“They did what?” the colonel screamed, slamming his fist down on his desk so hard it’s a wonder it didn’t splinter.
“The platoon was out of comm range, there was no way for us to know, sir.”
“And why, exactly, did they not have a signaler or a comm droid outside of normal comm range? Please, do tell.”
The sergeant swallowed and nervously fidgeted with his pocket for a brief moment. “They did, sir,” he explained, “they went out with three signalers and a droid. All of them were found KIA at the scene, likely eliminated by snipers at the outset.”
The colonel fumed, nearly exploding with fury. He jabbed an accusatory finger and shouted at the sergeant, “Bullshit! There ain’t a sniper in the galaxy that could make a shot over a hundred meters on Yenesa 4, foliage is too heavy. The scanners would have picked them up at that range.”
The sergeant grimaced slightly, “All due respect colonel, I think you significantly underestimate the Recei. They are criminals, yes, but they are also exceptionally lethal and well equipped, possibly even better than we are. I have seen them drop an officer inside his tent from outside blink radius on Colln. Blink functions out to 3800 meters on Colln. The Recei shot a man from four kilometers out on a 60k contract, it isn’t that far-fetched.”
The colonel sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, “Bring me captain Kearce. Now.”
“Yes, sir.”
The sergeant turned and hurried to his task.
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Chro Kearce wiped streams of sweat from his face. He rolled his neck and flexed his firing hand, taking up a stance by the entry of the tactical training building, rifle at the ready. The counter beeped above his head, counting down. 3, 2, 1… it paused for a split second as it always did. His muscles coiled like heavy springs. A horn blared and he rammed the door open, rolling into a crouch and nailing the first two targets. This would be his sixth run today, somewhere in the hundreds over all the years. Today he was going for a new record, his previous one had been broken four days ago. The model rifle was the same as his true one, modeled to have the exact weight and recoil of the SMK45.
He blazed through the course, each room cleared in seconds, moving like a perfected machine. The warehouse had turned its attention to the screens showing his progress, recorded by small drones flying silently behind him. He cleared the last room, drawing his sidearm and drilling the center of the target with all nine rounds with full-auto type speed. He sprinted to the final challenge: a life-size android that had to be dealt with hand to hand. He charged it and grasped its wrist, shoulder throwing it down the hallway. Kearce crossed the finish line and everybody went wild. He had cracked the record by almost three seconds, coming in at six minutes and twelve seconds.
“Damn captain,” someone clapped him on the shoulder, “that was insane. I’m telling you man, you must be something unnatural. Ain’t no way a normal man moves that fast.”
Kearce laughed between fast breaths, shaking his head with a smile. “And yet here I stand.”
They grasped forearms and shoulder bumped in greeting as they had for years.
“How’s it going up in corporate desk land?” Kearce asked.
“Oh, you know, the Colonel is about to explode and take out the whole planet after what happened on Yenesa 4.”
Kearce shook his head and chuckled, “Figured as much. You regretting your decision yet?”
Jannes ran a hand over his hair and shook his head, “Man, I’ve been regretting it since I sat in the chair for the first time. I need to go on a tour captain, I’m dyin’ in here and not in a glorious way.”
Kearce nodded. “Yeah, I would be too. I don’t think I could ever get out of the field, even as a trainer. Retirement is gonna suck,” he shrugged, “Maybe I’ll go build heavy armaments with Rambo over on Larak.”
Jannes pointed at a soldier running towards them and checked his watch, “My break isn’t over so I’m supposing that caller is for you, cap.”
“Yup, I bet it is. Good to see you Jannes, don’t go bleeding out from a papercut now.”
Jannes snorted and began to walk off, waving a goodbye, but the soldier yelled for him to wait up.
“What do you need, sergeant?”
The sergeant was out of breath but quickly regained his composure.
“Captain Kearce, sir, Colonel Larcen wants to see you, like right now. Lieutenant Colonel Jannes, you’d better come too.”
The two looked at each other, both wondering at the urgency. The sergeant turned and motioned for them to follow as he jogged back to the colonel’s office.
“Any idea what this is about,” inquired Jannes, “it’s interrupting a much-needed break.”
The sergeant shook his head, “Possibly the Recei, he sent me to get you after my report.”
Kearce chuckled, “Maybe you’ll get that field assignment after all.”
They reached the main office complex and slowed to a walk, the three quickly catching their breath. When they reached the colonel’s room, the sergeant opened the door, saluted the three, and promptly closed the door, going about his business.
The colonel had calmed enough that he laughed at Kearce, who was still drenched in sweat. “You’ve been working hard I see, break that record yet?”
“Yes, sir,” Kearce nodded proudly, “six minutes and twelve seconds.”
The colonel raised his brows and let out a low whistle. “That there is precisely why you are in my office right now. Lucky thing Jannes was with you, luckier still the sergeant had the brains to bring him too.”
The colonel stood and clasped his hands behind his back. “The briefing team will go over the mission details, so I’ll keep this quick and tidy for you captain. After the ambush last week on Yenesa 4, the higher-ups are now acknowledging the need to deal with the Recei pirates. Of course, you two would know a little something about that.”
Jannes’ face turned hard for a moment, remembering his encounter with the faction.
The colonel continued, “It’s called Operation Blackbeard, named after a different sort of pirate from a couple thousand years ago. For a long time, they didn’t cause any major issues and we let planetary militias and law enforcement deal with them. The Recei have gotten a bigger appetite lately, they have begun to attack Royal Navy vessels as well as Marine and Army platoons directly. For almost eight months now, I’ve been battling to get this project running. Now, I’ve got the go-ahead, and assembling my team is the next step. Kearce, I want you leading this operation. Jannes, I want you to be his second-in-command. I am assembling the rest of your team as we speak. Questions?”
Jannes was wide-eyed and grinning like a fiend.
“Just one, sir,” said Kearce, “When do we leave?”
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