Gamma Nine (Book One) (16 page)

Sabian stood
facing his men, his hands clasped behind him. His armour was the
same emerald green as his elite soldiers; the only difference was
the silver edging and filigree on the plating. The silvered honour
bestowed upon him after numerous campaign victories and his skill
as a commander of men. Unlike his men, he was not wearing his
combat helmet, instead wearing a headset with a tactical display
covering his eyes. Sabian’s second in command stood next to him,
holding the commander’s helmet at the ready. Commander Sabian was
busy issuing orders to his men, outlining their part in the
upcoming mission.

Christian and
the rest of the Wolves waited for Sabian to complete his tactical
briefing before moving closer. He noticed as they walked over to
the Lancer Elite how scarred Sabian’s face was. Almost his entire
face was marked by some kind of scar tissue; his eyes and mouth
were the only areas that were untouched. One of his ears was
completely missing, the other nothing but a fleshy mound on the
side of his head. His nose looked like it had been broken a hundred
times, and the tip was lost to something sharp. Sabian was by no
means a handsome man, but his looks had nothing to do with his
skill as a leader.

Rivers had
broken away from the squad as they moved across the docking bay,
slowly wandering over to a female officer in a blue pilot’s
uniform.

“Who’s that?”
Christian asked Xander. Captain Locke was conversing with Sabian a
few feet away on a closed channel. Every now and again the deck
would vibrate as smaller asteroids impacted against the Hyperion’s
hull, yet no-one in the docking bay seemed to care about what was
going on outside.

Xander looked
in the same direction as Christian was facing, laughing under his
breath as he replied to Christian’s question. “That would be the
pilot of the drop ship,” Xander’s thumb pointing over his shoulder
to the drop ship behind him. “Her name is Gunn, we call her the
Queen.”

“Why?”
Christian enquired while taking in the sight of the drop ship they
were about to risk their lives on. The drop ship looked no
different from any other drop ship he had seen before, save for the
painted letters on the side. It was called the Maiden of Flame, and
it was as much a legend as the Wolves were. Its name mentioned in
almost every single military record relating to the Grim Wolves
Christian had studied during his trials. The Maiden of Flame was a
squat, bug-like ship, its cargo hold in its belly making it look
like a pregnant beetle with all of its limbs pulled off by some
sadistic child.

“You will know
soon enough. Rivers there has a crush on the fair Maiden’s pilot.
If his wife finds out she will snap his most prized possession in
half.”

“If I was him,
I would be more afraid of his wife than the beasts we fight.”
Nathan chipped in.

“Is she a big
one?” Christian asked his brother.

“Let’s just say
she is a real handsome woman.” Xander was laughing harder, snorting
like a child as he uttered his next words. “That’s why he keeps his
flirting to solar systems outside of his home one.”

“I might be old
you bastards, but there is nothing wrong with my hearing. I just
appreciate Gunn’s dimensions. She is a fine specimen of female
beauty in such a grim galaxy.” Rivers had heard everything over the
squad channel. He glanced in the direction of his squad, but did
not move to join them. He was too occupied with Gunn’s curves to
care about squad cohesion before mission start.

“You might not
be deaf, but you are thick. If she wanted to see what was going on
underneath your suit, she would have tried already.” Nathan replied
to Rivers’ comment.

“I am chipping
away at her resolve. I believe I am very close to seeing her
underwear up close and personal.” Rivers’ drawl emphasizing the
point he was trying to make, elevating the laughter from his
squad.

“You said that
five years ago Sergeant.” Locke had re-joined the squad, adding his
own chuckling to the chorus of laughter. His voice suddenly changed
to a more serious tone. “Mission is a go. Rivers ask the Queen if
she would grace us with her presence on-board the Maiden. The
Hyperion will get us close to the Fateful Moment and then break
off. Captain Gray can’t stay close; the asteroid field is too
unpredictable.” He paused for a few moments. “We will be alone out
there in the void. Rescue by other ships will be too risky.
Briefing once we are underway. Is everyone ready?”

Locke waited
for his squad to confirm their readiness before ordering them all
on-board the Maiden. He could detect the slight edge in his squad’s
voices, all of them knew that they were stepping into a trap, yet
all of them were excited, not scared.

