Message for the Dead (Galaxy's Edge Book 8)

by Jason Anspach

  “I didn’t like it either,” said Chhun, who had been the deliverer of the news about Victory Squad’s deactivation. “But there’s no changing it.”

  Masters looked around the room. He picked up his gaming pad and caressed it. “Guess I’d better start getting all this stuff to storage. Man… I’ll miss this room. We had a lot of cool stuff.”

  Bear shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

  “Oh! You thought I was upset about having to leave you guys?” Masters said, exaggerated surprise on his face. “No, you see, I’ve been trying to get away from you guys for years. I just don’t want the navy to lose my stuff is all.”

  “Neither of you have to leave the Intrepid unless you want to,” Chhun said. “The ship’s been refitted to fit five Dark Ops kill teams with a mission to patrol a yet-to-be-determined sector of Republic space and be a thorn in the sides of the MCR and Black Fleet. Republic peacekeepers.”

  “One destroyer for an entire Republic sector?” Bear said.

  “Extra kill teams isn’t all Intrepid has going for it. Delta Company has been joined by the rest of the Fifty-Fourth Legion plus a full wing of starfighters and fighter-bombers. As well as a captain who isn’t afraid to send down orbital bombardments when we ask for it.”

  “Ooah,” Bear answered. “If you’re telling me Intrepid is a floating KTF machine, hell yeah I wanna stay on board.”

  “Yeah, but now we’re gonna have a bunch of new Dark Ops leejes rifling through our stuff for sure to see what stays and what goes.” Masters dropped his shoulders and looked up, impersonating a frustrated teenager. “Or worse, they’ll make us share. Here’s what we need to do.” He began to pace the room, one hand behind his back like a detective going through a case. “Cap is a big deal now, rubbing shoulders with all those other clean-uniformed Legion officers. He can order the new guys to get rid of all their non-combat gear and just live in a designated corner of our room.”

  “Not how it works,” Bear said, sounding like a parent patiently instructing a child. “Victory is finished, so we’re the ones getting new squad brothers. We’re the newcomers. And you still might have to move. Just because we’re on the same ship doesn’t mean we’ll be in the same room.”

  “This just gets worse and worse,” Masters said, balled fists on his hips. He looked pleadingly at Chhun. “Captain Chhun… you’re my best friend in the whole wide world. You have the power to at least not make me move. So… make me not move.”

  Chhun smiled. “You can stay right here. This room is going to Kill Team Outlaw. But you’ll have to be able to put up with their new TL. They lost their old team leader fighting on Ankalor, plus another man.”

  “Who’s the TL gonna be?”

  “Bear,” answered Chhun, his smile widening. “So the question is, how do you feel about working under the big man?”

  “Terrible.”

  Bear rocked his head back and let out a one-note laugh. “Ha. Tell me how you really feel!”

  Masters did as he was invited. “Oh, sure. Bear’s a good enough legionnaire. But he’s dumb. I mean, like, incredibly dumb. Also he seems to have forgotten that leejes are issued blaster rifles for reason. Think about it how many times he’s dropped his blaster rifle so he can use his bare hands on some poor schmo? You don’t want your team leader ordering you to toss your rifle aside and work things out with the mids or whoever man-to-man. Bear would tell us to duke it out with the shock troopers!”

  Bear made a show of looking around the room. “Where’s my pistol? I’ll show you how good I can use one right now.”

  Chhun clapped his hands together and grew serious. “All kidding aside, I need a yes or no. Because when they promote you, it comes with a twarg-pile of paperwork. And I’ve gotta get on it.”

  “Yes,” Masters answered soberly. He sounded completely sincere. “Keep me here. Bear will be an excellent TL. And as cool as Victory Team sounded, Outlaw Team sounds pretty badass, too.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Chhun said, turning for the exit. “Because the transport shuttles with the new teams are already here, and your squadmates will be joining you soon. Bear, there’s a meeting scheduled with all my TLs for tomorrow at oh-seven-hundred. Fifteen minutes early is on time, anything after that is late.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  Dark Ops Briefing Room

  Legion Destroyer Intrepid

  Chhun entered the briefing room from a corridor that led from his office. The room was a duracrete gray, looking like an old-world pillbox. It had been engineered to cut off what happened in the room from all listening technology.

