Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1)

by Michael G. Thomas

  Prior to the Great Uprising the common disposition of fleets was heavy warships, including warbarges and battleships with fast cruiser squadrons as escorts. Frigates and light cruisers were used in smaller taskforces or to provide skirmish screens in major actions. The transition to multirole ships in the Alliance reduced the requirement for such a diversity of ships and increased the importance of fighter wings and marine detachments. The single weakness of this new philosophy would be if Alliance vessels were ever again required to fight major ship on ship action.

  Naval Cadet’s Handbook

  The private space for APS staff was less impressive than Spartan had expected. Although the office on the Prometheus Seven Trading Post was modest, he hadn’t expected their space on ANS Beagle to be even smaller. In a matter of days, the spacecraft had been turned from a space-going craft into a combined space station and rift generator, exactly what she had been built for. Living space on any ship was at a premium, but the three small rooms, including this cramped canteen area was starting to irritate Spartan. It was as sterile as a storeroom and interrupted by the constant drone of machinery that pervaded through the metal of the ship. The only real upside was the view, and that was more due to accident than design. A window of almost two metres in length ran along the left-hand side to provide access to a now removed lifeboat. It gave him the perfect view of the Rift.

  Some might wonder why he and Teresa were in Orion rather than their other operatives, but that simply betrayed their lack of understanding about the company. Though the two had founded the corporation some years ago, they now had a board of directors to respond to, as well as hundreds of employees and even more operatives throughout the Alliance. Both had relinquished their positions at the top years ago, but were still senior members of the board and with the controlling stakes in the company. Of all their top people, there were none more qualified or better suited to tackling the unknown than Spartan and Teresa Morato.

  Not that it was particular important right now; the news coming from Orion was becoming more intriguing by the hour. Another message arrived with new facts and figures from the official Alliance media channel. It was filtered, of course, but that was fine. Spartan needed to know the public mood, just as much as what was actually happening. As he chewed on the piece of steak he’d just been served, he watched a number of vessels manoeuvre away from the exit point of the Rift.

  “How many is that now?” he asked.

  Teresa took a sip from a tall glass of wine before replying.

  “Seven ships in the last hour. Pretty soon this system is going to start to run out of space!”

  They seemed calm, but the opposite was true of Jack. He sat next to Teresa but had managed to eat nothing and was more interested in watching the queue of ships waiting to return through the Rift. Some of the vessels had now made the trip back and forth more than a dozen times as they brought people, supplies and equipment into the system.

  Spartan looked back down at the reports laid out on his secpad. More drones had been sent out, and so far, information was coming back on two of the ice worlds and a number of moons. What was getting the most attention was the number of derelicts found using long-range sensors in the massive asteroid belt. It was too soon to be certain, but the press was already having a field day with the news. Rumours were flying that ranged from Alliance separatists found at the asteroid belt through to Alien spaceships discovered. But it was all irrelevant until the first of the recon drones passed through the belt in a week’s time. Until then, they had to manage with the images from the telescope mounts.

  If they knew about this one, there would be ructions. He thought as he moved to the next report.

  He had to provide both a thumb and retina scan before the secpad would even grant him access. It was the latest information on the missing marines on the gas giant’s moon and could not under any circumstances be made public. He leaned in closer as he checked the information. It seemed that contact had been made with the marines, and a team was being sent to reinforce their position.

  Now that is somewhere I should be.

  Spartan had that feeling everybody felt when somebody was looking at him. His pulse changed slightly, and he lifted his eyes to see Jack looking directly at him. Spartan lifted one eyebrow as if in question.

  “What did Gun say, then? Has he found out any more on this underground movement?”

  Spartan chewed another piece of steak before lowering his knife and fork.

  “Jack, whatever they were planning, it failed.”

  Jack stood up and moved back to the window where he could watch the arrival of more ships. Off to the side of the Rift were two massive platforms, each surrounded by workers in spacesuits and remote drones. It looked like a giant construction site, but it was being worked on while vessels continued to come through.

  Spartan looked at Teresa who pointed him back to Jack with just her eyes. They’d known each other for two decades and understood each other without even speaking. A very useful benefit in some of the tense situations they’d found themselves both when in the Marine Corps and afterwards. He considered what had happened prior to their arrival and nodded.

  “You were right, though. There was a plan to bring down the Interstellar Network, but this Jenson character was killed on ANS Beagle. Since then, all leads from there have dried up other than the missing lifeboat. Whatever they were planning, either died with him, or is still a potential threat right here in this system. Knowing our luck, I would say there is at least one more of them left, and they are waiting for the right moment.”

  Jack moved away from the window.

  “Yeah, but what about the guy we found back on Epsilon Eridani? I think it’s about time Wictred and I went back to see what we could find.”

  “Alliance Intelligence is still working on him. Look, Son, it’s out of our hands now, and you’re neither Alliance Intelligence nor military. We have our own problems to work on, and right now that is focused on Orion. You saw the last report from the moon and the drones they’ve been sending out. There are all kinds of ruins and artefacts out there, and their value is incalculable.”

