He knew he had to act fast. But how was he going to get Dane’s attention without the sergeant noticing? And how was he going to get the message across without the others noticing? He decided his only option would be to use the rudimentary hand signals they had been taught in class. He’d somehow have to bring across a complex message in a few signals. He got closer to Dane, and when Dane looked up to see what was happening, he subtly made the gestures for danger, enemies and trap. Dane didn’t say anything, but made a small, reassuring halt hand movement. Dane then turned the palm of his hand downwards and made a small downwards pushing movement. Voss knew what it meant. Dane understood what was going on, had everything under control, and Voss needed to calm down.
It was a comforting thought. Voss’ warning had been unnecessary. Dane had figured out it was a set up too. Not only did this assuage Voss’ worries, it also further strengthened his belief that Dane was ex-military. It wouldn’t surprise him if the Fifth was planning on fast tracking Dane for a role of non-commissioned officer. A role which Voss thought would suit him well.
Dane spoke over their intercom, using his most stern and authoritative voice. ‘Listen up, blue squad. I just finished discussing our strategy with Emil. Red squad will focus on guns, breaching equipment, medical supplies and trap disarmament tools. We will take an allrounder approach. Jabs, you’re the scout. He’ll take an L-rifle and reconnaissance equipment. Voss, support. You’re taking spare oxygen with you, a ballistics revolver and plasma cutter. Tick, electrics. Full electrical tool belt and take some precision thermite with you in case we need to breach a door. Hoog, mechanic. Mechanical toolbelt, common spare parts chest and a break iron. Let’s see what that arm of yours can do if needed. I’m taking an L-rifle, medical supplies and advanced comms systems.
The station is shaped like an H. Comms antennas are at both far ends of the central bridge. We’ll be dropped off at the far end of the lower left compartment. Three hundred meter jump without a proper landing area. To compensate, we’ll jump simultaneously. Each man hooks into the man on his left with his left hook. When we land, look for anything you can hook your right hook into. At least one of us has to make a successful landing, or we’ll all bounce back into the void and it will be game over for us. Team red will jump thirty seconds after us. This means we’ll catch them right after we’ve landed. In return, they’ll provide cover for us during our landing in case we’re ambushed.
Once both squads have landed, we decouple and move out. Treat this as a combat zone. That means we won’t be securely attached to the station at all times. Always be on guard because the station has thrusters it can use to avoid meteorites. If enemy operatives turn those on, you can get flung into the void if you’re not careful. Anyone entering the station will keep their helmet on at all times. Manual override to tank fed oxygen. We don’t know if the air inside is breathable.
Emil has bio scanners with him and will report to me on what red squad encounters inside. We have to take into account every possibility. They might have been attacked by capers, there might have been a toxic leak on board. For all we know, there could have been a scourge infestation. Whatever it may be, I need all of you at one hundred percent at all times. Be ready for anything they throw at you, lads. Whatever is waiting for us at the station, it won’t be easy, that’s for sure. Any questions before we go over the station’s schematics and our mission plan?’
A silence ensued. They all knew what was expected of them. This was what they had trained for all those months. ‘One question’ Voss said. ‘What’s the extraction plan?’
‘The Ciklops will dock once we’ve got the station’s communications up and running again and give them the all clear.’
‘What if we can’t clear the station?’ Jabs said. ‘What if we get bogged down in enemy fire?’
‘Then we’ll be on our own. Even if the Fifth was willing to send reinforcements, it would take hours before they’d get there.’
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‘A comforting prospect.’ Jabs replied cynically.
‘We’re not some hobby club, lads. This is what we signed up for and what we trained for. No void marine is going to save you when the freighter you’re working on gets ambushed by capers, or if an asteroid collision causes a hull breach. We operate on our own in the most dangerous conditions and pull through no matter what. We are voidsmen now, and we’ll act like it.’
Voss was glad to have Dane as a squad leader. A feeling he was sure was shared by every man in his squad. With Dane at its helm and Jabs and himself as marksmen, he knew they’d be fine. Emil’s squad on the other hand… He could only hope that he was underestimating them.
