“What have we done on the EMF side of things?’’ Nivad asked, looking to the three heads of the EMF.
“We are going through new testing to make sure that we only get the finest fighting stock. With the previous recruits, we sent everyone and anyone. We are planning to release them with a small dispensation when the war is complete. We’ll tax it back from them over a few years when it all dies down,” the head of the EMF said.
“Good,” Nivad said. It was expensive to keep those Carriers and Troopers active. Instead, he could have the hulls ripped out of the ships and they could be used as freighters. “What about the Devil Dogs and Fox Regiments?”
“We have had them replenished with Troopers from other Regiments that were also harmed. It is our hope that they will turn into the new core of the Troopers. They have shown their effectiveness. They have a cost to benefit ratio of twice other Trooper groups,” Wallace said.
“Indeed, continue with the program,” Nivad said, waving to Wallace. “Colonists?”
“They are underway. We cannot begin to hazard a guess as to how long it will take Fernix to recover. Housapel will be quicker once the biological weapon is neutralized, and the new colonists can move into the system easily. Osdal’s start-up companies are flourishing. There are multiple smaller companies that are fighting against the larger corporations for domination. We have a number of them filing for various infractions to stymie the smaller companies’ growth,” Dalia said.
Good, keep them interested in fighting among themselves while we rebuild our power base. New companies will bring new blood, innovation, and make people’s lives better. Makes us look better to the people. Gives more reason for the war and makes rebellion look idiotic,” Nivad thought.
“I will leave you to deal with that; come to me with the larger contracts and issues,” Nivad said.
“Certainly. I am having a number of issues involving The Yard,” Dalia said.
Nivad saw the head of Masoul perk up at that.
“What would the infractions do?” Nivad asked, keeping an eye on the head while not looking at them directly. He knew that the head had been talking to the Masoul Partnership, to try and get their economy going again. Nivad approved; he needed Masoul to get a grip and continue to be a major trading hub, though he wasn’t going to say that to the head. Doing so would only make the other heads wonder what he knew about their private activities.
“They would limit their ability to make their new freighters, and restrict their shipping Company’s reach,” Dalia said, looking from her surface to Nivad, and her eyes didn’t even twitch in the direction of the Masoul head who was raising his hand.
“Go ahead,” Nivad said, pointing to the man.
“Thank you, sir. It is my understanding, from working the intelligence of Masoul, that there are few freighters that are capable of moving the amount of goods Masoul needs to move. Many of the ship builders around Earth are not producing anywhere near the number of freighters that are needed to transport Masoul’s goods. With Fernix’s own factories on the Blue Moon being torn apart as we speak, and no clear reports on the conditions of the shipyards that are orbiting Fernix Prime, we do not know when our shipping capabilities will once again approach meeting needs. Limiting The Yard, which is one of the few facilities that is actually supplying freighters might appease the transporting corporations, but everyone else needs them to continue to push out freighters as fast as possible. With their new proposed freighters, the largest ever built, Masoul’s transport issues to Earth and to the other colonies can be remedied faster.”
Nivad looked thoughtful, tapping his lips and nodding slightly in thought, then looked at Dalia.
“Push back the infractions for now. See if the Masoul Partnership would be interested in talking to shipbuilders to start getting them building more ships in order to return their system to its previous position.”
“Certainly, sir,” Dalia said.
“This war seems to be coming to an end, so we need to be more vigilant than ever. I want an updated report on every single colony and one on the social circles of Earth. I want to know how people are thinking and feeling. We need to be ready for peace. I want people working on calculating how to deal with the possible depression that is coming. See if we can mitigate some of it by offering the Troopers that are on the Carriers positions on the planets that they took over. Draw up profiles of the Troopers, and give them to the partnerships. The Troopers are there already; why waste the cost of shipping them back to Earth if we can leave them there? See if we can get the partnerships to cover the cost of their training and equipment. I want Company profiles, so let’s see who’s coming out on top and reports on the smaller start ups. There might be some new blood that can overturn some more obstinate companies.” Nivad looked around the room.
Going into war had been easy, but the fallout that could happen after the war if the ministry looked weak could turn Earth and Her Colonies into chaos.
He was just making the safety net that would make sure that, no matter what, they continued to function and he continued to be on top.
Chapter 57
Factory Complex Three
Blue Moon, Fernix System
9/3295
Alexis pulled off her helmet as she walked into the armory. She’d just spent nine days beyond the line watching the targets Mark had found, and looking for people who might be important. Moretti was running some kind of program to check on people and see who was who, and try to figure out the new Chosen chain of command.
There had been a few kill orders, and more than one target had caught a rail cannon’s attention.
Technically, she was the Foxes’ Regimental sergeant major under Mark. In reality, she led five others and went out across the line to gather information and wreak havoc.
The Chosen were getting better at shutting down their access, so the Troopers had got creative, dropping from Combat Shuttles, and digging under the cermite pads. Anything that could get them into enemy territory, they used.
