cqbseal

"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 ax 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 chaotic 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.

"Damnedest 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 acknowledgment 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, groups 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.