Incoming Part Two (standard:science fiction, 6790 words) [2/6] show all parts
Author: James J Martin	Added: Aug 18 2003	Views/Reads: 2559/1834	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
More intrigue, political shadow movements, troop deployments and startling discoveries. More characters introduced, suspense, action and much more.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

"Copy that." As the driver made the correct adjustments. The tech
adjusted his scan for wide range, in that split second as the scope 
changed parameters; he caught a blip on the screen. 

"All stop!" he yelled out.  The vehicle slid to a stop almost slewing
sideways on the slick road.  He slowly swept the area as the rest of 
the team waited. 

"Sorry. Thought I saw something." He said. The driver started the scout
forward.  They would be a little behind schedule for the next pod 
deployment so the driver increased his speed.  Moving almost recklessly 
over the wet terrain, the scout shot over a small embankment and landed 
with an immense spray of water and mud on the other side as all four 
wheels spun momentarily before propelling the vehicle forward.  The 
vehicle rounded a corner and was stopped by a fast flowing current of 
water that covered the roadway in front of them.  The tech scanned the 
area for an alternative route. 

"We're going to have to retrace our steps." He said finally. "This river
goes on for several klicks."  The driver threw the vehicle into reverse 
and moved back to the embankment. He deftly turned the small scout 
around and began moving parallel to the flowing river. Passing through 
older ruins and more collapsed buildings, the weather grew worse. 
Thunder rolled and lightning flashed as the team maneuvered past 
smaller bodies of standing water.  A large lightning bolt struck the 
ground beside the vehicle, rocking it and making the electronics and 
interior illumination flicker. The four men looked at each other, not 
saying a word.  Lightning began to crash down around them; some strikes 
close enough to leave scorch marks on the armored finish. The driver 
dodged the impacts and headed for a building. Driving through a hole in 
the wall and into the somewhat dry interior, he stopped the vehicle and 
let out a breath of relief. 

"Notify base camp that the lightning storms are hazardous." He said as
he regained his composure.  The sensor/commo tech immediately started 
the task.  The weps tech was doing a recalibration of his equipment 
when the ground began to tremble under the vehicle. 

"What the hell?!"   The co-driver slapped a switch, outside, outrigger
arms deployed to stabilize the vehicle. Normally used when the drone 
launch system was installed. The trembling increased accompanied by a 
crackling sound. The troopers were shook up even in their 
gyro-stabilized seats. As one, they reached for the gimbal that was on 
the arm of each chair. Fingering that gimbal, the tension on the 
shoulder straps increased and sat them upright in the seat. 

"Send a burst transmission to base!" the driver shouted over the
increasing din. "Give our position! Experiencing seismic activity!" he 
yelled. 

"Sensors off line!" the tech yelled. "Resetting!" he shouted as he
reached out and flipped the circuit breaker next to his panel. 

"Commo system is out! All weapons off-line!" Weps reported.  Abruptly
the noise increased and the vehicle pitched forward. The co-driver 
fired out the emergency grapples to stop the forward movement.  The 
grapples shot away from all sides of the vehicle and found purchase in 
the walls, ceiling, and floor of the old building.  The vehicle shook 
and shuddered until finally pitching backwards and falling into the 
deep crevasse that opened up beneath it. The cables held for several 
seconds before ripping entire sections of the walls and flooring into 
the crevasse with the small vehicle.  The earthquake stopped as soon as 
the scout vehicle disappeared.  Mud and water flowed into the large 
hole, filling it over.  The rain continued to fall but the thunder 
diminished and the lightning stopped. 

"Major Hunter. Scout 21 reports lightning and tremors in their sector." 
Hunter slid his chair along the track built into the floor until he was 
beside the commo tech. 

"Lost transmission. Could be electrical interference from the storm." 

"Keep trying." Hunter said as he slid back to his console.  He called up
that sector and reviewed the satellite data.  Weather patterns looked a 
little rough, a localized storm front. Next, he keyed up the geological 
information. No reports of seismic activity. Very strange, he thought.  
He positioned his boom mike closer. 