  Six kill team members rose from their seats and stood at attention. That was one too many. Chhun quickly assessed the reason for the overage. Bear had brought Outlaw Squad’s assistant team leader. That was a good call in this situation. Chhun felt a sense of pride in Bear’s ability to get his transition as TL off on the right foot.

  Skipping up two steps to reach an elevated dais, Chhun turned to the team leaders, who faced him like pupils in a classroom. “Good morning, gentleman. Please take your seats.”

  The men did as they were instructed, lowering themselves into stackable, armless chairs.

  “I know I’ve met each of you at least briefly last night, but for those of you bad with names, let me introduce myself.”

  The group gave a light chuckle.

  “I’m Captain Cohen Chhun, formerly of Kill Team Victory, which has since been deactivated. There’s a rumor that a major is supposed to hold this position, but we all know how long those rank changes take.”

  More laughter.

  “Kill teams haven’t typically interacted much,” Chhun continued. “But Intrepid will change that. We’re going to remain flexible enough to perform the one-team missions we’ve all grown accustomed to, but we’ll also be undertaking joint-team missions to accomplish for Dark Ops what the Legion would usually achieve through company insertions. The Legion will need that sort of flexibility in this new war.

  “It is my hope that before long, we’ll know each other well. I’m aware that some of you served as legionnaires in the same company in the past, but please bear with the rest of us as we try to keep all the faces straight—myself included.”

  The men laughed, but Chhun was just being congenial, employing an ice-breaking tactic he’d read about in one of the never-ending series of leadership books he kept on his datapad. The truth was, he’d spent the night perfecting another leadership tactic: memorizing the face, name, and Dark Ops identifier number of each and every legionnaire under his command. He refused to go to bed until he could successfully cycle through his datapad’s memory training app and apply the right name to each soldier.

  “Let’s begin with reviewing your teams’ after-action reports from your most recent ops. I understand that was action on Ankalor for each team.” Chhun gestured to the team leader from Kill Team Warbird. “Sergeant Marko, we’ll have you begin.”

  The sergeant stood up. “Sir, should I give the report from here or come up front, or…?”

  “Come on up front.”

  The sergeant joined Chhun on the platform facing his peers. “I’m Sergeant Cory Marko. Kill Team Warbird was inserted by drop shuttle into Ankalor City after the planetary shields were brought down. Our objective was to protect the Green Zone—it was believed by command that the zhee extremists would likely take advantage of the chaos from the main assault and attempt to break into the area. We set up blocking positions in conjunction with private security teams who had the same idea—mostly former Legion or marines. All objectives were met and no casualties were taken.”

  “Did the zhee attempt an attack on the Green Zone?” Chhun asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Marko replied. “The donks probed our positions, advancing on foot. After some initial confusion on our part, they were repulsed. They later attempted to drive a sled loaded with explosives toward the main gate, but that attempt was likewise defeated, and the sled was destroyed.”

>   “Very good,” said Chhun. “Sustain and improve?”

  “Sustains for Kill Team Warbird,” Sergeant Marko said, reading from his datapad. “Sustain aggressive reaction when rules of engagement are met. Sustain practice of humping an extra SAB on missions requiring us to hold ground. Really came in handy. Improve communication with joint-force Legion operations. There was a point where we started taking fire from what we assumed were the donks, however we did not have a clear enough picture of where the Legion blocking positions were set up and weren’t able to immediately return fire out of fear of hitting friendlies.”

  A hand went up from the group. Marko nodded, acknowledging the speaker.

  “We ran into a similar situation,” said the speaker, whom Lieutenant Chhun identified as First Lieutenant Jeremiah Popp. “Usually our buckets have everybody’s position pinged so well that you don’t have to worry about knowing where other units are. But things were so thick and intense out there that—and I don’t know about the rest of you guys—but we were having difficulty knowing where our leejes were in relation to the enemy. Too many potential hostiles, so the whole picture looked like chaos on the HUD.”

