Xenophon nodded politely.
“No problem, hey, they probably won’t let us in anyway, and if they did, do you think they would even let an ex Alliance officer serve on one of their sacred Titans?”
“True,” replied Glaucon.
There were only three more people in front of them, and they were being processed with alarming speed. Glaucon was about to speak when a gap appeared in front of them to show a Laconian officer waving him through.
“You military?” asked the soldier.
Xenophon nodded but said nothing. The soldier turned his head and looked to Glaucon.
“What about your friend?”
Xenophon answered before his friend could say something he might regret.
“We both served in the Alliance Navy.”
The man raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“A little young aren’t you?”
Xenophon wasn’t quite sure what to say when Roxana pushed past them.
“They’re with me. We crewed on the Valiant. I’m Lieutenant Roxana Devereux.”
The man looked at the three of them but didn’t check anything on his computer system. The harder Xenophon looked, the more he realised the man didn’t have any electronic devices near him. It was as if he was just giving a simple face-to-face interview.
“Valiant, huh? I didn’t think anybody made it off her?” said the man.
“Not many, but some.”
“Okay, you’ll do,” he answered and turned to point to a series of doors behind him. “Take the second door, and join the rest of the potentials. Next!”
The three looked at each other, all surprised that they had reached this stage without any trial or test. Roxana moved first and made straight for the door. The other two quickly followed, not wanting to hold back in case the man changed his mind.
“You got my message, then?” asked Xenophon as quietly as he could.
She ignored him and pushed open the door to reveal a small room with about twenty people inside. They were an odd mixture, mainly human but all rough and angry looking. Some of the men wore old military uniforms, others security guards and at least half in scruff civilian clothes. Xenophon leaned towards her and whispered.
“Not exactly special forces, are they?”
“And you are?” she whispered back.
Glaucon did his best not to laugh, but a large Laconian soldier pushed inside the room, bumping him slightly as he move inside. Behind him moved the blue-haired girl from the night before. Two more soldiers followed who then closed the door shut behind them. She ignored them and moved off to the side. A man cleared his throat and called out from the front.
“My name is Lochagos Teleklos, and I am here to recruit experienced mercenaries to join the stratiotes in the Armada.”
The audience of prospective recruits quietened down as they listened to the words of the Laconian soldier. Xenophon was probably the only person there that even realised a Lochagos was a military rank, the leader of the Lochos. This was a particular type of formation used by the Laconians. To the best of his knowledge, it was used for a force of around three hundred warriors. Not a large amount by any standard, but when combined with light infantry it was a force capable of a great variety of missions. He could only assume Teleklos was looking to bolster the numbers in his own small force.
“As you already know, Lord Cyrus of the Median Empire has undertaken a programme of mercenary recruitment for service outside of the Terran worlds. It means you will be technically in the service of a foreign power. This may have implications for your legal status back home. This is an issue for you to examine, not us.”
Xenophon looked to Roxana and Glaucon who appeared disinterested in the comment. It might not worry them, but to Xenophon it meant another barrier to be broken before he could redeem his name and avenge his father.
Like our status on Attica could get any worse!
“It is a massive military operation to clear a number of threats, ones that are causing problems to both people and the main trade routes. The campaign will be a rolling offensive to clear out pirates, raiders and a number of alien incursions into Median territory. This is where the bulk of the raiders are hiding out, and that’s why this is a commercial volunteer operation rather than a military one. As you might expect, Artaxerxes and his Imperial forces wouldn’t look too kindly on a Terran operation on their own soil. This will be paid for out of the treasuries of the Empire. The money is good, damned good, but the risks are equally high. There are stations, ships and colonies that will need to be pacified, and we expect there will be casualties.”
He stopped for a moment and looked at the faces of the eager volunteers. They were hardly Laconian soldiers, but there was much experience amongst them. He spotted the blue-haired girl and paused, perhaps recognising her from the inevitable report of the previous night’s events.
“Now, it is important that you understand this is not a Laconian operation. Thousands of mercenaries are flooding the market in the hopes of getting in on this conflict. Our contingent will not be the biggest, but it will be led by Laconian professionals and include a good percentage of Laconian soldiers. This will give us the edge and the best fighting force in the Armada. General Clearchus is in charge of the military operation, and contingents from most Terran worlds are supplying forces. We are providing one thousand heavy infantry and eight hundred light infantry for the operation. Our heavy infantry are mainly volunteers from the Laconian military. We still need volunteers to help fill the light infantry role, as do the contingents from the other worlds and colonies. Dukas Xenias, the Arcadian, is also looking for recruits for his stratiotes as well as his spatharios. If you join my group, you will support the heavy infantry with light armour and weapons, skirmish and provide tactical reconnaissance in battle. Warships and transports are being provided by Pythagoras and Tamos, the two largest private military contractors in the Terran territories.”
Teleklos paused for a moment and waved for a group of four soldiers to come to the front. As they moved, Glaucon placed his hand on Xenophon’s arm and leaned in.
“You sure you want to do this? It’s not like we’re going away for a few days. This could be months of work, and it looks pretty dangerous.”