"Sgt. Hazard. Meet me at the entrance ramp." He said as he got up and
moved to the hatch.  Outside, the rain was increasing, signaling the 
change of day. Hunter glanced at his wrist chrono as Hazard walked up 
to him. 

"Sir." 

"Scout 21 has encountered a phenomenon in their sector." Hunter gazed
out at the heavy rain. 

"We've lost contact with them." He added. 

Hazard nodded knowingly. 

"So it's begun." He said flatly. 

Seventh Division Headquarters was located five klicks from the first
Alpha Base.  A sprawling mini city of its own, it was a constant buzz 
of activity.  Col. McKnight entered through the large gates and was 
directed to the main building.  Outside the building, there were 
already a number of APC's lined up with their angular snouts pointing 
out.  His driver stopped in front of the main doors, as he moved to the 
side hatch. As soon as he stepped out and made his way up the steps, 
the vehicle pulled over to the parking area, already a muddy quagmire 
from the vehicle traffic and constant rain. McKnight walked inside, 
removed his helmet and approached the quarterdeck officer. 

"Colonel McKnight reporting." He said as he signed in. The officer
located his name on the desk console. 

"Yes sir. Briefing room three, down the main corridor on the left."
McKnight nodded and moved off.  Divisional HQ had been erected quite 
rapidly, some of the sections he passed were still being finished, but 
at least the roof and exterior walls were up.  He entered the briefing 
room and looked around at the other officers gathered there. Colonel 
Todd Shumate, First Bn. CO, Colonel Bruce Gordon, Second BN. CO, and 
Colonel Don Chewlewski, Fourth BN. CO, were all standing in a small 
group by the beverage dispenser, talking quietly. He walked over and 
shook their hands respectively. They had all been in the same class at 
the academy. The discussion had turned to the latest intel on the 
planet, when the Brigade Commander and the Division Commander entered 
the room.  Lieutenant General Francis Curtis, a veteran of numerous 
off-world conflicts and skirmishes, was talking animatedly to the 
Division Commander, Major General Artemis Smith.  Smith, in contrast to 
Curtis's smaller frame, was a large, barrel-chested man, sporting a 
scar on his throat from one of many skirmishes, which made his voice a 
hoarse, and raspy stage whisper.  The junior officers came to 
attention. 

"As you were." Smith said.  "Stand easy gentlemen, this is just a
briefing. Outside these walls, you can call me sir all you want. But, 
right now, right here, I'm Arty." Smith announced with a twinkle in his 
eye as he shook each of their hands and motioned them to be seated. 
General Curtis grinned smugly at the statement.  The junior officers 
took their seats and looked attentively at their commanders. 

"Francis tells me that some of his boys have been exceptionally busy in
his neck of the woods. Seems they may have found what appears to be an 
old military base." Smith stated as he looked at Colonel Shumate.  
"Todd, tell us about it." He said as he reached for his mug. 

Shumate stood and moved to the large display screen. He picked up the
controller and punched in a code.  On the screen, the picture showed a 
large facility from a distance. 

"This was taken yesterday from Hill 214, Western Sector, Grid 111." He
zoomed the picture closer. "One of the recon teams discovered it after 
making a detour around a mudslide." He punched up a closer view.  "They 
launched a drone into the area and recorded this."  The picture changed 
to show quick movement of several humanoid forms darting into a large 
building.  "Further analysis could not be made due to the degradation 
of the picture quality. The team moved in and recovered the sensor, but 
had no further contact. This activity was at the same time as the final 
deployment from the Dodd." He advanced the picture frame by frame. 
"Coinciding with the drone launch, we can see the hurried movements and 
efforts to make the area look deserted." Shumate sat back down to a 
quiet room.  Everyone looked at the screen where the picture had been 
frozen showing the humanoids. 

