Part II

 Captain Adrian Henry looked across the desk at Commander Sarah O'Bannon,
much in the way a pit bull looks through the fence at the neighborhoods
nastiest cat. It is easy to tell this cat from any other, it is a one eyed
stray with limp that is probably related to, and fathered, most of other
cats in the area. This is the kind of cat that wolves detour around, and
bears climb up trees to avoid, but this pit bull just doesn't care, he wants
to get his shots in while he can. O'Bannon and Henry try not to make eye
contact but when they do, it quickly escalates into a staring contest until
1st Lieutenant Ratislav O'Muirdagh knocks and enters the room.
 Henry looks up at Ratislav and speaks:
 "Sit down, Lieutenant. It would seem that Commander O'Bannon has a very
special operation which some very higher ups want you take part in. Why
don't you tell him all about it, Commander."
 O'Bannon frowned at Henry before she turned to O'Muirdagh. "Lieutenant,
I've come here to take you to Canada where a classified special operations
group is forming for a mission. I will not tell you the nature of the
mission until we are on the shuttle, nor will even Captain Henry find out.
If you decide you do not wish to take part in this mission please say so now
and end your involvement."
 "This is to good to let go," Ratislav said. "It'll make for a great
section in my memoirs when I retire from the service. So, what is so
special a mission that you get sent all the way out here to come and get me?
I mean I don't exactly have a lot of experience in many fields that would
be useful for a special operations group."
 "That's okay, Lieutenant, someone must be pretty sure that you will do
well in this assignment or you wouldn't have gotten it. So pack your things
and let's go."
 Captain Henry froze:
 "Do you think that you can just waltz in here and steal my people with
out so much as a by your leave. I am not going to allow this."
 "I'm afraid that is out of the question. I out rank you captain, and the
Lieutenant will be coming with me whether you like it or not. My apologies,
Captain, if this is not to your liking but this is how it will be until
someone higher up say different."
 Henry's face was a mask of stone, and for a moment it looked like he was
still trying to find a way to argue around O'Bannon's logic. Finally giving
into the situation, he simply nodded and pushed a button on the desk which
opened the door behind them. O'Muirdagh and O'Bannon both snapped a salute,
turned smartly and walked out of the office.
 Together the two went first to his apartment to take his things, and then
took the mag-lev down to the hangar bays where a special shuttle was
waiting. Aboard, Ratislav was surprised at the elegance of the craft, it
was plainly a ship normally reserved for the brass. The walls were all
lined with wood, there were couches that could fold out into beds, and if
his hunch was right the cabinet against the wall was most definitely a bar.
Ratislav dropped his bag on one of the couches and sat down hard next to it
and put his feet up on a table. He smiled as he pulled open the bar and
grabbed a beer, and popped it open.
 Sarah grabbed a handle as the shuttle took off from the deck and moved
out from the ship.
 "Lieutenant, I believe you are aware that there are regulations against
drinking on duty."
 Ratislav snorted into his beer:
 "Yes, ma'am. I am, in fact, aware of those regulations, however due to
the fact that you appeared to have commandeered this vessel, I for one am
not going to let it go to waste. So why don't you just take the pole out of
your ass and tell me just what this mission is all about."
 "Ratislav, there are times when I would rather shoot you than deal with
you."
 "I understand but think of all the people who will be mad at you for
killing me before they all got their fair shot."
 Sarah sighed and shook her head before sitting down across the table from
him. Opening a briefcase she pulled out a stack of files and then a small
projection screen.
 "You will be taking part in a special one time mission of the gravest
importance. We have a source within the pirates who tells us they have a
mole within the Exo-fleet. A long time ago the fleet planned a tour of
foreign military departments, and our source has found out that the mole is
apparently one of the officers to be a part of that group. Our source isn't
high enough to know details so we are unsure which of the officers the mole
is. What he has brought us is even more worrying though. Apparently, the
pirates are going to stage a hostage taking in order to cover their pickup
of the mole. So we have even more problems stemming from this knowledge, we
don't when or where on the tour the pirates will hit, which makes it
difficult to plan accordingly."
 So much information in such a little time had confused the hell out of
Ratislav. He was a mere lieutenant, and knew for a fact he did not have the
clearance to be getting this kind of information without some kind of hook.
Someone up on high had decided that this officer would either save the
fucking day or they wouldn't need to bury him, just redecorate over him.
 Sarah could tell from the worried look on Ratislav's face that he had no
real clue what all of this had to do with him. The poor guy just couldn't
seem to put two and two together when dealing with simply military
operations.
