Free Pax Imperia (The Redemption Trilogy) by Mike Smith Page A

by the marines, the three assault shuttles still hovering in the background, guns and missiles extended, glistening in the lights above the flight deck, ensured no resistance. Major Thompson was taking no chances after Paul had briefed him on the short flight over from the Protector.
    Paul was less worried about facing stiff resistance securing the ship than he was with the conduct of the marines. Many of them were young kids, barely out of their teens. They had family on Eden Prime and Paul could see the shock, fear and anger in their faces after they had been briefed on recent events. Paul was certain that the majority of the crew were not implicated in the attack. He had been involved in enough covert operations to know that the more people who knew about it the greater the chance of it failing. In any case, only the senior officers had the necessary fire-control codes to be able to unleash the awesome weaponry of the ship. The crew would not have been briefed, as was obvious from the terrified expressions on their faces, as they lay restrained on the flight deck.
    It was only going to take one crew member to panic, one marine to be a little too quick on the trigger and this operation was going to turn into a bloodbath. Too many people had already died today and Paul was determined there would be no further deaths on his watch. He didn’t even want to think about who might already have died on Eden Prime. Jon, Sofia and Gunny were his closest friends and they were practically family. He knew that nothing had been heard of their whereabouts since he had departed from the Protector . Meanwhile he was determined to remain focused on the task at hand, as there was nothing that he could do for them at the moment.
    “Listen up, marines,” Paul called out at the top of his voice to get their attention. “Admiral Sterling has tasked us with securing this ship. You have all been briefed on recent events and know the necessity of doing this quickly, as we have no idea if the ship is preparing to fire once again.” Paul let the words trail off, easily conveying the urgency of their operation. “However, the crew of this ship are not our enemy. They are our brothers and sisters, just like us they have family down on Eden Prime. It is obvious that whoever is behind this horrific attack expects us to turn on each other and we will not allow that to happen. Our job is to secure the ship and find the perpetrators, not to exact revenge on the crew. So stay focused, keep in close contact with your platoon sergeants and move out.”
    As the marines saluted and filed out from the flight deck, Paul was relieved to see some of the fire had left their eyes. Hopefully they would now demonstrate some restraint while securing the ship. Turning to Major Thompson who, via their tactical communications network, was monitoring the progress of the marines spreading throughout the ship, Paul ordered, “We will proceed directly to the bridge.” Withdrawing his sidearm, Paul made sure there was already a round in the chamber and the safety catch was firmly on. While Paul was confident the crew were not involved, he was worried about the position of the Captain and senior officers. Somebody had ordered those weapons to be targeted and fired and when he found out who…
    Paul tightened his grip on the pistol.
    *****
    Not unexpectedly, the entrance to the bridge was guarded by two of the ship’s marines who raised their rifles on seeing Paul and his men. With Paul and the Major’s own marines responding in a similar manner, it quickly became a very tense standoff. Remembering his earlier promise to himself, Paul motioned for his men to lower their weapons, which they did reluctantly.
    “I am Captain Harrington and I am ordering you to lower your weapons,” Paul called out to the two marines guarding the entrance to the bridge.
    “I do not know you, sir, and I do not recognise your chain of command. Only the Captain or my Commanding Officer can