Union Forces: A S.U.N. Universe Novel, #3

By S.P. "Sean" P. Gallatin

SURPRISE! We have nominated you to join the Mercenary's Union!

Here are a few stories to tell you who we are. Enjoy and see if we aren't for you. War is our business, and business is good. Oh, small detail—if you got the guts, we got the money and adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paper Gold Publishing OLD
• Release date: Dec 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215227831

S.P. "Sean" P. Gallatin

Sean PG has lived in Alaska since he was a small child.  A very private person by nature, some Alaskans are like that, he tends to keep his personal life to himself. An ex-Navy man, after coming home, he found music to be his first love. Playing in a band, he has seen the seamier side of Alaska up close. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Anchorage was still trying to come to grips with having a fire hose nozzle of oil money flowing freely. Sean got to watch a lot of people and situations from the stage. It is surprising how people tend to ignore the band. There are more tales waiting to be told. 

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Copyright Notice:

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s twisted imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

License Notes:

This book is licensed for your personal entertainment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other persons. If you would like to share this with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your retailer, and buy one for yourself.

Author’s note:

Just remember, the few bucks you spend on this book or others, cycles through the community, and all your friends and neighbors who live in it. I can’t thank you readers enough, as well as everyone at PGP, all family and friends, and everyone involved, directly or indirectly.

The original cover art for this book was sourced at auction from the Ukrainian firm Getcovers.com. This author stands with Ukraine.

This book is only the first collection of the Union Stories. More will follow, and there is a possible later, more encompassing project under the PGP banner.

This book is dedicated to Cherime MacFarlane. Without her, none of this would be remotely possible. Thank you for always believing in me.

Contents

Recruitment letter from the Mercenary’s Union

It Begins Here

Nature Hike

The Ferredar Evacuation

Arbitrator

HELLRAISER

A Final Word

About the Author:

Other books:

Recruitment letter from the Mercenary’s Union

Greetings, Life Form!

(Recruit’s name here), you have been nominated for acceptance to the Mercenary’s Union. We are pleased to announce we have taken your name into consideration and, pending proper background checks, physical and mental evaluations, and some personal time with the board, you are in the screening stage. We will warn you now—not all applicants succeed. Not all who succeed live. War is our business. Those who survive often see great rewards. Not all rewards are financial.

Should we approve your application, you will learn the following:

*Flexibility. Unlike many militaries and private militias, most mercs come and go as they need between contracts. Once you’re part of the Union, you’re in it as long as you pay your dues. If you need to leave between contracts, the Union will almost always be glad to have you back, provided you left in good standing. Many mercs who do this pay their dues well in advance to ease their exits and re-entries or take advantage of the myriad ways to pay.

*Education. That’s right—a limited percentage of your pay can be deducted for various reasons, and higher education is foremost among them. Do you want a degree? Interstellar business? Medical degree? Psych doctorate? Interstellar relations? War college? The Union has partnerships with major universities in most SUN nations and many Frontier nations, including the Royal Academies of Joloa, the Federal University Program of Samarra, and the Sereed Unified Collegiate System. You can move up the ladder in rank in the Union. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are not required to maintain rank but are required to move up. This makes for a smarter, craftier, and more lethal merc who lives long enough to spend that hard-earned check!

*Tradition. The Union has over 500 years of traditions of camaraderie, cohesion, and respect for and from our siblings, clients, and the galaxy as a whole. The bargaining power of the Union for clients is unprecedented and respected across the galaxy. Fairness within the Union is guaranteed by the UCMJ—Union Code of Military Justice.

*Family. You will be joining a family of over ten billion siblings, galaxy wide. All listed dependents receive the best available for housing, supplies, transportation, education, and medical care provided through a partnership with the Life Foundation.

Family does fight with each other sometimes, and the Union is no exception. Union-on-Union combat is highly discouraged; however, it has occurred in rare instances and is sure to happen again. Should a sibling die, the listed dependents will receive all they need. Keep in mind—once you’re a sibling, you’ll have a bond with siblings throughout the galaxy forever. We look out for each other. What’s more, others know and respect it.

