The Ninth: Invasion Read Free Page B

months of training,”
    The entire division was taken by surprise along with the man in blue.  Dante cast a scrutinizing look at Cain.
    “This isn’t an active duty assignment,” The man in blue spoke slowly as he thought.  “You are being assigned to Deriso as a temporary garrison – you will still receive training.”
    “Irrelevant,” Cain countered calmly.  “All off-station training is to be cleared with the division leader one week in advance.”
    “This is an order from the Administer himself.”
    “It doesn’t matter who the order comes from.  Unless we are in an active state of conflict, no orders can be made in contradiction to previously established procedures.”
    “Missions to avoid an active state of conflict can ignore minor procedures if the need is strong enough.”
    “You’ll need a statement from someone outside the military to deem a mission as one to prevent conflict on a non-military world.”
    “We have a statement from the Governor on file that makes it clear your deployment is to reduce civil tensions in the hopes of averting open conflict.”
    “You’ve done your homework,” Cain said with an annoyed grin.
    “So have you.  Any other problems?”
    “Regardless of the Governor’s statement, the Commonwealth is not in a formal state of war, nor is the local region in a clear state of conflict or revolt.  We have the option to delay our departure by up to three hours to take care of ongoing concerns.”
    The man in blue paused.  It was obvious he was deep in thought.
    “Very well, you have three hours.”  The man in blue stomped off.
    The troopers at the table couldn’t believe what had just happened.
    “What was that ?” Kindra asked in surprise.
    “Ignorance of the law is no defense against it,” Cain said with a grin.  “The only way to truly be safe is to know it better than your opponent.  My dad taught me that.”
    “You mean they were going to ship us off now ?” Owen asked, startled.  “Before we’d even finished our meal?”
    “There is probably a ship waiting for us as we speak,” Cain said with a nod.  “Sorry I couldn’t get us more time.  I didn’t count on them getting the support of the local Governor in advance.”
    “Of course they have his support,” Tyra said, burying her head in her hands.  “He’s my father.”
    Everyone stared at the squad leader as it sunk in.
    “At least we have three hours; that’s better than nothing,” Brent said as he got up.
    “Where are you going sir?” Dante asked.
    “To pack.”
    “We should probably all skip this meal,” Tyra said dejectedly.  “There will probably be some kind of meal awaiting us.  Take these three hours and take care of any loose ends.  I doubt we’ll be back any time soon.”
    Tyra sighed and stood.  Cain saluted and quickly dashed off.  It was odd to see the rotund young man move in with such haste.  Probably off to settle any outstanding debts he had on the station.  The rest of the troopers in the squad gave up on eating and dispersed to pack all their worldly possessions and say their farewells.  While everyone was taken by surprise by the sudden reassignment, it struck Brent odd that Ronald was acting the most peculiar of the squad.  Tyra he understood; being called home by her father the Governor no doubt came as a shock to her, but Ronald?  He couldn’t figure out why things were bothering him so deeply.  Brent shook off thoughts of Ronald and focused on the job at hand.
    Brent and several of the others made their way back to their bunks.  Some trooper none of them had seen before was already packing Cain’s things for him.  Brent smiled to himself as he wondered what kind of wager the trooper was working off.  While the others fussed with their possessions, Brent inspected his nearly empty locker.  It didn’t take him long to pack.  He didn’t really have any possessions beyond his uniforms.  He had only been on the academy a short while and