Vanguard Word Update

2k words

***

Eleanor faced the door, her palms open and floating by her sides. There, she awaited her fate.

-xXx-

“Rise and shine, elevens!” Lieutenant Marek said, his grizzled body framed against the lights in the hallway outside.

Cadell blinked through groggy eyes, memories of being woken up in the middle of the night by angry drill Sergeants flashing through his mind. He threw off his bedsheets, standing beside his bunk as he wiped his hair, noting the rest of the team were slowly coming to. A quick glance at the clock beside the door confirmed it was an hour before their scheduled wake-up time.

“What is happening, Lieutenant?” Samiha asked, swinging her legs out of her oversized bunk.

“Briefing in the mess right damned now,” Marek replied, a touch of urgency in his voice. “Get dressed and meet me outside immediately.”

As quick as he’d came, Marek walked out, the door sliding shut and closing off the outside lights. Cadell walked over and hit the light switch, turning to pull his boots from his locker.

“What briefing?” Kurtis asked, hurrying to get dressed. “You hear anything about a briefing, boss?”

Cadell shook his head, knowing that he was being referred to.

“Maybe we’re finally going to get some action,” Hunter suggested, and Samiha flashed him a subdued scowl. After she told him of her sister’s death all those weeks ago, only Cadell knew the context behind her disapproval.

“Whatever it is, it must be important,” Kazlu added, pulling on her sleeveless tank top that was the Balokarid uniform. Despite coming from a different planet, the aliens did have underwear that preserved their modesty, though they differed from normal brassieres, lacking straps in favour of a wrap-around style.

Once everyone was dressed, they hurried out of the bunk, Cadell leading the way. Marek was reading a datapad when the group emerged, its screen hidden from Cadell’s sight.

“Everyone ready? Good.” Marek turned, leading them down the hallway. “Briefing’s in the mess hall, let’s go.”

“Can we at least get some breakfast during whatever’s going on?” Hunter ventured from the back of the group.

“You’ll want your full attention on this one, Private,” Marek said, keeping a tight lip on whatever was going on.

They arrived at the mess hall after a few minutes, and just like Cadell’s first day, the room was packed with people, a sea of people struggling for space in the hundreds of extra chairs laid out between the tables. Cadell noted he saw a few familiar faces from groups one to ten, but not all of them were here, or at least, he couldn’t see them from where he was standing. The rest of the troopers had probably been pulled from different platoons.

With the help of the sizable Balokarids, the team merged with the crowd, quickly finding five vacant chairs for them. Despite the amount of people, there was little chatter, and Cadell’s sixth felling felt a lingering sense of tension draw over the room.

At the side of the mess hall where the chairs had been faced towards, Cadell spotted a pair of engineers lugging a projector into the room, the device about the size of a cauldron. Lieutenant Marek moved up to them, reaching down to press a button on the near side of the device. The emitters flared to life, and a wavering blue projection radiated towards the ceiling, hanging above the soldiers like a cloud.

The sudden appearance of the massive projection quieted the room, and Marek’s voice rang out like an announcer before a sports game.

“Sit down and shut up, people, we’ve got a situation on our hands,” Marek began. “At nineteen hundred hours yesterday, a distress signal was transmitted from one of the forward shipyards in this sector here.” He gestured at the projection.

The holographic depicted two spherical shapes, one blue and the other red – Alliance and Confederate controlled space respectively. There was a grid view overlay, dividing the Reaches into hundreds of little squares. When Marek waved, one of the grids was highlighted, the projection zooming into it. The sector was maybe half a dozen squares from the border of the Confederacy.

“Whoever sent the signal warned of an impending attack,” Marek added ominously. “Details of the report are still being deciphered, but from what we can gather, hostile forces managed to break through our lines and take the station completely off-guard. Torpedo strikes and boarding craft have been confirmed. Outside of the SOS, there has been no contact from the shipyard since.”

Soldiers about the room murmured among themselves worriedly, the Lieutenant raising his hands to silence them.

“It’s obvious the Feds want to capture the shipyard intact, and likely use it as a staging ground to strike deeper into Alliance space. How they managed to penetrate the satellites and the listening posts of the Cordon, we don’t know, nor does it matter right now. What matters, is the recovery of that shipyard. If we lose it, damaged ships returning from the front will have to venture further afield for repairs, which will significantly hamper the war effort.”

He motioned again, and the projection zoomed out, another sector a couple grids above the shipyard highlighting. The word Hub appeared over this box.

“Supply lines have already been diverted from the yard, and defences have been strengthened at other nearby installations in case of further attacks. The place is primed for a counterattack. As you’ve probably guessed by now, this is where you all come in. I know, I know,” he added as more murmurs started to rise. “This phase of your training still has a couple weeks left in it, but this is a critical moment for all of you. If you were chosen to be part of this brief, then your superiors consider you to be ready for action. Normally we’d hold a formal ceremony for occasions like this, but that will just have to wait until you get back.”