 "What you aren't seeing is that the Fleet is preparing a strike force to
take out the pirates when they try to take their mole. And the Fleet has
decided that you, Lieutenant, will be leading that special operations groups
into the field. Right now in northern Canada your team is being assembled
in preparation for your arrival. Using slug throwers instead of regular
energy based weapons and a new variety or Exo-armor, you will train for a
month before the tour begins.
 "When the tour begins you will be quartered aboard the EFS Mark Hunter,
and when we know where the raid will take place you will be notified.
Aboard the Hunter is a special UD-1 'Wildcat' class drop ship, which is
specially designed to hold one armored car. The car, which we will also
supply is a Marine designed M 577 capable of carrying all twelve members of
your group. Once the location of the raid is known, word is sent to you and
you drop in the Wildcat which is capable of speeds well in excess of Mach
eight. After landing on site, you will drive to where ever the hostages
have been taken, and deal with the situation accordingly."
 "Why don't we just stay on planet and then launch from a regular Fleet
base or something? And why do we need the armored car, I though this was a
tour the Fleet felt was safe enough to send every day officers on?"
 "We can't put you in a regular Fleet base because just keeping a squad of
troopers sitting around with the fire power you will have will attract
attention we won't be able to divert. Each one of the members of your squad
will carry a Heckler and Koch MP10A and a Smith and Wesson SW9C. Instead of
the usual nine millimeter rounds, both of the weapons will carry ten
millimeter rounds specially designed for maximum damage. The armored car is
because of the fact that several of the stops on the tour are in extreme
danger zone such as the Golan Heights, Taiwan, and the burning forests of
central Mexico."
 "Is there some special point to slug throwers or are we just using them
because the government is cheap and doesn't like to give out the good
stuff."
 "There is a perfectly sensible reason for not using energy weapons.
Energy weapons are to easy to identify because of their individual
characteristics, and the Fleet does not yet have the technology to conceal
those attributes. You average slug thrower can be bought on the street for
less than a projection screen. This way no one will know exactly who it is
that started the event or ended it. The pirates are planning this to prove
that they can strike anywhere at anytime, we are going to use this to show
that we can do the same and come out on top."
 "So you're telling me that I get to lead a propaganda squad armed into a
free fire zone just to prove a point? I better get a fucking medal for
this."
 "Watch your mouth, Lieutenant. You are getting to lead a squad of some
of the best counter-terrorist troops that any military has to offer. Along
with some of the best weapons the Fleet has to offer you will be testing a
new form of Exo-armor. Even lighter than jump troop armor and not air
tight, it is strictly designed to allow for maximum freedom of movement and
truer aim. When you jack into one of these suits, it will make your aim
straighter, give you detachable jump jets, and allow for exact locations
using GPS locators."
 "So, you got me off the Normandy for the soul purpose of leading a bunch
of lunatics into a free fire zone. Who as I understand it will be landing
there so that they can kill a lot of people the Fleet doesn't like and blow
things up. And if things go well, what will happen in the end is we will
capture some one who will either end life before a firing squad or leaving a
jail in a horizontal position." Ratislav dropped his beer into a trash can
and reached into the cabinet for a second. "Hey, do you want something? I
mean one should never practice being uncomfortable. Live life well, because
when the Fleet wants you to be uncomfortable, it will find ways to make you
miserable in spades."
 "No, thank you, lieutenant." Sarah said smiling at the logic of
Ratislav's words. "You might as well get some sleep because when you get to
the base you are going to have to run your ass off to make a good
impression."
 Ratislav nodded his agreement, and finished his beer before going to
sleep for the rest of the shuttle ride to the base. The drop from orbit was
what pilots would call 'fast,' this means by the time he tells you that
landing is commencing the turbulence is over because he has already put the
shuttle on the deck. The deck, of course, is the place the landing crew
picks your teeth out of when the pilot has finished bouncing you around the
inside of his craft.

 Jumping out of the shuttle on the to the landing pad, Ratislav looked
around through the blizzard at the base. Turning back to the shuttle, he
saw Sarah smile and toss down an envelope which he grabbed just before it
landed in a snow drift.
 "Those are your orders, once you find the base commander you'll be all
set. His name is Commander Andropos Ionnidis, and he's expecting you. Good
luck, Ratislav, you're going to need it." With that she closed the door and
the shuttle began to take off.
 Ratislav watched the shuttle for a moment and then turned to find the
base headquarters so he could finally find out just what was going on here.
Walking through the blinding snow he eventually stumbled onto what was
apparently a hangar bay and decided that this was apparently as good a place
as any to start his day. Inside he found a technical sergeant and a
corporal sitting and drinking coffee on what apparently was their lunch
break. Ratislav dropped his bag to get the attention of the pair, and when
they say him the two leaped out of their chairs and spilled the coffee to
get to attention.
