“Quite honestly, we have no idea what to expect. What I can tell you is that it is vital that we remain on guard and armed at all times. That will mean being armed and armoured during all hours that you aren’t sleeping.”
“Won’t that raise some eyebrows with the civilians?” asked Silva.
“It will indeed, Sergeant. Over half a million people live on the moon and they’re not used to seeing soldiers in full battle attire. Therefore, officially we are on a training exercise. Our mission entails the practice of colony-wide security and urban navigation and planning.”
“It’s a bit of a flimsy argument,” said Parker.
“It is, but it’s the best we have. The government has been ordered to comply so there’ll be little in our way other than strange looks and the odd probing question. Stick to the story. All that matters is that we stay on duty and on guard.”
“Sir, I have to ask what everyone is thinking. Around a week ago you were called to an emergency meeting, which clearly involved the threat we are now facing. We are being asked to take up defensive measures when we don’t know what we’re defending against,” said Lieutenant Wilson.
Taylor looked at the officer. Wilson led Alpha platoon, a capable leader, one of his best.
“You’re right. I will tell you what little I know, because it is of vital nature to this operation. The meeting regarded a message received from an Ares colony shuttle. It alleged that the colony had been attacked by an unidentified and well-armed enemy force.”
“What are we talking about here? Aliens?” asked Wilson.
“We simply don’t know. What little description we have describes an enemy with technology superior to what we are accustomed to. Top brass isn’t willing to jump to any conclusions, and few are willing to entertain the idea of other intelligent life.”
“So what, a Chinese force trying to muscle in on the colony? They’ve been working against the UEN for long enough,” said Suarez.
“Possibly, but at this stage we don’t know. We have little information to work on and we cannot risk panic by informing the colony of any impending danger.”
“What danger, Sir? Why is an attack on Mars relevant to our Moon?”
Taylor dropped his head. He couldn’t beat around the bush any longer. He had been tasked on a highly secretive mission, but he could not ask his marines to step into danger without giving them a heads up. He looked back up, staring at each and everyone in the room.
“Okay, Wilson, this is why. Ships were despatched immediately to the Ares colony. As you know it will be months before they can arrive and begin to make sense of what has happened. However, they have picked up signals that something big is heading for Earth.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Sir?” Silva asked.
“Some are saying it’s a coincidence, an asteroid that’ll pass us by. The General does not believe in coincidences and believes we may have trouble. Nobody is sure of anything at this stage and troops cannot and will not be deployed anywhere until there are some rigid facts.”
There were so many questions that the officers and NCOs wanted answers to, but clearly no one was able to enlighten them any further.
“I know this puts us in the shit, but we’re marines, it’s what we’re paid for. Our job remains the same. We are to remain on active duty on a permanent rotational basis. All personnel when on duty are to maintain combat attire, as well as full pressure suits and breathing tanks. Keep a full load out of ammo and be ready for anything. When we face the unexpected, we can never have enough ammo. That’s all I have to say and the only intel we have to go on.”
“One last thing, Sir, the colony is a sizeable city, we are one company, we’ll be spread a bit thin?” asked Wilson.
“We’ll focus our efforts on the economic centre of the colony only, which includes the government buildings, police headquarters and all key officials. Shuttles will be kept on hand to allow us fast deployment as and when needed. Now, that’ll be all. We’ve got hours to kill, no mission to plan and no training to be done. Your time is your own.”
It was a long and boring journey to the Moon. After the start of their first trip the excitement of being in space and the views from the ship died down. The Major sat on the bridge as they made their descent to the Moon Spaceport. With none of the problems that the Earth’s gravity and atmosphere presented, vessels came and went at ease. Mitch had in some ways been hiding from his men. They wanted more answers than he could give, and he was sick of repeating the same story.
It would be a lie for Taylor to say he wasn’t scared. Through his intense training and multiple missions on Earth, nothing worried him more than the unknown. In their age of communication and technology, he’d never had to go into a situation as blind as this. Whatever worries he had he couldn’t express them, it was his duty above all else to maintain his composure for the benefit of his marines.
“This is it, Major, final descent, you’ll be on the ground in three minutes,” said Reyes.
“Thank you, Captain, what are your following orders?”
Reyes turned to look at Taylor as if shocked at the question.
“We’ve been ordered to stay for your duration, Sir.”
That bothered Taylor, but said nothing in response. The only reason that the Deveron would be tied up was if the General wanted to be sure they could be evacuated at short notice. It was becoming ever more clear how dangerous the General thought their situation could be. With this in mind, it was more worrying than ever that nobody else appeared to be acting on the information.
“Thank you, Captain, I’ll be down below.”
Taylor leapt to his feet. He didn’t want the crew to see his concern and confusion in the situation. His training was now kicking in, they were about to hit the ground and the only thing he needed to concern himself with was being ready for action. A minute later he was pulling his armour over his compression suit beside his command staff and making final preparations.
“Remember, those are civilians down there, we are there as an emergency measure only, I don’t want to cause any more concern than we’re already doing. Stay sharp, stay calm, and be ready for anything!”
The Major pulled on his webbing with spare ammunition and the oxygen tank to his back. The magnetic gravity generators first used on the Moon, as well as the oxygen processors, had done wonders in developing the potential for the community. However, as soldiers, they had to be ready for anything. A serious breach in the colony could require them to need both air and their suits.
“Let’s move!” shouted Taylor.
He slipped his pistol into its thigh holster, picked up his rifle and strode for the doors of ship. The broad ramp down to the docking bay allowed them to disembark five men wide. The Major was surprised to see that not a single official was present to meet them. For a moment this concerned him, until he had to remind himself that as far as the colony was concerned their presence was only in a benign training capacity. He turned back to his men, who looked just as shocked to find a relatively empty docking bay, the only presence being crews and mechanics.
“Get the birds out, were heading for the LZ immediately!”
The Moon colony was an ugly one, an almost endless expansion of grey structures. There were few windows on the buildings, for without a substantial atmosphere they were always at risk of being struck by space debris. The few small windows that existed were so thick that they distorted any view.
“God, why would you come here by choice?” asked Silva.
“Not our problem, Sergeant.”
The fifteen-minute wait for their shuttles was an anticlimactic start to their arrival. For all the mystery of the danger they had been discussing, they half expected to be walking into a battle. It seemed that life went on as usual about the colony. Aside from the stations built on two of the LaGrange Points, the Moon had been the first and only real colony set up outside of Earth. Mars would likely soon follow, as well as many other moons of the Solar System, but not for a few decades.