“Here that, guys?” Hunter whispered, nudging Kurtis in the arm. “Marek just called us ready. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“You’ll all be reassigned to the crew of the Endeavor, effective immediately,” Marek added, turning off the projector with a click. “Her Captain’s prepping her to leave dry dock as we speak, so start packing your things and keep your phones handy. I expect the Endeavor to take anywhere from three weeks to a month to get to the shipyard, so I’d take this chance to stretch my legs if I were you. Dismissed.”

-xXx-

Cadell and his team had returned to their bunks to start packing, Cadell loading all his essentials into his duffle bag. Finally, after months of being pushed to his limits and then some, he was going into combat for the first time. It was nerve-wracking, but kind of exciting in a way, he was finally going to get his shot at adventure, and do his part in protecting the Reaches from the Confederation.

The door to their quarters opened, and for the second time today, Marek strode inside to greet them. “Attention,” Cadell called out, and the team assembled into two lines in a moment.

“At ease,” Marek said. “Wanted to stop by and check on how you’re faring after the brief.”

“Quite the bloody bombshell you dropped on us, Sir,” Hunter replied from the far end of the room.

“Indeed it was, but it’s easier to tell the whole platoon once, rather than each squad in person,” Marek explained. “And believe me, the news of the attack surprised me just as much when I first heard it. Feds sure know when to time their shots,” he grumbled. “I’d have preferred to have you all finish your training, but the more we wait, the more time they have to dig in.”

“You’ve taught us well, Sir,” Kazlu added. “We are as ready as we ever will be.”

“I’m glad to hear that, recruit,” Marek replied. “In a way, the timing of the attack is crucial to the success of the program. You succeed in this operation, you’ll erase all doubts in the Senator’s mind about integrating human and Balokarid forces into team compositions.”

“Our final test, in other words,” Samiha murmured.

“Correct. If any of you feel like you need more time, if there’s even a shred of doubt in your mind, speak up now.”

Nobody said a word, and Marek gave a nod of approval.

“I didn’t really need to ask that, did I? he chuckled, a rare slip of humour that didn’t seem to belong on the grizzled veteran. “I’m not sure when you’ll be shipping out, but for those of you who haven’t already, take this chance to explore the torus at your leisure. I know I’m not your superior anymore, but consider that my last standing order to you.”

“Yes, Sir,” the team chorused, some struggling to contain their excitement.

Marek saluted them, Cadell grinning as he returned it. They had had their ups and downs, but without Marek’s faith in them, they’d have never been given the chance at participating in this counterattack,

Marek departed, the team sharing glances at one another as the door closed.

“Bloody Nora,” Hunter exclaimed. “We just got free reign of the station, what the heck are we waiting for?”

“Aptly put,” Samiha added. “I have a feeling we won’t have access to many distractions on a warship. How long did he say the journey would take? A month, at the most?”

“All the more reason to do something special,” Kazlu added. “And I think I know what.”

From her locker, she pulled out a small pouch that looked like it was made of leather, with a string around the neck. It wasn’t unlike the one he’d seen Samiha with back at the airlock after their first space walk, and Cadell knew exactly what Kazlu was suggesting.

“What’s that?” Hunter asked, pointing at the bag.

“Herbs, spices, from Dur’shala,” Kazlu explained. “I’ve been saving these for a rainy day, and I think today fits the criteria for that.”

“You’re telling me you’ve been hoarding ganja this whole time?” Hunter asked. “I think I might just have to report you, Kaz.”

“I’ll let you smoke some,” Kazlu bartered.

“Fuck yes, taking some alien doobies has always been on my bucket list.”

“You don’t even know if it’s safe for humans,” Kurtis sighed.

“Do not worry,” she said. “I’ve researched, and they do not contain any properties that humans cannot ingest. However, since you are far smaller than us, I don’t think taking too much would be wise.”

“Let’s do it,” Hunter said. “You got some too, Samiha?”

“Yes. That is, if it is alright with our leader,” she said, sparing Cadell a curious glance. Again Cadell marvelled at her newfound politeness, it was like she was a whole new person after getting the wight of her grief off her chest.

“I’m not here to dictate how you guys have fun,” Cadell said. “You want to smoke the alien drugs, go on ahead.”

“You won’t be joining in, Kith’sla?” Kazlu asked.

“Somebody has to make sure you all don’t go crazy,” Cadell added.

“The designated driver. Good idea, Sir,” Hunter said, clapping his hands together. “Right-o, now where should we go? Smoking in the quadrant’s probably not a good idea, we need someplace private, preferably with some decent food.”

“I know just the place,” Samiha replied with a grin.

-xXx-

“Welcome back, miss Samiha!” Jim called, hurrying over to the reception desk.