*Medical Care. If you are accepted, although physically not up to boot camp, your body can be restored to the appropriate age and fitness by the Life Foundation via a loan repayable to the Union over time. Most races opt for mid-twenties to mid- forties. The medical care is the best that can be obtained, often through the Life Foundation. Lose an arm, a tooth, or a tentacle? Prosthetics or regrowth are common options, and care comes out of your dues. Most cosmetic procedures are covered as well. Dental, mental, visual, physical—all covered. There is no gap in coverage, there are no fees to the individual and immediate dependents. No bullshit deductibles. To clarify, restorations are not covered directly, because of the expense and other factors, but there are loans available for them.

*Certainty. When you accept a contract with the Union and successfully meet the terms of that contract, you will be paid on completion. Many contracts require expense payments up front. Should a client refuse to pay, the Union will cover the pay, then settle the issue with the client. The merc gets paid! Should arbitration go against the sibling, the Union will help with many options to cover costs and losses.

*Equality. Specieists, classists, racists, genderists, and other forms of prejudice are not allowed. The Union can’t function if siblings can’t trust each other. Supremacists of any kind are not tolerated. All life forms are given the opportunity to prove themselves. How they prove themselves is up to them, as long as the mission objectives are achieved. You will be part of a big family. Someone wise once said, There’s the family you’re born with, the family you’re stuck with, and the family you choose. The Union is the family you choose. The Union wants to make sure you continue to choose them, and they continue to choose you.

*To summarize: (Name Here), if a Union sibling has recommended you, this is a great honor, and we are pleased to process your application. If you came in on your own, that shows initiative, an excellent quality for a merc to have. Either way, good luck and good hunting.

Sincerely yours,

Commander P’Awl Toberry,

Recruitment Commander

Local 4450

MUS Communicator Battlegroup

PS: We currently have a sale on exo-suits, combat armor, hand weapons, and implant upgrades. Even if you choose not to join, our sales forms are standing by for your call! Enter the redemption code given to you at Processing, and call now!

It Begins Here

Chapter 1

Archive note: WARNING—This file is from the first few decades of the Union and sustained damage long ago with other Union archives. This restoration includes several gaps where data is missing, or the file was corrupted beyond repair. The Archive Office strives to provide the most accurate and complete data they can; however, many files suffered damage in the early formative decades in the Union’s existence. More were damaged after the FS/MUS Raven became a museum ship and later bombed by Gossican terrorists. We beg your patience and point out that as more data is made available, it will be added in.

Archive Note: Early in the Union’s history, many ships claimed Free Space or Frontier Space as registry, thus the FS prefix. This practice was common before the Union created their own registry.

Home Galaxy

Near Reef Dwarf Galaxy

Koloboran Space

Heavy Cruiser FS Raven

SUN CY 1468

Captain on deck!

The hangar deck crew came to attention as we got out of the levitator, except for the ones actively handling munitions or on watch.

As you were.

The XO, CAG, Senior Legal Counsel, the Ops Boss and I walked to the LZ in on the Command Hangar Deck.

I couldn’t help but glance at my reflection in my husband’s combat glasses. Symun Grae was the CAG, tall, blond, muscular, and with that cockiness that came with being a fighter jock. He was sexy when he was cocky.

I’m dark and small, with curly, black hair, green eyes, crow’s feet that came from liking to laugh, and not yet showing my baby bump with what will be our fourth child, all born on this ship.

Captain Talita Grae, at your service. I owned and commanded the heavy cruiser FS Raven. When The Comega Republic—the nation we fought for—collapsed and was absorbed by five different nations, we found ourselves suddenly on the outside with all five of the other nations trying to claim the ship—and us. I used my savings to pay off the ship to the yard that built her and had them issue me the certificate of ownership under a veiled threat of the Raven’s guns.

My little brother Efferam served under General Olander and told me of the newly formed Mercenary’s Union. Looking to keep my crew alive, we voted and then signed on to the Union.

That was six years ago.

