Shadows on the Frontier: Prologue

Prologue

The Meridian Dawn hung in space, its hull split open along the starboard maintenance bay. Keiani Fenn floated in the void beside the breach, her EV suit's maneuvering jets giving occasional puffs of gas to keep her in position as she surveyed the damage.

"Well, sweetheart," she murmured to the ship, running a gloved hand along a severed power conduit, "someone really did a number on you, didn't they?"

Her helmet comm crackled. "Fenn, what's the assessment?" Captain Cooper' voice carried the weight of a man who'd already lost too much.

Keiani pushed off from the hull, drifting back to get a better view of the carnage. The Meridian Dawn was a mid-range mid-sized freighter, capable of landing in atmosphere with substantial cargo. Ships like this were the best way to get supplies to smaller colonies. More populated worlds typically had space stations in orbit, and for them it was far more efficient to use large freighters that were built in space and would never visit the surface of a planet.

Landing, and especially leaving planets, was far more energy intensive than simply moving cargo once you were in space. Ships like this were common just because most settlements were simply not big enough to warrant a full space station, so ships that could pick up cargo from major shipping hubs and haul them to a planet's surface by themselves were in high demand.

Something about the damage to this one didn't sit right though. Initially, it looked like stress fractures in the hull had created a weak spot, and a piece of space debris had the bad luck of hitting just that spot, severing a propellant line, and the xenon gas had been violently sucked out into space. But while Keiani had seen damage like this before, it just looked to clean, and overall, the freighter looked in too good of repair for some freak accident like this.

Keiani released a small camera drone and moved it into the breach, taking close scans and imagery, which fed to the HUD in her helmet. The patterning of the rips in the hull looked too uniform, and... there, an odd residue near the remnants of the propellant line. She had the drone do a spectral analysis while she moved to inspect the peeled back petals of the hull. Just when she was about to call for parts to begin the repairs, her HUD gave her a notification, the residue was from a small explosive device.

" This wasn't debris damage, Captain. Someone used a very small amount of targeted explosives, on the propellant line and on the hull. I almost didn't catch it, but this was definitely sabotaged."

Silence stretched across the comm channel. Keiani knew what Cooper was thinking--the same thing she'd been thinking since his distress beacon had pulled her away from a lucrative engine rebuild on Kepler Station.

"Pirates?" Cooper finally asked, though they both knew better.

"Pirates steal cargo, not cut ships adrift to die slow," Keiani said, propelling herself toward the airlock. "I've found a few different ships lately, with some damage that just doesn't make sense. All Nexus Dynamics cargo fleet ships like yours. But this is the first confirmed evidence of sabotage I've found in... a while."

"Why would my employer sabotage my ship?" the Captain said over the comms as Keiani came aboard.

"Insurance payouts. I used to work for them..." Keiani said over the comms as she cycled the airlock and extended the artificial gravity into it, standing on the floor as the ship's air rushed into the tiny room, before finally opening the interior door. The captain was there waiting for her, so she took off her helmet and continued in a low voice "I caught them sabotaging ships about a year ago, instead of selling the ships or laying off employees, they were staging accidents and collecting the insurance payout. I tried to blow the whistle, and it got me run out of the company. But I didn't hear about this continuing until recently. I thought they'd gotten scared and stopped."

Cooper leaned against the bulkhead, suddenly looking older than his fifty years. "Shit. We can't afford passage on another ship. The cargo's time-sensitive medical supplies for the Tau Cygni colony. Without it..."

"People die. Yeah, I got that part. At least you're not dead. I don't know what to tell you about your employer, I'd touch up your resume if I were you. I can patch you up and get you going though.

Cooper straightened. "What do you need?"

"About twelve hours, a case of that Centauri whiskey you're hauling, and everyone to stay out of my way." Keiani was already digging through the spare parts in the cargo bay, looking for what she could use to patch the line and patch the hole.

"Whoever sabotaged this, I think they messed up, I think it was intended to breach the inner hull too, but they didn't know the specs of this particular freighter well enough. I think they intended for you to be dead... do you understand that?" Keiani said to the captain. Who only gulped, his face pale.

