A SPARTAN'S WAR

CHAPTER 2: MEETING ANJA PETERSON

"Manifest said a Lieutenant Commander Peterson." Roberts answered. "I'd like to take the young Lieutenant Commander out back and take from his hide what we had to repack. Some of that equipment was pretty advanced Skipper."

Martin was quiet for a moment, his eyes staring into the darkness. "How much longer until the load out is complete?" He inquired finally.

"Give us another forty minutes Skipper and we'll be set."

"You got thirty." Martin said quickly. "I want to be boarding by 0100. The weather report says this storm will let up by 0300 and I want to be gone before it does."

Martin saw Roberts nod his head. "Aye, Skipper. We'll get it done."

Martin turned when he sensed and smelled the presence of another person behind him. Due to his genetic engineering Martin and the members of his team all possessed an animal acute sense of smell, sight and hearing. In fact all of their known senses were much more acute than the normal human and it made it next to impossible to sneak up on them. It also allowed them to do many things others could not, including tracking individuals by their scent alone over great distances. He turned slowly, knowing only a member of his team could move quiet enough to get this close to him. He smiled when he saw his third in command.

"Sneaking up on me Master Chief?" He asked.

The six foot six Master Chief grinned from ear to ear as he stepped up to Martin, his ebony skin gleaming in the light of the terminal. His bald head reflected the intense light of the florescent fixtures fitted into the ceiling. He had been born three minutes after Martin, coming from the same batch of Genomes that the entire team had been chosen from, and he had been the first that Martin had saved on that moon lit night.

"I don't think I could do that Skipper, even on my best day. Danny might ... but I'm still trying." He spoke with a grin. He held out the small automatic in the belt holster. "I got her tuned up for you. She'll knock down a gnat at a hundred yards."

Martin took the weapon with a nod and slid it around to the small of his back where he lifted his jacket and clipped it to the belt on his pants. He pulled his jacket back down and to the untrained eye; it looked as if nothing was there. "I appreciate it Master Chief." He spoke.

"That's what we are for, sir!" He replied chuckling.

Martin looked at the crowd through the doorway. " You had a chance to mingle?" He asked turning fully to face the large window from which he could view the men and women inside the lounge.

"I checked out the manifests on everyone." He nodded slowly. "They all seem to check out ok."

Martin detected the change in the Chief's tone of voice and looked at him. "They seemed to check out ok?" He asked.

"There are about three dozen men and women. All of them are listed as technicians of some sort. They just don't fit the profile of a Tech head Skipper." The Master Chief answered.

"Explain that to me." Martin asked.

The Master Chief shrugged. "They move like killers, very confident of themselves and their ability to deal with anything. And their eyes give them away as something other than mere technicians."

Martin met his eyes, "Your opinion Master Chief?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say they were a Sweeper Team Skipper." The Master Chief replied without hesitation.

Martin's face did not betray his reaction at hearing that, "A Sweeper team?" He spoke calmly. "Why would someone send a Sweeper Team to EDEN?"

"I don't know Skipper. I thought they had disbanded all the Sweeper Teams when they restored us to active duty. That's what they told us anyway." The Master Chief spoke.

"It would seem that is not the case." Martin said evenly, trusting that Tony knew exactly what his senses were telling him. "Have someone keep an eye on them Master Chief. Discretely."

The Master Chief nodded and stepped closer so that his voice would not carry. "You want me to tag them Skipper?"

Martin returned the nod. "And rig their quarters as well Tony. With the new TAP transmitters. I don't want them found. I want to know why a Sweeper Team is coming to EDEN."

"You don't think the Admiral... ?"

Martin shook his head quickly. "No. He wouldn't request a Sweeper Team be deployed to EDEN. I trust him Master Chief, and he trusts us. He knows what we are and what we can do for the most part and he's never betrayed us ... and he's always covered our asses."

"Then who Skipper?"

Martin was about to speak when the noise from the men and women gathered in the lounge grew slightly softer, at least to their enhanced hearing. They turned to see two men and a woman in a Navy uniform come in the opposite door. They knew immediately who the tall middle-aged man, his face was plastered across the evening news almost every night, and he was well known in the political circles of Washington D.C. Martin was still trying to figure out how he managed to wrangle a trip to EDEN.

