PS2 Chronicles - Jake Duffy, Terran Republic Quartermaster

Jake Duffy, Terran Republic Quartermaster, AMP Station Gamma. June 21, 2845.

         Duffy’s voice could be heard through the walls of his Plexi-enclosed office. “What the hell are you standing there for, Jones? I told you to get those weapons to Loading Dock A for Searhus... now.”

         He glanced at the manifest, then glared at Private Genny Jones, a tiny little thing no more than five foot one, if even that, with shoulder length flaming red hair and a temper to match. She had been assigned to weapons’ supply about two weeks ago when they were still at relative peace with the New Conglomerate. Duffy had thought she’d have time to learn her job while the two sides tried to reach some tentative compromise - nobody had expected those idiots to start shooting before dawn the very next morning.

         “115 mini chain guns. We need two crates of bolt drivers. They’re also going to need cyclers and repeater pistols. And don’t forget the dome blasters. You got all that, Jones?”

         “Yessir,” she shouted back. “I gathered them soon as I saw the manifest this morning, sir. And they’re already loaded onto the Galaxys. I was just waiting for coordinates to dispatch them, sir.”

         Duffy looked her over. Two weeks on the job and she nailed it. Damn. “Good work, Private. Punching them in now. And one other thing, Jones.”

         “Yessir?”

         “I’m the Quartermaster, not an officer. Call me that, or Duffy. Not sir.”

         “Sorry, won’t happen again… Duffy.”

         “Make sure it doesn’t, Private. Now get on board. You’re with Booth and Erickson.”

         Jones was already on the move.

         The troops took their places in the Galaxy and braced for lift-off. Two minutes later Duffy’s voice crackled over the soldiers' head-armor earphones. “The brass just told me to relay your mission, so listen up, 'cause I’m not repeating it. Two platoons of T.R. soldiers are trapped on the volcanic island of Searhus, under fire by the New Conglomerate dirtbags. Appears they took control of Mount Lavastorm on the mistaken belief they'll be able to free their captured forces from the Kane Prison Compound. If they succeed, the N.C. armies would be equal to T.R. forces. An' our job is to make certain that will never happen. Got that?”

         Genny Jones joined the chorus with a loud, “Understood, Quartermaster Duffy.”

         As the Galaxy sped across Auraxis toward Searhus, Jones mentally catalogued what she had been taught about the enemy. The New Conglomerate had originated from very different groups people who ultimately came together with the goal of overthrowing the Terran Republic. First and foremost there were the businessmen. They ran the most powerful companies back on Earth and the Terran colonies and were sent to establish a foothold on the other side of the universe with the intent of exponentially increasing company profits. Of course, Jones realized the bosses weren’t expecting to do any of the hard labor by themselves, so they brought along a civilian workforce of men and women paid to join the mission and build the new cities, factories and infrastructure. Once done they would return to Earth to collect their creds. And, because businessmen never went anywhere without protection, they brought along highly paid and highly dangerous mercenaries.

         Unlike the bulk of Connery’s crew who intended to colonize and live on the new worlds they discovered, these people were only in it for profit, and planned to return home as soon as they could. They had no loyalty to Connery or the mission - all they cared about was what they could get out of it. But once they found themselves on the other side of the wormhole with no way to return home, they slowly began to drift apart from the others, calling the Terran's laws "tyrannical" and expressing their desire for a new ruling class to take hold.

         Genny remembered her Sergeant’s words, drilled into her squad of new recruits. “You wanna know the difference between us an’ them,” he shouted. “Once those N.C. bastards landed on Auraxis, they came to the high n’ mighty conclusion that the Terran Republic’s laws were suddenly incompatible with their own selfish needs. They could never accept that the laws were enacted to protect all the people, seein’ we were so many lightyears from home. They only thought about themselves an’ nobody else.”

         She took out her holotab and flipped through video messages from her family, who was back on Cyssor and hopefully safe. Her mom smiled at her and blew her a kiss. Her Dad looked at her like he always did - to him, Genny was still nine years old and in pigtails. Her sister, Lea, mouthed the words, “Be safe, sis,” which made Genny grin. Sandy, her older brother, just waved solemnly. He was the one who fought the most with her not to join the T.R. army. Sandy, a theoretical physicist, had recently been caught up in an emerging group of scientists - at least, that's what they called themselves - who were against some of T.R. laws. But these borderline cultists mostly kept to themselves - they were nothing compared to the N.C. traitors. Sandy and Genny had argued endlessly over who was right and who was wrong, and while he made some good points, but ultimately she had to fight for the cause she most believed in. Still, she loved him and knew he loved her, and they both prayed that war would not divide their family as it was doing to Auraxis.

         Back in his office, Quartermaster Duffy watched the Galaxys take off for Searhus. Before they took off he had done one last walk through, seeing the shock of red hair in the back. Genny Jones was talking with Billy Pelz, a recent recruit who was no older that eighteen, unless he had lied about his age. A lot of the kids did these days. They talked excitedly about going off to war... Idiots, Duffy thought to himself. They've got no idea what war is all about. He gave a silent prayer that they would all come home safely.

         Duffy turned away and scanned the news holovids, looking for any word whether the group of cultists was remaining neutral, taking sides or launching their own offensive. So far, nothing. He prayed they would stay out of it. Life on Auraxis had suddenly gone to hell and Duffy didn’t need another conflict to make it worse. 

         He shook his head wondering how it had come to this. When they had found Auraxis and landed, the people had joined together for mutual protection. They tamed the savage planet, terraformed it, built cities and fortifications, and worked together so they could survive together.

         So much changed in 175 years.

         He sighed, breathed in a deep breath, then called in Ben Davids, another new kid who joined up only this past week. “What the hell are you standing there for, Davids?” Duffy shouted. “I told you to get those weapons to Loading Dock B, now.”