She set to work, hauling a crate of parts back out into space to work from the outside to patch the hull, then coming inside, and crawling into a hatch in the inner hull to service the propellant line. All the while talking to the damaged machinery in the gentle, coaxing tone she reserved for broken things. "Alright, beautiful, let's see what we can do about this mess. You need a whole new line, but I'll get your sexy engines running again for now with a patch-job."

Hours passed. Keiani lost herself in the familiar rhythm of repair work--the dance of problem and solution, the satisfaction of coaxing life back into dead systems. Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, callused fingers finding purchase on components slick with lubricant and her own sweat.

"You know," she said to the engine, now feeding the repaired propellant line back in, "I used to work for the bastards who did this. Nexus Dynamics. Thought I was keeping ships safe, turned out I was just another cog in their murder machine. I think your captain is still processing that..."

The plasma welder hissed as she sealed a joint.

"Took me three years to figure out the pattern. Ships failing in deep space, always the same component failures, always just far enough from help to guarantee casualties and too much expense to recover the ship. Laying people off is pretty shitty, but this is next level shitty." She paused, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist. "I tried to do the right thing. Fat lot of good it did me. At least you and your crew are safe... for now."

A shadow fell across her workspace. Cooper stood in the doorway, holding two cups of coffee.

"Talking to yourself again, Fenn?"

"Talking to her," Keiani nodded at the engine assembly. "Machines are honest. They tell you exactly what's wrong and exactly what they need to fix it. People..." She accepted the coffee gratefully. "People lie."

"Not all people."

Keiani laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Captain, in my experience, the only difference between pirates and corporations is the quality of their lawyers."

Cooper was quiet for a moment, studying her face. "So why help us? If you're so sure everyone's crooked, why risk your neck jury-rigging our engine? Why rent a shuttle to come help?"

The question caught Keiani off-guard. She covered by taking a long sip of coffee, buying time to think. Why was she here?

"Because," she said finally, "someone's got to fix the things the bastards break."

Six hours later, the Meridian Dawn's engines hummed with renewed life--not the smooth purr of factory specifications, but the determined growl of a machine patched together by genius and stubbornness.

***

Caleb Drexler's boots made no sound on the settlement's concrete thoroughfare,

"Sir, eyes up." Corporal Argento, his comms lead, ghosted the warning through their shared channel.

A handful of civilians emerged from the entryway of the hab cluster. Most wore the blank stares and old, ill-fitting clothes of the generationally unlucky; a few children clung to battered smart-tablets and thumbed away at games, studiously ignoring the evacuation. A mother with the same eyes as her daughter--green, desperate--walked them forward at a measured pace, carrying nothing. The daughter stared openly at Drexler, which was better than the screaming or the running he'd seen on other jobs.

"Five more at the stairwell," Argento murmured.

"Copy. Hale, move your team to cut them off before they bolt."

Sergeant Hale grumbled, audible even through the comms buffer. Drexler made a mental note, he didn't mind the occasional grumbling, but if it was common it could kill the morale and cohesion of the unit; for now, he was more interested in the mutterings from the admin block. The city's old governor--now just a scared bureaucrat in a jumpsuit--stood in the shadows by the main doors, visibly trembling.

"Sir," Drexler called, voice flat. "You're the last one. Let's go."

Governor Pembridge looked left, then right, like he might find an excuse in the burning horizon, or the security detail dissolving around him. He found neither. "I... I need to confirm that all data stores are zeroed before--"

Drexler walked over, eyes steady, and put a hand on Pembridge's shoulder. "Sir, with respect, you can wipe your secrets on the shuttle. Or I can drag you there. Either way, we're expecting the Corporate Confederation to begin bombardment from orbit within the hour, we have to get you out of here."

Pembridge looked like he wanted to protest, but the hand on his shoulder was a promise, not a request. Drexler half-marched, half-guided him toward the evac corridor, stepping through the shattered windows and out onto the scarred transport pad. Above them, the waiting Unified Systems Alliance Navy dropship hovered with the patience of an executioner.

On the pad, the civilians were already herded into neat lines by Alliance Marines of his platoon. Hale's team was still muscling the last five up from the sublevels; one, an old woman in a bright orange vest, was cursing in what sounded like a Slavic language as she tried to punch her escort in the groin.

"Respect," said Argento, appearing next to Caleb. "She'll outlive us all."

Drexler permitted a half-smile. "I want her on my side next time."