The Chosen were hitting the lines now and then, trying to find weaknesses. They charged about once a week and sometimes they even made it through. Troopers that were waiting on the Carriers dropped down and pushed them back. Every Trooper now had powered armor but there might only be a fraction of them left from the original force.
Now they were all bloodied, and the idiots had been weeded out, either by the Chosen or by the Troopers. War was the great decider.
The first Carriers from Earth that had been supposed to go to Housapel were being turned towards Fernix. They would arrive in a few years.
For the Troopers it meant just staying alive and doing their duty. It was shitty and they were bored, but they had got into the rhythm of it.
Which was dangerous in its own way… if the Chosen do something different and we’re used to them doing it a certain way, we’re fucked, Alexis thought. She’d brought her concerns up the chain and Ortiz agreed, so when Troopers got time off from the front lines, they were being thrown into battles on their Carriers against one another.
They fought in all kinds of scenarios to keep their minds limber and ready for anything that the Chosen might throw at them.
More than being ready for anything, the Troopers needed rest. Not just a few days off, but a solid week or two.
They’d entered the system fifteen months ago, and they’d lost too many people and hadn’t had any real time to come to grips with it.
Unconsciously, her hand moved to her stomach. Even though she was alive, she felt violated. The Chosen had taken something from her without thought, without care of her feelings. It still messed with her thoughts. She hadn’t been intimate with Tyler in months.
Man’s probably got just a nub left after leaving him all to himself. She smiled and walked out of the armory.
There was a group of Foxes and Dogs at a table, talking, laughing, and eating together. They waved to her and she waved back. They’d become the scouts and forward shooters for the en
tire force they were based with.
There were also Sections of them off at other bases, working to train up others to do the same thing as them. It was taking time, and finding suitable candidates was hard. Mark was spearheading it.
Before, he had been a good fighter because of his speed and skill. Now, he was as stealthy as a damned ghost. He was a gentle giant with his Troopers, but a few other captains and higher ranks that had made comments about him or his Troopers had mysteriously stopped, usually after Mark disappeared from barracks for a night or a day. Of course the Regiments always swore that their captain was with them the whole time.
Alexis got in line for some food that had been brought down from a Carrier. It smelled amazing after nine days of ration mush and water.
She picked out food; one glance at her Fox patch and her plate quickly filled up.
She felt herself being picked up and someone tickling her armpits. She drove an elbow back, making them release her as she turned.
Tyler grabbed her fists and attempted something that felt like terrible old-style dancing.
“Tyler,” she said, trying to be serious even while looking at the great big grin on his face. She couldn’t keep the smile from growing on her own face.
“What? You don’t want to dance?” he asked, looking shocked.
Her lips moved trying to contain a laugh. He broke out into a grin again and pulled her to him, kissing her quickly.
“I swear, I leave for a few days and you’re blocking up the line; look at these fine Troopers trying to get food,” Tyler said, grabbing her tray and tutting as she glowered at him, pressing her mouth together to hide her amusement, as the people behind her laughed.
They could all use a laugh as Tyler led her out by the hand and towards the Dogs’ and Foxes’ table.
She pulled her hand free as they sat down and she saw the slight frown on his face, which made her feel bad.
He put the tray between them and two forks.
“Thought you were out for another four days,” she said.
“Got the coordinates faster than we thought, thought I’d surprise you,” Tyler smiled. She couldn’t stop smiling back as she ate from her tray that had somehow become their tray.
She felt odd, like she wanted him to be away for another few days. She knew that she was avoiding reality, but whenever he was close she felt like she wasn’t whole, and she was reminded that she couldn’t have kids anymore. She couldn’t have their kids.
She ate quickly, giving him small answers here and there as she tried to figure out a way to get some more time to herself. She needed time to work through this all; she didn’t want to face the reality right now.
The look on Tyler’s face made her feel even worse as she saw the pain there.
A shadow loomed over them both, and she looked up to see Mark. She was about to say hi when she saw his expression. Unconsciously, she moved away from him as he looked at them both with rare anger.
“Come,” he said to them walking away.
People moved out of his way as he walked through the interlocking bunkers until he reached a room with a desk, two chairs, and a bed.
“Sit,” he said, pointing to the chair. Alexis and Tyler sat and Mark sat behind the table, sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Mark, what’s this about?” Tyler asked.
“It’s about you two idiots,” Mark said looking at them. There was frustration but also a caring look in his eyes.
“What did we do?” Alexis asked.
“It’s more like what you’re not doing,” Mark said, his tone softening. “Tyler Victor, do you love this lady, Alexis Xin?”
“Of course,” Tyler said as if it wasn’t even a question. It made Alexis’ stomach fill with butterflies and then shrink back in fear.
“Up here, missy,” Mark said, and she looked up from the floor to Mark. “Do you, Alexis Xin, love this idiot Tyler Victor?”
“Yeah,” she said, knowing it was the truth.