"Well done Todd." Smith said, "Fleet Ops has requested satellite
coverage over that entire area." He paused to sip his tea. "I've 
authorized four satellites to be tasked for that. We'll be getting 
coverage from ground level on up." He looked at the other men, his eyes 
slightly squinted. " I can't, with a clear conscience, authorize an 
operation to search that base without knowing who or what is waiting 
for us." He took a sip of his tea. "What we have is someone on this 
planet that does not want to be found. We need to ascertain their 
intentions and react accordingly." He looked each man in the eye. "We 
need to be absolutely certain who they are.  If they are indigenous, 
then we contact them for information, offer assistance and begin 
diplomatic and trade negotiation." He paused. "If they are not 
indigenous, and hostile, then I expect you boys to give them an 
asskicking off my planet." He said as he set his mug down.  Smith 
stood, stretched and moved to the display screen. 

"Intel has been working on this one." He tapped the screen, "This
soldier moves like a veteran, smooth, fluid and no wasted effort." He 
stepped back and stared hard at the frozen image. 

"We need detail on what they're capable of. Weapons, strength, the
usual" He turned and faced the room. "Frank, tell these fine lads the 
real reason we called this meeting." Smith walked over to the beverage 
dispenser as Curtis stood and moved to the display screen. 

"Gentlemen, what I'm about to tell you stays in this room." His
twinkling eyes now rock hard. "We've made contact with a Newson battle 
fleet. Our deep recon caught a reading of them as they were sweeping 
the edge of this system." Curtis adjusted the display to show the 
sensor record.  "This is what happened when we moved a cruiser and two 
frigates into a blocking position."  The screen showed plasma fire and 
missiles reach out from the Broderian ships. Several Newson vessels 
were destroyed or crippled as wave after wave of ordnance hit their 
fleet.  One Broderian frigate was damaged as return fire came swiftly. 
The heavy cruiser launched all missiles at the Newson command ship, 
destroying it.  Immediately following its destruction, the remaining 
Newson vessels detonated. The damaged frigate was tossed into the 
cruiser causing heavy damage and casualties. The display went blank. 

"You can see that they don't want us to capture any of their ships.  Two
frigates and one cruiser out of action.  From the reports, its obvious 
that the command vessel controls the self destruct mechanism." The 
officers were quiet as they digested the information. 

"Now you know the reason behind this meeting." Smith said from his
position. "We need to find out how the Algearians got the technology to 
leave orbit and why the Newson haven't overrun this place. The 
timetable has been moved up. Our projections show the second wave of 
the Newson force will reach the outer moons in three days. " He moved 
to the table. "That gives us at least that long to find out whom our 
mystery guests are as well as consolidate our forces. There must be a 
connection somewhere on this planet. We need to find it."  He brought 
back the image of the humanoid at the abandoned base. "That's where 
we're starting. We need intel from them." He emphasized by walking over 
and tapping the screen. " Todd, Don, that's your task. Find them, 
capture them, or recover a body." He paused again and took a sip of his 
beverage. " The rest of you, continue your primary objectives as 
planned. That is all." 

The junior officers got up, collected their briefing materials and were
given a micro disk as they left the room.  No words were exchanged as 
they walked to the front of the building.  Back in the briefing room, 
the two generals were still sitting at the table, both gazing at the 
display screen. 

"Arty, I don't like this." Curtis said pensively.  Smith nodded as he
continued staring. 

"Neither do I. Remember UNL-375?" he asked as he turned his gaze to the
other man. 

"Been trying to forget it. That was a tricky operation. Contract
deployment, poor communication, bad diplomatic stance, bad decisions 
all around." 

Smith was absently rubbing the scar on his throat. 

"I was just a Colonel back then. Left out of the command decisions.
Contract jobs never go right, always something left out." 

"Oh yes, contract job all the way. That was when Kirby was fleet
commodore. He pulled some slick moves back then. Saved a lot of 
troopers." 

"That he did. I met him after that. He changed." 

"Combat will do that to a man." Curtis said as he stood and gathered his
paperwork. 

"This was different. I was on the command deck when he gave the order
for sterilization." Smith's eyes had lost focus as he thought back to 
that time. 

"Almost as if he enjoyed doing it." He said softly as if to himself. 

