by Tyler Totten
Semper fucking Fi.
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Mondragon could see the Chinese shuttle on his HUD now, though space was still far too dark to see her with his own eyes. Admiral Chen didn’t have the running lights on, but Mondragon didn’t regard that as suspicious since he had his own running lights secured. No sense in making it easy to be followed. As he approached his reached over and prepped the recon drones. Mondragon had selected the SAR bird because they were small, maneuverable, with reasonable stealth characteristics. On top of that, they also carried a dozen small drones, designed for searching wreckage for survivors so that they could be quickly rescued, or if they were too late recovered. He now instructed two of the drones to launch and fly to the Chinese shuttle. Lacking the training to truly make use of the full capabilities of the drone, especially while still piloting, Mondragon selected a preset program, with one drone flying around the shuttle and surveying it while the second looked for an open access to make its way inside. Mondragon brought his shuttle in a quick pass around the cargo shuttle’s starboard side before orienting himself so that his own shuttle faced the stern of the Chinese one. As he did, Mondragon spun his shuttle to show his belly, displaying for the side cameras that Admiral Chen was undoubtedly watching that he was unarmed.
A beep from the console indicated that the drones had found something. Mondragon quickly scanned the report, noting that the drones had located one male occupant in a pressure suit. Negative atmosphere, positive signs of shipboard power. No space large enough to house a person was detected. No anomalous power signatures were detected. The cargo shuttle was even empty. Based on the size, Mondragon figured he could almost fit his SAR shuttle into the much larger cargo shuttle. Instead, he locked his laser comm onto one of the Chinese panels and opened a secure channel.
“Admiral Chen, I am going to dock with your topside hatch, please remove all safety locks.”
“Of course, Admiral Mondragon. I await your presence. Is your drone exiting the craft or will it be remaining inside with us?” Admiral Chen asked simply.
Mondragon didn’t respond, but did push the recall button or the two drones. They flitted back to the shuttle and docked on her exterior. Mondragon brought his shuttle over the upper docking hatch and established a seal using his own in-deck hatch. Once he felt the gentle thump he waited for the shuttle to finish pumping the air out of his own compartment, rechecking his suit seals as he did out of habit more than anything else. When the panel blinked green Mondragon unbuckled and strode the few steps aft and opened the first hatch. After securing it, he reached down and pressed the entry button on the cargo shuttle. After a second the inner hatch rotated inward to reveal the interior. Mondragon stuck his head in cautiously, ignoring the unceremonious picture he was sure it formed. A quick survey revealed the same information as his drone. A single male sat in a pressure suit at the helm. The chair itself was swiveled to face the hatch and the figure’s arms rested comfortably in their lap. Mondragon turned and went down the ladder into the cargo shuttle’s command deck.
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Lockhart and his small team could see the shuttles as Admiral Mondragon finished docking with the Chinese cargo shuttle. The big bastard was just as dark as the Admiral’s own shuttle but the marines could see them both thanks to Mondragon surreptitiously directing a laser link to Lockhart’s armor. Lockhart’s own laser comms kept his team in the loop
“Alright, fire cold jets on my mark. Be dammed sure you follow the computer thrust plan, don’t do it by eye. If any one of you messes this up I will personally shoot you.” Lockhart said angrily.
“Yes sir.” They all said in unison.
On his cue, all four rotated in space and used their cold jet maneuvering thrusters to slow themselves relative to the docked shuttles. The cold jets would be effectively invisible to the Chinese cargo shuttle, particularly with the marines aiming for contact on the SAR bird’s topside. All four slowed to less than two meters per second and bumped softly into the shuttle. Lockhart motioned with hand signals now and the four split up, with two creping along the shuttle towards the open cargo ramp and Lockhart taking the other towards the viewport for the cargo shuttle’s small command deck.
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“Admiral Chen, I presume.” Mondragon stated as he established a short range comm link to the seated figure.
“Indeed, Admiral Mondragon.” He returned. “Would you be opposed to re-pressurizing this compartment?”
“Not at all.” Mondragon responded. He honestly would prefer to speak in a pressurized environment instead of using comms inside the uncomfortable pressure suit.
“Very good.” Chen said pleasantly. After just more than a minute the Chinese admiral reached up and popped his faceplate. As he removed his helmet entirely, Mondragon followed suit. “Now that is better.”
“Can’t disagree there. I swear those things have become even more unbearable since I started going into space.” Mondragon said gruffly. Mondragon seated himself in one of the bench seats near the helm.
“I must admit to having the same feelings about my own. I think some might suggest we are growing fickle as we grow older.” Chen joked lightly.
“Perish the thought.” Mondragon responded before turning serious. “Now why is it that I am here?”
“Your file does indicate a very straight forward personality, I am pleased that it is correct. Double talk is so damn frustrating, likely why all militaries seem to distrust their own intelligence services. But enough of that.” Chen also became serious now. “We are here to end the war, before someone does it for us.”
