Chapter 24

Bogg Rhul, Major Brianna Chesney, a platoon of thirty five soldiers and I boarded a Gaian-manufactured cruiser, owned by the Gaian Strength and Unity Party, and flew with all haste to the Boldin cluster, then traced our way to the small planet of Matthias III.

As soon as we dropped out of translight speed and settled into a wide orbit of the the planet, we encountered a flotilla of Earth military and Atlas spacecraft. My heart sank. Were we too late? If occupation was ninety percent of the battle, this situation was no where near resolution.

“Jesus, look at all those ships,” I muttered, but Bogg didn’t say anything.

“When are your reinforcements expected?” Major Chesney asked Bogg.

“Very soon. They were closer to this planet than we were on Gaia.”

As soon as he spoke, a phalanx of Sirian battle cruisers dropped out of translight speed. They immediately began to circle the Earth ships in an offensive posture.

“I don’t think this is where we want to be right now,” I said lightly.

Chesney spoke to the pilot. “Get us on the surface. We need to get down there and disrupt any ground operations they’ve started.”

The pilot acknowledged, and the ship dipped toward the planet.

I saw a streak of red outside of the window, and I rushed to the porthole to follow it. The side of one of the Earth military ships exploded dramatically and silently. Shots were returned, but in the vacuum of space, there was no sound to it. Suddenly all of the ships began to maneuver, and a full-fledged space battle began, just as we started to enter the planet’s atmosphere.

The ship’s navigator consulted his sensor console, and was somehow able to determine where the Atlas people had set up shop on the surface. We flew towards that location, and found they were well on their way to constructing a rimonium mining facility. It looked just like the one on Gaia. Only partially constructed, and lots of people were working down there, but it was clear that Atlas had not wasted a moment. They had even brought the big guns with them to make sure no one horned in on their business, as we had seen above us, but they hadn’t counted on the Sirians joining the party.

Major Chesney went to the back of the ship and started briefing her troops, in case things got hot down there. The pilot circled around the facility, waiting for her instructions, while Bogg and I studied what we could see out the windows.

“We better contact the locals,” I told Bogg.

He looked at me and waited for elaboration.

“Well, Geelan already negotiated the mining rights here. We need to let the local government know his partner’s here to make the claim.”

“If that has already been negotiated, what are we here for? The government will recognize your claim and reject Atlas’.”

I shook my head. “This is a small planet, kind of out of the way. Do you really think Atlas is going to let that stop them? Judging by the fact that they’ve already started erecting the support facilities, my guess is that the government has already been pushed out of the loop.” I spoke to the pilot. “Can you contact the local government? Let them know that I have a legal claim to that ground down there?”

He nodded, then played with his radio. He handed me a headset, and I waved it off. “Got a HUD. Plug me right in.”

He shrugged and gave me the frequency number to listen in on. I activated my HUD and tuned to it.

“I’ve got the orbit authority yelling at me right now,” the pilot said. “They didn’t like that we entered the atmosphere without clearance.”

“Well, then they sure as hell don’t like that little spat that’s happening upstairs then,” I replied. “Put ‘em on.”

A humanoid face popped up on my HUD. “You are violating Matthian airspace! You must leave at once or you will be shot down!”

“Just take it easy!” I said. “My name is Sean Brennan. I and my partner, Geelan, have legal mining rights to the grounds we’re flying over.”

“Those rights have already been claimed. By the Earth company, whose ships are defending themselves from attack above. Who are you?!”

“Check your records! Whatever Atlas told you is fraudulent. We’re taking back our legitimate claim to that ground, and I’ve got the Sirian High Command to back me up on it.” I nodded over at Bogg, as if he personally represented his planet’s military industrial complex. Bogg didn’t mind playing along.

“Those ships of mine above are protecting our claim from the Earthling thieves! And I’ve got all the paperwork – and firepower – to set things right. Look, we need to meet. Send your legal officials out. You and I can settle the details peacefully between ourselves, but I’m afraid my military warships will be forcibly removing the Atlas Asteroid Mining Company and the Earthling ships from your planet and its orbit within a matter of mere hours.”

The Matthian orbiting officer seemed to gulp in surprise, and made some excuse to put us on hold while he figured out which boss was supposed to take this kind of call.

