“Home?”
“242.” Num replied. “There has always been a large Etelainen fleet garrison there. Thought it was the safest place to go first.”
“Damn. And after that?”
“Got assigned to a cruiser for the next three months as a Rescue Tech.”
Standish rocked her head from side to side. “Well, it’s good to see you.”
“Hey, you three.” It was Cryne. “Sit down so the rest of us can continue. Manners, please.”
Standish, K and Num Blaz took the hint and quickly sat themselves down. Standish made sure that she was sat across from Blaz.
“So how did you meet Mils Cannarr?” She asked.
“There aren’t many operators from 242 in D-O, so I checked the team lists for another, and Mils’s name was the first to pop up.” Num replied.
Standish dug into her meal while nodding at the same time.
“It’s always nice to have a training partner who isn’t modified.” Mils said. “Not to mention, most of those Prime types look down on us Beta teams.”
Standish continued to listen to the details of what sounded like a fairly epic weightlifting session while drinking copious amounts of fluids to replace those lost in the sauna.
As the nine operators continued to eat their meals, Standish listened to Num as he recounted his experiences since the start of the war. His home planet 242 was close to the borders just like Standish’s world and had received its fair share of pain since the Imperial forces in the system had left after the war kicked off.
When Standish had finally finished her tray, she signalled for a service droid to come and collect it, while bringing her another glass of water, and a glass of replenishing juice. Meals gave Standish one of those rare moments to observe the rest of her team; often just listening, and before she knew it, they were on their way to a small briefing room to learn more about the city centre on Qera.
No specifics were available yet, just generalities about the mission.
On the second day, everything started to take shape.
54
The Present
Fury 161
Standish put the ship down at the end of a long line of vessels parked in a queue stretching from the massive settlement out towards the endless nothing of the desert that covered the continent she had landed on. The goons on the freighter had given her a spot on the surface where Jin-Tana Fu could be found, if this Fu person really existed. She didn’t entirely trust the intel.
Powering the ship down, she threw a cape over her back and secured it in place. Moving towards the ship's hatch, she pulled up the hood, covering her grey hair, then headed out.
The buildings of this ramshackle village looked like old apartment tower blocks. Most were over ten stories, and all but one of them was in poor condition. The whole area had a monotone look of browns and greys mixed together. Whatever joy and happiness had once inhabited the region had died when the first atomic weapons had detonated nearby.
Other than herself, there was a buzz of movement and activity on the streets. Vendors had stalls at varying intervals. The one crucial detail that Standish noticed about those occupying the streets was that most were wearing black with some form of green accessories. Perhaps it was the unofficial uniform of the Melcore Combine.
Reaching the base of the still moderately intact tower, Standish surveyed the entrance. Multiple guards were loitering around the exterior of the building, but there didn’t appear to be a checkpoint, at least on the outside of the building. Pulling her cloak tight around her torso, she put her head down and walked into the building.
55
The Past
Mella II
Standish had never been in a briefing hall like the one inside the Dynamic Operations command structure tucked away in the corner of the sprawling space station in orbit over Mella II. Most of the pre-mission briefs she had attended since joining the fleet were conducted in various operations rooms, but a briefing at the home of the most elite forces within the Alliance was a rarity. Even rarer still was the fact that no one on her team, including the team leader, had any idea of the specifics of the mission other than it was going to be to the heart of the Coalition; to Qera.
The briefing was just one hour after first call, so when Standish and the other seven members of her team rolled into the dining facility, they found it almost full with units that had been called in from all over the Etelainen for this mission, and she even recognized some of the operators she had trained with on Guhr 8-Nine.
As usual, the eight-person team filed into the large hall in combat-stack, as Jun liked to call it, with the group's point operator first, then the gunner, then one of the three assault operators, then the team leader, then Standish, the pilot, then two other operators pulling up the rear. This was the first team Standish had served on, but she knew that Dynamic Operator Grade One Jun was stiff compared to other team leaders. He had a limited sense of humour and was a stickler for discipline. Cryne helped maintain some balance of normalcy on the team.
Standish often wondered if Jun was the way he was because he commanded a Beta team, and while there were only a few teams rated as Prime or Alpha Teams, she suspected he wasn’t happy with his post.
When Jun found an empty table, he promptly sat down along with Systa K, while the rest of the team kept walking towards the food dispensers.
Standish kept her head on a swivel, looking around the room at the sea of dark blue garrison uniforms that everyone was wearing. There was a buzz in the room, with conversations raging at every table, and while everyone may have dressed alike, with the same uniform and the same combat knife on their thigh, the operators assembled represented dozens of worlds, some from the Core, and even a few from the Pohjois.
Reaching the food dispensers, Standish moved to the fresh foods window and looked over her choices. Even though the War of Succession was now in full swing, and rationing was starting on some planets of the Etelainen, there was no shortage of foods on offer, and after careful consideration, Standish loaded up her tray and made her way back to the table where Jun was waiting, and once she was sat down, he sprung to his feet with K and moved off to get his portion.
