2 months later
Ellen walked down a narrow, dark corridor. Shattered glass crunched beneath her boots. She followed a trail of blood that ran in thick drops on the floor in front of her. Suddenly, the light from her flashlight hit a mangled body dressed in a lab coat. Ellen was about to lean in and examine the body more closely when guttural screams came from all directions around her. She turned around in panic and just saw a figure covered in tumors running towards her and -
Ellen jumped up. She looked around confused and tried to orientate herself. She was in her top bunk bed on the SSV Rome. It was dark and she was surrounded by her sleeping comrades. Someone took her hand which made Ellen jolt.
"Shh, the others are still sleeping," Norah murmured quietly to her, standing next to her bed. "You had another nightmare."
Ellen could make out her silhouette close beside her after her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"Oh, did I wake you up?" Ellen asked, now fully sitting up. "I'm sorry."
"I accept your apologies if you consider Doctor Lopez's offer of a little therapy. Taking sleeping pills is no solution," Norah replied with a mild smile.
Ellen had refused Doctor Lopez's help because she was sure she could handle the events. The nightmares had already subsided considerably. She would probably experience even more cruel things during her service with the Alliance and forbade herself to break down after the first crisis.
"I will," Ellen claimed. Maybe she really would someday.
"That's a lie," Norah said, chuckling softly. The sound actually made Ellen feel a little better. Her gaze fell on her hand, which Norah was still holding.
A low alarm clock buzzed just below her and Alex sat up with a groan. Norah hastily pulled her hand away and took a step to the side.
"Mmh, what are you doing up?" Alex asked sleepily. "I actually wanted to be the first in the gym."
"Don't worry, I've only been to the bathroom and I'm about to go back to bed," Norah lied, climbing back onto her bunk bed.
Ellen leaned over her bed so she could face Alex. "I'm coming with you." She wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway.
After pushing the weight up for the thirtieth time, Ellen placed the bar in the rack above her head and sat up, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a small towel. She rolled the rolled-up sleeves of her shirt back down, her gaze briefly lingering on the small scars she had retained from the mutant's bite on Antibaar. A shiver ran down her spine every time she saw it.
Since the events on the icy planet, the 231st Platoon had completed a few more missions and was no longer considered a band of rookies, and Lieutenant Commander Van Hagen's team also respected them. However, there have been further losses. Laurence Schmidt from Norah's Alpha-Team and Gabrielle Murtaugh from Epsilon-Team had died on separate missions.
"Hey El, are you ready?" Alex called to her from the treadmill.
Ellen nodded. "Yes, you can take over." She stood up and wiped some sweat from her forehead with a towel. Suddenly Omni-Tool flashed, just like Alex's. They opened the messages in surprise.
"I expect you in the hangar in an hour in your dress uniforms.
Commander T. Lance"
"Did we miss something?" asked Alex, confused. "Did it come out that I stole a bottle of that liquor from the smugglers we busted the other day?"
"You have what?" shouted Norah, who had also just come into the training room, in shock.
"Pssst, we didn't want to tell her," Ida whispered loudly, entering right after Norah along with Casey and Shaun. Ellen laughed, but fell silent when Norah gave her a withering look.
Norah had always been focused on following every rule in force, and with the Alliance that had only increased. There was no order that was not carried out 100 percent, and she never violated any of the regulations that applied here on board. When Alex smuggled the bottle on board the Rome, they agreed not to tell Norah about it. They didn't want to exclude her, but 'we should prevent this short bout of kleptomania from having a negative impact on the climate within the platoon,' as Alex had put it with a wink.
"Don't worry, Norah," Alex said with a smirk. "Come on El, we should take a shower and get ready."
Almost an hour later, Ellen and Alex found themselves in the hangar, where they discovered that they were not the only ones from their platoon. Ian Harlow, the Private 1st Class of the Delta team, was already waiting there with the almost two meter tall Ignatius Brown, who belonged to Harlow's group.
"Morning," Brown greeted with a smile. "Commander Lance ordered you here too?"
"Yes, I did," said Commander Lance, strolling through the hangar towards them. The four privates stiffened and saluted.
"Marines, I have good news for you. We will soon welcome guests on board. Our mission is to transport a Special Forces team to deployment and support them in the mission. The four of you will participate. It's a great opportunity to complete a mission with the Special Forces so early in your career. This can open some doors for you down the road."
The hangar door opened and a shuttle in the dark blue of the Alliance landed directly in front of them. The side door slowly slid open and ten Marines jumped out one by one. Ellen and the other privates snapped to attention and saluted again.