He scanned the group: seventy-three civilians, five security, and one pet monkey in a containment sphere. Drexler's Platoon had taken no casualties, a statistical anomaly given the usual clusterfuck of frontier evacuations.

"Status?" he asked.

"Bird's loaded," Argento replied. "Looks like we're ahead of schedule."

"Governor," Drexler said. "You ever consider maybe this was a bad place for a colony?"

Pembridge found his spine, just a little. "We made something here. You people are just tearing it down."

"You people, the Corporate Confederation is on your doorstep, and every Unified Systems Alliance colony they have come to they have bombarded out of existence. They're coming whether you evacuate or not, at least with us you get a ride out of here." Drexler responded, irritated.

"Then why the fuck don't you just fight them?!" The governor retorted.

"Look, sir, we don't have the fucking manpower. Someone above my paygrade has a plan, but what I know is we have to get you the fuck out of here. Now do I need to tie you up and carry you?" Caleb threatened.

***

The dropship stank of old sweat and fresh ozone, not yet scrubbed by the life-support system. Drexler stood just behind the cockpit, watching Corporal Argento scroll the after-action reports on a battered wristpad.

Drexler pulled up the mission grid on his data pad, fingers flicking through coordinates and timelines. The next evac site, Mendel Station, was listed as "strategic loss--no recovery planned." He checked the flight vector. It was tight, but doable, if only barely and only because they were ahead of schedule. The window for rescue was short, but Command had padded the times with fudge factors Drexler recognized from a hundred other missions. If he adhered strictly to orders his platoon would be safe, but one settlement would not get evacuated.

"Fuck it." He muttered to himself

He patched into the secure comms for his platoon and the dropship personnel only, "All hands, listen up. New op. We're going to Mendel. High-value civvies, no support, high risk."

Argento's eyes narrowed. "That's not what the packet says."

"We're ahead of schedule, I'm not going to leave them if there's a decent chance we can get to them," Drexler replied. "If we weren't ahead..., but we are."

The settlement appeared on the horizon as they approached.

"Argento, scan for local friendlies." He said.

"Got chatter, but it's dirty. Not ours." Corporal Argento replied.

"Dirty?" Lieutenant Drexler asked.

"It's obviously encrypted, but not ours, and it doesn't fit the norm for CorpCon either." The young communications specialist replied.

"Check the signature." Caleb replied.

She did, fingers racing, then looked up with a frown. "Aegis. Private security. Not flagged for this operation."

Drexler felt the skin between his shoulder blades tighten. Aegis Interstellar Security Solutions, mercenaries hired by the rich, by corporations, and even sometimes the Unified Systems Alliance, and according to rumors, their current enemies the Corporate Confederation, and former enemies, the Concordat worlds; Aegis had a reputation for brutality, and for being hired when their clients wanted deniability. Caleb didn't trust them.

Caleb looked at the topographical map on his data pad, then called to the Navy pilot flying the drop-ship of his Marines, "Ensign Jacobs, I just sent you a new landing spot, Aegis is there and I don't trust them, we'll be landing just on the other side of a hill from the settlement, I'll leave one squad of Marines here at the ship and the other two will go in with me to check it out.

"Aye sir." She responded.

***

The settlement's central square was quiet, too quiet. Drexler and 1st Squad moved in a staggered line, weapons up, eyes scanning. The buildings were prefab, sun-bleached, and pockmarked from years of neglect. Aegis mercenaries stood near the fountain, herding civilians with zip restraints on their wrists and ankles. One woman stumbled, her restraints too tight, and was shoved forward by a man in matte black armor.

"Lieutenant Caleb Drexler, Unified Systems Alliance Navy," Drexler called out, voice amplified through his suit. "You are not authorized for civilian detention. Stand down and explain yourselves."

The mercenaries froze. One turned, visor glinting. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Funny," Drexler replied. "I could say the same."

The Aegis leader--a tall man with slightly nicer armor--raised his rifle. "Kill them."

Drexler dove behind a planter as the square erupted in gunfire. Sergeant Hale barked orders, his squad scattering to cover. Bullets and lasma bolts hissed past, carving chunks from the concrete. Civilians screamed, some trying to crawl away despite their restraints.

"Corporal Johnson, hit the mercenaries from the flank!" Drexler shouted into comms.