 "Sir, I must ask if you have clearance to be on the base. If you do not
I am going to have to notify security, sir." Staff sergeant Steve Koffler
said while Corporal Joe Howard swore under his breath about the coffee on
his uniform.
 "You must be British, but since you asked so nicely, yes I am cleared to
be on the base, I just stopped in to ask which way the base commander's
office was." Ratislav studied the two men with a careful eye and then said,
"Oh, yes, at ease."
 Koffler and Howard both relaxed. Howard said:
 "You just turn left outside the door and its two buildings down. Once
you get inside there are signs to point you where ever you need to go."
 Ratislav picked up his bags and nodded his thanks before stepping back
outside the door. Koffler looked at the door, then at Howard before
dropping into his seat.
 "Goddamn, that guy scared the shit out of me. Quieter than a inspector,
that guy is, I didn't even hear him come in the door."
 Howard laughed:
 "Shit, did you see the outfit he was wearing. That was an honest to God
Exo-pilot, must have gotten seriously lost to end up on a special ops base
like this one."
 Koffler smiled at the thought, "Ain't that the truth, boy did he ever
land in it."

 He opened the door to the commander's office after waiting for half an
hour and stepped inside. Ratislav dropped his bag at his feet and snapped
into a near perfect salute.
 "Lieutenant First Class O'Muirdagh, Ratislav R., reporting as ordered,
sir."
 "Ah, Lieutenant O'Muirdagh, I was wondering if you were going to make it.
I understand it must have been hard to find anything in this weather."
Andropos Ionnidis was a medium, balding African gentleman with a commanding
presence. His 'salad bar,' the usual name for the medals pinned on a
soldiers chest, was quite extensive holding some four or five rows of
medals. Ratislav did manage to notice that the man had qualified in nearly
every small arms weapons and made sharpshooter in a good number of them.
 "Yes, sir. Its been a long time since I have been through weather like
this, not since my grandfather took me to Alaska when I was younger. I was
wondering if you could possibly explain just what is going on, sir. What
O'Bannon told me on the shuttle ride filled in some gap but things are still
pretty unclear."
 "Son, you are going to command a counter-terrorist squad with some of the
best men and technology this base has to offer. This squad will be composed
of eleven men and yourself, namely two snipers and ten close assault
troopers. Here at the Kenneth J. McCoy Special Operations base, you and the
squad will prepare for every possibly contingency that we can foresee and a
few we'll just makeup to piss you off and make you a better commander.
According to the information I have gotten from O'Bannon, if any at time we
must refer to your squad through normal lines of communication, you will be
referred to as DRAGON or possibly the 13th.
 "The DD Mark Hunter is already waiting for you in orbit and the drop ship
should be aboard within the next several days. The members of your squad
have been arriving over the last week, since you are the last person to get
here things are all set to begin. Once we get you introduced to the squad
and give you the usual 'classified' pep talk, there is somebody here from
Science and Tech to explain these new suits to you and your command.
 "Any questions, so far?"
 Ratislav leaned back in his seat:
 "Just one, sir. Why are we using Fleet resources, why not just get some
locals to take care of the problem where the pirates come down? Wouldn't it
be simpler that putting a squad of troopers on continuous alert for a month
and tying up a destroyer."
 "The reason we will not be allowing a bunch of clueless civilians to take
care of this situation is that first of all we always take care of our own.
That means that when we discover a mole within the Fleet we will take care
of it. Second, if we were to warn every nation on the tour of a possible
terrorist action the pirates will notice the obvious step up in security and
not make the raid. If the pirates don't try to grab the mole we will be no
closer to finding out who he is. And thirdly, this mission is a test of a
theory put together recently for a group known as the Exo-Rangers."
 Ratislav smiled:
 "So you are saying that because Intel can't figure out who is passing the
information, I am going to get to probably end up killing the spy anyway.
And more than likely blow a few things up along the way."
 "Very funny, Lieutenant. You know I think you just might make it out of
here." Commander Ionnidis smiled and continued, "Your second in command is
second lieutenant Harrison McNihil, and the snipers are Ernst Zimmerman and
Malcolm Pickering. The remaining troopers are all enlisted men, Reeves,
Stevens, Garfield, Stecker, Feller, Do, Banning, and Rickabee. You have a
month to get ready, and no instructors to make sure that everybody knows
everything. Each of the men in the squad will teach his area of specialty
to everyone else. That is about it, why do you go find the hangar where
your men are staying and introduce yourselves."
 "Just where is the hangar, sir?"
 "When you get to the front of the building, turn right and it's two
buildings down. You're dismissed, go and find them."
 "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Ratislav snapped a salute which Ionnidis
returned, and then he grabbed his bag and left.

End Part II