  Chhun crossed his arms and stroked his chin. “Anyone else experience the same?”

  Every hand went up save Bear’s. But Victory had positioned itself into a more isolated and unique situation than the rest of the kill teams in service that day.

  Chhun nodded. “I think that’s a good reminder as this war branches out and expands. We’ve got to make sure that we’re capable of maintaining battlefield communication. Knowing where one another are on the field is critical. The last thing we want is blue-on-blue fire. As team leaders, I want you all to add this to your training schedules: make sure that every man in your squad has the ability to properly account for the battlefield without the aid of his bucket should it come to it. The Legion operated for centuries without the HUD tracking tech we have. Thank you, Sergeant Marko.”

  Notes were made as Marko retook his seat.

  “Up next… Lieutenant Stockley, Kill Team Viking. Come on up, John.”

  The Dark Ops legionnaire seemed pleased that his new commander already knew him by his first name. He stepped forward and addressed the assembled TLs. “When it was determined that KBK was not inside Fortress Gibraltaar, Kill Team Viking was sent into the city in an attempt to find him. We cleared approximately five houses, taking sporadic gunfire, before it was reported that Karshak Bum Kali had been found by Kill Team Victory.”

  “How long were you operating?” Chhun asked.

  “Sir, we were going house to house for about ninety minutes before we received the order to stand down.”

  Chhun quickly did the math. That was not many houses for a kill team in that period of time, though there could have been a variety of reasons for that. If one of the houses was packed with defenders, it could have taken a long time to clear out. He avoided interjecting with more questions, preferring to hear how the report turned out.

  “We suffered two casualties. Nothing serious though. The guys are back with the team already. Spent maybe an hour in the med bay when we got back.”

  Chhun nodded. “Sustain?”

  The team leader had an answer ready. “Sustain force of action and violence when clearing. Sustain medical training for all team members—we were able to get our guys patched up very quickly and organize for doc-drops to pick them up before anything could get out of hand.”

  “And improve?” asked Chhun.

  “Cross-training. Our breacher was hit by indirect blaster fire and was taken out of the fight. That slowed us down considerably.”

  “Was he the only main on the squad trained as a breacher?”

  “No, sir. Each role has a backup, but the backup went down as we cleared our first house. Shot by a donk kid.”

  “Thank you, John,” Chhun said, dismissing the legionnaire. “Not everyone can be the best at every job, but it’s paramount that each man is capable of at least doing each job on your squad. Bear, how ’bout you report next?”

  The big legionnaire stood up. “Sir, I didn’t want to presume to supply the after-action report for Kill Team Outlaw, so I brought Sergeant Salazo, if that’s all right.”

  “That’s fine,” Chhun said, welcoming Salazo to the front.

  But before the sergeant could begin, there was a knock at the door. It creaked open, and the gray-haired head of Major Owens’s aide peered inside. “Captain Chhun, you’re needed, sir.”

  “What’s going on, First Sergeant?” Chhun asked, moving to the door.

  “Can’t rightly say, Captain.” First Sergeant Paden VanBuskirk’s voice was perpetually dry and angry. “Something just came through one of Major Owens’s drop-channels. Those are the one-way communications, sir.”

  Chhun nodded. He knew that, but the first sergeant had a tendency to explain everything to him as though this were his first day in the Legion.

  “Typically these are reserved for Dark Ops field agents, but this channel and its sender are completely new. Thought you’d better come and take a look.” VanBuskirk’s eyes darted around the room. “Now.”

  Chhun knew the aide well enough to know that he wasn’t one to overstate things. Turning to address the team leaders, he said, “Men, something’s come up that requires my immediate attention. However, I’d like for you to finish sharing your after-action reports and then dismiss. I know each of your teams is tight-knit and prefers autonomy. Mine was the same way. However, I believe there’s a lot to be learned by the team leaders getting together and comparing mission results.”

  The first sergeant held the door open for Chhun, then the two moved down a corridor to a speedlift that led to the secure comm room occupied by Dark Ops and Rep Navy techs.