Trying to relax in her seat on the long bench that was attached to the table, Standish waited until the rest of the team returned with their food until she started. Jun had instilled a rigorous routine into the team when they dined together, and while other groups might have operated differently, Jun insisted that the unit conduct themselves in a particular manner, one of which was that no one would eat before the others when dining as a group.
When everyone was finally set and ready, they silently tucked into their meals, and before long, the usual chatter begun among the team. Speculation as to what the plan was for Qera was flying back and forth, just like it must have been at every other table in the enormous hall which held close to 3000 operators, half of all Dynamic Operators in the fleet.
After several moments of heated discussion which even Jun joined in, the room fell silent, first from the tables closest to the entrance, and then from the tables stretching into the room, moving like a wave. This didn’t go unnoticed by Cryne.
“Oh, my…” He stood up halfway from his seated position and looked towards the door they had come through.
Standish looked up at him, then turned and looked over her shoulder and could see another team enter the dining hall. The team had eight members just like every other team in the room, but for some reason, the room had fallen silent upon its arrival.
Nik Has was sat next to Cryne and looked up him. “What?”
Cryne sat back down as the team drew closer. Their path would take them past the table where Beta One-One was sat.
“That’s Reyn.” He said quietly.
That comment got Jun’s attention, and he quickly looked up at the approaching group. “Are you sure?” He asked his second.
“He was part of my directing staff during training.” Cryne said. “Check his hip
s.” He nodded his head towards the approaching group.
Standish watched as Jun took another look at the man who was leading the group in as they passed the table. She could tell that something about the man fascinated her team leader, but she recognised the figure from Sandura 26G. He was, without a doubt, the mysterious figure that had accompanied Bender.
“Well?” Asked Mo Ho.
“Two pistols.” Cryne said, looking at Jun. “It has to be him.”
Jun shook his head. “We’re not authorised to carry energy weapons here.” He said dryly. Jun looked at Cryne. “Which one is Bender?”
Cryne looked at the team leader. “The one Sanduran.”
“With the beard?” Jun asked.
Cryne nodded.
K had been watching the conversation since Cryne had noticed the approaching group, but hadn’t followed what it all meant. “What does it mean? Who is Reyn? And who is Bender?”
Cryne looked at Jun, then across the table at K. “Reyn is the second for Prime One.” There was a pause. “He’s Bender’s point. And Bender is the Prime One leader.”
Jun picked up his glass of juice and took a sip, then put it back down. “If Bender is here, then this mission is bigger than I thought.” Standish watched the hope go out from her team leader’s eyes.
She had never heard of Reyn or Bender from anyone else since she had met them on Sandura, but Reyn’s skills had been alluded to at D-O school, but clearly, the ramifications of Prime One’s presence was epic. After a few more seconds silence, the chatter in the room picked back up. It was clear that the stakes must have been higher than previously thought after the arrival of what was considered the most prestigious team in the Alliance.
Cryne started talking about Reyn, and the rumours that he had heard about him. Special powers verging on magic. After what had happened on Sandura, she wouldn’t put anything past the mysterious fighter.
Turning back to her meal, Standish listened as the team chatted to themselves, speculating about what the mission specifics could be and what could possibly warrant bringing together such a large percentage of the Dynamic Operations teams at one time.
Shaking her head, Standish quickly finished her meal and focused her attention back towards the conversation that was going on at her table. Jun was trying to convince Cryne that they might be gathered for an operation to actually take control of the capital on Qera to end the war, while Cryne was confident that this was the prelude to a single, massive raid to kill or capture the Prince.
When the team finished their meal Mils Cannarr signalled a service droid to clear off the table, before heading off for additional refreshments and returning with some news.
“I just spoke with someone on the operations staff. He said that it is one giant raid to get the Prince. Not to kill him and not to take control of the capital.”
“On Qera.” Jun said, shaking his head. Everything that they had suspected was now being confirmed.
Mils nodded.
Before anyone could add to the conversation, an announcement came over the public address system. “Will all teams report to the primary briefing auditorium. All teams to the primary auditorium.” The message ended, and without hesitation, Jun and the rest of the team sprung to their feet and started filing into the lane that separated the cluster of tables they had been sitting at from the others, which was already getting packed with operators.
As the throng of operators made there was in near silence out of the mess hall, they proceeded down the large central hallway that ran the length of the Dynamic Operations centre, passing numerous offices, smaller meeting rooms, and the administrative centre for the entire command. At the end of the hall was a giant set of double doors that stretched almost fifteen metres towards the ceiling and were the only way in and out of the auditorium.
Inside the doors, a member of the command staff was directing the teams to either the far side of the room, the centre, or the near side. It was apparent to Standish that the division of units was done with a considerable amount of thought. Her team was directed to the set of seats at the far end of the room, everyone in a single file and following Jun.
