Harry found Delmar eating a taco on the main street of Fort Honey. He brushed his

  hair with his hand as he watched the auxiliary eat and protect his breakfast from the

  desert sand.

  “Where did you get the taco?,” asked Harry.

  “I went back to Earth and down to Luis’s,” said Delmar. “He gives me free tacos now

  that I am big damn hero.”

  “Are you supposed to be taking advantage?,” asked Harry.

  “Free food is free food,” said Delmar. “You ready for this?”

  “We’ll see,” said Harry. “Met the new guys yet?”

  “Nope,” said Delmar. He finished his taco. “I wonder if they are crazy like you.”

  “What do you mean?,” said Harry. They walked toward the briefing hut he had set up

  so long ago.

  “I don’t know if you know this but you’re crazy,” said Delmar. “I wouldn’t want to

  go in this with you.”

  “I stand to win millions of dollars if I can do this,” said Harry. “Does that change your

  mind?”

  “It makes me want to bet against you,” said Delmar.

  “Give me a dollar and if I succeed, you can get a thousand back,” said Harry.

  “I will give you a hundred,” said Delmar. “I am going to want my money if you win.”

  “All right,” said Harry. “Hey, Nick. Delmar wants to bet a hundred on me.”

  “Noted,” said Nick. “Your new squad is assembling at the briefing hut where you are

  going. Everyone else is getting ready to go as crew.”

  “I wish I could keep them out of this,” said Harry. “They are a lot safer on Earth.”

  “I have an emergency gate in place,” said Nick. “It will bring them back here. Worry

  more about winning the betting pool for me, savvy?”

  “We’ll see about that,” said Harry. “Do they know?”

  “I told John and Cat,” said Nick. “They are responsible enough to get the others off

  if something happens.”

  “Bad news?,” asked Delmar.

  “Nick said he put in a gate back here to Fort Honey if things go sideways for you

  guys,” said Harry. “Let’s meet the gang and see what they like to do.”

  “Have you ever been in space before this?,” asked Delmar.

  “Nope,” said Harry. “I don’t mind the strange sky, and gravity, but I think if I wasn’t

  a marine, I wouldn’t even think about doing this.”

  “I know,” said Delmar. “I want to go home, but home all of sudden looks small

  compared to everything else.”

  “If we win the war, you will be a hero, but it will be unsung and unknown,” said

  Harry.

  “I can deal with that if we win,” said Delmar.

  “We will, even if I have to put a bullet in every xeno personally,” said Harry. He

  pushed the door to the hut open so they could step inside.

  Harry stepped to one side. The contractors looked at him with small signs of

  acknowledgment. He had expected humans, but he should have known the agents

  would send veteran contractors from other planets.

  Earth hadn’t been in the fight long enough to get a contractor who could take care of

  himself in the maelstrom they were going to have to ride out. Harry had been lucky

  on his first day. Now he had to be better to go further than even his luck could carry

  him.

  “How is it?,” asked Harry. “I’m Harry Jordan, and this is Delmar Reese, one of my

  seconds.”

  “Second?,” said the biggest alien, apparently made of a framework of metal.

  “I shoot people sometimes,” said Delmar. “I’m going to be on the backup crew when

  you guys get in trouble and need a rescue.”

  “Did your agents tell you what’s going on?,” asked Harry. He didn’t want a fight to

  break out before they got to the planet. “Let’s start with that. Then we can branch out

  to our travel arrangements, and so forth.”

  “We are attacking a stronghold,” said a small humanoid that resembled a giant

  wolverine. “The details were scarce.”

  “All right,” said Harry. He pulled out his phone. “Nick?”

  “I’m here, Harry,” said Nick through the phone. “So are the agents in question.”

  “We’re hitting a planet called Delgas,” said Harry. “It’s here.”

  An image of the Milky Way shrank to a planet in a system of eleven planets and loose

  rocks orbiting a red star. Two moons rolled around that planet.

  “There is two goals to this mission,” said Harry. “First, we are supposed to rescue two

  contractors who got to this planet from Earth. The second goal is to set up a forward

  firebase with a connection here to Fort Honey. Then we start putting contractors

  down to rake in the points and clear the planet.”

  “How many targets?,” asked the smallest alien. He had four arms, many eyes, and

  antennae.

  “Billions, Gee,” said Delmar. “Plus we looked at xenos in orbit above the planet

  which might take an interest.”

  “There is a complication,” said Harry. “Show us where Xin and his partner are,

  Nick?”

  Part of the globe lit up to show the mountain range. The aliens leaned in to take closer

  looks.

  “Below where they are trapped is three what I call temples from the pictures we got

  from the destroyed corvette before it went up,” said Harry. He placed the general

  layouts with his fingers. “Anything we kill will be rebuilt as fast as the xenos can in

  those buildings. The only way to cut off the flow is to wreck the buildings.”

  “Drone factories?,” said the wolverine.

