Jupiter's Halo Book One: The Lies

Chapter Eight "The Briefing"

Itona strolled into the First Company briefing hall with Timonny, Mentrim and Aitkin at her heels. She reminded herself to think of him as Cassini when they were on duty, as Sergeant Botholsian bellowed at the marines to come to attention.

"Officer on deck!" His deep voice boomed across the hall to the clatter of booted feet stamping down.

Lanad walked along the front line of marines, watching their fixed eyes with satisfaction as she passed. They were the best marines in the fleet, in the solar system and they were hers.

She reached the command lectern and turned to face her audience. Two hundred silent figures in grey fatigues faced her.

“At ease.”

The rows of standing men and women relaxed, their hands sliding behind their backs and she felt the stiffness drain out of the room.

“Marines of the First Company,” she called out into the room, her voice carried easily by the engineered acoustics. “Take your seats and listen up.”

The room filled with shuffling bodies for a moment as her marines dropped to the long metal benches that filled the hall. She waited for the noise to subside before continuing.

“We have a mission. It’s a strange one. There’s a lot I can’t tell you. Hell, there’s a lot I’m not being told myself.” She glanced along the lines of faces. “’Classified’ is a b***h right?”

There were a few sniggers and she saw smiles.

“Lieutenant.” She said to Timonny with a half-turn of her head.

Lieutenant Timonny stepped forward from Mentrim and Cassini. It was an unnecessary move, but Itona was very aware of the man’s need to constantly assert his dominance as the First Lieutenant. He pressed the screen of his tablet, sending a selection of images and objective data direct to the comm-links of her marines.

She saw unfocused eyes in the closest rows as they stared inwardly at pictures of GS-114 and the science team that was meant to be aboard.

“These are your targets. The objective is 'search and rescue'.” She paused, letting the pictures cycle so each man and woman could memorise the faces they saw.

She’d cut down the mission data with Timonny before entering the hall. Her marines were smart. Stupid initiates didn’t make it through the Academy and the ones who made it to First Company were the best of the best. The more she told them the more their minds would work. The more questions they’d ask that she couldn’t answer and the more complicated this mission would become.

Admiral DeMarchek had put his faith in her, as he always did. Their easy camaraderie when she was a lieutenant had transformed into something a great deal closer since her promotion to captain. She often thought he looked on her as a father would a daughter and she felt the occasional pang of guilt when she leveraged that relationship to access information above her rank.

Today was not one of those occasions. She was leading her marines into a potentially hostile environment and if DeMarchek had stuck fast to his orders she’d be doing it almost blind. Poor intelligence led to poor planning and a badly planned mission reduced the chances of her marines coming back alive.

“It’s not going to be simple.” She continued. “We’re heading to Earth’s orbit, a station designated GS-114.”

Behind her the wall lit up with a rotating view of the station as she spoke, Timonny keying the command without needing to be prompted. She saw surprise in some eyes at her mention of the abandoned planet.

“The debris field means a difficult approach and an even harder evac. We don’t know what to expect once we’re in there too, so we’re not taking any chances.”

The view behind her zoomed out to show the masses of floating debris that littered the outer atmosphere. It was thick with broken hulks of ships, their scattered parts filling the space around them for hundreds of miles.

Everyone knew the history; the failed evacuation, the blockade when the planet was declared quarantined and the mass s*******r that ensued when the flotilla made a desperate break for open space. Rumour had it there were still bodies out there, floating endlessly in the void, the cold night their only grave.

It was amazing that GS-114 still managed to exist at all within that sea of destruction. It was a place of death. A place humankind wanted to forget. If she hadn’t known the reason for its choosing she would have considered it an insane decision. When she eventually did manage to pry a little detail of the reality of the station’s use from DeMarchek though, the brilliance of it was clear to her. If you wanted something kept a secret you didn’t put it where people didn’t want to look. You put it somewhere people would never even think to consider.

“At oh-six-twenty a distress signal was picked up from GS-114 by the Ramafor. The signal is automated and on loop, so the cause is unknown. It could be a simple glitch in the station’s systems, it could be a sign of attack.” She let the words hang in the air for a moment. “Either way, we’re going to find out.”

