, but he understood the reasoning behind the offer. The Patriot only had a small security crew and enough personnel to man the spacecraft. This might be the hail Mary he had hoped for.

  The current predicament was unique. He couldn't think of a single time a mutiny had occurred on an RMPC. What would be the end game be for the mutineers? How could anybody think such a stunt could be successful on a rock where all food and supplies arrived by cargo ships like the one they were on?

  At first glance of this situation, one might think Asher and the rest of the inmates that took the deal might be all on the plus side with nothing but freedom. But any soldier who’d been in the Federation Corp. military long enough could tell you that the enlisted ranks were nothing but pawns and fodder for the overall goals of Federation Corp. The operation would be dangerous. They would lose lives.

  Asher had seen his share of sure situations gone wrong in his time with Federation Corp. Many soldiers lives were used for insignificant gains and what he viewed not worth the effort. But, Federation Corp. officers gained prestige and wealth by exploiting their soldiers and didn't have to worry about not having enough personnel. Because back in our solar system, there were plenty more where they came from. Population boomed more than ever and they kept overcrowding to a minimum with current tactics. For Federation Corp., it was a win-win.

  Asher saw the same thoughts and fears in the faces of the other experienced soldiers that took the deal. From what he guessed, about 80% of the inmates took the bait. They probably had something to get home to just like him, or die trying.

  And just like that. Inmates turned into soldiers and all seemed even more official when the battle gear was handed out. The reinstated soldiers put their issued gear on.

  Asher was proud that his entire squad took the offer, but he felt awful about the forced coercion tactic the Federation Corp. was using. His squad only had a few years to serve and most of them would still have been young enough to start over and create a new life outside the Federation Corp. military grip.

  Reinstatement could be their deaths. This sat uneasy with him, but he knew he couldn't tell them not to volunteer because they wouldn't listen to him. They were a team and a bad ass one at that.

  Lieutenant Kamara returned to the platform. Everyone fell in and Lieutenant Kamara called them to attention. Captain Greesley approached the front. "At ease - Your orders are being handed out."

  Lieutenant Kamara sent out the orders to the squad leaders through their HUDs (Heads Up Displays) in their helmets. Everyone was dressed in full on battle gear. You could feel the tension in the room.

  Staff Sergeant Asher scanned around and didn't spot Sergeant Tallahassee. There was something Asher didn't trust about him and even though more soldiers could make this mission more successful, he was almost glad that Tallahassee didn't take the offer. Asher was sure it wouldn't be a good thing if he had. Tallahassee would for sure go against the primary objective. RMPC-28 needed to be retaken, and the mutineers dealt with.

  Mutiny was not something Federation Corp. accepted. That the mutineers were already prisoners meant almost certain death for any of the collaborators. Federation Corp. claimed rights to everything in the galaxy, and theft of property would result in severe punishment.

  There were independent factions that despised the Federation Corp., but none of them big enough on their own to take on the Federation Corp. If they could somehow find common ground, they might be a contender, but at what cost? All sides could lose millions of lives in a conflict.

  Getting all the factions to find common ground was almost an immediate no-go because of the varying factors of race, religion, peacekeeping policies, geographic locations, and loads of other varying factors.

  The Federation Corp. has many wealthy families, too. 90% of the wealth in the galaxy resided in the Federation Corp. The numbers don't lie and probably also safe to say technology tipped in favor of the Federation Corp.

  Although, Asher had access to many classified documents that reported many top end scientists kept disappearing. Whether they disappeared by choice or against their will, there are plenty of rogue military weapon startups throughout the galaxy that play both sides and ride the fence on ethics.

  Many expeditions have dropped off the radar, too. Many soldiers spoke of ships that never returned because they defected to some independent faction or another. Some were caught and made an example of.

  It wasn't above the Federation Corp. to just blow up an entire ship with their crew aboard, without even investigation or a trial by jury, just for being AWOL (Absent Without Leave.)

  4

  After he reviewed the orders, Asher forwarded them to his team. Their HUDs were advanced pieces of equipment that kept mission status current. HUDs had a built in mapping system that worked similar to a GPS, and could also identify all inmates, military personnel and anyone else in the Federation Corp. database. Upon identification, other useful things, such as name, rank, serial number and other important information were available.

  Physical well being is key for Federation Corp. soldiers, so HUDs systematically captured stats, such as heart rate, breathing rate, perspiration levels, body temperature and other vital signs. These helped soldiers determine viability of their team and other human assets.

  The first aid that came the body armor they wore was equally advanced. Outside being blown up or perhaps crushed to death, the armor was effective and the most advanced armor the Federation Corp. had. This was yet another reason for their dominance in the galaxy, sheer superiority of technologies so advanced that nothing they ever battled could compete.

  "Why don't they send in everything at once?" asked Private Johannes.

  "Wouldn't that be better? Hit 'em with everything we've got?" asked Private First Class Walker.

  "Could be a trap," replied Corporal Delaware.

  "Yeah, what the hell do you want to do? Go in with blasters blazing and overtake the place?" scoffed Specialist Chavez.

  Johannes chimed in, "Sounds about right."

  "Gotta test the waters first," said Dixon. "Find out what we're up against."

  Staff Sergeant Asher went over the orders with his team. "This Patriot isn't able to dock like it normally would, so Zulu team is going in first and will attempt to unlock RMPC-28's central docking bay. They'll take a transport shuttle and
dock at one of the three smaller docking ports and make their way back to the primary docking bay to complete the handshake so the Patriot can connect."

  "Then Alpha team (that's us) and Bravo team will board and take this rock back," said Sergeant Dixon. "Understand?"

  "Affirmative," said Walker.

  "Roger that!" said Johannes.

  The Patriot was locked out of RMPC-28's comms. This was normal security protocol until their command center approved network access. Problem is, nobody was responding. The comms signal of Federation Corp. armored bodysuits lacked the strength to reach the Patriot, so Zulu Team improvised and used their shuttle as a relay to boost the signal. The soldiers live HUD feeds broadcasted to keep everyone on the Patriot up to date with what was happening on the mission.

  Zulu's team leader spoke, "We're approaching our target now." On the screen the largest video displayed was the team leaders. When anyone spoke from team Zulu, the system highlighted their live video stream. This helped observers keep track of events and spot any weaknesses or strengths that the team had or the enemy had.

  Being a step ahead of the enemy has kept the Federation Corp. in power. After World War III, they developed AI to help people along in life. The founders of the Federation Corp. were the ones that developed this AI. They used the data they gathered from everyday things like all the way from ordering more milk when your milk was low, to home robots administering insulin at optimal times.

  After 'helping' the common people out so much, it was only natural that the people allowed the Federation Corp. to run the government for them. In the beginning they did a lot of great things that improved the lives of the people. They headed up the planet colonization effort that led to a better quality of life simply because of less overcrowding.