orders today for a move to a rendezvous outside of the Hope system
with the third and first fleet,’ the captain continued, reading now from atablet she had retrieved and unfolded from her
pocket, ‘It contains the preliminary orders for a voyage into the Centauri
system. Our mission is outlined within those orders and it reads as follows; “The
third fleet is to capture New Earth in orbit and on the surface in concert with
elements of the first fleet, in order to bring about the enemies defeat in the
Centauri system.”’
The Captain
returned her tablet and looked around us once more, ‘More details with regards
to those orders will be passed down to you through your relevant chains of
command, and much more detailed orders will be received and disseminated in due
course. What you need to know for now is that we will shortly be departing from
Hope for our rendezvous which will take approximately two days. From there we
will depart for the Centauri system.’
My nerves
tingled again. This is really it , I thought, the reason why I had joined
the dropship infantry: We were going to war. A strange mixture of emotions
passed through my body; excitement at the thought of doing my duty and being
part of something historians might speak of for hundreds of years but also a
terrible sense of foreboding. Everybody knew the statistics of making a ‘hard
drop’ onto a hostile surface. One in three dropships didn’t make it.
‘The Chinese
have had two years to prepare for us. They have dug deep into the rock, so deep
that only infantry will prize them out. They are highly trained, equipped and
motivated. We must break their will. We will strike hard and we will strike
fast to shatter their resolve, and we will win. People will die, I won’t
lie,’ she shook her head gravely, ‘Some of you won’t return with us to Earth,
some of you will lose friends, most of you will kill, and all of you will lose
what is left of the innocence of your youth,’ she was looking over to us, the
drop troopers who would land on the surface and do the dirty work with
dropships, gravtanks, rifles and, if necessary, bayonets.
‘Get on with it,’
another voice hissed in frustration. The vast majority of Challenger’s troopers
had never carried out a combat drop for real, but we were all volunteers and we
had known what we were in for when we enlisted.
‘Too long has
the Union felt the shame of its defeat. Now it is time for us to show the world
that we are not a fleeting nation on the brink of losing its grip on the
cosmos, but a superpower who bows to no man. We will defeat the Chinese,
and the Union will go on to rule the known galaxy for a millennia. Gentlemen, I
wish you good luck. All of you. Sergeant Major, carry on, please.’
The sergeant
major snapped again to attention, ‘Parade…….SHUN!’
We stood
silently at attention as the captain strode away. Satisfied that she was gone
and out of earshot the sergeant major relaxed and strode back into the centre
of the parade.
‘Ship’s crew,
continue under your own arrangements,’ he ushered the crew away, leaving only
the troopers and the jacks behind.
‘Stand the
men at ease, please, Sergeant Major,’ a dropship major walked into view, as
elegantly dressed as the sergeant major, but with a glistening ceremonial sword
sheaved at his side. He was the OC, the highest ranking drop trooper on board
challenger. It was he who would lead the company on its drop to the surface and
hopefully would lead us back again. He was stocky in appearance, with an almost
apish gait that I wouldn’t normally expect of an officer. When he spoke he was
clearly well educated, which sounded strange coming from a man who wouldn’t
look out of place on the streets of Portsmouth. His name was Major McColl, and
he was known for being a no-nonsense commander and a shrewd tactician.
‘You’ve heard
enough from the captain,’ the OC said, smiling knowingly at us all, ‘I will
speak with all of you
with the third and first fleet,’ the captain continued, reading now from atablet she had retrieved and unfolded from her
pocket, ‘It contains the preliminary orders for a voyage into the Centauri
system. Our mission is outlined within those orders and it reads as follows; “The
third fleet is to capture New Earth in orbit and on the surface in concert with
elements of the first fleet, in order to bring about the enemies defeat in the
Centauri system.”’
The Captain
returned her tablet and looked around us once more, ‘More details with regards
to those orders will be passed down to you through your relevant chains of
command, and much more detailed orders will be received and disseminated in due
course. What you need to know for now is that we will shortly be departing from
Hope for our rendezvous which will take approximately two days. From there we
will depart for the Centauri system.’
My nerves
tingled again. This is really it , I thought, the reason why I had joined
the dropship infantry: We were going to war. A strange mixture of emotions
passed through my body; excitement at the thought of doing my duty and being
part of something historians might speak of for hundreds of years but also a
terrible sense of foreboding. Everybody knew the statistics of making a ‘hard
drop’ onto a hostile surface. One in three dropships didn’t make it.
‘The Chinese
have had two years to prepare for us. They have dug deep into the rock, so deep
that only infantry will prize them out. They are highly trained, equipped and
motivated. We must break their will. We will strike hard and we will strike
fast to shatter their resolve, and we will win. People will die, I won’t
lie,’ she shook her head gravely, ‘Some of you won’t return with us to Earth,
some of you will lose friends, most of you will kill, and all of you will lose
what is left of the innocence of your youth,’ she was looking over to us, the
drop troopers who would land on the surface and do the dirty work with
dropships, gravtanks, rifles and, if necessary, bayonets.
‘Get on with it,’
another voice hissed in frustration. The vast majority of Challenger’s troopers
had never carried out a combat drop for real, but we were all volunteers and we
had known what we were in for when we enlisted.
‘Too long has
the Union felt the shame of its defeat. Now it is time for us to show the world
that we are not a fleeting nation on the brink of losing its grip on the
cosmos, but a superpower who bows to no man. We will defeat the Chinese,
and the Union will go on to rule the known galaxy for a millennia. Gentlemen, I
wish you good luck. All of you. Sergeant Major, carry on, please.’
The sergeant
major snapped again to attention, ‘Parade…….SHUN!’
We stood
silently at attention as the captain strode away. Satisfied that she was gone
and out of earshot the sergeant major relaxed and strode back into the centre
of the parade.
‘Ship’s crew,
continue under your own arrangements,’ he ushered the crew away, leaving only
the troopers and the jacks behind.
‘Stand the
men at ease, please, Sergeant Major,’ a dropship major walked into view, as
elegantly dressed as the sergeant major, but with a glistening ceremonial sword
sheaved at his side. He was the OC, the highest ranking drop trooper on board
challenger. It was he who would lead the company on its drop to the surface and
hopefully would lead us back again. He was stocky in appearance, with an almost
apish gait that I wouldn’t normally expect of an officer. When he spoke he was
clearly well educated, which sounded strange coming from a man who wouldn’t
look out of place on the streets of Portsmouth. His name was Major McColl, and
he was known for being a no-nonsense commander and a shrewd tactician.
‘You’ve heard
enough from the captain,’ the OC said, smiling knowingly at us all, ‘I will
speak with all of you
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