A SPARTAN'S WAR

CHAPTER 5:

Admiral Wallace was a man that Martin would follow to hell and back. He was a true leader of men who had worked his way up in the ranks because of what he had accomplished in his career, and not because of some political connections. He was a tall muscular man, with just a touch of white hair on his mostly bald head. A man in excellent physical condition, who had lobbied hard to get SEAL Team Twelve this post on EDEN. Martin didn't know why, and never really bothered enough to ask, but Wallace had always been there to look out for him and his team over the years, earning him Martin's trust and respect. There was something about the Admiral that made him feel relaxed and comfortable whenever he was in his presence.

"Martin..." He spoke stopping in front of him. "I told Senator Graham I would introduce you before we boarded. Senator, this is Commander Martin Hunter, EDEN's Chief of Security."

Richard Graham hesitated before extending his hand to shake Martin's outstretched one. He looked at him quickly. "So you are the Genome Commander?" He asked wiping his hand on his pants after shaking Martin's hand. This did not go unnoticed by Wallace or Martin.

Martin couldn't help but grin as he saw Anja approach from behind the Senator with his son. He nodded. "Yes sir." He replied, "Sequence One; Batch Number nine eight three four one."

Richard Graham looked slightly surprised. "You remember your batch number?" He asked, clearly taken aback.

Martin nodded. "Yes, sir; It's kind of hard to forget, when it's tattooed to the inside of your thigh." He replied.

Anja's eyes narrowed slightly at hearing this. She did not remember any number tattoo on the inside of Martin's thigh, and she had willingly and quite happily spent enough time between his legs to notice. Of the s****l partners she had over the years, Martin was the only man Anja had willingly sucked off, and she had done it on more than one occasion that night as she remembered, each time with delightful gusto.

Martin was the only one who noticed her reaction and he inwardly grinned to himself, knowing what must be racing through her head.

"So you believe you have the security of EDEN well in hand, Commander?" Graham asked.

Martin nodded. "Yes, sir, EDEN is the most secure facility the United States has right now. And not just because she is several million miles away. We have state of the art systems installed and my men, as well as the rest of EDEN's security force, are intimately familiar with all of them."

Graham nodded, as if he wasn't in the least bit interested, "Very well." He said.

Admiral Wallace realized that the conversation wasn't going to proceed anymore and motioned with his hand. "Senator, if you'll follow me, the loading ramp to our jump ship is further down the terminal."

Graham nodded and turned to walk with the Admiral. Martin looked at Anja and Kevin as they came up to him. Kevin had a smug look on his face.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"We are ready to board." Anja said.

Martin glanced at the Master Chief quickly before looking back to her. "I believe the line for boarding is back there." He spoke.

"We have special clearance Commander." Anja said. "You know that."

Martin shook his head. "No one has special clearance unless I give it. Everyone has to pass through the detectors before they board. All this information was in the packets that were handed out, along with your security passes." He looked at her, and then at Kevin, "Which I don't see, by the way."

"What security passes?" Anja asked.

"They were in the packets given to you when you entered the terminal as I told you." Martin explained. "Without those security passes you will not be allowed to board."

"I gave ... I gave them to my assistant." Kevin stuttered.

"Then I would suggest you find your assistant and get them back." Martin spoke. He could barely hold back the grin as Kevin turned and started down the long line of men and women looking for his assistant. He turned back to Anja who had taken a step closer to him.

"Playing games Martin?" She asked, her voice cold.

Martin shook his head. "Me? Play games? I wouldn't think of it. You have just forgotten how to follow instructions." He told her.

"I was promised your full corporation!" Anja hissed at him. "Are you going to let what happen between us begin interfering with how you follow orders?"

Martin's smile faded and he glared at her. "What happened between us Lieutenant Commander Peterson is ancient history; you saw to that!" He told her. "I have long put it behind me. What you need to do, is realize that we operate like any other military facility, and we have rules that need to be followed. If you can't handle that, I suggest you let the good Senator know, and we can find someone to take your place. The next scheduled trip back to earth is in four months!"

Anja bit back her sharp reply, knowing that to argue with him now would do no good. She took a deep breath and forced a smile to return to her face.

"Will that be all, sir?" She asked sweetly.

"That's all. Dismissed."

Anja spun around smartly and followed Kevin to find their security passes. Martin turned as the Master Chief came up next to him.

"Is it smart to piss her off Skipper?" He asked. "She does have the Senator's ear."

"What's Admiral Wallace's rule for facing the enemy Tony?" He asked.

The Master Chief smiled. "Keep them guessing."

Martin nodded. "Keep them guessing. Moreover, that's what I intend to do with the good Commander Peterson. Keep her guessing."

"She's got smarts as well as beauty Skipper." The Master Chief said. "She'll catch on real quick."

Martin nodded. "Maybe, however, by then we'll be on EDEN, and there won't be a thing she can do about it. The Senator is only staying for a few weeks. She's assigned for the full year."

The Master Chief grinned. "You didn't?" He asked.

Martin nodded with a smile. "It pays to have friends in low places Chief. You know that. I had MILPERSEN permanently assign her as an attachment to SEAL Team 12. She'll be with us a while."

The Master Chief broke out in a booming laugh. He shook his head. "Now I know why I don't play poker with you skipper. You are devious."

Martin nodded, "Only when I'm in battle Master Chief. Only when I'm in battle."

They both were laughing as they turned back to watch the procession of people into the waiting Raptor Jump ships.

Martin moved through the upper deck of the Raptor Jump ship making his way forward to the cockpit as men and women were settling into their chairs. He barely glanced at Anja and Kevin who were sitting together, and he did not see her eyes linger on him for a long moment. He passed through the small doorway into the spacious cockpit and saw the two pilots prepping the ship for takeoff. He glanced at the small door and debated whether to go upstairs into the observation lounge for take off, but decided against it and settled into the engineering seat behind them.

"How goes it folks?" He asked.

"Four minutes." The pilot answered, turning back to look at him. He wore a Marine Corp flight suit with gold oak leaf clusters on the shoulder boards. "All our guests got their seatbelts on Boss man?"

"We're secure in the back." Martin replied, settling into the chair at the computer station behind the pilot.

The Major glanced through the open doorway and looked at the long rows of seats now occupied by men and women. "Man, I hate transporting REMFs."

The female co-pilot chuckled and looked at him. She wore Captain's bars and a Marine Corp flight suit as well, "C'mon Ben." She spoke. "We need to work on your social skills."

The pilot, Major Benjamin O'Connell, looked at her with a grin. "Can we start with you?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows. "I might need extra training Tina."

"We'll see big boy." Tina Winston said in reply. "We'll see.