When they had landed outside of town, Lieutenant Drexler had ordered Third Squad to circle around the settlement to the south, while he and First Squad pushed eastward into town.

Third Squad hit the mercs from the flank moments later, rifles blazing. Squad leaders were supposed to be sergeants, but with a war going on personnel transfers didn't always go through quickly, so Caleb had placed Corporal Johnson, a promising fire-team leader, in charge of Third Squad. It was proving to be a good decision. As Aegis tried to figure out where the other shots were coming from, they were confused and it made it easier for First Squad to fight back.

Johnson had brought the squad in just close enough to get a clear view of the square, and possibly put Marines on rooftops. His Marines were taking slow precise shots from a distance, and it confused Aegis immensely. The Aegis formation buckled. One merc turned to run and was dropped mid-stride. Another tried to throw a grenade and was cut down before it left his hand.

"Push!" Sergeant Hale roared.

The Marines of Hale's First Squad surged forward, disciplined and lethal, half the Marines bounding forward while the other half provided cover fire, then alternating, methodically closing the distance. Within minutes, the square was silent again--save for the whimpering of civilians and the crackle of burning debris.

"Corporal Argento, status?" Drexler asked.

"Clear. No more chatter. Looks like we got them all." Argento replied.

"Ensign Jacobs, bring the bird in. Sergeant Sato, prep for evac." Drexler said. Third Squad, under Sergeant Sato, was left with the drop ship both to provide security for the ship and to act as a reserve force depending on how things went in the settlement. Sergeant Akemi Sato's squad also included the platoon's medic.

"On it," came the pilot's voice.

Drexler moved toward the Aegis ship, flanked by the platoon's medic, Corporal Torres and Corporal Argento, the platoon's communications specialist. The ship's hatch opened without resistance. Inside, the pilot sat with hands raised. A doctor in Aegis gray stood beside a row of unconscious civilians, each hooked to a biometric monitor.

"What the hell is this?" Drexler asked.

The doctor swallowed. "They're stable. We were just--"

"Harvesting organs?" Torres said, voice cold.

The doctor didn't answer.

Drexler stepped forward, eyes hard. "You were going to let the bombardment cover your tracks. Kill the rest, sell the parts."

"They're not dead," the doctor protested.

"Yet," Argento muttered.

Drexler keyed his comms. "Command, this is Drexler. Mendel Station evac complete. Civilians recovered. Aegis presence neutralized. Recommend full investigation."

He turned to the doctor. "You're going to answer for this."

Outside, the dropship settled onto the pad. Marines moved quickly, loading civilians and securing the perimeter. Drexler watched the horizon, where the first glimmer of orbital fire was beginning to light the sky.

"Let's move," he said.

***

The orbital command deck was quiet, save for the hum of systems and the occasional ping of incoming data. Lieutenant Caleb Drexler stood at attention before Colonel Brandt, the task force commander, whose uniform bore the polished edges of someone who hadn't seen dirt in years.

"You disobeyed direct orders," Brandt said, voice clipped. "You diverted from the evac plan, engaged unauthorized hostiles, and compromised a classified operation."

"With respect, sir," Drexler began, "Aegis was detaining civilians. They were--"

"Stop." Brandt's hand came up. "You don't know what they were doing. You weren't cleared to know. And you're lucky I'm not having you court-martialed."

Drexler's jaw tightened. "Sir, they were harvesting--"

"Classified," Brandt snapped. "Aegis Interstellar Security Solutions is operating under Unified Systems Intelligence directive. Black ops. You don't ask questions. You follow orders."

Drexler stared at him, silent.

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant. And consider this your only warning."

***

Major Samantha Briggs waited outside the briefing room, arms crossed, expression unreadable. She fell into step beside Drexler as he exited.

"You knew?" he asked.

"I knew they were here," she said. "Didn't know what they were doing. Still don't. And now, officially, neither do you."

"They were--"

"I know," she said quietly. "But it's classified now. You'll need to brief your unit. No reports, no chatter, no speculation. This op doesn't exist."

Drexler nodded, the weight settling in his chest. "Understood."

***

The next day, the crew stood in dress uniforms on the hangar deck, the stars of the dying system visible through the observation glass. A small ceremony had been arranged--just enough pomp to feel official, not enough to draw attention.