CHAPTER SEVEN 

The overhead panel sparked, fizzled and went dead. The vehicle was
jammed at a slightly upward angle, creating a heavy list to port. 
Sergeant Deakins reached over and pulled the circuit out on the power 
panel. Emergency lighting had turned on as soon as main power was lost. 
He looked over to the co-driver, Sergeant Crowe. Crowe's head was 
against his shoulder, the restraints keeping him upright in his seat. A 
small cut above the right eye had formed a partial blood mask on his 
face. Deakins released his harness and turned to look behind him. His 
actions were rewarded with a sharp pain between his shoulder blades. He 
winced but continued the movement. The dim lights did little to 
illuminate the interior. He could barely make out Sergeant Roberts 
still seated in the sensor tech position.  Roberts was looking back at 
him through the haze. He gave Deakins thumbs up. Deakins nodded and 
turned back to Crowe. He reached out and checked for a pulse. Crowe 
moved just then with a groan. 

"Crowe? Crowe? Hey in there, wake up." He said as Crowe slowly turned
his head and lifted a hand to his face.  Deakins spoke into his mike. 
"Systems check. Everybody sound off." He said as he reached for the aid 
kit. 

"Sensors off-line. Weps off-line." Roberts reported. He turned and
looked at the Weapons station. That section of the scout had been 
sheared off and now only solid rock was visible. 

" Hull breech. Weapons station is gone. Wood is gone." Roberts stated. 
Deakins looked back to the area behind his seat. Shaking his head, he 
returned to the task of bandaging Crowe's head injury. Deakins finished 
the field dressing and moved to the rear of the vehicle. His door was 
jammed shut by the rock. He looked at the area where the Weps station 
had been. Rock had sheared it off smoothly as if by machine. He turned 
to Roberts. 

"Anything?" 

Roberts fiddled with a few switches before answering. 

"Primary systems down. Secondary systems heavily damaged." He shook his
head as he flipped switches.  Reaching down between his legs, he 
stabbed the reset button hoping to restart the sensor systems. Sparks 
arced from the overhead panel followed by the acrid smell of burning 
insulation.  Finally, a small cursor appeared in the corner of his 
monitor.  Deakins crawled over his seat and was releasing the interior 
cargo door when Roberts got the monitor to work. On the screen, a 
systems check was running which calculated the damage and time to 
repair.  The onboard computer was running a continuity test of all 
operating systems and giving a complete list of it capabilities. The 
information on the screen stopped with an audible tone. Both men looked 
at the monitor. 

"That's that. Commo, Weps, main sensors, propulsion, out of commission."
Roberts turned to Deakins. "Game over." 

Deakins looked at him. "No. No, it's not, not by a long shot." He
punched Roberts lightly on the shoulder." I'm not giving up, and 
neither are you." He thrust his hand out. "Duty and Honor." He said.  
Roberts grasped the outstretched hand. 

"Duty and Honor." He responded.  Deakins returned to his task. Roberts
went back to the computer.  Deakins finally got the cargo hatch open 
and was rummaging inside, putting items on the deck.  Roberts tried a 
system diagnostic program to get some of the exterior sensors on-line. 
Finally, after doing a quick re-route and switching a few circuit 
boards, he was able to re-boot the main computer. 

"Here we go." He said as sensor information was printing on his screen. 
Deakins turned from his work. 

"We're thirty meters down. Can't lock down the location, too much rock
and damage for a satellite uplink." He adjusted the image on the 
screen. "It's a shelf, approximately twelve meters by eighteen meters." 
He typed in a command. "No transponder from Wood's armor." He added.  
Deakins nodded. "Atmosphere is breathable, actually a little better 
then up top. Seems like the rocks act as a filter, and its dry." He 
reported. 

"Ok. I vote we blow the hatch and get out of this hole." Deakins said. 

"I'm with you on that." Crowe piped in from up front. 

"Do it." 

