A furious, swollen red clump loomed in a sky divided between sheer blackness and the brilliant haze of the Eos cloud. Thin wisps of gas emanated from the giant star, filling the system with a dilute fog of hydrogen from its solar wind. Orange light belched forth from the star. Lingering near the edge of the stellar photosphere were several spheres glowing in dull orange. They were former terrestrial planets now blasted into airless balls of molten slag by the raging heat of the system’s doomed sun. The closest gas giant was now boiling off into space like a comet. Its cloud deck was featureless as complex organic molecules broke down in the intense glare of the bloated star.

  Task Force Sigma had already reoriented for the deceleration burn into Epsilon Tau, the first major system of the Eos subsector. It was a distant binary of two red stars: a red giant at the end of its life, and a red dwarf in its relative youth.

  The red giant system’s habitable worlds were a dense cluster of moons around the second and third gas giants in the outer solar system. The icy shells of a few moons had been melted into global oceans with small outcrops of rock protruding above the waves, the atmosphere a barely breathable mix of photolyzed oxygen, released carbon dioxide and steam. A burning golden light glinted from their surface oceans and warmed their cloudtops with the gentle color of wheat.

  Terse radio communications with system command had already been established, but two way bandwidth was still too low for detailed file exchange.

  A human voice over Neuronet broadcast the standard warning.

  >Task Force Sigma entering Epsilon Tau A system. You are requested to submit to space traffic control.

  This warning was hollow. Unlike the lonely Peacekeeper at Delta Draconis, Task Force Sigma had the firepower to fight the entire planetary system to a standstill - if they were fully armed and fueled.

  >This is Vice Marshal Sanchez Miguel on the DF Vanguard, flagship of Task Force Sigma. We acknowledge your request, Sanchez thought with a confident mental voice.

  The demands continued as usual.

  >Transfer trajectory to navigation AI. Broadcast nav beacon. Confirm trajectory.

  >Lock weapons launch authority. Transmit confirmation.

  Sanchez’s arrogant voice interrupted their requests. It seemed that Sanchez wanted to experiment with his political power for the first time.

  >Based on prior communications, this system is located in a conflict zone. We must maintain self defense capability during all phases of flight. I assume you will understand. We will submit to traffic control, but will maintain weapon rights.

  A tension filled silence settled over the system. Liu imagined fire control radar locking on, followed by a haughty refusal and ultimatum. But the tired reply he heard was even more unnerving.

  >Acknowledged, Task Force Sigma. Welcome to paradise, Vice Marshal.

  The Peacekeeper’s entire crew had awakened now, but this time the atmosphere had shifted from one of happy homecoming to grim duty. Each officer was strapped at their perch or at their workstations. Those without a workstation strapped themselves into spare acceleration cushions wherever they could and worked with their Neuronet networked minds as much as possible. For those with nothing to do, they at least could silently bear witness.

  The red giant system was a dense outcrop of civilization on the edge of oblivion. City lights dotted the exposed rock of the newly melted oceanic moons. These were temporary worlds on galactic timescales, but the red giant would still be stable for hundreds of millions of years. It was a worthwhile investment on the human scale.

  The orbital base over the outer gas giant was even more fortified than the one at Delta Draconis. There were the same counterrotating binary toruses, central core and massive solar array, but hanging in orbit around them were several extra laser defense arrays, connected by a loose umbilical cord to the central core for power and several thrusters for station keeping.

  The central engineering truss designed for dozens of battlecruisers only had a few undergoing sluggish repair. Instead, quadruple parked system defense frigates took up the parking slots and engineering berths originally designed for capital vessels. Row upon row of empty berths were reserved for Liu’s incoming task force. The majestic flat frame of an assault carrier was parked below them in a lower orbit, precessing with a glacial slowness against the shifting clouds of the gas giant below them.

  Despite the massive array of weapons facing them on the approach, Liu didn’t feel the scan of fire control radar. It was almost as if the station had resigned itself to whatever fate awaited them.

  >Task Force Sigma. Deactivate fusion drives and submit to tugs for final approach. You are given permission for docking.

  >Acknowledged.

  Another neutral, synthesized voice rang out over Neuronet.

  >Automated tug sequence active.

