Sigma Mercenaries 0003: The Beautiful Nightmare Trains

by CSS Stravag

Sigma Mercenaries, Year 1, day 9 to day 14. The first Train, the first captured Train, the first two Rail Guard teams. One train is partially cleared, the other is a blank slate. What will be found inside? What will happen to the not-completely-trained teams? What shall become of the people who are released from the nightmare Trains? Rated M: Very strong content: V, L, SC

1. Train 523 Finishing Job

(Sigma Mercenaries, Story 0003: The Beautiful Nightmare Trains)

Interdimensional Jumper Trains. At their conception, the Trains were the answer of the Dynasty Star Empire to the other Star Empires and their massive fleets of Jumpships and Warships. By sneaking in below the flight levels of the space naval forces, the Dynasty was able to hit enemy parties on the ground in a surprise attack scenario that almost always caught their foes off guard. Not impossible to deal with, and especially vulnerable when localized by aerospace assets, the Trains provided the mobility that the Dynasty could not acquire in space.

With the end of the Star Empire Wars, the Dynasty slowly began to acquire a taste for Jumpships and Dropships, obviating the Trains. In a move that has never been fully explained, the Star League Grand Council purchased and redeployed the Trains as 'Living Monuments' and 'Tourist Artifacts' for all of Existence to 'enjoy'. In classic bureaucratic screwup method, though, the Trains were unsecured and maintained by remote systems, rendering them effectively out of control of the Star League. Combined with automatic and mostly-randomized Jump Engines, these trains would wander for centuries, bouncing from dimension to dimension, collecting and disgorging transients all along the way. Some criminal gangs would use them as randomized transport, others would use them as fodder collectors for their own purposes, and even other groups would take to living on these Trains in their entirety. Whole families would be born and live inside the confines of these Trains — and would die in them, their life and times known only to the other residents of the Trains and not always all that well to the denizens sharing the travels.

Now, 3200 years after the beginning of this 'Living Monument', the Executors have contracted a start-up Mercenary unit to finally end this interdimensional idiocy once and for all. Enter Sigma Mercenaries Rail Guard Division, whose sole commission is to entrap, enter, clear, and scrap out the Jumper Trains, in full violation of the Star League 'Living Monument' program in question, and do it with a smile.

In terms of the Sigma Stories, the Train Clearing sections are a mixed bag but are also something that will not be frequently seen in story form. They are mostly a game mechanic, harkening back to the base game system that spawned the Sigma escapades, but are a very good source of guns, people, and finance that will be exploited by Sigma to the hilt. And, given the Star League trend toward screwing the pooch repeatedly, violently, and in full view of the public, I decided to keep the Trains going in this story revision and use them to their full, gritty extent.

I will begin my making this warning VERY CLEAR: these will NOT be 'nice' stories. They will end well, but the Train scenarios are inevitably an interdimensional mixed bag on rails and will be treated as such. There is no recognized rule of law on these Trains. There are precious few morals or guidelines on the Trains. There will be some pretty wildly skullfucked shit on the Trains. Sigma's contract specifically states 'bring order to chaos' and Executor Atrebas was NOT joking when he put that line in the documentation. There will be some pretty massive fights on the Trains, and they won't be pleasant shoot-outs, either. Some scenarios I suspect will cause you readers some gut-wrench, just the same as things will get spiky for myself and my beta readers. I expect this, and I advise you to expect it as well; when there is no rule of law, no reason to be moral, some people will by default not be moral.

The flipside, of course, is there will be a lot of scenarios in these coming stories that are positive beacons for the narrative going forward. In fact, the first chapter has a real good one, a family dislodged by the Rail Guards that will turn heads and make plenty of noise in the Sigma chronicles to come. Not all is grim, in these things: for most people, the sense of community and morality is strong enough that not all is doom and boom, grim and hell, and they will conduct themselves respectfully. It's just those one-in-four punks that will make the story of the Trains rather hard.

This first story of the Rail Guard series will follow the process to come:

1.) Train is captured by the Train Beacon
2.) Train Engines are Secured and Jump Engines are disabled by the Teams.
3.) Train is relocated to a staging area for clearance. This involves completely pulling the Train out of pocket-dimension space, so all cars are visible and accessible by the Teams.
4.) Security Personnel (Militia normally, Multimage Armored Infantry as of right now) form perimeter for redirecting evacuees or to prevent any kind of concerted attack from inside the Train against the base.
5.) Rail Guard Team has the AI open all doors and exit points on the Train, does a general call-out to evacuate the Train.
6.) Rail Guard Team enters and clears all personnel, eliminates traps or ambushes, and assesses contents of Train.
7.) Rail Guard Scrap Team goes through and removes all material not bolted down in the Train. This includes any dead bodies and any persons slain by the Rail Guard team or teams.
8.) Rail Guard Disassembly Team begins stripping down Train Cars to bare parts. Components are sold on ScrapNet or recycled into local projects for Sigma.
9.) Jump Engineer Team disassembles and relocates Jump Engines.
10.) Number Placards off the Engines are affixed to the wall of the Railhead as something of a 'kill count' for Trains that have been decommissioned. Spare number placards are issued as memorabilia to Rail Guard teams involved.

For the purpose of this story, Steps 5 and beyond are what shall be covered. Other Rail Guard stories will have the full series where appropriate.

-x-x-x- WARNING SECTION -x-x-x-

This story will contain a lot of original concepts and interpretations of my other works, as well as historical or established fictional material. This is a multicrossover as well as a setting fusion and even has Alternate Universe tendencies depending on the flow of story. Expect things can and will change from one dimensional parallel iteration to the next.

The primary governments in this story are either historical (ancient civilizations), extant (United States, Russia, similar), or hail from my other stories (Lunar Star League / House Serenity). Matters will be covered in story or explained as necessary in footnotes or special data sections.

Events, encounters, people, and locations will be randomized in this story, excepting where established by fiction or history. Terrain on the homeworld will be randomized to certain degrees, as will population centers, extant 'governments' (term is used loosely in most cases) and military facilities (What survived the dissolution of organized control). All contract offerings are generated from random selection tables fed into a custom-written program for the purpose. No kittens were or shall be harmed in the preparation of such random events. SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRACTS.

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to any included material from any other stories. I intend no offense in such use.

VIOLENCE WARNING: It is the root of all warfare, for without violence there is no war. Otherwise, it is called 'negotiations', follow? And even I cannot imagine a good military drama with only negotiating, such would be less entertaining than watching paint dry.

OC WARNING: This story is OC-centric, and not in the typical fashion. The story is driven mostly by random-generated persons, but you will see a lot of historical and fictional characters come and go during the works to come.

BAAAAAD LANGUAGE WARNING: This story revolves around a Kentucky hardass and the various people he meets in a really crapsack world. Expect foul language; there shall be militia, slaves, soldiers, and general dregs, after all. Also expect a shit-ton of suggestiveness, crazy situations, interpretiveness, analysis, and lots and lots of violence. You have been warned.

DICE WARNING: Events in this story will be controlled by the dice, and are concrete, true-random results provided by number generation services. These results will change events dynamically and/or modify established plans. After all, there is no mistress more cruel than fate.

POLITICAL WARNING: Political concepts and methods may be presented in this story that may conflict with established 'norms'. This is deliberate on the part of the author, to show different and rather sharp viewpoints on these subjects. The views expressed potentially match the views of the author, though are not to be considered holy writ. IF YOU THINK I AM BEING OFFENSIVE, LIGHTEN UP FRANCIS. Or, alternately, if your Political Correctness filter becomes overclogged with cold, hard reality, you are always welcome to find something else to read.

ANTI-POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WARNING: In case you missed the last line of the above warning, AT NO TIME will this story be politically correct. Real life is not politically correct, much less 'nice' in some definitions of the word. If you take issue with this, I recommend finding another read.

MATURE CONTENT WARNING: This story contains gratuitous references to violence, some nudity, and extensive use of situations that will be considered controversial. This is deliberately part of the narrative, because this is written random and as close to reality as possible. And the real world, last time I checked, is not a nice place.

FINAL WARNING

This story is RATED 'M' for MERCENARIES, 'MERICANS, and MUCH BLOODSHED!

May the action commence!

---

(Sigma Mercenaries, Story 0003: The Beautiful Nightmare Of Trains)
(Chapter 1: Train 523 Finishing Job)

(Day 9 of Campaign)

"We came off this Train, we get to finish cleaning it," Irina H. commented dryly after they stopped toward the caboose of the 523 Train.

"It's a mental quandary," Leander said with some trepidation. "We know what this Train was — we lived on it for a time, we were part of the problem."

Lotta G. snorted after ten seconds. "Not seeing the quandary, Leander."

"No, no, the quandary is not with us — it's in the whole scenario." He shrugged his shoulders to better settle the body armor. "Think about it. We lived on the Train, we look at this Train and we know what we are headed for. What about the Big Guy and the rest of the Militiamen?"

"When this Train landed in his backyard?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah. That's gotta be some serious shit, gearing up and jumping into who the fuck knows what was going on?" Leander asked.

"I have maintained that the Sigma commanders are not normal troops," Sir Launcelot said with a stout heart. "I am also unsure if they are completely in possession of their mental faculties, but for certain they know how to correct the woes of the land and in the here and now such talents are what is needed."

"Good point," Irina commented.

"Still, we have signed onto this misbegotten Crusade, it is our duty to do so or die trying." Sir Launcelot racked the charging handle on his UMP40, which brought it into battery. "Let us save lives!"

"Hear, hear!" Leander said before he drew the charging handle back on his own subgun.

"I'm in," Grace Q. said before she drew the handle back on her UMP40.

"Sort out into teams and prepare to enter. We have a duty to the Protectorate. And keep your damnable safeties on until you have a target!" Sir Launcelot said in echo of repeated orders from Clint.

-x-x-x-

Car 0 (Caboose) (0915)
Car 1 (Luggage) (0918)

For the Rail Guard teams, the process was the same as for the Militiamen that had stormed through the train in days past. They entered left-right-left-right, clearing corners and sweeping forward and inward, the same procedure as they were trained by Clint. The one screaming difference between the Militiamen and the Rail Guard teams was arsenal — the Militiamen were most properly outfitted for engagements at short and medium range, the Rail Guard teams were outfitted best for close-quarters battle.

These procedures actually served to identify them even before the entry was done. "More Americans?" the lady with the fifty-caliber rifle asked.

"Americans?" Leander asked. "No, but we work for the American," he said after he realized that this was the first group Clint had talked about, a passel of ladies that greeted them inside the first luggage car, and had at least one fifty-caliber rifle in the group. "We're here to clear the Train out for good."

"Clear the Train out? What for?" A lady with an old World War 2 bolt-action rifle asked.

Sir Launcelot stepped forward. "The Trains are to be decommissioned and scrapped. To do so safely, we must have everyone off the train."

"Is that legal?" a teen lady asked. "I thought the Star League prevented that!"

"The orders to eliminate the Trains come from an Executor," Irina answered that fear. "And the American — Sigma One is his new title — is accepting refugees from the Trains into the new Protectorate."

"Holy shit, a stable home? Where do I sign up?" An early-twenties Bravo Mafiosi asked in good cheer.

Sir Launcelot tapped the PTT button for his radio. "Virtue, Launcelot, open luggage car door 5072837, please." A warning horn sounded, then the door slid open to the side. "Outside are some Magi Armored Infantry. They will direct you to the refugee induction area. From there, Sigma personnel will explain what the procedure is."

"You have options, but most of all you have a shot at a new life," Grace said. She was, prior to departing the Train, one of the runners for the Bravo Mafia, so the ladies knew her well. "No slavers will reach you in the Protectorate. You exit this Train, you keep your head clean, you're safe."

"Thank you, Grace," the Mafiosi said. "Come on, we're out of here!"

The entry team watched as the Mafiosi cleared out of the car and started the trek up toward the base Refugee Center. "So starts the happy end for this Train," Lotta said with a smile.

"Gonna take a lot more than that to get to the true happy ending," Amanda E. pointed out fairly.

"One down, 199 cars to go," Leander said. "Let's get moving."

"Aye, let us be off," Launcelot commented.

Little did they know, their exploits were going out on every monitor and speaker in the Train. The entire populace had heard what they had to say.

Car 2 (Luggage) (0921)
Car 3 (Luggage) (0924)
Car 4 (Luggage) (0927) (Evacuated 9 Bravo Mafia, 11 Delta Mafia as Civilians)

"It wasn't just some random bullshit, they really are clearing the Train out," a rather small Bravo Mafiosi said after she caught sight of the Rail Guard team entering the luggage car.

"Good, I'm tired of these horse-shit Trains," an early-thirties Mafiosi said. "Where to?" she asked as Leander approached with his UMP40 at low ready.

"Virtue, Leander, open luggage door 8539354," the point man said. "Outside, head toward the front of the Train. Armored Infantry will direct you to the Refugee Induction Center.

"And if we don't want to go with you guys?" a big guy with some kind of assault rifle asked.

"You're not required to join the Protectorate, but you can't stay on the Train. We are completely disassembling it," Leander said to the slightly smaller Delta Mafiosi. After a few seconds of blank stare from the Deltas, he considered another tack to give a shot. "Okay, let's put it this way. Before you were on this Train, what was your trade?"

"I was a cattle farmer and part-time tanner," said Delta Mafiosi replied.

"If we could give you the opportunity, would you be willing to turn your hands to that trade again?" Leander asked.

The thirty-something Delta Mafiosi sputtered. "Give up shooting at the Slavers, raise a herd of cattle? Work leather during the day and aid a smith at night? You talk a good future, but why should I believe it?"

Leander nodded, but deliberately forced himself not to smile. With that question, he knew he had this one solved. "We all have ate in the dining cars, fed by way of the Supply Network that feeds every Train. Consider, though, that those devices are not magic, they are technology."

