Rosh took a final glance over the reports on his desk. It had taken only minutes for both Marine squads to secure their respective ships, and another hour for NavInt to follow in their wake. There were still more findings to come. But those could wait for now. He looked up as the door to his quarters slid open. The visitor was right on time. Good.
He returned Lieutenant Kuan’s salute. “Be seated, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, Sir.” Kuan lowered his hand and slid into the chair opposite the colonel’s desk.
Rosh picked up his data pad and began scrolling through the display. “Just to bring you up to speed on our situation, Lieutenant, we heard back from Aston 1 and 2 several minutes ago. They’ve secured both the derelicts.”
There was just the slightest drop in the lieutenant’s shoulders, but the young officer otherwise hid all disappointment from his face.
“Meanwhile, our Planetology Department’s been taking a very close look at the local gas giant.” Rosh looked back at his device and continued scrolling. “Results have been mixed: the radiation’s too intense for cloud settlement, but they did find one moon with a self-supporting atmosphere: we designated it Calypsa 4b.” He handed over the data pad. “You can consider this a consolation prize for missing the action.”
Kuan took the device and began scanning the screen. He blinked, refocused his eyes, then looked back up. “Sir, this is…”
“That image was taken exactly”—Rosh glanced at his chronometer— “twenty-five minutes ago. The surface probes are still sending new ones as we speak, but what you have right there speaks for itself.”
Kuan looked back at the pad, his fingers flexing where they held it. “They’ve verified this? Double-checked?”
“Enough that I can tell you it’s the third instance of a non-human civilization we’ve come across in the past ten years. Given your background, I think you can guess what that all means.”
Kuan nodded slowly, his eyes scanning further down the text. “It says here there’s no life signs…”
“No more than they found on Proxima 9.”
The lieutenant flinched and his face became hard. Rosh had to wonder about the memories behind it. He himself had seen action in the Proxima campaign—but Kuan had been there when the hemosaurs overran the colony. The kid had been just a sergeant then, trapped on the planet’s surface with only himself, his squad and several dozen terrified civilians. He’d come out of it with every last one of them alive and lieutenant’s stripes on his shoulders.
Kuan’s eyes met Rosh’s for an instant. Then he straightened in his chair and set down the pad. “How soon do you want my platoon ready, Sir?”
“That brings me to our second item of business, unfortunately.” Rosh leaned back and tapped his fingers on the desk. “Doctor Tal has requested that his team accompany the expedition.”
Kuan stiffened. “With all due respect, Sir, it makes a lot more sense for my men to clear the area beforehand—“
“I hear you, Lieutenant.” Rosh held up a hand. “But in this instance, the Magnus Initiative requires that we render full cooperation to the resident Science Officer.”
Kuan’s lips pursed. Rosh shared the sentiment in full. The Magnus Initiative was one of the more ridiculous directives Naval Command had handed down in the past decade. That it bore Senator Magnus’s name was no surprise. Only a politician could think it was a good idea to put civilian researchers on military ships and give them partial command authority over Navy personnel.
“I’ve given you this assignment for two reasons, Lieutenant,” Rosh continued. He held up a finger. “You can keep a cool head—your record speaks for itself on that account.” He held up another. “And you’re the officer in this detachment with the least reason to shove Doctor Tal and his team out the nearest airlock. Your platoon didn’t lose anyone at Vega.”
“Maybe not. But I have men who lost good friends that day.” Kuan’s voice was ice-cold, the words hissing out between his teeth. His hand curled into a fist in his lap.
“Then you can put that thought to constructive use and keep an eye on our good Doctor so it doesn’t happen again.” Rosh narrowed his eyes. “You know all about his… personal proclivities.”
——
The very first thing Romano noticed about Doctor Tal was his scowl. The scientist entered the docking bay with his eyes sweeping and glowering in all directions as if his surroundings profoundly disgusted him. His team followed behind him with expressions not much different.
A Marine muttered under his breath. “You’d think we were the ones who got five of his people killed.”
Romano turned toward him. “What are you talking about?”
“You weren’t here for Vega.”
The platoon sergeant turned and glared. “No talking in the ranks, Private.”
The Marine snapped to attention. “Aye, sir.”
Tal suddenly stopped and turned in their direction, his eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem, Sergeant?”
How did he…? Romano spotted the pair of silvery discs in each of Tal’s ears. Crap. He was wearing audio enhancers.
“No, sir.” There was just the slightest bit of strain in the sergeant’s voice. The last word had to grate on him. Tal wasn’t military. He was a “Science Officer”— a civilian wearing a Navy uniform.
The scowl deepened on Tal’s face, and he stalked toward the line of Marines. He came to a stop, looking the sergeant up and down as if examining something foul. “What’s your name, soldier?”
Romano felt all the Marines tense around him, and his own hands tightened around his blaster. Who did this guy think he was talking to? The Army?
The sergeant’s expression didn’t change. “Traskin, sir.”
“How long have you been in the Navy?”
Romano mentally cursed. We’re Marines.
Traskin’s eye might have twitched this time. “Seventeen years, Sir.”
Tal glanced at Traskin’s rank marks and his lip curled. “I see you have a lot to show for that time.”
You arrogant son of a— Romano forced his fingers to remain still on the weapon. Traskin said nothing, his lips a flat line on his face.
Tal looked away from the sergeant, passed his eyes down the line of Marines, briefly making eye contact with Romano.
“Tell me, Sergeant,” he said to Traskin. “Do you make a habit of allowing defamatory speech in the ranks?”
“No, sir.”
“See that it stays that way.” Tal turned and marched toward where his own entourage stood beside the open shuttle. Some of the Marines started to curse—a look from Traskin instantly silenced them.
The entrance door retracted, and another man entered the bay. His armor carried an officer’s stripes. Traskin gave him a salute that he returned. “What’s our status, Sergeant?”
“Armed and ready, Lieutenant.”
“Any problems?”
Traskin hesitated, cast a brief glance toward Tal’s group, then looked back at the Lieutenant. “No, Sir.”
Kuan looked at them too. From his expression, he didn’t believe the Sergeant’s words, but he asked no more questions. He turned to another man standing at the edge of the bay. “We’re ready, Father.”
The ship’s chaplain stepped forward. Unlike the other men, he wasn’t wearing an EVA suit. The collar on his dress uniform sported twin silver crosses in addition to the rank marks.
“Let us pray.”
Romano knelt with the other Marines, helmets under their arms as they bowed their heads. He briefly glanced across the bay–Tal’s group remained standing.
“Almighty and eternal God, Creator of Heaven and all the worlds, we pray thee bless thy servants as they venture forth into the deep. May their endeavors bear fruit and bring glory unto thy everlasting name. May thy strength and thy shield be their protection against all evil and all harm, and may thy love bring them home in safety. We ask this through thy Son’s name–Amen.”
“Amen.” The word repeated on every man’s lips–almost. Romano rose to his feet. Tal and his team hadn’t moved. But the scowl was now even deeper on the Science Officer’s face, joined by a sneer on his lips.
Kuan spoke to Traskin. “Load ‘em up, Sergeant.”
“Aye, Sir.”
Traskin shouted an order and they all began boarding. Romano glanced at his squad mate. Maybe he’d ask him about Vega sometime. And maybe not. He already knew everything he needed about Doctor Tal.
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