Dark Secrets

[Taneru]

The long corridors of the 'east' wing of Eureka Research Station echoed softly with the footsteps of dozens of men and women... and little else.

Every single one of them moved with purpose, their attention focused on the completion of their tasks, with no concern for idle chatter. As he moved among them, newly-promoted Major Jacob Mitchells brushed his fingers across the unfamiliar rank insigina, as if reasurring himself that it was real, and this wasn't just a strange dream.

It had only been a few days since he got the message. The Intrepid had been returning from another successful operation in the Bering system. She'd sat for days, motionless and running completely silent, within the asteroid field, waiting. Intel had predicted correctly the path the Rheinland Cruiser would take on her patrol, and when the trade lane's Universal Ship Identification system picked up the cruiser and triggered the subtly planted electromagnetic pulse charges attached to the lane, the Intrepid was in the perfect position. The Rheinland vessel's crew never had a chance to react as the Siege Cannon pulse punched a hole through her command deck.

As his XO monitored the trip back to Alaska, Jacob had retired to his quarters, where he found a single message waiting for him. It was short, vague, and incredibly encrypted. Even with the proper encryption key, it took a good minute for the message to be displayed. It read:

YOU HAVE BEEN REASSIGNED.
REPORT TO ALERT STATION UPON RETURN TO ELLESMERE.
TRANSFER TO EUREKA WILL FOLLOW.
YOU WILL BE BRIEFED ON ARRIVAL.
CONGRATULATIONS, MAJOR MITCHELLS.

Accompanying the message was a notification of his promotion to Major, effective immediatly. The message itself had all the proper markers; it was unquestionably authentic. There was no indicator on who it was from, however - only an encryption marker indicating a section of the Liberty Security Force that he'd never heard of.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Jacob turned the corner, following the directions he had been given towards the office of his new superior. Hopefully there he'd get a better understanding of what exactly his new position entailed, and perhaps the purpose of this mysterious section of the Liberty Security Force... this 'Division 18'.

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Characters
Alan Markson: The Hellfire Legion's Lord Commander
The Perihelion: Freeport Four's guardian, and yet much more. Missing and assumed Lost with all hands.
Eric Dresmund: Junker, smuggler, thief. Last seen drunk on Beaumont
Vayrn Wyard: IMG Recon pilot turned Neo-Terran Captain. Last location unknown