The Mafiosi nodded twice. "This is well known."

Leander nodded acknowledgment of the point. "Technology does not create something from nothing, it can only move material from one location to another. Something has to supply the food that is fed into the far end of those Storage Systems. What is stopping you from supplying food to those units, food to the rest of the Protectorate, leatherworks to Sigma itself?" he asked.

The thirty-something Delta opened his mouth, waited for a few seconds, then snapped it closed. "I will need land and something to start the herd," he admitted. "And I will likely need ranch-hands, if I am to make a proper living of this."

Leander waved a finger toward the rest of the Deltas. "Your comrades are welcome to ply their own trades, to join your trade, or to find businesses to join or create of their own volition. We have already some 230 civilians waiting for their chance to find their trades, or setting up their own. Every man needs meat, and a rancher in these environs would be very well placed to make that reality. I ask again, what is halting you from trying?"

The Delta Mafiosi smiled. "It would be good to let aside the Slavers and take up ranching again." He waved the rest of the Deltas out of the car. "Who would I speak to about such an arrangement?" he asked before he dropped off the side of the car.

"Business Analyst Clarence Williams can get you moving in the right direction. His callsign is Sigma Three, so anyone can point you to his office after the induction."

"Understood." the Delta Mafiosi dropped off the edge of the car and onto the platform.

Car 5 (Luggage) (0933)
Car 6 (Luggage) (0936)
Car 7 (Luggage) (0939)
Car 8 (Luggage) (0942) (Evacuated 1 Civilian)
Car 9 (Luggage) (0945)
Car 10 (Luggage) (0948) (Evacuated 11 Bravo Mafia, 12 Charlie Mafia, 1 Delta Mafia) (+5 mins negotiation)
Car 11 (Luggage) (0956)
Car 12 (Luggage) (0959) (Evacuated 2 Recruits)
Car 13 (Luggage) (1002) (Evacuated 1 Recruit)

After the volunteer for joining Sigma had been cleared and was on the way up to the induction center, Sir Launcelot turned back into the car and walked, but stopped when he accidentally kicked some kind of impressed wood block out from under a pair of jogging pants and into the stock of some manner of crude sub-machinegun, which was stacked nearby an AT-4 antitank rocket and an ammo box. "Curious and even more curious."

"Sir?" Leander asked.

"These arms are similar to, but not the same as ours. I do not recognize it."

Orla snapped a picture of it using her tablet, which immediately identified the four objects — M3A1 'Grease Gun' Submachine gun, AT-4CS Rocket Launcher, M2 Ammo Can w/ 840 rounds 5.56 M855 Ball Ammunition, and the wooden block with impressed rune was determined to be a Strength Rune, 10-power.

"Subgun is inferior to ours — it'll put rounds on target, but it was obsolete as a weapon system long before the UMP series was designed," Orla said after reading through the information on the M3A1. "Still, it is a World War II weapon system, so I could see Clarence paying good penny for it."

"We know about the rocket and the ammo can, what's the wood block? And is it a trap?" Leander asked.

"What?" Orla asked her tablet after she started reading it. "Oh man, that is a Rune Amulet? I've never seen one for real!"

"Pardon?" Sir Launcelot asked.

"Rune Blocks, often called Amulets. They are single-activation spell devices — use them once, that's it, they are spent. Most spells can be applied to a Rune Block, but some spells are specifically for Amulet or Relic use. This is one of them, a Decahedron of Strength. It can be applied to up to ten persons to increase their physical strength marginally, or to a pair of persons to increase significantly, or by one person to increase their physical strength massively. The change delivered by these things is permanent, and since they are rare outside of certain circles, they are rather valuable."

"How valuable?" Amanda asked after a moment.

"250 C-bills per amulet, is the common price, but during times of scarcity the price can inflate up to 5000 for the Decahedral Strength Rune," Orla read off her rune information.

"Sweet! We could sell that for some good cheddar!" Leander said.

"Hell with selling it, we could use it, improve our physical standard by magic," Olivia said.

"I believe five of us would profit most from it, or profit more so than the others," Sir Launcelot said. "Amanda, Melva, Grace and myself are all of reasonable physical stoutness. The rest of the team could use a boost," the old Knight said. "I will not order you to do so, it is volunteer, but if it provides no ill effects, and it is not of satanic bent, it might be a wise idea to use it rather than sell it."

"No, these are standard wizardry, not satanic," Olivia said. "Shall we?" she held the rune block out for the other four to touch.

"I'm in," Orla said and laid her hand on it. Leander, Lotta, and Irina joined in touching the palm-sized wooden block.

"The Runes of Asgard shall channel the power of this Amulet into its bearers," Olivia chanted the standard Rune activation command, which caused the Rune to glow and the wooden block to disappear after a few seconds. "There. It will take anywhere from a few hours for the magic to take hold and properly be felt, up to a day."

"Keep an eye out for more of these Amulets," Sir Launcelot ordered, then clicked his headset. "Virtue, Launcelot, relay to madame Christenson that we have discovered an Amulet on this train, and there may be some on her Train as well."

"Understood," Virtue said. "Additionally to being prepared by cadet Rune Mages, these Amulets can be formed from the body of a deceased person in some circumstances when using the Magic Funeral Pyre spell."

"That is unusual," Sir Launcelot said. "I will need to study this concept."

"Whelp, I see another right now," Grace said as she moved forward of the rest of the team and picked another such wooden amulet up. "Olivia, scan it," she held the rune out to where Olivia could take a picture of it with her tablet's integral camera.

The result took five seconds. "No matching record of type," Olivia read off the screen results when they came back.

"Take no chances. Stow it, we shall have a professional examine it for type at a later time," Sir Launcelot said. "Onward to the next car."

Car 14 (Luggage) (1008) (Evacuated 1 Recruit) (+1 minute negotiation)
Car 15 (Luggage) (1012) (Collected abandoned Harris M-87 Sniper Rifle, Tactical Vest Set)
Car 16 (Luggage) (1015) (Irina H. collected 1 Casull Fieldgrade Revolver for personal collection)
Car 17 (Luggage) (1018) (Evacuated 1 Recruit)
Car 18 (Luggage) (1021) (Collected 2 unidentified Amulets, 1 Pentagonal SHA Amulet and used) (+1 Minute)
Car 19 (Luggage) (1024) (Evacuated 4 Bravo Mafia, 9 Charlie Mafia)
Car 20 (Luggage) (1027) (Evacuated 7 Bravo Mafia) (+2 mins negotiation) (Collected 2 unidentified Amulets)
Car 21 (Luggage) (1032) (Evacuated 3 Recruits) (Collected 2 unidentified Amulets)
Car 22 (Luggage) (1035) (Evacuated 3 Civilians, 1 Recruit)

As soon as the door opened, the entry operator was hit with the very distinct aroma of the deceased. "Faugh! What the fuck?" Leander shouted in dismay.

"Holy shit," Olivia bent over a low-hanging luggage rack and started puking her breakfast out.

"What the hell is that smell?" Irina asked after it reached her.

"Death," Sir Launcelot said, the only person in the group to have smelled it en masse before joining Sigma. "That is absurdly disgusting, I would wager that body has been putrefying for over a week."

"Dead kid," Orla said as she entered the room and ran her weapon light across the downed body. "Wait, didn't the boss and Clint get shot at by a kid — "

"Yeah, a kid with two revolvers," Irina answered between heaves of her own.

"The child in question fired a revolver empty toward the Militiamen, then tried to New York Reload before he was gunned down by Hess and Jamieson," Virtue informed them by radio. "I have issued door release commands on all exterior doors in the 523 Train and activated the ventilation blowers in the undercroft, so the stench should begin clearing out shortly. For now, I advise holding your breath while you pass the 22 car."

"Fucking wonderful plan, can we get some gas masks or something?" Olivia groused.

"Ordering now, I will have a maintenance runner bring them to you in a forward car," Virtue said.

"All right, people, finish vomiting, breathe deep, and move for the far door," Leander said. "Don't step in the dead body funk, or we'll be chased by the raunch until the end of the train."

Car 23 (Luggage) (1040) (Evacuated 7 Bravo Mafia, 3 Delta Mafia) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet, 1 Size Amulet, 1 Triangle Size Amulet) (+2 minutes)

"Oh, fuck me sideways! That stanks!" Leander said.

"If that one kid was bad, wait until we get into some of the later cars where the Americans killed a dozen or more," Lotta groused.

"Gods help us when that time comes," Amanda groused.

"Running the dead body gauntlet," a guy in the car and not of the team said. Amanda looked up at the speaker, and was much surprised that she hadn't noticed him on entry (or she was too busy retching to notice). "The worst one is the mess that American fatboy left in Car 107, 18 dead in a small space. You literally have to walk across the top edge of the metro benches to avoid the remains of the dead."

"That will suck dicks, 'cause we have to go through that." Leander straightened up after he had finished getting a breath of freshened air.

"On a happier note, where do we go to sign up for Militiaman service?" the guy asked. "My Remington shotgun can certainly do the job, if there is somewhere to follow him to."

"Mister, it's your lucky day," Melva said, the first thing she had to say in some distance through the train. "Through that door, head up toward the Induction Center. We have troops who can direct you to quarters and the registration board."

"Got it," he said. "Shake it easy, we'll be in the fight soon enough," he said with a chuckle before he dropped out of the luggage car and onto the platform. Seven members of the Bravo Mafia joined them on the trip toward the induction area.

Car 24 (Luggage) (1045) (Evacuated 3 Charlie Mafia, 1 Recruit) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet, collected and used 1 quad Shape Amulet) (+1 Minute for Negotiation)
Car 25 (Luggage) (1049) (Evacuated 1 Recruit)
Car 26 (Luggage) (1052) (Evacuated 8 Bravo Mafia, 10 Delta Mafia, 5 Charlie Mafia)
Car 27 (Luggage) (1055) (Evacuated 1 Recruit)

The entry into the 27 Luggage car was smooth and rapid, much as Clint had trained into the team for several days prior to today.

The result of entering the car, not so simplistic.

The one occupant of the luggage pile picked up and raised a spear of some kind. "I will not be taken alive by Slavers!" the lady in question aimed her pike squarely to Sir Launcelot's chest. "If you want my life, my body, come and take it!"

"Whoa, serious?" Leander asked in shock.

"Stay thy blade, milady, we are not Slavers," Sir Launcelot said immediately. "We are rescue and extraction soldiers."

"I said I will not be taken alive by Slaver — " she choked up midsentence. "You're… Not Slavers?"

"No," Sir Launcelot said. "We are the Order of the Rail Guard of the Protectorate of Sigma," the Knight declared solemnly. "Much as with the American Militiamen, we are hunting Slavers and clearing persons from the Trains."

"Oh," she grumped, then dropped her spear. "I apologize for the overt threat. I surrender myself to your graces, sirs," she said formally and with a bow.

"Sir, interpretation?" Leander asked the Knight in their ranks.

"She is surrendering to ourselves for such blatantly hostile conduct when not warranted, but even that is unneeded in this case. Stand at ease, milady, and depart the train for the Induction Center forward of the Train Engines. With such a spirit of honor, I foresee you being able to make a difference in coming campaigns."

"As ordered, sir," she said formally, and was out the door shortly thereafter.

Car 28 (Luggage) (1059) (Evacuated 2 Civilians, 5 recruits) (+2min Negotiation) (found and used 1 Triangle Shape Amulet)
Car 29 (Luggage) (1104) (Evacuated 5 Civilians, 2 Recruits, 7 Bravo Mafia, 4 Delta Mafia) (Collected 1 esoteric firearm, 1 unidentified Amulet, collected and used 1 Square Strength Amulet)
Car 30 (Luggage) (1107)
Car 31 (Luggage) (1110) (Evacuated 10 Bravo Mafia, 10 Charlie Mafia)
Car 32 (Luggage) (1113)
Car 33 (Luggage) (1116)
Car 34 (Luggage) (1119)
Car 35 (Luggage) (1122) (collected and used 1 Square Strength Amulet)
Car 36 (Luggage) (1125)
Car 37 (Luggage) (1128) (Evacuated 3 civilians)
Car 38 (Luggage) (1131) (Evacuated 2 Delta Mafia, 2 Recruits) (+1min negotiation)
Car 39 (Luggage) (1135) (Evacuated 3 civilians)
Car 40 (Luggage) (1138)
Car 41 (Luggage) (1141)
Car 42 (Luggage) (1144)

"Whoa, hold the phone people," Grace said after she walked past some kind of a small box that had been split open, revealing its contents. She flicked her tactical light on, which put 200 lumens of light on the contents of the inside of the box.

"You have got to be shitting me," Amanda said. She tore open the rest of the box, labeled 'CRAM canned meat product (1)' but the revealed object was most definitely not food.

"I believe, what we have here, is a smuggling ring we just inadvertently busted open," Leander said casually. "18 of these are Line Strength Amulets (2), but these two are different," he set two colored Amulets aside — one black, one deep blue.

"Holy shit," Olivia said after she picked up the deep blue Amulet. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a pure can of whoopass. This symbol is the interdimensional common depiction of Waterga, the most powerful base-element water attack spell, and the highlight for the spell is a decahedron. Ten uses before the rune burns out."

"And the black one?" Leander asked.

"No clue, I don't recognize the symbol," she admitted.

"So, what do we do with the Strength amulets in the shipping unit?" Orla picked one up and looked at it.

"I would actually suggest we don't use any more," Olivia said. "Let's wait a day or two, make sure the ones we've used so far result in changes we want — there is a bit of random play in how these affect each person, so I recommend we do no more. Just collect them, and Sigma One can determine how to use them going forward."

