Sept. 2506 Calisto Docks, Hera

The Lieutenant had just taken command of the platoon the month before. He was fresh out of the Officer Academy on Parrish and excited they were shipping out. Hera was not a hot bed of activity. The major battles were being fought on Verbena and Boros. Outside of the occasional skirmish or police action, Hera was just a holding point for Independent troops. That would change today. Today he would join the fight. They were shipping out to Verbena. He looked on with great pride as he watched the Independents ready for war. The C class cutters Reestablish and Vindicator were already in orbit, waiting to escort the flotilla. Soldiers and equipment were being loaded into the personnel transports all over the docks. Vendors and prostitutes swarmed through the crowds, trying to hock their wares one last time. He could hardly contain his excitement.

His Sergeant was the only thing that brought down his jovial mood. He found the man to be intolerable. He had already threatened to bring him up on insubordination charges twice. They had warned of such men at the Academy, soldiers who had been in the fight too long, seen too much. Soldiers like him, questioned everything and took orders as suggestions rather than commands. What had bothered him the most was that in both cases, the Sergeant had been right. Still the Lieutenant felt he had to reestablish command. He knew the man’s utter disregard for authority would contaminate the rest of the unit.

He spotted his Sergeant laughing with a group of soldiers near the transport they would be taking. The man’s brown coat embodied the rebellious attitude that started during the early days of the war. This was another thing that annoyed the Lieutenant. He understood what the coat represented. When the movement was first started, men wore them to show others that they disagreed with the Alliance. Later when war erupted, it served the same purpose on the battlefield, identifying Independent troops from theirs. Now, he saw no need for it. They