  “Show them the live footage, Nick,” said Harry. He leaned back from the table.

  The image shifted to tactical data from sensor beams. Target locks were edited in as

  the corvette arrived close to the system and began shooting missiles and particle

  beams at anything at the edge of the planet with it. Some of the winged monsters went

  down, but the whales turned to fire at the smaller ship. None of its weapons did

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  anything to the massive beasts. Organic missiles erupted from the orbiting xenos and

  punched through the corvette. One took out the engines. It started falling into the

  gravity well. Then it exploded when it hit the ground.

  “Show the random scans the corvette took on the way down,” said Harry.

  Millions of tiny pictures appeared in the head over the projector that had remained

  from the briefings before this one. The contractors stood back from the deluge of

  information.

  “You might want to dismiss anything not from the mountains, homes,” said Delmar.

  “Then put up the mountain chain in realtime.”

  Most of the pictures blinked out. Two different pictures showed the mountains from

  two angles. One had an army of xenos heading up a valley. Three spheres of ruins

  were down in the trees below. Grunts rushed from the building to join their brothers.

  “If we want to clear the planet, we have to destroy those buildings,” said Harry.

  “Air support will be limited?,” said the big guy.

  “The only thing we will be able rely on is what I bring with us,” said Harry. “And

  what you are able to get from the quartermaster.”

  “Has anyone here done anything like this before?,” asked the shaved wookie looking

  at the rest of the group.

  “I have,” said Harry. “I started clearing this planet by myself.”

  “I lost my original body in one,” said the machine alien. “Hopefully I will do better

  this time.”

  “I have, but I had to pull out,” said the moth man. “There were too many of them.”

  “I haven’t,” said the wolverine. “Looks like I’m the odd Sheval.”

  “You started clearing this planet by yourself?,” asked the Wookie.

  “It was a breeze,” said Harry. “We got some transit time to do before we get there.

  Are you guys coming along?”

  “Do you really think you can do it on your own?,” said the machine.

  “Hold on,” said Harry. “What do I have to do to win the bet, Nick?”

  “You have to rescue the contractors, and create a self-sustaining base we can send

  contractors to from Earth, or Wallens,” said Nick. “John reported they are onboard

  the Jordan and ready to go.”

  “I have ten million dollars riding on this,” said Harry. “Naturally, I am going to do

  whatever I have to do to get that money.”

  “And the rest of us?,” said the Wookie.

  “I can’t force you to come along,” said Harry. “I can’t really force Delmar to come

  along. But he stands to gain part of the pot if we win, so he wants to make sure it

  happens. You guys can go home if you think you can’t handle things. There is no

  shame in it.”

  “Do you really think so?,” asked the machine man.

  “I’m not going to lie to you,” said Harry. He made a gesture with his hand. “I have

  a crew of non-contractors that are going to sit in orbit and help us with what they can

  but we’re going to be doing the most extremely dangerous thing we have ever thought

  about doing against literal monsters that will have nothing on their minds but ripping

  us to pieces.

  “There’s no shame in going home and not touching this with a ten foot pole.”

  Harry made a gesture at Delmar with his hand.

  “I, on the other hand, and my associate, have money riding on this and we’re doing

  it whether it kills us, or not,” he said.

  “Kills you,” said Delmar. “I will be up top surrounded by a lot of guns according to

  Mrs. Stuart, whom I trust a whole lot more than I trust you.”

  “Don’t think I won’t have Fred shoot you if I don’t come back,” said Harry. He put

  on a shark’s grin. “He’s never liked you over your robotic racism.”

  “You’re making that up,” said Delmar. “Fred ain’t that smart.”

  “He’ll do it for the money,” said Harry. “Are there any more questions?”

  “We’re going to be in transit?,” asked the moth man. “How long?”

  “Three hundred average hours,” said Nick. “The Delgasian contractors know they

  have to hold for that long before the operation even reaches them. If they are killed

  before you get there, the beachhead will still be needed.”

  “I got equipment that needs to be loaded,” said the man machine. “I’m going.”

  “Anybody who wants to go, meet on the pad,” said Harry. “Anybody who wants to

  stay, you will naturally be put back in transit to your home systems to go back to

  doing what you were doing when this came up.”

  “I do have one question, Harry Jordan,” said the Wookie. “What is your speciality?”

  “Bees,” said Harry. “Bees with guns. Just bring your stuff. I don’t really need

  anything right now. I’m going to get some breakfast, and let John and Guy know to

  pick us up when they’re ready.”

  He closed his phone and started for the canteen. Delmar fell in beside him.

  “You’re not doing this for the money,” said Delmar.

  “I’m not?,” said Harry. He looked over at his assistant.

  “You might have those guys fooled because they don’t know you,” said Delmar. “But

  people who know you, know you’re crazy. If you had a chance to do this with my old

  nine that you destroyed, you would. It’s not about the money. It’s about going up

  against something and winning in a game you’re good at like an old quarterback.”