Deakins watched as Roberts reached over and hit the emergency release
tabs along the side of the vehicle.  Explosive bolts fired and the side 
panel shot away from the scout. The panel flew a meters away and landed 
with a solid thump on the dry substrate that covered the rock shelf. 
Roberts tossed out a light stick. The little green cylinder flipped 
through the air and landed in front of the panel, bathing the chamber 
in an emerald hue. Deakins reached up and helped Crowe unbuckle and 
step outside. Crowe leaned against the side of the scout as Deakins 
grabbed the equipment from the pile he had made on the deck. Roberts 
boosted himself out and waved a small hand held scanning device around 
the chamber.  Deakins handed three rucksacks out to Crowe who piled 
them at his feet. Roberts walked a few meters away and waved his 
scanner around before returning to the men. 

"I can't get much out of this. This is a cavern of some kind, but the
scanner can't lock onto anything substantial. Lot of interference." He 
waved it around. "There's a passageway in that direction, but how far 
it goes or where it leads, I don't know." He took the offered ruck and 
slipped it onto his shoulders. The other men put theirs on as well. 

"It's a better choice then staying here and waiting for the roof to cave
in." Deakins said. Roberts nodded and moved off, followed by Crowe and 
finally Deakins who set a transponder at the wrecked vehicle.  He 
jogged to catch up with Crowe. 

CHAPTER EIGHT 

McKnight was lost in thought as his APC entered the gate to Alpha Base.
The slight bump as the heavy vehicle cleared the gate threshold was 
enough to shake him out of his reverie. The APC pulled up and stopped 
in front of the command building. He stepped out and into the rain. He 
stood on the steps and looked around the perimeter. Squads were moving 
along the wall, various vehicles moving about, ships landing and taking 
off, and in the sky, the constant rain and cloud cover. He turned and 
walked up the steps and went through the double doors. Giving a nod to 
the quarterdeck officer, he made his way down the now finished hall to 
his office.  McKnight walked in silence, his mind, digesting the 
briefing, intel reports and the upcoming battalion briefing. 

General Beckett sat at his desk and watched the fleet status board.  The
clear windows that faced the op-center gave him a commanding view of 
the operations display screen.  In the last forty eight hours, several 
research and mining vessels had been dispatched and the path through 
the debris field had been widened and cleared. No further attacks from 
raiders had been reported.  Several battle groups had moved into the 
other system and taken positions around UNL-465.  Beckett turned his 
gaze to the report on his desk. He scanned through it as he had for the 
last several hours. Admiral Kirby had requested and received approval 
for the use of Sirius.  Beckett's appearance had suffered in the days 
since the meeting. His uniform was as ever, starched and perfectly worn 
per regulations, his eyes though had appeared to be sunken, the spring 
in his step was missing and he was curt and almost rude to his junior 
officers. He now spent most of his shift in his office and was rarely 
seen walking the floors of the center.  The replacement shifts as well 
as Beckett's relief, came and went with whispered words of caution. 
Beckett's relief, newly appointed Brigadier General Dietz, a now 
graying at the temples former division commander, noticed the change in 
Beckett but, still getting used to duty at the op center, didn't have 
the time to delve further into it. 

"Damn that man!" Senator Carson vented to his aide.  "How dare he
belittle me in front of my own staff and those lower class security 
guards!"  Carson stomped around his suite of rooms located in the 
distinguished visitor section of Archangel's central decks. 

"Really senator, it wasn't all that bad." Denninger, Carson's most
trusted aid and 'fixer' replied.  "Admiral Greerson is close to 
retirement and Kirby will find a suitable replacement." 

Carson paced back and forth, as Denninger spoke, stopping at the last
sentence. 

"Absolutely correct." He paused as his mind worked at a frantic pace.
"The old battle axe is out in a few months and we'll have the ear of 
the Chancellor again." He clasped his hands behind his back as a glint 
of malice crossed his face. "Once he leaves, Kirby will nominate a 
puppet that we'll control. Perfect. Perfect." He muttered as he resumed 
his pacing. "Just one problem with that sir." Denninger added. "With 
this Newson situation escalating the way it is, the Chancellor might 
leave Greerson in command until it's over." 

"Damn you Denninger!" Carson erupted "Why can't you give me some good
news?" Carson fumed as he walked to the view port and stared out. 

