Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) (14 page)

He then turned to Colonel Daniels.

“
I’ve been given
full authority to secure Orion. Colonel, I want you to send a small
team to the surface to perform a full surface scan. I need this
information fast. If anybody has been here before us, we are going
to need to make decisions before things could potentially
escalate.”

Colonel Daniels looked a little
surprised at his order.

“Anybody? You think there could be
signs of life down there?”

Commodore Lewis smiled at him.

“
Colonel, we’ve seen
Biomechs, artificial creatures that can talk and machines powered
by AI cores. I’m leaving nothing off the table. If life exists on
seven star systems in the Alliance, and we can create life
ourselves, then why not somewhere else? Hell, knowing our luck,
we’ll find an Echidna Union facility waiting for us.”

With the contract won at Epsilon
Eridani, the APS Corporation finally supplanted Alpha Company as
the most profitable security and paramilitary company in the
Alliance. With their purchase of the four ex-Confederate Navy
frigates, a civilian transport ship and a squadron of landing craft
and shuttles
, they offered a military
capability second only to the Alliance Navy and Marine
Corps.

Private Security Directory

The Senate was in full session, but this
happened to be one of the rare occasions when cameras were not
allowed. Most sessions held in this ancient and impressive
structure were now broadcast in real-time by making use of the
Interstellar Network. It allowed citizens in the many disparate
parts of the Alliance to watch their representatives on Terra Nova
and feel they had a part to play in their democracy. Though similar
to the previous Confederacy, the new Alliance was based upon firmer
ties between the colonies and greater central control from the
centre. Stood on the raised podium was the lithe form of the aged
Maria Hobbs, President of the Centauri Alliance and the supreme
commander of all her citizens. She waited patiently as the Council
Magistrate called the session to order.

Senator Broby Ramir watched the
proceedings with interest from his position in the second row
directly opposite the President. As one of the newest senators, he
was still getting used to the system and ever watchful for
information that could help his own citizens back on Centauri
Prime. His career had included a stint as soldier with the New
Carlos Militia in the War, and it had been his impeccable service
record that had helped to propel him so far into this arena. He was
a young man in his later forties and well below the median age for
senators. Even so, after six months of being in office, it was only
his third visit to the Senate Building and now, as on the previous
occasions, he wondered if he was the right man to be listening and
making such momentous decisions.

It took several seconds before the
chattering and complaining settled down. Even though this was an
emergency closed session, it seemed to do little to encourage those
senators present to act with even a little decorum. Broby watched
with a mixture of dismay and apprehension as each of the senators
returned their attention to their elected leader. Once satisfied,
The President nodded and then spoke.

“Senators of the House. In the last
hour, a confidential newsflash has arrived from Admiral Anderson,
the commander of Prometheus Research Station and leader of our
experimental rift generator project. You may have heard rumours,
but so far nothing has been confirmed or denied. The press will be
informed within three hours, however, and the news is
momentous.”

She paused for a few moments to ensure
she had the attention of every single senator in the House.

“
With the
construction of our Interstellar Network, we have enjoyed a period
of fruitful peace and trade, the like of which hasn’t been seen
since the early decades of colonisation. Just three days ago, the
rift generator experiment at Prometheus was activated. I know this
is probably the worst kept secret in the Alliance, but behind this
lays a hidden truth. By a stroke of luck and ingenuity, our
engineers have managed to create a stable Spacebridge to the Orion
Nebula and have sent both equipment and people through!”

The senators could no longer contain
themselves, and a great crescendo of sound rippled though the
building. The President lifted her hands to the air as if appealing
to some great deity. Some stopped but most continued talking.

“Senators, please keep quiet, there is
more and time is limited!”

The noises abated enough for her to
continue.

“
The Spacebridge
has
by some miracle, created an exit
point near a resource rich star system of ten planets. Several have
atmospheres, but all are within our grasp. I have already issued
orders to our military and scientific departments to start a
complete and thorough examination of the system, with a view to
settlement, mining and exploitation. Senators of the Centauri
Alliance, today we are no longer a people of seven stars. We have
moved on from the Solar System to include Proxima Centauri, these
twin stars of Alpha Centauri and our three most recent
acquisitions, the research and mining operations at Epsilon
Eridani, Gliese 876 and now Procyon.”

Senator Broby
Ramir’s secpad lit up with a series of documents from the office of
the President. Her words had indeed sounded fine, but he knew only
too well that of those stars, only the two-dozen worlds orbiting
the triple stars of Alpha and Proxima Centauri had any real
significance. The three new stars were nothing more than outposts
and mining stations. Useful as they were, they were nothing
compared to the core planets. Even Sol, the old solar system, from
which they had all originated, was little but a charred shell of
its former self. For some reason, a Spacebridge had only recently
been constructed that led directly to the red planet of Mars. The
over mined and heavily polluted Earth was slowly being reintegrated
into the community of planets, but few wanted to trade or even
travel there anymore.

This Orion could be very interesting
though.

He thumbed through
the details while the President continued her plans for the star
system. As he looked through, he couldn’t help but feel a little
suspicious at the destination. No scientist
, but he knew the odds of pinpointing a star at random were
almost impossible, let alone one with planets. He could only assume
the Alliance scientists had been able to isolate or lock onto
something at that great distance. He looked up and listened to the
end of her speech.

“With this news will come many
opportunities for our citizens. Work for industry, the sciences and
even for yourselves. Orion is the new frontier, and it is my
intention to open it up to any of our people that wish to go.”

A cheer of approval
rose in volume, but Broby was well aware something was missing.
They wouldn’t have been recalled unless they were required to
debate and vote on something. The President had the authority to
make short-term decisions, but ultimately, they had to be ratified
by the Senate.