“Then that should make things easier. You two dolts need to talk. You love one another and want the best for the other. I know that you got really hurt Alexis, and I’m not going to try and understand it. I don’t, but this idiot right here, he wants nothing more than to hold you tight, to love you as best as he can.” Mark looked at the two of them. “On your wedding day, I saw you say the words “until death do you part”. Well, I doubt that even death could make you two part.” Mark smiled, making Alexis blush.
“Cute,” Tyler said, smiling.
“Alexis you went through something bad, something terrible. You two are in this together. I might be the big brother, but he’s your husband. All I ask is that you two talk, please.”
“We will,” Alexis said.
“Good, then you have this room for the next nine days. It’s not like Ortiz is going to sleep any time soon, and you’re off the rotas. Don’t worry, me and the others have been talking, everything’s been taken care of. We just want to give you two space and time to talk about whatever you need to talk about,” Mark said, standing and coming around the table. He nodded silently, then walked out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving just the two of them.
For a time, they just sat there in awkward silence.
“I’m broken,” Alexis finally said, bringing her knees up to her chest like she used to when she was a small child hiding from the slum dwellers that might be interested in a younger girl.
Tyler didn’t say anything, waiting for her continue. He knew her well, and a few minutes later she spoke again.
“I’m not whole any more. I’m not the person I was before. I can’t be a wife; I can’t be a mother. I’m useless,” she said, burying her head in her lap, fearful to see agreement in Tyler’s eyes.
She heard him moving and then felt him leaning against her legs, kneeling on the floor.
“Don’t say you’re useless, never say that,” he said softly, his words touching her as tears fell down her cheeks.
He kissed her forehead and she reached out, wrapping her arms around him and crying. He picked her up as she cried, sobbed over the losses, the memories, the fears washing over her. The fear of losing him, the fear of not having a future. She wasn’t a woman, she was something else, something useless. Yet this man didn’t even seem to care. He took the changes and pushed them aside, he cared about her and nothing else.
He lay on the bed and pulled her to him, and she wrapped her arms tight around him as he rubbed her back. She felt his own tears on her forehead as he kissed her.
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair, getting fresh tears from her.
“I love you too,” she said, holding on tighter to Tyler, to her man, to her husband, to the man she couldn’t live without.
“No matter what, I will always love you,” he said softly, and she looked up at him, her strong Tyler who had tears in his eyes.
She hadn’t been the only one going through pain, she saw now. He’d been there with her, putting on a brave smile, scared for her.
“I’m so sorry,” she said kissing him, understanding how much her short answers and how pulling her hand away had hurt him.
He held her tighter. “Please don’t do it again,” he asked, pain in his voice.
“I’m broken Tyler, I’ll never be a mother, I can never give you kids.”
“But you can give me a life, you can be by my side, we can laugh, we can smile, we can cry. As long as we’re together I don’t care. You are my life.”
Alexis cried into his chest, relief spreading through her. She would never be the same, but at least now she knew she wouldn’t face the future alone. She had always known that Tyler loved her, but she’d been scared that he would turn her away.
You didn’t just pick him for his looks now, did you, girl? she chastised herself, proud to call a man as strong as him her husband. She kissed him, her body relaxing and molding against his.
For hours they talked, and not in the way that Alexis had tried to brush him off
for the last couple of months. They talked about one another, about Mark coming back, their Regiments.
It was as if a dam had been broken. The tension was gone as Alexis felt a relief she hadn’t dare hope for.
When they fell asleep in one another’s arms hours later Alexis realized that she’d been more scared of his rejection than anything. She didn’t know what she would do if he’d denied her and that had made her wall herself off.
***
Mark watched as the two went for breakfast the next day, hand in hand. He smiled into his protein puree, sharing a look with Jerome as they nodded to one another.
“So, how’s the Regiment turning out?” Jerome asked, turning away from the subject that had been weighing on their minds for the last couple of weeks.
Mark had been given the Fox Regiment and the title of captain. He also had all kinds of colorful ribbons for his actions.
Alexis was his Regimental sergeant major, with Ko, Dooks, and a hard woman from the original Fox Regiment called Yule, as his lieutenants.
“Good, some rough edges, but good,” Mark said. “You?”
“Dashtund is still annoying Dominguez about being a lieutenant as well, but he’s good with his people. He’s still a big joker, but he makes sure that his people are in line. I’m a bit surprised,” Jerome said, he himself an RSM like Alexis, with Tyler as his captain.
“Nothing new there,” Mark said with a snort.
“Nope, that guy’s still one word away from putting his foot in his mouth.”
“I still see them wandering around talking to one another and flirting. They’ve been going out for years now, but they’ve never made a move to make it official,” Mark said.
“Well, in our line of work, it’s hard to make any real commitments, look at Tyler and Alexis,” Jerome said.
“Yeah, not many would get married in the EMF.”
“Damn straight, those two have more balls than us.”
Mark snorted and nodded, finishing off his paste and standing. “I’m getting too old for this shit,” Mark rolled his shoulders, feeling the scars stretch and move. Ever since his time in the silver water tank, his other aches and pains had faded away.
Fernix (Harmony War Book 4) Page 19