  Jack walked up to the window and looked out to the ships. He watched yet another vessel entering the Rift and looked back at his parents.

  “You don’t need me there. I’ve spent the last two years helping Gun and the others with stopping these people. I’ve learnt my skills with you and the Jötnar since I was a boy. You don’t need people like me interfering with your business. Since I’ve been here, my sources have dried up. They’re either dead or gone to ground. What am I supposed to do now?”

  Teresa looked to Spartan and then to Jack.

  “It isn’t over. Johnson is convinced that access to Orion and its secrets will just be another reason for these people to attack us. The War might be long gone, but there are still people out there who will use violence to their own ends.”

  Spartan nodded in agreement.

  “True, and in this case, they probably believe what they are doing is for all our benefits.”

  Teresa waited for a moment. She evidently wanted to say something, and it had been down to what she and Spartan had been discussing for several days now.

  “We are leaving for Orion tomorrow, along with several teams from the company. Alliance science teams are already establishing a temporary facility on the moon, and more will be built in the next three months. You’ve seen the plan, haven’t you? Outposts are to be built on three of the planets and a dozen more on the most suitable moons. All of this will happen fast. We want you to work for the company in Orion.”

  Jack looked at the two of them with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

  “Why? What do I know about military and security operations?”

  Spartan slid his secpad across the table. It showed three dossiers of men. Jack lifted it and placed it back on the table.

  “These men all served at Hyperion, what about them?”

  Spartan took a long br
eath as if he was building up to something.

  “Johnson passed this information on to me. He thought it might be useful. Two weeks ago they escaped from a medical facility on Terra Nova. They are connected with Jensen from their time in the military, the man that triggered the blast on Beagle and almost destroyed the Spacebridge.”

  Jack nodded, now understanding.

  “And you think they might have an interest in continuing his work? So this is moving on from anti-Biomech activity and on to stopping us moving to Orion? Why?”

  Teresa looked disappointed at his question.

  “Why? Isn’t it obvious? Orion was chosen because of information found at the archaeological site at Hyperion. You know what we saw back on that planet, the same horrors that Gun and his people have been hunting there ever since. It can’t be a coincidence that the people that hate Biomechs would seek to stop us travelling to and therefore exposing us to a potential Biomech threat.”

  Jack looked confused and turned to Spartan who simply nodded in agreement.

  “They must believe that Orion and the Biomechs are linked. In their own way, they are trying to protect us from ourselves.”

  Teresa stood up.

  “By attacking us. They are no friends of ours. It is one thing to lobby for change, but when you turn on your own people, you make yourself an enemy. Now, if you come with us, we could use you for intelligence operations with the company. It’s a new frontier out here, and it’s a place you could make a name in. Gun is sending a team over to assist, and I’m sure you’ll want to help with that. They are due to arrive in the next few hours.”

  Jack’s face lit up at the mention of Gun, but he still seemed unconvinced.

  “Why is Gun sending people?”

  Spartan simply laughed in reply.

  “Because I asked him to send me a dozen volunteers to help with security. Nothing stops violence like a group of loyal Jötnar. They’ve worked with us before, and they are damned useful. Remember the hostage situation on Carthago? They cleaned that up quickly before Alliance forces could even reach the planet. There is a reason we have so many on the APS payroll.”

  Still Jack seemed confused at the option before him. Teresa stood and walked to where he waited.

  “I know you have a fondness for them, all three of us do. They’ve been loyal friends since our meeting on Prometheus. That’s why we’re planning on setting up a special taskforce in this sector. It will be made up of our best units to provide security and training for personnel in this area. Alliance military force has been run down since the War. They might be well equipped and trained, but they can’t be everywhere. Corporations like us are vital to provide the military backbone so they can retain their mobility. There are also plenty of operations where private units are preferable to Alliance involvement. You’re already cleared for executive work in APS. We arranged that years ago. This would be something much bigger though. How would you feel about joining the special taskforce? Your skills would come in handy, and we need help in shutting down this group of saboteurs.”

  “What about Wictred? He’s still on the station. Will he be coming as well?”

  “Why not? I hear Khan is coming anyway, and I’m sure he’d rather see his son in action at Orion rather than wasting away here.”

  Jack smiled at his father for the first time in years.

  “So I get to explore new moons, hunt down the enemies of the Alliance, and get a decent paycheck in for the bargain?” he asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.

  Most parents might worry about the offer they were giving but not Spartan. He was well aware that that Orion was hardly a safe place, but deep down he was content to know that his son would be nearby, and with the full resources of his company and people behind him. The fact that Jack had sought the difficult road when a choice was given to him simply made him feel even better. He reached out and grabbed him.

  “Good. You’d better finish your food because I need to introduce you to the rest of the team before we board ANS Devastation. A shuttle is collecting us within the next twenty minutes, and I know Khan is very keen to look inside a Crusader class warship.”

  He placed his hand on his son’s shoulder and looked out at two frigates manoeuvring around the Spacebridge.