“There’s a lot about the station and its use that is classified. Pretty much everything short of what you’ve already received. You all know what that means. Anything with that level of secrecy means the security of our people is at stake. That’s why they need us.”

Itona moved from behind the lectern and started to pace along the front line of marines. She nodded to Bolthosian as she passed, the old Sergeant’s bearded face watching her as she moved.

“The targets you’ve received are a scientific research team. That’s all I can tell you about them so don’t ask any more. Our mission is to secure the station against any and all invading forces and evacuate the science team to the Pride.”

She reached the end of the line and turned on her heel.

“The full station compliment is eighty-one souls. Dependent on circumstances we will evacuate any and all other personnel, but the science team are the priority.”

Itona reached the lectern again and stopped to lean an arm on its polished metal surface. It was cold against her bare skin and she smelled the faint metallic tang of well-used steel. How many captains had stood here before her? How many had leaned their hands on that surface while they ordered men and women of the Deorum into battle?

She shook the musing aside. It wasn’t hers; the nostalgia a mask for the real questions beneath. Now wasn’t the time for that though, so she shut away the inquiring presence with a thought.

Itona brought her attention back to the briefing hall.

“Memorise their faces. Know their names. There’s no active comms out of the station so we can’t gauge conditions inside.”

A hand raised above the heads of the second row. Itona’s eyes picked out the young face, the piercing blue eyes beneath a wave of dark blonde hair and the name leapt from her memory. She knew every one.

“Corporal Deneminjic.”

"Are we fighting in zero-G, Captain?"

Itona smiled at the question, her fondness for the Corporal telling on her face.

"I didn't say we were fighting anyone, Corporal." She replied. "At the present time, we can't say for sure if there has been a boarding or hostile incursion. But to answer your question; possibly." She lifted her head to take in the larger room. "Gravity distortions and or zero-G are likely options. You can see the design of GS-114 is old, very old and if whatever caused the signal has led to power outages then we could be facing dark and cold like the void itself."

Deneminjic lowered his hand and without further interruption, she continued.

“GS-114 is split into three distinct sections. The bridge, the primary and secondary segments and the substation. Lieutenant Timonny will lead two squads to investigate the bridge and primary station. Lieutenant Cassini and I will take the secondary and substation. Lieutenant Mentrim will stay with the mission reserve force aboard the Pride.”

Beside her, Timonny keyed another command into his tablet.

“Squad disposition and relevant schematics are in your comm-links now.” He called out.

There were groans from the marines who found themselves assigned to the reserve force. Deorum marines didn’t need to call in reserves. She heard muffled chatter as they taunted one another about the excitement of spending their mission time harnessed into a Peregrine on the Pride’s main disembarkation deck.

“Quiet down!” Timonny bellowed and the quiet order restored.

Itona wanted to roll her eyes at the Lieutenant's sour demeanour. He wanted them to sit like school children. She preferred them as energetic, hungry marines, eager for action. She made a mental note to bring it up with him in a more private setting. For now, she would just have to get their blood back up.

“We’re on the clock on this one so make peace with your dispositions and get yourselves in gear. Mission parameters give us-”

“What about Gunnery, Captain?” A voice interrupted from the rear of the hall.

Itona narrowed her eyes. She felt a bond with every marine in the room. Some more than others granted, but every one of them was linked to her. This one though… If it wasn't for his superlative skill she'd have shipped him out to another Company the moment her captaincy was confirmed.

Gunnery Sergeant Hinton.

She fixed him with a hard look.

“Where do you want us?” He continued, unabashed by the ferocity of her stare.

“On the Pride.” She delivered the words cold and hard. “There’s no space for the long gun on GS-114. The decks are all ringed, so unless someone’s developed a rifle that can fire on a curve you’ll be no use to us out there. I’ve got no need for ‘useless’.”