When I took command of the Raven, I was the Plank Owner Captain, meaning I was her skipper when she launched for the very first time. She was never meant to be a generation ship. Now I’m forty-three. Children, spouses, dependents, pets and livestock roam the decks of a warship. My dream—our dream—was to find and live on a world of our own. We were saving up every SUN and Crown we could so one day we might find that world.

But for now, Raven was home to us all.

And right now, Supreme Commander Botar Olander himself was going to land on the hangar deck in the next few minutes.

Captain, Raven

Grae here.

The Silent Killer has pulled alongside. Requesting permission to land a shuttle aboard.

Permission granted. Pipe the Supreme Commander aboard when he sets foot on deck.

Yes, Captain.

The hangar bay doors opened, and an assault lander entered, touching down on the deck. The ramp lowered and Olander strode out, the Raven piping him aboard. We saluted, which he returned with a grin. Taller than Symun, almost as dark as I am, he

***FILE CORRUPTED***

So here’s the situation. An imposing figure with dark eyes and short, curly, dark hair, gray showing at the temples, Olander walked around the hologram above the Ops table, gesturing at it. All these years later, and his presence still made me remember the time we had together before I took command of the Raven. I couldn’t help but think of the fun we had. I took it out on Symun that night. He liked that.

We’re still new enough that our competitors keep trying to wipe us out. One of those is Sereed Combat Solutions based, naturally, on Sereed. Go figure.

Everyone laughed before he continued in that deep, booming voice of his. Their home office is there. We’re going to hit it like a sledgehammer. We’re going to get them to understand that they leave our mercs alone, and that fucking with us is a bad idea. We’re going to get answers for our siblings on Berdara. He looked around. "Make no mistake- our reputation is on the line. For us to really make a name for ourselves... for us to really be established... to be respected... it all starts here."

There was a lot of bad blood between the Union and SCS. Four years ago, the Union won a bid for a contract from a company on Joloa, Purple Shipping Lines. They had gotten tired of having their ports and ships raided by the local pirates that SCS was overwhelmed with. That contract was bread and butter for SCS—they had been mismanaged to the point of near bankruptcy. When the contract expired, the Union won the bid and began escorting PSL ships. The first few raids were put down with ruthless efficiency, and things quieted down. But the raids resumed, and something about them changed. The pirates were better armed and using advanced tactics. Debris analysis soon showed that the new raiders were SCS, disguised as independent pirates.

The Union didn’t mess around and hit every SCS asset they could. They couldn’t get away with hitting them all, such as their home base on Sereed, but it crippled SCS immensely. They changed management and began to raid Union assets. SCS called this reparations.

The breaking point was six months ago, after the CEO quit, and a new one took over. Soon after, the raids stepped up, and three weeks ago, an SCS team baited and killed a Union search and rescue team, then used their ship as a hyperspace missile against a PSL port on Berdara. The entire mining city was now a flooded crater two klicks across. Thirty thousand life forms dead, mostly Berdaran. Eight unarmed freighters destroyed. Six hundred Union personnel dead.

A full two thousand Joloan citizens were dead. Neither Joloa, Berdara, or Sereed were in a position to go to war for a variety of reasons. For them, it was an ugly stalemate, exacerbated by the fact that under Sereed law, SCS did nothing illegal. It didn’t take place in Sereed space or on flagged Sereed soil. That was how Sereed gave immunity to its contractors and citizens.

Olander went on, Berdara and Joloa know they can’t let this go unanswered. Sereed has hidden behind their laws and privateers long enough. Neither the Crown nor Berdara have the military force to deal with Sereed on their own. The situation is the same, even if they combined their forces. Diplomatically and politically, their hands are tied. They have to pick a different avenue. He looked around the room.

"Financially... is a different story. The Crown can’t wage even a cold war with Sereed, but the king ruled the private companies must stay within the bounds of Joloan law while in Royal Space. However... due to budget constraints, the government is unable to protect or regulate them outside of Royal Space. They must be allowed to use reasonable measures to protect themselves and recover lost assets. The king was very careful to avoid saying what that meant." Olander gave a wicked laugh.

I said, So, green light, go.