Olivia's recommendation was prescient — the side effects of the used amulets so far were already beginning to take hold on the personnel, never mind the actual primary intended effects. Come the following morning, every operator of their team would be able to pass the physical requirements for Basic Training, something which they could not pass beforehand.

Car 43 (Luggage) (1149) (Collected 2 unidentified Amulets)
Car 44 (Luggage) (1152) (Evacuated 1 Bravo Mafiosi, 5 Delta Mafiosi, 8 Charlie Mafiosi)
Car 45 (Luggage) (1155) (Evacuated 1 Civilian, 1 Bravo Mafiosi) (+4min Negotiations) (Collected 2 unidentified Elemental Amulets)
Car 46 (Luggage) (1202)
Car 47 (Luggage) (1205) (Evacuated 10 Delta Mafia) (+2min Negotiations)
Car 48 (Seats, 2 Level) (1210) (Evacuated 14 Delta Mafia) (+1min Negotiations)
Car 49 (Seats, 1 Level) (1214) (Evacuated 10 Delta Mafia, 4 Charlie Mafia) (+2min Negotiation)
Car 50 (Seats, 2 Level) (1220) (Evacuated 12 Delta Mafia, 9 Charlie Mafia)

-x-x-x-

(Same time)
(Induction Center, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 9 of Campaign)

Elata found the massive Railhead Undercroft to be a bit intimidating, but on the face of it, there was an unstated thrill to the action here that was alluring to her to an unholy degree.

Born on the Train, the child of a fling between her mother and a long-deceased Delta Mafiosi, all she had ever known was the Train, the brief glimpses of the outside she saw from time to time, and her family. Her mother, Subaru, had been a volunteer to enter the Train, a deal between her village and a band of Slavers that had inadvertently stalemated themselves when trying to raid her village for Slaves. Prior to that fateful day, Mama Subaru always spoke of her former life in glowing terms, having been an engineering and technician student on her way to a specialty in Mobile Suit Technical Engineering.

Elata was the oldest surviving of Subaru's children, four survivors out of ten. Elata had no qualms with that thought; the Trains had no actual medical support, and even a minor cut that became infected could be lethal under the wrong circumstances. For that reason, Subaru kept the group to a very strict regimen of proper meals, exercise, hygiene, and learning, that if they ever had a proper chance to leave the Train, they could (theoretically) hit the ground running. Elata didn't expect her hit-and-miss education would pass any actual standard, but she could read Japanese and English with ease and speak those languages just the same. She was also a natural at teaching, so she often helped her mother with the lessons for her younger siblings.

Alvin and Jack, the two surviving boys, were the closest in ages of any of the family, at 13 years 9 months and 12 years 3 months respectively, but the farthest apart in personality that Elata could figure possible. Jack, despite mother's coaching to live a quiet and unobtrusive life, had quickly gained position and reputation in the Charlie Mafia as a down-and-dirty hardass willing to ambush Slavers whenever possible, enough so that the Bravos and Deltas did not screw with him despite his youth. He was also the only one of the family not completely Human, as his light blue hair attested — his father, a Nymph, had been caught in the crossfire between feuding Bravo Mafia cells not long after Jack was born.

Alvin, incorrigibly, served as 'bird dog' for Jack by using his various charms, persuasions and Psionic skills to garner information almost at whim. Between the two, the major success of the Charlie Mafia on their train could be attributed to knowing thine foes and ambushing them at whim. And, sadly, there were a lot of foes on the Trains to exercise those skills on, they had learned over the years. Of the family, he was probably the least given to continual personal interactions, mainly because he preferred isolation to calm his Psionic skills or he wanted to be using them full-bore. His complaint was that not using them directly make the hearing skills distracting of what he was doing at the time.

Kaitlyn, the other sister, was slightly past halfway between 7 and 8. She was the blank slate of the family so far, young enough to have excellent potential and sharp enough to be able to take proper use of it. On the other hand, she was very much shy, though not withdrawn; she got along well enough with the other kids on the train, but she didn't go actively looking to play with them, in contrast to the rest of the family. Some days, Elata wondered if that was a problem, or if it was just her predisposition to be alone.

Mama Subaru was the family constant — she kept them together, she defended them, and kept them pushing forward for a better future. Behind the sights of an old MDBS-04 double-barrel combat shotgun, she was hell on Slavers and kidnappers alike. Elata had to admit, Subaru was also a pervert to a degree that didn't make sense to the eldest daughter. To her knowledge, her mother had not met a guy yet that she wasn't willing to sleep with, which didn't really sound like it matched what her home life was supposed to have been prior to being surrendered to the Slavers. On the flip side, it was that perversion that resulted in four surviving children to a very loving mother, which Elata had to admit wasn't a bad thing in an environment where more children were separated from parents or orphaned than could claim they still stayed with the rest of their family.

"Up these stairs and to the right is the registration room," an Armored Infantryman directed the latest batch of persons upstairs past the fusion reactors.

"That armor is amazing, and scary," Elata said.

"Armored Infantry," Subaru declared. "This must be a Protectorate of the Magi. The signs say Sigma, but these troops are all Magi."

As the four children stepped up from the Engine Room and into the building hallway, they caught sight at range of two figures leaving a different hallway and headed up stairs. Elata recognized the guy of the two as the big American that had pushed through the train, though dressed and outfitted differently, he still looked every bit as intimidating as he had on the way through the Train those days ago.

"Elata, no dawdling," her mother chided the eldest daughter. Elata smartened to move up her pace, wanting to explore the new location but the task at hand prevented any hard exploration.

The trip to the induction center was fast and short — more Armored Infantry were waiting for them to make sure they ended up in the right place. The actual induction center was surprisingly large and opened up, with a large assembly area for people to congregate and ten or so tables set up for the people to speak with representatives of the Protectorate. What had resulted was a big melting pool of personnel coming off two different trains that was slowly leaking out to the tables to speak with the Sigma representatives.

"Are these all Charlie Mafia?" Jack asked.

"The other train, is it only Charlie Mafia?" Elata asked after considering the absolute glut of armed children in the group.

"Weebs, actually," one of the kids said. "Shortened for 'wee brats', what the adults thought about us before we booted the militant ones."

"Awesome!" Jack said. "You signing up to join Sigma?"

"Fuck yes, son!" the same kid said. "Who in their right mind would turn down a professional career doing what we did on the Trains?"

"Someone in their right mind, maybe?" Subaru said. "I'm done with getting shot at. I'm going to see if I can get into a noncombat posting, even if it means scrubbing toilets."

"To each his own," a passing Magi Armored Infantryman said. "The whole point of this is literally 'to each his own'. You have a trade and want back in, sign up for it. You want into Sigma and are of age for it, sign up. Want to go civilian? Your call."

"Thank you, sir," Subaru gave him a short bow, hoping she wasn't flashing the Armored Infantryman too much cleavage. "I wonder if there is an opening for a former Mobile Suit Engineer trainee?"

"I would think so?" Elata guessed. "No decent force worth talking about would not have Mobile Forces of some kind."

-x-

For Jeff Evans, today was a day off from the tasks of engineering, and a day on duty as a rump HR specialist. Same with the rest of the Engineering group, except for the Rail Beacon team, who were already on the job setting up the third beacon. With thirty lines under the base, the intention was to set up 6 beacons and use the other 24 lines for train clearing and disassembly. Being a third of the way into the line setup was a damn good start.

The crowd of incoming persons from the Trains had reached something of an equilibrium, whereby there was a knot of persons in the staging area of the room, but it wasn't expanding; the incoming persons were simply filling in for who had already been sorted through. The cast of persons coming in were very child-heavy, and so far Jeff could understand why: the second train had suffered something of an organized revolt of Charlie Mafia. (They referred to themselves as 'Weebs' in their own parlance, nevermind the American internet translation into 'weeaboos' which was a rather derogatory term, the present use of the term was a contraction of 'wee brats' and sounded something British to an American.) With the coming of the kids, Jeff had quickly learned that this job was very heavy on the 'graceful sinking of personal desires' requirement, as every tween and teen that had walked up to himself so far swore up and down that they were ready for action, pick your field. Jeff's job was to sort out the wheat from the chaff, and the chaff would be rotated into schooling until they were ready for proper placement.

So, when he waved to an older lady that looked like she had been around the block a couple dozen times, he was mildly surprised that she had four children in tow and wasn't surprised that she conducted herself with some humility. "Thank you, sir. Subaru Annoe, former Multimage citizen."

"Welcome to Sigma," Jeff said. "And congratulations on keeping your family intact on the train," he said after he realized that all four of the children were easily her sons and daughters. "Now, since you already know you are a Magi citizen, first thing we need to check off, do you want an extraction home?"

"Nineteen years away," Subaru said. "No, I will not return home, not yet."

Jeff made that annotation. "Okay, do you want anyone contacted?"

"No, it is better that nobody in my family come looking for me, there is a history there and I don't want to activate it," she said cryptically.

"Got it," Jeff said. "Next, I guess you will want to stay together as a family?"

"Yes!" all five of them said at the same time.

"Okay, no mistaking that one, so we'll set you up in quarters for enlisted," Jeff said. "So, next on the list…" he checked several things that would be obvious on the face of it. "Ages."

"39," Subaru said.

"Seventeen," Elata answered.

"Your name?" Jeff asked.

"Elata Annoe," she answered calmly.

"Okay, since you are over sixteen, we'll have to run you through your own registration if you want into Sigma," he said. "Read and write well?"

"I believe so," Elata answered. Jeff handed her a tablet computer. "Registration forms?"

"Everyone that joins up has to register," Jeff explained. "And I'm going to guess offhand that you three are under 16?" Jeff waved a finger at the other siblings.

"Yes, sir. Alvin Annoe, 13," the elder brother said.

"Jack Annoe, 12," the younger brother said.

"Kaitlyn Annoe, 7."

"Okay," Jeff reached behind himself and pulled a card, which he inserted into the desk interface. "I'll set you up an identifier card, which you can use to register the children. Kaitlyn is old enough to join Basic Schooling, and you two are going to probably drop into Academy or join a child labor group if you want to go that way."

"Child labor is allowed?" Subaru asked. "Oh, same as with the Multimage Empire."

"Same as all of them, just varying ages," Jeff pointed out. "You can go into a job and do night classes, or go into a trade school or academy and work a part-time job or racket on your own after hours."

"Anything hot right now, sir?" Jack asked bluntly.

Jeff shook his head. "Not yet, we're still building up. If you want to get in on the lead positions of industrial work, now would be a good time. The Boss is a major proponent of local manufacturing."

"I was thinking maybe Industrial Academy and work a night job," Jack said with a nod. "How hard is the schooling?"

"Not bad," Jeff said. "More focus on practical skills than higher learning, for now. Sigma Three is working on bringing in some university campuses, but that will take time."

Subaru looked up from the tablet she was working on. "Do you have positions open for a Mobile Suit Technician Apprentice? One with some engineering training?"

Jeff nodded twice. "Yeah, we need technicians and engineers."

"Then I stand as your first volunteer," Subaru said immediately.

-x-

(30 minutes later)
(BEQ 17-33, Base Boarhound East, Terra 232)

One of the Secret Service operators had accompanied the family to the BEQ that they had been assigned, literally down the block from Subaru's posting in the Engineering Building. For Mama Annoe, it was a short walk to work and back, even obviating the need for a personal vehicle — but she would get one anyway, once her budget was established. School for the three youngest would be about a half-mile jog one way, nothing spectacular.

The Secret Service operator was no formality — more than one coyote had been found in the barracks buildings, and Black Widow spiders were also known to be in the area, so the search was pretty much a requirement. Still, after a careful ten-minute sweep of the building, the only actual threat found was a single Brown Recluse spider that was easily smashed and smeared underfoot by the Bronze Dragon in Human form.

"Think I dropped the only actual threat, the rest is just dust and vacuum work," Moira said after she came out of the building to meet the family. "Heard you volunteered to join the engineering and technician groups?"

"I did, yes," Subaru answered with a smile. "So good to be back to using what skills I trained in! Though, that was almost twenty years ago for me, I'll need some serious practice."

"You'll get it, easily. The Boss isn't making any noise about it right now, but he does intend to start forming up Mobile Forces units shortly — he will need to, we will need the firepower for some of the contracts out there."

"Oh, thanks for the warning. Also, how hard is he to work for?" Subaru asked. "That is the big, big American, right?"

"Yeah, that's him. He's a very easygoing guy, very reasonable, doesn't pester people. He expects results but he won't hammer on people for them — or for failure, so far as I can tell."

"That's good news, I don't know how much use I'll be offhand."

Moira shook her head. "Don't worry about it, this whole thing's a startup. I've got stuff to see to, so I must be off. Good luck!" Moira nodded to the kids and disappeared, likely blinked away from them.

"That was… wow," Jake said.

"Damn hot," Alvin said.

"And well out of any of our league," Elata brought a hard end to that train of thought.

"Let's go," Subaru said in a strange fashion. The kids did not miss the voice stress, but did not dawdle on the sidewalk as their mother approached the house.

Inside the front door, the five member family arrayed around the dirty front room, but they did not see the dust or the stains that needed to be cleaned. The five saw only a proper house not a bedroom car on a Train. They didn't see a galley car, they saw a proper kitchen and dining room.

After the weight of relief struck her, Subaru collapsed to her knees on the living room carpet. "Mother?" Elata asked.

"Safe. Finally safe!" Subaru shouted in happiness.

