Chapter 33: Eye-Opening Tour(3)

The Admiral settled his thoughts, before squaring his shoulders and looking at Sgt. Burr.

"You said that this rifle was used by the last two..."

He gestured to the Sergeants at the end of the line.

"...which weapons do you use?"

He said this while gesturing between Sgt. Burr and Sgt. Gutierrez.

Both looked at the Commander, obviously asking a silent question.

The Commander nodded once.

Sgt. Burr looked back at Sgt. Gutierrez, who became still. Again, another soldier stepped may from their lane, this time a woman holding another peculiar weapon.

After repeating the handoff, Sgt. Gutierrez spoke.

"My squad is trained for clearing rooms along a hallway."

She hoisted the weapon, which again looked comically large to the Admiral.

It was longer than the previous weapon and lacked a magazine. It also had a pump handle attached to the lower barrel, and a longer, more complicated-looking stock.

"We use this, a Remington M1240, a shotgun. As you can see, it doesn't have a magazine. We instead load the rounds into this lower tube, which we then load by pumping this grip. The stock is equipped with shocks, which reduces the recoil."

She demonstrated the firing stance, one hand on the grip and another on the pump handle. She also showed the reloading sequence, which produced a loud CLICK-CLACK noise.

Again, they all looked at the Admiral, waiting for a question.

"Sgt. Gutierrez, why are you using such a fearsome weapon? Surely a rifle or machine gun would be more accurate and less dangerous?"

"Sir, the biggest advantage of this weapon is its spread and shock factor. When clearing rooms, it is essential to clear the room as quickly and violently as possible, so that any defenders are discouraged from resisting further."

The Admiral nodded, seeing the wisdom in this tactic. He made a note to talk to his own Marine Colonel. Col. Rast was the Marine Commander aboard the Dreadnought Carlang, Admiral Brosoth's flagship. He felt the Colonel would appreciate a novel weapon such as this.

The Admiral pushed that thought aside, focusing on Sgt. Burr once more.

"And which weapon do you use, Sgt. Burr?"

Again, the Sergeant looked at the Commander, who nodded with a small smile. The Admiral was beginning to feel apprehensive.

Sgt. Burr looked back at the Admiral, only this time a huge grin was present on his dark face.

"If you would follow me, Admiral."

The party left the range behind, making their way to the Armory. Once inside, the Brosoths gasped. It was obvious what had caused their reaction.

Along the right wall was a row of 9 massive mechs, each sporting a rotating barrel under their arms and a line of very big rounds which wrapped around the arm, encased in some sort of plastic covering, disappearing into a bulge on its back. These things were easily 2.5 meters tall, much bigger than any powered boarding armor the Admiral had ever seen.

He couldn't help but whisper under his breath.

"What the hell are those?"

The Sergeant had heard him since he immediately launched into a description.

"These are Aani Boarding Armor, or ABA for short. As you can see, it's equipped with a mini-gun, which is belt-fed from a cartridge on the back. It can hold 2000 rounds of .50 caliber bullets, which can be modified for any situation. You've noticed the size. This means you've also made note of my and the rest of our Platoon's size. We needed big suits to accommodate our people, and the commander obliged."

The Admiral recognized the acronym as the Imperial's old boarding armor type. Commander Venata had modified them to hold more rounds, but the Admiral was relieved the Commander wasn't employing modern boarding armor. Those were restricted by the military, and having one as a civilian would result in incarceration.

He quickly pulled the Commander's bounty license and was relieved that he was registered to carry kinetic weapons aboard. He also saw the licenses for the ABA's although he was unsure of how Commander Venata obtained them.

After a long, in-depth description of the mech from Sgt. Burr, the Admiral was notified by his implants that his appointment with the FDII was in one hour, something which had slipped his mind during the tour.

"Commander, it seems I must insist we end the tour here. Another matter has come to my attention. But before I go, I wanted to speak with you privately."

The Commander had the good grace to look disappointed at the Admiral's announcement.

But he nodded and dismissed Andrew and Sgt. Burr, quickly exited the room with the children, although the Admiral was sure they were going to wait outside. They and the rest of their team looked to be very loyal to the Commander.

"Commander, I've been very impressed with your tour. I am sorry to have to cut this short, but I do have an offer for you. Based on what I've seen and your record as a bounty hunter, I would be remiss not to contract you."

The Commander's eyes widened, obviously aware of where this was going.

"As I'm sure you know, tensions between the Federation and the Empire are ramping up, and war with Illion is imminent. I have received orders to contract a few individuals capable enough to begin a preemptive commerce raiding campaign against the Empire.

Your tour and record have convinced me to contact you as one of those individuals.

You be given full authority by the CNO's office to target any Imperial shipping, as well as destroy any targets of opportunity you may encounter

Do you accept?"