***
Bozeman, Montana: 18 hours later
Sitting in an executive’s office made him uncomfortable, especially an empty one. Ridgely found the dark leather chairs and mahogany furniture somewhat intimidating. He didn’t care much for the corporate world whose members took their liberty for granted and viewed life in terms of a budgetary spreadsheet. His opinions didn’t matter at this point anyhow. Sometime soon, Scott was going to walk in and want to hear about the assassination.
How could he be such a tool? Signing on with Energex was supposed to mean consulting work, not serving as a hitman. On the other hand, there was the money. He had just earned six years’ worth of pay for a couple of weeks’ effort. To make it even better, he and his unit had been paid under the table, so that meant no taxes. He could live with that.
“Good morning, Major.” Scott said nonchalantly, walking into the office. “I can’t begin to tell you how much of a help you’ve been to the company.”
Ridgely gave a slight nod. He couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Not only is the Sri Lankan government in a shambles, it looks like their alliance with North Korea is fracturing. This couldn’t have worked out better.” Scott added as he sat behind his desk.
“I’m happy you’re satisfied.” Ridgely responded indifferently.
“Okay, hold on. I don’t like that tone. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I’m just not comfortable with what we did.”
“Well, that’s to be expected.” Scott said. “You’re used to fighting for the country and not doing someone’s dirty work. If it’s an issue of compensation, we can talk. The board would like to know if your team is interested in receiving stock or shares of our next quarter’s profits.”
“I think they’ll be happy to have them.”
“Good, then I’ll line it up. Now, let’s talk about the future.”
The future? There wasn’t going to be one. With the mission over, Ridgely was ready to move on. “No disrespect intended, but I’m ready for a break.”
“By all means, you’re entitled to one too.” Scott replied. “What I wanted to talk about isn’t for another three years.”
That sounded like a reasonable time frame, and by then he would probably need more money. “What do you have planned?”
“Nothing much and certainly not another assassination. All you’ll be doing is serving as an escort.”
“Doesn’t seem too difficult.” Ridgely commented.
“I don’t think it is. You see, my son has been planning an interstellar expedition for the past year, and we think it would be a good idea if he had some troops for protection.”
Something didn’t sound right. Explorers bound for deep space never brought troops along. They just weren’t needed. All these expeditions did was investigate new star systems and search for quadracine, and their destinations were too remote to worry about pirates or anything like that. “We’ll do it, but I’m curious as to why we’re needed.”
“That I can’t explain to you, and there’s a very good chance that you’ll end up spending the whole voyage in cryo. In that case, it’s a free paycheck.”
“How much danger are you anticipating if it turns out that we are needed?” asked Ridgely.
“Not much. As I said before, I need you as an escort.”
“Okay, but we’re going to need to go over the details, royalties and such, before we sign any contract.”
“I’ll put you in contact with my son, Alan. He’s handling most of the arrangements.” Scott said.
“And where’s he at?”
“New Roanoke, it’s a colony in the Vega system.”
“Wait, I’m confused here.” Ridgely replied. “This escort duty is with Energex, isn’t it?”
“No, you’ll be working directly for my son. The company has nothing to do with his expedition.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m not sure we can. After all, didn’t the corporation provide us with all of the weapons and equipment?”
“Equipment won’t be an issue.” Scott answered. “I’m prepared to give you an advance so you can purchase whatever materials you need.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything, but I have to tell you that I’m a bit ambivalent about working for your son whom I’ve never met.”
“Well, given that I’m fronting most of the money for the expedition, you can think of it as working for me. Let me assure you, though. My son is a good man, and if you don’t believe me, contact his superior on New Roanoke. The colony’s magistrate has been very impressed with him lately.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Ridgely said. “As long as there aren’t any hiccups with the contract negotiations, I don’t see any reason for us not to work with you on this.”
“Good, then I’ll arrange for a transmission to Alan, letting him know that we have our security detail lined up. Once I hear back from him, I’ll give you a call and we can get a contract signed.”
“About how long will that take?”
“Twelve weeks, communications between Earth and New Roanoke take a while.” replied Scott.
Ridgely nodded and left Scott’s office after exchanging a few parting words. What was supposed to be a quick debriefing turned into accepting another assignment. Granted, it sounded easy, and that was the problem. Scott’s refusal to explain why his son needed soldiers disconcerted him. Not only that, but long experience taught him that the so-called “easy” missions tended to be the most dangerous. His gut told him that this one would be no exception.
As he left the Energex compound, Ridgely pondered the course his life was taking. A few weeks ago, he was optimistic about his prospects in the army. Now, he was a hired gun. Funny how change could be so rapid. Could he get used to being a mercenary? Earning more money definitely held some sway. However, he’d have to get used to fighting other people’s wars.
That didn’t really bother him. He enjoyed combat for the most part. Maybe some hired gun work could allow him to test his abilities as a soldier. He always wondered how a battle might unfold if he didn’t have Pershing station there to back him up.
Despite having a few months to rest, Ridgely had work to do, getting weapons first of all and then convincing his team to take the job. Neither should prove difficult. He also needed to get to know this Alan Scott guy. His father seemed like a respectable person, but the son might prove to be someone entirely different. Something to consider before heading into deep space.
Author’s Note: If you enjoyed this short story, be sure to check out its continuation in the novel, For One’s Own Cause, as Maj. Keith Ridgely accompanies Alan Scott into uncharted regions of space.
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