Locke was the
only one standing, his armoured boots planted firmly on the decking
of the Maiden of Flame. On either side of the Titan captain rows of
seats were filled with the Lancers and his Wolves. The Wolves sat
closest to him on his right, the lancers filled up the rest of the
seats further down the troop compartment.

The Queen was a
phenomenal pilot, expertly manoeuvring her ship through the deadly
debris field. The Maiden of Flame dipped, climbed and rolled to
avoid the rocky mines littering their path to the Fateful Moment,
and Christian did not notice a single impact against the ship’s
armour. Gunn’s flying skills were as extensive as her vocabulary.
Every manoeuvre was followed by a string of curses and complaints,
some of them were from her co-pilot, the aptly name Jinx, and the
target for most of Gunn’s complaints. The poor co-pilot must have
had a thick skin to withstand the verbal onslaught his superior was
hurling at him constantly. It did however seem fitting, Nathan had
explained that Jinx was a buffoon, and wherever he went shit would
seem to follow.

Christian would
have to meet the man first before condemning him like the others
have already done.

Christian
glanced at Locke, the hero was silent behind his helmet, and it was
slightly unsettling. He wondered what was going through the man’s
mind as they made their way through the void.

A Lancer
sitting next to Christian bumped against his suit by accident; the
soldier did not realize it as he was furiously fiddling with his
helmet. His hands were struggling to secure the strap of his head
protection.

“What seems to
be the problem soldier?” Christian asked the growing annoyance
beside him.

The soldier
jolted and froze in place, shocked at the sudden words from the
Titan. “Um, sorry sir, I...I...”

“What is it?”
Christian’s head tilted towards the Lancer. “Nervous?” he said
followed by a smile behind his helmet, the smile helped to soften
the question through the Titan’s vocal speakers on his helm.

“Is it that
obvious sir?”

“It is to me.
It is easy to identify the emotion when you are feeling it
yourself.”

“You...you are
nervous too?” The thought seemed to help relax the Lancer slightly.
His hands stopped tugging at the neck strap of his helmet.

Christian just
nodded in response, not proud of the fact that he was slightly more
on edge than usual.

“Why are you
nervous sir?” The Lancer removed his helmet and instead tried to
fix the problem from a new angle.

“It is my first
time in the field. I am an untested Titan, the FNG as my squad call
me.” Pyoter chuckled at the utterance of the military term for a
new recruit, but went back to cleaning his giant, heavy machinegun
on his lap without another sound.

“So am I, well
I have been in combat I mean, just never as a Lancer and I have
never been in a void operation before. I was recently promoted from
the field corpse. My job was to stand guard outside of the
Commander’s quarters. No idea why I was promoted to a full
Lancer.”

“Were you good
at your job?” Christian asked him.

“Yes, very
good, I have many commendations, but any monkey could have done my
job just as well.”

“You are wrong
soldier. You were rewarded for your loyalty. It is a rare quality
to have in these grim times we live and survive in. What’s your
name soldier?” Christian looked down directly at the man beside
him, noticing the soldier’s youthfulness. He was definitely much
younger than Christian.

“Corporal Josh
Joshua, sir. My parents loved me so much they named me twice.”

“Nice to meet
you,” Christian stuck an armoured hand out to Josh, “Christian
Quinn.”

Josh took the
Titan’s hand and shook it with courage. “You can call me Jay,
everyone else does.”

“I might just
do that.”

Jay finally
fixed his helmet’s problem, pulling it over his head and fastening
the strap correctly. “Finally, that feels much better. Are we there
yet?” he asked the Titan as a joke.

“I think so.
Captain Locke is about to brief us.” Christian replied, pointing up
at Locke, who was now walking up and down the aisle of the troop
compartment, stopping every few paces to look at the soldiers.

“Quiet down.”
Locke boomed over his helmet speakers.

Everyone fell
silent, only the Wolves dared to continue checking their weapons
and equipment.

