Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) by Michael G. Thomas

the
Biomechs.”
    Teresa nodded quickly.
    “ I know.
H e wouldn’t consider lifting a finger
against them. That’s the problem I think though. He knew the
Jötnar, and he is taking it hard, really hard. Not even the crime
family from Kerberos are interested in this violence.
    “ Yeah,” replied
Spartan, “n ot good for
business.”
    Teresa nodded slowly.
    “ Exactly, and
i t looks like Jack has been working on
finding out all he can on this movement. I think Gun and his own
intelligence teams have been helping. You know Jack. He’s a big
supporter of him and his people. I’m worried he’ll find out more
than is safe. He’s hot headed, like somebody else I
know.”
    “Yeah, don’t remind me!” he replied,
doing his best to make light of the situation.
    He remembered the
last time he’d visited Hyperion and the Jötnar with Jack. They
participated in one of their violent but entertaining martial
contests. Jack had managed to bring down a juvenile Jötnar, quite a
feat for a teenager that had not reached manhood. The synthetic
Jötnar had more in common with the trolls and ogres of myth than of
modern man, and they had been created by the enemy for the war
effort in the Uprising; but a large number had turned and fought
for his side. Their reward had been the jungle world of Hyperion
and full citizenship in the Alliance itself. The War may have ended
seventeen years ago, but there were still thousands of people that
had a bitter hatred of the creatures, some of whom had caused the
deaths of so many citizens.
    “ There’s something
else. Intelligence Director Johnson is here with another agent.
They want to see Jack. Apparently, it is something to do with this
Jötnar Retribution movement.”
    Teresa leaned in closer to her
camera.
    “No, Jack would never be involved in
that. I thought it fell apart years ago when Gun found out?”
    Spartan recalled the
great problems that had followed the Uprising and the bitterness
and distrust on both sides. He was sure they had moved past the
worst of it. The Jötnar were busy rebuilding Hyperion into a place
befitting of their people, and he doubted they had the time or
interest in that kind of vendetta. Gun was committed to the future
of his people and wouldn’t risk it in some petty movement. But he
did recall the murder of a Jötnar engineer on Prometheus in the
previous year. The distrust and hatred was never far from the
surface, it would seem.
    “ Well, either way we
will all be meeting at the office in a few hours. Can you get all
the information we have on these groups, and also make sure Jack is
there? I want this cleared up fast.”
    Teresa nodded in agreement.
    “ Now, onto more
pressing matters, how about the rest of the family? Are they
settling in to life in the military? Last I heard was that your
boys had both passed the entrance exams for enlistment in the
Navy.”
    Teresa smiled. Her
sons from her previous marriage were both grown up, and although
they had met Spartan several times in the last few years, there was
little they had in common. Their grandparents had brought them up
while she repaid the debts she’d incurred, but since leaving home,
it had been hard to get them all back together in one place. The
only person any of them really had in common was Jack. Although the
youngest, he had got on well with the two boys while he spent his
infant years on Carthago. Spartan suspected that part of his anger
might have come from removing him from the family group to be back
with his parents at Epsilon Eridani.
    “ Yes, they are
working on Terra Nova and hope to finish their training early next
year. Impressive, don’t you think? Not bad for local boys brought
up on the troublesome backwater of the Alliance.”
    Spartan smiled at
the mention of the old world. The last time he’d visited had been
to meet with Teresa’s grandparents. They had done good work
bringing up the boys, and he’d offered to sort out accommodation at
Epsilon Eridani. They