“Excuse me?” Mondragon said in shock, barely keeping the expression from totally dominating his face.
“This war has been disastrous for both sides, my own people no less so than your own. Our governments have led us into dangerous and uncharted waters. I must say, my government and our Russian allies do hold somewhat more of that blame, but there is plenty to be spread around.”
“You’ve got that right. The Solar Treaty? That was a disaster in the making.” Mondragon said angrily.
“I must agree completely. While I aided in the planning phases of that operation, I was most vehemently against such a blatantly suicidal maneuver. Regardless, needs must.”
“Speaking of governments leading people astray, what has happened to yours?” Mondragon interjected, steering the conversation.
“Ah yes, I assumed that your detection grid would easily pick up that unfortunate event.” Qiang sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a few seconds before he was composed enough to continue. He looked Mondragon straight in the eyes as he did. “I have deposed the existing government and am currently in command of the People’s Republic of China government.”
“Damn, you certainly know how to depose a government.” Mondragon said softly, recognizing both the audacity of the move and the high price that had come with it. “Not exactly a bloodless coup?”
“I fear it was not, but drastic steps were required before something untold began.” Qiang said.
“Something untold?” Mondragon said nervously.
“Not against your people, against mine. The Party was prepared to act against the people and following their orders would have caused far more deaths than my coup. Now the duty of ending this pointless and costly was falls to me and my officers.”
“Alight, let’s just shelve the specifics of your coup for a minute.” Mondragon shifted in his seat. “How do you propose to end this war so quickly? There is much to resolve.”
“I cannot disagree with that. What I propose is simple, we stop killing our sons and daughters while we resolve it.”
“There is no fault with your sentiment, but there are a lot of people who wouldn’t be happy with that right now. Ignoring my own government, such as I can say that, the Indians won�
��t be happy about the current status quo.”
“Nor should they be.” Qiang responded, surprising Mondragon again though this time he hid it.
“I guess this is as good a start to peace as any then.” Mondragon said heavily but with relief evident. “A cease-fire is well within my power, though getting word across the systems will take time. I cannot guarantee that our allies will abide by the cease-fire universally.”
“Yes, but we both know that the major ones will.” Qiang said thoughtfully. “And those who may not like it will likely comply since they have little left with which to fight without you. Plus I imagine we will both have to deal with the Russians.”
“I imagine we will. We will work out anything beyond that as we go. You will be the one dealing with my government, that or your compatriots. You will be in a position to see how they react.” Mondragon offered.
“Fair enough. Until next time?” Admiral Chen stood and offered his hand. Mondragon took it.
“Next time then.” Mondragon picked up his helmet and made his way to the ladder.
“I assume you will be leaving with some passengers?” Qiang asked with a slight grin.
Mondragon gave a short laugh. “Yes I think I will be. Marines can be so clingy at times. What did you have?”
“The shuttle’s reactor is rigged to my heartbeat.” Qiang shrugged. “I figured I wasn’t in danger of a heart attack anytime soon.”
“I suppose not.” Mondragon laughed. “We really are getting too old for this though.”
“All the better to end it now.” Qiang said simply.
Sol System: Ceres Orbit
DSF-1: USS Tripoli
“Sir!” Lt. Daniels’ tone drew Athena’s head around sharply. Her communications officer was generally a rock.
“What is it, Lieutenant?” Athena tried her best to keep the dread she felt from seeping into her tone.
“Priority message from Admiral Mondragon. Your eyes only sir.” Daniels turned to face her. “It’s being sent fleet-wide and its marked for immediate implementation.”
Athena’s stomach flipped again as she hurriedly entered her command code into the computer to finish decrypting the message. The text was short but shocking.
After taking a moment to compose herself, Athena turned to the expectant Daniels. “Connect me with the fleet.”
“Yes sir.” Daniels had clearly already set-up the link and indicated for Athena to speak almost immediately.
“DSF-1, this is Admiral Harper.” She paused a moment for to ensure everyone was paying attention. “I have just received an order from Admiral Mondragon himself that you all need to hear. It reads; A cease-fire has been negotiated between PRC forces and Allied forces. All commands are to take actions consistent with the preservation of their commands and are to be prepared for further actions against Russian forces as they become necessary. Message ends. People, this may be the beginning of the end. Let’s stay sharp, but take heart, the end is finally in sight.” Athena saw the shocked faces around the bridge and imagined that they were emulated across the fleet, indeed across all forces system-wide.
“Sir, that’s…” Masters began, not knowing what to say.
“It’s a start, but a great start.” Daniels interjected.
“Let’s just hope it holds.” Athena said grimly.