Olander gave me that grin he was famous for. "Exactly, Commodore Grae. Yes, you are promoted. The frontier shipping companies are putting together a free-space corporation, then we’re assembling a strike package of three battle groups for Sereed. His face turned serious. We’re going to take Sereed just long enough to hunt down every employee of SCS and turn all their assets into piles of rubble and flaming junk. The client made their goals clear. We’ll be providing a fourth battle group as a temporary base for the corporation to operate from, parked out in the halo for now. That takes place in two days. From that point on, we’ll be assembling things over the next several days. We must move quickly, but quietly. Sereed thinks they’ve gotten away with this. We want them to keep thinking that. The Intel Department has infiltrated Sereed, and there’s no signs of unusual police or military activity. Some of their more aggressive politicians have slandered the dead, saying Berdara had it coming. They make false accusations to bolster their political positions."

He shook his head as he walked around. "There will be no action taken upon private, military, or government assets, unless they open fire first. SCS assets only! He raised his finger to make a point. There will be no action taken upon civilians, unless they open fire first. Non-lethal weapons only against civilians. Stress this to all. We will come down hard on anyone who unnecessarily kills a civilian. If they do, the reason had better be very fucking good. There will be no asset forfeiture or acquisitions. No ‘liberations!’ We are going to be paid hugely for this operation, so we will act like it."

He lowered his voice. Listen, my brothers and sisters. I will be blunt. This is make or break for the Union, in multiple ways. If we fail at this, we will have sparked a war between Joloa, Berdara, and Sereed. Every scum will copy SCS’s horrible playbook, so we have to make the consequences horrific enough that few will try. If we fail at this, we will become criminals across the frontier and beyond. If we fail, it’s a safe bet the Union will never again get any real contracts. If we fail at this... we’re better off to die there than live another day. We, and all our children, will be hunted down like vermin.

He looked around at us and used that charisma he was known for. "If we succeed... we will be the supreme private fleet in free space. We will let it be known that we—we—will not be fucked with, and we will hold to account those who do. We will reap the rewards, the contracts, the publicity, the accolades, the pride, the glory- and above all, the profits. If we do this right, no one will want to fuck with us ever again."

Fuulu, my XO, asked, Sir? When do we attack?

That is contingent on the client, but we advised two windows. One is open for the next twenty-four hours. We would hit them quickly, hard and fast, with a single battle group. But... we may not be able to hold the place long enough to achieve the client’s objective without a high number of civilian casualties. We wouldn’t have enough of a force to deal with uprisings that would interrupt us. So... the next window would open in a few weeks. We’ll have time to carry out a strategic disinformation campaign and play to their arrogance. By then, they’ll be convinced they’re in the clear, and we’ll come in with a task force of three battle groups. We hit hard, fast, simultaneously. Two groups to hit the planet, one for over watch. We want a total lockdown. No one enters or leaves Sereed space.

I nodded. Understood.

"This will be the biggest op the Union has ever done. It will be the single largest op carried out by a private force in known history, and the first time in known history a private force has taken an advanced world. We have to win this one, my siblings. Have. To. If we succeed—IF—we will be paid the lump sum of six billion SUNs. Half has already been paid in advance."

The CIC got quiet.

He looked at me. "Talita... to make this work, we have to use the best where they belong. We want the Raven to lead the group that hits the capital. We’re going to park her right overhead, and let them get a good view of your aft generators. The Raven will become my flagship, while the Henchman leads the other occupation force. The Silent Killer will take up the flag over watch position so they think I’m on her."

I was caught by surprise. Of course. We’re honored. Sir, not to change the subject... but with that kind of money... we could put it down on a home world.

Olander sighed and made a sad smile. It’s not to be. I freely admit that is one battle I failed. He sighed again. I was close, so close. It looked like I had it in the bag, done deal. I had the votes in the council for us to look at several different worlds for sale. But... the same event that brought us this vast sum killed the votes in the council. They decided it’s safer not having a home world, so it can never be targeted so.

I hid my pain. I had wanted to get my children off a warship for so long. Now due to SCS, the dream was dead. But if we lived, we would be able to buy a place almost anywhere.

He read my expression. "No. I can’t even think of asking again for many years to come.