"Well sir, there is always the possibility that he would be replaced if
he was injured in combat or worse." Denninger paused to let what he had 
just said sink in.  "Kirby would have to replace him in short order." 

A strange smile formed on Carson's face as he thought about what the
other man had said. He slowly tilted his head back and closed his eyes, 
relishing the thought. 

"Senator? Are you alright?" 

Carson spun around, facing Denninger. 

"Of course. Couldn't be better." He said with a far away look in his
eyes. "Whom do we know in the Forces?" he asked as he made his way 
across the room and poured a large glass of Thelsian Ambrosia.  
Denninger pulled out a small admin comp and rapidly typed in commands. 

"We have one that's worked for us in the past." He typed a new set of
commands. "And already in this system." 

Carson held the glass in his hand as he smiled again, a cold smile, to
go with his equally cold, emotionless eyes. "Excellent. Truly 
excellent." He said, whether he was commenting on the ambrosia or 
Denninger's statement it was never known. 

"Lets hold up here and rest a bit." Deakins said as he shrugged off his
pack and stretched a little.  Roberts stopped and waved his hand held 
scanner around the large cavern they had stopped at. Crowe hung back a 
few steps and watched the back trail. 

"This is some rock." Roberts commented as he viewed the readout. "I'm
barely getting a signal from the transponder."  Deakins walked over and 
looked at the readout. 

"Maybe this rock acts like a natural shield of some kind." Roberts shook
his head. 

"I don't know enough about geology to figure it out.  We're only about
two klicks from the scout, but the signal strength is like we're half a 
planet away." Crowe moved up to the other men, resting his rifle over 
his shoulder. 

"Our trail is clear, no movement and nothing registers on thermal." He
said as he moved to the front of the little group. 

The men rested for nearly an hour planet time before shouldering their
packs and moving off.  The suit lights illuminating the pathway and 
very little of the surrounding rock.  Crowe had moved ahead and Deakins 
had fallen back into the rear position. 

Suddenly, Crowe's light wobbled and then flashed in all directions amid
a great rattle of loose gravel. 

"Oh shit!" Crowe yelled out as the pathway gave way under his feet. 
Flailing his arms wildly, he grabbed the edge of the path as his boots 
scrambled for a hold.  Roberts ran up and threw himself flat at the 
edge of the hole. Deakins threw himself down and slid up to Roberts 
ankles, grabbing them. 

"Hold on! I got you!" Roberts yelled as he grabbed Crowe's pack. 

"I'm slipping! Can't get a grip!" Crowe yelled out.  Deakins tightened
his grip on Roberts's boots and ankles. Roberts grabbed the pull strap 
on Crowe's pack and pulled hard, Crowe's slow descent was stopped, for 
a moment. 

"It's giving way!" Crowe yelled as loose gravel slid down the wall. "Let
me go! I'm too heavy!" Roberts slid a little closer to the edge, 
pulling Deakins with him. 

"No way! You go, we go!" the muscles on Roberts arms vibrated as he
pulled harder. 

Crowe's boots found a small lip on the side of the crevasse, which he
used to push himself a little out of the hole, more loose gravel 
falling around him. Deakins slid closer as Roberts braced himself for 
the next pull.  He fumbled at his waist until he pulled free a small 
device.  He slowly released one hand from Roberts and raising the line 
thrower, took aim at the unseen overhead wall.  Roberts slid towards 
the hole, pushing more loose gravel onto Crowe. 

"If you're going to do something, do it now." Crowe said through gritted
teeth. Deakins aimed and fired one handed, watching the line arc out 
into the darkness. The small screen on the device flashed green and 
held a steady glow indicating a solid lock on the rock. Deakins slowly 
moved his hand to Roberts load bearing vest and attached the carabineer 
to the loop on the back. Releasing his grip on Roberts, he rolled free 
and grabbed the other end of the line. Roberts began a slow slide 
towards Crowe. 

"Great idea! Wish I would have thought of that!" Roberts yelled out as
he slid more towards the opening. Deakins didn't respond but activated 
the hand unit for the line.  Slowly the slack disappeared and the two 
men's forward motion was arrested as the line went taut and started 
slowly winching them out of the hole.  Crowe's boots finally cleared 
the edge and he rolled over on his back taking a deep breath.  Roberts 
patted his shoulder and nodded. 