The Master Chief detected the slight stiffening of Martin's body when the women came into full view. Tony turned and took a longer look at the young women. Even in the unflattering Navy uniform, she was drop dead gorgeous. She stood about five foot three and looked to be about a hundred and fifteen pounds. Her Persian red hair was shoulder length, longer than Navy regulations allowed, but she had it pulled into a tight ponytail and tied up. She had high regal cheekbones, and soft full red lips. He could see her eyes from across the room, a unique and brilliant gleaming jade green in color; they were unlike any eyes he had seen on a woman before. The color of her eyes highlighted and contrasted with her deeply tanned skin, and the light makeup she wore only accented that contrast. Her uniform could not hide her full, firm breasts and lean muscular legs under the Navy skirt. Her legs were long for someone of her height and as she turned slightly he saw that they connected to a perfectly shaped and muscled ass. She walked with the confidence of a pro and he noticed how most of the men in her immediate area turned to stare at her with lust in their eyes.

"Who is she Skipper?" The Master Chief asked, his eyes still watching her.

"Her name is Anja Peterson." Martin replied slowly, his voice carrying with it a hint of deep feeling. A note of feeling that was quickly squashed. "Commander Anja Peterson of the Naval Investigative Service."

The Chief's head snapped around to look at him. "She's NIS?" He asked stunned.

Martin Hunter nodded. "Oh yeah, their top operative depending on who you ask. They call her the "Ice Queen"." Martin spoke, his voice holding something in it that Tony had never heard before. "Remember that intelligence briefing we got last year, the one that listed the operation to eliminate the head of the Russian mafia? SEAL team Seven supported the op and conducted the extraction?"

"Yeah. It was a smooth Operation from what I know. No problems in or out." The Master Chief replied.

"She's the one who did the target." Martin spoke evenly. "I talked with Commander Williams after they returned stateside; it took her four months to get in deep enough to get the target's attention. When she did ... the guy got sloppy, falling all over himself to do what she wanted."

The Chief looked at Anja from across the small lounge. She carried herself with an almost regal grace, as if she knew she could get anything she wanted. The chief turned back to his officer. "You got to admit boss ... looking at her does get your juices to flowing. How could you not want that body next to you in the rack?" The Chief spoke.

Martin grinned knowingly. "She speaks three languages fluently, including Russian. Her mother was Russian. She has a Degree in Biology, and a Master's in Genetic research. She has used her looks and her body on more than one occasion to secure completion of a mission. And outside of her duties as well, to garner favor with the desk pukes at NIS to move her forward quicker and get her what she wanted for her genetic testing research."

The Chief looked at Anja again, watching her as she made her way towards them. He saw the males in the room turning to look at her and drink in her sexuality. She knew she was gorgeous and that men wanted her, and she used that knowledge to perfection. The men in the room, including the married ones, would give a years pay for one night with her, and she knew it.

"So why is she coming to EDEN, Skipper?" The Chief asked.

Martin looked at him. "I was told she was coming to evaluate us Chief." He answered with a smirk. "To make sure SEAL Team Twelve and our genetically improved asses are in ship shape order."

"What the hell does that mean?" The Chief asked, his face wrinkling up.

"It means that she's coming here to insure that we are still a stable portion of the US military." Martin told him. "And that none of us has blown a mental gasket."

"You serious Skipper?"

"Deadly serious." Martin spoke, all humor gone from his voice. "The Admiral got wind of this about two months ago. The NIS is unsure if putting our team in charge of EDEN's security was a good decision. They prodded a few Senators to authorize this investigation. And they put their top agent on it."

"Commander Peterson?"

Martin nodded with a small smile. "She's the hatchet man. She's come to see if we are still stable components of the Navy and if we can be trusted."

"What a load of s**t, Skipper!" The Chief spoke. "There ain't nothing wrong with our people! You sound like you know her well boss. What's up with that?"

Martin nodded slowly, remembering that night so many years ago as if it was only yesterday. Even half way across the room, Martin could still pick out her sweet honey scent from the dozens of other in the room. "I know her, or I thought I knew her." He replied softly. "Right now she is working directly for Senator Graham on this. He's that greasy looking bastard standing to her left, the same Senator Graham that has wanted to can our overworked asses for years. That's his son, following along with her, drool pouring from his mouth." He explained. "Apparently the two of them are engaged."

"That drugged up sleaze bucket is engaged to her?" The Master Chief echoed. "He doesn't look like he'd know what end to put it in."

Martin chuckled. "I agree whole heartedly."

The Chief saw Anja look their way and he saw her face change as she turned and headed directly for them. He looked at Martin, smiling. "I'm out of here, sir. I'll let you deal with her!"

Martin smiled back. "That Russian Mob boss Chief?"

"Yeah?"

"I got a copy of the autopsy from a friend. She popped him as he was filling her tight little body with his little Russian sausage." Martin made the shape of a gun and pointed it at his forehead. "One 40mm round between the eyes as he was popping inside her according to the lab reports. They found semen from an unidentified female mixed in with his all over the sheets on the bed."

"Christ that's cold Skipper!"