Once every man got their equipment, they made it back to their seats. The heavy gravity meant that they’d need to do everything they could to preserve their energy. Every recruit had been given a pressurized water bottle that could be connected to a valve in their helmets, and a few food capsules. The capsules could be attached to the neck of the bottle. If you did so, instead of water, a sweet, viscous liquid would be served right into your mouth. It wasn’t very tasteful but it was sugar and nutrient laden so it did work well to keep the hunger at bay. They had been warned to keep use to a minimum though, since rapid consumption was notorious for causing diarrhea. Not a pleasant prospect when you were stuck inside a suit for the next twenty four hours. Their suits came with a system to dispose of number one’s, but not number two’s. Either you held it in, or you suffered the consequences.
‘Voss, is that you?’ It was Hoog’s voice on the intercom. ‘Can you switch to channel eight for me?’
Voss tried to inconspicuously turn the wheel of his intercom on the side of his helmet until he got to channel eight. ‘What is it Hoog?’
‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Voss. I think there’s something they’re not telling us.’
‘Damn it’ Voss thought to himself. ‘Hoog is going to ruin it by blabbing his mouth where the sergeant can hear it. I got to shut him down.’ He tried to speak with a neutral voice, hiding his irritation. ‘I’m with you Hoog. But this is the final exam, of course there are things they’re not telling us.’
‘I don’t mean it like that, Voss. I mean that there’s something off about the story they’re giving us.’
Voss knew he had to divert the conversation. Diffuse it without Hoog spilling that several recruits had caught onto the fifth’s plan. ‘And?’
‘The sergeant spoke about a remote military observation post. Those are usually heavily fortified. If anything managed to take one of those out, then we don’t stand a chance against it.’
‘It’s just a training exercise, Hoog. I’m sure they use some old derelict space station for these exercises instead of a real military post.’
‘I don’t think so, Voss. Do you know how expensive it is to operate such a station? I don’t think they have spare ones flying around just for simple exercises.’
Voss pretended he had to suppress his laughter. ‘Hoog. This is an exam, not a warzone. Calm down. I’m sure it will be fine. We’re just going to simulate a real life scenario. Hell I’m pretty sure our weapons aren’t even real. They’re downgraded models just like the ones at the gun range.’ His voice sounded much more confident than he actually was. It seemed that most of the recruits had caught on to the fact that something didn't quite check out. But could it really be that the Fifth's final exam was so obvious that several recruits individually managed to figure out what was happening before it had even started? Would there be another twist? A second layer that they didn't know about?
Hoog’s voice sounded irritated. It was obvious he didn’t appreciate Voss’ dismissal of his concerns. ‘Why are you turning this into a joke, Voss? Like the sergeant said. People die during these exams. They might not kill all of us, but one or two to push us to our limits? I wouldn’t hold it past them.’
‘Alright, alright. Get to your point then Hoog. What are you trying to say?’
Hoog’s voice sounded shaky. ‘I.. I… don’t know, man. I can't put it to words. It’s just… there’s something very off about this. I don’t trust it at all.’
Voss tried to sound reassuring. ‘Listen, Hoog. I understand. You’re tense, I’m tense, we’re all tense. I agree with you that there’s probably things they’re hiding from us. It’s probably going to be dangerous out there, but it would make no sense for them to spend so much time and money on our training just to kill us off at the end. Let’s keep our focus, stay sharp during the mission and try to be ready for anything, alright?’
‘Alright man, just promise me you’ll keep your eyes open and your aim tight.’
‘I will, Hoog. You promise me you will stay alert and work fast on those antennas, alright?’
‘Will do’
Voss hoped he had done enough to calm Hoog down. The last thing they needed was him having a nervous breakdown halfway through their mission. Hoog had a point though. The more Voss thought about it, the less sense any of this made. It wasn’t just the lack of information either. If this was an exam, where were the examiners? Why was only the sergeant with them? And wasn't he even joining them during the mission as an observer? And why were they given state of the art equipment? The more he thought about it, the more his nerves took a hold of him.