Unit 37: Rescue at Kilter Field

Chapter 5

It was the day after three units had been assigned and deployed. Mary woke them, they showered, dressed, and made their way to the parade ground, the morning ritual which they had grown so used to they could do it half asleep.

Bri stared up at the sky and watched the clouds slip across the pre-dawn sky. The base felt empty, desolate without the other hundred or so soldiers they were used to seeing out there. But there was something else too, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Suddenly, orders flashed across each of their overlays. They were to forgo the parade grounds and report to the administrative building, commander's offices.

The unit fell into a line and started to march off under Arles' lead. "What do you think it is?" Biloxi asked.

"No idea," Kat whispered.

When they got to the administrative building, they knew something was wrong. The assistant that usually occupied the desk in front of Sedris' office was gone and they could hear voices from inside.

"We can't just stand by while they take Kilter Field!" It was Andrews. He was upset, shouting. "We can reach it and we're the only ones out here."

"You want to throw a bunch of kids up against an Earther frigate?" Commander Sedris shouted. "They're not ready. You know they're not ready."

"If we don't save those people, they're gone." Andrews' voice softened and they couldn't hear what he said next.

There was a long pause. Everyone looked at Pauly but he didn't notice. He was already hacking into the base's database. "An Earther Frigate is cruising toward a small planet," he touched his wristcall. "NT4, Kilter Field is a harvester town, population twenty five thousand."

Bri stared at her boots and thought of the attack Sedris had shown her their first week on base. It had been wholesale slaughter and she had no doubt the Earthers were queuing up to do it again.

"We have to do something!" Anderson shouted and the door opened.

As both officers watched, Unit 37 snapped to attention. "Pick 3 or 4 units," Sedris gave in. "Your best. Take the Helios."

Andrews stepped out and faced them. His cheeks looked flushed. He had been arguing in there for a little while. "You're one." He touched his communicator. "Units 23, 18, and 62," he looked over at Pauly for a second, like he knew that Pauly already knew what was going on. "This is Major Andrews. Report to Captain Davies on board the Helios in fifteen minutes. Excursion gear. Full compliment."

Without a word, 37 moved past Andrews and off to get their gear. Bri glanced around at the other members of the unit but everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts.

It was strange, everyone knew that at some point they would be deployed to fight the enemy, that's why they were at Chenfel in the first place, but now it was happening. This is what the dogged, relentless training was for. Now, they were suiting up to go to war. You could see the weight of it, the reality hitting everyone all at once.

Cooper was just sitting on the edge of his bunk staring down at his boots, frozen, lost in a hurricane of thought. Kat was checking through her gear. You could see that she was kind of looking at it, but really not there at all. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Everyone could hear Pauly on the far side of the room. It was his usual mumbling a habit he had when he was hacking. First his lips would start to move, and then he would actually start to mumble. If you let him go on too long, he would sit there and read it all out loud.

But no one stopped him this time.

Two hours away, a little planet with a New Terran harvester facility and town was imminent danger. Bri wondered what was happening, what it looked like to see a ship that size swing into low orbit. She wondered how many marines a frigate carried, and almost asked, but decided not to. It didn't matter anyway; Earther marines were slow and heavy.