-x-x-x-

Car 51 (Seats, 2 Level) (1224)
Car 52 (Seats, 2 Level) (1228) (Evacuated 11 Charlie Mafia) (+1min negotiations)
Car 53 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 Rooms) (1231) (Evacuated 3 civilians, 2 Bravo Mafia, 7 Charlie Mafia)
Car 54 (Baths, Individual Rooms) (1234)
Car 55 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 Rooms) (1237)
Car 56 (Baths, Enclosed Stalls) (1240)
Car 57 (House Car, 1 floor) (1243) (Evacuated 9 civilians) (+6min negotiation)
Car 58 (Dining Car) (1251) (Evacuated 25 civilians, 1 Delta Mafia, 2 Charlie Mafia)
Car 59 (Seats, 1 Level) (1253) (Evacuated 14 Delta Mafia, 3 recruits)
Car 60 (Seats, 2 Level) (1255) (Evacuated 8 Delta Mafia, 3 Charlie Mafia) (+2min negotiations)
Car 61 (Seats, 1 Level) (1301)
Car 62 (Seats, 1 Level) (1303) (Evacuated 4 recruits)
Car 63 (Seats, 1 Level) (1305) (Evacuated 2 Delta Mafia) (+3min negotiation)
Car 64 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1310)
Car 65 (Baths, Gender Split) (1312) (Evacuated 4 Bravo Mafia) (+6min encounter)

The entry to the latest car was smooth and precise, with hundreds in practice and over 60 in reality, the team was sharpened up almost to the point of routine operations for clearing train cars.

The bathroom cars were all set up roughly the same, even if the actual bath areas were arranged differently from car to car. The walk path went to starboard, the actual shower area was on the port side to maximize open area for the shower equipment. The presence of steam in the air told the entry team that someone had left a shower on.

"Team one, male side, team two, female side," Sir Launcelot said as he moved forward to ensure control on the door to the next car.

"Aye aye," Leander said as his team stacked and entered the male side of the car.

Olivia remained with Sir Launcelot until the turnoff to enter the female side, then she broke left and made her entry. The steam in the access corridor to the female bathrooms was very thick, almost to the point of sauna clouding, which put the anti-fog coating on the goggles they all wore to the test. Olivia, Grace, Irina, and Orla all entered in the space of a second and a half, doing their usual enter and clear as quickly and efficiently as possible to bring shock and awe to the occupants of the room…

...Who were not paying any attention to anything except themselves. Four ladies were down on the tile floor of the bathroom, paired off in two pairs, one couple laying splayed out and spread-eagled, the other pair were making bacon under a running shower head.

None of the Rail Guard troops said a word for thirty seconds, they simply stared in shock at what was going on in front of them. "Damn, now this is something," Irina half-moaned, her UMP40 loosely aimed toward the two ladies who were trying to 'trib' each other.

"Holy shit!" the lady on top shouted when she realized who had said what. When she scrambled up to her knees, Olivia guessed her dangling bust size on the order of an F-cup, probably larger, which put her either a citizen of the Star Empires or descended of one (given how rare such sizes were outside of the Star Empires, it was unlikely she was from elsewhere in Existence).

"Oh, wow! Don't hurt us! We're harmless!" one of the ladies said.

"We'll go back to being slaves," the smallest of the four said. "Don't shoot us, we'll go — "

"Whoa, whoa!" Olivia said, immediately lowering her aimpoint from the larger of the two spread-eagled ladies. "We're not here to harm you or capture you for slavery," she said. "We are Sigma Rail Guard, we're here to evacuate the train. You are not going to be arrested, confined, enslaved, nothing."

"Wait, evacuate the Train? Why, is something wrong?" the lady with the F-rack asked as she stood up to proper standing. At full and proper posture, Olivia could tell she was a bit on the heavy side, but most guys would not kick her out of bed unless she was better on the floor.

"Yeah, these trains suck the dick and need to be disassembled, so sayeth the Executors," Orla said. "Sigma has been contracted to clear, scrap, and part out these Trains. That means you four need to take your bacon frying to a house up topside." To emphasize the point, Orla jerked her thumb toward the door.

"We're not…" the youngest of the four began, but bit off whatever she was going to say. At standing, Irina guessed her in the neighborhood of 28, 5'7", 140 pounds or thereabouts, and forward perky enough to cause second looks. "We're not in trouble, are we?"

"Pfft, hell no," Olivia answered immediately. " 'Bout the worst thing you could be accused of is being family-inappropriate viewing, maybe public indecency, but you're in a bathroom so there is some small shred of expectation of privacy so that could be argued."

"Ehh, that'd be arguable, public bathroom," Grace commented. "No, not going to arrest you or anything. We do have to have you dry off, get dressed, and de-ass the Train, please. After you've gone through refugee induction, you can grab a flat up top and get back to working each other over."

"Right. We're seriously not going to be forced into slavery or anything?" the physically heaviest of the four ladies asked. Irina guessed her on the north side of 165, and not as well-endowed as the Star Empire resident, but hardly unmanageable or skankish.

"You are now in a Protectorate that is guaranteed by the Multimage Star Empire," Grace said, which caused the large-bust lady to gasp. "The Protectorate is commanded by an American who went out of his way to kill the Slavers on this train. Your rights, your honor, all are guaranteed so long as you don't make any more bacon in public areas. He might have something to say about that."

Olivia giggled at a random thought that came to mind, of what exactly Hess would have to say about stumbling across some ladies having at it in a public area.

"Okay, understood."

Olivia pointed to the benches on the far back wall of the room, where they had laid out towels, clothes, and their personal arms. "Get cleaned up and get moving, girls. Daylight's wasting. And kill these showers!"

The entry team had no idea that the audio from their recording went out on the train intercom, and full video and audio was being recorded from their body cameras to the Sigma database servers. The difference would be apparent, though: with Olivia's team's honorable resolution to the encounter, the rest of the train would become significantly more friendly to the Rail Guard teams.

Car 66 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (1320) (Evacuated 13 civilians)
Car 67 (Baths, Gender Split) (1322)
Car 68 (House, 1 Level) (1324) (Evacuated 3 civilians)
Car 69 (Lounge Car) (1326) (Collected and stowed 3 Amulets)
Car 70 (Seats, 2 Level) (1330) (Evacuated 11 Delta Mafia, 7 Charlie Mafia)
Car 71 (Seats, 2 Level) (1334) (Dead body dodging — +1 minute)
Car 72 (Seats, 2 Level) (1339)
Car 73 (Seats, 1 Level) (1341)
Car 74 (Seats, 1 Level) (1343) (Evacuated 15 Bravo Mafia, 4 Charlie Mafia)

The entry into the 74 car was textbook — four troops in, four stacked to follow up if needed.

The contents of the car, though, caused an immediate halt to the clearing action. "Oh, whoa, it's the heroes of the Shower Room!"

"Wait, what?" Leander asked.

"Not you, dweeb, the ladies in back," the Bravo Mafiosi came off her scoped AR-10 and waved at the doorway.

"Coming up," Olivia said. Leander's team parted ways to allow the second entry team through. "How are we heroes? All we did is explain the law."

"It's what you didn't do," the lady with the AR-10 answered as she came to full standing. The scoped battle rifle wasn't her only card to play, she had a Remington 1100 semi-auto shotgun over her shoulder and some kind of a pistol in appendix carry. "You didn't kill the four you found. That's an improvement over the average. Hell, you didn't even say anything bad about what they were doing."

Olivia shrugged. "I've got no opinion on it," she said. "Not my game, not my place to comment."

"Same here, not my game, no comment," Grace answered.

"I'll watch, but I'm a guy-chaser," Orla said with a perfectly straight face.

"Two of my sisters were lesbian. I got nothing against it," Irina shrugged.

"Can I watch?" Leander asked.

"Dweeb of the year," the lady with the AR-10 saluted Leander. "Any price to pay to join Club Sigma?"

"Play by the rules, don't try leeching on the system, and don't piss in anyone else's rights," Leander said. "Signup is out the door, up top in the Induction Center."

"Got it. Come on girls, put the milk tanks away and button up, we're heading out to new homes!" a lady wearing IIIA body armor and carrying a magnum-frame pistol half-shouted at the occupants of the car.

"I'm beginning to wonder," Leander said offhand as the Bravo Mafia and a few Charlie Mafia in the room headed for the doors.

"I'm already there," Olivia said. "A few more Trains like this, and we could be in for some really interesting times."

"Chivalry was once meant to guide the hands of a Knight in doing his sworn duty to God, King, and Country, but after spending a year on this Train, I see all of that in a very different light today," Sir Launcelot said with gravity. "God works in mysterious ways, but something like this is no mystery — it is a mailed gauntlet slap to the face. It is only proper and honorable that we do what we can to help those living a dragged existence on these hellish chariots."

"One remaining, I've got this," Amanda said as she moved forward with her weapon slung, to make sure she appeared as unthreatening as possible to the Charlie Mafiosi. Once she was at the seat, Amanda sat down on the opposite bench so she could look the Charlie in the face.

Both Sigma and Charlie were silent for about fifteen seconds, before the young teenager spoke up. "I can't go. No proper society would abide a murderer."

"How so?" Amanda asked.

"This," the Charlie lifted a sub-gun off the metro bench next to her, to where it could be easily seen by the Sigma troops. The weapon in question was a UMP45 with a suppressor, a virtual twin to the UMP40 sub-guns carried by the Sigma Rail Guard except in caliber and magazine size. "I found a slaver alone in a seat car toward the front of the Train, so I snuck up behind him, put the silencer to the back of his head, and fired. A couple Deltas helped me stuff the body out the window. I took this off him," she lifted a Beretta 9000 from the bench next to her sub-gun, "so I guess that makes me both a grave robber and a murderer."

"You know it was a slaver?" Amanda asked quietly.

The Charlie Mafiosi nodded her head. "He had four of the Heart Tattoos, and was working on a fifth on his back."

"If you can find the two Deltas that can confirm it, you can collect a 100 C-bill bounty on his demise," Amanda said. "What's your name, young one?"

"Colette," she said, still looking at the floor.

"Hold your head up, Colette. It is not murder when you act to save lives."

Colette did look up, but she was angry. "I killed him for vengeance! Not for any purpose that — " she bit the rest of the sentence off. "I can't do it. I just can't."

"Ask yourself one question, Colette. Who would accuse you of murder, besides yourself?"

"Who would not?" she asked, again staring at the floor.

"I would not," Amanda said. "I think you saved lives. I'm pretty sure the rest of my team would not speak against you."

"Nope," Olivia acknowledged. "One less Slaver in Existence means we're that much safer at night."

"We could always ask Sigma One what he thinks?" Amanda offered.

"Who?"

"Sigma One, Erich Hess, he commands the Protectorate. At the end of the day, he has final say on who gets charged for crimes, or where the boundary between criminal and proper conduct is." Amanda sat up straight and tapped the radio switch on her chest. "Sigma One from Rail Guard 2-5, legal question when available," she said.

"Go for Sigma One," the reply came back three seconds later.

"Sir, have a question about shoot / no shoot policy. Have a person on the Train that bushwhacked a Slaver while he was asleep with a silenced UMP45 and shoved the body out the window. Does bushwhacking a Slaver, even while asleep, count as murder?"

"Negative. Our Contract from the Executors is to neutralize all Slavers, dead or alive does not factor into it, nor does how the Tango ends up dead factor into the matter. If anything, I would say the person on the train that drilled the Slaver has done a properly good deed for Existence; the faster we eliminate the Slaver scourge, the more lives are saved over time. How copy?"

"Clean copy, Sigma One," Amanda answered immediately. "Rail Guard 2-5 has no further traffic."

"Watch your ass, Rail Guard. Sigma One is out."

"It still doesn't feel right," Colette groused.

"It likely will not ever feel right," Amanda said. "We do what we do because we have to, not because it feels right. If killing a man feels right, you have mental problems," the Phoenix in human form said succinctly. "That pang of guilt you carry is a reminder that you have a conscience and a heart, two things sorely lacking in Slavers. You can self-loathe for drilling a Slaver, but the world around you is willing to welcome you regardless of your past — and you will meet many who will thank you for it."

Colette simply shook her head. "I don't think there is anything worth thanking in that."

"Then, maybe it is you are not a proper soul for the trigger," Amanda guessed. "Maybe it would be proper for you to live a quiet Existence, then? One where you are not required to be staring down the sights."

This caused the Charlie Mafiosi to look up from the floor again. "There are such options?"

"Certainly," Amanda answered. "A nation does not simply exist on its military, there are many behind-the-scenes duties that must be fulfilled. I am assured that with your sense of proper conduct, you can find the right thing to do to help the world along. It may take a while, you could do job apprenticeship while attending an academy, but it is certainly doable."

Colette nodded. "You are a persistent lady, Rail Guard. Why?" she asked bluntly.

"I have watched friends consumed by guilt, fear, hatred, perversion, greed. You have no need to follow that nasty highway to Hell," Amanda said evenly.

"I will try." Colette stood up, grabbed up her arms, and headed for the doors.

Amanda waited thirty seconds before she stood up. "If she was afraid to kill again, she would have left her guns. She just needs to get over the self-loathing phase of bushwhacking a scumdog, and she'll be back on her proper path."

"And what is her proper path?" Irina asked after a moment of considering it.

"Whatever she wants as a path."