"Had me worried there for a bit." He said.  Crowe took a few deep
breaths. 

"Yeah. Me too." He said when he finally got his voice back.  Deakins
retracted the line back into the hand unit. 

"No need to thank me, its all in a day's work." He said, adding a bit of
levity.  The other two men looked at him, shaking their heads.  Crowe 
put his head back down and took some more breaths before sitting back 
up.  Roberts sat up and did a quick check of his equipment. 

"It's a good thing you didn't have your full armor. The weight would
have sent us all over." Roberts commented as he brushed some dust off 
the front of his combat uniform. They all nodded agreement and went 
back to checking their gear. 

"Uh guys. We may have a problem." Crowe said.  Both men turned to look
at Crowe, who was propped up on his elbows.  The cavern had grown 
lighter in the past few minutes, now more noticeable.  Deakins could 
make out Crowe and Roberts, not just the usual dark shadows he had 
grown accustomed to the past few hours.  The men looked around, as the 
light grew stronger. 

"That wasn't there before." Crowe said as he pointed to the far wall
which they could now see a sealed iris type looking hatch. The cavern 
began to look more manufactured not a natural formation. A small 
skitter of loose gravel came from behind them.  Deakins spun, his rifle 
coming up. 

"No!" Roberts yelled out.  An intense white light lit the cavern and
then, nothing. 

CHAPTER NINE 

"Lieutenant Waters, what was your first impression as you entered the
vessel?" 

Waters thought about the question as he looked at the officer across
from him. Slightly pudgy, a fine sheen of sweat over his face and 
constantly sipping from the glass he filled from the carafe on the 
briefing table. 

"Sir, my first impression was one of emptiness." Waters answered as he
observed the reaction.  The other man took a sip, nodded and traced his 
finger down the hand held unit to the next question. No name on the ill 
fitting uniform, shifting uneasily under Waters gaze, the man seemed 
out of his element. Waters already had the impression that this was a 
cursory debriefing. His report was finished the same day of the contact 
and submitted through the chain of command, now this debriefing was 
being done in case he might have overlooked anything. If this 
interrogator was Broderian Forces, then Waters was in the running for 
the Chancellor ship.  He casually glanced at his wrist chrono. 

"Lieutenant, there are only as few more questions and you'll be on your
way." The pudgy man said without looking up from his hand held.  Waters 
feigned amazement and then put on the blank, wide-eyed young officer 
look that he had fine-tuned to a work of art. 

"Oh, that's ok sir, I was just checking so that I wouldn't be late for
pre-schoolers school." Waters mentioned off handedly to gauge the 
reaction.  There was none. That answered the question that Waters had 
been running over for the last two hours. 

"Sir. I am finished with this interview. You are not an officer in the
Forces, so we can end this charade." He said as stood up from his 
chair. "If you're Intelligence, then you already know more than I would 
on this matter." He strode purposely to the hatchway. "I have a unit to 
attend to. Good day, Sir." He said with emphasis on 'sir'. He closed 
the hatchway behind him and walked to the troop berthing section on 
McAfee's main deck. As he entered the troop bay, the area was a buzz in 
activity.  Squads and platoons forming, troopers moving back and forth, 
full squads moving to the hanger bay for transfer to other vessels.  
Amid the bustle, Sergeant Wilkes found him and guided him to a small 
corner out of the flow of traffic. 

"Sergeant what's going on here?" he asked as he was jostled by a passing
formation led by a serious looking officer enroute to the launch bay. 

"Damnest thing I ever saw." Wilkes said into his ear so as to be heard.
"Admiral Greerson made an announcement followed by a major from 
operations and Captain Ryan himself. We're shipping out to the planet 
to reinforce our troops already there." He paused and pressed himself 
against the bulkhead as a platoon's heavy weapon section squeezed past. 


