First Strike - An Earth@War Novel

Chapter 3

Naval Space Center
Naval Base Oscar, Kylar II
May 21, 2487, 2330 Local, May 22, 2487, 0600 UT

The TP-5 landed at Kylar before midnight locally, making it still the 21st although for the troopers arriving on the transport, it felt like it was a day later. The twenty former recruits grabbed their duffle bags and headed to the terminal. Eight of the troopers, including Dave and Phil would board another TP‑5 in twenty minutes to take the 28 ½ hour flight to Rankus where they would refuel. After that, they would fly another 28 hours to Omar IV.

Max said goodbye to Dave and Phil, and then headed outside with eighteen other troopers that were reporting for duty either with the First or Twentieth Regiment of First Division. The night air was humid, especially after fifteen weeks in the dry Martian air, though it was significantly cooler. The sky was clear and Max could see the Hammond Nebula cluster in the sky above Kylar II. Palm trees seemed to be everywhere in contrast to the very few trees that had been planted in the Recruit Training Command for the Naval Assault Forces dome on Mars. The troopers noticed a man standing beside a transport vehicle outside of the terminal.

"Okay, I'm going to take you over to the division headquarters. So, load up," the duty driver, a nameless corporal ordered. The nineteen troopers boarded the ground transport and ten minutes later, they arrived at Headquarters Third Division, II Corps of the Naval Assault Force.

The transport took a road north on the naval base. Twenty minutes later, they entered a gate with the Third Division's crest on top of it. The entire Third Division complex was surrounded by a fence, separating it from the remainder of the naval base and providing security for the troopers. Third Division's headquarters was a large four-story building two hundred yards and directly in front of the main gate. It was painted bright white, with well-maintained landscaping and the largest building in Third Division's complex. To both sides and behind headquarters were clusters of T-shaped buildings, three building in each cluster. Each housed a battalion of troopers, one company to each floor, and one platoon in each wing. The First Regiment's barracks were the ones to the left of headquarters. Third Regiment's, to the right, sat empty since it was forward deployed to Omar IV. The Twentieth Regiment's barracks were behind the headquarters.

Max and the other troopers went into headquarters and turned in their orders. They were processed quickly, unlike when arriving in boot camp, where processing took many hours. Max was assigned to Second Platoon of Company A, Second Battalion. After the nineteen troopers were processed, another corporal took them around, dropping them off the proper barracks.

Max enter the building for Second Battalion. Company A was on the first floor and Second Platoon was in the north wing. It was just after 0100 local time when Max entered the barracks. It was a standard setup with twelve cots on each side of a long open room, with footlockers at the end of each cot. Two long tables separated the two rows of cots. At the far end of the barracks was a door that led to the head and an office where Max could see a Sergeant standing at the door, signaling for him to come. Max walked down the barracks to the Sergeant and followed him into the office. The Sergeant shut the door and sat at a desk in front of Max.

"You are Private Finley?" the Sergeant asked.

"Yes, Sergeant," Max replied formally.

"I'm Sergeant Wesley. I'm your platoon sergeant." Sergeant Steve Wesley was the poster child of a Naval Assault Force Trooper. At 5'10", he was a fit 180 pounds, toned, muscular and tanned from his time on Kylar II. He was a "lifer" with eight years of service already and recently signing up for his third four-year hitch. He had a firm demeanor, with a set jaw and tattoos covering both arms. He presented himself like a Sergeant you would see in the old Masic Point movies. The only thing the Sergeant lacked was combat experience.