Car 75 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 Rooms) (1346) (Evacuated 9 Bravo Mafia, 10 Charlie Mafia)
Car 76 (Bathrooms, Individual Rooms) (1349) (Evacuated 2 civilians)
Car 77 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (1352) (Evacuated 6 Bravo Mafia, 2 Delta Mafia, 1 recruit) (+1 min negotiations)
Car 78 (Bathrooms, Gender Split) (1355)
Car 79 (House, 2 level) (1401) (Evacuated 1 civilian) (Collected 2 unidentified amulets)
Car 80 (Dining Car) (1405) (Evacuated 17 civilians, 2 recruits)
Car 81 (Seats, 1 Level) (1407)
Car 82 (Seats, 2 Level) (1411)
Car 83 (Seats, 2 Level) (1415) (Evacuated 5 Bravo Mafia)
Car 84 (Seats, 2 Level) (1419) (Evacuated 1 civilian, 1 recruit)
Car 85 (Seats, 1 Level) (1421)
Car 86 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1424) (Evacuated 20 civilians)
Car 87 (Bathroom, Individual Stalls (20)) (1426) (Evacuated 4 civilians)
Car 88 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1429)
Car 89 (Bathroom, Individual Stalls (20)) (1431)
Car 90 (House Car, 2 Level) (1437) (Evacuated 7 civilians, 5 recruits) (Collected 2 unidentified amulets)
Car 91 (Lounge Car) (1439)
Car 92 (Seats, 2 Level) (1443)
Car 93 (Seats, 1 Level) (1445) (Evacuated 13 Bravo Mafia, 9 Delta Mafia, 2 recruits)

The entry process into the 93 car, a single-level seat car, was textbook. Four in, two-by-two cover formation, with the second element and Launcelot waiting to exploit the breach. All was going according to practice initially, until the entry team saw what was going on in the car.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?" Leander asked after the exact nature of the events he was witnessing came to mind. A boom box and some fairly loud music prevented his question from behind heard outside the use of their tactical radio headsets.

"Is this what I think it might be?" Olivia asked from the doorway.

"I believe so," Irina said from behind her element commander (3).

"You know it's a party when you got a hunky guy out in the aisle, dry-humping a pump shotgun for an audience," Melva said. "I'm actually inclined to watch this."

"Very bad form, actually, but looks legit," Leander said, focusing on one of the nine Delta Mafia troops - this one a very voluptuous lady - playing with a large-frame revolver in the area of her crotch.

So far as the entry team could understand what they were seeing, the car was split with a cell of Bravo Mafia on the port side and a cell of Delta Mafia (4 female, 5 male) on the starboard side. The Deltas were all strip-dancing, to differing degrees of enthusiasm, while the Bravos cheered them on and occasionally flashed their 'rivals' on the other side of the car. The main selling point of the Deltas' 'routine' in this case was the inclusion of their arsenals as props for their dance session, which included more than one 'dry-hump your boomstick' routine.

"Good Gods, I hope they unloaded those weps before they started this flashdance rout-" Olivia was cut off by the sound of a magnum revolver firing off, and it only took a few moments to determine where from. The lady with the magnum had hooked the trigger while she was boffing the grip, and the barrel just happened to be aimed at her left calf. The bullet hole in her leg was significant but not fatal, and the recoil of the revolver had caused it to kick her in the clamshell and spin off over her right shoulder and out a window. "That answers that."

"Move up and provide medical support," Sir Launcelot ordered immediately as someone shut off the boom box and the dance routine ended of its own volition.

"Man oh man, dry-humping the artillery is all fun and games, until one of the boomsticks goes off," Melva commented as she moved forward of the rest of the team.

"Oh my God! They're here!" one of the older Bravo Mafia troopers shouted. "Can you help her?"

"Clear this bench!" Leander pointed to a bench occupied by two of the Deltas, who were quick to jump over the back to another (unused) bench seat. "You and you, help me lift Miss Anaconda here up on this bench, face down," he ordered next, pointing to a pair of Bravos who had their shirts and bras undone for their side of the 'festivities'. His naming convention for her was in reference to the revolver she had shot herself with, a Colt Anaconda.

"Yes sir!" the larger of the two immediately moved to assist in picking the lady up off the ground and flipping her over to face down. "How bad is it?"

"Sir Launcelot, may want to warn those Armored Infantry that the gunshot was not a serious threat," the Element Commander said to his boss, then looked back to the lady that had asked about the wound. "I'm not a medtech, honey, but I can stop the bleeding so the medtechs can see to her," Leander said as he sat down on the edge of the bench across the aisle from the bench she was sitting on. "I couldn't tell you troops how many firearms safety violations I just saw in 30 seconds, but after this negligent discharge GSW, do I need to say anything more?" He asked while he looped a CAT (4) over the upper part of her calf.

"Aaaahhh! It hurts!" She shouted as the CAT was tightened down to slow the flow of blood.

"Maybe next time you want to wank your revolver, you'll unload it first," Leander said as he flopped open his medical kit and selected an Israeli Field Dressing and a gauze pad to put over the wound. Leander used a disinfectant towelette to clean off most of the blood, slapped down the gauze, then wrapped the field dressing around the wound and tied it off, finishing up with a couple passes of waterproof nylon tape to help prevent it from moving.

"Oh my God that hurts!" the lady shouted.

"That's what I can do for it." Leander reached up for his radio switch and tapped it. "Command, Rail Guard Two-Two reporting one injury car 93, negligent discharge GSW to a leg, need medical evac for the wounded."

"Right here," one of the Magi MedTechs said as she approached with a gurney in tow. "Help me get her up on the mattress, and we'll take care of her."

"She is... she will be all right?" one of the Bravos asked.

"She'll be walking with a mack-daddy limp for a month or two, but this should be fully recoverable," the MedTech answered as Leander and two others lifted the still-nude wounded lady onto the gurney, still face-down, for transport.

The Rail Guard team, the Deltas, and the Bravos all watched in silence as the MedTech wheeled her out the door and toward the freight elevator up to the ground floor of the administration building. "Well, that was a complete cock-blocker," the Delta with the pump shotgun said after the wounded lady was out of sight.

Olivia snorted loudly. "Next time you want to diddle your firepower, fucking unload them."

"Better idea, better idea by far, find some other non-dangerous inanimate object to dry-hump," Leander suggested. "Or, hell, find someone that's willing to put up with your advances and wet-hump them. Safer still. Maybe."

"Party is concluded," Sir Launcelot said to the group at large. "I won't even ask what started this perverse dance. Just don your clothing and begone from this train, the induction center will see to you."

Car 94 (Seats, 2 Level) (1452) (Evacuated 14 Bravo Mafia, 9 Delta Mafia, 9 Charlie Mafia, 2 recruits)
Car 95 (Seats, 2 Level) (1456)
Car 96 (Seats, 2 Level) (1500) (Evacuated 13 Bravo Mafia, 14 Delta Mafia, 8 Charlie Mafia)
Car 97 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (1503) (Evacuated 12 civilians)
Car 98 (Bathrooms, Individual rooms (14)) (1506) (Evacuated 1 civilian)
Car 99 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1509)
Car 100 (Baths, Individual Rooms (14)) (1512)

Given the cars were only 16' wide internally, space was at a premium for the contents and the persons inside. A bath car was no different, especially with the room divided up into 14 individual bathrooms, since the causeway past them was only six feet wide on the starboard side of the train. This did not allow troopers to even walk through shoulder-to-shoulder, given the width of their Dragon Scale armor and equipment sets made them too wide for the close quarters.

What the units ended up doing to solve the coverage problem was stagger one trooper inside, one trooper outside, with the outside trooper controlling the length of the car, and the inside trooper checked the rooms. It wasn't a particularly smart solution — one good burst from a light machine gun could strike three or four troops at once — but it was workable and it provided sights on the two main theaters of action in these shower cars.

When the team entered, second element (Olivia) led the way in, and it became Olivia's task to check the doors, while Orla covered forward. The Element Commander made it four doors into the series of fourteen before they were rudely interrupted.

"Eye-OOOHHH!" a guy shouted after he exited one of the bathrooms toward the far end of the car. "Hanzz up! I wan' your guns and valuables!" he shouted with slurred speech, a 1911 in his right hand and a bottle of something (presumably alcohol) in the other. So far as Orla could tell from the distance and angle, his pistol was live, even if his aimpoint was all over the car.

"Oi! Put that gun away! And your other cannon!" Olivia shouted after she took partial cover in the bathroom she just checked and set her gunsights on his chest.

The drunkard fired a shot high, which embedded itself into the ceiling trim halfway between the entry team and the shooter. "I giv — " he didn't have time to complete his sentence before Orla put four rounds into his chest, three of which were centered on his heart. The tango was legally dead before his body hit the ground.

"Well, that was weird," Leander said.

"Jimmy?" A guy asked after he came out of a different bathroom. "What the — You bitches!" He raised a Springfield XD Pistol with light and took aim at the group, even rattled off two rounds and scored one hit against Olivia before Orla silenced him as well. The Elven element commander took a single round in the left forearm, enough to cause her to bolt inside the bathroom and screech in pain, but Orla did better even if not technically proper. Her burst went vertical after she started firing, with the first round of six starting in the shooter's left thigh, the sixth and last round entered his right sinus cavity and shortly thereafter his brain.

"Olivia!" Irina shouted.

"I'm alive! Left arm's out, give me a second to use a spell on myself."

The drill for this kind of event was heavily rehearsed by the teams. Grace moved forward and took cover where Olivia had been, while Olivia healed herself with Cure magic. "Two down, any more?" Grace asked.

"Two more, just climbing out of the tubs right now," Irina said, gauging their progress by way of her psionic abilities. "Incoming! Big bore pistol — " The muzzle of a large-frame automatic came around the corner, with just the hand exposed, but only one shot rang out before the drunkard on the trigger lost his grip from the massive recoil of the .50 Action Express cartridge. The round dug into the bathroom door some four doors forward of where Grace was covered, nowhere near a threat of actually hitting one of the troops, but still frightening for the sheer sound of the shot. When the pistol clattered to the ground out in the hall, the shooter drunkenly reached out to pick it up and made himself a target for Olivia and Grace. Two rounds from both Rail Guard troopers to his back and side put an end to that threat.

Number four of the four Delta Mafiosi was not a threat overall, and suffered no gunshots for his troubles. In his haste to join the turkey shoot, the drunkard overbalanced on a wet floor and exited the room face-first and descending. He slammed head and left shoulder into the opposite wall, knocked himself unconscious on the impact, and collapsed to the ground with a sodden thud, revolver in hand and unfired.

"Well, that was impressive," Irina said sarcastically.

"Secure him and call for military police support," Olivia ordered, her arm now restored (but rather sore) courtesy of her high-power magic skills. "Man alive, getting shot sucks! Clint really had the right of it about that."

-x-x-x-

(BEQ 17-33, Base Boarhound East, Terra 232)

Thankfully, their house still had cleaning supplies and appliances in place, so doing a full cleaning was a simple task that didn't require its own run to the PX.

On the other hand, six months of dust, spider webs, and mouse droppings made for one hellish cleaning task. All were involved in the cleaning except Elata, who had been sent to the PX to bring back supplies for the night (food, mostly). Kaitlyn had command of the dusting wand, since it would extend and allow her to reach pretty much anything in the house. Alvin had the task of cleaning all fixtures, surfaces, and furniture with disinfectants and bleach where appropriate, and the use of the steam cleaner on sitting furniture and floors. Jack was tasked to the vacuum and the floor scrubber, two absolutely essential tasks given the mouse infestation this house had suffered.

"How the hell do you use this stuff?" Alvin asked as he looked on at the bottle of toilet bowl cleaner. "Apply cleaner, wait 90 seconds, scrub with toilet brush? Simple enough, I guess." He unscrewed the cap, gave the inside of the toilet a liberal coating of the cleaner, and waited. After a couple minutes looking around the bathroom for other things he still needed to clean, Alvin came back to the toilet and started scrubbing at the build-up. Thirty seconds of effort revealed something he didn't want to think about: "Bullshit! Someone dropped a load in this toilet and never flushed, that must be why I can't get it out!"

"Scrub at an angle," Subaru said from the door.

"What, mom?" Alvin asked after a moment.

"Scrub at an angle, here," Subaru stepped in behind her son and guided his hand on a couple trial scrub passes. "You have to drive the bristles into the mess to get results." A couple more tries and some of the detrius was broke free. "Now you try."

"Here," Alvin resumed scrubbing, this time scrubbing at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the toilet and not straight down into the bowl, but with a clockwise spin. "That worked," he said.

"Keep it up, son. We're on a military base now, our house has to be inspection ready." Subaru leaned up and flexed her back to relieve kinks from clearing and reorganizing cabinets.

Alvin dropped the toilet brush into the toilet and embraced his mother. "I can't believe we made it off the train alive, mom. Thanks for keeping us together."

Subaru embraced her eldest surviving son tighter to her chest. "For now, we're safe, but that can change in an instant. Play by the rules, keep your guard up, and make sure you're doing what is asked of you. If this works out, we may just stay alive," the mother of four still alive and six deceased said with gravity.

"If the American can keep things together, we can make it work."

-x-

(Base PX, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)

"Mom is not going to like me for this, but I gotta have it done," Elata said grudgingly as she pulled the two items and dropped them on the bottom of the cart. One was a large travel suitcase with wheels, the other was a military-style packframe with large rucksack, ample for her to carry quite a bit of material.

The Base PX was a different experience for Elata, but not impossible to understand. It was a large retail store, two levels above ground for shopping and two levels below ground for storage. The entire inventory of the store was listed on the Base Intranet, and was shoppable or reservable for a modest fee, but Subaru knew better than to get into that kind of habit unless absolutely necessary. On the other hand, the active inventory system made things a lot easier for shopping planning, and thus was here.

The good thing about the PX, foodstuffs were listed as free for anything that came out of the Train Food Systems. This was due to Will Transcendent Atrebas ordering the Star League to continue supplying all the Trains until the Executors declared the affair settled. Elata didn't pretend to know much about the politics of the matter, but she swore that she would look into it as soon as she had some free time. Most other material was reasonably-priced as far as she knew of price structures, though salvaged material from the Trains was at a significant markdown from new material.

Everything else was at a fairly good price, or so she figured. The total expenditure for the shopping run would be less than a full month's salary for herself as a Basic Recruit, and even less than what her mother was going to pull in for her Technician and Technical Engineer work. The best part was that most of the purchased items were long term or one-purchase items, not consumables.

