Teller made a face like he’d just bit into a lemon. “No, the Kristang say we’re not ready for that. I’ve seen Kristang battle simulations, and they’re right, we’re not ready. We’d just get in the way. Most combat happens in orbit, or further out, and since we don't have a space navy, we can't help there. The Kristang have retaken a colony world they lost to the Ruhar a while back, they’re kicking the Ruhar off the planet. They’ve reached a truce, the deal allows the Ruhar to evacuate their civilian population over a thirteen month period, it will take thirteen months, because there are almost a million Ruhar there now. Our job is to occupy the planet, and facilitate the evacuation.”

This news did not please the Company.

“Garrison duty?!”

“Shit. We’re gonna be peacekeepers.”

“We have to wear fucking blue helmets?”

Teller held his hands in the air, until we quieted down. “I came out here to fight the Ruhar, just like you, to kill those rat-faced motherfuckers. I don’t get to do whatever I want, I'm in the Army. Our job out here is to protect Earth, and since we sure as hell demonstrated we can’t do that by ourselves, the best way for us to protect the folks back home is to work with our allies. The Kristang are stretched pretty thin right now, they don’t have many troops to spare to hold the places they’ve captured. That’s why they asked for infantry. There's some sort of biological hazard on this planet that prevents the Kristang from landing in force right away, the Kristang say the Ruhar are cheating on Rule Number Four. The Ruhar say the virus or whatever, is left behind from back when the Kristang occupied the planet. That's for them to argue about. Bottom line is the Kristang can't land their troops on this planet unless they're wearing full environment suits, and that ain't happening. Until the Kristang can develop an antidote to the virus and distribute it in quantity, UNEF is going to be fully in charge on the ground. This is a job we can do, and we’re going to do it to the best of our ability. Those are our orders.”

“What’s the R-O-E, sir?” A loud voice from the back asked about the Rules Of Engagement.