Eric appeared in the Lieutenants VR chamber. The walls were covered with pictures of Marines in battle. The Wolf Moon assault was a more famous one, with the milky way and constellation of the Rabbit in the background, but Eric could pick out the others. They never seemed to change and Eric wondered if the pictures were to motivate the Lieutenant or the people he spoke with.

“Commando Eric Spears reporting as ordered, sir,” Eric said standing at attention and saluting. He knew his uniform was correct, his beret on properly. This was the VR, fewer worries.

“At ease,” the Lieutenant said, standing and returning the salute. “Have a seat.”

Lieutenant Wesley sat down first and then Eric sat down, as close to the position of attention as he could. Back straight, knees together, hands on his knees.

“I see you have volunteered for the strike mission,” Wesley said. “I want to make sure you have thought it through.”

Sure, Eric thought. The Lieutenant had seemed like a good Marine but now Eric wondered if he was looking out for himself instead of his troops.

“Yes sir,” Eric said and the Lieutenant raised an eyebrow.

“How much do you really know about the Reaper mission during the Han war?” Wesley asked.

“My uncle commanded it sir,” Eric said, hopefully the Lieutenant would get the idea and drop the subject.

“Including classified information?” Wesley asked.

“No sir,” Eric said with a frown. There was a lot about the Reaper mission that was still classified decades after the war and speaking with his uncle, would be classified for centuries.

The Lieutenant nodded as if he had more information. Since the Lieutenant was an officer he might.

“One of the main reasons that most of the information about the Reaper mission is classified is because of what those Marines did,” the Lieutenant said. “They performed a critical mission. They struck at the heart of the Han Empire, even launching an attack against their capital on Mars. This much is public knowledge. What is not public knowledge is the innocent lives they took.”

The Lieutenant paused to let that sink in.

“Nearly every mission they performed,” Wesley said, “civilians were killed. Men, women and in some cases children. Is that what you want on your soul? The murder of children?”

“No sir,” Eric said. Well. It made sense and would explain why his Uncle was such a grim faced asshole sometimes. Is that why he had acted as a father to him and Sean? As penance for what he had ordered and done?

“That is one reason Han assassins have marked Colonel Spears,” the Lieutenant continued. “Not because they lost the war, but because of the way they lost it. These new missions to strike into the heart of the Union of Enlightenment will have to follow the same playbook. They will have to hit the UE’s in their soft underbelly, they will have to scare the UE’s and we won’t be able to do that by hitting just military targets.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said.

“Do you want that kind of horror staining your soul?” Wesley asked.

“No sir,” Eric said.

“You are a good Marine,” Wesley said. “I would support your nomination for cadre if you withdraw your request. I don’t want to see you destroy your life like this.”

Eric froze. Nomination for cadre would let him remain a Marine after forty years and if he were honest, that is all he wanted to do. The Lieutenant was right about the strike mission as well. How could a deep space force successfully raid enemy strongholds? They would have to strike weaker, less heavily defended targets and that would likely increase the risk of collateral damage, the murder of civilians.

“It isn’t too late to withdraw your request to join the strike force,” Wesley said. “Already about thirty people in the battalion have done so.”

Thirty? Out of how many? Eric only knew of two other Marines in third platoon that had volunteered. Hoffman and Rose, they were also struggling to meet the minimum requirements and they had further to go than Eric.

Then there was what his uncle had said.

“I understand sir,” Eric said wondering if he was making a mistake. Killing people was not small thing. Killing civilians was horrifying but war was a means of last resort and the Union of Enlightenment had started this war and killed Republic civilians.

“Do you want me to withdraw your request?” Wesley asked.

“No sir,” Eric said. “I understand the risks, the costs and I understand I may have to obey orders I don’t agree with. I do not want to withdraw my request.”

Wesley frowned.

“This mission is not likely to take the best,” Wesley said. “While they have said there might be some cadre slots available they have not confirmed it and Command is still trying to justify it. To be honest I doubt they will have any slots. If you want to earn cadre then leaving the Republic for five or more years is not going to help your chances.”

“I understand sir,” Eric said.

The Lieutenant scowled.

“Do you really understand the severity here?” Wesley asked. “That you may have to conduct a fire mission on a church, or a school? That the blood of innocent people will be on your hands?”

“Yes, sir,” Eric said realizing that even if he was not selected for the mission he should at least request a transfer away from this Lieutenant.

Wesley leaned back as he stared at Eric with thinly concealed disgust.

“I won’t lie,” Wesley said. “You are one of my best Marines. I hate to see you do this to your career. Did you know the PTSD rate of veterans that served under your father is over ninety percent? Nearly every single Marine that was aboard the Reaper is suffering because of it.

“I was not aware of that, sir,” Eric said. How could he cut this ‘interview’ short?

“You have one week to withdraw your request,” Wesley said. “After that they lock candidates in for final selection, you have to reenlist for ten years and sign away your future. I really hope you do the right thing.”

“Yes sir, thank you sir,” Eric said. Hopefully the Lieutenant could not see how relieved he was this interview was over.

“Fine,” the Lieutenant said. “Dismissed.”

“Aye sir,” Eric said as he stood and saluted.

Reluctantly the Lieutenant stood and returned the salute then Eric unlinked from the VR.

Sitting up in his private quarters, Eric threw his legs over the side of his bunk and stared at the display in front of him. The whole wall showed a scene of the sun rising above the Wolf Moon. Coincidence?

The battle for Wolf Moon had been a defining moment in the fledgling Republic Marine Corps. It could be considered the last gasp of the human race as the AI’s choked it to death. The mission had succeeded but so many had died. The battle had been immortalized in countless ways, like in the history of the US Marine Corps it was the Iwo Jima, the battle of Chapultepec, Belleau Woods, Chosin Reservoir, or the British Royal Marines and their battle for Bunker Hill, Port Said and others. The battle for Wolf Moon was so much a part of Republic Marine lore that any Marine at any time should recognize references or pictures.

Was he throwing away his career and future? Would he be ruining his life and would he be able to live with what he would have to do if he was selected for the mission? Damn that lieutenant.

Perhaps if he didn’t make it, his uncle would find some other way to get him out of system since he was so sure an apocalypse was coming. Maybe get assigned to a deep space fleet vessel on an exploration mission or something. All stars within five years had been explored, but there were rumors of longer missions being planned. They would have a couple Marines along wouldn’t they?

This mission against the Union of Enlightenment though would be historic and defining. The Reaper was the first, but if there were others? Eric did not want to be a nameless Marine lost to history. Someone who had served but never fought. Even if he was never commissioned as an officer, Eric wanted to accomplish something, or be a part of something historic.

Why didn’t every Marine? Did they know something he didn’t?

Damn the Lieutenant. How far would the Lieutenant go to keep Eric from joining that mission?