But not all were durable goods.

Elata stopped in front of a 'waypoint' on her shopping map generated by the tablet she had been assigned, and looked up at the display area that had been listed. "Okay then, why did mom put these on the list?" Even if she questioned it, the requested items went into the cart for purchase.

-x-

(1 Hour later)
(BEQ 17-33, Base Boarhound East, Terra 232)

"I'm back!" Elata shouted after she returned to the house.

"Excellent! I need those vacuum bags," Alvin said heartily.

"The refrigerator is cooled down enough to store the cold material, so get it in storage fast," Subaru answered.

"Amazing how far we can go with a little faith and credit, and a good idea what we need."

"We'll have to go clothes shopping tomorrow, after the Salvage Teams bring in the material from the Train Luggage cars," Subaru pointed out. "Except for you, that is," she wagged a finger at her eldest daughter. "Figured out what you intend to do yet, if you're going military?"

"Fighter pilot," Elata said sincerely.

"Okay, fighter pilot," her mother answered. "Justify it."

Elata continued her process of putting the chilled or frozen foodstuffs into the refrigerator while explaining to her mother the plan in her mind. "First, fighter aircraft are fast. This allows me to close with an enemy fast, and to break away fast if needed. Second, I'm not tied to the ground in a way that makes it easy to get caught in combat. Third, fighters carry an immense amount of firepower, so I can change the battlescape in a hurry for my friends. Fourth, some fighters are immensely difficult to kill. Fifth, I can hit an enemy from multiple directions, making it difficult to predict where I am coming in from. Last, if I get good enough to achieve an Ace rating, I'll be raking in just shy of a hundred grand C-bills a year, which is a helluva goal to shoot for. Sound good?"

"You've thought this through," Subaru said. "Good. I don't want to see you in on the ground, it's too much of a risk."

"And I want to make a difference, which means I need to be somewhere where the action is," the eldest daughter said just before she closed the refrigerator.

"Has your application been accepted yet?" Subaru asked.

"Not yet, yours?" Elata said as she began putting the dry goods foodstuffs away.

"Yes. Engineer One was able to pull my education records from my university days, so I have been directed to report to the Engineer's Building tomorrow at 0800."

Elata finished up the remainder of the foodstuffs, then found one last bag in the back of her military backpack set. "Oh yeah, these." The eldest daughter set the bag down in front of her mother. "I didn't think you believed in using these."

"You're right, I don't. And if I end up with a dozen more children, I'll love every minute of it. They're for you," Subaru dropped the bag down on the table in front of her eldest daughter. "I'm homefront, and my job duties will be easy enough that I can get away with working most the way into the third Trimester. If you're going to be in a Fighter long-term, being pregnant is not going to help your flying hours or effectiveness."

"Oh," Elata grumped, never thinking along those lines. Then again… "I don't expect I'll be sleeping with anyone, though."

"Nor did I," Subaru said diffidently. "First time was rough. Second time I don't remember, I was drunk. Third time felt good. Fourth time, I knew I was hooked. And, after my first child was born, I knew I wanted more. What you think now may not match what you think in five years, or the first time you find a guy you really like." The mother nudged the bag toward her daughter. "If you're anything like me, you'll find this to be good exercise and good entertainment, but you don't want to cripple your career doing it. Most guys won't feel too hurt if you ask to use protection. Your call, though."

Elata nodded. It would be a decision she wouldn't make for a while, but she would eventually come to a conclusion.

-x-x-x-

Car 101 (House Car, 2 levels) (1520) (Evacuated 9 Delta Mafia, 1 Charlie Mafia, and 6 civilians)
Car 102 (Storage Car) (1522)
Car 103 (Seats, 1 Level) (1524)
Car 104 (Seats, 1 Level) (1526) (Evacuated 2 Bravo Mafia, 6 Delta Mafia)

"Aww hell yes!" a teenage lady shouted after Leander began his deliberate search down the length of the seat car.

"Wazzap?" Leander asked after the others stood up.

"Which one of you shot Jimmy The Weasel?"

"That was second team," Leander said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Orla, actually, why?"

"Owe her some serious thanks for taking that douchenozzle out of the gene pool," a late-thirties lady answered as she stood up. "Holy fuck, you guys are a frightening sight!" she gasped after she had a clear view to the entire team.

"I'm here," Orla said as she approached the group of Delta Mafiosi. "What's going on?"

"We need to thank you big time for dealing with Jimmy The Weasel a couple cars back. You did drop him, right? Large guy, my height plus a couple centimeters, carries a custom 1911 in one hand and a bottle of scotch in the other?" The eldest of four Delta Mafiosi ladies asked.

"Aye, that was me," Orla acknowledged.

"On behalf of the Delta Mafiosi on this train, we thank you and we owe you. That douchewagon was a drunkard, carouser, low-level terrorist, rapist, and a highway robber — and you punched his ticket doing three of the above. Thank you! How can we repay you for probating that punk?"

"Damn, just shot a dude shooting in my general direction," Orla said, rather shocked at such accolades.

"Seriously, you've done us all a favor bagging him, and bagging his compatriots," the youngest of the Delta lady Mafiosi said. "That dude has tried sacking each one of us, even tried his nasties on some of the Bravo Mafiosi," she nodded to a pair of Bravo Mafiosi that were sitting elsewhere in the seats, "And we didn't want to take our chances because when they're sober they are lethal."

Orla smirked. "Three are a bit too dead to pose a further threat. The fourth will have some explaining to do to The Boss." She sighed; even if she had been calm and reasonably collected during the shooting, the shooting had stressed her to a severe degree. "As to repayment of a debt, I need none. This is our duty: we clear the Trains, rescue those who can be redeemed, slay those who have earned it. That said, I propose a trade."

"Listening," the elder Delta said.

"Him, actually," Orla pointed to a forty-something guy in Delta Mafiosi colors.

"Uh, me?" the guy asked, surprised.

"Aye, you, or more specifically, your revolver. What is it?"

"Oh, this? Ruger Redhawk, six-inch barrel, .44 Magnum, why?"

"Irina collects revolvers," Orla said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the youngest member of the second element. "Irina called the shots, we did the shooting. Normally, the guns and gear of deceased tangos are salvage for the entry teams, so I propose a trade. One of Jimmy's cohorts had a Desert Eagle. Revolver for Pistol sound fair enough?"

"Hell yes!" the guy half-shouted. "I'll definitely take that trade. Which one is Irina?"

"Guilty," Irina waved her left hand to get his attention. The guy handed over his revolver to Irina without much hesitation, satisfied in the trade.

After the guy headed back toward the shower car, Orla looked back to the gathered Delta and Bravo Mafiosi. "This isn't about rewards. It's about doing the right thing for us. You want something to think about, something to rally around, don't rally around a shooter. Become a shooter, someone who is willing to do the right thing with the right arsenal for the right reasons."

Car 105 (Seats, 2 Level) (1534)
Car 106 (Seats, 1 Level) (1536)
Car 107 (Seats, 2 Level) (1540)
Car 108 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1543) (Evacuated 4 Bravo Mafia, 7 Delta Mafia, 16 Civilians)
Car 109 (Bathrooms, Individual Rooms (14)) (1546)
Car 110 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1549) (Evacuated 2 Charlie Mafia)
Car 111 (Bathrooms, Enclosed Stalls (20)) (1551)
Car 112 (House Car, 1 level) (1555) (Evacuated 6 civilians, 1 recruit)
Car 113 (Dining Car) (1559) (Evacuated 8 civilians, 3 recruits) (+30min lunch break)

The unit's noses led them into the next car, and in this case it led them to a single, simple conclusion: breakfast was roughly eight hours prior for the team.

"Either that smells real good, or I am excessively hungry," Leander said after he realized where they were.

"Has been a while since breakfast," Melva pointed out with some hope to voice.

"Indeed it has," Sir Launcelot said. "And, the operational regulations do not deny us a break for lunch."

"Then I guess the question is whether or not the cook wants to put up with us," Irina asked loud enough to make sure she had his attention.

"Come, come!" The cook shouted in baltic-accented English. "I will gladly feed the men and women who will pull me off this Train and give me decent job! Come!"

A couple odds-and-ends personnel occupied the tables, though even that was thin pickings — most of the occupants had already departed through the locked-open doors. The bar area was completely clear, so finding nine contiguous seats was no challenge. The troops safed and slung their subguns, making sure they were out of the way to avoid interfering with the chow to come.

"What's the house special, chef?" Leander asked after the troops were seated.

"Ham and Eggs, but I'm pretty flexible," he admitted. "Last week, I had some grilled-to-perfection filet mignon going, had them coming from as far away as car 165 to get a plate."

"How about some Veal Parmesana?" Amanda requested.

"With some mashed potatoes, tomato sauce, and green beans, sound good?" the long-time chef suggested.

"I'm game," Olivia answered.

"Have them ready in twenty," the cook said.

"How is the progress, sir?" Amanda asked Sir Launcelot.

"So far, much less bloody than the first run through the Train," Sir Launcelot said. "Of course, the Americans did most of the bloodletting in their trip through; we are simply cleaning house."

"True, that," Olivia said.

"Better a simple start," Grace said.

Someone behind them cleared his throat. A couple heads and eyes shifted to check out the newcomer. "Excuse me, you're the Sigma Rail Guard team, right?"

"Indeed," Sir Launcelot answered. "How may I help you?"

"Is Sigma hiring? Mage specialists?" the guy asked.

"Aye, definitely," Lotta answered calmly. "You have mage talents already?"

"Some," the guy admitted.

"Up the stairs in the Railhead, speak to the personnel handling the induction area. They'll get you placed," Leander said.

"Thank ye," the guy said. He was out the door in seconds and on the way up the concrete platforms headed toward the front end of the railhead.

"Something was off about that guy," Melva pointed out.

"Phoenix," Amanda answered the standing question. "Specifically, an Eternal Phoenix. I could sense it about his being."

"One Phoenix senses another?" Orla asked.

"Something like that," Amanda half-answered the question.

Car 114 (Seats, 2 Level) (1633) (Evacuated 1 Delta Mafia)
Car 115 (Seats, 2 Level) (1637)
Car 116 (Seats, 2 Level) (1641)
Car 117 (Seats, 2 Level) (1645) (Evacuated 8 Bravo Mafia, 8 Charlie Mafia)
Car 118 (Seats, 1 Level) (1647) (Evacuated 2 Bravo Mafia, 11 Delta Mafia, 7 Charlie Mafia)
Car 119 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 Rooms) (1650) (Evacuated 1 civilian)
Car 120 (Bathrooms, Individual Rooms (14)) (1653)
Car 121 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1656)
Car 122 (Bathrooms, Individual Stalls (20)) (1658) (Evacuated 3 civilians)
Car 123 (House Car, 1 Level) (1702) (Evacuated 7 civilians)
Car 124 (Lounge Car) (1704)
Car 125 (Seats, 2 Level) (1708)
Car 126 (Seats, 1 Level) (1710)
Car 127 (Seats, 2 Level) (1714)
Car 128 (Seats, 2 Level) (1718)
Car 129 (Seats, 1 Level) (1720) (Evacuated 4 civilians)
Car 130 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1723) (Evacuated 15 civilians)
Car 131 (Baths, Individual Rooms (14)) (1726) (Evacuated 5 Bravo Mafia, 2 Delta Mafia, 1 Charlie Mafia, 1 Recruit)

"Hell is going on here?" Irina asked after she got into the causeway to the side of the shower rooms and saw only a collection of long arms, a large battery unit connected to an energy rifle, and an open bathroom door nearby the gear.

"Gods Damnit woman! Why are you — Gah! I like the way I — "

"Will you quit your bellyaching, dirty boy?" An older lady shouted over him as the unit approached where the 'action' was.

"What the hell is wrong with you! First you strip me down, now you're demanding I take a bath? I don't smell bad!"

"You're right, you don't smell bad, you smell fucking horrible! And you damn well better get used to it, the Armored Infantry say that hygiene is strictly enforced in the Protectorate!"

"I do not stink!"

"Beer is normally taken internally, John!" a loud splashing sound was heard. "Now, you damn well better do this right and like it, or you'll be doing it at gunpoint next time!"

Irina sidled up to the open doorway and looked in, carefully, to make sure she was not seen. A thirty-something guy was splayed out in a mostly-filled bathtub, being lorded over by a large lady and a teen. Dingy clothes were strewn about, and much in line with the lady's protests, Irina could tell there was a stench in the air.

"Damnit, wench, if I'mma be forced to do this, I'm getting some company out of it!" The guy reached out of the tub, grabbed a hold on the lady's belt, and hauled her into the bathtub with him.

"John, you womanizing oaf! You'll get some company out of this once you clean up! Jesus, it's not like I'm trying to waterboard you."

Irina got a whiff of something on one of his articles of clothing, which immediately caused her to gag. The reaction caused three pairs of eyes to look to her as she rapidly turned green. "Oh, shit, they're here early!"

"Oh shit, she's about to puke!" the elder lady said.

"Toilet, toilet!" Irina shouted as she waved the teen out of the way. The teenage girl was able to clear out of the way fast enough to not be bowled over by the Rail Guard operator, who quickly slammed up the toilet seat and cut loose.

"That's fucking grody," the guy said as the heavily-armed lady offloaded her lunch the hard way.

"I guess that makes opinion of your stench rather unanimous if it's causing the Sigma troops to puke," the lady said as she hauled herself out of the tub. "Now, start scrubbing, dirty boy, or I'll find a toilet brush and do it the hard way."

"You gonna be all right, miss?" the teen asked of Irina.

Irina leaned left until her shoulder hit the wall, then she dropped to her knees and finished her ralf run. "Oh, holy shit, that was not pleasant." The entry team operator straightened up, used a wad of toilet paper to wipe her mouth clean, and flushed the whole mess down the toilet. "Not an experience I want to repeat."

