interbred with no effort to change natural selection. It was their belief that natural selection would produce the strongest offspring. The harshness of their planet demanded that only the strongest survived. Only one in three children survived to adulthood. The environment was too brutal for any weakness and produced the fiercest warriors in the known worlds. She was one of their fiercest. She glanced up when Dasan entered the room, her hard clear eyes revealing no emotion.
"Listen up," she said.
The rest of the platoon turned to Dasan.
"We were brought out of status for a mission. We will perform a long-range recon of the Gaxola II settlement. There has been an alarm and we have been unable to communicate with the settlement. Our mission will be to check on the welfare of Gaxola and its inhabitants. We launch within the hour."
"Shit..." Votava said.
"We lost Mai to flight status for an alarm. They got her in sick bay now..." Betak said.
There were other audible moans from others in the platoon.
"Ha wo deh bang."
"JAFDIP."
The last comment almost made Dasan smile because it was how he felt too ; just another fucking day in paradise. He couldn't show his own feelings especially for this mission so he suppressed his smile.
"Knock it off!" Sergeant Aijuba shouted. The platoon went silent.
She stood. When she did Aijuba had to grab the table to steady herself. She looked as bad as anyone.
"I trained you how and by god you will act like Legionnaires. You heard our orders. Finish your chow and get to the flight deck. Ohadia and Gupta see the corpsman before you report to your craft."
She sat and downed several pills with a large gulp of coffee, then took a long, deep breath from the medical inhaler that had been next to the pills before tossing it into the trash. Dasan could almost see the pills and inhaler take effect. Her eyes became brighter and some the lines of fatigue began to disappear. The drugs would prop you up but there was always a letdown later.
"Sir," a mess attendant said as he put a plate in front of him.
As he sat down a corpsman put down his own pills and inhaler. He immediately took them. They always hit harder on an empty stomach and he was going to need all of the help he could get to make this flight.
Dasan's eyes met Aijuba's. He lowered his voice and said ,
"Can they make it?"
He had come to trust and depend on Aijuba's judgment. She had two full-term enlistments as a career Legionnaire under her belt and had seen combat. Dasan was on his first enlistment and he depended on her for many of the decisions for the platoon. She hesitated while she thought through what a long patrol would mean to the platoon.
"Yes, but we will lose one or two.'
Dasan’s stomach tightened with fear. He had never lost anyone in his years in the Legion. Now he could lose people without ever going into combat. Aijuba looked tired.
"It is the way of the Legion. We are expendable," she said.
"I spoke with the Captain."
"And?" Aijuba said.
"There has been no sensor flyby. We are going in cold."
"It gets better. That is not like the Captain. I have served with her before. She would not be doing this without a reason," Aijuba said.
"She said she had a ‘hunch.”.
Aijuba was silent for a moment.
"I don't like hunches. Too many times they are right."
They both turned to the plates to finish their food. They would need the strength. By the time he finished his meal the others had left to complete other last minute personal needs before they reported to the hanger bay. Some would seek out a quiet place for a religious moment, while others would finish a message home. He stood slowly. The drugs had taken effect but he was still unsteady on his feet. Aijuba was the only other person left.
"Sergeant, are you ready ?"
She stood. There was no give in Aijuba. She was a Wolf and Legionnaire to her core. The Legion was her home. She lived the Legion ’s motto. As a Wolf, war and service were her life. She had been
"Listen up," she said.
The rest of the platoon turned to Dasan.
"We were brought out of status for a mission. We will perform a long-range recon of the Gaxola II settlement. There has been an alarm and we have been unable to communicate with the settlement. Our mission will be to check on the welfare of Gaxola and its inhabitants. We launch within the hour."
"Shit..." Votava said.
"We lost Mai to flight status for an alarm. They got her in sick bay now..." Betak said.
There were other audible moans from others in the platoon.
"Ha wo deh bang."
"JAFDIP."
The last comment almost made Dasan smile because it was how he felt too ; just another fucking day in paradise. He couldn't show his own feelings especially for this mission so he suppressed his smile.
"Knock it off!" Sergeant Aijuba shouted. The platoon went silent.
She stood. When she did Aijuba had to grab the table to steady herself. She looked as bad as anyone.
"I trained you how and by god you will act like Legionnaires. You heard our orders. Finish your chow and get to the flight deck. Ohadia and Gupta see the corpsman before you report to your craft."
She sat and downed several pills with a large gulp of coffee, then took a long, deep breath from the medical inhaler that had been next to the pills before tossing it into the trash. Dasan could almost see the pills and inhaler take effect. Her eyes became brighter and some the lines of fatigue began to disappear. The drugs would prop you up but there was always a letdown later.
"Sir," a mess attendant said as he put a plate in front of him.
As he sat down a corpsman put down his own pills and inhaler. He immediately took them. They always hit harder on an empty stomach and he was going to need all of the help he could get to make this flight.
Dasan's eyes met Aijuba's. He lowered his voice and said ,
"Can they make it?"
He had come to trust and depend on Aijuba's judgment. She had two full-term enlistments as a career Legionnaire under her belt and had seen combat. Dasan was on his first enlistment and he depended on her for many of the decisions for the platoon. She hesitated while she thought through what a long patrol would mean to the platoon.
"Yes, but we will lose one or two.'
Dasan’s stomach tightened with fear. He had never lost anyone in his years in the Legion. Now he could lose people without ever going into combat. Aijuba looked tired.
"It is the way of the Legion. We are expendable," she said.
"I spoke with the Captain."
"And?" Aijuba said.
"There has been no sensor flyby. We are going in cold."
"It gets better. That is not like the Captain. I have served with her before. She would not be doing this without a reason," Aijuba said.
"She said she had a ‘hunch.”.
Aijuba was silent for a moment.
"I don't like hunches. Too many times they are right."
They both turned to the plates to finish their food. They would need the strength. By the time he finished his meal the others had left to complete other last minute personal needs before they reported to the hanger bay. Some would seek out a quiet place for a religious moment, while others would finish a message home. He stood slowly. The drugs had taken effect but he was still unsteady on his feet. Aijuba was the only other person left.
"Sergeant, are you ready ?"
She stood. There was no give in Aijuba. She was a Wolf and Legionnaire to her core. The Legion was her home. She lived the Legion ’s motto. As a Wolf, war and service were her life. She had been
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