Roberts followed Milla off the bridge and led her down the corridors to the lift, calling for the flight deck once they were standing in the small pod. Tapping his induction mic, Roberts gave orders as the lift sped to its destination.

“Major Brinks, gather your men and report to the flight deck for an SAR mission. Standard equipment, plus full environmental gear. Tell Lieutenant Savoy that his team has been activated and have them report to you.”

Milla couldn’t hear the confirmation that apparently satisfied the tall black man. Commander Roberts was an enigma to her. Her ship didn’t have his equivalent. Oh, they certainly had a first officer on board—that was a given—but Roberts’s entire manner was alien to her. She had never seen anyone quite as disciplined as this man. His entire manner spoke of control—control of himself, his environment, and everyone around him.

They remained silent as the lift arrived at its destination. Milla shifted uncomfortably under the commander’s scrutiny. The lift doors opened to reveal the shuttle bay and the chaotic flurry of activity around the three large trans-atmospheric craft Milla had seen earlier. For a moment, she found herself looking around for the sleek craft that Stephanos had shown her before; then she realized that they had been outside fighting the Drasin.

The commander led her across the huge room, veering toward a shuttle that had attracted more than its fair share of the attention. Gathered around its base was a large group of men in addition to the technicians—men whose uniforms didn’t match any that she had seen on board so far.

As they approached, one of the men broke from the group, marching out to meet them. “Commander.” The man snapped a salute to Roberts. “My team is good to go. Lieutenant Savoy and his geek squad are packed up and already on board.”

Roberts looked surprised. “That was fast, Major.”

“Not really, sir. It was anticipation,” Maj. Wilhelm Brinks, formerly of the US Air Force, said. “Rumors trickled down to us after we arrived in-system; we knew there was a good chance of another SAR. Savoy’s equipment was already down here, so when you called for his team, we just packed their gear while Savoy assembled his squad.”

Roberts nodded approvingly. “All right, inform your men that you’ve drawn ground duty. We don’t have much data on the planet, so do a few orbits. We’ve been informed that it is supposed to have people living on it.”

The three of them began to walk toward the shuttle.

“Supposed to have?”

Roberts’s expression became grim. “Sensors didn’t pick up anything except some residual energy readings that happen to match our playmates’ weapons fire. We might get something when we get in close.”

“Any chance of Tangos?” Brinks asked, his voice pitched low as he considered the situation.

“If it’s like the last one.” Roberts just shrugged.

Brinks nodded as the trio marched toward the shuttle and the waiting people. As they arrived, Milla saw the row of men with the odd uniforms snap into a rigid stance, their hands snapping up into a salute like Brinks had given to Roberts. A moment later, Roberts returned the salute, and they dropped their hands to their sides, standing at attention.