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

weren’t interested, and instead, Spartan
arranged for Jack to spend as much of his holiday time with
them.
    “ How are your
grandparents?”
    “ The usual,
c omplaining about the crumbling cities
and crime is still rampant. Carthago always seems to be the last
place to improve. It’s been a ruin since I was a child.”
    Maybe
that’s because they are always first to cause
trouble , he thought, but kept it to himself.
    “ Will all passengers
wishing to depart please head for departure Deck Four. Your
shuttles are due to leave in forty-five minutes,” came another
pre-recorded message.
    Forty-five minutes!
    Spartan couldn’t but
be amused at the long delay before leaving the ship. He was used to
having no more than a few minutes for departure in most situations.
Even though he’d been out of the military for some
time , he was often amazed at the slowness
of civilian operations.
    “I’d better be off, I will see you
shortly...”
    Teresa nodded happily.
    “Yes, I’m looking forward to our
reunion.”
     
    * * *
     
    Spartan’s arrival at the APS offices was
the exact opposite of what he had expected. The small shuttle had
deposited him and the two Alliance agents on the landing pad of his
large, newly constructed facility. There was only one major
settlement on the planet of Eridani Prime, known simply as City
One. They stepped out, each wearing a sealed suit to protect them
from the thin toxic atmosphere. The planet was far from the
hospitable worlds in Alpha Centauri, but what it did benefit from
was an abundance of metals, ore and a surprisingly stable if
uncomfortable environment. The other six planets provided a rich
collection of ice worlds, rock and Jovian planets. The perfect
selection of worlds for exploitation by heavy industry, and with it
the perfect place for gangs and organised crime to move into for a
piece of the action.
    A
ground car met the three of them from the
shuttle, and they stepped the short distance to its door. Spartan
could feel the chill air through his envirosuit, and it was a
feeling that never left him feeling particularly comfortable. With
an average temperature of just ten degrees Celsius, it was a
chilling place. He was also well aware that at night it was
possible for that to drop down to over minus seventy. A number of
workers had been found frozen to death in just hours over the last
year. Once inside the groundcar, the door hissed shut and flashing
green indicators announced they were safe and out of the toxic air.
Even so, they were unable to remove their suits until going through
decontamination procedures at the main compound.
    “Been here before?” asked Spartan, his
voice slightly distorted by the respirator.
    The two agents sat
quietly, but only Johnson showed any interest in what Spartan had
to say.
    “No, and I have to say it hardly looks
like the kind of place I’d want to visit.”
    Spartan laughed at the two men.
    “ It might not look
like much, but the wealth dug up here in the last two months has
already boosted our security profits by triple of last year’s.
There’s a lot of money to be made out here.”
    “ Yeah,” replied
Johnson, “t hat part I do know. We’ve
tracked several groups here with the intention of raiding companies
operating so far out of our main areas of control. With Alliance
funds tied up in trade and planetary security, there isn’t much
capacity for the border worlds like this one.”
    “ That’s why we get
paid,” s aid Spartan stoically.
    Johnson nodded.
    “ Private contractors
like yours are doing well in this climate. Tell me, how did you
manage to secure this contract? I thought you had specialised in
shipping protection? That’s what your commercials always say,
anyway!”
    Spartan smiled at
him, knowing that getting this particular contract had been a major
coup; one that a dozen other firms were itching to get their hands
on. It was much more than providing security at the doors of
expensive buildings. The