Free The Empire’s Corps: Book 01 - The Empire's Corps by Christopher Nuttall

down to the Barracks on Earth. It was just something else to do while they were in transit. “And then send me the training rotas. We don’t have much time left to complete matters.”

    Rifleman Aaron McDonald turned out to be middle-aged, older than the average Rifleman, although that wasn't too uncommon within the Marine Corps. If McDonald hadn't been interested in promotion – his record showed that he’d severed as a Corporal at least twice, but that had always been a brevet promotion – he would probably have been allowed to remain as a Rifleman, although he would probably have been quietly encouraged to become an NCO. He’d survived ten years in the Corps, which suggested that there was nothing seriously wrong with him. His file, which Edward had skimmed briefly, hadn’t thrown up any red flags.

    “All right,” Edward said, studying him carefully. McDonald looked to be a combination of ethnic traits, not uncommon among some of the other colony worlds. Despite the name, he looked vaguely Chinese. “Why do you want to become a Stalker?”

    McDonald met his eyes levelly, a good sign. “I understand that you are being transferred to Avalon,” he said. “Avalon is my homeworld.”

    Edward silently cursed himself under his breath. That particular titbit would have been in the files, but he’d missed it. Marines, wherever they were born, went through the Slaughterhouse and came out as Marines. Their pasts didn't matter. Unlike the Imperial Army, which was careful not to allow its soldiers to serve on their homeworlds, the Marine Corps didn't care, as long as they were Marines. A career Marine like McDonald shouldn't have been attached to his homeworld. He was half-inclined to refuse the transfer on those grounds alone, yet...the prospect of having someone who actually knew Avalon attached to his command was tempting. Very tempting. It was tempting enough to suggest that he should overlook the irregularity.

    “I...see,” he said. “And you want to go back there?”

    “I’ve put eighteen years into the Corps,” McDonald said, honestly. “I expect to go on inactive status when I reach twenty years of service. I don’t have fond memories of Avalon, sir, but if we build up a proper Civil Guard and deal with those damned Crackers, it might be...liveable.”

    Edward smiled. “You place me in an uncomfortable position,” he said, dryly. “You do know that, don’t you?”

    “Yes, sir,” McDonald said. There was no give in him. “I'm sorry, sir.”

    Edward considered the matter. “Tell me about Avalon,” he said. “Who are the Crackers?”

    “Long story,” McDonald said. He paused, gathering his thoughts. “The short version of the story, sir, is that the Development Corporation that owned the planet – and most of the settlers and their contracts – overextended itself badly and ended up having to squeeze the planet tightly, just to pay their creditors. There were a series of...incidents that ended with Peter Cracker, one of the original colonists, leading a rebellion against the Development Corporation’s puppet planetary government. They didn't have anything left to lose. If they stayed and bowed to the corporation, they’d be in debt for the rest of their lives...and so would their grandchildren. They came far too close to destroying the Corporation once and for all.”

    Edward nodded. It wasn't an unfamiliar pattern. In order to settle a planet, Development Corporations paid settlers to settle on the planet, giving them land in exchange for their efforts. The settlers would, if all went well, spend around ten-twenty years paying off their debts before breaking even and becoming freeholders. The contracts, however, had hidden clauses that actually made the colonists liable for the debts of the overall corporation, forcing them to remain in hock longer if the Corporation needed to keep squeezing them. Even if they avoided that trap, there were others. The Corporation was often the only