Free Rebel (The United Federation Marine Corps) by Jonathan P. Brazee Page B

According to the company, the “unrest” was a result of off-world agitators rallying the indentureds using misinformation (not that they used the term “indentureds—with them, it was always “Class 4 employees”).  Michi didn’t think the company really thought it was off-worlders, but if they thought this was an indentured issue, Michi was sure they had misinterpreted the situation.  From the zips [9] she was getting from friends, this “unrest” was far broader than that.
    A low explosion sounded outside the window, and Michi got up off the couch where she had been watching holos and looked out.  A plume of black smoke was rising up several blocks to the west.  Tamara would be coming back home about now, and her route would be close to the smoke.  Michi contemplated going out to see if she could find her roommate, but decided it was better to stay in the condo and let Tamara come to her.
    Still, it was a tense 45 minutes as she waited, changing her mind back and forth on leaving, until Tamara came in the door in an agitated state.
    “Did they show any of it in the news feeds?” she asked breathlessly, looking over to where Michi had been watching them.
    “Show what?”
    “The fight!  The jacks were pulling another raid on the indentureds, but they should have shown up with more.  They were dragging three out of the dorm when at least 50 indentureds jumped them.  I saw it all from the walkway,” she said, referring to the elevated walkway on which employees who worked in Buildings Four, Five, and Six left the campus and which ran between some of the Class Four dormitories. 
    “They were beating the crap out of them.  I captured some of it on my phone, but I could see the cavalry arriving, so I got the heck out of there.  And then, right on the corner of Orville and Mendoza, the friggin’ building blew up, the one with the noodle shop.  I was only a block away!”
    Michi took Tamara by the hand and sat her down on the couch.
    “It blew up?”
    “Yeah, kaboom!  It’s a fucking war out there, Michi.  A war!”

Chapter 14
     
    Two days later, two days in which clashes had become more frequent, and as Michi and Tamara were sipping tea on their small balcony during a lull in the fighting, several dark shapes flew overhead towards the company campus.  Painted on the fuselage, Michi could clearly see the UFMC flash.
    The Marines had landed.

Chapter 15
     
    Michi and Tamara walked into a WRP office bustling with activity.  The arrival of the Marines had thrown the planet into a tizzy, as could be expected.  Not much of substance was being passed over the newsfeeds, only that the Marines were there to restore order and provide security for the “good citizens” of Kakurega.  Estranged from her family, Michi did not have any other information sources available to her, so she and Tamara decided to see what the WRP knew about what was going on.
    Michi hadn’t even seen a Marine in person yet.  There were too few of them around to make much of a physical impact, but the psychological impact was something entirely different.  Michi could feel a sense of impending doom in the air, as if father was now home and ready to punish the offending children.
    The fact that that Captain Ryck Lysander, the posterboy of the Marines, was one of the commanders of the battalion that landed only heightened the tension.  The newsfeeds almost crowed about his presence, going into detail about his history and his “hero” status. 
    “Look, there’s Cheri,” Tamara pointed out.  “Let’s go see what she knows.”
    Cheri looked up from a conversation she was having with a young man as the two came up.  “Tamara, Michi, how are you?” she asked, leaning forward to kiss each one on the cheek.
    “We’re holding out,” Tamara said.  “But we’re pretty much in the dark.  Anything you can tell us?”
    “I, well,  um . . . Danny, can you give me a moment here?” she asked the young man who nodded and