“This is a shit
storm. We have no idea what we are stepping into. I won’t sugar
coat it men. Whatever or whoever set up this trap for us, will have
left some nasty surprises on the Fateful Moment, so expect anything
and everything.” He stopped by the exit ramp of the troop
compartment, only a few inches of armour plating separating him
from the cold void beyond. “Sabian and the Lancers will secure the
entry point. They will hold position and establish a beachhead for
us to fall back to. They will keep the Maiden safe.”

“I hope so
Locke, she is very dear to me.” Gunn was listening to the briefing
through the drop ship’s internal radio, interjecting as Locke
spoke. “One scratch or blood smear and you will be cleaning it up
Captain.”

Locke did not
respond to the Queen’s comment, instead he just thought about how
much of a bitch she was, and how much he enjoyed it.

Sabian nodded
and spoke to his Lancers before Locke could continue. “Bravo squad
will go with the Wolves, the rest of you disembark and get those
heavies covering all entry points to the docking bay. Charlie and
Echo squads will sweep and clear all adjacent compartments to the
bay. Understood?”

A resounding
affirmative echoed from all of the Lancers in the troop
compartment.

Locke switched
to the squad frequency and spoke to the Wolves directly. He did not
want the other soldiers to hear what he had to say next. “There
will probably be casualties, check your corners and stick together.
Nathan you are in the lead, Pyoter I want you at the rear so if
anything gets through us they run into you. No explosions or
grenades Xander. The hull of the Fateful Moment is tough enough to
withstand weapon fire but we do not know the extent of the damage
from the asteroid field. You might just leak all of us out into the
void with one of your grenades. As soon as we touch down we head
straight for the bridge, vessel schematics are uploading to your
visors now. Rivers, find us the best route to the bridge, minimal
effort, we have Lancers with us so keep it simple.”

The information
from the Fateful Moment, schematics, ship descriptions and crew
counts, scrolled past Christian’s eyes inside his helmet.

“Get ready.
Five minutes to contact.” Locke said as he turned to face the exit
ramp behind him.

The rest of the
Wolves all stood as one and moved to stand behind their
commander.

Jay stood up as
the Wolves moved, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, seven other
Lancers mimicked his movement.

“Where are you
going Jay?” Christian asked the young man.

Jay pointed to
the patch on his right shoulder. “Bravo squad,” he said.

“I can think of
no-one better to have with us.” Christian replied, it was an
obvious lie, but it was said to harden the Lancer’s resolve.

It worked
perfectly. Jay’s shoulders raised and he nodded at the Titan in
respect. “Thank you, Christian.”

“
The dead ask no
questions, their corpses provide the answers.”
-Anonymous entry in the Annuals of War, recorded 2531 - 22
ASD

Sabian had
secured the docking bay as soon as they had touched down on the
metal decking of the cargo vessel. His elite Lancers securing every
entry point with heavy weapons, creating fall back points closer to
the Maiden of Flame. Keeping the drop ship safe was their top
priority; it was their only chance of survival if things went
pear-shaped.

The Maiden had
docked without any problems, the giant bay doors of the Fateful
Moment accepting the drop ship with open arms. Those giant doors
were now closed, keeping the coldness of the void away from human
flesh. The Queen and Jinx were on permanent standby, letting the
drop ship’s engines idle, ready to burn at a moment’s notice.

Nothing blocked
the path of the Wolves to the bridge of the Fateful Moment, no
doors were locked, and there was no crew to bar their way. Locke
and his squad would reach the cold, dark vessel’s bridge in only a
handful of minutes after docking. The Wolves had run at a pace to
compliment the pace of the Lancers accompanying them, they would
not leave the soldiers behind, even if there was no signs of any
threats, yet.

“Still no life
signs Captain,” Rivers announced over the squad radio. The Lancers
behind the Wolves had also heard Rivers speak. Locke had allowed
them to connect with the squad’s private frequency for the duration
of the mission. They kept silent, showing the Wolves why they were
called elite, by action and not by words.

Locke used hand
signals to order the rag-tag squad through the corridors of the
Fateful Moment, listening to the uneasy silence the vessel
projected for any movement or threats. He signalled the FNG and
Nathan to move up and cover a cross section, both Titans responded
instantly, taking up positions on the sides of the intersecting
tunnels.