TOW10

==Chapter 10 - The Other War==
04/22/3060 Location – Circe IV, Pentagon Worlds
An hour later Star Commanders Claude Goulet, Nina Tanaga, and Joseph Kline were joining by Superior Derek Regner in the small Wardroom of their Type 96 Elephant dropship. The Superior was a lifelong spacer and while they had grown to understand his behavior, he was a bit off to those that grew up with ground beneath their feet and a sky above. They had picked him up along with the other Newts aboard Newgrange City and put the veteran Engineer in charge of salvage operations. 
He looked around and only saw three faces, Where is the Jaguar?
She is interrogating the Laborers we captured during the raid. We need to know what happened in that station.
Derek zipped up his OD jumpsuit covering the black undershirt with the SLS Shanghai logo. I am afraid I cannot help you there. The station's computers are locked down harder than a cloistered nun. My people couldn't recover anything useful from the erased drivers either. We did find something interesting in one of the compartments though. 
He broadcast something from his gauntlet comm-pad to the holo-projector set up in the table. An Iron Womb marked with alphanumeric code and an unknown logo. This I've seen before in a Merchant report from WP 531. Makes me wonder what they are doing here and who they might really be.
Claude put his hand on the laser pistol he always carried with him, Something to do with those weird Marines?
Not sure you will ever verify that, but it seems plausible. Where they got the Iron Wombs and Mausers from is a mystery. If they have our tech it had to come from somewhere.
Nina put another image up from Claude's gun-camera of the strange Marines, and they have made improvements too. I wish we had a Scientist that could interpret this. We'll have to settle for Sera and Zack's analysis because I cannot send a cadaver to our own people. Too many questions will be asked, and we are not authorized to be here in the first place...
Another image appeared of the dead man in the control room that was now aboard the Mastodon. Once everyone is patched up, we need to find out who this guy might be.
Derek once more took the lead changing the holo-image over to the RADAR globe of their surrounding area. Indeed...if this is a Bandit operation then the only thing that might be keeping the station from broadcasting a signal is our jamming. I recommend we keep it active until Joseph and Collie deal with any comm satellites nearby. 
I can erase the cores something could be waiting in a low-level system to be sent to the array. 
Joseph was still in his flight suit with the Aerofighter neuro-helmet attached to his rig already, Satellite hunting. Derek piped in before he could continue, We will send a gunship to provide sensor support and fuel as necessary. Joseph walked out less than eager to accomplish this very boring but necessary duty that all pilots had to engage in.
Meanwhile I have my people searching the station for any salvageable tech or supplies. The Mastodon should deorbit that station before we begin the recovery operations.
The two remaining officers looked at him with confusion, they had intended to use the station as a habitat during the operation even though their dropship could support the 110-man crew (30 Mandrills, 5 Jaguars, 20 Newts, and 55 Harvesters) and dozen smaller craft (10 Shuttles, 2 Omnifighters) for months without resupply. ‘‘Don't worry. This isn’t the first time I have looted a naval cache. Making things look like accidents is something of a specialty for me. Once we are done here it shouldn't warrant any further investigation by the Ravens and we can work in peace.’‘
Nina as Warrior in command of the ship couldn’t argue with the logic and agreed that the crew wouldn’t want to work in a habitat that carried strange experiments inside. Who knew what those scientists were working on? I agree, do you think three days will be enough to fill the hold?
Aff, it will be enough to move aeroponics, tools, spare parts, volatiles, and other consumables from the station to here, likely a week to set them up inside. There definitely have been modifications to this station over the years and it likely carries some interesting objects aboard but that is all we need for extended operations. Salvaging any scientific equipment will take longer.
Tell the Harvesters to not touch any scientific apparatus. Better to let that stuff burn up then we worry about what it might be. Video and images will have to do. I will take some Techs from the Mastodon over when we have embarked the necessary cargo to chronicle our findings and covertly report them to the Watch when we come back in.
As you wish Commander. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to suit up and head over to the station. 
Derek walked out leaving Nina and Claude in the darkened wardroom. This isn’t what we expected Claude. Sorry about putting you in danger.
I am a Marine, Nina. Its what I am trained to do. Those Scientists were not expecting a Marine raiding party, or we surely would have lost the station or more men. Only ten out of the twenty-five were injured with no fatalities. I would consider that a miracle any day.
Something is strange though. They had to know who Faye was or at least had some idea for us to get this close with her codes. The ilKhan gave her a mission to find out the rot in the Jaguars but how many others are there. Clanspace has more than a hundred worlds, most have something on or around them and that is not even counting the outliers like Newgrange. There could be dozens of these installations hidden right under our noses and they could be multiplying.
04/24/3060 Location – Fasa, Deep Periphery
Two days later deep beneath the oceans on the world of Fasa, Scientist-Controller Calloway was just starting to watch the delayed broadcast of the Great Refusal that had happened ‘yesterday’ (Terran Standard Day was also used on spacecraft and underwater installations) on Strana Mechty. A call came in from the planetary HPG and he tapped the videophone, Sir, Viken has failed to report in for two days according to Circe Primary.
Those savage Apes probably got to him this time. Serves him right, he choose to job for outsiders. Denise tell Primary that he is to ensure that the station is remotely de-orbited and inform him that he is in charge now. Is there any other business?
Neg, Sir.
Good, I hear this Great Refusal ends quite properly and would not like to be interrupted. He queued the video up on his display and poured himself a drink. Don’t spoil it for me, Denise.
Aff, Sir. Enjoy.
I shall. Let the End begin.
-------
Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
Category:Works by AlphaMirage
Category:The Other War Chapters