Meanwhile, Major Chesney had come back forward, and directed the pilot to land near the mining facility, but behind a bluff.

Always game for a light moment, I turned to Chesney. “Hey, maybe we should leave Atlas alone until they finish building the place. Then kick ‘em out.”

She was apparently to busy to indulge in lame jokes. She spoke commandingly to Bogg. “Are your ships deploying infantry support?”

Bogg Rhul smiled. “Tell me what you need.”

Our craft sat on the ground for an hour or so, until it was joined by two Sirian shuttles laden with troops. Then we all piled out of our craft and grouped on the plain nearby.

Major Chesney stood on the strut of the craft so she could be seen by the three or four hundred human and Sirian soldiers facing her. “Soldiers! The people who occupy that mining facility on the other side of that bluff do not belong there. We represent the legitimate owners, and we are We are here under the orders of General Sash Amaka to eject these interlopers, occupy the facility, and make it safe for the people who belong here. Rules of engagement: do not shoot until shot at. Stun when possible, kill if necessary. Treat every opponent you seize as a prisoner of war until they can be outprocessed and kicked the hell out of here! Any questions?” There was none. “Let’s go!” she shouted.

I shouted a cheer, but it was really unnecessary. These were professionals, and they went immediately about their serious work.

Within a matter of hours, amazingly with no casualties whatsoever, we had taken control of the facility. The local government sent out its legal people, and we showed them the papers that proved my right to mine this land, as a full partner to Geelan and, by extension, the Sirian Government, my new partner. The Atlas ships were driven out of the system, and with a fond farewell, Bogg boarded a shuttle to one of the Sirian cruisers and headed for home, his murder case of Marff Rindilosk finally, and dramatically, solved.

With my HUD, I was able to establish a link with Sash back on Gaia. When I caught him, he was cleaned up, dressed once again in his inconspicuous civilian clothes, and all smiles. “Sean Brennan!” he shouted to me with a grin. He looked to be sitting in a very comfortable office. “I hear Major Chesney has taken good care of you.”

“That she has, Sash. That she has. The real question is, how are you?”

“Very well, my friend. We shut down that Atlas facility once and for all. With the assistance of the Sirians, Earth will no longer be dictating terms to us. Just a moment. Someone here wants to speak with you.”
My HUD split into two windows, and a beautiful, radiant Colette Thornbush smiled at me. “Hello, Sean!”

“Colette!”

“That’s Madame President, Sean,” Sash corrected.

“What?”

Colette spoke up. “The government just collapsed when we took down the Atlas facility. The populace went crazy. Sash got me released from jail immediately, and the populace is calling for a global referendum to reconstitute the government, with Sash and I as President and Vice-President.”

“We are going to have a real military now,” Sash beamed.

“We are riding a new wave of global pride and self-assurance,” Colette added.

“And how is Naya?” I asked.

Colette’s face softened, and she pulled a shy little girl into the frame. “Right here, Sean. She’s recovering marvelously. And we will be treating every sick child within the week.”

“That’s great.”

“So, Sean,” Colette asked coyly, “when are you coming home?”

I laughed nervously. “I, uh…I don’t really claim a home. Although I think I may have one now.” I looked around the mess hall of my mining facility, where I happened to be sitting. “This is where I’ve always wanted to be.”

“Mining rimonium?”

“Mining,” I allowed. “And we’re going to do it much better here. We’re going to take care of the environment here. I have to – as I said, I think it’s my new home.”

“Sean,” Colette said, her voice dropping. “Thank you. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“Well, thank you. You got me what I wanted. And to think I so distrusted you!” We had a good laugh over that. “And thanks for sending me here with Major Chesney and her crew. They’re a solid bunch.”
Sash nodded. “They’re yours for as long as you need them.”

My head tilted in thought. “That could be quite a while. Major Chesney has quite a pair of gams.”

After a few more laughs, we exchanged some final well-wishes, and switched off for the time being.

While I had been talking to Sash and Colette, Major Chesney had gotten her troops situated and comfortable, and even working on making the facility more hospitable for us.

I took the director’s quarters, and was there when they fired up the control center. Although it wasn’t like spinning on an asteroid in the blackness of space, it felt profoundly good to me to be running a mining operation again. The best part was that I owned this one. And it was going to make me very, very rich.