"You are early, Lieutenant Commander Higgs," Lance greeted the crew-cut, grim-faced man who had gotten out first, shaking his hand.
"Our shuttle pilot wanted to show off a little," Higgs replied with a tight smile. The Marines behind him laughed. Higgs turned to the privates.
"These are the people you assigned to us, I assume?" He signaled them to move.
"That's them. Private 1st Class Webber with 2nd Class Zhao, Private 1st Class Harlow with 2nd Class Brown."
The lieutenant eyed them briefly. "Seem like decent Marines to me. We will bring them back to you in one piece."
Commander Lance smiled. "I hope so. We'll arrive at our destination in two hours, and until then you can take a meal in the officers' mess if you wish."
"I'd love to," Higgs replied. "Privates, I'll see you in the conference room for a meeting in ninety minutes."
Ellen nodded and started to walk towards the elevators when she heard the commander gasp. She turned around curiously.
"Tommy Spears, who let you join the Special Forces?" he asked a lanky man with bright blonde hair and a squiggly tattoo on his neck.
The Marine addressed grinned broadly. "Hello, uncle. They transferred me to this unit two months ago, but you would know that if you read Mum's emails every now and then."
They shook hands briefly, then Lance said evasively: "You know how it is, there's always something to do on the Rome. How is my favorite sister doing?"
"Uncle?" asked Alex, chuckling, next to Ellen.
They later arrived promptly at the conference room, where Lieutenant Higgs began the meeting as soon as they arrived. He called up a map on the wall screen. "This is part of the planet's surface in front of us. Lots of rocks to take cover behind, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage for us. We're here because a probe has discovered a lot of palladium here, and the Alliance would like to set up some mining sites. Unfortunately, the Blue Suns got wind of the matter and got involved. A peaceful solution was sought, but they refuse to leave, so now they are being dealt the hard way. An air strike is not possible because they have installed a few anti-aircraft missiles, so we are supposed clear the area."
He zoomed in on a section of the map.
"The mission is actually quite simple," Lieutenant Higgs explained. "One group is dropped in front of the enemy lines, the other behind them. The Alpha-team will distract them at the front while the Beta-team cleans up the field from behind. It's best to start with grenades, then we'll have both the explosive force and the chaos element on our side." He marked the positions where the groups should be dropped, and in the middle of them he drew a large oval.
"How is the enemy strength?" asked a woman with fair skin and long brown hair, which she was currently braiding.
"About thirty, maybe forty units. They think the Alliance has given up on the area, so hopefully they won't be expecting us."
Commander Lance's nephew laughed. "Then why are we taking the Privates with us? We can easily do it on our own."
"That's exactly why we're taking them," Higgs replied. "They are supposed to learn something here. We were actually supposed to take the entire 231st Platoon with us, but luckily I was able to dissuade our superiors from the idea."
Ellen swallowed. Forty Blue Suns armed to the teeth? The Special Forces had to be incredibly good if they were able to defeat this number without difficulty. She was filled with awe and eager to see the squad in action.
"Let's not waste any more time," the Lieutenant Commander said, turning off the screen. "I lead Alpha-Team and will be joined by Jefferson, Parker, Glover, Hannibal and Privates Harlow and Brown. Petkovic, you lead the beta team with Spears, Defoe, Tiny, Mori and Webber and Zhao. Grab your gear and go to the shuttle."
With a murmur, all the Marines stood up and left the conference room. The Special Forces equipment was in a few boxes in the hangar, which they unpacked noisily while the privates went to the armory and put on their armor. Ellen checked several times to make sure the plates were in place, a habit she had had since the mission on Antibaar. Lieutenant Higgs then gave them an assault rifle, several magazines and two grenades from his troop's arsenal.
"Be careful with those things," he said with a smile, "we don't want our shuttle to blow up."
Then, when everyone had been equipped and weapons appropriately secured, they lined up in a line, which Higgs walked along, giving each Marine a quick look.
"Seems to be all right, good. You know the procedure during the missions: Don't take unnecessary risks and provide each other with cover. It's been months since someone died under my command, and that won't change today, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" they all said in unison.
"Then get on the shuttle. We'll leave ASAP!"
The flight to their deployment location wasn't long, and during it the Marines joked and chatted happily with one another. Ellen watched them, amused, but also irritated that her own unit was calmer and more focused so close to the start of the mission, and even Alex or Casey barely spoke then. After a short while, Hank, the pilot, called to the back.