  “We have places to visit and weapons to test, and if things go badly, you’ll get a chance to shoot a few guns. From the documents I’ve seen, this sector is going to make Proxima Centauri seemed like a backwater. We have man-made structures, derelict objects that are possibly ships in space, and resource-heavy planets and moons. The Alliance isn’t leaving this place in a hurry.”

  Jack grinned at the suggestion, but even he found it hard to hide his excitement at both meeting Khan and the rest of the Jötnar, as well as standing on board one of the Alliance’s newest and most advanced ships.

  “Where exactly are we going, anyway?” he asked, his mind now away from meeting his friends and back to the potential mission.

  Teresa walked to the window and pointed a group of ships that had just appeared from the right-hand side. There were a number of small ships, but it was the great hulk of ANS Devastation she was singularly interested in. The ship was big, with only ANS Beagle and her extended gantries taking up more space.

  “There they are. Devastation was supposed to be leading a science team to explore some of the space borne debris when they received the call from this station. APS is providing military and intelligence assistance to the Alliance, under the authority of General Rivers. I am staying here to liaise with the company back in Centauri space. We have a lot of work to do here. You two will be meeting up with the marines, General Rivers and our Jötnar friends.”

  “Why? What’s happened?”

  Spartan interrupted.

  “Jack, you’ll have to wait till we’re on board the ship. Needless to say, that as of now, you’re an executive officer of APS. We need to go over the agreements we have with the Alliance, and you’re going to need to go through verification and vetting. It’ll take a few hours, but it can all be done on our trip.”

  Jack was becoming more and more impatient.

  “Without the specifics, what the hell is this trip?”

  “It’s a rescue mission, that’s all we can say.”

  On perfect cue, Spartan’s secpad lit up with an urgent video communication. Spartan picked it up and glanced over to Teresa.

  “It’s him.”

  He then placed the device in front of him and hit the connection button. The image of General Rivers appeared almost instantly.

  “Spartan, good, the shuttle will be there in three minutes. I’ll see you and your command team in the briefing room when you arrive. Khan is already here, and he has some interesting observations.”

  “Understood, General, but there’s one other thing.”

  “Which is?” came back the short reply.

  “Jack, our son, has just joined the company. He’ll be working with our unit and liaising with the Jötnar contingent. He’s the man that tracked down a number of the saboteurs, and he has information on others.”

  The General lifted his hand to quieten him.

  “Spartan, if he has been cleared by you, then I’m happy. Just get aboard fast. Things are moving quickly, and we have work to do.

  * * *

  Another powerful blast shook the surface of the moon and with it sent large chunks of sharp debris over the retreating marines. Since leaving the scene of the first blast, only half of the platoon was still on their feet, and most had sustained injuries. Colonel Daniels was the only man of any rank remaining, and he slid behind a series of rocks before checking behind them. The thin, ragged line of dust covered marines staggered on, but all that he could see of their attacker was a great cloud of dust; it was as though some ethereal creature was pursuing them. That was when he spotted the flashing indicator on the heads up display in his armoured suit.

  That doesn’t make sense.

  “Corporal, can you get a lock on quadr
ant seventeen, above that ridge?” he shouted even though it was unnecessary through the digital intercom gear.

  Colonel Daniels had fought a great number of different enemies on many worlds, but one thing he’d never had to face was an enemy he could neither see nor detect. His suit had detected a low level signature, but there were no identifiable IFF signals coming from it.

  “Sir, I’ve got something. It’s low but accelerating and coming this way. No signals, she’s not ours.”

  Two of the marines ran over to him as fast as their tired bodies and the low gravity world would allow. Between them they pulled their wounded Sergeant into cover before checking they weren’t being followed. The small group of survivors were almost a kilometre away from the blast radius.

  “Crap! It’s coming this way!” cried the Corporal.

  Daniels immediately pulled himself low and used hand signals to the rest of them. Like a well-oiled machine, they each dropped down and moved away from line of sight from above. Luckily, the ridges and impact craters provided perfect cover from any direction other than directly above.

  “Thirty seconds blackout!” he snapped, hitting the button on his suit. It was almost instantaneous, as each part of his suit from the powerplant down through to the communications, optics and life-support system shutoff. It was a dangerous move, as there was never a guarantee that all systems would restart after such a drastic shutdown. Even so, it was the also sure-fire way of not emitting electronic or radiation signatures that could be picked up by the most common of sensors. Even the suits built-in cooling system would keep them hidden but only for a few minutes. After that, the heat from the marines’ bodies would start to alter their thermal reading.

  A loud noise like that of a banshee screamed overhead, and it reminded him of he sounds he’d come across in the reports of the fighting at Hyperion. There wasn’t time to consider it any longer; the sound was getting louder. He lifted his head slightly and watched as the dark mechanical shape emerged from the dust cloud. At first he thought it was a creature like some of the horrors he’d seen previously, but the shape extended out until it had more in common with a warship than a creature. But it was nothing like any ship he’d seen before. Its engines glowed blue, and the underside was filled with ridges from which hung dark shapes. Mountings along the side moved continually, and he was convinced they were turrets of some type. As it moved past their position, he was sure a burst of fire would strike them down as they waited.