Ghost Soldiers by Michael G. Thomas

It’s time to move to a safe area.”
    As before, the procedure for activating the interstellar engines was something of a letdown. There was no mass acceleration or changing forces of acceleration. Instead, the huge ring at the rear of the ship created a bubble of warped space around the vessel. They watched the view on the mainscreen as the ship accelerated away. It was gone in seconds. Moments later the view changed to point directly ahead. Stars moved slowly as they travelled just below the speed of light. Five-Seven checked in with his stations before giving the all clear.
    “We are on the way to the target. ETA, six point one hours.”
    “Very good,” replied Spartan, “Khan, it’s time to get the team ready. I want 2nd Platoon as a boarding party with full assault gear and weapons. They need to be prepped and loaded on the operations deck. 3rd Platoon will be on standby and under your command.”
    “What about you?”
    Spartan smiled.
    “Grunts first, Captain. Let’s see what we find.”
    It was the first time Spartan had used Khan’s new rank, and he seemed to find it amusing. Khan gave him a mock salute back, and then made for the exit from the deck.
    “I’ll meet you below, Major.”

    * * *

    IAS Euryale, Sector Sixteen, T’Karan
    "Ten seconds, Captain," said Five-Seven.
    Captain Delatorre took in a short breath and moved back to his chair. It was a strange thing to do, but when the engines were cut, they were more likely to need the seating than when using the Interstellar Drive, a system that allowed them to travel through space without moving. He activated the intercom, and it made a squawk sound throughout the entire ship.
    "Dropping back to conventional speed in five seconds."
    Every single person on the ship tensed as the last few seconds ticked by until finally the ship deactivated its Interstellar Drive, and in an instant it turned into a conventional starship; one that was little different to any other plying the shipping lanes in the Alliance. The only visible indication anything had changed was that the pulsing light between the pair of large ringed nacelles stopped. One moment the ship had been moving vast distances at near light-speed, and then it was back to its standard speed, and no different to any other vessel. Captain Delatorre activated the internal intercom again.
    “Major, we have arrived.”
    His voice was matter-of-fact, but there was a clear degree of relief to his tone. The mysteries of the Interstellar Drive were complex enough for most engineers, but to the officers of the ship, it was a deadly new piece of equipment. Few outside of CTC knew of the failed experiments that had seen three drone test subjects torn apart, and another had vanished entirely, never to be seen again. The strangest of all was the largest of all the prototypes. The moment its engines had been activated, it vanished inside its bubble, invisible to all sensors. Yet upon investigation, the ship was still there but trapped in the one place. Buoys had been placed, and the area of space around it put into effective quarantine ever since. Spartan was already on his way and marched onto the deck just a few seconds after the Captain had finished speaking.
    "Major?"
    Spartan kept moving until he was alongside the Captain and Five-Seven, both of whom sat in their tall seats in the centre of the command deck.
    "Good work, damned good work," said Spartan.
    Unlike the crew, Spartan wore his full M-3B tactical armour. It was similar in design to the existing PDS armour used in the Marine Corps, but there were some very obvious changes, ones based on the latest advanced from the Special Weapons Division. Reinforced banding was positioned at key areas to protect the chest, upper limbs, and thighs. Tiny discs, more like grey dots, were positioned at key intervals along the armour. They were barely visible, yet provided the critical link between the suit and the heavy equipment being developed by the Special Weapons