"I don't think they've discovered us yet. Alpha team, get ready, I'll drop you off three kilometers from the target."
Higgs and the Marines in his group stood up, unholstered their weapons, and jumped out the door as it opened. Then the pilot flew on rapidly, and Ellen saw through the external cameras that they were flying in a wide arc around a mountain. After two minutes, Hank gave the signal for the Beta-team to prepare as well. Ellen put on her helmet and pulled the assault rifle from its holster. She checked one last time whether everything was okay. The shuttle opened and Petkovic was the first to hop outside onto the rocky ground.
"See you later, Hank," he said as they all got out. "Don't get too comfortable, we won't be long."
"I'm willing to bet," the pilot replied and flew away.
"Follow me, Marines," Petkovic called to the Marines, leading them around the foothills of the mountain. Eventually they came to a hilltop and Ellen could see the light of headlights on a plateau in the distance.
"They're like sitting ducks," someone said.
"That makes it all the easier for us," Spears replied.
"Shut up, Spears," Petkovic grumbled.
From then on they walked in silence. The closer they got to the plateau the more careful they were to stay in the shadow of the rocks.
"We have almost reached the Blue Suns camp. Get into position and wait for my command," Higgs said over the radio to the Beta-team.
"Understood," replied Petkovic in his deep voice. They walked another few hundred meters until they were close to the rise and crouched behind some large rocks. Shots and shouts could be heard from the other side of the hill.
"Showtime," Spears said with a grin in his voice, his biotics flaring.
Petkovic held him back. "Wait for the signal. If we intervene too early, we will lose our advantage."
So they lurked in their hiding places and waited. Ellen noticed Alex shifting restlessly next to her. Waiting wasn't always her forte.
"Now, Petkovic! "They're all focused on us!" Lieutenant Commander Higgs barked.
"Let's go! Tiny, you stay behind us and try to take out as many as you can with your Mantis. The others stay close to me!" shouted Petkovic and rushed ahead, everyone else following close behind. They quickly approached the illuminated plateau, where Ellen could already make out the backs of many blue and white armored figures.
"Petkovic, hurry up! A couple of Blue Suns just surprised us from behind and they're getting to us now!" Higgs shouted, and Ellen thought she could hear concern in his voice.
"Understood," the lieutenant replied. "Come on, guys, arm your grenades."
About twenty-five meters behind their opponents' first line, Higgs then gave the signal to throw. With all her strength, Ellen threw the explosive device forward, and the explosion from the seven hand grenades thrown ripped apart at least ten of the Blue Suns. Ellen could feel the pressure wave reaching them, but it wasn't strong enough to knock her off her feet.
"Forward!" Higgs shouted. While everyone else was running, Ellen noticed how Spears, like a flash of blue, closed the distance between herself and three opponents in a split second and knocked them to the ground. He finished them off with three shots from the shotgun.
A bang and the flicker of her shield snapped Ellen's view of the area directly in front of her, but before she could even locate the shooter, Alex jumped next to her and killed him with two bursts from her assault rifle.
"Watch out!" she called to her and they continued running side by side. To the right and left in front of them, mercenaries leaned out from behind rocks to finish them off, but Ellen and Alex covered each other and were able to prevent them from getting into serious danger in time. Over the last few months they had become well-adjusted to working together, although Ellen always had the feeling that Alex was hell-bent on preventing her from being harmed. Ellen hadn't even had a scratch in several missions because her blind spots were always covered, and on one or two occasions Alex had pulled her out of the line of fire at the last moment.
Barely three minutes later, the battle on the plateau was already over and the Marines all sprinted back down the other side, unharmed, to help the Alpha-Team. They were less than three hundred meters away and only a handful of Blue Suns separated them, moving helplessly back and forth between the two fronts. Two of them were taken out by Tiny the sniper before anyone even aimed at them, and the others eventually lowered their weapons and surrendered.
Lieutenant Commander Higgs came back on the radio. "Good job. Hank, you can come and get us, we're done."
"I'll be there in five minutes."
Some of the Marines leaned against rocks or stretched their limbs as Higgs spoke to the rest of the Blue Suns. Alex stood next to Ellen, who had just made herself comfortable on a rock.
"The mission was the shortest we have ever experienced," said Alex approvingly. "But I guess we didn't really learn that much from it."
Ellen shrugged. "At least we'll be back on the Rome in time for dinner."
They both laughed and gave each other a high five.