"You will be all right?" the teen asked again.

"I'll live, but there goes a damn good lunch." Irina siphoned five ounces of water out of her water bladder, swilled it around in her mouth, and spit it into the toilet to remove most of the foul taste. Her next action was to trip the radio switch. "Command, Rail Guard 2-9, request for supplies," she said.

"Go for Command," Virtue answered.

"Command, need a hazmat isolation bag for waste disposal and a jumpsuit set for a Male, size large, to include underwear, socks, and boots, how copy?" Irina said after she levered herself to standing.

"Good copy, runner will be there in several minutes with the materials."

Irina used her survival knife to flick the clothes out to a pile in the hallway. "Jesus, I guess it really is that bad."

"I'd say," Orla said from the doorway. "Get yourself scrubbed down, and when the runner brings your new set by, get dressed and get up to the induction center. And keep in mind, most ladies won't sleep with a guy that smells like the south end of a northbound rhinoceros, follow?"

Car 132 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1732)
Car 133 (Baths, Individual Rooms (14)) (1735)
Car 134 (House Car, 1 Level) (1739) (Evacuated 5 civilians)
Car 135 (Dining Car) (1743)
Car 136 (Seats, 1 Level) (1746) (Evacuated 3 civilians, 1 recruit)
Car 137 (Seats, 2 Level) (1749) (Evacuated 3 civilians) (Collected 2 recognized Amulets, 1 unrecognized amulet)
Car 138 (Seats, 2 Level) (1753)
Car 139 (Seats, 2 Level) (1757)
Car 140 (Seats, 2 Level) (1801) (Evacuated 2 recruits)
Car 141 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (1804) (Evacuated 19 civilians, 7 Charlie Mafia)
Car 142 (Baths, Individual Stalls (20)) (1806) (Evacuated 2 recruits)
Car 143 (Baths, Individual Stalls (20)) (1808) (Evacuated 12 civilians)
Car 144 (Baths, Individual Stalls (20)) (1810) (Evacuated 10 civilians)
Car 145 (House Car, 1 Level) (1814)
Car 146 (Lounge Car) (1816) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet)
Car 147 (Seats, 2 level) (1820) (Evacuated 1 Delta Mafia, 2 recruits)
Car 148 (Seats, 2 level) (1824) (Evacuated 5 civilians)
Car 149 (Seats, 2 level) (1828) (Evacuated 12 Delta Mafia)
Car 150 (Seats, 1 level) (1830) (Evacuated 1 recruit)

-x-x-x-

(BEQ 17-33 (Annoe House), Base Boarhound East, Terra 232)

Alvin and Jack had settled down on the couch that the latter had thoroughly cleaned and steamed, exhausted from the day's binge-cleaning series.

"This was a helluva day," Alvin groused.

"Fricking awesome, though. We have a real house, in a real military base, commanded by a real government with real guns to protect us. Mom kept getting weepy about it, but I think it's bloody awesome that we're now safe."

Alvin sighed. "I'll say that being Mafia and whacking Slavers was fun, but this is for-real off the charts. I mean, did you see the list that Elata was scrolling through for jobs? Ho-Lee Sheet, brother, the Protectorate alone has a thousand possible career paths. You may be wanting to go Industrial, but I think you could easily find an industrial job anywhere in the Sigma services just as easily as a Commercial one."

Jack chuckled. "I'm going civvie not because I don't like the government. I'm going civvie because, if I do it right, I can open my own plant and really make the bucks."

"Oh, that sounds good," Alvin said. "Anyway, I don't know where I'm going to go, but I'm going to have mom set me up with the Aerospace Academy. I want to fly, I just don't know exactly what I want to fly yet."

"You, flying?" Jack asked. "That's awesome."

"That's going to be so awesome. Train urchin, to Mafiosi, to Refugee, to student, to pilot. The kind of story that takes the curl out of the pube hair of the reader."

"Right on," Jack saluted his brother with a glass of orange juice. "After you've done a decade or two in the armed forces, you can come fly for me when I need transport, eh?"

"If the pay's good and I ever get tired of getting shot at, sure," Alvin said with a smile. "Different world."

"Different world, brother." Jack saluted with his orange juice again.

"Our world, now." Alvin returned the salute with his glass of milk.

-x-

"What will you do, sister?" Kaitlyn asked Elata after they had finished preparing her bed.

"I've signed up as a fighter pilot trainee," Elata answered with a smile.

"Cool! Can you take me up to see the sky someday?" Kaitlyn beamed at the thought of being in the clouds.

"If they allow it, I'll have everyone in the family up in the skies — maybe in the stars!" Elata threw a blanket over Kaitlyn's bed, and stuffed a pillow into a pillowcase for the youngest of the siblings.

"What about you, sister?" Elata asked as she began preparing her own bed. A Mattress Protector went on first, then a mattress pad.

"I want a family!" Kaitlyn said abruptly.

Elata was partway into putting on the fitted sheet when the answer struck her. "A family? That's… no, that is definitely a career, but I was thinking more along the lines of something like what mother or I are doing?"

"Oh, a job? Yeah, I was thinking something like the administrative girls that were at the Induction, you know? Tracks down people, supplies, organize contracts, stuff like that. Or maybe one of the galley chefs? They have a really great job, feeding the refugees and the troops. But no, my one hope in life is to have a loving family of my own, like we are!"

Elata dropped her pillow on the bed and flopped down on it. "Oh man, feels so much better than the beds on the Trains!"

"What about you, sister? You going to start a family?" Kaitlyn propped herself up on her elbow, looking across the short gap between their beds.

Elata was instantly reminded of the bag of condoms and spermicide in her dresser drawer, and the strong suggestion by her mother to take it easy on that kind of conduct if she really wanted to become an ace pilot. On the other hand, she knew that she didn't know what the 'corporate culture' of the Protectorate would be toward such pursuits, and that could change things. Who knows? Maybe the bosses were solicitous to having a family while serving the military.

"I don't know yet," Elata answered truthfully. "Right now, I just want to survive Basic and get into flight school. I'm only seventeen, and mom started when she was 21. I've got a few years to decide."

"Okay," Katherine said.

-x-

Down the hall from the daughters, Subaru put the finishing touch on making her own bed and was satisfied with the result.

The entire house's furniture had been abandoned in place, and other than needing cleaned out, all was perfectly usable. As such, Subaru had a massive king-size bed, matching dresser and armoire, two nightstands, and a chest of drawers for the set. There were mounting brackets on the wall for holovision monitors, but the actual devices were fairly valuable and had probably been pulled when the prior tenants left.

The two kids' rooms shared a shower, which would probably lead to knife fights over shower order (unlike the Train Shower Cars, there was not enough shower room for everyone to take a shower all at once). The master bedroom had its own adjacent shower and bathtub, a large model that could easily fit three or four persons, and this is supposed to be an enlisted quarters? What are the amenities of the officer's quarters, in this case?

The basement was unfinished — from its present state, it appeared that the prior tenant had started fixing the basement up into some kind of parlor, but that had been cut off mid-project, probably by the evacuation. Subaru always wanted a personal library for fiction and nonfiction books, and this would be a good place to set one up, she figured. Part of the basement would be cordoned off as storage, and another part as a utility room, but it was certainly doable.

Subaru ran her finger across the top edge of the headboard on the bed. "It's still so unreal," she groused. "In a matter of hours, I've gone from being a train urchin to a Mobile Suit Technician, and gone from sleeping where I thought it was safe to sleeping in a king-size bed in a row house on a military base."

Subaru took a few moments to consider it, and realized that it had been nineteen years since she had slept anywhere that she really felt safe. "Nineteen years," she said to the pillow in front of her.

"New world, new life, mother," Elata said.

"Ready for it?" Subaru asked.

"I'm done for the night. My application just went through as approved, I am to report to barracks tomorrow for the start of Basic Training," Elata waved her tablet towards her mother.

"Same, done for the night," Katherine answered from behind her elder sister.

"Then enjoy the peace for tonight. For tomorrow, our lives become real interesting."

-x-x-x-

Car 151 (Seats, 2 level) (1834)
Car 152 (Seats, 2 level) (1838)
Car 153 (Bathrooms, Gender-split) (1840)
Car 154 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1843) (Evacuated 20 civilians as volunteer recruits)
Car 155 (Bathrooms, Individual Stalls (20)) (1845) (Evacuated 2 recruits)
Car 156 (House, 2 level) (1851) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet)
Car 157 (Storage) (1853) (Collected 2 unidentified Amulet)
Car 158 (Seats, 1 level) (1855) (Evacuated 4 Delta Mafia)
Car 159 (Seats, 1 level) (1857) (Evacuated 2 recruits)
Car 160 (Seats, 1 level) (1859)
Car 161 (Seats, 2 level) (1903) (Evacuated 1 recruit) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet)
Car 162 (Seats, 1 level) (1905) (Evacuated 7 Delta Mafia)
Car 163 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1908) (Evacuated 3 Bravo Mafia, 6 Delta Mafia, 7 Charlie Mafia, 2 recruits)
Car 164 (Bathrooms, Individual Stalls (20)) (1910)
Car 165 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1913) (Evacuated 13 civilians)
Car 166 (Bathrooms, Individual Rooms (14)) (1916) (Evacuated 1 recruit)
Car 167 (House Car, 1 Level) (1920) (Evacuated 5 civilians) (Collected 1 unidentified Amulet)
Car 168 (Dining Car) (1924) (Evacuated 26 civilians, 3 recruits)
Car 169 (Seats, 2 level) (1928)
Car 170 (Seats, 2 level) (1932) (Evacuated 2 civilians)
Car 171 (Seats, 2 level) (1936) (Evacuated 5 civilians)
Car 172 (Seats, 2 level) (1940) (Evacuated 13 Bravo Mafia, 7 Delta Mafia, 11 Charlie Mafia) (+3min conversation)

"Aww man, this is gonna be fucking awesome!" a guy said shortly after the entry team boarded the 172 car.

"I see only good things in our future," a rather large lady said. "I mean, lounging around, getting laid two weeks out of a month is all well and good, but I got an itch for vengeance on the punks that hauled me on this train a decade ago."

Leander approached the back of their group, not silently, so at least a third of their rank knew he was there. The remainder of the Bravos and Deltas realized he was there when his gear made a rattling sound when he flopped down on one of the benches behind the group.

"Holy hell, they're here already!"

"I didn't think they'd get here tonight," a mid-twenties Delta guy said.

"Nah, we'll have this train finished up before tonight's done. The other train we're working on, that will take days to clear," Melva said from behind Leander.

"I know you! Melva!" One of the early-twenties Bravo Mafiosi half-shouted. "How did you — in with them?" she waved her finger at the rest of the Rail Guard team.

"I volunteered for Rail Guard," Melva said, playing off her reputation. "We all had most of the skills, we just needed directed training. You remember Megan Christensen, right?"

"Hell yeah, how's the Texas Tornado doing?" a thirty-something Bravo asked.

"She's heading up the other Rail Guard team right now," Leander said, pointing out the window to the other train off the Port side of the 523 Train. "Her team won the right to do the second train, we're cleaning this one out."

"Can we volunteer?" a Delta Mafiosi lady asked.

"Oh yeah, we've got a need for more Rail Guard units," Leander answered with a smile. "You want in, up the stairs in the railhead, talk to the Induction Group to volunteer. They'll get you assigned bunks, personal effects, and into a training cadre."

"And gear?" the youngest of the Bravo Mafia asked.

"Comes with the territory," Melva said. "Pay scale is also damn good, if you can tolerate getting shot at."

"And you get to cap off Slavers, which is possibly the best job perk ever," Leander pointed out.

"Winning! Let's do it!" The eldest of the Delta guys said.

"For you, mister, I think you've earned a flash," the rather large thirty-something Bravo gave him a lift and shake. Leander guessed them well above DD size, certainly nothing to sneeze at.

"Careful slinging those weapons of mass destruction around, honey," Leander shook a finger at her. "You may end up under me if you're going to volunteer for the Rail Guard."

"Doesn't sound half bad," she said. "Thanks!" she waved at the group on her way out the door.

"That was a bit unexpected," Olivia said. "And rather intimidating."

"Those were massive, she's probably had a few kids on the Train," Irina pointed out.

"Probably also a Star Empire resident or descended of one, given her size and figure," Leander said. The use of genetic engineering amongst the Star Empires had created generations of persons who were physically more robust than unmodified humanity, and one of the side effects to help improve human genetic stock had been a gradual increase in bust size over the millennia of such programs. It was a trait that followed in line with other modifications to the primary and secondary reproductive enhancements over those thousands of years, all geared to help increase the population of the Star Empires.

"Ah well, back to work, daylight's wasting," Olivia said.