Standish looked down towards the central podium at the front of the room and could see several senior officers talking among themselves along with two operators: Bender and Reyn. Standish couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see that it was smiles all around; Reyn was even laughing.
Reaching the far side of the room, the team went down several steps to an open row of seats and moved away from the aisle and sat down. Looking around the giant auditorium, Standish couldn’t believe that this many teams had been brought together at the same time. Her course started with over one hundred candidates, and only a handful passed on their first attempt. This room reflected years and years of members of the fleet going through basic training, advanced training, fleet time, then operator selection, operator training and final assignment to a team.
Directing her attention back to the front of the auditorium, Standish noted that there was now a tall, cloak-wearing individual standing in front of the giant bank of monitors on the wall. She wasn’t sure because of the distance, but she was confident that individual standing there had a single silver tear-drop shaped medallion on the left breast of their uniform, and only one person in all the Alliance had that decoration.
“Give me your eyes.” The individual said. His voice coarse and amplified through a small floating microphone that hovered just in front of his mouth. “You are the best that the Alliance has, and you are about to be tested like never before.” The individual extended his arm towards a figure standing by the wall. “I would like Commodore Craz to come forward to start the briefing.”
Craz bowed lightly and moved forward.
“Thank you, Grand Marshall.” Craz said with a heavy lisp. “Some of you have been with Dynamic for some time, but I can assure you that none of you has been involved in an operation like this before.” Craz tapped on a small device that was in his hand, and an image of a single planet came onto the colossal monitor behind him. The picture drew several comments from those that were sitting in the audience.
Standish looked at the planet and immediately recognised it from her short stint on the Laakari.
“This,” Craz pointed at the image. “Is Qera.”
That sent the entire room into a low buzz. Standish knew precisely what that revelation meant, and it confirmed all the rumours and scuttlebutt she had been hearing since she had received her indecent proposal.
“Operation Voit.” He let the name hang in the air for a moment. “We have been directed by Command to capture or kill Prince Salrugina.” Craz said with a smile on his face. “With the primary objective being a capture.”
The noise in the room was fever-pitched, but Standish felt a cold chill run down her spine. This was mega. Mega of the highest order and something was unsettling about it. The prospect of going to the Coalition home-world and attempting to assassinate or capture the head of the Pohjois. Looking down at her hands, she felt them getting moist and ran them over her trousers and looked at her fellow teammates. Only Cryne was sat in complete silence.
Standish knew that Cryne had been involved in a massive raid once before. He had told her that he thought it had been some kind of twisted publicity stunt to get the citizens of the Etelainen to back the war effort, but either way, the mission had been a failure, and three whole teams had been lost. This mission had almost four hundred units assigned to it. It was so large that it was scary.
It also gave Standish a sick feeling in her stomach. She had been to Qera before in a massive raid that had cost the Etelainen countless ships and lives. This was another gamble on the same magnitude, even if it wouldn’t risk the same number of lives and vessels, it was still a massive shot in the dark.
“Now.” Craz got everyone’s mind back on track. “The success of this mission is going to help win this war and end it.” He paused and looked around the room. “You,” h
e pointed towards the operators sat before him, “Are going to end this war that has been ruining what was the greatest empire in the history of the known universe. These last years have been hard on everyone in the Empire, on both sides of the Borders. This mission will end all of that.”
Craz changed the image on the screen from that of Qera from orbit to three distinct and unique structures. “This is Curzon, the capital. You have been divided into three sections. Three spears, as I like to think of them, and these are your three objectives.” Craz turned to face the giant monitor. “On the left, the Royal Palace, codenamed Throne. In the centre, the Halls of Governance, codenamed Law. Finally, Curzon’s main spaceport, codenamed Sky.” Craz turned around.
“Command believes that a strike on these three locations simultaneously has the best chance of encountering the Prince, and taking him into custody.” Craz paused, then started walking towards a flight of steps that ran along the side of the seats towards the rear areas. “This section, here,” Craz pointed to the roughly eighty teams that were seated in the section closest to him. “You are responsible for securing the spaceport.” Craz continued to walk up the steps, taking each one with deliberate thought and consideration. “The middle section, you are responsible for securing the Halls of Governance, and the final objective, the Royal Palace, that falls to the section furthest from me.” Craz had reached the rear walkway that the teams had all entered on, and proceeded to walk along the back towards the section Standish was sat in.
“Now, each objective has been allocated the same number of teams, and the same number of teams of each tier. We consider all the objectives of equal importance.” Craz reached the far set of steps and started to walk down them. “Curzon is vital to Coalition war efforts and is a rather isolated city in the high plains of the large southern continent. This is both an advantage to us, and a burden at the same time. In the next days, we will devise a combined attack plan that will succeed without question.” Craz reached the bottom and paused to look at the three images that were on the giant screen. “This will be our finest moment.”
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