  A weak bump was felt from the elastomer pusher of the velocity matching tugs. Nuclear rockets spewed long streams of superheated gas into the stellar wind, creating complex turbulence patterns that Liu could see with the Peacekeeper’s sensor eyes. Each of the task force’s ships had been brought to a stop over the empty landing zones.

  >Parking maneuver complete.

  There were no further demands as the shuttle docked with the Peacekeeper. Outside, logistics robots were slowly inching their way to their position, each extending along long chains. The elevators along the engineering truss flowed with a lazy sluggishness that would be unimaginable at Delta Draconis.

  A chime notified them that they were able to move to the station.

  >Task force data logs received from DF Vanguard. All crew free for station transport. Logistical evaluation in progress.

  The crew filed through the maw of the airlock into the gritty interior of the shuttle. Their feet safely enclosed inside clamped magboots felt a small burst of strain as the shuttle pushed off. Microgravity rotational maneuvers to match the stationary habitat core’s orientation still caused some minor nausea, but no one was in the mood for complaint or humor.

  A hiss of air was heard. The shuttle had docked with an elevator platform. The pressure in their ankles as they accelerated upwards felt like little more than a gentle press.

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  When the elevator opened, they found the core section was already crowded with fellow crew from their task force, all slowly filing towards a common destination. There was no greeting party this time. There was no need for one; they were essentially occupying the station.

  A Neuronet notice awaited them upon walking forward into the hall.

  >All Task Force Sigma staff, report to conference room 1 for briefing.

  This time, Liu was confident. There was no hesitation in his steps. The quiet stomp of magboots echoed through the otherwise empty halls. Neuronet guidance and the momentum of the crowd guided them to a cavernous storage bay, hastily refurbished as an auditorium. The open metal doors beckoned them in. A large crowd had already gathered at the foot of a makeshift podium.

  In the distance, Liu could make out Sanchez’s distant figure standing on the platform. Another officer flanked Sanchez to his right. The man’s thin frame, yellowed skin and dark eyes seemed haggard with a burden beyond merely age. Liu’s eyes naturally drifted to his rank badge. Vice Marshal. In contrast, Sanchez still appeared quite stout, with a false smile smeared across his face.

  “Welcome, crew of Task Force Sigma,” the thin man said, his voice amplified through the room by Neuronet autoadjust. “I am Vice Marshal Nguyen Van Trong, Epsilon Tau A station commander. It is good to see you.”

  Sanchez peered at his counterpart through the corner of his eye before turning his gaze towards the crowd again with a beaming smile. Liu caught a faint hint of contempt in Sanchez’s expression.

  “Since your departure from Delta Draconis, the security situation in the Eos subsector has grown more complex. At the time of your departure, we had estimated that we would have only needed Task Force Sigma for patrol and cleanup duties. Unfortunately, the self proclaimed ‘Commonwealth’ insurgency has been spreading faster than we anticipated,” Vice Marshal Nguyen said.

  He wordlessly nodded towards a Neuronet image projector hidden somewhere in the room. The space behind him was immediately filled with a massive map of the Eos subsector. Two distinct zones were clear in overlapping purple and red. The smaller purple zone was labeled “lost systems”. The larger red one was labeled “contested systems”.

  “Our own fleets have been deployed forward to fight the enemy at the new border. You are temporarily garrisoned here. Further details will be made available to you after a private meeting between myself and Vice Marshal Sanchez.”

  He paused to gauge the reaction of the crowd. There was only a light cough and the shuffle of magboots.

  “We have full repair facilities. Our civilian facilities are a bit more austere. We will reconvene within 24 hours after the staff officer private briefing. I will now resume my command duties and leave you in the capable hands of my colleague.”

  A sprinkle of weak claps emerged. Vice Marshal Nguyen simply could not inspire the way that Marshal Laurent did. Sanchez immediately took the podium as Nguyen walked off the stage, escorted by two lightly armed MPs. Liu noticed that a few members of the task force crowd filed out silently as well.

  “Thank you, Vice Marshal. It is good to see you again, soldiers of Task Force Sigma. Our work in the Eos subsector has begun. But… we have just undergone a stressful system entry and are recovering from stasis. We’re all tired. Why don’t we all have 120 hours of leave? The bots need to work on the ship during this time anyhow. Commanding officers will see me at the briefing,” Sanchez said with a smile.

