Max and the others spent most of the day playing cards and chatting, with a short workout tossed in to burn some excess energy so that they could take a nap and get on schedule with ship’s time.

Arrival at their destination would be at 0800 by the ship’s clock, so they all expected to have a full day ahead of them, starting the moment they arrived.

Max woke up from his nap not to the alarm as expected, but to an urgent notification on his wrist device.

[Major Keres Max,

You are hereby awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and assigned Command of 1st Batallion, Comor 1st Heavy Mecha Regiment, under the direct command of Brigadier General Yaakov.

The General is scheduled to assemble the Regiment for the first time at 1000 today, Abraham Kepler’s standard time and full attendance is mandatory.

Best Regards,

Central Command]

The message might have been a bit abrupt, but the instructions didn’t need much more. His new rank insignia were already delivered to the mail slot in his door, so Max hastily attached them to his formal uniform and hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. When he was clean and ready, Max headed for the staging area where new troops would first arrive aboard the ship, excited to meet his new troops.

The attached data showed that his unit would have three Companies of Heavy Mecha. Each with one X137 Super Heavy, 10 X109 Fast Attack Crusaders, 40 X104 Pattern Crusaders, and 100 Comor Pattern Corvettes. There were no Line Mecha at all in most Heavy Mecha Regiments, but a pure Heavy Mecha Regiment was usually fielded alongside a mixed asset or a large amount of infantry, to make up for their inability to defend well against small targets that got very close to their Mecha.

Max thought it was a bit odd that he hadn’t seen Nico yet, and that she wasn’t waiting in the staging area when he arrived. Usually, he would sense her thoughts from next door if she was awake, but she didn’t seem to be in her room today, so he had thought she was ahead of schedule.

[Prepare for the transition to Sub Light Speed travel.] Was the announcement over the intercom, and Max took a seat, along with the other handful of officers that were waiting in the staging area already.

They still had two hours to kill before the meeting, but none of them had anything better to do, and they were all nervous and eager to meet their new comrades. Especially the Pilots who had spent most of their career testing the Corvette Class Mecha. They had all been qualified on the Crusaders before they left, so this would be a big promotion day for them, and a jump in their prestige as well.

“Colonel Max, congratulations on your promotion.” A deep voice came from behind him as Max rested his eyes, waiting for the ship to dock.

Max looked back and saw a Major named Miller, who kept sneaking proud glances at his new rank emblem, showing that he was freshly promoted. Max saw in his thoughts that he was from the Logistics division and had just been assigned the position of Executive Officer of 1st Batallion, under Max’s Command. He was a qualified Crusader Class Pilot, but his System Skills had developed toward bookkeeping and not combat, so he had originally been transferred to Logistics, and only now, at over fifty years old, had he managed to get back into a combat posting, despite his repeated requests.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Major Miller, and I look forward to working with you.” Max greeted him, startling him for a moment before the Major decided that Max must have gotten a personnel listing.

He hadn’t but his ability to read minds came in very useful today.

Just before they reached the dock, the ship’s crew came and hung signs all over the room, indicating where each unit should meet, so the two officers moved over to where the 1st Batallion sign was hung to wait for the rest of their Pilots and logistical staff to board the ship.

Max almost missed it when Nico arrived, using some trick to block her thoughts from his Innate Talent. She had a friendly smile on her face, and she was greeting everyone she recognized, or who recognized her, but Max could clearly see from her body language that she was livid.

If she was a little mad, he might have missed it, but that tension in her movements, added to the way she kept clenching her hand halfway into a fist before releasing it and the blocked thoughts all pointed to her state of mind being somewhere between a murderous rage and the contemplation of new and unique war crimes.

“Hey Nico, what assignment did you get?” Max asked as she walked up to give him a friendly shoulder bump.

She didn’t reply, only opened her messages for him to read.

[Major Tarith Nico,

It is against Command’s better judgment that we have granted General Tennant’s request to assign you to the Technician’s position accompanying Lieutenant Colonel Max. After reviewing your medical history and System Functions, it is our opinion that Major Tarith Nico should have been permanently reassigned to the repair division, though we have acceded to the authority of Theater Command on this matter.

Please note that the position of Combat Technician is probationary, and if at any time you should reconsider, the posting as head of Regimental Mecha Maintenance will remain open for your arrival.

Regards,

Central Command]

“No wonder you’re cranky today. They didn’t even try to sugarcoat how mad they were that you weren’t in charge of maintenance. I guess we shouldn’t expect the warmest of welcomes from our new Regimental Commander when he arrives, eh?” Major Miller asked, having read the message at the same time that Max did.

“I am certain that he will adapt to the reality of the situation with great punctuality,” Nico replied, deadpan, making the Major wince in anticipation of the conflict that was sure to come.

Max was more disturbed that he still couldn’t read Nico’s thoughts. He would have to keep the two of them apart for now, in case she was willing to risk prison time for the suggestion that she should spend the rest of her career in a repair bay.