Episode 5

You're All Invited

Purvis Whittaker, the VP of Operations, took the stage without fanfare. He was accompanied by another man I didn’t recognize, though he also wore a general’s uniform. We stood at attention as they entered.

“Good afternoon, men,” said General Whittaker, returning our salutes. “Good news. We’ve got a nice fat contract for you all.” He squinted out towards the audience. “At ease. Sit down, this is going to take a little while,” he said, waving us down. “We’ve got our first real big job of the year, a solid private contract, and you’re all invited. I’m not going to tell you about it, though. Here with me is a man most of you probably haven’t served with. General Dex Hampton. He’s going to lay out your mission. Dex is VP of sales and marketing in the Kantillon subsector and nailed down this gig for you boys. All yours, General.”

Whittaker strode back and took a chair on the stage as Hampton nodded and addressed us. He was tall, with slick black hair.

“Good day, men. We have signed a contract pledging an entire regiment to an action which will take place on Ulixis.”

A murmur went around the room. Entire regiments were only contracted occasionally, as the expense was huge. And Ulixis, I thought, that was where the freighter had–

“The Empire of Ulimba-Mor needs our services against their neighbor and rival, the Kingdom of Corwistal,” the general continued. “The monarchies are two of the four hundred eighteen states presently extant on Ulixis, which, as you know if you brushed up on your astronavigation, is the only habitable planet in the system. The empire is attempting to regain some valuable territory it lost five decades ago so the emperor himself has decided to hire the very best, and of course, we are pleased to be of service.

“This is not an optional mission and all leaves are canceled. You have twenty-seven hours to tie up loose ends before you ship out.”

I saw surprise on a lot of faces and a lot of whistles and exclamations of surprise. That was a fast turnaround. Had to be some serious money involved in this one. A whole regiment too!

The general took out a small tablet from his pocket and touched it, projecting a large holographic image of the planet over his head.

“You’re going here,” he said, and the image zoomed in towards a stubby peninsula on the edge of one of the continents. Far above it was the border of the Ulimbese empire. Their territory was marked in purple, but a stabbing yellow and purple striped region dove down to the peninsula, which was deep inside the sprawling yellow of the Kingdom of Corwistal. An X blinked on the peninsula.

“You will help the Ulimbese secure the peninsula for the emperor, remaining until all resistance has been neutralized and our client signs off. This shouldn’t be a tough one for you, as, frankly, the Kingdom of Corwistal cannot field troops with anything near your level of experience or training.

“I should let you know, however, that not all of you are going to have a good time, especially those of you who spend most of your time jacked.

“Ulixis is a tech level 10 planet, so–”

A groan rounded the room at this point.

“It sounds like most of you already know the drill. No advanced implants, no AI drones, no powered armor, no plasma rifles.” The general was reading from a list now. “External communications only, projectile weapons, optical sights, simple remote-controlled drones. Think of it as experiencing living history.”

I’d had to do a TL-12 world before, but a tech level of 10 was practically stone age. I looked at my bandaged elbow. Fighting without an exo-suit promised for some crazy stuff.

“And, of course, you’ll be getting daily combat-rate,” General Hampton continued. “Regardless of whether you see combat that day or not. Squads and companies will stay together, though this is a short-notice operation, so there will be some personnel substitutions. On a related matter, those of you with implants will need keep in mind that the Ascendancy doesn’t allow for higher-rated devices, even if they are medically necessary.”

I saw Squid swear under his breath. The sergeant was by far our most experienced soldier in the squad, but there were rumors that he had at least one artificial organ.

“Most of your records are documented, of course, so don’t think you’re going to sneak onto the operation with anything fancier than a titanium knee. Recuse yourself now and sit this one out. Also, everyone’s getting scanned. If they spy so much as a digital lymph node that we don’t already know about, your ass is grass. And by grass, I mean kicked off the operation and fined. Got it?”

A chorus of “yes sirs,” echoed through the room. I would be in. Four-eyes would have to unplug, but I thought he’d be good to go. Rest of the guys, so far as I knew, would be in.

“Excellent,” said General Hampton. “Other than the tech limits, you guys are going to have a good time. The Apis Peninsula is a moderately prosperous region known for its wine production, as well as sheep, rum cherries, and attractive young women of questionable morals. It’s also the winter residence of the King of Corwistal, as seen here.” The map zoomed in on an estate. “This is outside our range of objectives, but it is indeed the winter there right now, though we have no idea if any of the royal family were in the region during the latest push by the Ulimbese. Not our problem, though. Our job is to secure the area under the direction of the Ulimbese, reinforcing their push and holding the ground they’ve established.

“Despite the winter, the weather on the surface right now is mild. Air might be a little thick for some of you, but it doesn’t even get near freezing at night. Great weather for war—like taking a vacation. Have a rum cherry cocktail for me once you get our client settled, okay boys? This is a great chance to do the company proud, and if we pull around a job like this on such short notice, I can almost guarantee that just the news that we have been able to deliver so quickly on this scale is going to give our stock bump. Lots of you guys are holding WDI long-term, so consider this a nice boost for your retirement funds as well as a good chunk of cash right now.”

There was a mild murmur of amusement. The sales guys weren’t our favorite employees in the operation, but it had to be said, they did bring in the loot.

“Thank you, men. That’s all I have for you for now. I’ll let General Whittaker wrap things up.” General Hampton pushed a button and Ulixis disappeared.