Sol System: Earth
Chinese Military HQ, Hong Kong
Grand Admiral Chen Qiang, acting leader of the People’s Republic of China, was a tired man. In the two weeks since the cease-fire with American Admiral Mondragon, he had been pressed on multiple fronts. The rebellions in Russian territories had been exasperated by several assassinations of high ranking Russian officials and a general break-up of their political system. The Russian Federation had ceased to exist as a functioning government and her former planets and holdings were in a state of chaos. Some had formed smaller nations and declared their independence while more still suffered from infighting and riots. The war-torn economy lay broken and prostrate, unable to maintain vital services. Some of this had spilled into Chinese systems along the border, with rouge Russian naval forces acting on behalf of the break-away systems or simply becoming privateers.
Qiang himself had survived two assassination attempts and one of them had come with a counter-coup from some surviving members of the political class. Qiang had been forced to jail anyone he suspected of harboring further rebellious ideas for fear of losing control of the government. After seeing what had happened to the Russians, Qiang had no intention of letting China suffer the same fate.
His biggest headache, not surprisingly, had come from the peace negotiations. There were some who wished for him to sign a surrender, something Qiang flatly refused. He had pointed out to the diplomat in question that the PRC still possessed the capability to fight on and that his desire for peace was not at the cost of his nation’s future. He would not become a post-WWI Germany, with his country deeply indebted and prostrate to the world powers. That only sowed the seeds for more conflict, not less.
The American’s had been surprisingly, no shockingly, accommodating. Qiang suspected they may be seeing some writing on the wall with their economic might faltering. They had weathered the storm better than many, but still felt the effects of the Battle of Sol directly.
Despite his weariness, bringing about a peace was a challenge he was willing to work himself as hard as required.
“I intend to see this through.” He declared to his empty office. “Whatever it takes.”
Sol System: Ceres
Aegis Defense
Admiral Logan Martin strode down the wide main passageway of the Aegis Defense headquarters, probably the most secure structure in known-space. Today, Logan walked alone with no aides. He had left them all behind since none of them were cleared for the meeting he was going to. His father had called the meeting himself and only those with top level, full-spectrum clearances would be in attendance. Once he reached the first checkpoint, it took nearly five minutes to clear them all and make it to the inner secure space that was the true beating heart of Aegis. Here, intelligence was collected and processed. He strode past the plate glass windows that looked down into several situation rooms, though since their privacy setting was not activated, he knew that nothing of note was happening. As he reached the end of the hallway, he passed through the final security check and entered the conference room that was reserved for such meetings. Inside he found his father was already waiting, along with the Aegis Intelligence Chief Alan Sky and the current head of the AGEMA and his sister, Colonel Zoe Martin. He nodded to each in turn before taking a seat beside his sister.
“You’re the last one, punctual as always.” Zoe joked.
“Hey, I’m a minute early.” He countered with a shocked look on his face.
“Indeed you are. Regardless of the arrival order, I believe we are set to begin.” Their father, Brandon Martin, broke in before the good-natured sibling rivalry could proceed further. Both nodded their ascent. “I called you all here to discuss matters of great importance. You are all familiar with the events since the end of the war, so I won’t waste our time with a recap. Our discussion here today is focused on whether we feel that this alters our plans for the Valhalla Project. Work has only just begun, now that resources do not need to be directed towards the war effort.”
“The previous location was compromised during the war anyhow, so moving it is preferred.” Admiral Martin interjected. His father nodded his agreement.
“How is locating a new site progressing?” Zoe inquired, not having been in the loop recently. The AGEMA had been utilized repeatedly by the American government to destabilize the various despots controlling the still-rebellious Russian systems. Most Russian systems had stabilized and come were part of the new international order willingly, but there were still four that held out. Three of those were controlled by former governors or bureaucrats of those systems, while the third was in absolute anarchy and had descended into a planet-wide civil wa
r. In space, rogue Russian Navy ships turned to piracy and raided their neighbors. The American Navy had put a dent in their operations, but it was still proving to be a nuisance. Getting additional support was its own challenge.
“We have located three new locations that are proving to be promising. I have prepared briefing packets on all of them that are available for viewing inside this building only. I will make them available for the next twenty-four hours before they are removed. After that, they’ll only be available on the black-drive.” Alan Sky reported. The black drive was a special computer mainframe, disconnected from all other systems and located deep in the core of Ceres itself. Access was sharply limited. The system even had its own power source so as to protect it from tampering.
“What about scouting personnel?” Logan asked.
“Zoe and Alan have been working on separate but related lists of candidates. I think they are best suited to lay out what they have found.” Brandon gestured to them both. Alan nodded to Zoe, indicating that she could begin.
“My focus has been on recruiting Marines and other ground personnel for the project. At this stage, nobody has been approached, but we are developing an extensive list of potential candidates. Thus far we have compiled a list of Navy personnel as well, but we would like Logan’s input on that before we make any further down-selects.” Zoe nodded back at Alan.
“Thank you, Zoe.” Alan cleared his throat before continuing. “I have been creating the support personnel lists, as well as the intelligence component. I think it is somewhat obvious that the intelligence section is quite difficult to create due to the difficulty in compiling accurate files.”