"Yes, Sir?"
"Never underestimate your opponent. You saw a cute girl. What you didn't see was the lion inside that girl. Don't ever make such a dumb mistake again. In here, it cost you a black eye. In combat, it could cost you your life, but more important than that, the lives of your fellow marines."
"Yes, Sir," he said solemnly.
"And don't be ashamed. You feel your ego has been knocked because someone half your size did this to you? You gotta start thinking outside the box. If you thought she was no trouble because of her size, how will you feel when you face an alien twice your size?"
Taylor could see almost hear the cogs turning in the man's brain as he realized what Taylor was saying.
"Thank you, Sir."
Two days passed while Taylor oversaw their training. It was half way through the third day. The recruits carried dummy training rifles and were practicing gaining and giving ground, with obstacles setup through the gymnasium for them to navigate. His arms were crossed, and he watched from afar, as Parker made them practice the same drill for the twelfth time that day. She shouted at them every few seconds as they made mistakes, but he was glad to see their progress was at least respectable.
It felt just like old times, back on Earth and observing the grilling of a new set of hopefuls. The only difference being that an alien, Jafar, stood at his side. Then the last thing he ever would have expected happened. Admiral Huber came over the intercom on an open channel to the fleet.
"This is Admiral Huber speaking."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened.
"One hour ago, I received word from the frigate, the Valentine, one of the six vessels that departed almost three days ago to search out this system and discover our surroundings. Above all, their mission was to find a habitable planet that we might make our own, a planet where humanity may rebuild and start over. I am here to tell you that the crew of the Valentine has found that planet."
Taylor couldn't believe what he was hearing, and yet he looked across the room to see the others had heard just the same. First there was a stunned silence, and then the recruits began throwing their arms up in the air in joy, whistling and shouting in excitement. Parker looked to him with a new sense of hope, but he was not sold on the news at all. He turned to Jafar, who looked emotionless, as he often did.
"Did you know there was such a planet in this system?"
"I did not," he replied quickly, "but I know very little of this system. Is that not good news?"
"It might be. But it stinks. We've never found a habitable planet in all the years humanity has been in space."
"That is not very long, is it?"
"Well, no, but still. Don't you think it's just a little convenient that we lose our planet, jump to somewhere random, and bam, there's one here for us?"
"This was not a random choice."
"No, that's true, and that worries me even more."
Taylor was the only one not celebrating. He turned to leave.
"Jafar, on me!"
He stormed up to the bridge. Every crewmember he passed was beaming with excitement, and idle chitchat filled the corridors of the carrier, but he was not falling for it. He reached the bridge and found the same level of ecstasy. Huber was grinning from ear to ear.
"Colonel Taylor, your plan worked. None of us could have expected it quite so soon, but we've done it. We've found a new home!"
"What do we know about the planet? Are there any signs of life? Any sign of Krys presence?"
Huber backed off, looked at Taylor's stern expression, and finally laughed.
"Colonel Taylor. After all we have been through, this is a victory, and should be celebrated as such. Don't you know what this means?"
"No, not yet, none of us do."
He leaned in closer to the Admiral.
"Sir, I must recommend we proceed with the utmost caution. Every action we make risks the entire fleet. I would not have us gamble it all on this planet, without a thorough investigation first."
"Yes, yes of course. We aren't putting down there with everything we have. I am arranging an expeditionary force, as well as a team of scientists and experts to head there right away and assess the situation."
"If I may, Sir? If boots are going on the ground, then I should be among them, and so should Jafar. Beyond the science, we are your best bet at making sure the place is safe."
Huber's face turned more serious.
"I have no doubt you are, Colonel, but your job is to maintain the safety and security of this vessel, and therefore this fleet."
"I am attempting to do that, Sir."
"Damn you, Taylor, enough of this nonsense. This is a time to celebrate, and I have plenty of work for you yet. The number of casualties three days ago was completely unacceptable. Your job is to investigate why it went wrong and find solutions so that it does not happen again."
"Sir, I must protest."
"No, you most certainly must not. You're a good man and a damn fine officer, Taylor, but right now I don't need your cynical outlook. I need your expertise where it is needed most. I want you working closely with Reiter and his team to workout whatever you need to handle those Juggernauts, as you call them. God forbid we ever have to face them again."
We? It wasn't you who had to face them.
But he didn't dare say it out loud.
"You are dismissed, Taylor. And Colonel? Try to look on the bright side. A little history is being made here."
Taylor turned and left.
"That's what worries me," he whispered to himself.
The jubilation of every soul aboard the ship was intoxicating. He wondered if he was the only one among them who saw the potential danger they were in.
"What do we do?" Jafar asked.
Taylor wasn't sure whether he meant figuratively or literally, but it didn't matter.
"What we've been ordered to."
Chapter 11
Taylor stood before the armoured suit of a Juggernaut. It was suspended from a hoist normally used for the engines of aircraft. A pool of blood lay on the deck beneath it, expanding as the thick blue substance still dripped from the armour. It was clear the creature’s corpse was still inside. He couldn’t help but just stand and stare at it. He’d never gotten the opportunity to actually look at the details.
In combat, all Taylor saw was a figure as he focused on the centre body mass and used peripheral vision. To him the Juggernaut was just a larger Mech suit. But now up close, he could see it was something quite different. Its leg joints were set differently, and there appeared to be no power source for the suit like the normal Mech models.
“What is it?” he asked Jafar who stood beside him.
“I believe it is a Boga.”
“A what?”
“A primitive creature. Much like your apes are to humans. They share some genetic material and evolutionary path with my kind, but they are crude and simple.”
“But big and strong.”
“Yes, far stronger than we are, but they are wild animals.”
“Don’t look wild to me. They are armoured and came at us in a determined fashion. How do you explain that?”
“I cannot.”
“Modules attached to the brain,” Reiter said, walking past behind them.
He stopped between the two of them and looked at the armour with the same fascination Taylor had been doing.
“Yes, the creature itself is a rather primitive beast, but clad in this armour and with a simple control algorithm.”
“What algorithm?”
“Very simple really. The Mech armours transmit identification for friendly forces through sound. These Juggernauts are programmed to attack and kill any living creature that does not emit their code, and is punished by electric shocks if they step within a metre of one who does.”