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Their descent was quick and uneventful. Civilian air traffic had been scattered by military order, so the skies were clear. Even if the insurgents were expecting them, which was unlikely, there was no intelligence to suggest they had the capability to stop the Imperials. The transport landed...

Calvin's brief contentment on impressing Captain Solari was worth little, as the Eclipse made its first attempt to close with the Morno Drast and suffered a direct hit from the cruiser's weapons. The gunship's shields were significantly outmatched and were quickly depleted, leaving them...

Calvin nodded, satisfied. He liked Winters' plan; the soft vanguard leading a hard assault should enable them to get as deep into the town as possible before any alarm was raised. By the time it was, the necessaries would be in place. "I would expect nothing less, Lieutenant" he answered "see...

Calvin was awoken early before his rest cycle could complete. Regular scheduled cycles kept his cybernetic systems powered and working in harmony with the rest, but an interrupted one could be worse than a hangover. He thought at first there must have been an outage, before he heard a familiar...

None of Calvin's implants stopped his cheeks burning red. Being called out by the ISB, the Grand Marshal and the Lord Commander in unison hit him like a hammer blow. His newfound confidence was stripped away until he was back to a simple squaddie in the parade square, the drill instructor...

Calvin found it surprisingly difficult to hold his tongue. Both the Grand Marshal and the ISB Agent were suggesting open attacks on the Cartel. The Lieutenant profoundly disagreed. Not so long ago, he would have found it hard to even entertain the thought of dissension from his superiors...

Calvin remained standing, leaving the seating for more senior officers. He clasped his hands behind his back, braced in his sleek white interface suit as he listened to the points being made. The peace treaty was entirely unsatisfactory, but it was a past event. They must work within its...

"Sir, let us clear the room first. Could be anything in here". "We have insufficient time". Calvin shouldered past the trooper and stepped through into the next compartment, his pistol primed in his left hand even as he continued to circle with the scanner in his right. The Lieutenant was...

Lieutenant Winters did not disappoint. "There are no known exits aside from the mine entrance" Calvin confirmed, though he wished he could be completely certain none existed. Mines typically had escape tunnels for cave ins. It could be an ISB oversight that none had been mapped...

Calvin realised he had been imprecise. He had intended to remark on the gunship captain's confidence and creativity, but instead he had risked coming across as cavalier with Imperial lives. To make matters worse, he now saw the woman's Knight-Captain insignia. Imprecise and unobservant. He...

Calvin stood at his station on the bridge of the lead Onager, hands moving almost as fast as his brain as he worked to coordinate ship functions. His cranial implant was fully affixed and flashing rapidly, directly connected to the Onager's main computer by means of a high capacity data cable...

Calvin heard the armoured boots even before he saw the woman's reflection in the polished duraglass. "At ease" he replied, turning and returning the salute. Calvin had spent years saluting his superiors and now enjoyed being the one on the receiving end. He had a niggling worry that his...

The ISS Caiman exited hyperspace perfectly, the long snout of the Yuso-class corvette resting above Ord Trasi. "Helm, bring us into geosynchronous orbit with the planet's primary space platform, one kilometre directly above exit gate three". "One kilometre! Sir that's way inside safe...

Calvin saw the doctor's yellow eyes flick to their entwined hands as they shook. His look was not the usual surprise at the feel of the metal fingers, but a squint of scrutiny. What was he thinking? The more Calvin came to understand the inner workings of machines, the more frustrating he...

Calvin stepped from the airlock into an apparent waiting area. It was a more than passable recreation of medical facilities found on many planets. He might once have found it uninteresting, but today he found it curious. Curious and encouraging; the proprietor clearly cared about how he and...

The bridge of the gunship Malleus was not large, but Calvin had managed to find a seat. He had taken advantage of the co-pilot being on a rest break to commandeer their station. He was attempting to download data on the nearby frigate's disposition. Captain Montagan had ordered him to join...

Calvin's hands moved quickly across the console as he brought his transport into land. The craft was solid and reliable, but plain and unsophisticated. It took a few moments to compensate for the gravametric distortions of the asteroid belt. Its sensors and instruments sang in Calvin's mind...