Even across the expanse of the briefing hall, she saw his eyes harden as her words bit him. She should have managed her reply better; tempered it or ignored his question for now and circled back to him after she was done. She was the Captain, the First Company Captain and she was meant to set the example.

The man just had a way of winding her up though. He was dismissive of other marines and severely lacking in respect. She’d spoken before her brain kicked in and inside she could already feel the heat of the mistake as it burned into her memory to be replayed later.

Another emotion reared; glee. Not glee at his expression or the small satisfaction taken from knocking him down. It was glee at the discovery of such sudden anger from so small a provocation. It was the glee of a child learning the mechanics of a spoon. It wasn’t hers so she shut it down.

“GS-114 is old." She started up again, ignoring Hinton as he smouldered at the back of the hall. "So gravity is sparse and there's no caretaker program running the place. Once we're in we're on our own. Access between the station sections is made by way of the central trans-terminal or the external link stairs. Those stairways are external to the main station body and we don't know whether the superstructure has been damaged. Keep your eyes open and your heads up, I don't want any unnecessary spacewalks on this one."

There were chuckles and smirks at her words and several eyes turned to Aitkin while those near enough looked to Johs. It was a story they’d all heard, most of them direct from the big Sergeant himself. Those who hadn’t would need to wait. There really was a clock on this mission and it was already ticking.

“Your orders are clear. You have your dispositions. It’s a murky one for sure, but follow your officers and they’ll guide you through.” She glanced over her shoulder and nodded to her Lieutenants. All three nodded in return, Aitkin added a wink. Itona chided herself for the girlish squeal inside. He really wasn’t that important, just fun to break up the boredom and monotony between missions. She wasn’t that attached to him. She was sure of it.

She turned her attention back to the waiting marines.

“The station’s existence isn’t classified, but just about everything that happens on it is. That means you don’t notice things, you don’t question things and you don’t bloody spout your mouths off about this mission once it’s done. I will be monitoring all squad comms throughout, so bear that in mind before you pipe up. If you want to say something and you think I wouldn’t like to hear it, then don’t bloody say it at all.”

The message was a simple one, but the marines of First Company weren’t fools. There were a few smiles within the ranks, but she knew they were going to see things they’d want to understand. She just had to rely on their professionalism and the dedication each showed to their oath.

“On your feet marines!”

Boots slammed against the floor as every body in the room rose.

"We don't know what's happened and we don't know what's waiting," she said, projecting her voice loudly, confidently, commandingly. "But we do know one thing; if someone's waiting they won't be ready for the First!"

Muttered agreement met her words with muted enthusiasm. There were one or two shouts, but Timonny’s hawkish stare still had them subdued. They needed pumping up.

“What are we?” She called out.

The voices echoed back to her in concert. The familiar words ready on every marines' lips.

“Marines!”

It was better, but still lacking the energy she wanted.

“Why do they fear us?” She spread her arms wide in question.

“Because we’re the best!” Came the shouted answer.

“Why should they fear us?” She bowed as she spoke, inviting them to greater volume with an upward flourish of her arms as she straightened.

“Because we’re the best!”

Itona marched along the line, turning her head to speak into the crowd as she walked.

“And who is it who fears us?”

“Everyone!”

“Who fears us?”

“Everyone!”

She stopped and flung her arms out, her back rigid and her face staring up at the ceiling.

“Who fears us?”

“EVERYONE!” Now they were shouting, yelling their replies with pride for who they were and joy for what they did.

Itona dropped her face and let her body soften as if she was about to collapse.

“And what will you do if I fall?” She called out in sombre tones.

The reply came in almost perfect unison. Two hundred voices made her the promise of the marines, the promise they made to each other and the Deorum made to them.

“We’ll carry you back to Luna!”

“Lu-na!” She parroted the last word, drawing the syllables out into the battle cry of the Six Companies.

The men and women of First Company raised their voices to join her.

“Lu-na!”

Inside Itona felt something basking in her joy, their pride and their energy, as voices echoed loudly throughout the briefing hall. It was wrong for so many reasons, distracting and uncomfortable in a way she couldn’t quite define, but in that moment it shone and for once she decided to let it.