Car 173 (Seats, 1 level) (1945)
Car 174 (Double Sleeper Car, 9 rooms) (1948) (Evacuated 10 Bravo Mafia, 1 Delta Mafia, 22 civilians)
Car 175 (Bathrooms, Gender-split) (1950)
Car 176 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (1953) (Evacuated 3 civilians)
Car 177 (Bathrooms, Gender-split) (1955) (Evacuated 14 civilians)
Car 178 (House Car, 1 level) (1959)
Car 179 (Lounge Car) (2001) (Evacuated 10 civilians) (+1min negotiation)
Car 180 (Seats, 2 level) (2006)
Car 181 (Seats, 2 level) (2010)
Car 182 (Seats, 2 level) (2014)
Car 183 (Seats, 2 level) (2018)
Car 184 (Seats, 2 level) (2022) (Evacuated 1 recruit)
Car 185 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (2025) (Evacuated 2 recruits)
Car 186 (Bathrooms, gender-split) (2027) (Evacuated 4 Charlie Mafia)
Car 187 (Single Sleeper Car, 15 rooms) (2030)
Car 188 (Bathrooms, gender-split) (2032)
Car 189 (House car, 1 level) (2036) (Evacuated 4 civilians, 1 recruit) (Collected 1 M24 SWS, 1 ruby)
Car 190 (Dining Car) (2040)
Car 191 (Seats, 2 level) (2044)
Car 192 (Seats, 2 level) (2048) (Evacuated 7 Charlie Mafia, 5 civilians)
Car 193 (Seats, 2 level) (2052)
Car 194 (Seats, 1 level) (2054) (Collected 1 STR Amulet, 1 unidentified Amulet)
Car 195 (Seats, 1 level) (2056)
Car 196 (Engine) (2057)
Car 197 (Engine) (2058)
Car 198 (Engine) (2059)
Car 199 (Engine) (2100)
Car 200 (Engine) (2101)

Sir Launcelot was first to step down from the elevated walk platform around the mostly-disassembled Engine car, and first to come in contact with anyone — in this case a Star Commander of the Armored Infantry detail guarding the undercroft. The medieval knight came to attention and saluted the Star Commander. "Reporting Train 523 cleared of all persons."

The Star Commander came to attention, a noisy racket in full armor and arms. "Acknowledged, Team Lead, and congratulations. Word is that the Engineering Group is already forming up a team to begin disassembly of these Trains."

"Holy shit I am tired," Orla grumped as she leaned back against the mostly-disassembled Engine car frame.

"Stress, operator, stress drains you faster than physical exertion," the Star Commander said. "Sigma One awaits your team upstairs, in the cafeteria. And afterward, may I recommend a good shower and rack time for the lot of you?"

"Not going to argue," Sir Launcelot said. Without further word, Rail Guard 2 team was on the way up the stairs to the ground floor, where the cafeteria was waiting for them.

On their way past, the Sigma troops ran into more than a few of the faces they had rescued on their way through the Train. It was endearing to the troops to see so many elated persons, freed from the uncertainty of the Train's hellish environment, others with a steeled mien as they mentally prepared themselves to face the coming challenges of their new residence. Most of the evacuees cheered the troopers as they passed, a hearty thanks to the two men and seven women who had put their lives on the line to rescue persons who thought themselves beyond redemption.

Outside the cafeteria, Leander brought the group to a halt at the framed Contract from the Executors to decommission the Trains.

" 'This Contract, enacted by lawful decree of Will Transcendent Eric Atrebas, is hereby enacted as of 21 March of the 8838th year of the Star League Reign, and shall be considered valid and binding in perpetuity until it is determined that no significant quantity of Jumper Trains continue to roam freely in Known Existence. Signed and Underwritten, Eric Atrebas, Master Executor and Will Transcendent, 20 March of the 8838th year of the Star League Reign.' "

"One down, a fuck-ton more to go," Melva said. She kissed the tips of her fingers, then pressed the kiss against the top-right corner of the glass. Each of the other troopers in the team did the same, creating a row of smudges across the top of the glass above the border surrounding the paper. Though the gesture was symbolic, it would create a tradition amongst the Rail Guard teams — as would their next couple actions.

Inside the Cafeteria, three persons were waiting for them: Sigma One, Secret Service One, and an elven lady they did not recognize.

"Come, come!" Hess waved the team toward the table he was sitting at. "Damn good operation, team 2! 200 cars, only one shooting incident, and alcohol can be considered the overriding factor in that encounter."

"Far easier than we trained for," Sir Launcelot said. "The next one shall not be so simple."

"I expect it, but at least you have the taste of the coming campaign. So, on this, a celebration is in order." Hess lifted a tablecloth off the table, and below it was a row of shotglasses. "A shot of whiskey for each, in salute of the first Train cleared of many to come. Anyone here allergic to alcohol?"

"Nope, should be good," Leander said. Each of the troopers took a shotglass.

Hess, Toni, and the elven lady took the last glasses. "Rail Guard Team 2. Train 523. The Train that started it all for us — it started the hunt for Slavers, the Protectorate, the Mercenary Unit, and our collision course with certain political parties that want our asses on pikes. Today, it is cleared. Tomorrow, we begin disassembling it, and in a week, we claim the bounty on the Train. Put 'em on safe and let 'em hang, this one is done."

"Hell yes sir!" Amanda half-shouted with her shotglass raised in salute. All twelve slugged the whiskey in one go.

Leander made a show of downing his. "That's good stuff! Hope you got more, sir," he said.

"Certainly," Hess topped off their shotglasses for a second round, including his own. "Couple things have changed since you entered the train. First, policy is now that we do three runs per team per month, on average. What that means is, you'll do a Train, take seven to ten days as part vacation, part training, then sortie for another Train. You can volunteer for more, but given how bad you guys are wrecked doing a quiet 200-car midget Train, I don't see that as a wise idea."

"I ain't an overtime whore, I'll do three a month and like it," Irina said stoutly.

"Second, one thing Team One discovered is that the UMP40 is not a one-size-fits-all assbeater. At your option, you can refit with your personal preference of weapon for clearing the Trains, but keep in mind that the bigger and longer it is, the harder it is going to be to maneuver in those tight confines. Follow?"

"Aye, and much welcomed," Sir Launcelot said. "I rather fancied the P90 when I had a chance to test it."

"FN P90 is a good choice, especially with explosive or armor-piercing munitions," Hess acknowledged. "Third, the Base PX is open for business, so if you've got the credits, or you're willing to take a hit on your first paycheck, you can now get supplies for your residences."

"Nice," Leander said. "Anything else, chief?"

"In a hurry, amigo?" Hess asked.

"Aye, sir, been sweating up a storm, wanted to get cleaned up."

Hess chuckled. "I can understand that after our fast-and-furious operation to rescue her and her sister," and Sigma One indicated the unidentified elven lady in the room. "I'll make the last point short then. I've directed the engineering group to fit barracks into the Railhead undercroft walls for the Rail Teams, so those teams on standby or clearing a Train can rest overnight in secured, clean bunks between tours on the Trains or while waiting for a Train to drop in."

"Excellent, I was wondering about that," Olivia said. "Thank you for the whiskey sir."

"One question, though," Hess began, then hesitated while he worked through phrasing the question without being crude. Two seconds later: "If you don't have a barracks assignment right now, where do you intend to hit the shower?"

Leander didn't miss a beat on that one: "I'm going to be the last dude to hit the showers in the Train we just cleared."

"Not if the rest of the team beats you there," Olivia said to the other element lead.

"Dismissed, and I'll leave this bottle in the reefer against the wall if you want to finish it off before you crash out for the night," Hess said to the team.

"It shall not survive the evening," Melva promised.

Hess saluted the team on the way out of the door.

---

Author's Chapter Afterword:

First chapter! W00t!

All things considered, though, Launcelot has the easy one. This Train is short (200 cars) and has mostly been cleared already by the team hijinks of the first day. Things will be a helluva lot spikier on the new Train, especially since it is a lot longer. In fact, the second train will be a multi-day effort by Megan's team to do the job.

The big takeaway for this one is the goodwill that Launcelot forged in the cars, and the ensuing recruitment of almost all of the Mafiosi. After all was said and done, the total evac count for Mafiosi alone (not counting civilians or recruitable civilians) was over 550. In 200 cars. And that was not rpt not counting persons, mafiosi that had already been extracted from the Train by Hess on his way through. The combination of Fat-Boy Slaver Slayer and Knight of the Round Table had convinced the residents that Sigma was on the level, or at least more so than the Train. The great gamble is up the stairs and into the Induction Center, but it won't be a bad gamble for anyone in the long run.

There are a half-dozen little takeaways from this one, being a group of shower-loving perverts, an early teen with enough of a heart to show remorse for her actions, and multiple other encounters of a wild and varied nature. Take your pick on which one caught your attention the most, but I can tell you right now the one that the betas liked for the ongoing effect factor is the Annoe family. And Sieben liked it even better because the Annoe family thing adds personnel to the engineering group, which is more or less Sieben's thang in this writing. Jeff Evans is his character, and he's going to make a fuck-ton of noise before everything is said and done.

(Don't tell Takeshi this, but I'm thinking about delegating a division of Sigma's forces to him as well. He'll have to generate a standard character for it, not a rip of characters from LOTRO, but I'm reasonably sure I think I have something for him :)

The big, screaming Charlie Foxtrot to come was briefly hinted at in the story. The second train is occupied by nothing but Charlie Mafia and civilians, though they call themselves Wee Brats, and only a small percentage of them are of voting age for Sigma purposes. Those that aren't will have to foster in and hit the schools until they're of age. There will be some exceptions, such as persons operating in a younger body but who are quite older (A Phoenix that is 3200 years old but is in a teen's body counts by their actual age, not physical age, under Magi and Protectorate law, just as one example).

And then there is the logistics of the matter. When I did the first run of the Sigma stories, I failed to keep my records accurate and screwed the pooch. Now that I am keeping accurate records, things are moving at a slower and much more manageable pace. The flipside, especially with the clearing of the 523 Train, is the sheer scale of it. For the record, I finished the writing segment of this chapter last Friday. I have actually properly generated and recorded less than a quarter of the recruits from Train 523, and at the pace I am keeping, I suspect it will take me another week or two to have all that hashed out. During the process, though, I am debugging and upgrading my programs furiously, to the point that the random results I am generating today for characters are a whole order of magnitude more random than I was generating two weeks ago.

As to that randomness, well, I have made no bones in my writing about human / nonhuman / semi-human racial issues. With the latest revisions of my character generator program, I can add or remove races from the generation results at will, and tweak the results as appropriate. Human / Elven / Nymph / Sylph? Pffft. Dragon and Phoenix are not the crowd-pleasers to come, there will be more. Anthromorphs, a separate race of strictly Valkyrie? Set in to the results but unseen in the 523 Train. Larger than Humans, such as Giants or Titans? Doable, easily. Smaller than humans, such as Faeries or Moogles? Bah, already accounted for. Even the Protoss can be generated by my randomizers. Ph33r, kids, fear like you have never feared before, because I have a VB6 compiler and I know how to use (abuse?) it!

One thing that I slipped into the results from the 523 train group was a race that is going to make some serious noise going forward, for multiple reasons. You haven't seen them actively in the story so far, and that was deliberate on my part. They are effectively indistinguishable from Humans by physical traits, but an Executor with interdimensional spatial awareness (rare; not even Nereus has that psionic skillset) can sense something amiss with the persons in question. So far in the results I have generated, I have generated three total such characters. They are Dryads, tree spirits made manifest, and they will have several story arcs of their own as well as create a subculture in Sigma that shall be the first 'modernized' Dryad group known in Existence. It will also create possibly one of the strangest conflicts that Sigma will get into during its early years, and one of the most grossly one-sided conflicts you will ever read of.

I think that's all I have to cover for notes at this time. My next chapter in author work is AAA, so anyone who reads this but tracks the AAA storyline should be on the lookout for it.

NEXT UP: Megan begins the clearing of the first Sigma-captured Train. If you thought this Train had some rough spots, wait until you see the next Train!

---

Review Replies:

No reviews in this storyline yet. I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!

Anything is good. Suggestions on where you want Contracts, where you want people to come from, you name it. I'll throw what I can into this story, for the Sigma story series is the true drainage trap in Stravag's kitchen sink distillery!

---

The Gripe Sheet:

No active complaints chapter over chapter, given this is the first chapter, so...

There is one interrelated complaint from a Sigma reviewer, that the Train segments are too 'linear' to be truly interesting. I can understand that, and to an extent agree. As I explained in my notes, they are really a game mechanic made manifest into a failed Star League policy, and one of Sigma's great startup challenges. You will not see a major glut of Train clearing stories, where that happens I intend to do most of that in background until or unless something major happens on a Train. I may include particularly poignant segments in parts of the mainline stories, but for the most part the stories to come will focus on the contract work and not the more mundane train clearing and scrapping. The results of personnel acquisition, however, that will be very much visible in the expanding Sigma forces and civilian population!

---

Footnotes:

(1): Any veterans of the Fallout series should know this one well...

(2): The designation of number on an Amulet is a factor of the overall power of the caster at the time of enchanting — the more powerful the caster, the higher the number and hence the more persons that the Amulet can affect. Amulets are normally used as a training measure for novice Relic Mages, allowing them to get used to the process of creating Relics and enchanting objects, and because the most basic Amulet spells are good training for the coming processes in creating full Relics. The practical cap is 10 (Decahedron) — beyond that, the caster is of sufficient power to enchant relics, obviating the need for Amulet forms rather than the permanent form of Relics.

(3) Element Commander refers to the leader of a subsection of troops in a unit, such as one of the two entry teams under Sir Launcelot (his element commanders are Leander and Olivia).

(4) Combat Application Tourniquet. Used to slow or stop the bloodflow to a limb gunshot wound.

---

Included Works:

—PRIOR STORY — This story assumes that the reader has read through at least chapter 9 of Sigma 0001.

—Real Life Armaments — too many to name, that is most of the arsenal shown.
—Real Life Combat Gear — the vests and gear carried by the Militia troops are easily constructible from stuff you can buy on Amazon or Cheaper Than Dirt. No, Seriously, Look it up. Do a search for "UTG Modular 10-Piece Complete Kit", and you have a good look at a starter kit for any serious gearhound.
—Real Life Concepts

—Personal Works: The Star Empires are mentioned briefly here. Additionally, the Magi Empire is named specifically.

—Anime General: the oddball hair colors
—Anime General and D&D: the nonspecific concept of Elves, Nymphs, and Sylphs.

—Game: Infantry Online (Sony Online Entertainment): The CAW from the early section, and named in the stinger, is a different-manufacturer version of the Kuchler A6 CAW.