"How's the platoon look?" Waters asked.  Wilkes hugged the bulkhead
again as an engineering group shouldered through. "Better than we will 
be if we don't relocate somewhere else." Wilkes said as he grabbed 
Waters upper arm and guided him through the maze of departing and 
preparing units.  They reached their platoon prep area and took a 
breath to be out of the way of all the movements.  Waters platoon was 
in various stages of unit prep. A few of the squads were already suited 
up and making final equipment checks while the rest were wandering 
about seemingly without purpose, attempting to gather gear and finish 
preparation for disembarkation.  Waters started to address his men when 
his personal messenger beeped. He grabbed it off his waist and looked 
at it. Here we go, he thought as he replaced it into its pouch. 

"Gentlemen, that was our status for boarding. Someone loves us
upstairs." He paused as he looked around the squad bay. "We've been 
moved to the front, with the first deployment." Some of the men groaned 
and sat down while others leaned close to each other and whispered. 

"You heard the man ladies! Assholes and elbows! Move it out! Move it
out! Move it out!" Wilkes shouted  "I want you sorry lot of degenerates 
prepped and ready for an extended planet deployment in 15mikes!" Wilkes 
tirade continued as he walked among the men and in some cases 
physically 'encouraged' them to increase their efforts. Waters moved 
off to the officer area and greeted several others along the way. 

"Hey Waters! I heard your unit got moved to the front of the line."
Lieutenant Bean, 2nd Platoon's commanding officer shouted out.  "Whose 
ass did you kiss to get that privilege?"  Waters flipped him an obscene 
gesture as he passed. 

"The list is long and distinguished." He said in way of reply. This
brought a chorus of laughter from the other officers in the area.  
Waters continued to his quarters, once inside, donning his armor except 
the helmet, which he tucked under his arm.  He left the quarters and 
moved to the arms room to check what ordnance was to be issued. 

"Lieutenant. Congratulations on being one of the first units to deploy."
The arms room sergeant said a grizzled older veteran of many conflicts. 
Waters nodded acknowledgement as he took the offered equipment list. He 
reviewed it quickly before signing it and handing it back. 

"Thank you Lieutenant. Your equipment is already on its way to the
launch bay. And sir, tell Wilkes he owes me a case of Thelsian 
ambrosia. He'll know why." The old sergeant grinned broadly as he 
signed off the form and gave Waters a copy.  Waters tucked the paper 
into a pocket, turned and walked away. 

"Good hunting." The old sergeant said quietly to Waters retreating form.


"Sir. All battle groups report ready." The OOD reported to Captain
Winslow. Winslow nodded and continued checking off the report he was 
reviewing. 

"Have the admiral meet me in CIC." Winslow said as he stood and left the
bridge. Winslow moved down the passageway to the central part of the 
ship.  A fully armed and armored trooper was standing outside the CIC 
hatch. The trooper came to attention as the captain approached. Winslow 
saluted and entered the CIC. Greerson was already inside watching the 
large status board.  He nodded greeting as he caught Winslow's eye. 

"Sir, group Beta and Gamma are taking up a position on the far side of
the planet." The officer reported to Greerson. "Johnson, Howser and 
Connelly are almost finished with troop deployments and have signaled 
us that they will be leaving system within the hour."  Greerson nodded 
silently as he continued to watch the board. Winslow walked up and 
stood beside him as they both watched the board. 

"Four divisions on planet. Over one hundred ships surrounding it. Must
be something important down there to warrant all that firepower."  
Winslow commented.  Greerson stuck his cigar in the corner of his mouth 
and pulled out a folded transcript from his pocket. He passed it to 
Winslow, who read it before handing it back. 

"Kirby authorized the use of Sirius?  What of the other planets in this
system? We haven't even scanned them in depth or charted their 
relationship to this planet." He walked off a short distance and then 
returned. 

"What is he thinking?" Winslow asked incredulously. Greerson puffed on
his cigar before answering. 

"John, I know it's unusual. I don't like myself. Kirby must have a good
reason. What it is I don't know yet." His eyes narrowed. " But, I'm 
going to find out before we have to use it."  Winslow nodded and 
crumpled the paper up in his fist. 


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