appeared to grow several centimetres as
we thrust out our chests and lifted our heads proudly upwards as one, ‘Parade…..SHUN!’
Two hundred
boots stamped against the deck with an almighty crump that echoed about the
ship’s metal walls as we came to attention, feet together and arms tucked firmly
against our sides.
The ship’s
captain, unmistakable in her smart white uniform and peaked cap and glistening
with medals and golden embroidery, strode into the centre of the formation
where the sergeant major waited.
The sergeant
major saluted her as she approached, ‘Ma’am, A Company are formed up and are ready
for your address.’
The Captain
returned the salute with a smile, ‘Thank you, Sergeant Major, please have the
men stand at ease.’
‘As you wish,
Ma’am,’ then, to us, ‘Stand at…… EASE!’
Our boots
crashed against the floor again so that we now stood with our feet shoulder
width apart, hands clasped behind our backs.
The captain’s
smile faded as she looked around her at those under her command. She had
absolute power over all of us, the power of life and death entrusted to her by
the Union and not even the company commander who was a major by army ranks
escaped her authority. She was a distinctly uninteresting looking woman were it
not for her uniform, as white as a brand new set of bed sheets and glistening
with polished campaign medals and golden buttons.
The captain
frowned as she recalled a terrible memory, ‘Two years…,’ she began.
She allowed
those two words to sink in, and instantly I knew exactly what she was talking
about. We all did.
‘ Two years ago this fine vessel fled in defeat from New Earth with the few survivors of
the third fleet. She fled without having even fired a shot, and her drop
troopers never left their hangars.’
Somehow
Corporal Evans had. He had been down on the surface of New Earth as the
terrible and unstoppable onslaught of the Chinese invasion engulfed the colony.
I imagined him and others like him fighting a futile defence and then making
their desperate withdrawal to the dropships and then into space, and I
shuddered.
‘ Two years on and still now the Union aches with the shame of its defeat. But nobody on
Earth can possibly understand the shame brought upon Challenger and her crew.
No politician sat in Brussels or Berlin can ever possibly feel the same hunger
for revenge as we have done, patrolling the remaining colonies like starved
dogs left to settle for scraps while the cowardly victors wallow in their ill
found glory.’
The captain
paused for dramatic effect, ‘ Two years we have yearned for revenge
against our traitorous old allies the Chinese. Two years we have bottled
our rage and bitten our tongues and some people said we were trying to forget.
But we never forget. We have planned. We have re-trained, rebuilt and recruited.
Our new enemy thought that they had succeeded in cutting us off at the knees,
ending the fight in us once and for all, but all they have done is fill us with
a ferocious anger that cannot be subdued. We have been waiting, but now my
friends, we are ready, and the waiting is over.’
The captain
paced the room, sweeping her gaze across all of us as she spoke, her movements
becoming more and more animated as she spoke with increasing vehemence.
‘They say
that the soil of New Earth is stained red with the blood of Union soldiers. But
now it shall be Chinese blood that will flow freely across those
unforgiving lands like rivers!’
‘Guess we’re
going in, then,’ somebody murmured behind me, clearly unimpressed by the
speech.
A tingling
wave shot across my nerve endings as I realised that the impact of the captain’s
announcement. We all knew what the captain was going to say next. In my mind’s
eye I pictured the dead surface of New Earth, and it was indeed as red as
though it were stained by the blood of the thousands who had died there since
it had been colonized centuries ago.
‘I have
received
we thrust out our chests and lifted our heads proudly upwards as one, ‘Parade…..SHUN!’
Two hundred
boots stamped against the deck with an almighty crump that echoed about the
ship’s metal walls as we came to attention, feet together and arms tucked firmly
against our sides.
The ship’s
captain, unmistakable in her smart white uniform and peaked cap and glistening
with medals and golden embroidery, strode into the centre of the formation
where the sergeant major waited.
The sergeant
major saluted her as she approached, ‘Ma’am, A Company are formed up and are ready
for your address.’
The Captain
returned the salute with a smile, ‘Thank you, Sergeant Major, please have the
men stand at ease.’
‘As you wish,
Ma’am,’ then, to us, ‘Stand at…… EASE!’
Our boots
crashed against the floor again so that we now stood with our feet shoulder
width apart, hands clasped behind our backs.
The captain’s
smile faded as she looked around her at those under her command. She had
absolute power over all of us, the power of life and death entrusted to her by
the Union and not even the company commander who was a major by army ranks
escaped her authority. She was a distinctly uninteresting looking woman were it
not for her uniform, as white as a brand new set of bed sheets and glistening
with polished campaign medals and golden buttons.
The captain
frowned as she recalled a terrible memory, ‘Two years…,’ she began.
She allowed
those two words to sink in, and instantly I knew exactly what she was talking
about. We all did.
‘ Two years ago this fine vessel fled in defeat from New Earth with the few survivors of
the third fleet. She fled without having even fired a shot, and her drop
troopers never left their hangars.’
Somehow
Corporal Evans had. He had been down on the surface of New Earth as the
terrible and unstoppable onslaught of the Chinese invasion engulfed the colony.
I imagined him and others like him fighting a futile defence and then making
their desperate withdrawal to the dropships and then into space, and I
shuddered.
‘ Two years on and still now the Union aches with the shame of its defeat. But nobody on
Earth can possibly understand the shame brought upon Challenger and her crew.
No politician sat in Brussels or Berlin can ever possibly feel the same hunger
for revenge as we have done, patrolling the remaining colonies like starved
dogs left to settle for scraps while the cowardly victors wallow in their ill
found glory.’
The captain
paused for dramatic effect, ‘ Two years we have yearned for revenge
against our traitorous old allies the Chinese. Two years we have bottled
our rage and bitten our tongues and some people said we were trying to forget.
But we never forget. We have planned. We have re-trained, rebuilt and recruited.
Our new enemy thought that they had succeeded in cutting us off at the knees,
ending the fight in us once and for all, but all they have done is fill us with
a ferocious anger that cannot be subdued. We have been waiting, but now my
friends, we are ready, and the waiting is over.’
The captain
paced the room, sweeping her gaze across all of us as she spoke, her movements
becoming more and more animated as she spoke with increasing vehemence.
‘They say
that the soil of New Earth is stained red with the blood of Union soldiers. But
now it shall be Chinese blood that will flow freely across those
unforgiving lands like rivers!’
‘Guess we’re
going in, then,’ somebody murmured behind me, clearly unimpressed by the
speech.
A tingling
wave shot across my nerve endings as I realised that the impact of the captain’s
announcement. We all knew what the captain was going to say next. In my mind’s
eye I pictured the dead surface of New Earth, and it was indeed as red as
though it were stained by the blood of the thousands who had died there since
it had been colonized centuries ago.
‘I have
received
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