  “I never thought of it like that,” said Harry. “That’s a sharp judgment call.”

  “If you weren’t like that, you wouldn’t have come here and built this place,” said

  Delmar. He waved his hand to indicate the whole fort.

  “All right,” said Harry. “You got me. Go pack your bag so we can give you your

  keyboard and mouse.”

  “I’m already ready to go,” said Delmar. “I just have to grab my bag from my room.”

  “So we’re just waiting on our ride,” said Harry. “I like that.”

  “Guy is going to be piloting us,” said Delmar. “I wouldn’t be too happy.”

  “It’s voice activated and artificially intelligent,” said Harry. “The bee is probably

  smarter than Guy.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” said Delmar. He grinned. “Hopefully the other contractors

  won’t get killed trying to match your craziness.”

  “I’m getting that money for my retirement fund,” said Harry. “I am going to have my

  last real meal before we start out. Then I plan to go over the insertion spots and what

  we can do to minimize the risk.”

  “I’ll let the guys know that we’re going,” said Delmar. “We might need guns.”

  “The ranges you will be fighting at, you’ll need missiles,” said Harry. “The problem

  is most things man-portable won’t get through the whales we saw in orbit. I hope

  Nick has a powerful gun loaded up on the ship we’re taking.”

  “I’m going to get my bag,” said Delmar. “I’ll be back in a few.”

  “Breakfast for me,” said Harry. “We’ll see how many are going after our speech.”

  Harry got a tray and some manufactured rations. He quietly ate and sipped coffee

  while looking out the window. He concentrated on the red sand and sky, wondering

  how long three hundred average hours actually was.

  He put that out of his mind. It was just extra worry on top of everything he was

  thinking about at the moment. He shouldn’t be taking his friends and associates into

  a battlefield like this. The potential lethality bothered him more when he thought

  about his group being in the middle of things.

  He hoped Nick and John had come up with some dangerous things to shoot at the

  xenos from where they set up.

  The cyborg came into the cantina and took a seat in a chair across from Harry.

  The real eye and the mechanical face was a little disconcerting. He placed his

  equipment bag on the floor beside him.

  “I noticed you didn’t ask for our names,” said the machine man. “Mine is Yema.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” said Harry. He worked on the rest of the food in front of him

  as he waited for the other to talk.

  “How long have you been a contractor, Harry?,” asked Yema. A metal finger tapped

  on the table top.

  “A while,” said Harry. “What’s in the bag?”

  “My weapon of choice,” said Yema. “I noticed you don’t seem to carry arms around

  with you.”

  “Look around,” said Harry. He indicated the sun guns on their stems, the fabricated

  mobile artillery, and the drones at rest. “Anything happens here and someone will be

  lit up.”

  “Are you that confident in your machines?,” asked Yema.

  “Raise your hand in a threatening way,” said Harry.

  The cyborg raised his hand in a fist. Six bees with glowing spots on their backs

  appeared at the window. He lowered his hand. Five of the bees flew away on their

  patrol. The sixth stayed to keep an eye on him.

  “Xenos?,” said Yema.

  “Unless I get an incursion in the walls, they only attack contractors trying to set up

  their own spots,” said Harry. “Most of them have overflights so the xenos don’t get

  close without a warning.”

  “What do you think of this attack?,” asked Yema.

  “It fits what I like to do, and I have some forces already on the planet,” said Harry.

  “The main problem is I would rather do things on my own instead of letting other

  people take a bullet. On the other hand, the more contractors that land with me, the

  more meat shields I have so I can get things done.”

  “I don’t think the others are willing to jump into such a situation,” said Yema. He

  made an almost human gesture of what can you do about that.

  “You said you jumped into a similar situation,” said Harry. “What happened there?”

  “It was early in my tenure,” said Yema. “We almost lost the planet to a supergate.

  There was heavy fighting and loss of life. I lost part of my body. One of the other

  contractors saved my life at the last moment.”

  “This time we’re going to be on the other side,” said Harry. “I’ll do what I can to

  bring you home, living or dead.”

  “Don’t bother,” said Yema. “I have a self destruct built into my chest unit. Just point

  me at the enemy before I die.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” said Harry.

  “It looks like the others have decided to go with us,” said Yema. He nodded at the

  group of aliens on the street.

  “Then we’re ready to go,” said Harry. “Nick, could you let Delmar know we’re

  waiting on Guy to pick us up.”

  “You’re not taking something with you?,” asked Yema. The contractors stood. He

  picked up his bag.

  “All a marine needs is a ride and a gun,” said Harry. He smiled. A insectoid jet

  dropped to a landing on the hardened rectangle for aircraft outside. “I always got a

  gun, and my ride is here.”

  “Shall we go?,” asked Yema.

  “Let’s,” said Harry.

  They walked out in the street.