  “Any tips on what’s going on, First Sergeant?” Chhun asked as they rode the lift.

  VanBuskirk only shook his head. “My professional opinion, sir, is that this is either huge and might change the war, or it’s bogus and could get us into some hot water. Either way, I’m happy not to be the one who has to decide.”

  Chhun nodded. He realized that with Major Owens out of the picture, there was a distinct possibility that Chhun would envy the first sergeant’s position before long.

  ***

  The secure comm room doubled as a mission observation room, a place where Major Owens would monitor Dark Ops mission while on board the ship. It was in this room that Chhun had volunteered to take Kill Team Victory down to Ankalor, the start of a mission that had ultimately cost Fish his life. Chhun hoped that whatever he was about to encounter, it wouldn’t result in a similar loss of legionnaire life.

  The room was awash with techs and equipment. There were three-dimensional holographic displays and trackers providing real-time updates of fleet deployments and planetary conflicts. Chhun’s eyes took in at least a dozen different operations happening in various worlds that were shaded yellow to represent disruptions by the Mid-Core Rebellion. Though now that the MCR was in league with the Republic, they were going by the name “Grand Army of the Mid-Core.” The name change was more than just cosmetic. With the newfound support of the Republic, the MCR—the Legion had no intention of referring to them as anything other—had access to Republic armories. That allowed them to put real pressure on the Legion, battling Legion garrisons on various worlds under the Republic command to purge the “Legion traitors.”

  A naval comm officer walked purposefully to intercept Chhun and his aide. “Captain, I’m hoping you might be able to make some sense of a transmission we received.”

  “Let’s have a look,” Chhun said, speaking with a confidence he didn’t feel. Other than Wraith’s, he couldn’t think of a single operation that would require this level of urgency. But maybe it was Ford who was calling in and it was a simple case of no one being on duty who knew about it? In times past, Ford would have contacted Owens or Chhun directly.

  “Yes, sir.” The comm officer motioned for Chhun to follow him to a fixed hol
oscreen. He brought up a media playback file, then held his finger over the screen, hesitating before playing the file. “Sir, I know this goes without saying, but I’m required to inform anyone viewing a message in this room, rank captain and below, that this message and its contents cannot leave this room.”

  Chhun nodded. His promotion couldn’t come fast enough if that was how things were going to be. “I understand.”

  “Same for you, First Sergeant—”

  “I got it,” grumbled VanBuskirk. “Already heard the dang thing once.”

  The holo-recording flickered on to reveal an upward shot of an older man with steely-gray hair and a white, well-kept mustache. Chhun recognized him as the House of Reason’s replacement for Legion Commander Keller—Legion Commander Scot Washam. This was the man who was supposed to be leading the purge of the Legion from within. So what would his angle be? Cut a deal? Threaten?

  “This is Legion Commander Washam, communicating to Dark Ops headquarters under Legion authorization code Libre Shine 661.”

  “That real?” Chhun quickly asked.

  Both the comm officer and the first sergeant shook their heads. They didn’t know.

  The Republic’s new Legion commander continued. “Due to my not altogether unexpected, but neither sought after, appointment by the House of Reason as the new Legion Commander, I have come across information that I deem vital to the Legion.”

  Chhun’s brow furrowed. If the man were in the room with him, he’d ask him if he was kidding.

  “It seems the House of Reason was operating a clandestine prison on Herbeer for political dissidents and other people they wanted to go away. That was news to me, but evidently not to you. It was not until I took the office that I was briefed that the facility existed—and that it had been compromised through a Dark Ops coup.

  “Suffice to say,” Washam continued, “the House of Reason does not give up after the first attempt is foiled. With Herbeer gone, a new facility has now been set up on the planet Gallobren. In fact, it already has a sizeable prison population, consisting primarily of the kill teams who were captured during their raids on the homes and offices of House of Reason delegates upon initiation of Article Nineteen. By the way, I can confirm what I’m sure you’ve already concluded: the House was tipped off about those raids in advance. I’m sorry I don’t know the source of the leak.