What does she want our support on?

“
But before a single
civilian can take a ship into this new land, it will be necessary
for the House to read, digest and vote upon my actions. Even now,
our military and science vessels are exploring the near moons and
planets
of the star, and the astronomical
society have name New Charon, in honour of the ancient ferryman of
Hades, and in honour of the many that have lost their lives in
pursuit of this technology.”

The mention of the
military reminded him of the decision the Senate had taken whilst
he was still serving. He had seen at firsthand the disbanding of
the colonial militias and even the abolition of the Army. To
replace it came an enlarged Marine Corps, though still smaller than
the earlier numbers of ground troops available in total. All
regular troops were now based on ships or stations, and no units
were allowed to remain on the colonies for more than six months. It
was a vast change, but even then it had required a unanimous vote
from the Senate to push it through.

“
Senators...” she
called out one last time, “I call upon you to ratify my intention
to designate New Charon as the eighth star system of the Alliance.
By doing this, we are announcing our intentions to secure the star,
its neighbouring world and its limitless resources to the benefit
of our people.”

The sound of
chattering senators once more filled the House, but Broby was left
with a hollow feeling. It wasn’t the exploitation of something so
recently found that bothered him. No, it was the language she was
using. Quite why the Alliance needed to announce anything seemed
absurd to him. They were the only sentient beings discovered other
than the most primate of microbes and planet life; such as those
found on worlds like Terra Nova and Hyperion so many hundreds of
years earlier. He shook his head and stood up, much to the surprise
of the other senators and the President.

“President Hobbs, I have one question
regarding Orion!” he called out over the din.

She lifted her hands for silence as
before, and the sound dropped as they spotted him standing. It was
against protocol to interrupt an announcement, particularly when it
was the President. Even so, she nodded but remained standing.

“Very well, Senator, one question.”

Broby cleared his
voice and turned to see so many pairs of eyes staring at him with a
mixture of interest, irritation and boredom.

“We are the only sentient beings ever
discovered. Quite why do we need to declare this territory for the
Alliance? In the past, we have simply sent ships to an area and
then exploited it in whichever way we felt was necessary.”

The President said nothing for a few
seconds, and this short pause caused a reaction like that of an
electric shock through the senators. Like most politicians, each
was keen to watch their own backs, and the mere hint that something
was being kept from them finally grabbed their attention.

“
President, has
something been found on New Charon?”

The look on her face
answered the question, and what had started as a loud outburst,
turned into shouting and even screaming in the great building.
Broby watched in surprise as the formal facade of the Senate
Building turned into nothing more than a common crowd. It took
almost a minute for the senators to quieten down, and for the
President to indicate for him to sit back down. He could feel the
anger emanated from her eyes and wondered if perhaps he should have
kept quiet.

“
Senators, I have
just received information from the Defence Secretary that a small
number of our ships are investigating a moon orbiting the second
planet in New Charon. The information is subject to more work, but
initial signs indicate that at some point in the past it has been
inhabited. I can confirm to you all that Alliance military forces
have encountered the signs of sentient life almost fourteen hundred
light years from Prometheus.”

* * *

Spartan’s family arrival at the
Prometheus Seven Trading Post was less auspicious than he might
have hoped. They stepped onto the station to find only their own
APS representative waiting for them. Angela Brevik had served in
the Marine Corps a decade before the struggles with the Zealots.
Though now slightly overweight, and with more than a few grey
hairs, she was both quick minded and physically strong. On more
than one occasion in the last year, she had been forced to rely on
her own martial skills.

“Spartan, Ms Morato,” she said politely
and then looked past them both.

“Where is Jack Morato? I understood he
was coming as well.”

Spartan moved up closer to her and
shook her hand.

“Ms Brevik, good to see you again. Jack
will be joining us shortly, but he has business to attend to
with...” he noticed Teresa twisting her head discreetly at him.

“...the station’s security chief.”

Teresa then shook her hand and
indicated for them to move inside the station.

“Where are the Alliance security
forces? We expected to be met by them.”

Ms Brevik glanced
around and motioned for them to continue inside to the main
corridor. It was a wide space, and its sides filled with glass. A
number of civilians moved about, but every one of them looked like
they were in a rush. They moved a little further until reaching the
main foyer area.

“Ah, this takes me back,” Teresa said
to Spartan.

He smiled at her, remembering that her
only ever visit to this station had been back in the War when he
had been a prisoner on the planet below. Teresa and a small team
had come to the station seeking information.

“I seem to recall you had a little fun
on your last visit?”

Teresa tilted her
head as they moved out into the open area. It was a massive with a
circular floor and mighty marble staircases moving up to the higher
levels. In the centre was a great sculpture of a man digging into
the ground. It all brought back memories of the place, few actually
being ones she wanted to remember, especially the arms fair they
had come to infiltrate. The thought reminded her of Bishop and
Kowalski, her old friends that she’d worked with.

“Not quite the way I remember it,” she
said seriously.

Scores of people
moved about, and most wore suits or uniforms, a far cry from the
mercenaries and traders that used to inhabit the site. Spartan
looked about the vast open area and recalled the plans he’d seen
when discussing the security arrangements with Alliance security
several years earlier. APS weren’t providing station protection
like they usually did, but they were involved in ship loading
security, as well as personal protection on the site itself. Both
he and Teresa had pushed Admiral Anderson, the man in charge of the
station, for a larger contract, but this was the best he could
manage. They took a few more steps before a man in naval uniform
appeared from one of the side doors and intercepted them both. He
stopped and saluted.