Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol by L E Thomas Page A

Earth were in danger. 
    *****
    Despite his mind causing him to view his surroundings as a threat, nothing happened on the tube trip to the Georgia swamp. Either the chewing gum he remembered this time worked or he finally had grown used to the process. The entire trip, he continued thinking of his Mom and Kadyn in danger. His skin felt clammy. His mouth dry.
    The air stuck to his skin when the tube hissed open. Two security officers in Tizona blue rushed him out, grumbling something about the number of personnel coming into this junction.
    Three Legion naval officers awaited on the airboat at the dock alongside the wooden shack on stilts. Just as it did the first time he had seen it, the shack appeared as if it had been in the middle of the swamp for a hundred years. The crumbling roof and split boards covering the walls disguised the tube station below.
    Austin said nothing to the officers, only offering a nod as he sat down. The boat rocked as he boarded. He leaned back in the seat, forcing his mind away from the car bomb claiming Ryan Bean. The pilot had been there and then, a moment later he was gone. He could still hear the explosion, smell the fire burning in the streets of San Francisco.
    The boat’s engine upset the silence, sending birds cawing through the trees in the afternoon light. Austin jumped at the sound, his heart thumping in his ringing ears. He watched the black water pass by the boat, the hull splitting the green pond scum on the surface. The smell of rotting wood hung over the swamp. The sun cast long shadows across the familiar water Austin hoped he never had to taste again.
    “Where you are coming from?” asked an older officer sitting across from Austin, his brow wrinkling his white hair. His brown eyes stared at Austin.
    “San Francisco.”
    “No.” The man shook his head. “Where were you stationed?”
    “Tarton’s Junction,” he said. “I was heading home for leave.”
    The older officer frowned. “I’m sorry.”
    “So am I,” Austin said. “Where are you headed?”
    The man shrugged. “Tizona campus. I’m in logistics. I was working in deep cover down in Brazil when I got the call to report here.”
    Austin frowned. “Deep cover?”
    “I’m a Legion officer working on Earth just like anyone else. I report to work, do my job and go home.” He gazed off into the swamp. “I’ve never been called away from my home and family before. Do you know what’s going on?”
    “Just a little. They are recalling officers all over the planet.”
    “Not good.”
    “No, sir.”
    The boat nearly crashed into the dock. A security officer saluted when they stepped off the boat. Austin hurried down the short uneven dock. The officer gestured to a golf cart. Austin and the three other officers boarded in silence. The security officers started the golf cart along the rough path back to campus.
    “Our newest arrivals are heading back to campus,” the officer said into a radio on his shoulder.
    “Copy,” Security Chief Javin Sharkey’s voice hissed from the radio. “We are waiting on the Grand Lawn.”
    The path meandered through the trees. Strands of moss tickled Austin’s face as they moved past. The cart rumbled over wooden bridges swaying in the grim light of the swamp. Austin folded his arms across his chest to fight off a chill. 
    When the trees parted and revealed the Grand Lawn of the Tizona Campus, the Terminus Building looked smaller than Austin remembered. To the left, off by itself like a storage shack, he saw the simulation pod building. Despite his feelings at the moment, he smiled slightly at the building, remembering how he felt the first time he sat down in one of the pods. He saw the dormitories in the distance and beyond the physical training field, all devoid of activity. He thought of Skylar and her constantly running across the field. He probably owed her for the early training, or he might not be here now.
    Security lights flickered to life, beaming halos of light