“You’re worried it will be dangerous?” answered a bemused Roxana.
He grimaced at her feigned insult.
“Of course not. This just isn’t the kind of thing we were looking for. We came out here because there was nowhere else to go. Now we’re talking about joining some mercenary adventure for fame, money and glory. Is that what you want?”
Xenophon smiled at him.
“I don’t know about you two, but the sound of a little fame, money and glory has a rather nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
Roxana beamed at them both.
“I especially like the money bit.”
Teleklos cleared his throat once again and extended both of his arms so that he drew attention to the soldiers.
“These are mercenaries, not Laconian soldiers. You’ll note they are wearing some Laconian armour that has been loaned to us by our government. All four of these men have served in border skirmishes with the Alliance. But since their fall, our friends have found work hard to come by. These men have earned decent money in the past and have fought well. This oration will earn each of you ten times what these men were paid to fight against the Alliance. Now, as you have been listening to me, each one of you has had a full and detailed background check performed. As a Laconian led unit, we are not interested in your past, unless you have any known history that could compromise this unit. Two of you have failed these checks, the first because both of you have robbed Laconians installations in the past and second, because you have killed Laconian civilians in previous operations.”
He pointed towards two men near the front.
“Both of you, out, now!” he roared.
Neither of the men hesitated, and in seconds they were out of the door. Teleklos looked back to those that were left and smiled.
“Now, we are due to leave in three hours, and I believe you are all ready to join my contingent. This is your last opportunity to turn away. Once you board this transport, you are signing yourself up as an official mercenary on Cyrus’ expedition. The commander of your contingent will deduct twenty percent of your earnings to help pay for equipment, weapons and supplies. This is non-negotiable. Those of you that come with us will be properly briefed upon arrival with our ships. It is there that you will be assigned a unit and ship. Some will serve with me, others with Xenias and maybe some with the other Dukas.”
He stopped and looked about the room, watching each of the new recruits. Xenophon was convinced he spent more time looking at him, even so he said nothing else and continued looking before finally nodding in a self-satisfied manner.
“Very well, welcome to the Armada.”
* * *
It took a week for the ship to reach the rendezvous with the rest of the Armada. They met at the well-travelled refuelling point at Tarsus. The military transport, their home for the last week, moved in a tight formation with another dozen similar vessels. From inside, they were afforded clear views of the assembled ships. At the centre was the mighty hulk of the Laconian flagship, the Titan LLS Valediction. Dozens of other vessels moved around it, the vast bulk being the heavily armoured assault carrier. These antiquated ships were used by many of the Terran colonies and formed the backbone of all human led military interventions.
Xenophon, Glaucon and Roxana waited near one of the many viewing points on the ship and gazed at the flotilla. A number of others stood by and watched, including Tamara, the blue-haired girl from the station who had become friendly with their small party. They were all still wearing the clothes they had brought with them, and there had been nothing other than news and shipping information on the journey.
“So, are you all ready to join the adventure, then? You know we get our first payment at Tarsus, right?”
“Why Tarsus?” asked Glaucon.
“That is where Clearchus is waiting. The supply ships will give us our gear plus distribute payment to those going along. Don’t forget, the leader of our unit gets to keep twenty percent.”
“Suits me,” said Xenophon. “It’s about time we got some money.”
Another group of three wandered over. Glaucon spoke to them first, and Xenophon joined them. Once busy, Tamara looked over to Roxana to get her attention.
“You said you’ve done operations like this before?”
“What do you mean?” she replied.
“Mercenary work.”
“Oh, not really. I’ve worked on a few bases, the odd ship. Mainly security jobs, protection, escort, you know the kind of thing. It wasn’t easy finding work after the surrender. People like me were on wanted lists for months,” she said and then stopped. There was something about Tamara that didn’t seem right. “Wait, I thought you’d been doing the same thing?” she asked, a little confused.
Tamara looked to the ships and said nothing. The others continued talking with the other volunteers. They were talking about weapons, at least that was what it sounded like from where she was stood. Roxana moved to the young woman and stood next to her, trying to appear as friendly as she could around somebody she knew very little about. She waited a little while longer before asking her.
“What happened to you?”
There was a short pause before Tamara turned her head slightly. She scratched her forehead before speaking.
“It’s a long story, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear it.”
She turned so that the back of her head and her bright blue hair faced Roxana. It seemed her attire was fairly limited. She was still wearing her battered leather jacket and denim clothing. Roxana looked down at her long boots and noticed they were in a much poorer state than she had first thought. From a distance she looked like a tough, dangerous woman, but the closer she stood the more girl-like she became.
“Look, we’ve all been there. Do you think it was easy for me to leave everybody behind? My family, friends, even my career? I had prospects in the Alliance Fleet, promotion and decades of service ahead of me. Next thing you know, I’m on the first ship out of there and looking for work, just like those two.”
Tamara looked to Glaucon and Xenophon for a moment. They were both still engrossed in their discussion, but it seemed to be turning into an argument. That, or one of them was just being surprisingly passionate about something as mundane as a sword. She listened for a minute, intrigued by the detail and interest.