  A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd of officers. Sanchez basked in the praise of the entire task force’s applause. His eyes seemed to scan the crowd to poll his success with the crews.

  Liu turned his head to Okeke and Lin. Unlike the rest of the crowd, their faces were as sullen as his. Grayson on the other hand was cheering with a transparently pretended enthusiasm.

  The trio of Liu, Lin and Okeke were the first to file out from the back of the crowd. None of them spoke to each other except through occasional mutual glances. That was more than enough to communicate what they needed. The three walked almost as a single cell, navigating instinctively through the corridors and masses of people despite the awkwardness of zero-g walking in magboots.

  Liu looked at them again. Their nervous strides betrayed an insecurity that their blank faces refused to reveal. It would be dangerous to talk verbally in public, but it was likely that they wouldn’t have any high level auditors at this frontier post, Liu reasoned. Neuronet could be safer here.

  >Group message. Okeke Tomas. Lin Yiran.

  >What hotel are you staying at?

  It was surprising to use Neuronet private messaging here. Both Okeke and Lin looked at him for a second before immediately realizing what was going on. They seemed to struggle formulating their thoughts as easily as Liu did.

  >Nearest one. You guys? Okeke replied.

  >Me too. Don’t want to waste my leave walking even more, Lin said over Neuronet message.

  >Last time I was in a briefing like that I got a promotion, Liu said with a mental laugh.

  >And we got medals! Lin added.

  >Guess our ambush survival wasn’t impressive enough, Okeke remarked after a brief pause.

  A genuine smile spread over Liu Yang’s face, possibly the first one he’s had in centuries. For the first time, the burden of conspiracy had lifted in the face of genuine connection. It was immediately overtaken by a sudden, unexplained sadness, a profound sense of loss and betrayal that he couldn’t identify. He was about to say something, but remembered that they would soon arrive at the privacy of their hotel.

  They had finally reached the elevator to the torus section. The hall in front of them rotated lazily with a quiet hum. There was no hint of vibration as the ultrahard ceramic bearings slid over the liquid metal seal. They deactivated their magboots for the transit and pushed off from their floor towards the rotating section. Walls spun in a slow, dizzying dance around them. Each grabbed onto a padded bar and reoriented towards one of the elevator doors.

  “Damn, I forgot how disorienting this was,” Liu cursed. They propelled themselves into the elevator upon the doors opening and attached their magboots to the single ferromagnetic surface in what they felt was an upside-down orientation. It would point them the right way and protect them from injury as they rode the elevator up to the torus.

  The promenade was quiet and almost devoid of people. Their party was among the first to arrive. The primary sound came from the low vacuuming and scrubbing sound of cleaning synths. The lights of the station had been dimmed and the shops were mostly closed. It was the scheduled night. A time display appeared overhead: 2331.

  A small transparent door immediately ahead of the elevator led to a windowless hall of even more white metal doors. The servicemember’s hotel. As the trio walked through the soundlessly sliding glass, a Neuronet notice acknowledged their presence. A discrete camera watched from above the door.

  “I’d like a solo suite this time,” Okeke said, looking at Liu and then Lin sequentially. With a wordless command, one of the smaller doors slid open and he walked in. “I need some rest. See you guys in a bit.”

  “He’s in a good mood,” Liu said with a smile. It was understood that Okeke would need some solitude. Some wounds couldn't be shared, even with fellow sufferers.

  Liu and Lin continued walking parallel to each other, dragging their duffel bags and glancing furtively at each other. Another bump in the ceiling was visible, almost certainly another surveillance device, but he instinctively selected a door immediately below the sensor’s blind spot.

  “Well, good night, captain,” Liu said casually as he stole another glance at her. She smiled and wordlessly left further down the hall. He saw her legs move with a womanly grace and her hair bounce lightly in the reduced gravity of the station. Liu smiled with the regret of a man who had traded his wife for a payout number and the lonely watch of the interstellar fleet. I wonder what could motivate a woman to do the same, he pondered.

  Suddenly, Lin looked over her shoulder and noticed Liu still blankly staring at her. Her face first expressed a look of bemusement, but she then turned around fully with a warm smile and a wave before she continued on her way.

  Liu turned back to the blank door.

  >Neuronet transaction. Solo room. Autopay.

  The door slid open with a single notification.

  >Enjoy your stay. Thank you for your service.